I Don't Date Dragons

Chapter 7

They woke up the next morning tangeled in a knot, and just the slightest bit hungover. Tiblisi's phone rung again, it was Jack. "Hello," she answered groggily and it was now 10:20 AM. "Tiblisi? Are you okay it sounds like you were hit by a truck." He sounded genuinely concerned, he was expecting her to pick up her phone at a coffee machine somewhere, bright eyed and bushy tailed for her long day behind the desk at her job. "If the truck's name was champagne you couldn't be anymore right" she half smiled to herself and managed to unwind herself from the sheets she had shared with Ryan and Mo the night before and headed into the bathroom so she wouldn't wake them. She closed the door quietly behind her and kept her voice in hushed tones. "I'm sorry you're catching me off guard here, you wouldn't believe my luck Jack." She sat down on the toilet seat after closing it, making sure there was no bang before releasing her knees off her puffy bodies own weight. "What's wrong, if you just skipped a day at work because you got too drunk that's not the end of the world" he was trying to be helpful and calm her nerves. "No, I'm not that lucky, there was a reason for my overconsumption of alcohol last night," she paused worried about the words that were about to exit her mouth next. "I got fired yesterday, I would have never drank two bottles of champagne if it were a work night, I was dedicated to that job."

"You got fired?" he sounded almost relieved. She couldn't of been hearing this right. "Why does it sound like you're smiling Jack, I'm a complete mess over this. Luckily Mo offered for me to live with her for the time being, but still, I'm fucked if I don't get another equally paying job soon. Move back in with my parents fucked, and that, that just can't happen."  

"Tiblisi take it easy, I hear your concern but it sounds like you're being taken care of and think about what you were saying to me the first night we met. You wanted to retire. You thought that job was draining the life out of you." She smirked liking he remembered all the conversations they've had together. "Yeah, I did say that" she conceded. Jack went on "I have no doubt you'll find another job, you're resourceful, you're stubborn and this has nothing to do with anything but you're a good person, bad things don't happen to good people, right?" 

"Actually I was in a position where I can accurately say that is 100% not true. But, regardless, I like your enthusiasm for my future." She felt all gushy now. He was backing her up, she felt a new affinity for him. One beyond what she had felt for Ryan the night beforehand. 

"And speaking of that I just wanted to let you know the party for my sister has been pushed back a week, but I didn't want to go that long without seeing you, there was a bird in the house and it scared her something awful. She needs to recuperate so I thought I'd invite you over for poker with the guys this Friday night, are you free?" He bit his lip not wanting her to back out. This plan that he had hated from the beginning was now at a fairly hard close. Sal and Edmond would just have to find another way to get information on the the case. Why they wanted to meddle was beyond him, Drew was innocent and there was no way a jury would see him as anything other than a man who had just lost his son and wife. 

"Ahh. I have a lot to do, moving out, getting rid of the apartment..."  

Jack interjected "don't say no, they'll be pizza and, and champagne too (he added this last minute trying to sway her), besides I want you to meet my friends Edmund and Sal, they're good guys, you'll like them."

"Well okay that sounds nice, but only because you insisted. What should I wear... poker casual?" 

"Poker casual, cute, wear whatever, if you haven't moved out all your boxes you could borrow some of my clothes"

"You're sweet, okay I'll be there." They agreed on a time he could pick her up and she snapped the phone shut.

She heard Mo and Ryan turning in the next room. She didn't notice before but while she was walking back into Mo's room she was alarmed at the carnage that was left behind in their drunken wake. Empty bottles of champagne lying on the floor along with two crumpled up Oreo boxes. She looked at her friends still dozing in the bed. Ryan was hogging all the covers and half his exposed leg was climbing out from the sheets, he was tall and Mo was cramped in the corner. Where the hell did Tiblisi fit, right in the middle. She smiled and jumped in. They didn't awaken, she hoped Ryan didn't have a job he needed getting to, she was planning herself to sleep even later.  She snuggled in with the afghan that wasn't fitting to this room at all which must have been a gift from Mo's grandmother or mother. She took the second white blanket and placed it over Mo, they'd give Ryan a hard time when they all arose together in a few hours, for now, let's sleep off the booze and Oreos and start fresh this afternoon.