Flip the Colleague [Flip Zimmerman]

Ch 4: Giving In & Getting Caught (1)

Flip watched you drive away from the bar as he largely exhaled and rubbed the back of his neck, following the aftermath of your emotional encounter. He stared off into the distance long after your taillights were gone still feeling the weight of what he witnessed between you and the mystery guy he caught you making out with in the bar. He turned on his heel to go back inside, and as he approached the door he felt the heat return to his face. If he was smart, he would've just gone home. But he couldn't resist the urge to look this guy in the eye and tell him to royally fuck off.

He stalked into the bar and scanned the dance floor area where he previously saw the two of you. He only saw the back of the guy's head, and he sort of remembered the color of shirt he was wearing but that's about it. He took his time studying people until... there. It was him, unmistakable. Nick was leaning on the bar in deep conversation with someone. Flip slowly and casually approached Nick, head tilted down but eyes locked on him as if he was in hunting mode. Nick glanced up and caught Flip's expression. He immediately straightened himself and swallowed thickly before giving Flip a nod.

"Hey man." Nick said, appearing on alert but also overly confident. "How's it going?"

"That girl you were dancing with... the one you... kissed." Flip almost hissed at the last part.

"You'll keep your distance from her. Understood?" A stern look painted across his face.

Nick put both his hands up as if to surrender "Hey man, she kissed me, too. Cute girl. Didn't realize you already had dibs."

It took half a second for Flip's mood to shift from stoic to complete fury. He scoffed at Nick casually, and then in an instant, he grabbed Nick by the collar and slammed him into the adjacent wall. It was so abrupt that it stopped several patrons in their tracks. Rick caught the move too from behind the bar and watched intently in case things continued to escalate. Bar fights happened all the time so it was nothing new to Rick, but he rarely, if ever saw Flip involved. In this scenario, Flip obviously had the upper hand. He was much taller, broader and had easily 50+ pounds over Nick's frame. He was practically a puppet in Flip's hands.

"Maybe I wasn't clear. If you fucking touch her again, I'll break every bone in your scrawny ass body."

Nick was frozen. After considering that what Flip was saying could be true, he swallowed hard before replying "Alright. Cool. Got it."

Flip released his grip on Nick and backed away from him. Nick composed himself and straightened his shirt, glancing around in embarrassment from the show. People slowly returned to their business as Nick stared at the floor. "Jesus... you in love with this chick or what?"

Flip coming down from his rage, paused at the question while looking at Nick. He hadn't exactly considered what his feelings had developed into regarding you. He knew cared for you. He knew whenever he saw you, it made something in his stomach flip. And when he saw you with Nick, he had never wanted to hit something so bad in his life. Maybe it was love, after all.