Chapter 5 5

"I know and that is why I will always consider you my best friend."

The rest of the week went by better for Keith. He wasn't distracted by the thoughts of Jackie nearly as much and was much more productive. He was even asked out on a date by a woman from another department. He accepted and they went out on Thursday night. They ate at Applebee's and had a good time. The conversation was very easy going, talking a little about each other's life and past. At the end the woman said she had a good time but didn't feel anything special. Keith said he didn't either but it was still great making a new friend. They hugged and parted ways.

Friday went really fast and it was time to leave work before Keith knew it. He didn't have any plans for the night and knew Andy was working so he just plopped himself on his couch and popped in a random movie. After the movie was over he started channel surfing and never found anything to watch that kept his interest. He went to bed soon after that.

He woke up a little before 9am. He made breakfast, cleaned up and started doing the laundry he had neglected to do the previous weekend. He had a lot of loads to do and was grateful the apartment included a washer and dryer in each unit. He had all the time he needed to do what he needed before going to the bar. Time however went a lot slower knowing Jackie was going on her date tonight. He started playing various scenarios in his head of how the date would go. Some of the scenarios ended up with her and the guy leaving very happy while others ended up needing him to step in and be the hero to save her. No two scenarios ever played out the same in his mind. He hated that this was all he could think about. He tried putting in another movie but hardly paid attention to it.

After finishing his laundry he decided to just go back to his bed and take a nap. When he woke up he saw that the time was 6:49. He sprung out of bed as fast as he could to shower, shave, and put on some of his better clothes. While putting a nice plaid button down shirt he stopped and asked himself, "Why in the hell am I putting so much effort into trying to look nice for Jackie?" He shook his head not knowing what the hell he was doing. He looked over at the clock and it read 7:35. "Screw it," he said and buttoned up the rest of the buttons, grabbed his wallet and keys and drove to the Brownstead.

He found an open seat at the bar. As soon as he sat down Andy handed him a bottle of Budweiser. They nodded at each other and Keith took a sip from his bottle. He looked up and the down bar seeing if he could spot Jackie and her date. "Hey you," he heard from behind him. He turns around and sees Jackie in a black skirt that just goes above her knees and a blue blouse. She wore a little makeup and had her hair in a ponytail.

"Hi Jackie, you look great," Keith says wholeheartedly.

"Thank you," Jackie replies slightly blushing. "You look good as well. Are you here on a date as well?"

"Thank you. No date for me tonight. I had one on Thursday that went well but don't think we're gonna have another date."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Jackie says feeling sorry for him.

Keith smiles at her noticing her sympathy. "It's ok. Where is your date anyway?"

"He's running late," she says rolling her eyes. "He says he'll be here in half an hour, but I'm worried that we won't be able to find a seat anywhere."

Andy pops over to check on Keith and sees him talking to Jackie. "So did you decide to make Keith your date now instead of the other guy?"

"No, he's running late but I don't think we're gonna find anywhere to sit."

Andy looks around and sees the end of the L shaped bar has no one sitting there. "Jackie, quickly go over to the end of the bar and take those two seats," he says pointing.

"Thank you Andy!" Jackie replies and heads over to grab the two seats.

Andy looks over at Keith. "Are you gonna be ok?"

"Yes, I'll be fine," Keith responds, hoping he really will be fine.

A half hour later a guy sat next to Jackie. He looked like a nice guy at first glance. He was making her smile a lot and when Jackie was talking he would just sit there and listen. Keith tried not to stare at the two, but he really wanted to see how everything went.

"Keith, are you sure you're fine? You have been looking at Jackie and her date the whole time they've been here," Andy says interrupting Keith's staring.

"Yes I'm fine," Keith responds sounding very annoyed looking back to Jackie.

"Keith, you're focusing way too much on them."

"So what if I am?"

"You're gonna give off the creeper vibe and scare away the women and you know the number one bar rule, don't scare away the women!"

Keith rolls his eyes and looks at Andy. "Then toss me out. You do have the command of the three bouncers in here to throw out anyone you say to."

"I'm not going to throw out, but please try to enjoy yourself."

"I'm having a really good time Mark. I'm glad I'm getting chance to meet you."

"Well how could I turn down an opportunity to get to know such a beautiful woman?"

Jackie couldn't help but blush at that comment. She had a big grin on her face, enjoying every second with Mark. However, something has to tear her away from him for a few minutes. "I'm sorry, but I have to use the restroom."

"Take your time, we have all night to get to know each other more."

Jackie walks over to the restroom door that is close and looks over her shoulder back at Mark. He waves to her and she can't help but smile as she walks through the door. After she does her business and washes her hands she looks at herself in the mirror. She sees herself trusting Mark, knowing that he is going to protect her.

When she walks out of the restroom she sees Mark in a heated argument with someone. It took her a second to realize that it was Keith making a scene. "Great," she thought to herself. She walks over very quickly, grabs Keith's shoulder and turns him towards her. "What the hell are you doing Keith?" she says in a very angry tone.

"You know this guy?" Mark asks.

Jackie turns towards Mark. "I met him here last weekend and again the following day." She turns her attention back towards Keith. "Now tell me why you are starting a fight with my date. Was it because I rejected you?"

Keith was shocked at the accusation. "This has nothing to do with you rejecting me, but this has everything to do with making sure you're not taken advantage of."