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Calle kissed her gently before ordering "turn around." He turned her so that she was facing away from him. He moved her long dark hair to one side. He slowly began to unbutton the tiny lavender pearls until she was bared from the neck to her waist. He placed a soft kiss against the opening at her neck. She shivered and exhaled.

"Lock the door behind me Flicka." said Calle "Or I will be tempted to turn around once I get to my door."

Tori Lynn followed him to the door holding her dress closed. He kissed her again before he stepped out into the hall. She turned the lock and leaned back against the cool door. She was in trouble. The kind of trouble that caused chaos and discord. She wanted to get to know Calle but didn't want to give up on James.

Tori Lynn headed to her room. She couldn't hear Richie and Addison and for that she was so very thankful. She went into her bathroom and managed to take off all the make up that Addison so carefully applied. She knew from experience that this level of hair teasing would require conditioner and a shower and that wasn't happening tonight. She pulled it into a ponytail. She'd laid her dress on her bed on her way through. She stripped out of her garter belt and stockings. She'd already ditched the petticoat. She was about to change out of the skull printed corset when she heard a noise from next door. Tori Lynn grabbed a shirt and pair of yoga shorts from a box. She heard the noise again. She was pretty sure that sound was a smoke detector. She rolled her eyes as she got dressed she had promised to check on him.

Tori Lynn crossed the hallway and the noise grew louder and so did the smell of something burning. She knocked on the door. She turned the knob and shoved open the door. She found James in the kitchen sitting in the floor next to the smoking stove. He was asleep against the cabinet. He was only wearing the tuxedo pants and for some reason one sock. Tori Lynn clicked the oven off. She grabbed a dishtowel and fanned it in front of the smoke detector. She managed to turn the range hood and open the door to the back door. While trying to get the smoke out of the kitchen she nudged James with her barefoot.

"Neal" she called "What the hell were you doing? You are gonna burn the entire damn building down."

She watched him struggle with waking up. "James answer me damn it." He looked up at her with his bleary turquoise eyes. He shut his left eye and looked at her with his right. He knew how to make toast where was all this smoke from. Where did she come from? Was Jarnkrok next door waiting on her.

"James what happened?"

"Wanted toast" he replied with a slur "Pauly said I needed to soak up the bourbon before I was a jack ass. So I wanted toasted. A monkey can make toast. Put it in the toaster and toast. But I don't have a toaster. Pauly made toast in the oven. But I'm not Pauly. The bread just burns. Lots of burns in the sink."

Tori Lynn looked in the sink and saw half a loaf of blackened bread that was wet due to him turning on the sink. She wasn't sure whether to beat him or laugh. He was smiling up at her. "Why are you smiling at me like an idiot?"

"Cause Jarnkrok isn't in here laughing at the toastification of my kitchen."

"Damn James toastification isn't a word" she laughed "Do you still want toast? No Calle was a gentleman and left after our first date."

"I went home with you for our first date." he replied drunkenly "We played with dinosaurs." He made a growly face and held both hands up like short t-rex claws "It was pretty epic as far as first dates. Then I fucked up a lot."

Tori Lynn was trying not to laugh. She pulled the sheet pan and desiccated toast out of his oven. She tossed the burnt bread into the garbage bin. She put 4 slices of bread on the cookie sheet. She set the oven to broil while she fetched 4 pieces of cheese from the fridge. James was still rambling about dinosaurs as she placed the cheese on the bread and sat it in the oven to toast. She cleaned out his sink. Tori Lynn held out her hands and managed to pull at 205lbs of hockey player to his feet.

"Go put something to sleep in on" she instructed "Those tuxedo pants can't be that comfy."

"Okay Tori Lynn" he slurred "we are having a toast and pj party." He grabbed the bottle of Maker's off the counter.

"No sir" said Tori Lynn snatching the bottle "One sink full is enough James Neal. Go get dressed."

"I just got called a sir" he said in stage whisper "never good to be a sir." He ventured in to his room. She saw his phone on the bar. She grabbed it and facetimed Pauly.

"Go to fucking sleep Neal" growled Pauly as he answered the call "She will be home soon."

"I am home now" said Tori Lynn.

"Sorry. He's been drunk facetiming." said Pauly "You really did come check on him."

"Well when I heard the smoke detector Martin I ran over."

"Is he okay" asked Pauly laughing.

"Yep he was trying to make toast. Apparently drunk Neal needs toast."

"How do you set off the smoke detector with a toaster?"

"He doesn't have a toaster Pauly"

"Yes he does it's in the pantry."

"Well I will be sure to introduce sober Neal to it." she laughed "He's set half a loaf of bread ablaze." She retrieved the toast from the oven while talking to Pauly. James walked back into the kitchen in short black UA briefs. "Pants Now Nealer" she yelled as Pauly laughed.

"Well I see you have this under control. Grab Richie if you need him Boo" said Pauly "I'm going to bed."

"Love you too Pauly" she said as she disconnected. James came back into the kitchen and announced he couldn't find pants. Tori Lynn gave up and sat him down on a bar stool. She noticed the empty Maker's bottle on the coffee table. She grabbed it and threw it away and put the one that was a third emptied in the freezer. She grabbed a water and gatorade from the fridge. She sat both in front of him along with the plate of 3 pieces of cheese toast. She left him in the kitchen to raid his medicine cabinet in the bathroom. She located the advil and came back in the kitchen to find James staring at his toast.

James looked at her in a very serious manner. "There is cheese on my toast." he said "Do I like cheese on my toast?"

"Yes you do" she said "Now eat it. Take these advil and drink both bottles."

"No I don't remember eating cheese on toast before." he replied as he down the advil with the entire bottle of water.

"Well it's my favorite" she said "Now be good and eat."

Tori Lynn grabbed the last slice of toast and sat on the counter beside Neal. He watched her pulled the burnt bubbled up cheese off and eat that first. So he mimicked her. She opened his gatorade for him and handed it back. They ate their toast in silence. He was a fucking mess. He reeked of bourbon. Morning was going to come too quickly. She cleaned up the toast dishes.

"You're right I like cheese toast" said James watching her load his dishwasher "Remind me when I am sober." He pounded the rest of his gatorade.

"Up" said Tori Lynn as she shooed him towards his bedroom. She turned the covers down on the side of the bed he had been sleeping on. "Get in Neal." She got him in bed and pulled the blankets up. She set the alarm on his phone for 8am. "Nite Neal"

"No you stay." he said sitting up and grabbing her arm.

"Absolutely not" she replied "Not happening Nealer. I am going to sleep in my bed tonight come hell or high water. I'm not crawling into your bed an hour after my date with Calle. You are leaving for 2 weeks we will talk about everything when you are sober and preferably at least half a continent away so I won't just give in. Good bye James."

Tori Lynn walked out of his apartment. She opened the door to Richie's apartment. She managed to make it to the living room before the front door opened. She turned around and saw a very drunk Neal standing in the door way.

"Go to bed Nealer" she said pointing at the door. He ignored her and walked into her room. She followed him and watched him toss his phone on the bedside table. He crawled into her bed. "What the hell James?"

"You said you were sleeping in your bed. Hell or high water. You said you weren't getting into my bed after your date. So you aren't I'm getting in your bed" he drunkenly smiled at Tori Lynn "See I fixed it. I want to fix it. Please Tori Lynn. What if I aspirate on my own vomit over there. Then you would feel guilty."

"Yes because telling me you might die in your own vomit makes me want to sleep in the same bed with you Neal." she laughed "Go home Neal your drunk."

"I drank almost too much bourbon." he replied. He had shut his left eye again. He maneuvered himself so that one arm and one leg was hanging off the edge of the bed.

"Why are you half off the bed?" she asked "And I am pretty sure it was too much bourbon." She turned her back to him and took off her skull print corset and toss it in a nearby box.

"It makes the room stop spinning." he replied watching her "Skulls under the flowers. You were so fucking beautiful tonight. I could be your Johnny."

"No you can't Nealer" she replied "I'm not sure you are a one woman guy." Tori Lynn gave up the pretense of getting him out of her bed. She flipped off the overhead light. The room was bathed in a warm glow from the lamp. He was messy hair, blood shot eyes, stubbly, and all long lean muscle. She knew she should sleep on the couch but she couldn't bring herself to leave him. She climbed in the bed beside him and pulled the blankets over both of them.

"Cash wasn't a one woman man until he found June." he answered "He walked the line for his June. I can do it for you." He moved so that he had and arm flung over her torso and he had anchored himself to her by tangling the legs. "I wanted to break shit, hit Jarnkrok, and grab you and climb a building like King Kong."

"Well I'm glad you held that in" she laughed.

"Tori Lynn" he said reaching up and turning her face to face him "I'm sorry I'm a fuck up. I do stupid shit before I ever think about consequences. But seeing you with Calle that hurt. I don't want you to be with him. Not because you are my toy and I don't want him to play with you. I don't want you to be with him because I only want you to be with me and I only want you to want to be with me. If I did this right you wouldn't have went out with Calle."

"Jamie you aren't a fuck up. You do stupid shit. But you aren't a fuck up. Please don't say that." she answered "I can't tell you everything is okay because I don't know that it is. But we both know if I was serious about Calle I would have tossed you out of here. And I can't."

James had her underneath him before she could finish her thought. His mouth latched on to hers. His tongue swept against hers. He tasted like bourbon, bad decisions, and something uniquely him. As quickly as it began it was over. He manage to get them back into a cuddling position. He was using her as a pillow again. She stroked his hair.

"Sing to me" he said "I promise I will go to sleep."

"What" she asked.

"The phone book. Don't care just for me." he replied. James laid still on her stomach as she sang Scars. She played with his hair as she sang. Fuck he wished he hadn't drank so much bourbon. He felt himself slipping under as she began singing She Talks To Angels. He wasn't sure if she could talk to angels but he was pretty sure she was his angel. His last thought was he needed to stop listening to her Florida Georgia Line shit they were making him worse than normal.

Tori Lynn looked down at James passed out on her stomach. He was currently face down on the spoked b on her shirt. She was trying to decided what to tell Calle. She liked him but she was drawn to James. She didn't want to hurt Calle. Tori Lynn laid there searching her brain. She snuggled in closer to Neal and fell asleep.

Notes

No more poor Neal!