Diluted

~14~

"I love you too Jim," Ember smiles.

Jim pulls away from her and Ember sits up.

She reaches towards the nightstand and grabs a hair tie.

She ties her hair up in a messy bun.

Jim stands up and stretches. He scratches at his beard as he heads into the bathroom to take a leak.

Ember looks down at Blackbeard and smiles as he looks up at her and crawls into her lap.
She strokes his fur and he lets out a little noise of satisfaction.

Jim opens the door to the bathroom and joins Ember in bed.

"What do you want to do today?" Jim asks.

Ember grabs her phone and looks through her schedule.

"I don't have anything till this evening, so whatever you'd like to do," Ember smiles.

"Do you want to go over and meet the guys?" Jim asks.

Ember smiles.

"Sure," she beams.

Jim smiles.

"I'm going to run over to my place and get dressed," Jim informs Ember.

Ember nods and walks off into her closet.

She picks out a black leather jacket that's studded.

She grabs a pair of black leather pants and tugs them on.

She slips on a strappy shirt and puts on a thick leather collar that has a large o ring on it.

She pulls on her jacket and grabs a pair of spiked heels.

She places them on and heads into her bathroom to apply makeup onto her sleepy face.

She opens her drawer and pulls out her makeup bag.

She primes her face and then begins to add an orangish red into the corner of her eyes. She blends it into a black Smokey eye and then applies black winged eyeliner.

She puts black lipstick on.

She places black jewelry in all of her ear piercings.

She smiles at the finished product.

She hears the door to her apartment open and her smile grows.

Jim walks into her bathroom and his eyes go wide when he sees Ember.

"What do you think?" Ember smiles.

Jim licks his suddenly dry lips.

"You look amazing," Jim says, his eyes still wide.

Ember smiles.

"Thank you," she beams.

Jim grabs her hand and leads her to the front door.

"Ready?" He asks her.

She nods.

Jim opens the door for her and they both walk out of her apartment and down the stairs.

Jim decides to take his truck instead of his motorcycles. He doesn't want to risk ruining Ember's fantastic hair.

He opens the passenger door for her and she thanks him as she slides into the seat.

Jim takes his spot behind the wheel and starts the engine.

He speeds off down the road and towards Corey's house.

Ember fiddles with her thumbs nervously as she stares at the window.
She tries to distract herself from her feelings by focusing on anything but them.

Ember feels a hand wrap around hers and she looks down at her lap and smiles as she sees Jim's large hand.
He gives her hand a squeeze and she takes a couple deep breaths and squeezes back.

Jim pulls into the familiar drive way and smiles as he sees several cars lined up.

Jim parks his truck besides what appears to be Sid's car.

Jim opens the door and walks around the front of his truck.

He opens Ember's door and frowns when he sees the nervousness on her face.

"Hey," Jim says gently as he places both his hands into Ember's.

Ember looks at him with panic written all over her face.

"It's going to be okay. The guys aren't mean. Most of them are pretty chill. Some are a little hyper but they'll love ya. Okay?" Jim assures her.

"Alright," Ember smiles.

Jim helps Ember out of his tall truck.

Ember laces her fingers with Jim's as they walk towards the entrance of the large house.

Jim knocks on the door and the sound of voices and people moving around can be heard from outside.

Corey opens the door and smiles at both Jim and Ember.

"Hey Jim. And hey pretty lady, long time no see," Corey smirks.

"Did you already forget my name?"Ember chuckles.

"How could I forget a name that matches your hair? Good to see ya Ember," Corey grins.

Jim scrunches his brows in confusion.

"You've met?" Jim asks.

Ember and Corey both nod at the same time.

"He showed up at the record store. He said you told him to go there," Ember explains.

"Oh. I didn't think he would actually go," Jim chuckles.

"It was a cool store. Plus how could I pass up a chance to meet this gorgeous lady," Corey says.

Ember smirks.

"Come in. Stop standing around," Corey says as he steps aside.

Jim gives Corey a look as he steps inside.

Ember unlaces her heels and sets them aside with eight other pairs of shoes.

Jim and Ember follow Corey into the living room where the rest of the guys are.

They all stop their conversation and look over at Jim and Ember.

"Hey Jim. Who's the lady?" Chris asks.

"Guys this is Ember my girlfriend. Ember this is, Chris, Mick, Joey, Craig, Sid, Paul, Shawn or 'clown', and apparently you've already met Corey," Jim says as he points to each dude.

"Hi," Ember says as she waves.

"Nice hair!" Sid says.

"Thanks," Ember smiles.

The men make room on the couch for the both of them and they sit down.

"So where did you guys meet?" Sid asks.

"He's my neighbor," Ember smiles.

"Ah I see," Chris smirks.

"So Jim, you saw this hot lady that lives by you and you where like, I gotta get me some of that?" Mick laughs.

Ember looks up at Jim and notices his face is bright red.
Ember snickers quietly to herself.

"Not exactly like that," Jim grumbles.

The guys burst into laughter, Ember included.

"Whatever you say man," Mick laughs.

Jim rolls his eyes.

"If I was her neighbor I would totally do the same thing," Sid says as he wiggles his eyebrows at her.

Ember smirks as Jim glares at him.

"Of course you would Sid," Jim growls playfully.

Ember makes herself at home as she cuddles into Jim's side.

Jim wraps his arm around her as they all make conversation.

Corey tells silly stories and jokes around with Ember.

Ember smiles happily. She had nothing to worry about.