A deleted scene from the movie Gifted is reference:
Frank was standing at the local liquor store holding two bottles of wine from the Willamette Valley Vineyard in his hands and for the life of him he couldn't remember which one he had liked the taste of better.
Even though he had been eating at Jessie's house for almost two weeks now, he knew that night's formal family dinner was important to Joey's mom and he didn't want to show up empty handed. Besides, he figured that he'd need a nice healthy dose of alcohol to tolerant Barry's annoying goodie two shoes act, so bringing wine would be killing two birds with one stone.
Frank sensed his upcoming defeat and sighed to himself alone in the store. He knew that Barry wasn't faking anything. He actually was a really nice guy and that was what probably bothered Frank more. He knew he couldn't compete with the guy on that front. After tonight, Barry was sure to take his place as Jessie's favourite. Maybe he could impress his girlfriend's mother by picking out a decent wine instead?
In times like these, Frank almost wished that he had the kind of relationship with his mother that Joey had with hers. Evelyn knew her wine and could have easily pointed him in the right direction, but Frank didn't want to give his mother the satisfaction of helping him out or tipping her off that he was in a monogamous relationship for the first time in years. Just the thought of Evelyn's impending disapproval sent a chill up his spine.
"Frank? Is that you?"
In hearing his name, Frank was snapped out of his thoughts and he spun around, instantly spotting Bonnie's head peeking out from the end of the aisle.
"Hey, how ya doing?" Frank greeted her with an easy smile that was returned with an equally easy smile and a cute little wave from her.
Bonnie had a sweetness that made it impossible for Frank to stay mad at her. That and, with things going so well for him lately, holding grudges seemed pointless. At the end of the day, Frank figured that he had hurt her far more than her catty comment about Joey had hurt him, so he decided to let bygones be bygones.
"I'm doing good. I've missed you at Ferg's last few Friday nights."
"Ya, Joey and I had dinner out by the pier and we've been working on her house. I haven't really had the time." Frank explained. He hated how fake his voice sounded when he tried to make small talk. "We're having dinner at her mom's tonight, but maybe we'll grab a drink there after."
"So you're a 'we' now?" Bonnie stated more as a fact than a question.
"Yeah, we are." Frank confirmed with confidence, but soon started to feel like an ass when he saw the disappointment flash behind Bonnie's eyes. She tried to hide it, but he saw it and it made him feel terrible. It had never been his intention to hurt her, he had assumed that she was over him already since they hadn't been together that long in the first place.
Frank figured that his kindness was causing more harm to her than good, so he smiled politely and nodded his head and tried to leave the awkward situation. The two bottles of wine he had in his hand would have to do.
"Look, about before." Bonnie stopped him before he could get away. "It's not really my style to go around... I dunno, throwing myself at people." She nervously laughed. Referring to her kissing him out of the blue in front of Jessie's house the day that Ed had passed away.
Bonnie was getting flustered and covered her eyes in embarrassment and Frank remembered all of the reasons that he had found her charming and cute before. He gave her an understanding smile and silently hoped that they could all be friends and put the past in the past.
"I know." Frank tried to reassure her in a casual way and let her off the hook. "Emotions were running high, it was a crazy day. You had no idea that I was seeing someone."
"Joey, though?" Bonnie squeaked with a scrunched up face. She was trying to sound objective, but Frank was uncomfortable talking about his current girlfriend with his ex. "Are you sure you know what you're getting into? I'm worried that maybe you haven't thought this through. I was hoping that we could maybe talk...you know, as friends?"
"You never really struck me as a the Ferg's type." Frank sighed and shook his head. He had a bad feeling about Bonnie's new found concern. "You haven't been going there in hopes of running into me, have you?" Frank chuckled and hoped that his exasperation wouldn't be confused as flirting.
"Wow. Wow, you're really...you're really full of yourself. Were you always like this?" she huffed. "I'll have you know...you're not God's gift to women...I'm sorta seeing someone myself." Bonnie was caught. She had obviously been going to Ferg's to try and see him and was trying to save face. Frank gave her another patient understanding smile until she calmed down. "Maybe." Bonnie confessed with a sweet smile. "But not in like a weird stalker kinda way. I just heard about what happened on the pier with Robert Middleton and I heard you got really hurt. He's a big guy. I just thought that maybe you could use a friend, and I wanted to see if you were okay."
"News travels fast in this town, huh?" Getting his ass kicked was embarrassing enough without rehashing it with his ex in the middle of a liquor store.
"I've been worried about you, okay. Mostly, I'm worried about Mary. I saw what you went through to keep her, I'd hate to see you get dragged into that mess again because of some girl you just met."
"That's not going to happen and it's not like Joey is a stranger." Frank insisted, but realized how naive that sounded since he hadn't really know Joey that long.
Frank didn't like where this was going and a part of him questioned why he had humored Bonnie for this long. He had to pick Mary up from school and get home to get ready for dinner, but Bonnie didn't look very convinced and he had always trusted her opinion in the past. He was torn and wasn't sure what he should do.
"I hate to be the one to tell you this, Frank, but a girl like Joey...she's not going to help you if you get dragged into family court again."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Frank snapped. "Her dad? Is that what you're talking about?"
"Yes. He's bad news."
"I know all about him and that has nothing to do with her. If we were all judged on our parents I wouldn't fair very well, myself."
"You're right." Bonnie nodded and fidgeted with her fingers. "I just know that Dr. Golding thought that Mary might have violent tendencies based on what she was exposed to when she was with you."
"I'm happy, Bonnie." Frank softened towards her and felt bad for raising his voice. "Mary is happy, too. You know as well I as I do that Mary isn't violent and for what it's worth neither is Joey." It bothered Frank to his core that Bonnie was trying to use the court case against Joey in a twisted way but he tried to give her the benefit of the doubt. "I'm sorry that we didn't work out." Bonnie rolled her eyes but Frank kept talking. "You were great and I was a dick. But I was in a bad place and you were right. Back then I would have made a shitty boyfriend, but I'm hoping to change that."
"With her."
"Yes." Frank felt like shit. He never should have gotten involved with Bonnie in the first place, he had obviously hurt her and had no idea how to make it better.
"I mean, are you really sure about this, Frank? You don't have the best track record for thinking things through. You have Mary to think about. I know that Joey is...she's beautiful. She's always been beautiful, but maybe Joey isn't the best influence, you start seeing her then two minutes later you're getting into -"
"Thank you for your concern." Frank interrupted her with a sharp look. "But we're fine. Joey had nothing to do with that fight and she has nothing to do with her dad. That Robert guy was..." Frank shook his head and stopped himself from explaining himself any further. He realized that there was nothing that he could say to her that was going to change her mind.
"You might not know this but...Joey had a reputation when we were kids." Bonnie explained to her shoes. "I just don't want to see you and Mary to get mixed up in anything...I don't want you guys to get too attached. She was never the 'putting down roots' forever type."
"I'm running late." Frank cordially stated in a professional way and Bonnie's eyes went wide when she felt his wall go up. "I gotta pick Mary up from school." Frank waved to her as if she hadn't just insulted his girlfriend and insinuated that he didn't have Mary's best at heart.
He didn't like that side of Bonnie and didn't think twice before he left her standing there and paid for his wine.
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Frank dropped Mary off at Robert's, later that evening, and Frank pulled Roberta aside and quickly put her fears to rest about losing Mary and echoed everything that Joey had told her the previous day.
"You know that I'm not good with all of this heart to heart stuff, Roberta." Frank sighed after he quickly got everything off his chest. "But you're not just a babysitter. When I was pretty sure that I had lost Mary for good, you were there for me and I never really thanked you for that."
"Come on, Frank, if you start cryin' then I'm gunna have to pretend to start crying..." Roberta teased with a straight face and a twinkle in her eye.
"Nice to see that you haven't lost your sense of humor." Frank chuckled. He was grateful that she hadn't drawn out their conversation and made it overly painful for him.
"You look nice." Roberta looked him up and down and praised his outfit.
Frank had chosen one of his well tailored dark grey suit jackets, matching dress pants and a pressed collared shirt; all remnants of his teaching days. There was no way he was going to wear a tie, he'd leave that to Barry.
"Thanks."
"You let that woman of yours handle the heart to heart conversations." Roberta declared. "She's real good at it."
"Well it helps when you have a heart as big as the one Joey has." Frank replied with a shy smile. "You know, she really cares about you and about Mary, too. Mary is lucky to have both of you."
"Well well well." Roberta knowingly smiled. His feelings for Joey were written all over his face, he couldn't hide it even if he tried. "I never thought I'd live to see the day that Frank Adler fell head over heels in love. It's a good look on you."
"You be good for Roberta." Frank called out to Mary in the living room after he rolled his eyes at his old friend.
"Have a good night and don't you worry too much, Jessie don't bite...much" Roberta teased with a wink.
"Good to know." Frank chuckled. "And next time, just so you know, I expect you to break down my door before you let two weeks go by without seeing you." Frank sweetly smiled to Roberta before he accepted a hug from her and left to see Joey.
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Normally, Frank would have rather had a root canal than spend the evening with a woman's family. But as he knocked on Jessie's door, he was only feeling that normal, "I hope I don't mess up," kind of nervous and not that, "I need an escape route because getting laid isn't worth this kind of grief," kind of dread.
It was nice to know the difference because it kept him grounded and stopped him from freaking out and making another mistake. He really didn't want to let Joey down because, aside from his nervousness, he was really excited to see her again.
"Oh shit!" Joey blurted with her mouth full when she opened her mother's door and saw Frank standing there in another nice suit. She was starting to wonder how many he owned.
"Hey?" Frank smiled as he puff out a small laugh at her reaction. His girl looked adorable dressed in a Blondie t shirt and a pair of cropped grey sweatpants with a half eaten apple in her hand. "Nice to see you, too?"
"You look so good. I should've dressed up. I'm so sorry." Joey talked a mile a minute and almost choked. "I had to work late and just got Sam down. I haven't had a minute... should I change? Yay, I should get changed."
"You look fine." Frank laughed as he pulled her towards him and gave her a kiss, humming when he tasted remnants of the apple on her full lips.
"I missed you." Joey purred as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again. He smelled so good that he started to make her mind go all fuzzy. She had a crappy day but being with her guy again was quickly changing that.
"I missed you, too. That's why I'm early, I just had to see you." Frank grinned. "You really do look amazing, don't sweat it."
"You do not look amazing, Josephine." Jessie sharply interjected from behind Joey. "Go change. No arguments. I'll entertain our guest." Joey smiled up at him quickly and took off leaving Jessie to greet Frank with a sweet smile; accepting the wine that he had brought for dinner, when he offered it.
"What no flowers?" Jessie gave him her best disappointed look and Frank stood in the living room speechless. "I'm just kidding, Frank!" Jessie laughed and led him into the kitchen. "Roll your sleeves up, dear, I'm putting you to work."
Joey carefully closed the door to her mother's guest room behind her and turned on a lamp, hoping that she could be quiet enough to not wake up Sam.
Seeing Frank had her feeling lighter than she had all day and she really wanted to have that feeling back, so she didn't want to waste too much time changing her clothes so that she could get back to him.
You're so whipped, she chastised herself in jest.
She had already worn her favourite little black dress on their first date and she was hoping that she had something suitable with her and not sitting in her storage unit with the bulk of her wardrobe. For the first time in a long time, living out of a suitcase was starting to stress her out.
Joey managed to find two more dresses in the back of the closet that were sure to impress Frank, but were a little too revealing for a family dinner. Choosing either one would surely earn her the wrath of her mother. But as luck would have it, she found another simple black dress in the bottom of her duffle bag. She hoped that it still fit and that it looked somewhat different from the other black dress that she had worn on their first date. This one was a little shorter, had a V-neck and capped sleeves whereas the other one was longer and had straps.
As she squeezed herself into her old dress, she wondered if Frank was the kind of guy that would even notice such thing. Joey had to admit, it did feel nice to dress up for him, though. Her and Frank had been going at it like bunnies, for the past week, while they'd worked on her house. But she hadn't exactly been dressing to impress him, but, rather, to refinish her floors. The sexual connection between them was so strong, neither of them really seemed to care what the other one was wearing.
Anxious to save him from her mother (and to possibly impress him by looking like a girl), Joey ran her fingers through her hair and managed to put on a little makeup and quickly made her way back out into the main part of the house without waking up Sam.
Joey smiled to herself, in anticipation, and hoped that her mother hadn't scared Frank away yet. But the closer that she got to the kitchen, the bigger her smile became. All she could hear over the small kitchen radio was Frank and her mother's easy laughter.
Joey had no idea what they were laughing about when she quietly leaned against the doorframe and watched them together. Frank had taken off his suit jacket and had his sleeves rolled up as he sliced the peppers for the salad while her mother was checking on the garlic bread in the oven. Both had already poured themselves a tall glass of wine and seemed perfectly comfortable together.
The scene completely warmed her heart. Granted, her mother had known Frank for years, but this kind of thing was still very new for Joey. In the past, her mother hadn't had much of an opportunity to truly know any of her past boyfriends; at least not like this. Joey had no idea that she had been missing out on such a wonderful experience; she almost didn't want to break the spell by making her presence known.
"Well. I'll talk ta Joe. I can rent a little fishing boat from work, show the little man how it's done." Frank sung out with laughter in his voice before he took another sip of his wine.
"He'll love that! Hey, baby girl." Jessie beamed at her daughter as she walked over and kissed her cheek. "You look lovely. I was just telling Frank about Sam's little fishing expedition this evening."
"Oh!" Joey laughed. "He's adorable."
Joey and Jessie had found the little three year old tying a string of dental floss on the end of his toothbrush that night, trying making his own makeshift fishing rod. It had been adorable and Joey had promised him a real one for his birthday after they'd practiced 'fishing' together in the bathroom sink.
"You wanna take him fishing? For real?" Joey incredulously asked Frank as her mother handed her own glass of wine. "Thanks, ma."
"What? I fish...kinda." Frank smirked. "Mary's not really into it so it'll be nice to have some company."
Joey looked awesome in her black dress and Frank tried not to blatantly check her out in front of her mother. But as his eyes traveled up her body and finally landed on her eyes, Joey gave him a look that let him know that he had been caught and that she had enjoyed the attention.
Frank could feel their pull and tried to stop staring at her, but it was difficult. Joey Kincade was definitely worth putting up with a formal family dinner for. The kindness in her big blue eyes continued to take his breath away; Bonnie was so wrong about her.
"Well fishing is one thing, but fishing with a toddler is something else entirely." Joey winked at him before she took a sip of her wine. "Gosh, this is amazing!" she praised and took another sip. She wasn't much of a wine person, but her mind was quickly being changed. She continued to find herself impressed with her new man and all of his various talents.
"Did I pass?"
"A+, Adler. As usual."
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After Alice and Barry showed up, everyone started to develop a comfortable rhythm with each other and Joey was impressed with Frank's charming ways. She loved how easily he fit into her life and was relieved that he showed no signs of bailing.
Of course, Barry had shown up in a tie and was more nervous than he should have been, but her mom had a welcoming way about her that soon put him at ease; Frank did, too, for that matter. Joey watched him take pity on Barry and forgive his clumsy awkward ways and found a way to lightheartedly calm him. Joey was so proud of him and Alice was very grateful for Frank's help.
Barry was proving to be a very good guy and Frank had started to warm up to him. It was hard not to notice how much Barry cared about Alice. He hung on her every word and seemed in tune to her needs in a way that made Frank constantly ask Joey if she needed anything during dinner.
"Dude!" Joey leaned in and whispered. "Chill, I barely fit into this dress, the last thing I need is more garlic bread."
"Gotcha." Frank whispered back with a smile and squeezed her knee under the table. "More for me then."
All of Joey's predictions did come true. Jessie toasted to the two new members of her family and wished the couples all the happiness in the world through her happy tears. It was touching to see how much Jessie loved Joey and Alice. To think, a month ago, Frank had no idea that Jessie even had a daughter and, now, he couldn't imagine his old neighbour without Joey.
Barry had fared well during the majority of the questions that Jessie and Joey fired at him during dinner. Frank was impressed at how in sync Jessie and Joey were as they seemingly tag teamed their questions. Those Kincade women were so pleasant and downright friendly, you would have no idea that you were witnessing an honest to goodness interrogation.
But Frank had to laugh when Alice threw her garlic bread at Joey when her questions started to become more personal and put Barry on the spot. Frank couldn't blame her. He had almost choked on his wine when Joey had brazenly asked Barry how long he'd had feelings for her cousin.
Luckily, the garlic bread launching hadn't started an all out food fight, but it did serve to lighten the mood for everyone. But instead of embracing the diversion that Alice had provided for him, Barry rose to the occasion and answered Joey's question. Barry had been nothing but forthright and honest, all evening, and treated Joey's question in the same manner. So, Barry openly confessed that he had been in love with Alice since the fifth grade and managed to silence everyone at the table.
You could hear a pin drop. Even Gus, who was curled up under the table, stopped making noise. Frank loved the look on Joey's face when she let the news sink in and slowly smiled at Barry and then smiled an even bigger smile at her blushing cousin. When Joey was happy, Frank could feel it like a tide wave. He wished that he could have enjoyed the moment for a little while longer, but the tables were quickly turned when Jessie turned her questions towards Joey.
"So what are you doing for the kids birthdays?" Jessie casually asked as if Barry hadn't just dropped the most adorable bomb ever.
"Huh?" Joey mumbled and turned to Frank with questioning eyes.
"Mary and Sam's birthdays are two days apart." Jessie informed her plainly, as if it was common knowledge. "I assumed that the two of you were going to do something special for them."
"I had no idea." Joey gulped and she felt her heart drop. She couldn't believe that she had no idea when Mary's birthday was and she couldn't help but feel like a failure. She loved Mary so much, how could she not know the day that she was born.
"I had no idea that their birthdays were that close, either." Frank confessed and squeezed Joey's knee under the table. He knew that she would beat herself up for not knowing and wanted to comfort her. "But I wasn't planning on much, I was going to buy her a cake and take her out for dinner. Maybe have the waitress's sing to her or something."
"Nonsense." Jessie stated. "Sam's birthday is on a Thursday and Joey and I talked about having his party that weekend. I was already going to invite the girls from Girl Scouts so all of Mary's friends will be there anyway. We should just combine the two. Oh this is going to be wonderful. I have tons of ideas!"
"I bet you do." Alice giggled. "If our childhood birthday parties are any indication!"
"You shh or I'll make you dress up as a clown." Jessie laughed. "Sam's my only grandson and I'm allowed to spoil him rotten."
"You already used that excuse with me ...and with Joey, too, as I recall." Alice playfully challenged. "And no clowns, they give me the creeps."
"Me, too." Jessie giggled and took another sip of her wine. "Well, I wasn't wrong, though. You are my only niece and Joey is my only daughter. I can't wait to plan something for Sam and Mary... and for you, too, my love." Jessie beamed at Joey with happy tears in her eyes. "I think that a welcome home slash housewarming party is in order for you as well. We have so many things to be celebrate and to be grateful for."
Joey looked over to Frank and, to her pleasant surprise, he was already smiling at her and agreeing with her mom. He had no idea what he was getting into. Her mother had a history of throwing lavish parties for the children in her life, but, after years of not having any children around, Joey suspected that this party was going to end up becoming especially over the top to make up for lost time. But Joey loved the idea of them celebrating the kids birthdays together; it felt so right.
Frank enjoyed his second helping of lasagna and listened to the girls reminisce over past birthdays and make fun of Jessie in a kind hearted way. He couldn't help but think that he was in some kind of sitcom. He had no idea that families got along so well in real life.
Joey and Alice cleaned up, after dinner, and Barry and Frank finished their wine in the living room after their help had been refused. The two men played with Gus and made plans to take the girls to Ferg's and Frank tolerated Barry and his almost robotic attempts to bond with him. At least Gus seemed to like Barry, so he couldn't be all that bad, Frank told himself.
They both could tell that the girls were in the kitchen talking about them. But, based on their happy girlie tone, Barry and Frank figured that they were all saying good things. Barry couldn't help himself and chuckled then made a joke about them passing with flying colours.
"Are you okay with us cutting out, Aunt Jess?" Alice asked as the three women walked out of the kitchen and into the living room.
"Yes, you girls go and have some fun." Jessie smiled with her arms wrapped around Joey. "I'm going to hit the hay. I'm getting old."
"Yeah right, Ma." Joey laughed as she hugged her back. "You could drink all of us under the table."
"And don't you forget it." Jessie quipped and peppered kisses on Joey's cheek to embarrass her until she managed to squirm away and grab her things.
"Thanks for dinner, Ms. Kincade." Barry formally thanked Jessie and shook her hand.
"You're very welcome." Jessie chuckled at Barry's formality and, when Frank thanked her for dinner, she hugged him when it looked like he was going to awkwardly shake her hand as well.
As the four of them went to leave, Jessie pulled Frank aside and he motioned to Joey that he would only be a minute and tossed her the keys to his truck. Puzzled, she left him there with her mom and drove his truck to her mother's driveway after Barry and Alice agreed to meet them at Ferg's.
Joey jumped into the passenger side and debated whether or not she should go in and save Frank from her mom, but, a few moments later, Frank came out with a smile on his face and bounce in his step.
"I was starting to get worried." Joey smiled. "You okay?"
"Yup." Frank answered popping the 'p' at the end.
"I thought that you got away pretty easy during dinner. What did she say?"
"I'm her favourite." Frank beamed before put his truck into reverse.
"Well, whaddya know, you're my favourite, too!" Joey beamed back at him. She already suspected that her mother liked him, but it was nice to have her suspicions confirmed.
"Well, you Kincade women have great taste." Frank gloated before Joey leaned over and kissed his cheek as he drove down the street.
Frank looked like the cat that caught the canary and, even though she was curious, Joey decided not to press him for more details. As usual, happy Frank was more than enough for her and she figured that either Frank or her mother would spill the beans to her eventually.
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Frank had been going to Ferg's for years, but, for some reason, the place felt different when he was there with Joey. In the past, Ferg's had been his escape; the place where he went to feel like a different person and pretend that he was happy for a moment or two. But, with Joey, there was no pretending. He was actually happy and hadn't wanted to escape a damn thing.
Well, that wasn't exactly true. When the girls got up to dance or to go to the bathroom and left Frank alone with Barry, Frank would have loved an escape route. Granted, Barry meant well and he was growing on Frank, albeit slowly, but Barry really needed to lighten up. When Alice came back to the table and pulled Barry out to the dance floor, Frank hoped that would do the trick.
"Having a good time?" Joey asked against Frank's cheek as she came back from the bathroom and sat down in his lap.
Frank knew that he had to stop grinning like an idiot, but it was beyond difficult to keep his poker face on. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever thought that he would have a woman like Joey on his arm. Well, more technically, in his lap. He would have normally looked down his nose at disgustingly sweet public displays of attention, but he couldn't help himself with Joey and he tried to ignore the looks that he was getting from Pete, the bartender, and some of Ferg's regulars when they realized that he was now a taken man.
"I am having a good time." Frank answered into her neck. "Do you want another drink, pretty lady?"
"Naw, I'm a lightweight. I drank my first two margaritas way too fast and Alice and I already did two shots at the bar."
"Two!" Frank exclaimed with laughter in his voice. "Is that why you were doing that little cute dance?"
"Yeah, whiskey burns like a mother. I didn't mean to drink so much, but I toasted hot new boyfriends and then Alice insisted that we toast to nice guys, as well. Since you happen to be both, big guy, I had to man up and down both of them!" Joey laughed with love and admiration glowing behind her eyes.
"So technically it's my fault you're buzzed?" Frank dryly teased as he let his hand travel up her leg and rest under the hem of her dress. He loved the way he felt when she looked at him like that.
"Drunk." Joey corrected him with a playful nod of her head that sent her hair flying. "I think the word you're looking for is drunk. And yes, yes it is your fault. Quit being so awesome."
"I'm terribly sorry for my awesomeness." Frank smiled a bright toothy smile. "I'm I still your favourite?"
"Yup! All three of you." Joey giggled.
"Water it is then!" Frank loudly laughed and tucked her hair behind her ears. She was such an adorable drunk. "I wanna sober you up a bit before I take you home."
"Drunk or not, I'm a sure thing, Mr. Playa. You look so good in that shirt, it'll be me taking advantage of you, trust me." Joey flirted and got another loud laugh from Frank. "I almost don't remember what sex in a real bed is like anymore."
"Well you're in for a treat, then, because beds are very nice." Frank hummed. She smelled so good, Frank was having a hard time keep his hand from traveling further up her leg. He couldn't wait to make her come. "Some of my best work has been done from my bed."
"I bet, I'm quite fond of your work...Awww, look at them." Joey sighed as she looked over to Alice and Barry on the dance floor. Barry couldn't dance to save his life, but his efforts were still managing to make Alice so happy.
"Talk about an odd couple." Frank teased as he shook his dark sexy thoughts away and took another pull from his beer.
"Maybe...but I think they're sweet." Joey pouted until a hiccup interrupted her cute whining.
"They are." Frank chuckled and kissed her temple. "Let's get you some water, lightweight."
Joey and Frank walked over to the bar and waited for Pete to finished serving other people. They didn't mind waiting and made good use of their time as they leaned against the bar and continued to flirt with each other and enjoy each other's company.
The bar was packed and they could easily get away with a few stray kisses here and there without being too obnoxious. But, in all honesty, they didn't care. Frank couldn't stop grinning at how cute and playful Joey was and how many times that she whispered naughty things in his ear. Drunk Joey was equal parts adorable and hot as hell.
"Well I do have water at my house, you know." Frank suggested as his hand traveled down her back and rest on her ass after she confessed to him how horny he was making her.
"You do?" Joey giggled and pretended to be amazed by tap water. "I love water!"
"Well I have tons of it. All you can drink."
"Very impressive. Water and bed. What more could a girl want?...Well, I can think of one more thing."
"Oh really. What's that, sweetheart?" Frank played along and he squeezed her ass harder when he sensed more dirty talk coming from her.
"Oh, I think you know." Joey purred and tried be as seductive as she could. "It's big... and long..." She looked him in the eye and let out a small moan when she felt him squeeze her ass again. "...and it makes me very...very happy."
"Shit, Joe." Frank felt himself getting hard and ran his nose up the side of her neck and kissed her temple. It was amazing how she could turn him on in record time.
"And I love how furry it is." Joey added.
"What!" Frank practically shouted. Furry was not the word he expecting to hear coming from her pretty mouth.
The horrified look on his face make Joey burst out laughing.
"My dick is not furry!" he whispered loudly in her ear.
"Bob is though!" Joey explained through her giggles. "His a big, long furry cat and I love him! What did you think I was talking about?" she teased.
"You're the worst!" Frank laughed. She really had him going and he tickled and poked at her side to get back at her.
"I'm the best!" Joey playfully challenged as she swatted his hands away and quickly pressed her body against his and planted a sloppy kiss on his waiting lips.
Frank wanted to laugh at her silly drunkenness, but was too busy trying to keep up with her greedy lips. He needed to get her sobered up a bit before he took her home because, if she kept this up, he was going to end up losing control and pulling her into the bar's bathroom to have his way with her...or, more accurately, to let her have her way with him. But he knew that he'd rather get her into his bed so he could fully enjoy her...but man. Drunk or not, Joey really knew how to kiss.
"Oh, I get it!"
Frank heard a familiar voice yelling at them and reluctantly broke their searing kiss and wiped his mouth a bit. His heart dropped when he looked over Joey's shoulder and saw Bonnie standing behind her.
He gulped and couldn't help, but feel like he had been caught for some reason. Maybe it was the way that Bonnie was staring icy daggers at him. She really had the whole "disappointed teacher" look down pat and he felt like he was in trouble. But after he took a deep breath he reminded himself that he wasn't a child in her class and he hadn't done anything wrong in the first place.
"Bonnie." Frank nodded. "Twice in one day." he yelled over the music.
"Hi, Bonnie!" Joey happily squealed. "Oh wow! I love your dress! It's so cute! What were you saying, sweetie?"
Frank wrapped his arm around Joey's waist and hoped for the best. As it turned out, Joey was one of those super friendly drunk girls that loved everyone and, judging by the pissed off look on Bonnie's face, Frank suspected that Joey was about to get her good mood stomped on.
"I was just saying that I understand now. I totally get it." Bonnie repeated with anger in her voice. Frank could tell that Bonnie had been drinking, as well, and braced himself for something ugly to happen. "You're his Mona!"
"Mona?" Joey smiled and assumed that Bonnie was making a joke that she was too drunk to understand.
"Mona, from 'Who's the Boss' You're his Mona." Bonnie sneered at them.
"The sexy grandmother?" Joey giggled but still had no idea what was going on. "Um...okay? I guess I've been called worse. She was pretty rad! I loved that show!"
"She was pretty rad." Frank agreed with a smile and shot Bonnie a look that told her to calm down.
"You have to be his Mona because he can't love people." Bonnie motioned to Frank and ignored his silent warning.
"Frank? You mean Frank can't love people?" Joey caught on to Bonnie's mood and realized that she wasn't interested in being friends. Joey's drunk mind slowly remembered how Bonnie had kissed Frank, a few weeks ago, and realized what must be going on. For as bad as she felt for her, Joey wasn't going to just let her insult Frank right in front of her.
"That's right." Bonnie crossed her arms and stood her ground. "He can't love people, you're wasting your time. Just like I did."
"Well, that's not true." Joey scoffed as if the notion was obscured. "Just between you and me, Frank actually does an amazing job of loving people."
"Bonnie, what are you doing?" Frank groaned and shook his head. He loved that Joey believed in him and stood up for him, but wished she didn't have to in the first place. "Are you drunk? You're embarrassing yourself."
"I am, am I?" Bonnie shot back at him. "You can't love people, you said it yourself. She should know, shouldn't she? I didn't believe you, but maybe it's true. I thought it was because you were starting to feel...I thought it was because we were starting to..."
Bonnie's anger was starting to fade and Joey wanted to hug her when she saw the pain behind her cruelty. Joey had been in her shoes before and knew how terrible it felt to not have your feelings returned let alone watching the object of your affection happy with someone else.
"Water, Joe." Pete announced without taking his eyes off of Bonnie on the other side of the bar.
Joey thanked him and then she and Frank watched the bartender walk around the bar and stand in front of Bonnie. They couldn't make out exactly what they were saying, but they thought that they had heard him say something that sounded like, "I'm right here!" and "I can love people. Can you?"
Frank and Joey looked at each other with confusion. They had no idea that Pete and Bonnie even knew each other. But judging the way that they were interacting, they were a lot closer than anyone had realized.
Pete had always been a great guy and they hoped that they could work everything out. Maybe it was the alcohol or wishful thinking, but the longer Joey watched them, the more perfect for each other they seemed to be.
Joey felt like they were intruding on their conversation, and nudged Frank and motioned for them to leave, but before they turned away, they saw little short Bonnie practically fly up into Pete's arms and wrap her arms around his neck and, within seconds, the two of them were unabashedly making out while the rest of the bar broke out into loud cheers.
Frank's head was spinning and he tried to wrap his mind around what had just happened, but burst out laughing when Joey put two fingers in her mouth and let out a loud good natured wolf whistle to show her support. She didn't seemed bothered by any of craziness and he couldn't have loved her more.
"Come on, Adler." Joey announced and pulled him towards the direction of Ferg's back room. "The pool table just opened up."
"Aye aye, captain. You play?"
"Yup!" Joey laughed. "I can't believe that just happened!"
"Me too. Good for them."
"Here here!" Joey giggled as they cheersed the unexpected couple with her water and his beer bottle.
Pool was a great distraction and Frank was impressed that Joey could play as well as she did. He suspected that she would be a down right pool shark if she were completely sober.
They talked about her house and the kids and flirted with each other in between taking their shots; sometimes even during their shots. Frank felt so open, speaking about their future and making plans was so easy. They talked about future beach dates and possibly renting a boat one weekend. It was nice and easy. Joey was her happy dorky self and Frank was completely under her spell.
The whole world seemingly disappeared and they had played at least two games before Frank started to notice a table of about five men that he didn't recognize leering at Joey every time that she bent over the table to take her shot.
Frank tried not to let it bother him. After all, men had been checking Joey out ever since they had showed up that night. But there was something about that table of men that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. They had a mean menacing quality that Frank didn't appreciate and he sensed potential trouble.
"I win!" Joey playfully cheered after she sunk her last ball.
"I didn't stand a chance did I?" Frank smirked.
"Probably not." Joey gloated. "I've been playing since I was a kid. But you were a good sport, though and the best eye candy around." Joey added with a sly smile and a wink.
"You're lucky you're my favourite, Kincade."
"I am?"
Frank nodded his head with a sexy smile and Joey felt her knees go weak.
"Wanna get out of here, Adler?" Joey tried to play it cool, but she had to bite her bottom lip to keep herself from smiling too big. She couldn't believe that she got to go home with a man like Frank. "I think I'm ready for some of your famous water."
"You thirsty, baby?" Frank asked darkly as he looked down at her through his eyelashes.
"You have no idea." Joey practically started panting when she felt the heat coming from his sexy blue eyes. She was getting wet and he hadn't even touched her yet.
"You don't have to ask me twice." After all the flirting that they had done during the course of the night, Frank couldn't wait to take her home. Playing pool with her was fun, but he loved that she enjoyed sex as much as he did and didn't play games.
"You okay to drive?"
Before Frank could reassure her that he had only had a beer and a half all night, they were descended upon by the group of men that Frank had been worried about.
"We can drive you home, sweetheart." One of the men standing way too close to Joey offered with a fake smile.
"No, guys. We have it covered." Joey quickly stated with ice in her voice. She hated pushy self entitled guys like that. It was obvious that she was there with Frank and that she wasn't interested in their attention. She had a bad feeling and wanted to get the hell out of there but they had them practically pinned against the pool table.
Frank wasn't very impressed with the group of men, either, and stood up a little straighter and placed his hand on the small of Joey's back when the pack of men kept licking their lips like she was a piece of meat. "We were just leaving, enjoy the table, fellas."
"Why don't you stay and play a game with us and send pretty boy home?" Another man demanded as he got into Joey's personal space and appeared to try and smell her hair. His cologne was cheap and strong and made Joey want to gag.
"Not a chance in hell." Joey spat out.
"No need to be such a bitch." The man huffed.
"Back off, buddy." Frank demanded in a low voice. "We don't want any trouble."
The man refused to take a hint and stood his ground and slowly looked Joey up and down as he chewed his gum loudly. Frank squared his shoulders and Joey quickly took his hand. She really didn't want to witness Frank get into another fight, but if Mr. "Bucket of Axe Body Spray" didn't get out of her way, she might be the one to start swinging.
"Of course not!" A different loud booming voice announced from the back of the room. "These fine gentlemen know better than to be messing around with my little sister."
"Oh fuck!" Joey cursed and spun around to face the man that had seemingly made the other four men back off with their tails between their legs. Frank could have sworn that he heard two of the men apologize profusely before they left.
"Nice to see you again, JJ." the stranger chuckled with a confident swagger.
"Who's JJ?" Confused, Frank turned to Joey and noticed that all of the colour had drained from her face.
"I am." Joey whispered.