A simple act
It was just a small harmless peck on the lips, a completely friendly gesture in the tradition that is the mistletoe.
However Jeremy wasn't accustomed to such innocent touches. The touches he was used to in his life were void of such gentle interactions. Both familial and sexual. Growing up he had to deal with the coldness of both parents who attacked one another with silence and then later switched to the enjoyable act that was passionless animalistic sex with random women.
He couldn't help but swallow thickly as Betsy smiled at him brightly after their kiss. It wasn't a look of attraction, but of simply delight. They had both managed to back up into the mistletoes path, a kiss being demanded by the whole party that was currently taking place in the office.
Jeremy laughed at Betsy's shyness, egging her on by leaning down close to her. She finally complied by kissing him quickly, not lingering like he thought she might. The roles were now reversed, she was now laughing and he suddenly felt shy.
Thankfully the attention was now off of them and Betsy had waltzed off, so the look of embarrassment that ran across Jeremy's face could go unnoticed. He backed away with his hand on his mouth, not knowing what to do with the sudden feeling of want.
The kiss was so small that it shouldn't have warranted such a feeling. Jeremy suddenly felt dirty for turning such an innocent kiss from Betsy into something that felt like full blown lust. He quietly walked away to lean onto a small table, to watch the party unfold before him. Friends were invited so there were a few people he didn't know, but it was easy to guess whose friends belonged to whom.
Shauna had her pretty friends with a lot of hairspray and make up. Mindy had a rather diverse group, but Jeremy instantly recognized her blonde friend. Morgan, well, his friends were just as strange personality wise but still rather friendly. Hell even Danny had a friend with him, even though he looked like a homeless man from the street.
Jeremy didn't bring anyone and neither had Betsy, but the difference was that Betsy had no problem with naturally getting along with others. To him it was a game of divide and conquer, he even had an eye out for one of Shauna's friends before this little incident happened.
Now he felt suddenly like an old pervert, while watching Betsy get chatty with one of Morgan's friends. A friend who was touching Betsy's knee, sliding it up ever so slightly and killing whatever calm had been left in Jeremy. He was, to put it simply, furious. It was a rage that Jeremy had never known. He paced a bit between desks, before grabbing a drink from the booze filled refreshment table. Mindy looked concerned when he downed the drink in one go.
"You ok there Jeremy?" Unfortunately for Mindy his anger transferred to her, if only because she was in his current radius.
"No Mindy, No. Do you want to know why?" Mindy's startled silence should have given him pause, but instead it merely fueled him. "Because of the entirety of your sex is infuriating. You flirt, you tease, and occasionally you sneak up on a man and suffocate them with your…your wiles." He threw his hands up in exasperation.
"God you're so dramatic."
"When has Betsy been so 'friendly' with men before?"
Before Mindy looked over to what he was talking about, an eyebrow rose. The look of confused curiosity was so obvious that Jeremy had to quietly curse at himself for not being discreet. She glanced over her shoulder and groaned.
"She probably just had a bit too much to drink. Trust me; she would have been some weird Russian slave bride thing if it wasn't for me." Mindy waved her hand nonchalantly "Look, if it makes you feel better I can go talk with her."
"No, no. I was just curious. I can separate them if he is getting to inappropriate." At this Mindy looked extremely unsure of this, but she finally stepped away from him, simply staring before returning her attention to her friends. He waited a beat, downing another drink, before immediately making his way to Betsy. Wedging himself between the two, Jeremy took Betsy's arm above the elbow roughly.
"Excuse us." Both of them were too surprised to really respond, allowing Jeremy enough time to drag Betsy off into a nearby corner.
"D-Dr. Reed, what's wrong? Did something happen?" Her sincerity was so sweetly innocent that under normal circumstances, that didn't involve quickly downed alcohol, he would have been nicer to her.
"You really shouldn't be acting like a little tart with the first man giving you attention."
"…tart?" She wasn't sure of the meaning, but she could hear the clear insult in his tone. Betsy swayed a little, not sure how to react to this current form of Dr. Reed. She never saw him so angry.
"God Betsy. He is just one step from taking you home with him, and you're falling for it." At this, Betsy looked affronted by this; her confusion evaporated and turned to a growing anger.
"I was not."
"His hands were all over you Betsy, and you were enjoying it."
"So? That is none of your business."
"Well…" She got him there and he knew it. He couldn't help but stumble over his words awkwardly. "I'm…just well I mean, I just…I'm looking out for you…is all." Betsy smiled at him and it made him flinch. She seemed to be genuinely touched by his concern.
"Thanks Dr. Reed, but I'm fine. Besides he's just being friendly, he isn't trying to take me home or anything."
Jeremy groaned and rolled his eyes, not able to stop the train wreak that was about to come out of his mouth.
"Don't be so naïve Betsy." He realized his mistake when he notice her smile drained from her eyes before it fell from her lips. This was a word she knew all to well, a word she had clearly heard too often in her life. Her eyes closed half way, but stopped when it threatened to spill tears if they went all the way down. However, it wasn't sadness he saw, it was pure rage.
He expected to be yelled at, hoped to be yelled at. Betsy simply stared at him to the point of it being unbearable, and he looked away first. She then turned away, leaving a heavy silence for him to deal with.
She made a bee line for Morgan's friend and leaned into his arm. The friend looked happily surprised, wrapping his arm up and around her. Betsy glanced back at Jeremy, her lips forming a straight line before lifting into a smile when she looked away.
The fact that he was a coward was evident, and Jeremy couldn't stand the feeling of it. It was a comfortable feeling that he didn't like to admit to because of shame. What else could he do, but watch Betsy laugh and be merry?
What else could he do, but watch as Morgan's friend whisper into her ear and cause her to giggle nervously?
What else could he do, but watch as Betsy looked straight back at him waiting in the corner and nod her head?
What else could he do, but watch as she and Morgan's DAMN friend walk out of the office with coats in arms?
Jeremy turned on his heel and grabbed a bottle of alcohol that had most of its contents and stalked to his office. Mindy ran up to him in alarm.
"What happened to Betsy?"
"See! This is what happens when you let me take charge of something. This is your fault Mindy. WHY did you let me do that?" He jabbed his finger at her direction, before backing away into the darkness of his office.
"Wha-"
"Your fault!" Jeremy slammed the door in her face and fell into his chair.
He uncapped the bottle and took a swig, before almost spitting it out. It was on the sweet side, but he could still taste an undertone of alcohol so he just shrugged and chugged a little more down.
Jeremy felt exhausted, there were simply one too many emotions that were swirling and switching in him. He had gone through mirth, want, rage, and now currently depression all in what felt like a minute. There was also something there that he didn't want to admit to, but he defiantly felt it while watching Betsy and stupid friend.
Whose stupid idea was it to invite friends to an office party?
After a few more swigs, Jeremy began finding and lining up glass objects on his desk. He nit picked over their alignment until he felt that it was perfect looking. One by one, he began chucking glass figures at the furthest away wall. He got through a few before he heard his door open. Danny glanced at him and then at the floor now covered in shattered glass.
"Um…" Danny swallowed, looking uncomfortable. Jeremy couldn't help but smile at this. His awkwardness at human interactions that involved a work environment was always endearing to Jeremy, and hilarious.
"Danny!" Mindy's voice could be heard, muffled by his office wall. Well, that explains why Danny is here. Mindy's words pushed Danny further in, and then she closed the door on both of them.
"So uh…" Danny pulled out a chair, carefully avoiding the glass. "Do you uh…need to talk?"
"I really don't think so Daniel."
"Oh thank god…"
"On second thought," The look on Danny's face made it worth it for Jeremy, so he continued. ",Let's just say, I'm not too pleased with the friends brought to this party…"
"See! I told Mindy that this is not right environment to invite a friend in."
"…Daniel, you brought a friend with you."
Danny paused and awkwardly shifted in his chair.
"Oh my god. Please tell me you didn't bring a homeless man to our office."
"Mindy made a bet that I wouldn't bring a friend to this thing. Easiest $40 I ever made."
"How much did you pay him to come?" The shorter doctor cleared his throat uncomfortably at this.
"Y'know it's the principal of it…"
Jeremy chuckled, not at all happy but at least amused. He leaned over to Danny and patted his hand, knowing he wouldn't like it.
"Thanks Daniel, I needed that."
Danny quickly moved his hand back at the contact, and began to stand from his chair. He stood awkwardly, obviously fidgeting from staying to going.
"You know, Betsy isn't really that kind of girl…" Earlier Mindy kind of gave him a rushed intro into what was happening with Jeremy, but he wasn't sure what was going on. Not that he wanted to know more than what he did.
"Of course she's not Daniel. However I'm sure my words have spurred her off into something awful. So now I would like to spend the rest of the evening getting properly drunk."
"Well good luck…getting drunk off of Malibu pineapple rum."
"I'll try my vey best."
Before Danny could leave though, there was a small knock at the door. It opened a crack to reveal Betsy. She walked in and nodded to Danny before looking over at Jeremy.
"I'm sorry if I'm interrupting you two."
"Nope! No, no. I'm leaving. Just keep the fighting to an uh..minimal." Danny made a quick exit, leaving what might dangerously be personal.
The door closed and Betsy rung her fingers shyly. Jeremy figured standing might be the polite thing to do. He moved over to her, standing about a foot away.
"Dr. Reed…What happened to your office?"
"It's fine. What are you doing here Betsy?" He bit his tongue before anything spiteful could fall out. Her face flushed with embarrassment before looking at him.
"Not that it's any of your business…I thought I should tell you that nothing happened. And it's not because of you. I just didn't really want it to begin with and well-"
The relief in Jeremy had simply made any tension that he felt earlier evaporate. He genuinely smiled at her before grabbing her face and kissing her. He angled her head with his hands at the curve of her head, to get a better angle. Betsy's hands simply flew up to hold onto his wrists as he managed to turn both of them around towards his desk.
He felt his stomach flip at the feeling of her kissing him back, pushing up on her tip toes to meet him. One hand slipped from her head and down her back, pulling her flush against him. She made a small sound of surprise that caused his want to spike.
The feeling of greed rose within him. He wanted those sounds of surprise, the sounds of something new being experienced by her. Everything, he simply wanted everything.
Jeremy lowered himself to hook an arm under the curve of her backside, pushing her back onto the desk. Her hands were on his hips, hooked between his jeans and the skin of his stomach. Betsy laughed nervous, but giddy into his mouth as his fingers brushed her bare stomach. He drug his nails up her side, going up to the bottom of her bra.
The move made her gasp, giving him the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth. It elicited such a moan from her that Jeremy scooted her back further on the desk so that he could crawl on top of her.
Everything, he wanted everything.
He made a low moan of his own when she complied with him by opening her legs for him to fit between. The natural warmth of her made his need and want apparent, causing her to move her hips slowly against his. He gripped her hips to stop the movement, his for head buried into the crook of her neck.
"Just a moment." His whisper was low but she heard him. Listening to him was another thing. She pushed her fingers into his hair and brought his face back up to hers, pressing her lips to his. It was a confident kiss, but it was sweet and earnest.
When she took the initiative to tentatively push her tongue into his mouth, he couldn't help but roll his hips into hers. Things began to be moving frantically: her shaky hands unbuttoning his shirt and his sliding up her legs, up her skirt and-
A giant wave of laughter was heard outside of his office, the party still in full swing. They looked at each other and began to laugh nervously. He carefully climbed off of her and helped her into a sitting position.
"I guess my office is a bit inappropriate for this. Betsy, I apologize for-"
"Could we go to your place Dr. Reed?" Jeremy looked surprised as Betsy shyly looked back at him. He swallowed, caught off guard with her bravery.
"Under one condition. Stop calling me Dr. Reed." She simply smiled at him.