Chapter 33: Their First Official Date
1135 Words
Joanna looked Brian in the eyes and frowned. "You are the wild cat," she said, "And you are also a stupid fool!" She began to cry again, and he licked the tears from her cheeks with his hot tongue.
"Joanna," Brian said. "This is the last time that I will let you cry over that man. He is unworthy of you. Do you hear me? After this, you won't cry for him, will you?"
Joanna looked at Brian thoughtfully. He was gentle, but also overbearing. "You don't own me," she said. "Who do you think you are?"
Brian smiled indulgently and kissed her ruddy lips again. "If you don't agree to my terms," he said, "I will knock you out with my kisses."
When Joanna heard that, she began to blush.
Suddenly a woman came out of one of the stalls and gave them a sideways glance. She had been taking a s**t, and they hadn't even realized she'd been there. Brian covered Joanna with his jacket and reassured her. Then, once the woman was gone, he let her up again.
There were still teardrops on Joanna's eyelashes, and Brian smiled when he saw them. He said, "You're not only a wild cat. You are also a colorful kitten."
Joanna frowned and punched Brian in the chest. "No," she said, "You are the colorful little kitten!"
Brian was amused. He pinched her soft cheek and said, "Plus, you are a stupid little fool."
"I am not stupid, and I am not a fool!" Joanna snarled.
"Whatever." Brian shrugged and said, "Now wash up. I'll wait outside." And he left.
Once Brian was gone, Joanna looked at herself in the mirror, and she did not like what she saw. Her eyes were puffy, there was dried snot crusted between her nose and upper lip, and her eyeliner was running down her face. She hadn't cried like this in five years, not since her rebirth.
Joanna did what she could about her face and tried to smile. Then she left the washroom. Brian was waiting for her outside. He grabbed her wrist, and she yelled, "Ouch! Let me go!"
Brian looked her in the eyes, smirked, and then he pulled her over to his table.
When Andrew saw them, he smiled, called Phil, and said, "Hey, bro, we need to congratulate Brian for finding this girl! She is the Real Deal!"
Joanna slapped Brian with her free hand and shouted, "Unhand me!"
Brian laughed and refused to let her go. He shook her until she stopped struggling, and then he asked her what she liked to do.
Joanna looked at him with a confused expression on her face, and because of her low IQ, she didn't know what to say.
Brian shook her again and said, "You little fool, I'm asking you a question. Is there anything that you particularly like to do?"
Joanna shook her head. She was embarrassed because, due to her low IQ, she couldn't think of anything. After thinking for a while, she scratched her head and said, "I don't think there's anything. Does singing count?"
"We'll see," Brian said. Without warning, he said goodbye to his friend. Then he dragged her out of the restaurant and forced her into his car.
"Brian," Joanna cried. "What are you doing?"
Brian fastened her seatbelt and said, "No funny stuff, you hear! The door has a child lock on it, so you can't escape anyway. Do you understand?"
Joanna nodded.
Brian smiled. He said, "This is for your own good," and then he leaned in to kiss her. She tried to turn away, but he grabbed her chin and forced her to face him. Then he squeezed her cheeks and forced her to pucker her lips.
Joanna felt like she was being raped. "Why are you doing this?" she asked him.
"Doing what?" Brian replied. "You were the one that seduced me."
"When did I seduce you?" Joanna asked.
"You've been seducing me since the moment we met," Brian replied. He closed the door, walked around the car, and climbed into the driver's seat.
"W-Where are we g-going?" Joanna stammered once they'd been on the road for a few minutes.
Brian: "We're going singing. It'll be our first official date!"
Joanna gasped. Her first thought was that he would take her to a Karaoke bar, so she was surprised when he parked the car in front of Injoy. When they arrived at the bar, he took her hand and forced her backstage.
Mr. Adams, the bar manager, was waiting for them, and when he saw Brian, he greeted him politely. "Are you Mr. Jones?" he asked.
Brian: "That's me."
Mr. Adams: "Great! Is this the lady?"
Joanna turned and looked at Brian suspiciously. Does he expect me to perform? – she wondered.
"This is the lady," Brian said. "Her name is Joanna Devine. I brought her here to make her happy, so don't let the guests bother her."
The bar manager nodded, but Joanna noticed that he seemed angry. His face was red, and he was clenching and unclenching his fists. He looked at Joanna and said, "Follow me."
Mr. Adams led Joanna and Brian into a dressing room, and she was outfitted to look like a punk-rocker. And once she was dressed, she was amazed by how trendy she looked. He handed her a mask, and she asked, "Is this for me?" He said that it was, and Brian helped her put it on.
With everything ready, Joanna was pushed onto the stage, and everyone turned to look at her. She walked nervously up to the microphone, and when she picked it up, she was surprised by how sweaty her hands were. She looked into the audience, and she felt like she was going to be sick. When she saw Brian, though, he smiled and gave her two thumbs up, and she found her courage.
There was a band behind her, and the bass player approached her. "What are we playing?" he asked.
Joanna liked Taylor Swift and Avril Lavigne's songs, so she said, "How about Safe and Sound and Innocence? Do you know them?"
The bass player nodded and went to confer with his bandmates. After a minute, the guitar player began to strum the opening riff to the first song, and the crowd started to clap their hands in appreciation.
Brian smiled as Joanna began to sing. He hadn't expected that she would be as good as she was. Although her performance was nowhere near as good as the originals, he recognized a diamond in the rough when he saw one.
Backstage, even the manager was impressed. He had been angry when he'd learned that his stage was going to be taken over by an amateur, but he was not angry anymore.
- Writer
