Freedom Lights

Letting Loose

Dean

I wait in the kitchen with my mom while her and James are talking a mile a minute. She does well in understanding him because I would not be able to hold this conversation. With how fast he’s talking and some of the toddler talk coming out there is no way I could grasp a word. But mom is handling it just fine. Keeping him interested and responding. I can see it in her face how much this means to her. After dad pretty much forced her to quit being a nurse to stay at home with Sam and I, I get the feeling that she hasn’t had much in the way of hobbies. Not that James is a hobby, but given a task as important as this and giving her something she can do to get out of the house is a big win for her. Not to mention hanging out with a toddler that will definitely keep her young is probably a lot of fun for her. Neither Sam or I are anywhere near having kids of our own so this is about as close to a grandkid she’ll get for the time being.

I’m getting ready to yell up the stairs and tell Remington to hurry up, I hear the sound of her small footsteps coming to join us in the kitchen.

What I’m not ready for is when she rounds the corner. She’s dressed in an olive green sundress that hugs her curves in all the right places. It’s modest but still the hottest thing I’ve seen a woman wear. She’s wearing a pair of old Chuck Taylor’s because, let’s face it, she wouldn’t be Remi if she was wearing anything else. Her long blonde hair is flowing down her back in loose curls. If I didn’t know better, I would say she put effort into her hair looking like it does. But I do, so I know she just pulled it out of the bun she had it trapped in and brushed it. There’s no makeup, no flashiness, no ‘I went out of my way to look good for you’ surrounding her. She’s just…Remi. And damn, is it refreshing.

I hear my mom clear her throat somewhere far away and only then do I realize I’ve been staring for probably too long. But come on, when you got this woman in front of you, you admire the view.

Remi raises an eyebrow at me, “Are you ready, Casanova?” A smirk forms around her mouth and she knows the thoughts running through my mind.

I clear my throat and toss a look at my mom to signal that f**k off, she’s a friend.

“Ready as I’ll ever be, Remington. Let's move out.” I don’t miss the shiver that wracks her body when I call her by her full name. That’s interesting.

We say our goodbyes, Remi takes a bit longer and requires a lot of reassurance about James before we’re finally climbing into my car to head to the roadhouse for the evening. What can I say, Ellen serves a mean burger and the best beer!

The drive is quiet, almost like she’s scared to talk to me, so I break the ice.

“I invited Sam and Cas out too. My dad and Jody are on duty so they couldn’t come but a friend of mine who runs the tattoo shop here in town is gonna come out too. Would you like to call Kate and see if she can dip out early? I’m sure Jody won’t mind since this is a good cause.” I toss a smirk at her and she shoots me a side glance, still not comfortable with the circumstances.

I watch as the gears turn in her mind before a cruel smirk pops onto her mouth, “I don’t think I’ll call Kate. When she hears about this, I’ll have a whole ass interrogation to go through and I don’t want to deal with that yet. But I do have an old friend I’ve been dying to meet up.” She’s already pulled her phone out and is shooting text messages off like it’s no one’s business.

“Oh yeah? Do I know them?” I raise an eyebrow at her.

“Yes, and from what I remember you called her ‘hot’” she shoots me an evil grin. I can’t tell what game we’re playing right now, so I quickly try to wrack my brain to find out when and who I would’ve called hot in front of Remington.

“I’m drawing a blank, sweetheart. You’re gonna have to enlighten me.”

“Call a lot of girls hot, do you?” The playfulness in her voice does not go amiss.

“Sometimes. There’s certain adjectives that go with certain women.”

She hums before responding to me, “you’ll have to think on it. If you don’t figure it out until she gets there, then that’s on you.” She’s almost giddy now, and I’m a bit nervous to find out why. I will admit though, she’s damn adorable with that cute smile that’s perched on her lips right now.

—————————————————————

Remi

Jess: are you sure this is okay? Sam is always very adamant we keep our personal lives separate because we work together…

Remi: Jess, this is about Dean and I. We pulled off some cool s**t today. And if Sam has a problem with who I want to celebrate it with, he can take it up with me. But as I mentioned before, he can’t have a problem with you guys going to the same bar. It is a small town.

Jess: alright alright. But if I get fired, I’m on your couch.

Remi: LOL you got it. Hope you don’t mind TONS of toy cars.

Jess: I can’t wait to see you. It’s been too damn long.

Remi: I’ll be waiting like your knight and shining armor, sweet cheeks.

I giggle as I hit send on that last message. Jess and I ran in the same circle back in highschool. We always seemed to end up at the same parties and in the same restaurants. I wouldn’t say we were super close, but I would definitely call her a friend. So, the fact that she’s here with me tonight is not odd, considering she was my only other option besides Kate and that just can’t happen right now.

Dean finally pulls into the roadhouse parking lot, his brows still drawn together as he tries to figure out who I invited. I’m almost skipping because this actually might be a lot of fun, pending Sam’s reaction. I’m praying to whatever’s up there, he takes it lightly.

I watch as Dean puts the car in park and shuts the Impala off. The loud roar of the engine going quiet and leaving us in a deafening silence. You can literally hear the crickets.

“Are you sure you’re okay? You gave my mom your number right?”

I snap my head to meet his gaze. It’s kind of eerie that he can read me so well.

The sun is almost down, leaving the sky behind him a silky navy tinge with the smallest hue of blazing orange and surrounding Dean with a halo of glowing amber light. In a few more minutes it will officially be dark out, but at this moment I’m soaking up the little light I have to see him by. He’s just so damn perfect. It pisses me off.

I clear my throat before answering, “Uh yes. And my ringer is on full blast. She also has dad's number and the number of the bar should anything go wrong.” I take a deep inhale and push my worries down hard. I need this. I don’t go out often. And when I do, it’s always with Kate. It’s been too long since I let my hair down, and I fully intend to do that tonight. Hopefully.

“Everything will be fine, Remington. Just…..do it.”

I scoff, “Alright, Nike. Lead the way.”

We both climb out of the car and head to the front entrance of The Roadhouse.

This place really is a dream. Well, it’s like the nicest dive bar I’ve ever been too. When you walk in, the long horseshoe shaped bar is to your right, running the length of the building. Dead in front of you on the other side of the building are 4 pool tables. If you look to your left you’ll see about 12 tables and some booths, scattered around like no one thought to put some organized seating around here. The wooden floorboards are light tan covered in boot scuffs, beer and god only knows what else. The lighting is s**t, so the dark ambience of the place makes you feel like you could be in the bat cave. It really is something special.

I take a sweeping look over the place. It’s not quite full yet but the roadhouse is never empty. There’s about 6 people at the bar, Ellen is behind it slinging beers like the pro she is. There’s one pool table with some college guys talking s**t about the local football team hovering over it. 3 tables are full scattered amongst the bar too. I spot our crew at the farthest table in the back. Case, Sam and…..

“Benny?!” I squeal at the sight of my childhood friend. His navy blue eyes shoot up to meet my gaze and a slow, lazy smile spreads across his face. Benny is what Kate and I call Teddy bear rough. What we mean by that is he looks like a really scary dude. He's tall, probably an inch shorter than Sam and an inch taller than Dean, putting him right at about 6’3”. He has muscles for days and I wonder if he body builds in his free time. I can’t see much of his dark chestnut hair because it’s covered with a Kansas Blue Jays hat. His beard is just past five o’ clock shadow status, giving him the gruff look. Benny is an attractive man, but something doesn’t sit right. I remember the way my body comes alive when Dean walks in a room. Almost as if he brings the electricity from a thunderstorm in the room with him. When I hug Benny, whom I've known almost my whole life, there’s just the feeling of familiarity. Nothing more. No zings, no chemistry, not a damn thing.

As Dean and I make our way over, Benny rises and holds his arms out, “Well, I’ll be damn Cher. It’s been a minute since I’ve seen such a pretty face.”

I lean into his embrace, but quickly leave it. Something about the affection from a man I'm not that comfortable with leaves me feeling……grimy, “I know! I’ve Uh…been busy.” I inwardly cringe at that. Rebuilding your life takes a lot of time.

Benny just smiles warmly, “Have a seat, let’s get this celebration rolling!”

Cas nods his head at me, but his gaze is bouncing back and forth between Benny, Dean and I. I raise an eyebrow at him, but he doesn’t even pay attention to it. I turn around to give Dean a what is he doing face and I immediately understand Cas. Dean's jaw is locked, loaded and ready to spit fire. Is he……jealous?

“Hey Remi. It’s good to see you.” Sam breaks the tension and raises his beer bottle to me and I smile in return.

“Yeah Sam. You too. But I wanted to talk to you about something before we get too deep into this.”

Sam furrows his brow, “Uh sure. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, wanna go to the bar and get some beers with me?”

Dean finally speaks up, “I can do that.”

I turn to look at him, “I appreciate that, but I really just need a quick word with Sam. I promise I’m not bailing on you.” I lock him in with my best puppy face I can manage. I mean, he did drag me out here and I am determined to have fun, so I can’t have him sulking all night.

Dean’s gaze on me is….intense. I can’t figure out what it is about him, but he makes me feel. I almost thought I forgot how to do that. Benny couldn’t get this reaction out of me if he tried his damnedest.

Dean nods his head stiffly and I push Sam out of his chair by his shoulders and we head to the bar.

Halfway there, Sam turns to me, “Whats going on?”

“I wanted to warn you about who I invited out tonight.”

“Warn me? Why the hell would you need to warn me?”

Just then, the bell over the door signals someone’s entrance. And the warning I was trying to give flies out the window.

“Remi……” Sam's voice is lethal. But I can’t take my eyes off Jess. It’s only been about 6 months since I’ve seen her but Dean was not wrong, she is hot. She’s wearing this cute, tight fitting wrap dress with a sunflower print and a black background. Wedge heels that definitely make her legs look miles long. Tanned skin and curves are all I see. Don’t get me wrong, I go for men 100% but I can appreciate a fine woman too!

I tear my eyes away before whispering quickly, “I didn’t want Kate here. She would grill me into next week and I just want to relax. Jess is an old friend of mine and really the only option I had to break up all the testosterone. I know things are….sticky… but Sam please don’t make her feel any way about this. I begged her to come out tonight. Just….for me please?” I’m practically pouting, puppy eyes firmly in place. Sam's jaw is locked so tight, the vein in his neck might actually pop.

He inhales a deep breath, closing his eyes and regaining his composure, “Fine. But don’t play games with me, Remington. I play back and I always win.” The smirk on his face is almost cruel. The challenge in his eyes tells me he knows exactly what I did here. And something also tells me, I’m not sure I’ll like his payback.

“Hey Remi.” I turn around to see Jess standing just behind me.

“Jess! Thank you so much for being here, wanna get a drink with me?” I leave Sam’s side and walk with Jess to the bar. She gives me a look plainly stating he’s not happy.

I scoff and roll my eyes as I lean onto the bar, “Can I get a Budlight and…” I look to Jess who answers, “Just a crown and coke for me please.” Ellen shoots us a wink and gets to mixing.

I turn to Jess and flash an apologetic smile, “I talked to him. He’s fine.”

Jessica eyes me like she doesn’t quite believe me, “You’re lucky I really want to catch up with you. Sam can be a real….”

“d**k?” I smirk at her, and she starts laughing.

We start some idle chit chat while we wait for Ellen to bring us some drinks. I tell her about my jobs and James and she tells me about hers and how she’s still staying with her parents until she finds whatever she’s looking for. Ellen hands us our drinks and we end up making our way over to the table.

“Jess. Good to see you.” Dean stands up and wraps Jess in a one armed hug, over her head, he shoots me a look that clearly says I see what you did causing me to smirk. I shoot a glance over to Sam who is so tense I bet I could bounce a penny off of him right now.

After Jessica leaves Dean's embrace, she greets everyone around the table before turning to Sam.

“Hi Sam.”

“Jess.”

“Samantha, we talked about this.” I glare daggers at him, and Dean spews laughter everywhere and Benny chuckles heartily, “I told you she was here for me. If you’re gonna be a prick, take it elsewhere.”

Sam’s narrowed gaze locks with mine, ‘First of all, don’t call me Samantha. Second of all, we did talk about it. And I’m fine.”

Cass leans over the table and interjects, “I thought your real name was Samual? Not Samantha?

The laugh that burst from my lips is sudden and very boisterous. I slap a hand over my mouth quickly and turn from Sam. He’s about three seconds from killing me.

“My name is Sam. Thank you guys for this.” He tosses his beer back and locks his jaw back.

“Well, this is a celebration. Let us toast to a job well done by SFPD and company!” Benny raises his beer and we all clink glasses and cheer. I look around the table and while I may not have known these people long, something about sitting in this run down bar with this group of do gooders feels right.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The beer starts flowing and the conversations bounce from topic after topic. I never laughed so hard in my life, especially when Dean tries to explain to Cas that talk of the Pizza Man and the babysitter isn’t something you talk about in public. I’m doubled over in laughter, feeling good from the liquid courage flowing through my veins. The jukebox is thumping loudly and the bar is getting rowdy as the night gets darker. Mary has sent me a couple of photos. The first one was of James eating spaghetti for supper, and after that bath time. The most recent one was of them cuddled on the couch watching The Little Mermaid. I tried to get him to watch the Cars movie but ever since he was a baby, The Little Mermaid has been his thing.

I turn to Dean to tell him it’s probably about time to head home. He quit drinking after beer number two and that was three hours ago. But as I am about to open my mouth to tell him I would like to head home, Cherry Pie by Warrant comes on and Jess shrieks.

“This is my favorite. Remi, will you please please please dance with me?!” She has me by the shoulder and is shaking me. I laugh at the enthusiasm and I have just enough alcohol in my system to shake my head yes.

She grabs my hand and leads me to the makeshift dance floor that's spread throughout the middle of the bar. The bass is thumping loud enough I can feel it in my blood. The lyrics lull me into a bit of a stupor and I allow myself to get lost in the good vibe of an old rock song. I toss my head back, close my eyes and my arms are over my head. My body begins to move on its own and I sway my hips in a way that I’ll probably look back on in the morning and cringe at. We’re about halfway through the song when Jess grabs my shoulder and leans in to whisper-shout at me.

“If looks could eat someone alive, you’d be a 4 course meal right now.”

My eyes shoot open and go wide. I follow her line of sight and my gaze clashed with bright green emeralds. The fire burning in his eyes is consuming. Goosebumps kiss my skin at the pure look of lust in his eyes as he watches every move I make. My feet start to walk toward him. We are two magnets that are drawn together by the pure desire that courses through us.

I almost don’t hear the commotion at the bar. It’s like Dean and I are trapped in this bubble as I make my way towards him. My brain feels like it’s full of cotton, my vision is a little fuzzy. For some reason, I keep making my way toward my ultimate doom. That is until he breaks our eye contact and his fierce gaze locks onto the bar. The fire in his eyes is no longer desire, but rage. The shift in his emotions causes the green to shift shades. When he was looking at me, they were bright, almost electrifying. Now? They’re dark. Moss that covers the forest floors of the sss Rainforest doesn’t have anything on the green coating Dean’s eyes right now.

I’m only a few feet away from him now, and as I get closer, I trip over my own feet and stubble right into him. Livewires everywhere. Every nerve in my body is on fire just from his arms being wrapped around me. I look up to his face, but his gaze still isn’t on me. It’s locked on the bar and whoever is causing a scene up there. I turn in his arms and my jaw drops.

“What in the actual f**k is Jake doing here?”