Simple Man

Amanda sighed in frustration as she put a wet rag on the bleeding spot on her leg. It was kind of hard to get ready to go out when she couldn’t put on her skinny jeans without getting a blood stain on them. She still wasn’t completely sure she wanted to go out with Sasha, but she promised her she would, so she sighed again and took the wet rag off her leg and looked in the mirror. Her long curly hair was not cooperating tonight, but it never did in her opinion. She had just put on basic make-up, using foundation, eyeliner and mascara. After she had decided her leg had stopped bleeding enough, she tugged her skinny jeans on and sprayed a bit of perfume on her chest and wrists, then rubbed them together. She heard Sasha calling her name from the kitchen, so she looked at herself once more in the mirror and decided she looked decent enough, then put her boots on along with her earrings and stepped out of the bathroom. “I hate shaving.”

“I know, girl. I wish we lived in a world where it was normal for girls to have body hair, too.”

“Don’t even get me started,” Amanda chuckled and got her purse, making sure her I.D. was in her wallet. “You ready to go?” Sasha smiled and nodded, then opened the door for Amanda.

As they walked down the street towards the bar, Amanda made small talk with Sasha and looked through her e-mail on her phone, scrolling through the spam, credit card statements and advertisements. Nothing interesting today. Sasha put her arm in front of Amanda and stopped her abruptly and she gave Sasha a confused look. “What?”

“Did you hear that?” Sasha looked worried and glanced behind her shoulder. Amanda furrowed her eyebrows and looked in the same direction, but didn’t see anything. “I thought I heard…never mind.”

Sasha shook her head abruptly and started walking again. “Are you okay?” Amanda gave her a worried look and Sasha nodded her head with a small smile. “Come on, you need a drink.” The two girls entered the bar and looked around for a table to sit at. They eventually settled on sitting at the bar when they couldn’t find a table. “I hate sitting here.”

“Me too, but it’ll be okay,” Sasha set her wallet on the bar and patiently waited for the bartender. “What do you want? First round is on me.”

After Amanda and Sasha had a few drinks, Amanda decided she wanted to sing some karaoke. So she went to the guy running it and put a song in. Sasha asked her over and over what song she was going to sing, but Amanda shook her head and said she would have to wait. “I like the element of surprise.”

Across the bar, Sam and Dean were sitting at a table talking to themselves, already three beers in. Sam was looking through their father’s journal, just brushing up on his knowledge and seeing if he had written anything about the town they were in. But he found nothing. Meanwhile, Dean was digging into his double cheeseburger, making love to it with his eyes. “This is a damn good burger, Sammy.” Sam rolled his eyes and shook his head at his brother. They both took a swig of their beer and turned their heads toward the stage as the DJ started talking.

“Alright, next up we have Amanda with a classic song for us.”

“What, Hit Me Baby One More Time?” Dead said with a smirk. He soon realized the girl walking toward the stage with a nervous look was the girl from the coffee shop. His breath caught in his throat as he waited in anticipation.

Amanda stood awkwardly as she waited for the music to start. When the guitar riff started playing, she started swaying her hips slowly with a smile. Dean’s eyes became a surprised look as he watched. She was beautiful, and she was singing The Rolling Stones. Where did this woman come from?

I’ll never be your beast of burden
My back is broad
My head’s a hurtin’

All I want is for you to make love to me

Sam looked over at Dean with a smirk, “Looks like your judgements were wrong.”

“She’s got a great voice,” Dean breathed. He watched intently as she flawlessly sang through the classic song, dancing with her hips. Dean couldn’t help but wish he was right in front of her, dancing along with her.

Ain’t I rough enough?
Ain’t I tough enough?
Ain’t I rich enough, in love enough?

I’ll never be your beast of burden

Never, never, never, never, never, never, never be

As the song ended, applause erupted throughout the bar and Amanda hid her head slightly while walking off the stage back toward her seat at the bar. Sasha was jumping up and down while clapping with a huge smile on her face. “That was awesome!”

“Thanks,” Amanda laughed. “I don’t usually do stuff like that.”

“Like what?”

“Dance like that.”

“Well it was sexy.”

“Shut it.”

“I’m serious. You wanna know how I know?” Amanda raised her eyebrows at Sasha. “The two men from the coffee shop are here. And the shorter one was staring at you intently the whole time. And I mean every single word you sang, Amanda.”

Amanda turned around in her seat and looked across the bar and noticed the two boys sitting at a table. She immediately made eye contact with the both of them and widened her eyes, turning back around. “Shit.”

“You can say that again. He’s walking this way,” Sasha smiled as she stared at the man walking toward them.

“He’s just coming to get a drink.”

“You’re wrong. Pull yourself together, woman.”

Dean took a deep breath as he walked toward the two girls, hands stuffed in his pockets. His brother probably would give him shit for days for this, but he couldn’t help it. He wanted to meet this girl, Amanda. “Hey, ladies.” The girl turned around and almost choked on her Stella, then covered her mouth. “Didn’t mean to scare you. I’m Dean.”

“You didn’t scare her,” Sasha laughed. “I tried to warn her you were walking over. What can we do you for?”

“Well…” Dean looked at the girl and gave her a look.

“Sasha.”

“Well, Sasha, I was going ask your friend, Amanda, if she would like to dance with me.” Dean turned towards Amanda and smiled shyly. “If that’s okay with you, of course.”

“Oh, it’s okay with me. It’s her you need to be worried about.” Amanda glared at Sasha and took another swig of her beer. “What?”

“I’m not the dancing type,” Amanda looked over at Dean, “And anyway, how did you know my name?”

“You dummy, that DJ called you up there somehow didn’t he?” Sasha laughed.

“Thanks for the backup,” Dean laughed and turned toward Amanda again. “And anyway, I saw your moves when you were singing. Don’t tell me you aren’t the dancing type.”
Amanda sighed and looked at Sasha, who raised her hands in defense, almost as if she was saying she was out of it at this point. She took a good look at Dean and had to admit he was very attractive. For three and a half months, Amanda had been busting her butt with school and decided it was time for her to have fun. She just hoped she didn’t make a fool of herself. She took a deep breath and nodded to Dean who gave her a victorious smile, “On one condition. You buy me a drink after and you introduce Sasha to your friend over there. She’s had googly eyes for him ever since this afternoon at the coffee shop.”

It was Sasha’s turn to glare, “Thanks, asshole. And that’s two conditions.”

“No problem,” Dean smiled and lead Sasha over to Sam and introduced them to each other, then made his way back over to Amanda. Almost as if on cue, “Follow Me” by Uncle Kracker started playing and Dean laughed. “How perfect. Come on, beautiful.” Amanda’s eyes went wide. She wasn’t used to this. She took Dean’s hand and followed him to the dance floor, taking deep breaths as she went. She was trying to keep her composure, but Dean was about the most attractive man she had ever met. Dean put his arm around Amanda’s waist and brought her close, taking in her scent. She smelled like vanilla and some kind of perfume he didn’t know. As they swayed to the beat, Amanda looked up at Dean and gave him a small smile, then looked back down. “What?”

“Why me? Out of all the girls in this bar, which are all glaring at me right now, by the way, why me?” Amanda laughed lightly and Dean sighed.

“I’m sorry, but if a twenty-something year old woman gets up on a karaoke stage, I’m expecting her to sing some teeny, catchy-pop song. So when I heard that guitar riff and you starting singing The Stones, I was kind of surprised. And that doesn’t come along very often, so I couldn’t pass up the chance to get to know you.” Dean smiled down at Amanda and raised his arm and hers, letting her twirl under them. “Bullshit you ain’t the dancing type,” Dean laughed and Amanda lowered her head as she blushed. “Your turn. Why did you say yes?”

She saw that coming. She looked up at him, “Honestly? Since the end of August I have been busting my ass in school to please my parents and I thought I deserved to have some fun.”

“So I’m fun?”

“So far,” Amanda giggled as the song ended and pulled away, doing a small curtsy as Dean bowed. “Thank you for that.” They both looked toward Sam and Sasha and chuckled. They were obviously hitting it off well.

“So what are you drinking?” Dean asked, knowing she had a Stella, but just wanted to make sure.

“Stella, please,” Amanda sat back down at the bar and Dean followed suit. “Thanks, Dean.”

Dean sat, looking down at his drink and turned his head toward Amanda, “I hope it’s okay if I stick around for a while. Just say the word, and I’ll take my brother and we’ll leave.”

“You’re brothers?” Amanda looked at him in surprise. Dean nodded. “I would never have guessed that. He’s so much taller than you.” Dean looked down and chuckled, “Sorry. That’s probably not the way to compliment someone you just met.”

“It’s alright. But you were going to compliment me?”

Amanda blushed, “Well. I was just trying to say you’re very, very attractive.” Amanda couldn’t believe what just escaped her mouth. Where did the normal Amanda go? The one who played it safe? “Wow. Um. I didn’t mean to say that. It meant to be a little more innocent. You know, you’re handsome. I’m just going to stop now.”

Dean laughed. This girl was too cute, “Hey. It’s okay. I appreciate it, no matter how you say it.” He took a swig of his beer and stood up from his bar stool, then stretched his hand out to Amanda. “Whattya say we get another beer, and go on the patio and get to know each other a little more.” Amanda took a second and thought about it, then smiled and nodded, ordered them another beer and paid for it. “What are you doing?”

“Paying for our drinks. A thank you will suffice,” Amanda smirked. “Besides, like I said, I came here to have fun tonight. And you’re helping me do just that. It’s the least I can do, Dean.”

He loved the way she said his name. He took her hand and led her outside to the patio where it was a bit quieter, then pulled out a chair for her at a table. They started making small talk for a while, then began to talk about themselves more deeply. “You have any siblings?” Dean asked, putting the bottle to his lips.

“I had a brother,” Amanda looked down, not know yet if she wanted to go there so soon. What the hell, she thought. She was a bit drunk and didn’t really care, “He died when I was eighteen.”

Dean gave her a worried look and immediately wanted to kick himself for asking, “Wow, I’m sorry. Let’s change the subject.”

Amanda smiled, “No, it’s okay. Don’t worry.” She ran her fingers up and down the bottle, looking at his beautiful eyes. “He was a drug addict. I don’t know, I just remember it started when I was eight years old. I found a bag of cocaine in his room, but back then I didn’t know what it was. I took it to our father and everything went to shit after that. He was eight years older than me and it continued up until the day he died. My parents gave him so many chances, but at some point I guess you have to give up trying. He wasn’t going to listen anyway.” Dean couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He felt sorry for bringing it up in the first place. “Then we hadn’t heard from him in a few days. I was the only one that knew where he lived, so I drove by there to make sure he was okay. I saw his car in the parking lot, so I figured everything was fine and went back home. A week later we still hadn’t heard from him, so I went back again and knocked on his door. He didn’t answer. He kept a spare key under the beer bucket filled with cigarette butts. I opened the door and, well, you can probably figure out the rest. Coroner said he overdosed on OxyContin. He had been dead for about two weeks.” That was the first time Amanda had talked to someone about her brother’s death and hadn’t felt like crying. After all, it had been six years. “I’m sorry. That was too much.”

“No,” Dean breathed. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” She laughed lightly. “Anyway, it’s been six years. I’m okay.”

Somehow Dean didn’t believe that. He decided to change the subject. They talked for about an hour more, just getting to know each other. They liked the same music, except Amanda liked country, and most of the same food and movies. Dean joked about how well their first date would be, making Amanda blush. “So what do you say?” It was then that Amanda realized he was being serious.

She smiled, “You don’t consider this a first date?” She was right, he thought. They’d been talking for close to two hours and exchanging smiles between each other. “But I wouldn’t mind doing it again.”

When they walked back inside, a lot of people had left and Amanda realized it was almost two in the morning. Last call would be in about a half hour. She also noticed that Sam and Sasha were nowhere to be found. “They’re probably at our motel room,” Dean gave Amanda a seductive look followed with a laugh. “Not sure I want to go back now.”

Amanda probably should have resisted, but she couldn’t, “You can come to my place if you want. I mean, if you need a place to stay.” She couldn’t help but think that if he came over, it would lead to something more. “It’s just a block down the road.”

Dean sighed, wondering if he should accept or not. He didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable, but he truly didn’t want to go back to the motel room if Sasha and Sam had beat him there. “Sure. You ready to head out?” Amanda nodded and they started walking toward the exit. Amanda tightened her scarf around her neck and pulled her coat more around her. Kentucky winters could either be relatively nice, or harsh. It was cold, but not too cold. Just cold enough for hot chocolate, in Amanda’s opinion. As they walked, Amanda couldn’t think of anything to talk about. They had pretty much covered it all at the bar. “What are you thinking about?”

Amanda chuckled, “Something to talk about. We covered quite a bit.” Dean nodded in agreement, then looked down at his feet. “What are you and your brother passing through for?”

“I got tired of driving. We’re on a road trip. About a year long, now,” Dean lied. He couldn’t open up to her, which sucked. But she wouldn’t believe him anyway. He normally didn’t mind lying to people about it, but she was different for some reason.

Amanda frowned. That meant they wouldn’t be staying long. “So how long will you be staying?”

He shrugged, “Not sure. A few days, probably.” That part also sucked, he thought. He looked over at her with a guilty smile. “I’m sorry, I probably should have mentioned that.”

Amanda shook her head, “It’s okay, Dean.” She was disappointed, though. “This is me.”

Dean looked up at the building and took a deep breath as they walked inside and up the stairs. Once they got to the second floor, Amanda started getting her keys out and unlocked her door, then realized her apartment was a mess. She took a deep breath and turned around to Dean.

“I’m just warning you. Nursing students don’t have much time for cleaning,” She grimaced as she opened the door. Dean laughed and shook his head. She thought this was dirty? Amanda slowly took off her coat and scarf, then hung them both up on the coat rack. Dean followed suit and started to get nervous. “Are you hungry or thirsty?”

“No, thank you. I’m okay. Had a big meal at the bar,” Dean smiled.

“Okay, well I need to go to the bathroom real quick. Give me just a minute,” She smiled and hurried to her bathroom, then shut the door and let out a big breath. “What are you doing, Amanda? Getting involved with a guy who is just going to leave in a few days. You’re so stupid.” She looked in the mirror and shook her head, thinking about how much fun she had at the bar. “Oh what the hell.”

She walked back out of the bathroom again and walked towards Dean slowly, stuffing her hands in her back pockets. She looked down as she got about two or three inches away from him and took in a deep breath. Dean was so nervous he was going to faint; he was sure of it. He wasn’t sure what she was going to do, but he was hopeful. When Amanda looked up at him, he got weak at the knees and took a deep breath in. “You okay?” He asked.

Amanda nodded, deciding to take a chance and do something for herself for once in her life. “I’m perfect,” She breathed and put her hand on the back of his neck, pulling his head toward hers. She lightly pressed her lips to his and moved her hips closer as he put his arms around her waist. It was short and sweet, and when she pulled away, Dean looked surprised. When Amanda didn’t say anything, he knew where this was heading immediately. He almost wanted to wait, simply because he hadn’t felt like this about a girl ever in his life and he didn’t want to ruin it. But she seemed dead set on doing this, so he went along with it. He just hoped she would feel the same way in the morning. Dean took another deep breath and looked into her eyes, making absolutely sure she wanted this. All signs pointed to ‘yes’, so he leaned down and crashed his lips onto hers, bringing her body closer to his.

For a minute, they stood there, sharing passionate kisses. But Dean couldn’t take it anymore. He picked her up, wrapping her legs around his waist and carried her to the bedroom. He gently laid her on the bed and towered over her looking into her eyes. “Just tell me to stop and I will,” He said sincerely.

Amanda looked up at him with serious eyes and shook her head, placing her hand on his cheek, “I don’t want you to stop, Dean.”