Accidental Marriage [Ashlio]

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"I think it makes them more raw, or real, like you said," Hayden said as she reached out and took the scenic photo from Jackson's hands as he passed it over to her. She turned the photo over and examined it, smiling as she turned her head to look out at the actual view. The picture certainly did no justice for what she was actually looking at--with all of the yellow, green, and red lights that beaned off of buildings and illuminated the sky while billboards blinked their lights to grabbed people's attention, some even having large lights outlining into images of big breasted women and some even having men on there. The lights on the cars continued to travel down the road slowly, some a shallow blue, while others a bright white. When comparing the real sight to the photo, the picture looked dull, not nearly as clear or as bright as a phone or camera lenses could have made the sight look.

But... Maybe that was why it made the photo hanging in front of her more authentic.

"There's no editing or filters slapped onto the picture to contort the look to make it look different. But that's what I like about it."

She was grabbed out of her musings as the waiter came back to their table with a tray of food balancing in one hand. Figuring that she would create a caption for the photo later, she set it, along with the sharpie, off to the side and sat back in her chair to let her food--a plate filled with a roasted chicken topped with tarragon sauce, mushroom torchon, and sauteed fall greens--be placed in front of her. Oh, and here she thought she dishes she made herself and had seen the head chef at the restaurant she worked at made were aesthetically pleasing; they were nothing compared to this! Or, at least, that was what she believed as she stared down at the food, almost in disbelief, almost thinking to herself that she didn't want to eat the perfection that sat right in front of her.

But her stomach had other ideas in mind. Besides, she refused to let any of this food go to waste. It was a common sight to see pounds of food being wasted on a daily basis at the restaurant by people not finishing their meals and taking them home for left overs, and just by them not using all of the products that would go to waste within a day since the owner refused to use product that was over a day old for fear that the customers would be able to tell that the product wasn't 'fresh' enough for their liking. It was disgusting really; there were homeless, starving people who would be thankful for the food, yet all the owner wanted to do was throw the unused and still good food away because he didn't think any food banks would use their food anyway.

"You're tellin' me," she said, still struck with a sense of awe as the waiter walked off and wished them a good meal. Where to start? Which food should she begin with to savor and experience the flavors that would inevitably overtake her mouth and taste buds? During her thinking, however, she only half listened to the last bit of what Jackson had to say, her eyes finally veering off from her food to look at the man who was, essentially, making all of this possible for her. "Yes, but you're forgetting one thing about me: I'm not rich."

After a short snort and the shake of her head, Hayden grabbed her utensils and decided to start getting into her food before it cooled off too quickly. She decided to start with her chicken, the tenderness of the meat allowing her to cut into it with ease as the sauce pooled onto the plate, mixing with the mushroom torchon--something that she wasn't upset about. "Well, bottoms up." When she took the bite of the food, she couldn't help but close her eyes and smile, a content sigh, or near moan, grumbling from her throat. "Oh my God, this is so much better than what I had for lunch!"
 
A lump formed in his stomach when he heard her respons to his comment about being rich and drinking. He wasn't surprised though, of course he had to say something wrong eventually. He immediately got the urge to explain himself, feeling she had misunderstood, but he had learned that usually only made things worse. All he had meant was that she shouldn't be worried about drinking at a place like this. When he looked around, most tables had at least one drink for each person.

It made him relax a little when he saw that she at least enjoyed the food. Following her example, he took a bite from his own plate. «Oh, wow…» he said when he had swallowed. «Well, I still think this place is over priced, but at least they can cook.» He took another bite and smiled as the flavors spread over his tongue, taking his time enjoying it before washing it down with his drink.

«So, is your friends joining us after, or…?» he asked a little hesitantly. She had probably changed her mind now. He hoped she hadn't though, not looking forward to spending his night at the hotel room. There was no way he was going out alone and hope that he would meet someone else. Meeting Hayden was already way past his normal luck. So if she turned him down now, he would just swallow som sleeping pills and cross his fingers that he woke up in time for his plane tomorrow. 

 
So much better than what she had for lunch? No, scratch that; this was one of the best meals she had eaten that entire week, maybe entire month. Of course, Hayden liked to pride herself in her own cooking skills, and she often loved the food that her mother cooked because of the love that was poured into it, just as she loved to taste the head chef's food because of the flavors he could put together to make a great meal, but this... It was something different, and Hayden couldn't help but feel a sense of envy swim through her body. It gave her a sense that she needed to be better to make it to a higher level in her career; she needed to practice more and, maybe, take more risk with recipes and with just her own cooking skills in general.

The fact that she could taste the freshness of the products probably had a helping hand with making the meal taste all the better.

"Hmm... Not surprising that they have some of the best cooks around," she commented after she swallowed another bite. "Especially not with the prices. They know people will pay extra just for something good, even if they don't eat all of it." And that, she knew, was why the owner of the restaurant she worked at got away with the prices that he had for the items on the menu. While they weren't nearly as overpriced as these, the prices at the restaurant also weren't generic prices for meals that you would find at a big chain restaurant. But, people like the food and quality of it, and every once in a while those people would be willing to splurge their paychecks on a good meal.

A silence over hung the two for a moment as they took the time to enjoy their food. The rumblings of chatter softly flickered through the restaurant as forks, spoons, and knives clattered against plates and bowls, and the clinking of glass against glass could be heard as the waiters and waitresses picked up the empty glasses to put them back in the back. When Jackson spoke up, Hayden was broken out of the ambiance of the restaurant and looked up at the man, blinking her eyes and then turning her head down to look at her clutch purse.

"I wouldn't mind them coming along if you wouldn't mind." She smiled, grinned actually as she laughed. "I actually feel kinda bad for leaving them back there, so I can invite them to come with us to a club to have fun if they want to." Setting her fork and knife down, Hayden reached into her clutch and opened it up to where she grabbed her phone and hit the side button to light the screen up. No new messages or missed calls. Odd. Maybe they found a couple of guys to spend their time with, or maybe they were too into the gambling to worry about her. Neither of those options would surprise her, given that both of her friends were single and always looking for a good time if they had the time for it.

Putting the phone away for the time being, she looked back up at Jackson. "To be honest, I don't even know if they'll believe me if I tell them about you; they'll probably think that I drank too much," she joked.
 
His eyes lit up when she replied that she still wanted to come. It still seemed too good to be true. "Send them a photo," he said, and quickly added. "Eh no, don't. That will probably just scare them away." Who would like getting a photo of some weird looking dude? That probably wouldn't convince them to come along. «But seriously, invite whoever you like, it's fine by me. And we have to spend all the money, right? The promise of free drinks might convince them,» he said and smiled a little. «And you can decide the place, it's the same by me.»

At least he couldn't think of a place he wouldn't be willing to go to. His friends always dragged him along to all kinds of weird places, and he was fine with just standing awkwardly in the corner. It had sorta become his place in the group, the one who always said yes to anything. Half of the time he wasn't even drinking, since he got pointed out to be the designated driver. He didn't really mind, but sometime it got a little exhausting looking after his buddies. They could really lose control of themself when they drank.

«It would be good if they came, then you'll have someone to dance with,» he added and grinned. He had no good memories at all from dancing, and he doubted this was the place to get them. Not that it would be that hard getting him out on the dance floor. He was the easiest person to persuasive that he knew of.
 
"Oh, I think they would appreciate a picture of you," Hayden said with another laugh as she went to take another bite of her chicken. Once, and if, her friends ever got over the initial shock of the fact that she had, somehow, found a guy that was willing to pay for everything for the night, then Hayden knew they would appreciate the sight of the man. But while doing so, she knew that they would probably question how she made it happen and what she promised to do in order to get him to pay for everything. Still, that was a big 'if', as in if she would even tell the girls about this.

No, she had to. Why should she only enjoy the night to herself with him when her best friends were here looking for a good time as well?

But again his insistence came with him not going to dance once they got to a club. Hayden took another sip of her champagne and gave off a dramatic sight afterwards with the roll of her eyes. "You're going to dance," she insisted playfully, though completely serious with her claim. Why wouldn't he want to dance and let himself go after the day he had? She figured he deserved it, and she wanted to see what this guy looked like when he was actually having fun with himself. "Even if I have to drag you out to the dance floor myself, you're going to dance, or at the very least stand there with me. I'm sure you'll want to dance then instead of being that weird guy who's just looking, right?" She rose her brows at that, smiling, nearly smirking, to herself.

"Why are you so against dancing? This night is supposed to be fun, and dancing is fun when with the right people. And since you're going to be with me, you're with the right person. It won't be bad, even if you're a terrible dancer because I'm not that good either."
 
"I'm used to be the weird guy who's just looking, so no worries," he chuckled and shook his head a little. «I've never had fun dancing. It doesn't come natural to me, so I never know what to do and just feel like a complete idiot standing there between people who seems… I don't know. Very sure about what they are doing.»

He shrugged a little and stroke his forehead as images from embarrassing nights flashed before him. The truth simply was that he didn't have much self-confidence. Everyone always seemed smarter and more knowledgeable, better looking and better at dressing, funnier and a better conversationist. He couldn't think of any aspect in his life that he was better at than anyone he knew. Except at work, maybe. He liked to think he was at least as good as everyone else there.

«But, if you promise it will be fun, I guess I can give it another try,» he said and smiled at her. «Just pour some drinks into me first, and don't be too disappointed when it's time for me to say 'i told you so',» he added and took another bite from his dish.
 
Despite herself, Hayden couldn't help but let out another laugh as she shook her head. Oddly enough, she could envision Jackson being that one guy at the party who always kept himself in a corner, trying to ward off any kind of human contact because he was afraid of embarrassing himself or getting embarrassed by the people around him. He didn't seem to be that confident, something that also struck Hayden as odd given his financial situation, but that only spurred her thoughts into thinking that she shouldn't judge a book by it's cover.

Still, she found it odd, and she couldn't help but wonder if she would have naturally found herself drawn to a man like Jackson in the real world. If she had been somewhere else, somewhere where she normally frequented back at home in Minnesota, would she have agreed to have drinks with him, have dinner with him, and then make plans to party with him in a club? Likely, the answer would be no. She would have kept to herself, gave the man wary glances as she told herself how odd he was, and then walked away.

Guess her inhibitions really flew out the window of the plane that she had been carried to this place on. And whether or not that was a good thing, Hayden figured she would learn that later on.

"It will be fun," she insisted again. "Let's just hope you'll be too wasted by the time you get on the dance floor to really care what you look like so that you don't tell me 'I told you so'. I hear that enough all ready," she teased, winking at him. "I'll just have to take pictures of you as you dance so that you can look back on the memories and laugh at yourself, or just burn the evidence so that you don't have to remember the night. Which ever works best for you."

The rest of the dinner went smoothly after that with little chatter going between the two with conversations that Hayden directed in order to fill the silence between the two. When they finished their meals they were given their choices for dessert, and while Hayden had half a mind to refuse the offer of dessert because of how full she was from the dinner, after looking down at the menu of treats she couldn't help but smile and order. Hayden ended up ordering a martini after her champagne had run out as well, and once their desserts had been placed on the table, the check was as well.

"Don't feel like you have to rush," the waiter said, though the strained smile he creased across his lips let Hayden know that they should probably hurry up so that the table could be given to someone else. "Just call me over when ever you're ready to pay."
 
«Well, this shouldn't take too long…» Jackson mumbled when he looked down at his plate. It was the smallest piece of cake he had ever seen, but that was probably a good thing now. He did after all feel pretty stuffed.

He took a bite and instantly regretted not ordering a coffee to go with it, although it would be a weird combination with the gin and tonic. There was just nothing better than coffee with something sweet like cake. He didn't get to miss it for long though, the dessert was gone in four bites.

After managing to get the waiter's attention discreetly when he walked by, Jackson payed for the dinner and added a nice tip to the bill, which made the waiter's smile grow noticeably. «Do I have to change?» he asked when the waiter was gone, and turned his attention to Hayden. «Since I don't know where we are going, I have no idea what I should wear. Don't want to do the same mistake that I did with this place,» he said, before frowning a little. «On the other hand, I don't have much to change to. Except for that t-shirt we bought...»
 
The dessert hadn't been much, much like Jackson had commented on, but that was besides the point and Hayden preferred for her dessert to be small, rather to have mountains of what ever treat she decided to get that she would struggle to eat. She finished her dessert just about the same time Jackson had finished his, and after finishing off her martini as well, Hayden rested her back against the back of the seat with a content smile on her face. If she could go back to her room and crawl into bed, she suspected that she would happily fall into a food filled coma, but the thought of a fun night was enough to keep her spirits up and awake, rearing to go and finally have a good time.

When the check was finally paid, Hayden stood from her chair and stretched her arms above her head before she let them drop to her side. Maybe she shouldn't have eaten so much; she felt sluggish, though she had a feeling that the alcohol running through her system was a part of that feeling as well. They just had to get to a place with loud music and with people bumping and grinding against each other; that would certainly wake her up, as well as the reaction she was waiting to see on Jackson's face as soon as they stepped into one of those places to see all of those people against one another in the crowds that were no doubt going to be in any club that they decided to go to.

At his question of whether or not he should change, Hayden let her eyes travel down his body until she looked back up to his face with her brows raised. She folded her arms over her chest as she laughed and, with a huff, she shook her head. "No, I think you're fine. We're going to a club, not to some important business meeting where dressing nice and formal is necessary." She shrugged her shoulders, waiting for him to get up so that they could leave. "You don't have anything to worry about. At the very least, you'll probably be the most comfortable person there, so you'll probably be happy for your casual attire."
 
«Well, if you say so,» he said and stood up. «You just look a lot nicer than me, so I feel a little awkward…» he added while he followed her back to the elevators.

He had expected to feel sleepy after the meal, but he was still restless. Sitting on the plane, then at the meeting, followed with the card table, and now dinner table… Wherever they where going, he hoped standing was an option. Which probably ment dancing.

The elevator arrived right away and he glanced at himself in the mirror inside before moving his face down to his shoes. He was starting to worry about meeting her friends, nervous that they might think less of him than… well, he wasn't completely sure what Hayden actually thought of him. Some of her replies made him a little unsure if she really did enjoy talking to him.

Her friends would probably see him as a weirdo, the way he going around and begging for someone to have a drink with him. It was rather pathetic. But, he would hope for the best, and if they didn't like him, he could just leave the tab open and leave. They could still have fun without him.
 
Hayden looked down at herself when Jackson said that she looked nice, and she couldn't help but let the smile permit across her lips at the simple little compliment. "You don't look bad!" she said, trying to reassure the man again as they stepped into the elevator and as she watched him assess himself in the mirrors around them. Despite herself, Hayden couldn't help but look at herself in the mirrors as well. She tucked a few strands of hair behind her ears before she stood up straighter as the elevator started it's descent down. Thinking that it would be best, now, to call her friends, Hayden pulled her phone out of her clutch and clicked the button on the side to light the screen back up, just as she had back in the restaurant. And, just like back in the restaurant, Hayden was met with a blank screen with no messages and no missed calls.

What the hell were those two up to? While she told herself to not be worried over her friends because they were adults and could take care of themselves, she couldn't help the general worry that stemmed from having no contact with them since they split up.

She pursed her lips at the thought as the elevator stopped and opened its doors so that a group of four people could step into the elevator. As Hayden dialed Emily's number, she back up and stepped closer to Jackson so that there was more room for the other people to fit into the elevator with no problem. Three ring backs rang in Hayden's ears until a click on the other line indicated that the phone was being answered.

"Hayden? Hey! Everything all right?" The mumbling of people surrounding Emily could be heard through the phone, the noises causing Hayden to furrow her brows. It didn't sound like they were at the casino any longer, and a second later, just as Hayden was about to answer Emily back, she heard Cameron yell out, "Hey girl!" No doubt the two of them were already drunk and having a good time.

"Everything's fine," she answered, turning her head a little to look in another direction as the doors to the elevator closed and the box started back down again. "Where are you two?"

The conversation lasted for the duration of the ride on the elevator. When the doors opened to reveal the bottom floor, Hayden bid her goodbyes and stepped out along with everyone else as another group of people walked onto the elevator to head up. "Well, looks like it'll just be us to for the night," Hayden said as she turned look at Jackson with a lopsided smile. She shrugged her shoulders at the revelations of what her friends had told her. She couldn't help but laugh at it as she shook her head and blew out a sigh.

"Looks like they ended up winning two tickets to go see Wayne Newton, so they're heading there and have no plans of going anywhere else, so I didn't even try to convince them to come along with us." Of course, the two had felt bad for leaving their friend and had offered to buy Hayden a ticket so that she could go with them, but in the end she decided against it and told them to have fun. She had plans of her own anyway, she told them, and while they were curious she said that she would catch them up on everything later.

"I know you were expecting to walk into a club with three women on your arms, but you're just going to have to settle for me." Grinning, she laughed at the joke. "So, any particular place you want to go to, or do you want to just walk and go into the first place that looks interesting? Oh, and what are you going to do with that?" She asked, pointing towards the bag with the camera and t-shirt.
 
He smiled a little of her compliment, if he could call it that. If he wanted to pick at it, he could point out that she hadn't exactly said that he looked nice. Just not bad. But, he wasn't going to go there, he already felt he was becoming a little too sulky. There was no need for feeling sorry for himself anyway, especially not tonight, and that would definitely not make Hayden enjoy being with him more. Especially now that her friends wasn't going to be there.

He laughed a little at her comment about him wanting to walk into some club with three ladies. Then his attention got directed at his bag when she pointed at it. «Oh, right… I guess I can just leave it at the reception,» he said and smiled lightly at her before starting to walk slowly towards it.

Relief had flooded him the second he learned that he didn't have to entertain three women at once, but there was also a sense of dread. He was worried about Hayden. Did she really want to spend the night alone with him? Maybe she was just feeling she had to now, that she couldn't go back on her promise.

«You know…» he started and glanced at her, worried this might come out wrong. «Don't misunderstand me, I'm really looking forward to going out with you, but I will totally understand that if you want to cancel. You've already survived a dinner with me where I said at least five stupid things, and that's probably just the beginning. So, if you would rather go and be with your friends or something, I will totally get that.»
 
Against her better judgement, Hayden couldn't help but snort out a laugh as she shook her head. Her eyes glanced over at Jackson, her brows raised in a questioning position as she let a smirk grace her lips. "If I had to say so myself, I would think that you were trying to get rid of me." But what if that was what he was trying to do? It was obvious that he was uncomfortable for reasons that were unknown to her, and it was obvious that he was nervous, but did that mean he wanted her to leave? She frowned at the thought then as they stopped at the reception desk. She turned her eyes to look away from the man and down at the marble counter as the woman behind it asked if she could help with anything.

Hayden allowed Jackson to take care of his business. She folded her hands behind her back and looked down at the floor, wondering if she should take the offer of her two friends or if she should continue on with what she was doing and with her original plan to spend the better part of the night and early morning with a near stranger. Even still as she recounted the facts in her mind she found herself perplexed with her decision, making her wonder if she really was taking advantage of a guy who was, obviously, too nice to straight tell her to get away or if she really was only trying to help her own self out because she would never be able to treat herself to the things that this man obviously could.

'Oh, I can only imagine what mother would think of me now,' she thought, her eyes rolling as her lips twitched. Once Jackson turned his attention back from the woman at the counter, Hayden looked up at the man and gave off a sigh. "Look, I'm not trying to take advantage of you or you money, so if that's what you're worried about--because you're obviously worried about something--then you don't have to worry about that. You have my word, honestly. I just want to have a good time." To make her point more valid, she crossed her hand over her heart and gave him a smile. "Unless, of course, you actually just don't want me around, and if that's the case then you can just tell me; I'm a big girl, I can handle it." She shrugged. "If it'll help make your decision, I still actually want to go to a club, and with you. I still want to see you drunk and dancing, just because you seem so against it."
 
Jackson got the lady behind the desk to store his bag for him, taking out the camera and some extra film first. Hopefully he would still need that.

"No, please don't misunderstand me," he said when he looked at Hayden again, and sighed a little sad. Why did he never manage to make himself clear? People always thought he ment something else than what he was actually saying. Did he give of a feeling that he was lying or holding something back? "I really want to go out with you, and if I gave the impression of something else, I'm really sorry. And I didn't think that you where taking advantage of me, but even if you were, I honestly wouldn't care that much. I just want to have some fun, preferably not alone."

He tok a pause to breath and smiled slightly. "I'm only nervous that I'll bore you or be a disappointment, or something. And, I was worried you now felt you had to come with me even though you really wanted to go with your friends, since you already said yes to me and didn't want to be rude. I just don't want to ruin your night, so if you actually do want to go with them, that's fine."

He breathed out and told himself to calm down. Hopefully he had not said something else wrong and made it all worse, but instead made himself clear for once. How he wished he could just be casual and cool like his buddies. He doubted they ever had problems like this. "To sum it up; I want to go to the club, with you, very much. I'll even dance a little to show you how happy it will make me."
 
Hayden couldn't tell whether or not this guy had some serious insecurity issues or if this was just the normal attitude of his; generally timid while always watching over his words and worrying about everything and everyone but himself. She pursed her lips at the thought as she continued to listen to him, raising her brows in question as he continued on. So, he wanted to go to a club with her, yet felt as if he was going to bore her to death? Please; if he was boring, she would find something to do there. That wasn't something that she said to him, however, and instead she shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.

"Stop worrying so much, will ya?" She smiled and walked over to Jackson before she reached out and grabbed his arm where she hooked her arm through his and started leading him towards the entrance of the hotel where people filtered in and out of the doors, security standing out front, watching the drunken masses meander their way about into the outside world. "I don't want to watch some guy sing with my friends, so you don't have to worry about me wanting to go with them. Besides, I probably don't have enough money to splurge on a ticket to go with them anyway, so I'd rather keep my money to myself." She glanced up at Jackson and smiled widely. "I think going to a club and seeing you dance is going to be much more enjoyable anyway; at least now I'll probably have something to laugh at, in a good way of course. You can even laugh at me too if I do anything stupid."

Once they made it outside, Hayden looked around and blinked her eyes, looking at all the blinking lights and people walking around the streets. Again, she was met with the familiar sounds of taxi's honking their horns to get people's attention to tell them to either move out the way or to get in the car if they wanted to go somewhere. "Come on, let's go this way." She motioned with her head to the left and started walking, her arm still attached to Jackson's. "You be the one to pick the club; the first one you see down the strip that you want to go down we can. Just speak up and lead the way through any doors, okay?"
 
Jackson let her lead him down the street, while he took a few seconds to adjust to the new noise level and all the different lights. How people had the energy to work here was beyond him, with the constant sounds and lights blinking everywhere. No, he definitely preferred his quiet office back home, even though it wasn't the most exciting job.

«I'll definitely give you something to laugh at, that's for sure,» he said, smiling. Her last little speech had finally been able to calm him a little, and he really tried his best to not worry at all. It was probably starting to annoy her, so he should stop it, or she would definitely leave. He would feel like an idiot if he had to end the night early and go back to his hotel room. Here he had a beautiful woman volunteering to spend the night with him, and he kinda kept telling her til leave. Stupidity.

But, getting signed with picking out a club did of course make him nervous again. What if he picked one she didn't like? Or one that was just plain boring? Or managed to pick one with some weird theme that would give her a very wrong idea about him? He guessed he shouldn't really worry about the last one though, or any of it actually. That was after all the luxury with never going to see her again - he could give her the worst impression ever, and it wouldn't matter.

«Okay, so what about this one?» he asked when they had walked for a few minutes, both seemingly busy admiring everything that was happening around them. Wherever you looked, there was something new and exciting to look at. He had stopped them outside a place that actually had a line, meaning it was popular, and from the view through the windows it seems like a large place. Even a little fancy, which he though she would enjoy. Loud, thumping music poured out the two large open doors, where security guards stood and slowly let people in when others left. «Maybe we can even be so rude and tip our way to the front of the line? Not something I normally would do, but if you're up for it…»
 
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