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Above All Else   Nora tossed the wet tissue into the pile that was forming on her bedroom floor. The pain she felt at seeing Troy lying in Lindsay’s arms was more than she thought she could handle, but after a short time of crying, the pain subsided and the anger grew. How could she have fallen for such a two-bit scumbag? OK, OK, so her life had been spinning out of control for awhile, but just when she finally thought she had control, it took something like this to make her face the reality… her life hadn’t been in her control since Bo left.   She took the last tissue out of the box, wiped her wet cheek and swore she’d never shed another tear over Troy McIver. She pushed herself off of the bed, pulled off her pajamas, tossed them over the phonebook sitting on the night table and slipped on the first thing she could grab from her closet. She wasn’t going to sit around and mourn a love that never was, she needed to get out of her house, she needed to be around people, she needed a drink.   She sat at the Palace bar twirling a toothpick with an olive skewered to the end around the empty martini glass. She took the olive, placed it between her teeth, and as she yanked the toothpick out of her mouth, she slightly turned to catch the grinning face of the person now sitting beside her.   “Bo?” she said with some surprise, slowly chewing the olive. “What brings you out so late?” She turns away from him and motions for the bartender to bring her another drink, “Remember… shaken… not stirred,” she said, tossing the toothpick into the empty glass.   Bo slightly chuckles, “What brings me out? What has YOU sitting at the bar alone, drinking a martini?”   “I asked you first,” she said with a slightly intoxicated smile.   “OK, OK,” Bo said, motioning to the bartender for a double bourbon and settling in the seat next to her. “I just needed to get out of my apartment and get some air.”   “Ah…” she said, smiling at the bartender as he set her drink in front of her. “Things getting a little too cramp at home?” she asked   “You might say that,” he said with a smile and a sip of his drink. “Now it’s your turn,” he swallowed and looked at her, “What’s got you out this evening, looking…” his eyes traced her outline, “incredibly sexy, I might add.”   It was Bo’s comment that actually had her checking her appearance. She was in such a rush to get out of her house, that she never noticed she had slipped on such a sexy dress, but it did help to explain why her arms and back were a little chilled.   She nervously chuckled as she checked the spaghetti straps of her dress and assessed the amount of cleavage she was displaying to the bartender. “I… Uh…” she started to laugh, “Honestly, I hadn’t even noticed what I was wearing.”   Bo took another sip of his drink, “Well, I’m sure every man in here has noticed.” He paused a moment as he tried to keep his own pulse under control. “So… what’s got you out so late, dressed in such a hurry, and drinking martinis with three olives?”   She reached into the bowl of nuts sitting in front of her and absentmindedly popped a couple in her mouth. “You know…” she started, staring at the bowl, “They put this bowl of nuts in front of you and you feel like it’s the best food you’ve ever tasted. Ever notice that?”   Bo just sat and watched her as she was lost in thought.   She frowned as she stared into the bowl, “It’s like they put these nuts in front of you and because you’re at a bar, you think you’ve hit the jackpot,” she slightly chuckled. “OH! Nuts!!!” she laughs, raising her eyebrows and continues to stare at the bowl. “The funny thing is,” she turns serious, “probably any other time you’d care less about nuts. I mean… what are they? Tiny, little salty things whose only purpose is to make you drink more. But you put them in a bowl, place them in front of someone with a drink, and they eat them like they’re caviar.”   “Nora, honey?” Bo tried to bring her out of her thoughts.   “We never seem to see what’s right in front of our eyes for what it really is,” she sighed.   “Nora…” Bo leaned in a little closer. “Honey…”   Nora was still lost in thought, “Why don’t they give us pretzels??” she asked, reaching back for her drink. “Pretzels would make you just as thirsty…”   “Red!!” Bo slightly raised his voice. He knew something was really bothering her and he’d seen her go off on tangents like this before.   Nora finally snapped out of her thoughts and took a long sip of her drink. She slipped one of the olives off the toothpick with her teeth and returned the toothpick to her drink, “I caught Troy cheating on me this evening with Lindsay.” At first she glanced down into her drink and then she slowly turned to look at Bo, waiting for the ‘I told you so’s.’ All she saw when she looked into his eyes was pity. That was far worse!   “Oh please Bo!” she said abruptly, downing the remainder of her drink, “Don’t feel sorry for me!” she shook her head, fighting the rush of tears.   “I’m NOT!” he quickly said in his defense.   “Yes you are. I can see it in your eyes. Poor Nora! Another relationship down the toilet…” She went to rise and her hand slipped off the bar and she slightly fell into Bo.   He quickly grabbed her in his arms, their faces only inches apart. Had time stopped? Her heartbeat pounded in her ears? Would Bo push her away if she pulled him into a kiss, she quickly wondered.   “Whoa there!” Bo said, breaking the moment and eventually righting her, gently returning her strap to her shoulder. He quickly needed to put a little distance between them before he did something that he would regret in the morning. He helped her steady herself back into her seat. “Don’t leave,” he said and she glanced away, now thoroughly embarrassed. Bo took his finger and placed it under her chin, drawing her eyes back to his. “Above all else remember… we’ll always be friends.” He looked deeply into her eyes. “What you saw wasn’t pity. It was pain. When you hurt… I hurt. When someone hurts you… I want to hurt them.”   “Oh don’t sweat it,” she said, settling into her seat, shoving the bowl of nuts away from her. “I’ll be the first to admit I’ve been a fool. There were so many signs—long lunch meetings, his sudden interest in art, the returned ties,” she chuckled again. How could she have been such a fool. “But you know what?” she looked at him, feeling suddenly sober.   “What?” Bo asked.   “Deep down, I knew this relationship would never work.”   “You did?” he asked.   “Yep!” she nodded. “Because it just wasn’t there.”   “What wasn’t there?”   “This!” she said, grasping his head with both her hands and pulling his lips down to hers. The kiss was steaming, electric, and far too short. She pulled back and they both maintained eye contact.   “Uh…” Bo’s heart was beating wildly in his chest, “Oh… THAT!” he said, his facing warming.   “BO BUCHANAN!” the shrill accented voice echoed across the room. Both Bo and Nora turned to see Gabrielle flounce in their direction. “What are YOU doing with this woman?”   “I… Uh…” he glanced between Gabrielle and Nora. The look of desire never leaving her face. “I… Uh….,” he tried again.   “We need to talk,” she spit out in anger. “NOW!” she said, turning and walking toward the door.   Bo looked back at Nora. “I guess I need to go explain,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.   “I guess you should,” she said, the heat of their kiss still on her lips. “But before you leave,” she said, grabbing his arm to stop him. “Remember this… Above all else… we’ll always be friends.”   Bo smiled at his comment coming back to him. He placed his hand along her cheek, and smiled deeply into her eyes, “That kiss was a lot more than a ‘friends’ kiss and I want to explore this a little more with you.”   “You do?” she asked with a seductive smile.   “Yes I do.” He leaned down to place another kiss on her lips. “You tell the bartender to take away the nuts and bring us some caviar. I’ll be back in just a minute.”   The End.