I took a deep breath and shut the door behind me, walking towards the spot where I'd meet Bryan. He had insisted to pick me up from my place, but for both of our sakes, I told him to meet somewhere where Aiden couldn't run him over with his car. I don't know why I was getting anxious all of the sudden, I started taking deep breaths, not wanting to go crazy in front of him. He had picked a bar downtown for us to go to, something that made me even more anxious because it made it seem more like a date.
I spotted him leaning on his car, his eyes lighting up when he saw me. "Hey" I shyly spoke and his mouth dropped, eyes scanning me up and down. "You look beautiful" he said, making me blush, and I smiled. "Thanks" I told him, feeling my cheeks redden as I wasn't used to getting comments like this.
Bryan opened the door for me and I gladly took a seat. He joined me, instantly turning on the heat. "If it gets too warm for you, tell me, I just assumed you were cold" he spoke and I smiled. "Thanks" I said, looking down at my legs. I need to learn how to be less awkward around dudes, this is getting ridiculous. He chuckled, probably noticing my nervousness, and I did the same. The chuckle turned into a giggle and the giggle turned into a laugh "What's so funny" I asked, playfully.
"It's just so funny to me how- I mean you're too pretty to be nervous around me, Evelyn, you're like way out of my league anyway" he said, making my blush intensify, but it was dark so I hoped he wouldn't notice.
But he did. "I can't believe you're blushing" he said and his eyes drifted between me and the road. "You just don't seem like the girl to do that" he continued, making me smirk. "What type of girl do I seem like then?" I played with my hair, turning to look at him. He tapped on the wheel with his fingers, thinking about his answer. "You know, the confident popular one that all the guys gush over but she rejects all of them" he said and I laughed "Well, I'm not" I responded, remembering all the time I spent wishing I was.
"I was always taken aback by that, from the moment I set foot in that classroom. The back seats never suited you, I thought you'd be the one in the front." I nodded, looking around. "Is there a particular reason why we're talking about my social status?" I asked, playfully. "Not really, I'm just trying to distract you from the fact that I'm actually kidnapping you" he teased me and I faked a gasp, to appear scared.
"Oh please, sir, I'm too pretty to die" I begged and we both laughed. He parked the car and I could see the bar we were going to. So many people were walking inside and I felt a certain feeling pool in the bottom of my stomach. I was excited for once.
Bryan turned off the engine and looked at me "Ready?" he asked and I nodded. We got out of the car and started walking towards the entrance when I remembered we were both underage. I stopped in my tracks. "Bryan?" I called for him "What is it?" he asked. "We're not 21, how are we going to get in?" I asked. "Don't worry about that" he assured me, something that only caused me to worry more, but I didn't question him.
He looped one of his arms around my shoulders, pulling me to him. We reached the door, catching the bouncer's attention. He frowned, studying us closely and I started panicking, knowing damn well that if he asked for ID's, we were screwed. "Bryan?" he finally spoke and I frowned "Big Steve!"Â he smiled and they exchanged a handshake.
"And who's this?" Big Steve asked him and Bryan looked at me, unsure of what to say. I took both of us out of the difficult position and took my hand out for him to shake. "I'm Evelyn" I introduced myself. "Pleasure to meet you, Evelyn" he said, bringing my hand to his lips and placing a kiss on it, making me giggle. "You too"
He opened the door for us and in seconds we were greeted by the warmth of the closed space, and the settle music that was playing. I could smell the smoke coming from various corners as well as hear the sounds of bottles opening and glasses clinging.
We took a seat at a small table away from the lights and buzz, and I couldn't help but feel the shift in the atmosphere between us. He took off his jacket, exposing his muscles, and ran a hand through his hair. He looked around the room, briefly, as if scanning the place in his head. His movements were far different than Aiden's, uncertainty was covering his every move, whereas Aiden's were always assertive, sure.
But why am I comparing him to Aiden? Aiden's a prick. "Good Evening. I'm your waitress for tonight. What can I get you?" Soon the waitress came to take our orders, and I was found dumbfounded as I had no clue what to order from this place. I was no stranger to alcohol, we know that by now, but I was a stranger to ordering it and was sure I'd make a fool of myself.
"I'll have some Brandy and..." he looked at me, expecting me to place my order and I cursed myself for not asking for a menu earlier. Sensing I had no idea what to say, Bryan took over for me "...she'll have the Gin&Tonic" he said and the girl left with our order.
"Thanks for that" I muttered under my breath, even though I had no idea what he had ordered for me. My brain wandered and I ended up comparing his order to the one Aiden would have made- Scotch with ice. "So, how are you enjoying our lovely town?" I started a conversation, trying to get my mind off a certain jackass.
"I get to see you again, what else do I need?" he said and a flirtatious smirk covered his face, and I was glad this place had lighting low enough to cover my blushing that had already started. "How's Cole doing, by the way?" he asked. "He's alright, you know being Cole." I chuckled and he nodded. "You should stop by and see him sometime, he'd be happy to see you" I said, not mentioning the part where Cole told me he didn't remember Bryan one bit.
He froze at my words but nodded regardless. "Um, yeah...yeah sure why not" he muttered just when the waitress came back with our drinks. "Here you go, let me know if you need anything else" she said and we both thanked her, Bryan instantly reaching for his glass.
"Did I say something wrong?" I asked him when she left. He immediately shook his head "No, of course not, just thought that after today Cole might view me differently, that's all. You're his little sister after all" he explained himself and I nodded "Don't worry about him, at the end of the day we're not doing anything wrong" I giggled.
Bryan opened his mouth to speak but was cut off, a notification coming up on my phone. I took the device in my hands, it was a text from...oh Dear God, why?
Dumbass:
Having fun?
"Sorry" I turned it off. "You were saying?" I urged him to continue, not wanting to let Aiden ruing this for the both of us. "Right, I'm just saying I don't blame the guy for being protective of you, if I had a sister this gorgeous I'd be protective too" he said, and I looked down at my drink, smiling shyly. From the cοrner of my eye I could see my phone - which was now placed next to me on the little couch- light up again, but this time Bryan didn't notice.
Dumbass:
Did Bryan show you his award for being the most amazing citizen in Maryland, yet?
Oh, sorry, it's too early for foreplay.
I internally cursed at myself for my taste in guys being... Aiden. Like come on, you couldn't do better than this?
I tried to ignore his creative texts and didn't respond, hoping that if I didn't give him attention he'd stop. You know, like you do with toddlers. I set my focus back to Bryan, though I wasn't sure it was a good idea either, as I had no idea how to respond to him.
"It's been just me and him for a long time, so he acts more like a parent instead of a brother" I went with the first thing that popped in my head, hoping I didn't sound like a soap opera character. "Parents are not in the picture?" he asked and I frowned, I thought he already knew all this, but I guess I never mentioned it.
Not everyone knows your backstory, and that's not a bad thing. It's one of the few times that I knew more about someone's life than they knew about mine, and it was a dynamic I liked. "Not really, but I don't mind. I have my friends" I took a sip as he studied me intensively. "A boyfriend, maybe?" he asked and I sighed before being able to stop it. He took that as his answer, before I could justify it. "It's complicated" he said for me, and I laughed hiding my face.
"Go on, talk to papa" he said and I laughed, "You took me on a date so we can talk about my situation with someone else?" I questioned and he nodded, "It's only a date if you want it to be. Regardless, I'm a friend, and a guy. Maybe I could be of help." he said and I smiled, swooning at how sweet he was, but I hated being that girl. Throughout the evening he had been showing me his interest in me, and I wasn't sure where I stood with us.
I looked at my screen, another text from Aiden popping up. I rolled my eyes, this boy just didn't know when to stop. "Is everything okay? Someone's bothering you? Do I need to handle it? 'Cause I will." he smiled at me, assuringly. "He's not exactly bothering me, because I'm not giving him attention-" I started, and he pointed a finger at me, accusingly "Uh, huh! So it's a he" he said and I hid my face.
"Yes, it's a he, can we change the subject now?" I said, hoping Aiden wasn't having a victory party, hearing our conversation through my phone's mic which I wouldn't be surprised if he had hacked into. "Can I make a guess first?" he asked and I shook my head, laughing, but let him do it anyway. "Go for it" I said, taking a sip of my drink. I was taking my time with it, resisting the urge to chug it down to get myself to relax. As we know by now, alcohol only causes me more problems.
"It's the guy that lives next door from you, isn't it?" he asked, making my movements halt. I put my drink down, a small frown on my face. Was it that obvious,or was he just that observant? "It wasn't that hard to figure it out, I mean if looks could kill, I would've been dead by now" he laughed and I nodded, remembering Aiden's little jealousy stunt.
"I know I'm not in the position to be making assumptions, but as your...friend, and someone who cares about you I think you should hear this. You deserve someone better. Someone who isn't scared to show you how he feels about you"
"How do you know that-"
"If he wasn't scared, we wouldn't be here right now. You'd be with him" I looked away, knowing that even though the case was much more complex than what Bryan knew, he was right. "Now, there's obviously, a lot more of this story that I don't know, but if someone wants to be with you, they'll find a way to do it" he smiled, and I nodded.
We spoke for a while until I excused myself and went to the bathroom- after managing to get lost inside the not that big of a space-. A few girls were there before me, but they left the minute I got in, something I was glad for. I got the job done -if you know what I'm saying, and then went to wash my hands. I took my phone out of my pocket and opened it for the first time after a while, going straight to the messages.
Dumbass (12)
I put my phone down, putting my hands on either side of the sink, and took a deep breath, looking at my reflection. Bryan was right, if someone wants to be with you, they'll find a way to do it. I knew there was much more of this than I knew, like I've said before, I can't know what's going on in his head, but the line has to be drawn somewhere. Having a girlfriend and rubbing her in my face, making me appear like a fool in front of everyone... the list goes on.
Dumbass (13)
I didn't open the texts, I didn't want to. He was being rude and selfish, thinking I would spend all night on my phone talking to him instead of having fun with the person in front of me. What I did next, though, shocked even me.
"Oh, so I see you're done with ignoring me" Aiden spoke from the other end of the line after not even the second ring. Yes, I had called him, but only to tell him to stop bothering me for the rest of the night. "Do you remember that there are other people on this planet apart from you, or do I need to tell you?" I bluntly said, my back hitting the wall.
He chuckled "How's the golden boy?" he asked, ignoring what I said. "He's fine. But that's not why I called" I responded. "Why did you call, Evelyn?" he teased me, and I wished he was here so that I could run his head through the mirror. "If you don't stop texting me, I'm blocking you" I said, hoping it would work, since he didn't want to lose his privilege of being able to mess with me all night.
"I'll stop, if you promise we'll talk when you get home" he said and I ran a hand through my hair. "We will, can you stop now?" I asked. "Yes" I heard him say and let out a breath. I didn't wait for him to add anything else, I hang up before he could. I put my phone back in my pocket, fixed my hair a bit, and went back outside, to join Bryan once again.
Time passed by and before I knew it, it was late. After the little chat about Aiden, we took our time, talking about his life and his mum's health. I was glad to hear she was doing better and had avoided the worst. Bryan told me about their plans to stay, and how he wanted to enroll back in my school so he could finish high school.
"Do you think your little 'situation' will be cool with me coming there?" he asked, when our school was mentioned. I waved it off "Who cares? We're not asking for his permission in the first place, plus, I want you there." I gave him a smile and he reciprocated.
We both finished our drinks and called the waitress to pay. Bryan insisted on paying for the both of us, but I kindly declined the offer. He went with it, only after making me promise that I'd let him pay next time.
I tried to not put myself through the process of thinking whether or not there would be a next time, things were too complicated for anyone to be able to know such a thing. I decided to just let things move on their own and not think about it too much.
We reached my front porch and Bryan parked the car. We both got out, Bryan quickly moving over to the side of the car I was standing at, stopping me from moving any further. "Did you have fun?" he said, resting against the car. I turned to look at him, a smile on my face. "Sure did. About that though... I'm sorry about bringing up the things I did today, it was immature and I shouldn't have-"
"-Hey, hey, I asked about it, I urged you to talk about it, so that means I wanted to hear you, doesn't it?" he asked, and I looked away, nodding slightly. He raised my chin, a smile on his face when our eyes met. "I enjoyed every second. And maybe, if you want to, we can do it again soon?" he suggested and I giggled. "We'll be in touch" I said and he bit his lip. "Great" he said and a silence fell upon us.
"It's getting late, I should probably let you head home" I said, breaking the silence. "Right" he agreed "Goodnight hug?" he suggested and I giggled, sliding into his open arms. It felt nice being there, it had been a while. His hands rubbed my back soothingly, and a smile creeped on my lips. We pulled away from each other, but his hand remained on my waist.
"Goodnight" he said, and before I could realize what was happening, he was leaning towards me. I froze in my spot, panicking in the thought that he was going to kiss me, and I hoped he wasn't going to. My body relaxed though, when I felt him move towards my cheek instead. His lips were barely touching my skin, and it felt as if he was doing it on purpose to tease me. Finally, I felt-
"There you are! Oh, I'm so sorry, am I interrupting something?" We both pulled apart in a fraction of a second, slowly turning to face him. On his face was a smile that could only rival Ted Bundy's but his tone remained... cheerful.
~~~
I know it's not the weekend, but I finished the chapter and didn't want to make y'all wait until then. As always, if you enjoyed it don't forget to Vote and Comment!
*muah*