“What do you mean you’ve got a new role?” Brian asked, his eyebrows starting to narrow in confusion as I began my explanation of Jane’s call. It was going to be a tough conversation and I surely wasn’t looking forward to it.

“It means… It means I have to go back,” I told him, my heart aching at the thought of hurting Brian’s feelings.

“You promised-”

“Brian, I didn’t think they’d call me so soon,” I cut him off as he took a seat on the couch, his breathing becoming harder with each second. “Besides,” I sat down with him slowly, “I don’t know if I’m going.”

He looked up at me, hope crossing his pained, brown eyes for a moment, “Please, don’t. Don’t go,” he pleaded, clearly desperate as he grabbed my hands and squeezed them tightly. “I can’t take it, Lara.”

“Don’t this to me,” I said, trying to retrieve my hands from his grasp, but he held them like his life depended on it. “Brian, this is really hard for me. I don’t know what to do.”

“Stay with me,” he said quickly. “You can find a new job here, you can look for a house and-”

“Stop. Stop and think for a moment,” I interrupted, “My life is not here, okay? It’s not only my job I’m worried about but also my mom, my friends” – even if they weren’t that many – “and Jane,” I told him and he shook his head, dropping my hands furiously and standing up.

“I knew you’d do this. If you weren’t planning to stay why the fuck am I trying to bring us back together, uh? Why am I so worried about our feelings for each other if you planned to fucking leave as soon as they called you for work?” He shouted, venom spilling from his words, from his dark, raged eyes as he glared at me. “Just why, Lara?” His arms went flying into the air as he panted.

I gulped, struggling against tears. He was right, but at the same time he wasn’t. “I don’t know the answer,” I replied shakily.

“Dammit, Lara,” he breathed out, sitting back on the couch and running his hands through his now messy, black hair. “What happens if you don’t go? Will you lose your job?”

I glanced at him, trying really hard not to break down, “I d-don’t think so. But this was a chance for me to grow in my career, and if I skip it I’ll keep having the secondary roles,” I clarified, my voice soft and surprisingly calm. I was so screwed up.

Brian sighed and looked at me; I could see it from my peripheral vision. “I’m sorry,” he said after a while and I locked our gazes, surprised with his outcome. “I know this is a tough call and I shouldn’t have freaked out.” I nodded with my head and let my eyes wander back to my lap. “I just- I’m scared.” Some movement was heard on my side, and before I knew it, Brian’s arm was wrapping itself around me and pulling me into his side. “I’m sorry, okay? Let’s just talk about it and try to find some sort of solution.” He kissed my temple sweetly, his arms providing me the comfort that I needed so much, the assurance that I was not going to lose him.

“There’s no solution, Brian,” I murmured. “If I go I’ll have to be months and months away from here, from you.” Looking up into his eyes, I let out a silent sigh, “I’m not sure if I want that.”

A small smile worked its way up to his lips. “I certainly don’t want that,” he said, “but I get that you can’t jump out of it that easily.”

His hand rubbed my arm up and down in a soothing way and I leaned further into his chest, closing my eyes. “How can I decide between you and the rest? It’s not fair. I should be able to have both.”

“How much time do you have to make the final decision?”

“Until next week.”

He kissed my head again. “Then don’t rush anything,” he said lowly, “Think about it, see what options you have, and when you’re ready you can decide what you wanna do.” I nodded and stayed in his arms for a while longer, before I got up and made a quick trip to the bathroom.


Brian’s POV
I let out a deep sigh no sooner did Lara leave the living room. What I’d feared the most had finally come and I was freaking the shit out. I didn’t want her to leave me again, but I knew from the very beginning that this would eventually happen someday. Just like her, though, I wasn’t expecting it to be so soon.

However, no matter how sad and upset I was, I knew she was ten times worse because she was the one having to make the decision. So I wanted to cheer her up tonight, to make her forget about this for only a few hours. Tomorrow she could dig into this, but today I had to make her laugh.

As she trotted back into the room, a small smile tainting her lips, I stood up, “I was thinking that we could play Wii. We could use some fun,” I suggested, hopeful.

She chuckled, intrigued, “I thought you didn’t like video games.”

Shrugging my shoulders a little, I laughed, “Wii is kinda funny. It has some cool games.”

She smiled, still chuckling a bit, “Okay. What do you have in mind?”

I bit down on my lip, my hands digging into my front pockets, “I have this game with worms. It’s cool.”

"What? Worms?” She laughed, her interest spiking up. I walked over to the TV and kneeled down to grab the game. I handed it to her and she eyed it attentively, her lips curving into a full grin as she saw the little images displayed on the game’s cover. “This sounds fun.”

"It is," I confirmed. She glanced up at me before giving me back the game. "Let’s go, tiger. I’m gonna beat your ass!” She smirked and threw herself on the couch.

"Alright. Someone’s excited!

"I sure am, baby!"

"Oh my god," I laughed. My plan was working and her mood had risen considerably. When the game started rolling, I handed her the control and she sat down, with her legs crossed. “We have to give our worms names. Let’s do like this, I choose yours and you choose mine.”

"You mean the names?" She queried and I nodded as I took the seat beside her. "Okay. I know how I’m gonna name yours.”

"I can’t wait to see that," I chortled, focusing back on the screen so I could get to the naming section. One minute was all I needed to have both of our worms on the TV, ready to receive a name. I switched controllers with Lara as we laughed, curious to see the names we were going to choose.

"Let me go first!" She said, giving me a cheesy smile.

"Alright, alright."

She looked at me, suspiciously, “Close your eyes.”

"Really?"

"Yes, come on!" She smacked my thigh and I chuckled before shutting my eyes close. I felt her waving her hand in front of my face and I smiled. "I can feel you."

"Just cover your eyes."

"Don’t you trust me?"

Lara hesitated and then giggled, “Not on this.” I shook my head but did as she told me, putting my hands over my eyes. She was chuckling and snickering beside me as she typed the name, and by the time she was finished, she nudged me to look up.

Cute Asshole.

I laughed, glancing at her fake innocent face. “You really like to call me asshole, don’t you?”

She nodded vigorously. “At least you’re a cute one. Be glad.”

"Oh, why thank you," I chuckled as I shook my head at her. "Now it’s my turn." Putting a pillow on my lap, I tapped the top of it and motioned for Lara to lay her head there. "Face to me," I demanded.

"What?"

"I don’t trust you on this," I mocked, using her same words, and stuck my tongue out at her. She rolled her eyes but lied down anyway, her face turned to my stomach as I chose the name of her worm. I rested my elbows on her side, careful not to hurt her, and peeked down at her as she started playing with my shirt, seeming pretty entertained. I fought back a smile at the sight but turned back to the screen, typing the name of her worm. “Are you finished yet?” She asked, impatient.

Another letter and I beamed with the final result, “Yup.”

She sat up quickly and her eyes roamed over the TV. “Short Shorty?” She giggled. “So original,” she joked, her elbow hitting my ribs playfully.

"Yes, because asshole is so much more original."

"Yes, it is," she said, chuckling, "I bet no one calls you asshole, asshole.”

She loved to make fun of me. That much was obvious. I grinned at her, tickling her on her stomach. “Yeah, only if after that comes a punch,” I remarked.

She laughed, slapping my hands away, and looked up at me, eyeing my cheek attentively. “You don’t have cheek-holes.”

I quirked an eyebrow, “Cheek-holes?”

"Uh-uh," she hummed, poking my face.

"You mean dimples."

"Cheek-holes because you’re Mr. Asshole," she smiled and I swear I wanted to grab her and do unspeakable things to her because of that smile. "Anyway,” she grabbed the remote again, “let’s just play, shall we? I wanna tear your pretty, little worm apart.”

I want to tear you apart. On my bed. What? Shit. Maybe I shouldn’t have been this whole time without getting laid. The sexual frustration was killing me.

"Brian!" She whined, smacking my chest and snapping me out of my untamed thoughts. "Come on."

We finally started the game and luckily my thoughts began to subside. I had to control myself around her sometimes, otherwise things could get very nasty, and I sure didn’t want that.

"I’m gonna blow your head off,” Lara said, her eyes narrowed at the TV as she concentrated on her task. I turned to her with a smile, her attention never once drifting away from the game. With a loud noise coming from the screen, she threw her hands up in victory. “Suck that!”

"Not fair. My worm fell into the hole. It was an easy shot," I said and she scoffed.

"That’s bullshit! I won because my worm is the best. Good job, buddy!" She beamed at the TV, making me laugh rather loudly. Her head shot to me and she gave me a harmless punch on the arm. “I should get an award,” she smirked.

Oh, is that so?

I leaned into her and pressed my lips to her cheek in a soft kiss. As I moved away I saw the light blush adorning her face and she chuckled, her hand touching the place where my lips had been. “Good enough?” I asked and she nodded.

"Next round!" She said quickly, probably wanting to change the subject. "One to Short Shorty and zero for the Cute Asshole."

I shook my head, laughing, and we continued with our games. In the end, I let her win so she could make fun of me and forget about today’s call and be happy for a little longer, because I knew that as soon as we went to sleep, she would have to make the decision and she’d be sad all over again.

I barely slept that night, thinking about that. I couldn’t help but wonder how she was. I knew that she’d be awake and burning her brain with the different possibilities she had, but how bad was the situation? I wish I could help her, but this wasn’t my decision to make, and the more I tried to help, the worse it would be for her. So staying away to let her think was all I could do, even if it killed me inside.

In the morning, because I couldn’t be on that couch any more second, I decided to prepare breakfast and coffee for when Lara woke up. She surprised me earlier than I thought, her bare feet padding into the kitchen a little before 10 am. Her face told me she hadn’t slept much, just like I thought.

"Coffee?" I offered as she took a seat at the table. She nodded with her head, her eyes slipping close from tiredness when she brought the mug I gave her to her lips. I sat in the chair next to her and kissed the top of her head. She instinctively leaned against my chest.

"It’s gonna be fine,” I murmured.

"I don’t wanna do this,” she pouted.

"I know."

She pulled away to look at me. “We were supposed to talk about us yesterday and now not even that I can do.”

Smiling, I hugged her again to me, “I’m not going anywhere and neither are these feelings, so don’t worry about us now. We have plenty of time, okay?”

"Do we?"

"Yes," I chuckled, "I’m not letting you go this time," I said, earnest, and she sighed against my chest.

A few days had gone by since that night at my house. I hadn’t talked much to Lara, not wanting to influence her decision, but the truth was that I had my heart in her hands. I didn’t want her to go, I wanted to be selfish and tell her to stay with me here, but on the other hand, I knew this was her dream. Going to the big screens was all she ever wanted when we were younger and I would be feeling like shit if I was the one to ruin her dreams.

‘Can you meet me at the Starbucks near the store?’ Had been her text one afternoon. My heart raced fast when I got the message because I had a feeling that the decision had been made. I was nervous, really and utterly nervous, as I crossed the coffee shop to go sit beside her. She had a big cup of the black liquid cradled between her hands already, her green eyes diverted to the window next to her.

“Hey, shorty.” I kissed her head and sit in front of her. She looked sad and it broke my heart. She couldn’t even look me in the eyes, and that simple gesture was enough for me to realize what call she had made. A sigh left my lips and I leaned back in my seat. Silence was all it was shared between us for a few minutes, and even though it wasn’t uncomfortable, I knew that at some point one of us had to have the first word. “When are you going?” I asked.

She cleared her throat and forced her eyes to meet mine. “Tomorrow.”

I nodded briefly, moving forward to fold my arms on the table. “Okay.”

“Don’t be mad,” she said, her voice so weak and fearful.

I frowned and stretched my arm and took hold of her hand. “I’m not.” She tightened her grip on me and nodded with a small sigh of relief. “You need any help with the packing?”

“No, no. I have everything ready. I just-” She paused, shaking her head. “I hope you understand why I’m going.”

“I do, Lara. Believe me, I do.”

“I’ll call you and text you all the time, okay? I still don’t know any details about this role, so I have to go a few days earlier, but when I know everything there is to know, I’ll tell you.”

I smiled. “Okay.” She eyed me for a moment, reading me perhaps. I could tell she was nervous and scared that I was mad, but I wasn’t. I was just sad she had to go now that we were finally on the same page. “I’m gonna be fine. We are gonna be fine,” I assured her and she smiled a lopsided smile at me.

“Thank you.”

"Come here, you silly," I said, moving to the side to give her enough space to sit down next to me. She stood up, giggling, and quickly took the empty spot I had left for her. "I don’t want you to feel bad, okay? Even if you disappeared, which I hope you don’t, I’d fly to New York and bring you back with me, because I swear to God that this time I won’t be stupid enough to give up on you. I’ll fight all I have to fight to make you want to be with me," I told her in all honesty, looking into her green eyes as I stroked her chin.

"Wimp," she smirked, making me glare at her playfully.

"Here I am, trying to be cute and adorable only for you, and you call me wimp."

She laughed and wounded her arms behind my neck, surprising me with a hug. “I’m just kidding,” she mumbled, “and you don’t have to make me want to be with you. I want you already.” I smiled absently at her words and my arms squeezed her middle a little tighter. Planting a light kiss on my cheek, she pulled away and grinned sort of mischievously. “Maybe when I get back.”

"Maybe now," I teased back, raising an eyebrow and tugging her playfully to me.

She chuckled and pushed me away, “Not now. This will be hard enough. I don’t need the memory of your kiss to make it even more difficult,” she said and my mouth went slack. Damn.

"Now I really want to kiss you."

"Brian," she groaned, "stop with that. I’m gonna get going before we can’t control ourselves." Even though she was trying to sound confident and serious, I could see the smile breaking across her lips. She patted my arm to make me move, since I was between her and her only way out, but I didn’t want to. "Brian," she warned. "Move your ass."

I eventually did and we both stood up. I rubbed my hands on my pants and looked down at her. “Can I drop you at the airport tomorrow?” I asked and she lowered her head.

"No."

"Why?"

"As I said, it’ll be harder for me," she said, glancing up, "I don’t want you there. I’ll ask Jimmy or Zacky to take me."

"Can I hang out with you today, then?" I tried and at that she beamed wider, throwing me a soft punch in the chest.

"Yes. I think I can handle you one more day," she teased.

"Good. You wouldn’t have any other option anyway," I said, sticking my tongue out, making her roll her eyes.

---

“I can’t believe this, really. Ugh!” Lara groaned.

"Hey, calm down, will you? You can’t freak out right now. Maybe they didn’t explain right."

“Brian, no. They specified every single detail and I’m only shooting for two episodes,” she said, anger starting to drip from her voice, “which means my fucking character isn’t that important. They lied!”

I let out a deep sigh and rested my elbows on top of the counter. “What’re you gonna do?”

“I don’t know… I’m just so pissed off. Jane says she’s going to talk to the director but I doubt it’ll change anything.”

A customer entered the store and I rubbed my face with a groan. “Hey, shorty. I have to hang up. Can I call you later?”

“Yeah, sure,” she said, this time sounding more defeated than anything else. We said our goodbyes and then I reluctantly ended the call to give my customer the attention he might need.

Lara and I talked at night again and she was a bit better. It seemed that Jane had talked to her and cheered her up, which left me more relieved. However, from that day on, the calls I had with Lara started being shorter and rushed, and I didn’t know why. Lara didn’t sound okay on the phone and I couldn’t help but get worried. She insisted she was fine, though, but deep down we both knew she wasn’t.

"She’s probably just tired and occupied," Jimmy suggested. We were at his house, drinking beer and talking. He noticed that I’d been slightly off lately and so he invited me over. I was thankful for that because talking to him always helped me feeling better and more secure about things.

"I don’t know, man,” I breathed, playing with my bottle of beer, “I just don’t want her to shut me off. I’m worried."

Jimmy smiled, patting my back, “You’re so into her,” he said and I joined him in a laugh.

"Maybe."

"Bullshit. I know you, dude, and I’m one hundred percent sure that you’re completely hooked at this point." I couldn’t swipe the grin from off my face even if I tried and that was all Jimmy needed to get my answer. He draped one arm over my shoulders and kissed my head. "I hope you guys can have your chance now. You deserve it."

"Thanks, man.” I gazed up at my blue eyed friend, “I hope, too."

"No problem," he smiled and we both raised our bottles and they touched with a low click before we took a sip.

I was going nuts as I walked in and out of the back room to restock the shelters with the new CDs that had been delivered this morning. I was fucking tired and I couldn’t see the time to go home and lay down on my couch.

To make things even better, someone had entered the store because the bell at the door went off. “Damn, who is it now?” I muttered to myself as I made my way to the front of the store. But as soon as I rounded the corner, my breath hitched in my throat. “Lara?”

"Hey, fucker," she smiled, but somehow her smile didn’t seem the same one she usually wore. Her green eyes were dull and she looked like she was about to collapse. I quickly walked over to her and wrapped her in my arms, bringing her tiny body to my chest. She breathed out shakily and hugged me back just as desperately. “I didn’t expect you here so soon,” I whispered against her hair.

"I couldn’t do it."

I pulled away just enough to look down at her and she had her green eyes brimming with tears. I cupped her face in my hands, frowning as to why she was so upset, “What’s wrong?” I asked her softly and she shook her head, circling her hands around my wrists.

"I’m just tired," she replied weakly. I knew better than to prod her into the subject, so I dropped my hands and gave her another quick hug. "Wanna head out to my house?”

"Yes."

"Alright, come on." I took the bag she was carrying from her shoulder and we both got out of the store. I locked the door before leading Lara to my car, which was parked on the back of the building. She fell asleep almost instantly, her head resting against the window as I drove to my place.

I was really concerned about her. I couldn’t understand what might have happened for her to be so down, but I knew that as soon as she was ready, she would tell me.

I pulled onto my driveway ten minutes later and shut off the car, turning to the sleeping Lara. I placed my hand on her knee, giving it a gentle squeeze, “Shorty,” I called softly. She didn’t respond, so I shook her arm slightly and stroked her cheek after a while, calling her name several times until she finally cracked her eyes open. “We’re here. Come on.” I hopped off the car and opened the back door to get Lara’s bag. By the time I reached her side, she was unbuckling her seatbelt.

"I so want a bed right now," she chuckled lazily.

"I’ll give you one in a minute, sleepy head," I smiled. She held her hand out for me and I took it gladly to pull her up. But instead of letting go of it, I kept holding her hand all the way inside. She smiled shyly at the gesture and I knew it was only because she could barely have her eyes open, otherwise she’d come out with a smart-ass remark.

"Bed!" Lara squealed, sprinting off to my room, making me laugh as I followed after her. Sprawled out all over my bed, her eyes already closed, she looked as tempting as ever. I controlled myself not to jump next to her and sat down at her feet instead to take her shoes off.

"At least change for something more comfortable, you lazy ass," I said, but she grunted in disagreement. "Okay, okay." I raised my hands up defensively, "Your choice. Then don’t come to me, complaining about your sore boobs because your bra hurt."

She lifted her head up a little to look at me with a scowl, “I’d never do that!

I chuckled and tickled the base of her feet. “But you will, I know,” I stated, loving the way she squirmed lightly at the tickles.

"I’ll take my bra off when you leave. So get your ass out and stop tickling me because I wanna sleep,” she laughed, kicking my hands away with her feet.

"Fine, grumpy. Get into bed, otherwise you’ll be cold."

"I’m not grumpy," she countered, grabbing my pillow and snuggling into it after she was tucked in. It should be me there. Lucky pillow.

Regaining my composure, I quirked my eyebrow at her and stood up, “You’re not, uh?”

"No."

"Whatever. Want a kiss Goodnight?” I smirked and she pulled out a weird face, mocking me.

"It’s not even night."

I crouched down in front of the bed, “Want a kiss good afternoon?”

She burst into a fit of giggles, before hiding her face into my pillow. “Just go away, you fool,” she said, her voice muffled by the fluffy cotton object.

I leant forward, anyway, and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. “Sleep well, shorty.”

"I said I didn’t want a kiss good afternoon."

I stood up again, chuckling, “No, you didn’t. You told me to go away.”

"It was implicit," she said back as I started for the door.

Stopping at the doorway to take a last glance at her, I smiled, “Next time you have to be more explicit.”

She huffed in defeat and I grinned even wider to myself as she turned her head to the other side. I closed the door and decided to watch some TV while she took the much needed nap. I was tired, too, from restoring the shelters, and the job wasn’t even done yet. I was going to hear from Zacky tomorrow.

A couple of hours passed and in the meanwhile I must have fallen asleep a few times. However, my stomach started roiling with hunger and I knew it was time to do something about it. I went to check on Lara, so I poked my head inside, seeing that she still appeared to be sleeping.

I padded into the room and climbed into the bed, sitting down next to her and leaning against the headboard. God, as I looked down at her peaceful face, I couldn’t help but thinking how much she meant to me. I really wish things could be simpler.

I ran a hand through her hair. Stirring at my touch, she glanced over her shoulder, “Hey,” she whispered, a tiny smile playing on her lips.

"Welcome back."

She spun around to face me and laid her head on my lap, something she rarely did. My heart went all crazy with that and I quickly started combing her hair, lulling her back to sleep. She sighed in content and stayed like that for a few minutes, just enjoying the touch of my hand and fingers that would often travel from her hair to her cheek and then back to her hair.

“That feels really nice,” she mumbled sleepily. However, she grabbed my hand and held it to her chest, taking in a deep breath. “I need to talk to you.”

I fidgeted in my seat and nodded, “Okay. Tell me.”

"About New York."

"What happened?" I asked gently, my thumb caressing the back of her hand.

"I couldn’t fucking handle that anymore. I did one day of shooting and all they did was criticize. Nothing I was doing was good enough. I flipped out," she explained. "I don’t get it. If they despise me so much why do they keep me around?"

"Hey, don’t say that." I tightened my grip on her hand. "I’m sure they don’t despise you."

"Yes, they do, Brian." She sat up straight to lock her raged eyes with mine, "I realized that they’re not my friends. Any of them. Despite Jane they’re all a bunch of liars. It made me feel really lonely and pushed apart. I missed you guys more than ever," she said, leaning against my chest and hugging my middle.

I held my breath as she did that, my body going completely rigid. I couldn’t believe my eyes for a moment, but after recovering from the initial shock, I wrapped my arm around her and released the breath I was holding.

"Why are you so nervous?" She queried, taking me by surprise.

"I-"

"You’re really tense, Brian," she observed, moving away slightly to look at me. Her eyes studied my face for a second and when a smirk curled in the corner of her mouth, I raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"You look exactly like the night I first kissed you," she chuckled. "Is it because I’m leaning against you? And holding your hand more than usual?"

"What? I don’t know that you’re talking about," I lied, diverting my gaze away from hers. Laughing, she cupped my cheek in her hand and forced me to meet her beautiful, green eyes again. "What do you want?" I smirked as she held my gaze, her lips molded into a big smile.

She shook her head, “Nothing.”

She’s teasing you, idiot. Then I was going to tease her back. She should know that I could handle teasing much better than her, but her attempts were definitely cute.

I leant forward, just enough to have our lips almost touching, and she gulped hard, her grin faltering. I bit down on my lip, flitting my eyes between hers and her mouth, and she paralyzed, going utterly frozen; the same old reaction I’d awake in her whenever I teased her. “Who’s tense now?” I murmured against her lips, still not touching them.

She pulled away fast, her cheeks a little bit pinker than before. “Oh my god. What’re you even doing?”

Driving you crazy. “You tell me.”

"We were talking. And you just- you started- Ugh, I don’t even know," she groaned, waving her hand in front of her face. I chuckled and crawled toward her, making her panic for a moment. But when I wrapped my arms around her and pulled us both down, she just giggled, hugging me back. "Brian…"

"I’m happy you’re here again," I told her, bringing her close to me. "I may have missed you."

"May have?"

"That’s all you’re gonna get."

She laughed and pushed me away softly so she could sit up again. I rolled onto my back and stared up into her questioning eyes, waiting.

“You’re different,” Lara said.

"Am I?"

"Yes. There’s something different in you."

"What?" I asked, confused, but she just shrugged her shoulders. "Oh, come on, you have to tell me.” I pushed myself up, leveling up to her.

"I don’t know. You’re… sweeter? I don’t know," she chuckled, hiding her face in her hands. "I’m just silly, forget about it."

I smiled and fought the urge to hug her again. “Maybe it’s because I did miss you after all.”

"Awn." She removed her hands from her face. “You’re such a mushy asshole,” she chuckled, hitting me with my own pillow.

"Hey, that’s not fair!" I stole the pillow from her and hit her back again and again, until she was laughing so hard I had to stop to check if she was still breathing.

Lara had her arms wrapped around her tummy, panting and chuckling. “You’re awful.”

"Yeah, right."

"And now I’m starving. Let’s eat."

"You didn’t finish telling me about New York," I said and she sighed a little, nodding with her head.

"Let’s order some shit and I tell you while we wait for the food," she suggested and I agreed, before we both went back to the living room.
Lara’s POV

Sitting on the couch in front of each other, we talked about my stay in New York. I was telling Brian that when they broke the news about the role I’d gotten, I was a little bit pissed off but decided to give it a shot anyway.

"I did one day of shooting, like I had told you," I went on, "but then, at the end of the day, I started thinking of every shit they’d put me into, and I was like ‘Fuck this, I’m better than this bullshit,’ so I just packed my stuff and left," I said to Brian, still feeling sort of hotheaded. "But… It sucks, you know? I really thought this was my opportunity," I pouted. "But what really hurt the most was saying goodbye to my mom again. She thought I had finally come home, but when she saw my bags at the door, she started crying and wouldn’t stop. It fucking killed me," I said softly, lowering my head. "I missed her a lot, I still do, and I just wish she could be here with me."

Brian grazed his knuckles down my arm until he reached my hand and grabbed it. “Maybe one day,” he said. “You can’t lose hope.”

I offered him a small smile. “I try.”

"You’re strong and there’s gonna be a day when you’ll be strong enough for both you and your mom, and you’ll be able to bring her here."

I let a chuckle out, squeezing Brian’s hand, “You have such faith in me.”

"Hey, it’s not easy to do what you did in New York. That just proves my point. It takes a good pair of balls," he snickered.

"I guess I’ve been fooling you around, then," I smirked and he raised an eyebrow, confused, but it took him only a few seconds to understand.

He burst out laughing and made a disgusted face, “You’re gross. Get out of my house. I’ve been seducing a girl with a penis.”

Seducing me, uh?

"Oh my god," I laughed, smacking his arm, "that sounds so fucked up."

"Yeah, I’m heartbroken now." He plumped his bottom lip out, rubbing his eyes and sniffling playfully.

Awn. You adorable shit.

"If you loved me for real you’d accept my differences," I stated, stifling a chuckle as he stared at me blankly. "It’s true."

"Fuck love. I’d never date someone with a penis and balls. I’m sorry," he smirked, making me scoff.

"I’d easily change your mind."

He quirked an eyebrow, “Oh, really? I’d love to see that,” he challenged me, his hand slipping from mine to take hold of my wrist and forearm, caressing it ever so tenderly with his thumb.

"Maybe you will."

Just as I said that, the doorbell rang, which only meant that our food had arrived. Brian smirked, pointing a finger at me. “Saved by the bell.”

---

"Can I crash here?" I asked him, giving him my best puppy dog eyes.

"I don’t know why you bother asking. You know my answer," he said, stuffing a handful of popcorn into his mouth. I smiled and stole the bowl of popcorns from his hand to eat some before going to the kitchen to have a glass of water.

When I stepped back into the living room, Brian had laid down and occupied the entire couch. “Wow, what a host. Not giving your guest enough space to sit down,” I joked as I plopped down on his feet, making him grunt. He bent his legs and chuckled, placing the bowl on the center table.

"Bad host, uh?" He smirked.

"Yes."

"How come? Your host here," he said, pointing at himself, "is available for free cuddling and you won’t even enjoy that. You’re the bad guest."

I dropped my gaze to my lap, “You know how I feel about cuddling.” Brian sat up straight and tugged onto my arm with force enough to make me fall on top of him. I yelped with the unexpected move, and before I knew it, I was being held close by a pair of colorful arms. “Brian…”

"What?"

I tried to squirm away and create some distance between us, but I was completely wrapped up in him. “Stop with that. It’s not funny anymore.”

"Come on, it’s only me." He loosened up his grip a little, but not enough to let me escape. Lying on my side, I didn’t dare to look up at Brian. "We used to do this pretty often," he told me. "What’s different now?"

"We’re not dating."

He tilted his head to the side, staring blankly at me, “We weren’t dating back then either.”

"But-"

"But what?" He cut off, raising both of his eyebrows. I shrugged my shoulders, still not giving in fully to him. Bringing his hand up to my back, he started rubbing large circles, his knee bending so he could tangle our legs as he smoothly pulled himself closer to me. "Please, I really want to cuddle," he murmured, "I care about you. You can trust me, you know that."

My heart was beginning to beat faster than normal at his words and at the way his warm hand was still roaming my back and side. Fuck. He was so close. I could smell Brian’s scent, which was quite addictive by the way, and his covered chest was all I was allowed to see. I hesitantly placed my hands there, sighing, and Brian kissed my forehead sweetly, his lips lingering there for a while.

"Silly," he whispered as he caressed my cheek with his knuckles.

Oh my God, I’m gonna die.

"Give me a break," I smiled, nonetheless, trying to keep my voice straight. “It’s been eight years.”

"You don’t cuddle for eight years?" He asked, astonished. I nodded with my head, squinting up at him, and he chuckled. "What you’ve been missing," he commented.

"You’re the only person I’ve ever cuddled with," I confessed, making Brian chuckle again.

"You know why that is?" He asked, stroking my cheekbone with his thumb as his eyes bored into my green ones. I grinned and shook my head, even though I did know the answer. It was so obvious. He was the only guy I’ve ever truly loved that had loved me back, that’s why I could only cuddle with him. "Liar,” he grinned.

"Maybe," I smirked.

Smiling, Brian leaned forward and planted a set of light kisses on my cheek, my jaw, and then my neck, where he nuzzled tenderly, as he wrapped his arm around my waist and pressed me flush against him. I suppressed my breath and my eyes drifted close when my stomach erupted with crazy butterflies. Fuck.

"I’m so fucking glad you’re back," he whispered on my neck, before bringing his face back up to look at me. I smiled a little, diverting my gaze to his chest. "Hey," he called softly, tucking his fingers under my chin. I gulped and met his brown eyes, melting with the deep emotions in them. "Wanna know a secret?" He asked.

"Please, don’t tell me you’re gay," I joked, in an attempt to cut this anxiety building in the pit of my stomach.

He chuckled and shook his head, “You have a great sense of timing, you know that?”

"Yeah, I’m awesome, thank you," I said, biting on my lip.

Brian’s eyes trailed down to my mouth and his thumb freed my lower lip from my teeth. “Don’t do that.”

"Why? Am I teasing you?" I smirked, fighting back a giggle.

Brian quirked an eyebrow and rolled me onto my back so he was now hovering over me, earning a small squeak from me. “If you don’t stop with that…”

"What’re you gonna do?"

He smirked, his hand grasping my waist a little bit tighter out of frustration. I thought of kissing him. I really did. He was there, a few inches from me, looking as eatable as ever, so how could I not have those thoughts?

Brian narrowed his eyes at me. “I swear to God that if you’re even thinking about ruining my plans, I’ll seriously hurt you,” he said and I coughed out a laugh.

How did he know, the asshole?

"Oh, you were really thinking about it." He covered my mouth with his palm, smiling. "Just in case you try to kiss me." I let out a muffled scoff with a roll of eyes, and Brian chuckled. "What was that?"

"Afhole."

"What?"

I glared at him and he removed his hand from my mouth, chuckling. “Don’t try anything funny,” he warned.

"What if I want?"

"Shorty…"

"Brian…" I repeated in the same tone. God, I loved to mess with him, even when he was literally on top of me.

"You’re calling for it."

"Calling for what?"

Brian sighed, “I’m serious. Stop with that.”

"I’ll stop if you get out of me," I said, poking his chest and his arms.

"No, you’ll only stop when I kiss you, isn’t that right?" He said with a smirk, lifting his hand up to tuck some hair out of my face. I smiled and leaned up teasingly, but Brian placed his hand on my mouth again and laughed, "Don’t you dare!"

"Bwian!" I whined behind his hand. He was still laughing as he moved his hand away from my mouth to cradle my face, his eyes glistening as he looked at me.

Sighing, he shook his head curtly. “I want you so fucking much that I’m scared you’ll run away if I do something.”

"I won’t run," I said, placing my hand on top of his and turning it to kiss his palm. "You know I want you just as much."

"You don’t understand. You’re all I’ve ever wanted and more. Being here with you is making my heart beat like crazy. I can’t even breathe right, Lara," he told me and my eyes watered slightly. "Please, promise me you won’t leave me again."

"I won’t," I whispered, my voice wavering with emotion. "I promise."

He nodded before shortening the space between us, his lips brushing against mine teasingly, as he looked me in the eyes, smiling. “I love you,” he murmured softly and my heart burst inside my chest when he finally gave me the so wanted kiss. I melted into him as his lips moved slowly and lovingly with my own, sending me to a place that looked a lot like fucking Heaven. Brian pulled away after a moment and we both laughed a little.

"I think I’m gonna cry," I chuckled, already feeling the tears pooling behind my eyes. I went to brush them off when Brian stopped me, circling his hand around my wrist.

"Don’t," he said softly before leaning forward and kissing away the few tears that managed to roll down my face.

I smiled through teary eyes and locked my arms behind his neck to hug him. “I love you so much, Brian,” I said with a shaky breath. “Oh my God. I really wanna cry,” I giggled again, burying my face into his neck.

Brian wrapped his arms around my back and laughed softly as we held each other close. “I’ve got you, shorty,” he whispered in my ear. “I’ll never let you go. Ever again. I love you so fucking much. I love you more than my own life and I’ll make sure you know that every single day of your life. Even if I have to force you to cuddle with me.”

I had to laugh at that, but for the first time in my life, I didn’t mind cuddling, I didn’t mind crying in front of him, I didn’t mind sharing my deepest emotions with him, because I knew that this was the right thing to do. This was our second chance and I didn’t want to let it go to waste.

"I’m gonna kiss the hell out of you tonight, just so you know," Brian chuckled, pulling back to pepper me with kisses. "To make up for these eight years lost."

"Asshole kisses," I laughed.

"They’re asshole but you like them, so don’t complain."

Jesus Chirst, I’m not!

"Shut up and give good use to your mouth,” I told him, smirking, and he let out a loud laugh before fusing our lips back together in a very passionate kiss.

Notes

Ooh! Finally they made a move!!

Hope you guys liked the chapter :p Thanks for all the comments and for reading this story!! <3