The Music We Make

A few days had passed since Brian and I played together in the studio. Recording had continued as usual, and though it was a little awkward at times, it was generally going very well. Maybe that was because I was working more with Zacky over these last few days. He never tried to flirt with me or touch me; all he cared about was getting his parts recorded and talking about Andi. Which he did all of the time. It was cute and all, but I had to admit that it was getting a little old, especially since Brian was sitting there the whole time listening. At times it made me feel awkward, but I was happy for him and my best friend.

I tried to keep my persona as professional as possible. I didn’t want Brian to know that I was worked up over his flirtations or his touches, but I did try to make it clear that I wasn’t going to play along. After we sang together, he had attempted these things a few more times, but I noticed that each day it happened less and less. He was getting the message, for sure, but part of me was almost disappointed by it. I wanted him to want me, honestly. I wanted him to want us to be together, though, not just something to toy with. I had to remind myself this daily because of how much he got to me.

It was Thursday at the studio and Zacky and I were working on his parts of a song called Wicked End. It was my favorite song for the record so far because of how complex it was. It was taking us much longer to get through these parts of the song than other tracks did, but it was reasonable. Zack was getting really frustrated with his parts and decided he needed a break, which left Brian and I alone.

“Well, do you want to work on your parts?” I asked Brian after Zack had left the room.

Brian didn’t answer right away, but moved from the couch to the chair next to me. Before picking up his guitar, he said, “Rosie, is something wrong?”

I furrowed my brow. “No, why?”

“You’ve just been kinda… I don’t know. Cold, I guess. Like you don’t want to be around me,” he said, looking me right in the eye.

I bit my lip. “I didn’t mean to be cold, I just want to get my work done here.”

He nodded and didn’t say anything. He looked as though he was lost for something to even say. Something in his eyes showed sadness. He picked up his guitar then and made himself comfortable in the chair.

“I just thought you were mad at me from the other day. You haven’t really talked to me since we sang together, which I thought was amazing.”

I took a breath, trying to think about what I wanted to say before I did something stupid. I didn’t want to show him my emotions outright, but I wasn’t good at hiding things from people.

I turned to look at him and said, “I just need to keep things professional between us so we don’t blur the lines of what we are to each other again.”

I saw Brian clench his jaw, so something I saw must have pissed him off. I felt like no matter what I did here, it was the wrong thing. But I needed to protect my heart.

Instead of pushing the issue further, Brian said, “Ok, let’s get started.”

-0-

The rest of the afternoon had gone smooth. Brian and I worked together as well as we could, and though it was a little awkward, it still felt like we clicked so well when we made music together. He still made me laugh with his cussing when he messed up, and he was still receptive to my feedback. What we produced together ended up being absolutely amazing, and we were able to finish most of the track.

Zack had come back eventually, but didn’t really contribute; it was as if he was in a funk all day after he took his break, but I didn’t really know why. He just sat back on the couch behind us with his arms crossed as he stared at the ceiling.

I got home that evening and was really surprised to see Andi already there. That almost never happened. She was at the kitchen table with books and papers scattered everywhere as she studied for an exam she had coming up.

“You’re off work?” I asked her as I took off my coat and shoes.

She nodded. “I have my big exam coming up. The one where I get my license to practice social work. And if I don’t study for this, I’m going to fail, and all of this would have been a huge fucking waste of my time and money, and I am FREAKING OUT!”

I went over behind her and gave her a hug. “You got this! You’ve been working so hard, I know you’ll do great.”

She sighed and put her hand over mine. “Thanks, Rosie. I just can’t fail this. I had to take a few nights off of work to get ready for this. I procrastinated too much. So I might be short for rent this month, which freaks me out. And I was supposed to hang out with Zack tomorrow, but I blew him off so I could have more time to study and so he’s pissed too. I feel like I dug a hole that I can’t get out of.”

Ah, so maybe that’s why Zack was pouting earlier. I let her go and moved to face her. “I can talk with Zack. Don’t worry about him; he probably just doesn’t understand the stress you’re under. And don’t worry about rent. You’ve helped me out before, I got you covered this time. You just need to focus on what’s best for you.”

She sighed. “Thanks, Rosie. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Same here, Andi. I’ll let you get back to work.”

I walked across the apartment to my bedroom, shutting the door so that Andi could have as much peace and quiet as possible. I knew I probably should eat, but I was so tired from the day that all I could think about was laying in my bed. I didn’t even take off my clothes before laying down.

Five minutes went by of pure, relaxing silence. It was so nice to just lay here and not think about things. But, of course, just as soon as I felt myself falling into sleep, my phone started ringing. I opened my eyes and sighed. I just wanted one night to myself!

I picked up the phone and saw that it was Jimmy calling. I answered with a groggy hello.

“Ring-around-the-Rosie!!” he yelled, causing me to hold my phone out away from my ear.

“Yes, James?” I said in return. I heard him laugh at the use of his given name.

“I need your help,” he started. “I left something at the studio and I can’t find my key to get in. Can you help me?"

“Can’t any of the guys help you?” I asked. I did not feel like driving back there.

“No they’re all dicks. And you’re so wonderful!”

“That’s really convincing. What did you forget, anyways?”

“My weed!”

I laughed. “Jesus, Jimmy. You can’t bring weed to the studio!”

“I do it all of the time!”

“Fuck, ok. Well, I want it out of there, so I’ll come unlock it for you. Do you want me to give you a ride?”

“No, I’m already on my way there. I didn’t realize I forgot my key until I had already left!”

I laughed. “Ok, I’ll be there soon.”

I hung up the phone and laughed to myself. Jimmy cracked me up, but I couldn’t help but be a little annoyed about all of this, especially since all I wanted to do is sleep. But, I got out of bed, freshened up a bit, then headed out to meet Jimmy at the studio. I figured I could get us some food or something while I was out to make the trip worth it.

When I got to the studio, Jimmy wasn’t there yet, which was weird since he was already on his way there. I figured maybe he stopped along the way, so I texted him to let him know I was there. Then, not wanting to sit in my car, I went ahead and went to unlock the studio.

When I went inside, it wasn’t dark like I expected. There were candles everywhere lighting a path to the back studio. I was curious, but also nervous about what was going on here. My logical brain couldn’t help but think about the fire hazard, but I tried to ignore that as I walked through the front room into the back of the studio.

I stopped in my tracks when I saw him standing there, a bouquet of flowers in his hands. He looked nervous; he was biting his lip when I came into the room. As soon as he saw me, I could see a blush creep up on his cheeks, even though the only light in the room came from the candles.

“Rosie,” he started, moving closer to me. He handed me the flowers.

“Thanks,” I whispered quietly, accepting the gift. I was shaking from the nerves and my stomach was in knots. What was happening here?

He moved closer to me and gently pushed my arms to my side so that the flowers were at my side. He put his hands on my hips and took a deep breath. “Rosie,” he started. His voice was quiet and shaky.

“Brian,” I said in return, biting my lip.

“I know that I have been a massive jerk,” he said. “So I wanted to do this to say that I am sorry. I was in a weird place when I met you, but as soon as I saw you, I knew I had to be with you. I just didn’t go about it the right way and for that I am sorry.”

I nodded, not knowing what else to do. It felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest.
“I’m not used to this,” he admitted with a small chuckle. “I’ve only really dated one other person. So I’m sorry, I just was scared because I don’t really know what I’m doing. But, regardless, all I know is that I want to be with you, Rosie.”

He moved one of his hands from my hip to my cheek, moving his thumb over my lip. Last time he did this to me, I totally gave into him. I had a feeling I was going to do the same this time; my knees felt week at his touch and I was doing nothing to back away now.

“Rosie,” he stared again. “Please, will you forgive me?”

I nodded. Of course I would. This gorgeous man set up this extremely romantic moment for me, and after all we had gone through, it was such a wonderful moment. He smiled at me after I nodded, and I leaned into him. He hand on my cheek moved down to my lower back as he leaned down. I moved my arms around his neck, careful that the flowers would not hit him.

His lips crashed against mine with a heated passion and I immediately moaned by the touch. His hands moved through my hand and all over my body as if he couldn’t get enough of me. Our tongues crashed against each other as the kiss become more and more intense. After a moment, though, we broke apart to catch our breath. We rested our foreheads against each other and I couldn’t help but giggle a bit.

“What?” he said with a grin.

“I just didn’t think you would ever do something like this,” I admitted.

He backed away from me a bit to look me in the eye. “Rosie, I regret that you ever doubted me and what I think of you. From the moment we met I was entranced by your beauty. You’re so kind, loving, and fun to be with. And when I heard to sing at Johnny’s, my fate was sealed. I fell for you then, Rosie. I knew I couldn’t let you go, I just didn’t know how to do that. I’m so sorry.”

I leaned into him to embrace him, laying my head against his chest. He kissed the top of my head, hugging me back. I moved back, looking up at him, saying “Thank you. Brian, I am not good at this either. I am shy, awkward, and not very confident. But when we sang together the other day, I really felt something. You make me feel so… beautiful. So confident. And I love that about you. I want to be with you, too. I just needed you to see that we were meant to be together.”

He smiled at me, then gave me a small kiss on the lips. “I see it, Rosie. You are mine and I am yours.”

He moved slightly to take the flowers he had given me to set them down. Then he embraced me again, kissing me gently. I opened my lips to let his tongue enter my mouth and moaned as I felt his hands move down my back to my hips. I pressed my hips into his and his mouth broke from mine. He kissed my cheek and moved onto my neck, making me shiver from the touch. I could feel him getting excited and it turned me on. I wanted him so bad.

He moved away from my neck back to my lips. Our kiss had gotten so heated that I was practically laying against the soundboard, and though my brain told me not to break anything, my body didn’t care. It wasn’t until Brian broke from me and a curse that I noticed I had knocked over one of the candles.

“Good lord,” I said, putting my hands over my face as Brian picked up the candle.

“It’s ok, just some wax on the floor,” he said with a laugh. “I kind of over did it with the candles.”

I shook my head. “It was perfect.”

He smiled and embraced me. “I needed a perfect moment for a perfect girl.”

I smiled back at him, then gently kissed him on the lips. I could get used to this.

Notes

A longer chapter to make up for the shorter one! Hope you enjoyed ;)