The Music We Make

“So, fiance,” Brian said, emphasizing the word. “Who should we call first?”

I laughed and shrugged, adjusting my robe before continuing to eat my french fries. Since we skipped dinner we had been starving and opted to order room service, not wanting to leave the bed. I was clad only in a silk robe the hotel had provided while Brian sat there in his underwear as we ate cheeseburgers and fries, already discussing wedding plans. It still felt surreal but it was all so exciting. Towards the end of our meal we decided we needed to call our family to announce the big news.

“Okay, well I’m going to call my parents then, if that’s okay,” he said at my lack of a reply. I nodded in agreement and shifted over to be closer to him so that we could both talk to them on speaker phone.

His sister McKenna answered, and Brian instructed her to put us on speaker phone so that he could announce it to his family all at once. After a few moments of scrambling and getting the family together, Brian was able to tell them what happened.

“Wow, congratulations!” Papa Gates said immediately. “I knew I’d be getting this news soon!”

“Thanks,” Brian said with a chuckle. We talked with the rest of his family for awhile, Brian explaining how he had proposed, and his step mother already asking a million questions about the wedding, all of which we did not have answers to. Eventually Brian stopped her, telling her we’d update her as soon as we knew the answers.

After he hung up, Brian sank to the bed, a huge grin on his face. He looked over to me and said, “That was exhausting.”

I laughed and rolled my eyes. “Just wait. I have to call my mother.”

“Speakerphone again?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so. I’ve only mentioned her to you a few times. I haven’t talked to her in awhile and I think she’ll be really surprised.”

“Oh,” he said, seeming disappointed.

“It’s not that I didn’t want to tell her about you,” I said, sensing his worry. “She and I just aren’t as close as we used to be since I moved away.”

“It’s alright, I understand,” he said with a small smile. I went ahead and got my phone out, dialing her number.

“Rosie?” she answered right away.

“Hey, Mama,” I said softly, feeling a little nervous. “I have some news.”

“What’s wrong?” she immediately concluded, not surprising me. She typically expected the worst from people.

“Nothing, Mom. It’s good news!” I said trying to cheer her up. “Remember that guy I was dating, Brian?”

“Yes, but didn’t you break up?” she asked.

“Yes, but I called you last week and told you we had gotten back together and are on tour now,” I reminded her.

“Right. I still don’t think that’s a good idea, you know. Being on the road must be hard. And your career-”

“Mom,” I said, cutting her off. “I already talked to you about this. Did you forget?”

“No, I remember. But I still don’t think you’re making a smart decision.”

“Well, I am happy, Mom. Things are going really good. In fact-”

“How do you expect to have a fulfilling relationship with a rock star, Rosie? I told you that dating musicians wasn’t smart. What would your father say? I just can’t even imagine you cramped on a tour bus with five men, roaming around the country. I listened to their music, you know. It’s awful! It just surprises me that you would throw away your whole life for a man. I thought I taught you better than that.”

“Mom, that’s why I didn’t go at first. But I love him and he loves me. We want to make it work,” I told her, glancing over at Brian, biting my lip. He looked concerned, not understanding what was happening. I’m glad I wasn’t on speaker.

“I hope you come to your senses, Rosie. I hope-”

“Mom, stop!” I said, standing from the bed, beyond frustrating. “I called you because I have really good news, not to get lectured.”

“Well, then what is it?” she asked, annoyed that I had interrupted her.

“We’re getting married,” I said, not even excited to tell her. I knew what was coming next.

“Oh,” she responded, surprised. “Well, congratulations.”

“Thanks,” I said, my voice defeated.

She sighed loudly before saying, “When will I get to meet this young man?”

I smiled a little, glad she had dropped the lecture, knowing that she should be excited for me instead of upset. I understood where she was coming from, but she still treated me like a child and it was frustrating. “Well, the tour we’re on now is coming to Ohio next month in Cleveland. We could potentially stop by then?” I looked at Brian as I said this and he nodded with a smile.

“Okay,” she agreed.

“I’ll call you with all of the details soon, Mom. Hope everything is well at home.”

“It is, Rosie. Moments like this make me miss your father,” she said softly. I could picture her running her hands through her hair, closing her eyes and sighing to try and make her sorrow subside.

“Me too, Mama. I love you,” I said.

“Love you too baby. Talk to you soon,” she said, hanging up the phone.

I sighed and hung up myself, looking back to Brian. “That could’ve been a lot worse.”

He laughed, “You looked upset, though. Everything okay?”

“Yeah. She doesn’t necessarily approve of me leaving my job to go on tour. She doesn’t trust you, I think; she stereotypes musicians, you know? But when we’re in Ohio, we need to have you meet her so you can show her how lovely you are.”

“Sounds good to me,” he said, pulling me back onto the bed and into his lap. “Let’s take a break from calling people.” With this, he pulled me down to his lips, fiercely kissing me before throwing me back onto the bed, making love to his future wife.

-0-

We woke up the next morning after making all of our calls to various family members and friends, tired from sharing the news over and over again, and tired from the numerous late night romps.

“I don’t wanna go back,” Brian mumbled next to me, draping his arm over me and pulling me towards him.

“We have to, baby,” I said, kissing his nose. “We leave for Seattle today.”

“Ugh,” he groaned. “Too much rain.”

I laughed at him, half asleep next to me. I moved out of the bed, going to the bathroom to take a shower. I started the water so it could warm up, then looked out to him again. “Want to join?” I teased. He immediately got out of the bed and ran to the shower, pulling me into the hot water.

Immediately Brian was at my breasts, his tongue licking over the already wet nipples. His hands slipped down my body as the water poured over us and I moaned as his fingers landed exactly where I wanted them. His kissed my neck as his hands rubbed my clit, my moan stifled by the noise of the water. Feeling my own wetness, he removed his hand and turned me around so that I was facing the shower wall. Gently he pressed me against it and grabbed my ass, lifting me up slightly so he could enter me. I cried out and pushed out my ass, allowing better access for him as he continued thrusting into me. Brian reached around my torso and moved his hand back to my clit, rubbing it in rhythm to his thrusts.

Despite how uncomfortable I was, pressed against the wall of the shower, Brian sent me over the edge, making me scream in pleasure as I released an orgasm. Immediately after Brian flipped me around so that my back was against the wall, lifting up my legs and wrapping them around his waist. He entered me again, hands on my hips, each thrust becoming harder and harder. He buried his face into my neck, grunting with each thrust before he let go himself, cumming inside of me.

We stood there panting, uncomfortably still connected as the water beat against Brian’s back. Finally he moved away from me, gently letting me down from the wall. We kissed in the water, our hands still roaming each other’s bodies before Brian grabbed soap, lathering my skin. I did the same for him, touching him everywhere I could, loving every second.

Afterwards we got ready to go using the clothes from the bag Brian had packed, knowing we needed to hurry back to the campground to get ready to leave for our next tour stop. Brian’s phone was already buzzing, Matt concerned we wouldn’t get back in time. I eventually texted him, telling him we were on the way.

Everyone was scrambling when we got there, trying to pack up everything before we took off. I felt bad for leaving everyone, but Brian said not to worry; it had been a special occasion and no one would care.

When we finally walked up to the bus, hearing immediate cheers when we got there. I was embraced by the guys all at once, hearing cheers of congratulations all around me. They broke away, but Jimmy stayed, picking me up and swinging me around.

“I will have a new sister!” he said as he spun me. I giggled as he set me down, not bothering to disagree with him.

“This is so exciting!” Val said. “But I hate to put a damper on the party. We need to go!”

We all filed on the bus to find that Andi had made us mimosas to celebrate the engagement. Immediately we grabbed the plastic cups full of orange juice and cheap champagne, downing them as more congratulations were heard. The drinks didn’t taste that great but no one cared; we were all just so excited about the upcoming marriage.

“So, future Mrs. Haner,” Johnny started as soon as the bus roared to life, “Were you totally fucking shocked yesterday?”

“First of all, I don’t know if I’ll be taking his name,” I said with a smirk, teasing him. He rolled his eyes at me and smiled, letting me continue. “But yes, I was really surprised. It was amazing!”

“I told you it’s awesome to be on stage!” Matt said. I nodded in agreement.

Andi and Val stole me away then, wanting to discuss wedding plans, giving me flashbacks to our conversation with Brian’s parents. I kept saying “I don’t know” over and over again, laughing at their antics. I wasn’t the type of girl of dreamt of her wedding day, especially since my dad had passed away. It just changed how I felt about some of the wedding traditions, knowing that he wouldn’t be there.

“I think you’d look good in a mermaid dress,” Val said, but I disagreed.

“Not my style. Something simple,” I told her.

“Ugh, I wish we had some magazines!” Andi said.

“We haven’t even talked about a date or anything yet!” I laughed. “No use planning anything until then.”

“You’re crazy!” Val said, laughing herself. “I’ve had my wedding planned since 8th grade.”

“Well, you’ve been with Matt since then, right?” Andi asked.

“Basically,” she answered, sighing slightly. “I’m not going to lie, I’m a little jealous.”

“Me too,” Andi admitted, laughing at herself slightly. “But maybe this will be a kick in the butt for our boys.”

“Who knows,” Val said, rolling her eyes. I felt guilty, but I knew that wasn’t their intention; they were just anxious for their own proposal.

“Okay, girls,” Jimmy chimed in. “We can’t take it anymore.”

I couldn’t lie that I was relieved to end this conversation and I moved over to sit with Brian again, snuggling into his side to watch he and Zacky play cards. The bus ride went slow, and the lull of the motor running put me to sleep.

I was standing before an alter in a beautiful church, stained glass windows everywhere. No one else was in the room but me and a man whose back was to me. I tried calling out to him, but I was unable to speak. The heavy, white dress was heavy, practically pinning me to the ground as I attempted to move to him. I felt like I couldn’t breath and my hand clenched the bouquet of white roses I held, the thorns making me bleed. I felt like Alice in Wonderland, trapped in this strange place as the roses were painted red with my blood. I tried to call out again, but no noise.

He turned around though, as if sensing my presence, but something was wrong. It was Brian, wearing a crimson tuxedo, his hair blowing even though there was no wind. He held out his hand to me, but I couldn’t reach him, no matter how hard I tried. I was stuck in this place with no one to help me. He stayed there, making no attempt to move himself before a bright white light flashed before my eyes-

“Rosie? Rosie, wake up!” I heard his voice say, a gently shake to my shoulder.

I jolted awake, my breath catching as I tried wrapping my head around what had just happened. I was dreaming, but it had all felt so real.

“Are you okay?” I heard Andi’s voice say softly, concern in her eyes.

“Yeah, just a bad dream,” I admitted.

“You were calling out my name,” Brian said, a small smirk on his face. “It couldn’t have been that bad of a dream.”

I shook my head. “It wasn’t that kind of dream, Bri.”

“Wedding nightmare,” Val said absent mindedly as she read her book. “Lots of brides have them.”

I blushed a little, not really wanting to share that, but she had been right after all.

“Already?” Brian asked, a look of disappointment adorning his face. “Cold feet?”

“Not, it’s not like that,” I said. “I can’t control my dreams.”

“They’re normal,” Val chimed in again.

It was quiet then, no one else knowing what to say. Brian looked back out the window, seemingly bored. Val continued reading, Matt was on the computer, and no one else was even around. They had all retreated to their bunks to sleep, unlike me. I moved over to be closer to Brian and rested my head on his shoulder. He kissed the top of my head.

“I can’t wait to marry you,” I whispered to him, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. He kissed me again in response. I wasn’t sure if he believed me or was still bothered by my dream.

Hours passed and time moved by slowly, all of us keeping to ourselves as we traveled north to Washington. Most of my time was spent musing over the upcoming wedding, thinking about how I wanted it to be. Did I want it to be small or big? What colors should I have? Did I want bridesmaids? Who would they be? What kind of dress would I wear? It was all super overwhelming to think about.

We were excited to see that it wasn’t raining when we got to the campground. The guys had been so worried about the weather, unsure if they would be able to play of not since it rained here so often. When we parked the bus, most of them piled out of the bus, excited to explore the area and see what was available. Brian and I stayed back for a moment, watching as the others practically ran off of the bus.

“Are you okay, Rosie?” Brian asked me eventually.

“Yes, I am. I am happy and excited. Why do you ask?”

“Well, that dream. I mean, you didn’t tell me what happened, but still-”

“Stop, Brian. It really is normal. I’ve known girls who had nightmares about their wedding even after it happened. I’m not questioning this, I have no doubts, okay?”

“Okay,” he said with a smile, leaning over to kiss me.

“I love you, Brian, my future husband,” I said with a smile, kissing him softly. I meant every word.

Notes

Thanks for all of the comments! :)

xoxo JJ