Times Like These

Tuesday basically consisted of Dani and I visiting our grandparents and a few aunts and uncles, telling them we would be back soon. We also had one more dinner with our dad and stepmom, who said they would be flying out to visit sometime this year. Mom was growing more and more
excited for her visit, and asked for our help packing her stuff. She shoved a few pictures into her suitcase, as well as ours, so she could have some of her favorites at the apartment with her. “If you do decide that you want to move out there, we will come and pack up the house and move it all to Cali. Which means a road triiiiip!” I told her in a singsong voice. “Oh boy. A roadtrip with you two.” She joked, zipping up her suitcase. “Come on mom, you know it’s one of your favorite things to do.” Dani said with a laugh. “Yeah, okay Danielle. If you say so.” Mom chuckled. After we got all of our stuff packed up we decided to go to bed, since we had a 9am flight. As soon as I laid down I called Brian. “Hey gorgeous.” He said as he answered the phone. “Hey babe. How’s it going?” I replied. “It’s good. I think we’re about finished up for today. Gonna grab some food and wait for my girl to come home tomorrow.” He told me, causing me to grin. “Well someone’s excited.” I chuckled. “Are you kidding? I’ve been ready for you to come home since I got off the plane Sunday.” He explained. “How’s Pinkly? And how's my sweet baby?” I asked him. “Charlie is fine. Although I think he misses his mom.” Brian chuckled. “He and Pinkly have become buddies. They snuggle together when they sleep.” “That is adorable.” I gasped. “Thank you for watching him for a few days for me.” “Baby I’d do anything in the world for you, you know that.” Brian said softly. “You gonna be at the airport to welcome me home tomorrow?” I asked with a yawn. “You know i will be. I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep Johnny and Zack home though, they have asked about you guys every day.” He said with a laugh. “Yeah, they’ve been texting me and Dan. I think it’s sweet.” I smiled. “Okay babe, I’ve gotta get back to it so I can get wrapped up before we take the day off tomorrow, but I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow.” He said with a sigh. “Kay. I’m falling asleep anyway, I love you babe. I’ll see you soon.” I said sleepily. “I love you too baby girl. Bye.” We disconnected and I put my phone on the charger before drifting off to sleep, excited about going back to Huntington Beach tomorrow.

During our flight, Dani and I told mom about California, and all the people she needed to meet. I honestly just couldn’t wait for the plane to land so I could see Brian again, three days was too long without him. Dani was practically bouncing in her seat as we started to land. “Jeeze, calm yourself. You’ll see him in few minutes.” I chuckled, “If you’re like this now what are you going to do when he goes on tour?” Dani stopped bouncing her knee and looked at me, “I haven’t even thought about that, have you?” I shook my head, “No, but I’m sure we will figure something out. Maybe fly out to a few towns or something. We have plenty of time to figure that out.” I shrugged, looking oh the window. I truly hadn’t thought about it, but now that I brought it up my mind was full of a million questions. Would he ask me to go with him, or would he just want me to come visit at a few shows? Who would run the bakery if Erin and I both went on tour with the guys? How would it even work? I shook my head to clear my thoughts as the flight attendant told us it was time to get off the plane. I stood quickly and grabbed my purse out of the overhead bin, and followed mom and Dani off the plane. As soon as we stepped off the escalator, I saw Brian standing there with a huge smile on his face, along with Matt, Zack, Erin, Lacey, and Johnny. I grinned and took off toward them, leaving Dani and mom behind me. “Hey baby!” Brian said excitedly as he met me in the middle and pulled me into a huge hug. “How was your flight?” “It was long. I pretty much watched the clock the entire time.” I chuckled, standing on my tip toes to kiss him. “I know what you mean. It seemed like we were checking the arrivals board every two minutes to see if you guys had landed yet.” He said with a laugh. “I see that everyone decided to tag along.” I said with a laugh, looking at the group of people swarming my mother, who was currently embracing Johnny. “Yeah, they refused to stay home. Matt and I tried to leave without saying anything, but that didn’t work.” He chuckled weakly. Soon I was pulled into Erin’s welcoming embrace. “Hey best friend! I missed you so much. I’m so sorry I couldn’t fly out to be with you.” She said sadly. “It’s okay, E. I felt better extending my stay knowing the bakery and Charlie were in good hands. I missed you though!” I told her, hugging her again. “I missed you too. It wasn’t the same without you!” “Okay let’s get this Welcome wagon out of here. I’m ready to drink!” Johnny said, clapping his hands together. “Who the hell said anything about drinking?” Dani asked with a laugh. “Johnny, it’s 10am.” Mom said, shaking her head. “Okay fine. How about food then? You guys have to be starving.” He said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and guiding her toward baggage claim. “Now that sounds like a good idea!” She said with a laugh. The guys grabbed our bags and we all loaded up in our vehicles and headed toward one of the guys favorite diners.

While we were at the diner, the guys were filling us in on recording, and Dani and I told them about the last two days in Georgia, including the Monday night incident at Dave’s. “So. I believe Nikki has to tell you something.” Dani said, looking at Brian. “Oh shit. What’d you do now Nick?” Johnny laughed. “I did nothing wrong.” I defended. “I got drunk with my friends and had a great time.” “Well I knew you were drunk, your phone call before bed was quite interesting.” Brian chuckled, while Zack laughed loudly. “Oh my god.” I said, covering my face with my hands, “What did I say?” “You said A LOT.” Zack laughed. “Oh my god.” I laughed. “I’ll tell you later babe.” My boyfriend said, placing a hand on my knee. “Okay so anyway, Nick and I were drinking at Dave’s, having a great time. Wilson and a few others were there too, when The Devil Went Down To Georgia came on the jukebox.” Dani said, starting the story. As she was speaking, I felt my cheeks heat up and I slowly slid down in my seat, trying to make myself invisible. “Where are you going?” Matt laughed, looking over at me. “I think I know where this is going, and I’m pretty sure I want to crawl in a corner and die.” I whined. Dani laughed and pulled out her phone. “You guys want to see it?” “YES PLEASE!” Johnny shouted. “What did she do?” Lacey asked with a laugh. “She sang it. Word for word. Complete with a little linedance. Like a true redneck girl.” Dani said, causing the entire table to laugh. “Go ahead. Make fun of me. But I bet you guys I had fun!” I said as Dani pulled the video up on her phone. She pressed play and laid it in the middle of the table so everyone could see it. I looked around the table while my friends watched the video, checking their reactions. Johnny and Zack were trying their hardest not to laugh, Lacey looked impressed, Erin looked amused, and Brian and Matt were straight up laughing. I looked down at Dani’s phone and caught the ending of the video. Wilson and I were in the middle of the bar, doing some sort of line dance and singing the song as loud as we could, all while holding our drinks in our hands. Once the song ended and so did the video, everyone looked at me. “So what if I enjoy a little country music with my friends.” I shrugged. “That was awesome. We’re going to have to see that in person.” Johnny laughed. We finished up our lunch and Brian drove mom and I to the apartment, Dani and Matt following us. Zack, Johnny, and the girls had said they would let us get settled and come visit tomorrow. Once I walked through the door of the apartment I hear the bell on Charlie’s collar. “There’s my baby!” I said, picking up the orange and white cat. “I missed you so much! I hope you were good for Erin and Brian.” I kissed his tiny head and sat him down on the floor so I could take my suitcase to my bedroom. After I unpacked and started a load of laundry, i collapsed on the bed with a sigh. “Home sweet home. I think it’s time for a nap.” “You just got home.” Brian chuckled, sitting on the bed beside me. “I know. Flying is exhausting. Besides I barely slept last night so I need a nap.” Without another word, he stood up and removed his shirt and shoes before looking down at me with his chocolate brown orbs, “Fine, Let’s take a nap then. Get up so I can pull the comforter back.” I grinned brightly before hopping off the bed. “I’m gonna go tell mom I’m taking a nap.” I said, walking into the living room, only to find my mother sound asleep on the couch with Charlie laying in her lap. I smiled and walked back into my bedroom, shutting the door behind me. “Mom is knocked out.” I said, taking my pants off and slipping out of my flip flops before crawling into bed with Brian, who pulled me into his arms and kissed the top of my head. “I missed you. Three days sucked without you.” He whispered. “I missed you too, Bri.” I told him, snuggling into his chest. “Go to sleep babe. Love you.” “Love you too.” I said softly before falling into a dreamless sleep.

Notes

Just another filler chapter before more drama. I had to get them back to California first! Thanks for reading!