Times Like These

When Brian opened the door, I almost laughed. He was standing there in his boxer briefs, with his hair all over the place and a confused look on his face. “Nikki?” He said, as if he didn’t really believe I was standing in front of him. He looked as if he hadn’t slept in days, although I could tell by the sound of his voice he had just woken up. “What are you doing here?” “Well,” I sighed, “I think we need to talk.” Brian’s eyes widened and he nodded, “Of course, come on in.” I followed him into the living room before he spoke again, “I’m gonna throw on a pair of shorts. Make yourself at home.” I nodded and walked further into the room as he headed up the stairs. I sat on the couch and inhaled deeply, the smell of leather and Brian’s cologne comforting me. As I looked around the room, I noticed the empty beer bottles scattered around, with a few empty Jack bottles. When Brian returned, I looked at him with a frown, “Please tell me you’ve been consuming something other than alcohol.” Brian simply shrugged and walked over to the other end of the couch. “It’s been a rough few days. So what’s up?” He said, getting right to the point. I sighed deeply and rubbed my hands over my denim clad thighs. I didn’t even think about my appearance before I showed up on Brian’s doorstep, with my messy bun and makeup-free face. I was wearing an old Bon Jovi tshirt and a pair of ratty jeans. “Michelle came to see me this morning. She told me everything.” I explained, avoiding Brian’s gaze. I was afraid if I looked at him I would cry. “Nikki, I’m sorry.” He said quietly, “I’m sorry I hurt you. I wish I could take every bit of it back, and that we just stayed home that night.” I finally looked at Brian. His eyes were full of unshed tears and he looked like he would break at any moment.. “No Bri, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you. I’m sorry I stormed out. I’m sorry it has taken me three days to even talk to you.” I said, my eyes full of tears that were threatening to spill over. “As soon as I saw Michelle kissing you, I threw my walls up. There was no way in hell I was going down that road again. I have been so angry at you. And so hurt. And now I know all of that hurt and anger was for nothing.” Brian grabbed my hand as my voice started to break. “Hey. I get it. You’ve been through a lot of shit in the past year. I was supposed to be the one to protect you from the bad shit, but I hurt you. And baby, you’ll never know how sorry I am for that. I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you if you’ll let me.” He said, wiping a stray tear that was rolling down my face. “I love you so much it almost feels like I can’t breathe when you’re not here. You are the girl of my dreams. Please don’t let this be the end for us.” He said quietly. I smiled softly and moved closer to him on the couch. “It’s not the end for us. I can’t imagine a world without you in it now. I’m just sorry it took me three days to stop being an asshole.” I watched as his brown eyes lit up in realization and a huge smile broke out on his face. “Thank fucking god.” He whispered before pulling me close and kissing me fiercely. Our kiss was interrupted by someone ringing the doorbell a million times in a row. “I’m going to kill whoever that is.” Brian grumbled as he moved to stand up. “I think I know who it is. Sit down babe, I’ve got it.” I said before going into the foyer.


When I opened the door, Johnny was standing on the other side with a weird look on his face. “Oh hey Nikki. Imagine seeing you here.” He said, wiggling his brows. “Johnny what the fuck are you doing here?” Brian asked, walking up behind me. “Wow, you look like shit.” The shorter man said with a laugh, while Brian looked at him with a frown. “Johnny. Stop being a dick.” I chuckled. “I brought your Jeep.” He said, holding the keys out in his hand. “Wait, you didn’t drive your car?” Brian asked, looking at me. “Nope. Your lady stole my car.” Johnny said matter of factly. “I did not steal it. You willingly gave me the keys.” I defended. “If I hadn’t given you my keys you probably would have tackled me to the ground and taken them out of my pockets!” He exclaimed, while Brian was looking down at me with a raised brow. “Don’t judge me. I had to go and Johnny’s keys were the closest.” I said with smirk. “What the hell were you doing at the bakery so early anyway?” Brian asked him. I laughed loudly as Johnny looked around. “Well, see, I was with Zack. And Zack got a call from Erin and she was all like omg Zack Michelle is here and I’m a little afraid Nikki is going to kill her. So here we go, off to the bakery to make sure the munchkin didn’t murder your ex wife. Or lock her in the freezer.” He explained quickly. Brian looked between Johnny and I a few times before he burst into laughter. “You guys are idiots.” “Hey! What the fuck?!” I asked, pushing him slightly. “Not you. Tweedle Zee and Tweedle Dumb. Although I am a little surprised you didn’t at least punch Michelle this morning.” “She came in and told me she wanted to apologize. She said a bunch of stuff and apologized and left before I had a chance to react. She felt like an asshole, that much I could tell.” I shrugged. “But then this guy came running into the shop yelling something about killing her or locking her in the freezer.” “Hey. I was just making sure you didn’t need an alibi.” The bassist said, holding his hands up. “Anyway, I’m gonna take off. You two stay out of trouble.” Johnny said as he stepped off the porch. “Can’t drive your car without keys, Jonathan.” I said, grabbing his set of keys off the table beside the door and holding them out for him. Johnny stopped in his tracks and turned around and snatched the keys from my hand, mumbling a thanks before walking to his car. I looked up at Brian with a grin, and he pulled me backward into the house before slamming the door shut. “I hate to break this short, but I’ve got to get back to work.” I said with a sigh, wrapping my arms around his waist. “Aw do you have to? You just got here.” He whined. “Sorry, we cant all be rockstars.” I joked, grinning brightly at him. “Ha ha. I forgot how funny you are.” Brian said sarcastically. I laid my head on his chest and squeezed him tight. “Want to go out tonight? We can go to your favorite Mexican place.” He suggested, resting his chin on the top of my head. “Maybe. Or maybe we can just order in and hang out. I missed you. I want you all to myself.” I sighed. “Okay, I gotta go. Erin’s gonna kill me.” I stood on my tip toes and placed a kiss on his lips. “I’ll see you after work.” “You bet. I love you Nick.” He said, opening the door for me. “I love you.” I gave him one more kiss before heading toward my Jeep, feeling more in love with Brian than ever.

Notes