Times Like These

When I woke the next morning, I was snuggled into something warm. Trying to go back to sleep, I snuggled deeper into the warmth, when I realized it was breathing. My eyes popped open and I was staring straight into the word ‘foREVer’, and one of those colorful arms were wrapped firmly around my waist. What the fuck!” I thought to myself. I lifted up the covers and looked underneath them to make sure we were both still clothed. Thank god we were. I peeked up at Brian’s face and sighed in relief when I noticed he was still asleep. I tried to roll out of his grasp, but he pulled me closer. I laid there a minute, trying to figure out what to do. I softly grabbed the arm that was wrapped around me, lifted it up, and slid out from under it before I laid it back down. I quickly rolled out of bed and went right into my bathroom, careful not to wake my guest. When I looked into the mirror I almost screamed. Yesterday’s mascara was smeared on my eyes and my hair was standing up in all sorts of directions. I quickly washed my face and brushed my hair and teeth before going out to the bedroom and grabbing a pair of shorts. Since I was up, I decided to make some breakfast.

I got to work making French toast, I sliced the bread and laid it in the egg mixture to soak. Once I was finished with that I noticed Dani out on the patio smoking. I grabbed a glass of orange juice and headed outside to sit with her. I was scrolling through my pond when I felt eyes on me. I looked up and she was staring at me, waiting for me to explain. “Don’t fucking judge me.” I snapped, “I didn’t sleep with him.” Dani said nothing, just puffed on her smoke and raised her brows at me. “Ugh. Whatever. You’re such a dick. I’m going to make breakfast.” I told her, snatching up my phone and drink and heading inside, passing Matt on the way in. “Good morning, Matt. Watch out for her, she’s feeling like an asshole today.” I said, gesturing to my sister. Matt just laughed and sat down with her. I went into the kitchen and turned on the Bluetooth speaker we keep in there and tapped Pandora on my phone. I love having music on while I cook, it’s soothing to me. I got to work on the French toast, Bad Company flowing through the speakers. I threw some bacon in a skillet and grabbed some fruit to cut up. I heard Brian walk into the kitchen and sit down at the breakfast bar. “Morning.” I said to him with a smile. “You know it’s like 1:00, right?” He chuckled. My eyes widened and I poked my head out the patio door. “Sis. You know you had an appointment at noon today right?” I said to Dani, who looked up and shrugged. “Yeah, she canceled. Apparently she got really drunk last night too.” I laughed and shut the door, going back to my cooking. “Nice shorts, by the way.” Brian said, gesturing to my pink and white polka dot pajama shorts. “It goes really well with the GNR tee you’re wearing.” He grinned, making me laugh. “Hey, bedtime is about comfort. Not matching.” I said with a shrug. Soon breakfast was ready and I was plating everything up. “Hey Brian can you get the other two in here before it gets cold please?” I asked sweetly. He nodded and opened the door. “Hey fuckers, get in here before I eat all the food.” And closed it back again. I laughed and topped each French toast with syrup and powdered sugar, making sure to put whipped cream on Danielle’s. Once everyone sat down I passed out plates, but stood at the counter by the stove to eat my own breakfast. “Here, sit down, I’ll stand.” Brian said, offering my seat. “Don’t even try it, Haner.” Dani said with an eye roll. “She always stands to eat.” “Does she always stand on one leg like that?” Matt asked awkwardly. I rolled my eyes and laughed. “Yes. It’s comfortable.”

Breakfast was filled with small talk, like why we moved from Georgia to California. “Oh come on, you guys don’t want to know all the gory details.” Danielle said, taking another bite of fruit. “We do, we want to know all of it.” Matt said with a smile. “Well, we needed a fresh start. Our parents got a divorce after twenty seven years, and we had some messy breakups.” She explained. “So we got in the car one day and just drove. It kind of sucked though, driving cross country in two separate vehicles.” “Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be doing that again.” I said, munching on some bacon. “Messy breakups huh? What happened?” Brian asked. “Well, my fiancée cheated on me while he was deployed, so I packed my shit and took off.” I explained. “He’s probably home from deployment now.” “My boyfriend was a dick.” Dani shrugged. “I just wanted to get out of our hometown, so here we are.” “Interesting.” Matt said. “So what do you guys do?” “I’m a cosmetologist. Nikki is a baker. She owns Rock N Roll bakery over off PCH.” “Like Roll as in dinner roll?” Brian asked me with a smile. I grinned and nodded. “That’s fucking awesome.” He laughed. Soon we had finished our breakfast and Matt and Dani were cleaning the kitchen. “I cook, she cleans.” I explained to Brian as we were sitting out on the patio while he smoked. “It’s the other way around if she cooks. Sometimes we both cook then argue over who has to clean up.” I chuckled. Brian laughed, “You guys sound like Michelle and Val.” Hearing Michelle’s name reminded me of something. “I don’t mean to be nosy, but weren’t you and Michelle together?” “Yeah.” He sighed. “We split a few months before Jimmy died. it was a mutual thing, we just didn’t work for each other. She helped me through a lot of the grief though, but you know there’s some stuff you just have to work through alone.” He explained, looking sad. I placed my hand on top of his and rubbed it with my thumb. “I’m always here if you need a shoulder.” I said with a smile. We talked for a little longer until Matt poked his head out the door. “Gates, you ready to head out? I’m sure these ladies have stuff to do today.” Brian nodded and stood up. “It was nice hanging out with you, maybe we can do it again soon.” He smiled. “Give me your phone.” I said,
holding my hand out. He obliged and I typed my number in, making sure to call my phone with his before I gave it back. “There, now you have my number. Text me sometime and we’ll hang.” “Sweet. Thanks. I’ll see you later.” He said, giving me a hug. Dani and I walked the guys to the door and said our goodbyes, and as soon as the door shut she looked at me with a huge grin, “Did that really just fucking happen to us?”

Notes