Times Like These

My date with Brian is going really well up to this point. We actually have a chance to get to know each other better without the background noise of Tom’s or other people around us. He’s smart, caring, slightly goofy, and let’s face it, absolutely gorgeous. I didn’t think I would be ready for a relationship for a really long time after my fiancée, but I can see myself being with Brian. It’s really easy to just be me around him. After our dinner we picked up brownies and headed to his place, where he was currently unlocking the door to his gorgeous house. Once he unlocked it, he held the door open for me and we were greeted by a cute little furry dog. “Oh hey there cutie!” I gushed. I’m a big animal lover. Cats, dogs, horses. I love them all. “Aren’t you so adorable? I bet you get all the attention around here.” I kept scratching the puppy’s belly when I heard a chuckle above me. “That’s Pinkly,” Brian said with a smirk, “And clearly she likes you.” “Well, I like her too.” I smiled up at him, giving Pinkly one more belly rub before standing and smoothing out my dress. “The living room is right through there, I’m gonna grab some forks and more wine. Make yourself at home.” He smiled, showing me where to go. His living room was massive, the far side had a fireplace with a huge tv hanging over the mantle with oversized black leather couches facing it, while the side closer to me had bookshelves adorned with random photos and books and a piano situated in the corner. I ran my fingers over the keys and smiled sadly. “Do you play?” He asked, coming into the room with our dessert. “I used to.” I sighed, turning to face him. “My dad taught me. He taught us all how to play an instrument. Mine was a little bit of guitar and piano. Dani picked up a little bit of drums from our older brother but mostly she’s got an amazing voice.” “Well, you can always play something for me.” He grinned. “I have not had nearly enough wine to be playing piano for you, mister Haner.” I chuckled, walking over to sit beside him. He handed me a fork and I dig into my brownie. “God. I love Erin.” I mumbled while he let out a deep belly laugh that I had never heard from him before. “What’s so funny?” I asked, turning to look at him. “I have never seen a person your size love food so much.” He chuckled. “Well, I have a high metabolism. And an overactive thyroid, so no matter what I do I can’t keep weight on. I actually hate it.” I explained to him. “Well I think you’re pretty damn perfect.” He replied, taking another bite of his brownie. Once we finished our dessert I kicked my heels off and wandered around the room, looking at all the pictures and different things he had sitting out. My eyes landed on a picture of him and Jimmy and I studied it for a while, until I felt his presence behind me. “I wish you could’ve met him.” He said softly, “he would have loved you. He would have said you were perfect for me.” I turned to look at him, and he had tears in the corners of his eyes. “And is that what you think too?” I asked quietly. “Yeah, it is.” He pushed back a few stray hairs from my face and cupped my face in his hands, “It really is.” He whispered, and then he pressed his soft lips to mine. The kids was gentle, almost loving. He pulled away too quickly and smiled at me, before pulling my face back to his. Eventually we broke apart and I looked at the clock. “Brian.” I said softly, looking into those gorgeous brown eyes, “I have to do this, because I really don’t want this night to end, but could you drive me home? It’s my turn for Sunday brunch and I have to get some stuff ready tonight.” I explained. “Sure babe. I’ll help you get it ready if you want.” He said, kissing me one more time. “Grab your shoes and we’ll go.”

Once we made it back to my apartment I had Brian make himself comfortable while I ran to my room to change into a pair of pj shorts and a ratty T-shirt from high school. “Now that just might be the sexiest outfit I’ve ever seen you in.” He joked when I came back into the kitchen. “So, what are we making?” “Well,” I started, opening my recipe book, “I was thinking sticky buns, breakfast casserole, and fruit. What do you think?” I asked, looking up from my book. “That sounds delicious.” He smiled. “Well good, cause Sunday brunch is at 10:30 tomorrow and you guys better not be late.” I grinned, watching his face light up in realization. “I’ll be here. Don’t you worry about that. What can I do to help?” “Well I’ve got to make the sticky buns, cause they’ll need to rise for a while. So we can get started doing that.” I pulled my hair into a messy bun, turned on some music, and got to work. By the time everything was mixed and in a bowl to rise for a few hours, it was almost midnight and the wine had made me incredibly sleepy. “Hey, you want to go watch a movie in my room?” I asked Brian, who looked just as tired as I did. “You can just crash here if you want. It doesn’t look like Dani is coming home tonight.” I said, looking at clock. “Yeah, let’s do that. I’m exhausted.” He said, standing up to stretch. I cleaned up my mess and led him into my room, where we argued over which movie to pick for twenty minutes before eventually deciding on Boondock Saints. Not even halfway into the movie I could hear Brian snoring slightly, and before I knew it I was drifting off to sleep myself.

Notes