Just Before You Go

“Cheers to another year of this giant, crazy ass motherfucker!” Brian cheered as the clock struck midnight, raising his glass to our group.
“Cheers!” we all called back, clinking our glasses together.
Jimmy fluttered his eyelashes, “Oh, you guys.”
“Happy fucking birthday, Jimmy,” Brian smiled. “We god damn love you.”
“I love you all too,” he jeered.
Brian finally sat his drunk ass back down, allowing the other patrons in the place to return to their lives. This “hot spot” that the concierge had suggested was hardly a hot spot at all. It was bright and they were still serving food…It was nearly empty when we’d arrived. Two or three other tables had assimilated by midnight but it wasn’t looking like a busy joint.
But when the adorable little worker bee should up at 12:05 with a tiny group of girlfriends, it all made perfect sense.
“We got dragged to this lame bar, so Brian could get laid,” Zack griped.
Jimmy grinned, “He needs all the help he can get. These lights aren’t going to be much assistance though.”
“Fuck you,” Brian laughed. “I look great in fluorescents.”
As Brian abandoned our table, and the birthday boy, for something more flavourful, the little bell above the door jingled…and in strolled Matt and the one and only Johnny Christ. Matt looked a little peeved.
“Thanks for the invite, tools,” Matt snarled as he pulled up a chair across from me.
Zack dropped his brows, “Uh, hi. I did invite you.”
“Sorry, man,” Jimmy laughed lightly. “I don’t have my phone.”
“Yeah and besides, we were a little concerned about yours and Brian’s little bitch fit,” Zack shrugged. “Don’t put that on Jimmy.”
“There’s no bitch fit,” Matt groaned. “You know how Brian gets.”
Jimmy leaned closer to Matt, as if he didn’t want anyone else to hear him be truthful and serious.
“We all know this isn’t just a little Brian fit,” Jimmy said lowly. “Whatever you’re doing, stop it.”
Matt rolled his eyes, “I’m not doing anything. Let’s drop this shit for tonight. Happy fucking birthday, man.”
Jimmy relented, leaning back into his chair and draping an arm lazily across my shoulders.
I watched as Brian schmoozed up the concierge girl. He was leaned into her, one hand on the bar, the other on her arm. For someone who could be such an ass, I was almost convinced that he was charming. The girl was eating it up. Fawning over him and finding excused to touch him—I wondered if maybe she knew who he was. Or, maybe, Brian was enchanting. Go figure.
He’d glanced over at our table and made a real subtle face at Matt, but other than that, he didn’t seem interested at all in our table at the point.
“He’s a goner,” Zack smirked, noticing my wayward stare.
“He’ll strike out any minute now,” Jimmy laughed, taking a deep swig of his beer. “Our poor, lonely Syn.”
I furrowed my eyebrows, “He doesn’t seem lonely to me.”
“You don’t know him,” Johnny piped up. “He’s a real son of a bitch when he starts aching for a woman’s touch.”
“And since Matt is touching his woman,” Zacky grinned from ear to ear.
Matt held his hands up, “Wait a fucking second here—”
“We saw you with the one they call Blair Peterson,” Jimmy told him. “It didn’t look good, man. It didn’t look good at all.”
“For fucking starters,” Matt began angrily.
I’d never seen Matt’s temper rise above normal. He was always calm and collected—and overwhelmingly sweet. I couldn’t have pictured his face contorted by rage, but there it was. His voice was loud and it boomed like thunder.
“I’m not fucking Blair. And even if I was, what the fuck does it matter? You all become a bunch of prudes over night or some shit?”
Jimmy was just shaking his head, wiggling a finger at Matt as he drank from his glass with the other hand.
“Brian doesn’t even know her,” Johnny pointed out. “I’ve hung out with her, and let me tell you, she’s way too good for Brian.”
“She can’t stand the fucking guy,” Matt added with a scoff. “And I don’t really blame her.”
Men operated in such a different way than women. It was baffling. My gears were turning so rapidly that they were producing straight black smoke. If any of my girlfriends had developed a crush on a boy—and boy—then that boy was specifically off limits. It didn’t matter if they were strangers in a club or best friends all their lives; if they said no, the answer was no. There was none of this justification crap. My heart, in an instant, broke for Brian.
“What were you guys doing?” I asked finally, hiding a little behind my glass. “Before you got here?”
Matt shrugged.
“Drinking with Haven,” Johnny told us. “Speaking of drinking…I’m headed to the bar. Anyone need anything?”
“Eighteen shots of Petrone,” Jimmy said with a completely straight face.
Johnny nodded awkwardly, “Stomach pump for anyone else? No? Just Rathead? Okay, great.”
He excused himself with the screech of his chair on the poorly laminated floor. Jimmy turned his focus to me, nibbling at my neck in the least discreet kind of way. My cheeks flushed and my skin coursed with goosebumps.
“Get out of there,” I giggled, trying to nuzzle him away.
He breathed, “I can’t get enough of you.”
I reached out the take his face in my hand, forcefully pulling him out of my crook. His eyes met mine and there was not a hint of insincerity. They were peaceful for once. He wasn’t searching for anything but what he’d already found.
I smiled at him, tracing the corner of his lip with my thumb.
“Stop that,” Matt groaned. “You two are grossing everyone out.”
“It’s my birthday!” Jimmy reminded his friend loudly. “I’ll make kissy faces at my girlfriend all I want!”
You best believe that’s exactly what he did. There was cooing involved. Like you’d do with a baby. That pretty well ruined the moment for me. I pushed his face away with a laugh.
“Do I get presents?” Jimmy asked excitedly.
“Do we look like fucking Santa Claus to you?” Zack asked seriously.
Jimmy shrugged, “You are getting a little soft around the edges…”
“Who’s soft?” Brian asked happily as he plunked back down into his chair at the end of the table.
The little brunette plunked herself straight into Brian’s lap.
I looked back to the bar, where Johnny was hitting up her band of followers. Good for him.
“Who’s your belt buckle?” Jimmy asked curiously, downing the rest of his beer and slamming it onto the table with a loud thud.
“This is Charlotte,” Brian told us with only the hint of a slur.
“Hi,” she waved sheepishly.
“You’re the one that recommended this bar, right?” Jimmy asked.
She nodded.
He grumbled, shaking his head, “Brian, no. She obviously has terrible fucking judgement.”
“Perfect,” Brian grinned, scrunching his nose up at her.
It was nauseating. I looked at Matt with a severely displeased face. He laughed knowingly, nodding once in acknowledgment.
“Hey Jim,” Matt said quietly to his friend. “I hope you don’t mind, but I invited the others to come down here to have a birthday drink with you.”
“What others?” Jimmy asked confusedly, thieving my drink from my hand and chugging it.
I stared at him with my mouth gaping. He grinned at me.
“Easy access?”
“I will stab you,” I laughed. “I swear to god.”
“Haven,” Matt said simply.
Jimmy shrugged, “Cool with me, man.”
“You invited Blair Peterson’s band here?” I demanded.
“Stop calling her by her full name,” Matt chuckled. “It would be like if you called Jimmy James Sullivan.”
Jimmy croaked, “She does.”
“You’re fucking weird,” Matt laughed.
“Do you want Brian to murder you?” I asked Matt seriously. “That’s how you get murdered.”
“Nah,” Matt waved me off. “It isn’t about me. It’s about Jimmy—and he digs Blair. And their drummer.”
Jimmy nodded, “It’s true. Justin’s a cool guy.”
Was I the only one in this forsaken group that understood Brian’s fury? Was I seriously the only one that got it? I must have been because when Haven strolled in twenty minutes later, I was the only one losing my cool.
Brian, interestingly enough, shooed the brunette worker bee immediately. It didn’t take him catching sight of Blair to inspire him to lose the dead weight. The guitarist was enough.
Jimmy helped them pull an extra table onto ours, apologizing to the other patrons for the ruckus. Blair and Brian were at each end of our monstrously long table—the tension was palpable.
“If you spill one drop on me,” Tyler warned me. “I will straight up lose my mind.”
I laughed uncomfortably, “I’ll try my hardest not to.”
“Don’t trust her for one second,” Jimmy told him seriously. “She’s clumsy as shit.”
“So, I’ve noticed,” he laughed.
“I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced,” I said politely, reverting to my youth raised in deep etiquette practices. “I’m Aria.”
“Tyler,” he said, shaking my extended hand. “This is John, that’s Chris, you know Blair—and this is Justin.”
Justin leaned ahead of Tyler so that he could be seen. Jimmy was mimicking the action just on the other side of me.
I laughed, calling to the stranger that Jimmy obviously adored, “Did you want to trade places with me?”
He shrugged with a nod. So, I gave Jimmy a quick farewell kiss and got up to move.
“Fuck yeah!” Jimmy beamed as Justin took my seat. “What up, Jay?”
I loved watching Jimmy get giddy about things. His eyes would widen and his lips would curve permanently. It was like watching a bird with its wings clipped discover gliding for the first time. His whole life was designed to be grounded…he just wanted to fly. And, sometimes, if you looked closely enough, you’d swear he was.
“Drummers,” Tyler scoffed.
“More like musicians,” Blair corrected with a grin.
Fuck she was pretty.
“Nice to see you, Aria,” she smiled at me and I almost died.
“Hey,” was all I could think to say.
John was looking around impatiently, “This place is…interesting.”
“We should probably get drinks about it,” Chris suggested.
“Blair? Want anything?” John asked as they rose from their seats.
She shrugged, “Sure, whatever. I’m easy.”
“Yeah, you are!” Brian called from the other side of the table.
I was relieved to find Zack grabbing his inebriated friend by the ear and dragging him out the door.
Blair looked a little stumped. Like something was right on the tip of her tongue but she wasn’t quite sure how to verbalise it.
So, instead, she came up with, “Fuck that fucking guy.”
Tyler looked pissed. The muscles in his arms were tense.
“Every time I fucking see him, he has some bullshit remark to make,” she hissed, shaking her head. “What’s his problem?”
“He loves you,” Jimmy piped up quickly and flatly before returning to his heated debate with the other drummer.
Blair scoffed, “That’s not love. That’s not…anything.”
She had a point. I was grateful that Jimmy had always been great—despite a few hiccups. He’d never said anything to me that made me feel uncomfortable or discredited. Not really, anyway. He had never intentionally gone out of his way to hurt me. He was always trying to keep me afloat and keep me laughing. And that was love.
“So, Matt told me you’re a bartender,” she said, turning to me in an attempt to cool her jets. “That sounds like a fun job.”
“It can be,” I nodded. “Depends on the night.”
“He also mentioned that you have a law degree,” she noted. “That’s really impressive.”
I lived to impress her.
“Thanks,” I blushed. “You guys talk a lot, huh?”
“Not really,” she shrugged. “We bumped into each other today, so Ty and I went back to his room to run through our little surprise.”
“Surprise?” I asked curiously, desperately wishing Jimmy hadn’t stolen all of my booze.
She nodded happily, “We’re going to bring him out onstage during our set tomorrow. Fans will eat that shit up! It’ll be awesome.”
“You guys were…rehearsing…tonight?” I asked slowly.
She cocked an eyebrow, “Yeah, why?”
“No reason,” I lied.
“This,” she said to Tyler. “Is why I don’t have female friends. You can’t hang out with a man without the entire world assuming you’re fucking.”
I wasn’t even sure what to say—so I apologized and prayed that she left it alone.
Which, because she was graceful as fuck, she did.
“Don’t worry about it,” she assured me. “I’m just fucking with you.”
“Blair doesn’t date,” Tyler told me with a sly grin. “She thinks men are a waste of time.”
“They are,” she laughed.
I shook my head, “Not if you find a good one.”
“What she said,” Tyler nodded pointedly at Blair.
She laughed a little, “I’m pretty sure that if I ever meet a guy that’s worth even considering giving a chance to…I’ll know him when I see him.”
All three of us pretended not to notice as Brian welcomed himself back to the table just as she was finishing her thought. She looked visibly flustered.
I just couldn’t decide if it was because she hated him so much…or if she could recognize a sign when she saw one.
Jimmy finally took note of Brian and Zack’s reappearance at our table. He took the opportunity to climb to his feet, towering over everyone.
“Now, now, kittens,” Jimmy warned the group. “It’s my birthday and that means I make the rules.”
The group all muttered and mumbled in response.
“Good energy, everyone!” Jimmy cheered. “As birthday master, I declare that the B’s will be separated at all times…and at all costs. What say ye?”
“Aye!” the Avenged boys called.
Tyler was still not looking pleased.
“Bri,” Jimmy grinned. “If you say one more word to Blair that isn’t a confession of your profound and undying love, I swear I will sick my girlfriend on you. She’s scarier than she looks.”
I nodded at Brian, who looked absolutely humiliated. His ego was bruised, and it was showing.
“Blair,” Jimmy continued, turning to her. “Keep my lady company, would ya?”
“Happy birthday,” she smiled at him.
The entire table, and the two Haven stragglers at the bar, joined in, “Happy birthday!”
“Oh, stop,” Jimmy grinned, waving at himself dramatically. “My poor heart can’t take it.”
“We love you, Jim,” Brian said sweetly from his end of the table. “Thanks for being the best friend a guy could ever ask for.”
Jimmy abandoned his post as “birthday master” to tackle Brian into a hug. They muttered to each other and erupted into laughter. It was touching. I felt all fuzzy inside—but that could also have been from all of the alcohol.
But when I looked to Blair to ask her about her set the following day, I caught her swooning too. And as Jimmy made his way back to Justin, it was clear that she wasn’t swooning for my guy.
Jimmy surprised me with a kiss on the cheek. I smiled happily, turning around to get a better look at him.
“Having a good night?” I asked him.
He nodded, “I have all the people I love in one room. What more could a guy want?”
“Brian to shut up,” I giggled.
“Got it covered,” he nodded once. “I’ve shamed him into silence.”
I gestured ever so slightly to Blair with my head, “Do you see what I see?”
“Oh yeah,” Jimmy grinned. “Shair better watch out.”
“Piece of shit,” I muttered in disbelief. “As if that’s her type.”
He laughed, kissing me quickly once more, “Well it’s your type too. Maybe you can bond over it.”
“I fucking love you, birthday boy,” I laughed, admiring him as he disappeared.
And I was certain then that I’d never loved anybody more.

Notes

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