Past, Present, Future

(Continued Flashback)

Tuesday couldn’t come soon enough. Brian was practically pacing around his room waiting for Joanna to come over, a grin on his face as he thought about kissing her again. His heart started beating faster as he heard her footsteps come up the stairs and he moved towards the door to greet her.

“Hey!” she said as she approached the door, squeezing herself and her guitar past him and into the room.

“Hey, kid,” he said, shutting the door behind him. They were home alone, but he shut the door anyways, just in case. “Put that down.”

She obeyed, putting down her guitar on his floor. He walked over to her, cupping her face into his hands and kissed her deeply, running his tongue across from hers. A small moan escaped her lips from the surprise kiss and she melted into him, letting him take control of the moment. His hands slid down around her waist and to her lower back and he pulled her in closer, practically moaning himself.

When he broke the kiss she giggled, saying, “Someone’s in a good mood.”

He smiled at her. “You’re here.”

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s all it is.”

“I am happy. And you make everything better,” he said. He pulled her in as tightly as he could. “I can’t stop thinking about you. Seeing you at the show the other day made me so happy.”

She giggled in response, kissing him on the check. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“You could’ve come out with my friends, you know.”

“I didn’t think you would want me hanging out with you guys,” she admitted.

“I want to be with you all of the time,” he told her softly. “I love you.”

She froze at the words, not expecting them for a million years. Sure, she knew that he liked her, that they were having fun together, but love? Definitely unexpected- but not unwelcome.

He broke apart from her then, taking a step back. “I’m sorry-” he started.

“Wait, stop,” she said, walking back to him. “You just surprised me.”

“I didn’t plan on saying it… It just happened.”

“Oh,” she said, disappointed. She looked down at her feet.

“But I meant it,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around her waist again. “I really meant it.”

“Good,” she said back, looking up into his eyes. “I love you.”

She kissed him, pulling him in closer than before. He ran his hands down lower, gently squeezing her ass. He moved his lips from her own to her neck, making her shiver in pleasure at his touch. Slowly, he backed her up towards the bed, laying her down. He moved on top of her, kissing her neck again, then her lips.

They broke apart and he stared down at her, smiling from above. He kissed her softly again before asking, “Do you want to?”

She bit her lip and nodded, saying, “Yes. But I never have before…”

“Me neither,” he admitted shyly. “I want to, though. I love you”

“I love you too…”

-----

The laid naked in bed while they talked, Joanna running her hands through his hair. He let his own hand run down the length of her side, enjoying the feeling of her flesh under his fingers. They were talking about the show, how well it went, and what Joanna’s favorite parts were. He loved to hear her talk about how he played and how she enjoyed watching him more than any of the other band members. He smiled when she told him she was nervous about coming, but didn't want to miss her favorite guitarist’s show.

He couldn’t stop kissing her. He didn’t want to tell her about what happened after the show, not yet. He just wanted to kiss her, to touch her, to make love to her again. He wanted to relive this moment over and over again.

“Something’s on your mind,” she said to him, her fingers stopping at the base of his neck.

“Yeah, I have something to tell you,” he admitted. He leaned up on his arm, head resting on his head so their faces weren’t so close.

“What is it?” she asked, concerned.

He sighed, “After the show the other night, some guy came up to us and told us we were a real talent. And you remember how they recorded Sounding of the Seventh Trumpet already? I wasn’t totally part of the band yet but I helped them with it. Now that I’m totally in, and this guy is interested in us, we really think that something big might come of this.”

“Who even is this guy?” she said, worry filling her voice. She grabbed the sheet, pulling it up towards her chin, covering her now chilled body.

“He is legit. From Hopeless Records. He gave us a card and everything.”

“I’ve never heard of them,” she said in return, feeling herself become defensive.

“Well, it’s a real thing, trust me. And he wants us to do a few shows outside of Huntington. If they go well, he basically promised that he’d give us a record deal. We have so much ready to record already. Matt mailed him our demos.”

“Did you hear back from him about those?” Joanna asked.

“Not yet. But, Joanna, this is huge. This is our big break. Seventh Trumpet was one thing, but this would be much more legit. We’re getting more of a following now, and doing this mini tour would be big for us.”

“So what are you saying?” Joanna said, pointing between the two of them.

He sighed, saying, “I just don’t know if we can make this work, you know? If I’m on the road? I really think this is going to happen for us, Joanna. I care about you, but this is something we’ve been dreaming of for years.”

She took a deep breath, processing his words, trying desperately not to cry. “So what was the point of this?”

“What do you mean? I love you.”

She laughed, “You have a fucked up idea of what that means, Brian. You tell me you love me, have sex with me, steal my virginity, and now you just want to leave? Don’t you see how fucked up that is?”

“Hey, it was my virginity to, you know,” he said in defense.

“Oh! So that’s what this was about! You just wanted to use me to lose your virginity before meeting more chicks on your road to become a fucking rock star. You are DELUSIONAL, Brian Haner! You will never become famous! Your band fucking SUCKS.”

She got out of the bed, taking the sheet with her, desperately looking for her clothes on his floor.

He grabbed the comforter to cover himself, not moving from his spot. “You don’t mean any of that.”

While putting on her pants she groaned, rolling her eyes at him. “Fuck you. Does it even matter what I think?”

“I wasn’t using you, Joanna,” he said softly. “I just wanted us to have a special night together. This is an opportunity I just can’t pass up. I really do care about you. These last few months have been-”

“Bull shit,” she spat at him, cutting him off. Finally she found the rest of her clothes and put them on as fast as she could, wishing she could just bolt out of that bedroom. She made her way towards the door. “Thanks for the guitar lessons, asshole. One day you’ll be watching me on the stage, not the other way around.”

Slamming the door behind her, she walked away from him, swearing that she would never see him or even think about him again. Too bad that didn’t work out.

Notes

Comments make me write faster ;)

We will get back to the present in the next chapter.

xoxo JJ