The First

After an awkward exit from Brian's house, I'm back at home.

During the drive home I had some time to myself to think. What am I really looking for with Brian? What is he looking for with me? Am I just another quick fuck to him, someone to have fun with here and there?

What do I do now? Do I wait for him to call me or do I call him? Will we talk after this? The thoughts ran rampant through my head like wildfire.

Now that I'm in the shower, the cool water rushing over me, all of those thoughts seem stupid. Why should I even care what happens now? Sure, Brian's hot and all, I'm sure he's absolutely ravishing in bed, but that's besides the point. I'm not looking to get anything out of this. I'm not looking for a relationship, I decide.

--

I'm thanking God that it's Friday, as I leave work to get into my car. It's been a long week. Not necessarily bad, just long, and super busy. This week has been so busy, in fact, that I've barely had time to talk to Brian, aside from a few texts back and forth. He's been busy recording so we haven't hung out since his BBQ. I'm beginning to think he might be avoiding me. Do I give head that badly?

"Any plans for the weekend?" Lindsey asks, as we walk out of work.

"Not really. Not like I have many friends to make plans with." I laugh.

"You have friends." She says, and I laugh again. "You got me." She smiles at me, as we stop next to our cars.

"Hey!" Aiden yells, coming out of the office. "You forgot your phone." He says coming closer.

"I can't believe I missed it." I laugh. "Thank you." Aiden seems so sweet. I've known him for a short time, he started two weeks after I did. I've taken a liking to him, as we usually take our lunch breaks together. He's very attractive, even more so, as the sun beats down on him, making his tan skin glow.

"No problem." He says, handing the phone to me. Our fingers brush, as I take it from him, and I look up at him to catch a slight blush running to his cheeks. "Sorry I interrupted." He takes a step back.

"You're not interrupting." Allison says to him. "I was just telling Allison that she does indeed have friends." Aiden looks at me, confused. Allison continues "You're her friend, aren't you Aiden?" I can't tell if Lindsey is legitimately wondering this or if she's trying to somehow set the two of us up.

"Uhh...yeah." Aiden stammers, he seems nervous.

"Do you have plans tonight?" Allison asks him. Okay now I know she's up to something. "Allison and I were just going to go have dinner and drinks, do you want to join us?" She asks her second question, not waiting for an answer to the first. We were, huh? I wonder to myself.

"Sure." Aiden says, flashing a perfectly white smile. He's dazzling.

What the fuck? Dazzling? I shake my head at the thought and the two of them look at me.

"So where are we going, did we decide?" Deciding to play into Allison's grande scheme, whatever she's cooking up in that mind of hers.

"How bout you two just follow me there?"

We all get into our cars and Aiden and I end up following Lindsey to a local bar.

"I know it doesn't look like much." Lindsey says, getting out of her car, Aiden and I doing the same. "But they have great food and a good selection of alcohol." She smiles, leading us into the bar.

--

"So your favorite drink is an Amaretto Sour?" Aiden asks me, as we sit at our table next to the bar. Lindsey just got up to use the restroom.

"How'd you know?" I smile at him.

"Just jumping to conclusions. It's all that you've had tonight." He smiles back. "I'm more of a Scotch man."

"I've never much gotten into Scotch." I admit.

"You probably just haven't had the right kind."

Lindsey walks back to the table. "I gotta get home. You two gonna be okay here alone?" She shoots me a wink. So she is trying to hook us up. Though I'm not sure why, she knows that I've been sorta, I guess, seeing Brian. Not that we're exclusive or anything, so I'm not sure why that matters. I guess I can't blame her for trying.

"We'll be fine." I roll my eyes at her and she smiles. She says her goodbyes and leaves Aiden and I alone at the table.

We sit and talk for what seems like forever, but in reality is only two hours. He tells me about growing up in Washington and what it was like to move to California. He tells me about getting his law degree and how proud his parents were when he graduated college. He has two siblings, a brother and sister, both older. His parents still live in Washington, along with his siblings and he's planning on visiting them for the upcoming Fourth of July.

I forget sometimes that it's summer. It's easy to do when you're an adult and have a career. Unfortunately, jobs don't find it necessary to take two whole months of during the summer. I miss the luxury of having summers off, when I was a kid. At least, when Jess was alive, before our family fell apart. Hearing about Aiden's siblings make me miss mine all the more. Jess was a light for me, my rock. She was always there for me.

She was only four years older than me, but it felt like much more to me. I remember on my tenth birthday she made me a cake, she was fourteen at the time and she had a love for baking. It tasted horrible, but I ate the whole slice she cut me, because I didn't want to hurt her feelings. I remember the smile on her face as I licked the last bit of icing from my lips. I smile at the memory, glad that I have mostly happy memories with my beloved sister.

When I come out of my thoughts, Aiden is still going on about his plans for this summer, and I realize that he's quite the talker. I don't know why I'd never noticed until now, as many lunch breaks as we've taken together.

I listen to his plans to go boating this summer, his visit with his family, how he plans to travel to New York City at some point, if he can find the time. Hearing his summer plans I start to think about my upcoming birthday. June 17th is right around the corner, and I'm not quite looking forward to my 26th birthday.

Aiden breaks me from my thoughts by asking about my plans for this summer. I tell him, honestly, that I have none and he frowns. "Oh." He says.

"It's okay. I'm not really a planner." I explain. "I'm more of a go with the flow kind of girl."
He smiles. "Gotcha." He looks down at his phone that's now lighting up on the table. I can't see the name flashing on the screen, as he takes the call. He holds a finger up to me, letting me know he'll be right back, and walks away.

I decide that while he's gone, I'm going to step out and get some fresh air. I step out the front door to the bar, and walk around to the side. There's an alley on this side of the bar, dimly lit by a few street lights. While we've been in the bar, it's gotten darker out. I wonder what time it is.

I pull my phone from my purse. It's 9:15, still early for a Friday night. I can't believe that I've been talking to Aiden for so long, I can't even remember when Lindsey bailed on us.

I check my phone for messages. I have one from Brian. What are you up to? It says.

I lean against the brick wall of the bar, and type out a message. Had dinner and drinks with Linds and Aiden. I know this will confuse Brian, since he doesn't know who Aiden is, but I can explain that some other time, not that I really need to. At Johnny's. I hit send and immediately his response comes back.

Johnny's Saloon?

Yeah.

How'd you end up there?

Lindsey's choice.

Who is Aiden? How did I know he would ask?

Guy from work.

He doesn't respond. I stand in the alley, awkwardly staring at my phone waiting for him to reply. Someone clears their throat nearby and I jerk my head up, frightened by the sudden sound. A figure emerges from the end of the alleyway. Dave.

I pull away from the wall, standing up straight. "What are you doing here?" I ask him. "I thought I told you to leave me alone." I stand my ground, but I have this very offputting feeling right now that I cannot shake. Something is wrong, very wrong.

"Since when have I ever cared enough to listen to you?" He laughs and casts an evil smirk at me.

"You're right. You've never listened to me. I should've known."

"That's your own damn fault for believing I would stay away. With you back in town again that is so hard to do." He says, drawing closer to me, and I back away.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see another dark figure emerge from the alleyway, the opposite end this time. I turn my head slightly, trying to get a better look. I was wrong, there isn't just one figure, there's two, and as they get closer I can make out two males. I don't recognize either.

I turn back to Dave. I try to make my voice as steady as I can manage. "What do you want, Dave?"

"I just wanted one drink with you, like old times."

"Okay, one drink." I say, hoping it will get me out of this current situation that is going no where good, and fast.

"Too late for that." He smirks, and I feel a pair of hands grab me from behind. One hand entwines in my hair, pulling my head back painfully, while the other grabs both of my wrists, squeezing them together.

I cry out in pain and Dave reaches a hand up to cover my mouth. I bite him and he pulls away quickly, only to return his hand to my face, this time in a punch. I feel the blood trickle from my lip immediately, and another cry escapes me.

"Please." I beg him. I can taste the iron now.

"You're fucking pathetic." He says. "Just like the day I kicked you out of my apartment."

"I wasn't lying." I try to explain, remembering that day.

"Save it!"

"We never even slept together, Dave!"

"That's because you were always whoring yourself out to everyone else." That's not true, and he knows it. After what happened with Mike, I didn't sleep with another person, until Lucas.

"No." I try to stop him, but he continues.

"You were always such a fucking tease, Allison. You still are. It seems some things never change."

"I hear you there." I spit at him. His hand reaches up, ready to come down on my face again, when I hear commotion behind me. Dave's eyes go wide and he backs away.

The guy behind me immediately drops my hands, obviously sensing some sort of danger to himself, and runs away down the alley, the opposite way that he came. He turns a corner at the end, and disappears.

I turn around, aware that Dave is still lingering behind me. The other man that was behind us is lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious. I see two people coming toward us, and I back away instinctively, not sure what to expect at this point.

Dave quickly turns on his heel, ready to run. He's not fast enough though, and as he takes off, so does one of the figures coming toward us. Zach?

Notes

Another update should be coming soon, hopefully tonight! Until then, enjoy this one! Thanks for reading, as always!

- J