It was early morning, and I was busy putting the dirty breakfast plates in the sink while trying to get the kids ready for school when there was a knock at the door.
“Jason, would you please get that?” I shouted over the sound of running water.
“I’m supposed to be resting, you know!” went Jason, getting up from the couch and ambling to the door. “Oh, hi Brian”
Upon hearing Brian’s name, I turned off the water at once and quickly disposed of my apron. I walked to the door, discreetly brushing the crumbs off my shirt.
Brian was standing in the frame, looking very awake for such an early hour.
“I hope I’m not disturbing you” he said the second I came into view.
It took me a moment before I could find my voice. “Don’t be silly!” I assured him, waving my hand airily and accidentally hitting my nose.
“So what are you doing here?” I continued, hoping he hadn’t noticed “I thought that you and the others were supposed to be in the studio with Jane Floyd today?”
“Well after our no-show yesterday, Jane decided that her time might be of better value somewhere else today” Brian told me, the tip of his mouth curling and trying as best he could not to laugh. “So I figured I’d drop by.”
I gestured for him to come in, “I’m really happy that you’re here, but as you can see things are a little hectic at the moment. So if you wanna sit down or…”
“Do you need me to lend you a hand?” Brian cut in, his eyes scanning the apartment.
Normally I would have insisted for him to sit down and not lift a finger, but-
“If you could take care of those dishes in the sink for me while I take the girls to the bus, I’d be much obliged”
“Sure!” Brian beamed enthusiastically, making his way to the kitchen.
“Thank you so much” I told him, grabbing Holly and Jena schoolbags.
“Girls, let’s go. I’ll be back in just a few, Brian.”
“Ok” Brian called after me, “But I warn you, I haven’t done the dishes in months!”
“Just don’t break anything” I shouted back at him, laughing as the door shut between us.
**~~**
After seeing the twins off, I decided that I ought to take the day off, even though the mere idea of spending an entire day in Brian’s company was enough to bring butterflies to my stomach. It took a good five minutes of compromising and pleading, but in the end my supervisor finally caved and agreed to let me take the day off in exchange for working overtime the rest if the week. As far as I was concerned, I had gotten the better end of the deal.
While in the elevator, Brian consumed my every thought. And then I remembered;
“Oh shit! Our date is tonight!”
How could I have forgotten? Suddenly, I was more nervous than excited over the prospect of spending time with Brian. What if he got so sick of me by the end of the day that would call off our date?
Unfortunately, I didn’t have long to mull over all this, for the elevator soon hit my floor. As I walked back to my room, I tried hard to push these thoughts out of my head.
Walking into the room, I was surprised to see Brian and Jason with their shirts lifted up to their necks.
“What are you two doing?” I asked, bemused.
“Brian was just showing me his scar from his heart surgery” Jason said in an awestruck voice.
“You had heart surgery?” I asked, turning to Brian with concern.
“Yeah” went Brian coolly, pulling his shirt down “I was born with a heart-defect, and we decided to operate on it last May.”
I gasped. “Oh my God, are you alright now?”
“Never better” he smiled. “I was just telling Jase what a routine surgery it is.”
He lifted his shirt back up; “See, they cut you open here” he went, running his finger along the lengthily scar that went down half of his chest. “Then they tinker around inside a bit, and sew you back up!”
“It hardly shows…” I said softly, my hand reaching forward curiously. My fingers grazed his skin, and I jumped back. Touching him felt like being hit by a bolt of lightening. I looked back up at him, completely mortified only to see that he too had gone red in the face.
“Cool. Will it stay there forever?” Jason asked, promptly bringing us back to reality.
“Yeah, it’s permanent.” Brian replied, pulling his shirt back down and carefully avoiding eye contact.
“Oh, I talked to my boss and he said that I could have the day off today,” I began, hoping to change the course of conversation “but I have to work overtime for the rest of the week in exchange. So you owe me, Brian”
At these words, Brian smiled broadly; his eyes twinkling. “Trust me, after our date tonight we’ll be more than even”
**Meanwhile**
“Where’s Bri?” Nick asked, his faced screwed up in concentration as he played with his Playstation.
A.J shrugged his shoulders. “I think I heard him tell Kevin that he was going to go to Eli's, why?”
“Just wondering...”
Nick went back to playing with his game, but it just wasn't the same. Tossing away the controller, he grabbed the TV remote to see what was on. But it wasn’t the same either. How could Brian do this to him? How could he leave him alone in this rat hole of town with nothing to do but mope? “And”, he thought miserably, “Why should he get to spend time with Eli?”
“Hey AJ, you wanna shoot some hoops or something?” Nick asked hopefully.
“Sorry bud, but I'm picking Amanda up from the airport. She's coming to visit. Actually I better get going now” A.J told him, feeling his pockets for his wallet “Wanna come?”
“Nah, that's okay. I'll just stay here” Nick replied. Truth was, he never really liked Amanda all that much. Even sitting on his ass all day watching the linoleum curl sounded favourable to spending an entire car ride in her presence…
“Alright, see ya” AJ yelled back as he walked out the door.
Nick just sat there for a while, paying very little attention the television. His thoughts kept drifting back to Eli. He felt somewhat guilty, because he knew that Brian had showed signs of interested in her first. What’s more, he and Eli had a date scheduled for that very evening. But there was something about her that intrigued Nick. Maybe the way that she laughed, her beautiful voice; he just couldn't pin point what it was. But as he sat there, listening deftly to droning of the news broadcaster, he realized that forgetting about Eli would be a lot easier said than done.
**30 minutes later**
A.J stood amidst the hustle and bustle of the airport completely unnoticed waiting for Amanda to make her appearance. He’d been looking forward to this for a long time. He missed Amanda so much, and his life just didn’t feel complete without her. The two had already been through so much together, and she had always stuck by him thick or thin…
Just when he thought that he couldn’t wait any longer, he heard a voice blare over the intercom
“Flight 981 has now arrived at gate 3”
“Finally!” AJ exclaimed.
When he arrived at the gate, it didn't take long for him to spot his girlfriend amidst the sea of new arrivals.
“Alex!” Amanda squealed, pelting towards him; her purse swinging wildly.
Cheering, he picked her up and spun her around in his arms.
“I missed you sooo much” he told her as he set her back down.
“More than words can say” she grinned, tenderly kissing him.
“I love you” whispered A.J.
The two embraced once more before exiting the airport hand-in-hand.
**5 Hours Later**
Brian approached the door to Eli's apartment with some trepidation.
“I hope I don't blow this” he thought as he rapped the door with his knuckle.
The door creaked open and a small, brown head poked through.
“Hi Brian, are you here for Eli?” Holly asked.
“Yes” said Brian, trying to be as friendly as possible “Do you know if she’s ready yet?”
“Hold on” went Holly, “ELI, BRIAN'S HERE!!” she hollered.
“Thanks, but I don't think that she heard you.” Brian joked, making Holly guffaw proudly.
Just then, Eli stepped out of her bedroom garbed in a black A-line skirt, a hot-pink top and a pair of strappy high-heal sandals. Brian was speechless.
“Hi Brian” I smiled, trying hard to act relaxed as a bead of sweat trickled down my arm.
Brian nodded, evidently still at a loss for words.
“Well, I guess we better get going…You guys behave while I’m gone, you hear?” I added, rounding on my siblings.
“Yes, we’ll be fine. Now go” Jason said impatiently, prodding me in the side.
I turned back to face Brian, who seemed to have regained his composure. He held the door open for me, and I walked through it; my knees quivering.
“So” I went eagerly once we reached the elevator “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise” Brian grinned “You’ll just have to have a little faith”
I looked in his gentle blue eyes and simply smiled. Truth be told, it really didn’t matter to me where we went, as long as we were together.
**3 Hours Later**
“I had a lot of fun, Brian; that restaurant was fantastic.” I said clutching my purse as Brian walked me back to my room after our date.
“I’m glad you had a good time” Brian said, eying me fondly “Hopefully we’ll get to do it again some time?”
“Definitely” I smiled. We soon reached the door at which time we both went mute.
I suddenly felt very hot. “Well… goodnight” I went awkwardly.
“Goodnight” Brian repeated, inching dangerously close.
“N-night” I stammered, his lips now mere centimetres from mine.
It was then that our lips met in a kiss so electric that the hairs on my back stood on end. By the time we broke apart, I was so weak and flustered that all I could manage to do was stare at him while my chest rose and fell at steadying pace.
“Goodnight” Brian said one last time.
I watched him swagger off down the hall; “See ya” I said right as he reached the corner.
Looking back, Brian waved and winked at me before disappearing.
“Bye.” I went breathlessly. Unlocking the door, I shut it straight away so that I could rest against it. Smiling serenely to myself, all I could think about was how much I looked forward to seeing Brian again.
This Chapter Was Written By:Tamara Evans (former co-writer) and has been highly edited and re-written by Me.
