Almost Easy

Brian looked at himself in the mirror as he got dressed for his date with Hollis. He was wearing black jeans and a black button up shirt, all topped off with his trademark fedora. He looked at his reflection and became suddenly disgusted with himself.

Zacky can't find out about this He told himself as he grabbed his wallet off of the bedside table and put it in his pocket before walking out of his room and down the stairs.

Zacky was sitting in the living room eating spaghetti and watching cartoons, something quite normal for him. He turned when he heard Brian coming and muted the TV.

"Where are you going all dressed up?" He asked with a mouth full of food.

"Business meeting. Dad wants me meeting with client for him." He said, telling Zacky the lie that he had planned.

"On a Friday night?"

"Believe me, I would rather stay here and drink beer and watch cartoons with you Zacky, but I have to earn my keep around here now that I can't do any manual labor. Now I'm stuck being my dad's bitch."

"Sucks to be you dude. I'll keep your piss water cold for you."

"Thanks" he said, grabbing his car keys and standing in the doorway, "And it's not piss water." He said snappily as he closed the door behind him before Zacky had a chance to respond.

He walked down the front walk and looked at Zacky through the living room window, laughing at his cartoons as he ate his dinner. This just made Brian's heart sink lower and lower as he walked to his car. He knew that he wanted to go out with Hollis and that he was attracted to her, but he also knew that Zacky was as well. So it was the most important thing to Brian that Zacky didn't find out about their "relationship" unless it got serious.

He plugged Hollis' address into his GPS and set off to go pick her up. It was a quick drive to her apartment and he parked his car on the sidewalk and walked over to her apartment, straightening his clothes nervously before knocking on the door. He hadn't been nervous about going out with a girl in a long while, and it made him realize exactly how much he liked her after only meeting her for a short while.

He heard the sound of heels on tile as she walked to the door. She opened the door slowly and Brian smiled when he saw her. She was wearing a simple black dress, one that hugged every curve perfectly. Her hair was down in loose curls and she was wearing a pair of bright red pumps. She looked amazing.

"Hi" He said finally after a moment of speechlessness.

"Hi yourself" She said with a little laugh at his awkwardness. "Let me just grab my purse."

She retreated back into the apartment for a second and reappeared holding a small red clutch. She closed the door behind her and locked it. They walked to Brian's car in a comfortable silence, both of them gauging their feelings for each other.

"So where are we going?" She asked as they starting driving towards the restaurant.

"My favorite restaurant. A little Italian place, I hope that's all right."

"Of course. I love Italian food."

"Well you're in for a treat then, it's the best Italian in Huntington." He said with a smile, proud of himself for choosing the right restaurant.

They arrived at the restaurant and Brian gave his car to the valet and took Hollis' hand in his own as they walked into the restaurant. He gave his name to the maitre-d and they were seated at a small table in the back corner of the restaurant.

"This place is so nice. I can't believe I've never been here before." She said as she read over her menu, finding nothing on it she wouldn't want.

"I'm surprised no guy have ever taken you here. I would expect that people ask you out left and right."

She shook her head, "You expect wrong. I don't get out much. My work is my life, I don't really have time for a boyfriend with all of my patients. Not that I mind though, I really love what I do." She said with a smile. "What do you do for a living Brian?"

He folded his menu and put it on the end of the table, having decided what he was ordering and looked back up to Hollis. "Well I was in the service. But I was discharged. Now I work for my dad's construction company, but because I can't do any manual labor I work on spreadsheets and do meetings with clients and boring work like that."

The waiter came over and they both ordered their meals. They sat in a semi-awkward silence as Hollis figured out how to word her next question.

"You were discharged?" She asked, "Why? If you don't mind me asking that is."

He smiled at her questions addendum and shook his head, "I don't mind at all. There was a bomb detonated close by to where I was stationed. I got hit with shrapnel in both of my legs and in the side of my head. I couldn't walk for months after that. I was honorably discharged after the doctors said I would ever really be able to run or walk perfectly well again. I also couldn't go back to working on site for my dad, which is why I do office work now."

"I'm sorry, that's...terrible."

He shrugged and smiled at her, "It was at the time, but I'm pretty much okay now. I won't be running any marathons but I can walk well enough without it being obvious I'm injured and I have a little problem with short term memory every now and then. It's nothing compared to what happened to Zacky though..." He trailed off, not really wanting to say any more.

"I assume you want Zacky to tell me that himself, don't you?"

He nodded, "It's his story to tell. And in time, he'll tell you."

"I understand. You're a really good friend." She said and his heart sank.

"No I'm not" He said as the food arrived and was placed in front of them. She took a bite of her Seafood Alfredo and looked at him was puzzled eyes.

"What do you mean? You bring him to counseling, you live with him and sleep in the room with him so he can sleep, you're always there for him. You're an amazing friend."

"But I'm out with you. That doesn't make me a good friend." He said softly as he cut up his chicken marsalla.

"I know it's a little awkward us going out. But he's my patient and although I am taking somewhat of a special interest with him, he's still a patient."

"But...I think he likes you..." He mumbled and ate a piece of his chicken.

"What did you just say?"

"I think Zacky might like you."

"Well that's good, I want him to like me, that means that he'll be more likely to let me help him than if he had a doctor that he didn't like."

"No, that's not what I meant. I mean that Zacky likes as more that just his doctor. He told me he thinks you're pretty."

She turned slightly pink as she searched for what to say. "Well, he is my patient so it would be highly unorthodox if either of us was to pursue anything. But if your worry is that Zacky will take "us" badly, then we can just keep this between you and me."

"Us? You mean you want to do this again?"

"Well...what I meant was...if you want to..." She stuttered.

Brian laughed at her and smiled, "Of course I would want to. And I really appreciate you agreeing to keep this a secret, I just don't want anything to happen to him."

"You really are a good friend."

"Thanks."

He paid for the meal and they retrieved Brian's car from the valet. They drove home in a comfortable silence, Brian's hand resting on Hollis' for the entirety of the drive. When they arrived at Hollis' apartment , he got out and walked her to her door.

"Thanks for coming out with me." He said in a shy voice.

"Well I had a great time. Call me when you want to do it again." She said with a smile as she unlocked the door and stepped inside slightly.

"Well, Good Ni-" He was cut off when she quickly pressed her lips to his and stepped into her apartment.

"Good night Brian" she said with a smile before closing her door.

Brian floated back to his car and sped back to his and Zacky's house. He walked in the door and immediately grabbed a beer out of the fridge and sat down on the couch next to Zacky, who was still watching cartoons, but he had evolved to Family Guy - cartoons actually made for adults.

"So how'd it go?" He asked, opening a new beer. "Did you make the sale?"

His mind went back to Hollis' kiss and he smiled, "You bet I did."