Rum and Coke

Brian fingered the small box in his pocket as he waited for her, the love of his life, the only girl that he could ever see a future with, to end her shift at work. Brian truly loved her. No matter what his friends said, he knew that this wasn’t just lust…it was the real deal. Brian never knew what life could be like before he met her. She just…lit up his entire world turned it topsy-turvy. Brian would be damned if he let her slip through his fingers and out of his life.
Brian smiled to himself as he leaned back on the hood of his truck and lit up a cigarette. Not two seconds later, the backdoor opened and out strode the woman he was waiting for. Her long dark hair whipped behind her and settled in a scattering array over her shoulders and down her back. Her eyes shone with laughter in the dim glow of her cigarette. She laughed whole-heartedly at what one of her coworkers said, the sound reverberating off of the dingy cement bricks and cloth-covered windows. Our eyes locked when she flicked her butt away. Briefly bidding farewell to her coworker, she sauntered over to Brian, giving her hips an extra sway.

“What are you doing here?” She asked when she got closer. Her eyes twinkled mischievously. Underneath the club grime, Brian could smell her luscious scent. “I thought you and the guys were doing something?” She added, taking Brian’s cigarette out of his hand and taking a long drag before blowing the smoke in his face.

“We got done early,” Brian said, trying to control his raging hormones. He felt like a teenage boy all over again. In an effort to keep cool, he grabbed his cigarette back and grabbed onto her waist. It took everything within him to keep from taking her right then and there. Without a thought, he leaned down and kissed her. Her mouth instantly opened as her arms encircled his neck and her hands threaded through his hair. Groaning into her mouth when she pushed her hips into Brian’s, he flipped her around so that she was practically sitting on the hood. She moaned into his mouth when one of his hands crept up her thigh. Expertly, her hand found his fly and flicked open the clasp. Her hand immediately began stroking his member. Trying to control himself, Brian pulled away from her and pressed his forehead against her. A smirk was still splayed across her lips and the twinkle was still in her eyes.

“Damn, maybe you should get done early all the time,” she smirked, grabbing Brian’s fedora off of his head and placing it on hers. She dipped the brow strategically over one eye, making him push himself further into her hand. Still smirking, she slid off of the hood and walked over to the passenger side, leaving Brian completely vulnerable. “Come on, Bri, let’s go somewhere with a no clothes policy.”

She didn’t have to tell him twice. After he painfully redid his fly, he ran over to the driver’s side and cranked the engine before gunning out of the tiny alleyway.

“So, I’m thinking about becoming a pornstar,” she said after awhile of hearing nothing but the radio. She was already on her fifth cigarette since meeting back up with him.

Brian swerved into oncoming traffic before righting his truck back and pulling over to the side of the road. “WHAT?!”

“A pornstar. Ya, know, make steamy movies for horny losers?”

“I know what they fucking are! What brought this on?”

“So, I was talking to Lea-”

“Jimmy’s new girl?”

“The very same. Anyway, I was talking to her early when she stopped by the club and she was telling me how good the money was. I asked a few more questions, ya know, like work hours and shit like that. And, well, it’s do-able.”

“No.” I can’t believe she’s serious! Brian thought. Of all the things-

“Shut up, I’m not finished. Anyway, she told me that it’s once a week tops and I’m paid on commission.”

“I said, no. Don’t you ever listen? Damn, woman! You already sell your body live in front of an audience! Are you trying to get your little show on national TV?”

“What the hell are you damning me for? And I’m not a stripper, thank you very much! I’m a bartender that just so happens to become a dancer during certain songs. You know what, screw this. I’m over your tantrums,” she opened the passenger door and got out, making sure to slam it back shut.

“No, wait!” Brian yelled, getting out of the car also, remembering to grab his keys and locking the door. He was not going to risk my car getting stolen in the dead of night in the bad part of L.A.

“Hell no!” She screamed at him before walking faster. “I’m not passing up a good investment opportunity! I can make more than ten times my current salary and I can hide it from them!” She stopped and turned to look at him, anger evident in her eyes by the icy blue color. “If I do both jobs, then I can get out of that fucking apartment! Why can’t you see that?!”

“Because you don’t need it! I’ll support you!”

“With what money, Brian? You’re just as broke as I am!” She said in a raised voice after scoffing.

“The band got signed,” Brian said softly. “And I’m going to make you my wife soon.”

The anger faded from her eyes, shock overflooding her system. “What?”

Brian walked slowly up to her, grabbing the box out of his pocket and presenting it to her. “Danni, will you marry me?”

“This is weird,” she stated bluntly a few hours later as she gazed at the new ring adorning her finger.

Brian laced his fingers with her and kissed her temple. “Why do you say that?” he asked, resting his chin on her shoulder as they both looked out at the waves bathed in the full moon’s glow.

“Because, we’re not this kind of couple.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“We don’t cuddle.”

“We’re cuddling now.”

“Yea, well it’s a rarity. We fuck and we fight…and don’t you dare try to tell me any different…if anything, this is more like Matt and Val’s relationship. And, I don’t know…it’s just…odd, I guess.” She looked down and fiddled with the ring some more.

Brian didn’t know what to say. He had hoped that she felt a little bit more than what she had just said. He hoped that he filled her with the same kind of satisfaction that she did to him.
“Bri, Why did you ask me to marry you?” she asked after a moment of silence.

Brian kissed her temple before he turned her around a little so that he could look into her eyes. “Because I love you. You make me a better person. I can’t imagine my life without you- I don’t want to imagine a life without you. Are you already regretting your decision?”

She looked back out to the sea. Brian took her silence as a yes. With a hefty sigh, she stood up and walked toward the shoreline.

Brian watched as her silhouette gradually grew smaller and submerged itself into the dark depths of the Pacific when the water was waist high. Words forming in his head, Brian followed her. We were so happy not ten minutes ago, why did she have to go and ruin it?
“I like how the moon shines on the sea in such an eerie way,” she spoke. It sounded hollow and far off, like she was in a tunnel.

“I know.”

“I like your friends. I like the music that your band makes. I like our fights. I like the way you wear your fedora. I like how your hair barely brushes your shoulders. I like the way you taste and how you always smell of sweat and cigarettes. I like how I can get lost in your eyes. I like the feeling of you inside me. I like the look you give me when I scream your name. I like dancing. I like fighting. I like drinking. I like swimming in the ocean. I like Pringles and Cherry Coke-”

“What are you getting at?”

She turned to face him. Their eyes locked “But I don’t love any of it because I don’t know what that word means- I don’t know how it feels-”

“Then I’ll show you. Just, open your heart to me. That’s all I’m asking for.”

“I-I don’t know if I can. You’ve seen my family,” she trailed off as she looked at the full moon. “I wonder what it’s like to be the moon. I wonder what it’s like to watch all the couples pass by and see how their lives unfold. I wonder how it feels to live forever…alone. I mean, you dance and flirt with the stars every night, but you can’t get close to them. And then there’s that whole deal about disappearing over the course of a month, only to re-emerge. What if the moon secretly likes the sun? But they can’t truly be together. They have nowhere to hide. And, when they are together, the moon fades. It is neither as bright nor as big when the sun is around.” She looked back at Brian. “Maybe I am the moon, and you are the sun. We are so close, but worlds apart at the same time,” she shook her head quickly and walked further out into the sea.

“I meant every word I’ve ever told you. I love you with all my heart, as cheesy and whipped as that sounds.” He called out to her as he watched the sea swallow her shoulders.

“How can you love someone that doesn’t know what love is?” she asked, keeping her gaze focused on the moon

Brian waded over, and eventually, swam out to her. “By showing them that there’s nothing to it.” He grabbed her hips and turned her to face him. “By believing that it will pull you through all the bad so that you can see the good,” he said has he pulled her closer to him.

She bit her lip and looked down at the ring. It gleamed in the moonlight. A small smile crept onto her face.

“You wouldn’t have said yes if you didn’t feel something for me.” Brian’s breath rolled over her as his lips barely brushed hers.

“I thought it would be a fun experiment.” She said, taking a quick peek at his lips before returning her gaze to his chocolate orbs.

Brian let out a soft chuckle before wrapping his arms tighter around her.

“But, I guess if I had the right teacher, I could give this love thing a shot,” she said, her breath hitching in her throat for the first time in her life.

“Well, I don’t know about being a good teacher, but I guess I could give you a shot,” Brian told her before claiming her lips in a sensually slow kiss.

~*~

“Bri, wake up. Brian, I said wake the fuck up! BRIAN ELWIN HANER, JR.!” Brian was shaken then pushed off the bed.

Grumbling, he put a hand on his head and looked up to the culprit. He felt a pang in his heart when he saw his wife instead of the woman he was just dreaming about. “What the fuck, woman?”

“I asked you to get up three times already.” She stated calmly, her arms crossed under her breasts.

“Yea, well, next time let me sleep.” It was too way too early in the morning for Brian to make up a good comeback. He stood up slowly and got a change of clothes out of the dresser.

“Where are you going now? Are you seriously leaving us?!” there were tears brimming in her eyes.

“Michelle, chill the fuck out! I don’t know what’s going on in your head, but stop! And if I remember correctly, you were the one that packed your bags and went to Leanna and Jimmy’s last night!”

“Please, don’t leave me. I didn’t mean any of it, I swear.” She pleaded.

Brian couldn’t stand to see her cry. Hell, he could never stand to see any woman crying. He was raised on the belief that no woman deserved to cry, even if the world believed that it was their fault. Feeling rather guilty for yelling at her, he crossed the room and wrapped her in his arms before placing his chin on her head. “Don’t worry, Mich, I wouldn’t ever think about leaving you or Bri. You know that.” It was the truth. He would never in a million years leave his family. After witnessing his mom leaving at the tender age of eleven, Brian vowed that, once he was married, he would remain married. Divorce, in his mind, only tore a family apart even more…even if he did love his step-mother dearly.

Brian felt her nod into his chest.

“Speaking of my son, where is he?” He asked, noting the unusual silence that enveloped the house. Normally, Bri would be blasting his music.

“The kids decided to go to the Santa Monica Pier for the day. They will be back in a few hours.”

“Oh...and which bunch of kids went?”

“I think all of them…Brian, I think I’m going crazy. I have all these horrible thoughts…” Michelle bawled out randomly. “They all end with you walking out that door and me never seeing you again!”

Brian rocked her gently back and forth. “I’ll make an appointment with my shrink for you, if you want. Dr. Tyson is very professional and is very good with what he does. I would never do that. I love you and Bri too much to cause you heartache.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”