Just Say Yes

“Why don't you two let me clean up?” Corinne said, standing up and began to collect dishes. Erin opened her mouth to protest and Brian stood up carrying his empty plate.

“You made dinner, Corinne I can't let you do that.” He answered, Corinne just smiled sweetly.

“Brian, I insist that you drop that plate right this instant.” Brian looked to Erin who shrugged. It was Jon who spoke up before she got a chance.

“You better listen to her man, she'll get angry if you don't.” Jon smirked as he went over to the sink to begin the dishes. Brian sighed and sat back down, dropping his plate gently against the table. Corinne collected Erin's first and then came for his.

“I have a good idea for you two.” Corinne beamed as she stood next to the chair Brian was vacating. Erin looked scared at what she had to say, Brian couldn't help but smile because of it. “I heard at the grocery store today that Boulder Dam Brewing is having a country night! You two should go, it sounds like fun.” Corinne added an enthusiastic nod to her offer.

Brian thought it over, he wasn't normally a country kinda guy. He liked some but it wasn't one of his main genres of music. However, being a musician he always prided himself on never being one to discriminate another genre of music, even if it was the polar opposite to the sound of his own. The idea Corinne put forward would be something different that's for sure, and definitely something you'd typically do in a small town. He was all for the full small town experience.

“Grandma I'm sure that really isn't Brian's scene.”

“A little country never hurt anyone.” He assured, reminding her that him and the guys had some country inspired songs on the most recent album. Another reason Brian thought it was a good idea, was because seeing Erin in her own element was too good to pass up. He smiled at her across the table to which she just bit on her bottom lip and shook her head at him.

“I'm up for it if you are.” He reasoned, Erin tried her hardest not to roll her eyes as Brian smiled at her. She knew he just wanted to get her alone.

“Give me ten minutes to change.” She was up from the table and bounding up the stairs before he was able to even get a word in.

Twenty minutes later Brian and Erin made their way into Boulder Dam Brewing Co., the rowdy patrons could be heard even before they opened the door. Erin stopped at the entrance with her hand on the door handle, she turned her head to glance at Brian, who happened to be very close behind her.

“You sure you're ready for this?” She asked, a hint of a smirk on her face.

She could remember back to a year ago when Boulder Dam had a country night, it had been the rowdiest crowd she had ever seen. Of course Lisa had dragged her kicking and screaming to the event, she thought it wasn't really going to be her scene but she had been pleasantly surprised. It was the best night she had, had in a long time, and that was saying something. Granted by morning she couldn't remember some of it, the majority of what she could was definitely one of the most gratifying things she had done in years.

Brian placed his hand softly on top of hers that had been situated on the handle of the door. He brought his head down closer to hers, his mouth a few inches from her left ear.

“I'm ready.” He insisted softly, his breath sent shivers down her spine and goosebumps all over her body but his hand on hers felt like it was on fire. She pretended not to be affected by either one, and pushed the bar door open, Brian's hand swiftly being torn away from hers.

Loud country music greeted them as they walked in, a cloud of smoke was also mucking up the air slightly and the sound of cheers and clinging glasses could also be heard. The bar was pretty packed as Erin had expected but it wasn't so much so that they wouldn't find a place to sit, there were still a few random vacant tables scattered through out.

Erin spotted an empty table that was close to the blocked off area which held the mechanical bull that was only ever brought out on the weekly country night, otherwise tables usually filled the large space.

“You grab a table I'll get drinks?” Brian asked, Erin nodded and they parted ways in the vast crowd.

On the way to the table Erin ran into a few of her co-workers, surprisingly enough Lisa was not one of them, somehow she had missed this weeks country night which was very, very unlike her. Once getting to the table, she removed her sweater and hung it on the back of her chair, waiting for Brian to return.

“Erin!” She turned around at the sound of her name to see Casey, the owner of the Boulder Dam, coming in from the backdoor, probably out having a smoke break. He was dressed like the rest of the men at the bar, plaid shirt, worn out jeans with some cowboy boots and to top it off, a black cowboy hat.

“Casey, hey!” She greeted him with a hug then sat back down on her chair. “It's packed again tonight!”

“I know, I'm loving it.” He beamed, looking around the place at all his happy, yet slightly intoxicated patrons. “You gonna get up on that bull tonight?” He flashed a sly smile at her, hoping for a positive answer. Erin gave him wary look as she knew she would have to decline.

Erin smiled, glancing down at the table, attempting to think of an excuse. “I don't think I can tonight. I'm wearing a dress.” She protested, pulling on the hem of her dress. Casey opened his mouth to say something but Brian came to the table with their drinks before the owner had the chance. Casey looked at Brian oddly, probably wondering why he had never seen him before.

“I got you a beer. I wasn't sure what you wanted.” Brian said, then glanced at Casey and gave him a slight nod. “Hey,” Casey nodded back, Erin shook her head. Guys and their greetings.

“Casey, this is Brian. Brian this is Casey, he owns the place.” Brian nodded.

“You got a nice place here.” Brian sat down on his chair that was across from Erin and took a swig of his beer.

“Thanks, thanks.” Casey put an arm playfully around Erin. “Hey I was just asking Erin here if she was gonna get up on that bull tonight. She's the reigning champ, you know.” Erin felt her face flush embarrassingly, she hadn't planned to reveal that fact to Brian now or at all if she had been so lucky. Brian smirked wickedly upon hearing the interesting fact.

“I honestly didn't know that.” Erin glanced up at him only to see that devilish smirk on his face, she rolled her eyes and took a sip of her beer. She would definitely need it.

“You gotta show your friend what you've got!” Casey said enthusiastically, just before he was called over to the bar to deal with a troubled customer. He quickly excused himself, leaving Brian and Erin alone.

“So bull riding champion huh?” He laughed softly. “I'm not gonna lie, I kinda want to see that.”

“Well too bad it's not gonna happen.” She took another sip of beer and quickly swallowed. “I'm wearing a dress.”

“Lame.” He pouted, his eyes drifting towards the mechanical bull.

“I'd like to see you get up there and do it!” She joked, taking another sip of her drink. His head quickly snapped back to her.

“Fine, deal. What do I get if I do it?” His wicked smirk was once again gracing his thin lips, it's almost as if he did it on purpose.

“Respect.” She offered with a sweet smile and a tilt of her head.

“Pfft, how about if I do it, you have to buy me a drink.” He quirked an eyebrow, feeling like that was a fair deal then brought the bottle of beer to lips once again.

She pretended to think it over, her left index finger rested on her lower lip for dramatic effect. “I think I can deal with that.”

“Alright.” Brian glanced over at the mechanical bull, took a deep breath and downed the remainder of his beer.

He quickly abandoned his chair and went over to the bull, the crowd broke out into insanely loud cheers upon seeing the brave soul enter the marked off area. Brian wasn't quite sure why he was doing this, usually if he did something to this degree it was after a large number of drinks and typically because Jimmy or Zacky had dared him to. His friends had a sadistic sense of humor but if he had enough alcohol in his blood, he wouldn't give it a second thought.

Erin sat watching as the music got louder and a song with a faster tempo and a little more country twang was put on to set the mood. Brian didn't look nervous in the least, he simply raised his hands enjoying the crowd cheering for him, he was probably used to it given his profession.

Brian sat himself on top of the fake bull, but not before Casey came over and lent Brian his cowboy hat to wear, to give him a more country look. Casey counted down from three and once he hit one the bull started moving moderately fast at first but turned more violent within a few seconds. Brian held on for a good thirty-six seconds, Erin's record was forty-seven seconds but she liked to think growing up riding horses had helped her with that, even if it was a slightly useless skill.

Brian was laughing and celebrating with the crowd for a minute and returned Casey's hat then headed back to the table. Erin smiled widely at him.

“I guess I owe you a drink.” She pretended to look upset about it but her smile deceived her.

The music in the bar had been lowered and was now playing a slow ballad. She recognized the familiar piano melody, it hit her as she heard the words.

'Blue jean baby, LA lady, she was a seamstress for the band, pretty eyed, pirate smile, she'll marry a music man...'

Tim McGraw's version of Elton John's classic Tiny Dancer. One of her personal favorite songs ever. Without thinking she began swaying her head softly to the melody of song, that didn't go unnoticed by the man across from her.

“Forget the drink. I have another idea.” Erin raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what he had planned. He laughed at her reaction, and reached for her hand. “Don't look so scared, I don't bite.”

“I swear if you say 'unless you want me to' I will hurt you.” She took the last sip of her beer then gave in and let him grab her hand. He pulled her to her feet and started dragging her towards the dance floor.

“I wouldn't take you for the dancing type.” Erin said playfully as Brian weaved them through the flood of couples on the dance floor until he found a spot with enough space.

As he found a spot, he turned to face her. “You also thought I wasn't the cooking type and dinner was awesome, if I do say so myself.” He half smiled, while placing his hands gently on her hips and pulled her a few inches closer. “Besides, it's slow dancing, it's kinda hard to screw that up.”

“I'm sure someone could.” As if it came naturally, Erin's arms slid their way around his neck trying to ignore the massive amount of butterflies in her stomach. She couldn't help but smile at the fact that big bad Synyster Gates as he was known to most people, was here with her in a little bar, slow dancing to Tiny Dancer.

As they were swaying to the music, Brian couldn't ignore the bright smile on her face. “What are you smiling at?” He asked curiously.

Erin tried to stop herself from smiling but couldn't. “Nothing,” She shook her head.

“Are you laughing at my dancing skills?” He questioned in mock offense.

“No, Brian, I'm not laughing at your lack of dancing skills.”

“Lack of?” Brian said bewildered. Erin noticed he got a look in his eye that was determined to show her that she was wrong.

His hands that were placed on her hips gave her a slight push backwards, her arms leaving his neck. He grabbed one of her hands and spun her around once, then twice and then once more.

During her last spin, Erin had softly bumped one of the couples that were dancing close by, she apologized immediately as did Brian. However, they both couldn't help but laugh as he reached for her hips again and her arms relaxed around his neck once more. Only this time, they were a tiny bit closer and happy smiles on their faces.

Three songs later, two more slow and one fast which was especially entertaining for Erin, they were standing at the bar having another drink when Brian's smile faded quickly and looked somewhat pissed off. He took a long swig of his beer then bent down close to her ear to talk since the music was so loud.

“Deputy Doug is here.” Erin pulled back slightly to look at him.

“What?” She asked, confused. Brian looked ahead of him and jutted his chin in the same direction. Erin turned her head to look and see David and a few of his co-workers walk into the bar. Her smile slightly faded as she didn't want to deal with the drama her ex-boyfriend seemed to bring along with him. She wanted to continue to have fun with Brian, not have to be a referee between him and her ex.

“His name is David.” She corrected to which he rolled his eyes dramatically.

“David, Doug same thing right?” He said, not really caring if the name was right or not.

“Right.” Erin put down the drink that was in her hand, and slid it into Brian's hand and pulling him behind her. “Let's go.”

“Where are we going?” He asked like a little kid on a road trip constantly asking his parents where they were going and when they were going to be there.

“To my place.”

Brian raised his eyebrows excitedly. “Oh really?” Erin turned her head briefly to send a pointedly glare his way. She could feel David's eyes on her as she passed him and his buddies, but she didn't bother looking back.

Instead she pulled them out of the loud and crowded bar and into the silent, dark night with only a few street lights illuminating their surroundings.

“Let's walk.” Brian insisted, pulling her by the hand over to the sidewalk and straining his brain to remember if he was going the right direction. He thought he was, and he assumed he was since Erin hadn't said anything about living in the other direction.

“It's cold.” She muttered, as her free hand rubbed her arm in attempt to warm it up. The thin sweater she had decided to wear was not doing much good in the breezy night air. It was surprisingly cold for a Nevada night.

“Here.” Brian unzipped his black, he always had something black on she had noticed, hoodie and handed it to her as they walked.

He was now left in a long sleeved black/grey plaid button up with a thin looking white v-neck t-shirt underneath, she felt a little bad but took it anyway. She smiled softly and put her arms through the holes and zipped up the zipper almost to the top. The hoodie was baggy on her, especially in the arms, the length wasn't too bad it ended just at her mid thigh area which was about the same length as her dress. The size of it didn't matter though, all that did was that it was warm. The fact that it smelled like him wasn't so bad either.

“Thank you.” She smiled gratefully, stuffing her hands deep into the pockets only to find his pack of cigarettes and lighter in there. She fished them out and swung them in front of his face.

“I've actually cut back a lot. Less than ten a day I'll have you know.” He said cheekily taking the items from her hands and slipping them into pocket on this chest.

“Only ten.” She said with a giggle.

“So I have an important question to ask and your answer to this question could make or break our friendship.” Erin smiled at the mention of them being friends.

“Okay...” She said preparing herself for a potentially personal and embarrassing question.

“What were you like in high school?” He inquired, waiting eagerly for her response.

Erin laughed, “That's your question?”

“Hey, it's a legit question. I wanna know if you were one of those snobby girls who only talked to other snobby girls or if you were the goody goody who didn't talk to anyone.”

Erin made a disgusted face. “How about neither?”

“So what were you then?”

“I was on the cheer-leading squad...” She said slowly, thinking back to her days cheering for the football team, even though they weren't very good.

“Reverend's granddaughter and a cheerleader?” He said, his eyes going wide in surprise.

“To be honest I wasn't all that good, it was just an extra curricular to put on my transcript.” A transcript she never really got any use out of since her plans for going to college had faded the minute her grandfather had died and she didn't want to leave Jon.

“We totally wouldn't have gotten along.” Brian laughed. “Actually, you probably wouldn't have even talked to me.”

Erin scoffed. “And why do you say that? I'm offended.”

“Cause I was the kid who liked heavy metal, tattoos, wore black all the time, got drunk a lot.” Erin couldn't help but think he was trying to imply that a girl like her would never go for a guy like him.

“Aren't you still like that?” She smiled catching him off guard. “I mean you have a million tattoos, you wear black everytime I see you, and I'm sure your music taste is still similar.” Brian nodded, that was true. He was happy to hear that to her appearances didn't seem to matter. It was hard for him to find that now. Back in high school he didn't really socialize with many girls cause he was considered weird for the things he did and now he had girls throwing themselves at him left and right because of his celebrity.

“Maybe you just don't get as drunk anymore now that you're older.” She joked playfully.

“Hey, I'm not old!” He protested pretending to be offended.

“So if I said I'll race you the rest of the way to my house you'd be able to keep up with a twenty three year old?” Erin's house was only a block away now, it was basically a straight line so they wouldn't have to run very far.

Brian could see her house from where they currently were. “I think--”

“Go!” She yelled taking off quickly, the black hoodie swaying and blonde hair flowing behind her as she ran.

“Cheater!” He yelled back running after her, he remained a few paces behind her pretty much the whole way to her house. Erin only stopped running once she was within reaching distance to her front door, both her and Brian stood on the porch catching their breaths, both of them somewhat laughing through it all.

“You did pretty good for an old smoker.” She said, her breath still hitching every so often.

“I told you, I cut down.” He was breathing heavily as well but put on a smile anyway. Brian used the wall behind Erin, who was barely a foot away from her front door, to outstretch his right arm and use it as a support to catch his breath. His arm full of tattoos was now a few inches away from her face, she found herself staring at them briefly then shifted her gaze downwards.

“I hope you had fun, I know that wasn't really your kinda place but--”

“Erin, I had fun.” He insisted, lifting her chin with his left index finger, making her look at him then moved his hand away once he was sure she wasn't going to look down again.

“Good, I'm glad.” She said with a smile, she was starting to feel awkward, not sure how to end the night. It was then that she realized she was still wearing Brian's hoodie and that she should probably give it back to him. She reached for the zipper. “Sorry I totally forgot I was wearing this.” She began to pull the zipper down but his hand on hers stopped her.

Her eyes met his intensely. “How about you keep it. Gives me a reason to come back.” His hand took hers away from the zipper.

“Do you need a reason to come back?” She questioned, unsure. He studied her face briefly before answering.

“No.” She could feel her heart racing, and she was positive it wasn't from running. He slowly moved forward, his musky cologne mixing with her vanilla perfume, her eyes lazily slid shut preparing herself. Soft lips faintly graze her cheek, her eyes opened faster than they closed, he was already backing away but not far enough away for her to be able to make eye contact with him.

Feeling somewhat cheated, Erin reacted fast and took matters into her own hands. He was a mere two inches from her lips when she stepped forward and does what he didn't. Her soft lips pressed against his. Brian reacted almost immediately, his hands on her hips pulled her closer as he deepened the kiss.

Her mind was racing, wondering why if he was so into the kiss why he didn't go for it himself. She was also proud that for the first time in her twenty-three years of life, she actually made the first move. She wasn't sure why but she couldn't fight the urge that had come over her when she had been in such close proximity to him.

She was brought back to the present by Brian tugging gently on her lower lip, as he silently begged for permission. Her right hand daintily rested on his chest and slid up to curl around the back of his neck as she opened her mouth willingly she met his tongue with her own, battling with each other briefly. A few moments past and Brian slowed it down, leaving soft lingering kisses before pulling away slowly.

Erin's eyes flickered up to meet his, again she wasn't sure what to say in the moment as Brian's eyes were locked to hers and his lips curled into a satisfied smile.

“I should probably get inside.” She said softly, shifting backwards slightly towards the door, her eyes not leaving his. She felt like her heart was beating out of her chest. “Goodnight, Brian.”

“Goodnight.” He said with a smile, Erin watched as he turned on his heels and started walking away. She waited until he was out of sight before she went inside, slowly trying to get her heartbeat back to its usual rhythm.