Just Say Yes

“Whoa, when did my kitchen turn into IHOP?” Brian asked as he walked into the kitchen, the smell of freshly cooked bacon filled his nostrils, there was a large array of breakfast food scattered across the island. Pancakes, toast, eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausages and fresh fruit. He'd never seen his counter tops filled with so much food before.

Erin turned around to see a sleepy Brian walk into the room, he was dressed in a plain grey shirt and some black shorts. She smiled at his messy bed ridden hair as he rubbed his eyes from the bright California sunlight pouring in the large windows.

“Since today is your birthday.” Erin turned back to the stove to finish off the last batch of apple cinnamon pancakes she was working on. Brian half smiled and rolled his eyes, he had never been a big birthday person but the fact that she had gone to all the trouble of making him breakfast was cute.

A sense of relief washed over him, since the night at Johnny's, Erin had started acting slightly different than normal. She seemed more reserved and wasn't as affectionate as before. He had asked her if she was alright to which she reassured him that she was fine. He had begun to worry if his life was either too much or not enough for her and she was reconsidering her decision to spend the next two months with him. Luckily she seemed to be getting back to her old self.

He helped himself to a cup of coffee and offered to help with something but she declined and directed him towards the breakfast bar. He took a seat and watched her work while sipping the hot liquid. With her back to him he took the opportunity to let his eyes scan her body from head to toe.

Her hair fell loosely down her back with a slight waviness to it, her torso was covered by a white v-neck t-shirt that she had stolen from him. The shirt just barely covered the curve of her backside, which when she reached up to one of the cupboards revealed only a pair of black lace boy short underwear.

A loud clatter of plates broke him out of his trance, he took a large sip of coffee before speaking.

“Just because it's my birthday doesn't mean I'm incompetent you know.” He felt bad she was doing all this for him and running around his kitchen like a crazy person cooking pretty much every breakfast food in existence.

“Brian, relax. I do this for a living.” She told him calmly and put down the plate she had in her hand. She then scooped up some cutlery and rushed past Brian to the table behind the breakfast bar that looked out onto the beach.

On her way back from setting the table, Brian decided that she needed a small break so from his stool he grabbed her by the wrist gently as she walked by and pulled her to him. She let out a yelp of surprise, as she now stood in between his legs, one hand resting lightly on his thigh, the other being held by his at her side.

“And what do you think you're doing?” She tried to fight the smile from forming on her lips, but being so close to him made it difficult. Brian however, was absolutely beaming and wasn't afraid to show it.

He released his grip on her hand and moved his hands to her hips, he pulled her as close as he could “I just want a birthday kiss.”

Before Erin could respond, Brian crushed his lips against hers. She let out a soft sigh which quickly turned into a moan, her lips parted slightly and Brian slid his tongue into her mouth. One of Brian's hands slowly slid from her hips down the outside of her exposed thigh, tickling her skin. Now he was the one teasing her. She nipped at his bottom lip, hoping to spark some kind of response from him but instead he grazed his fingers up her thigh, even daring to go underneath the thin fabric of the shirt. With her lips still pressed against his, she let out a faint moan, to which she could feel Brian's lips curve into a satisfied smile.

“Whoa, I like the vibe in here.” Brian and Erin both pulled away almost immediately and turned their heads to the doorway of the kitchen, only to see Jimmy standing there smirking.

Erin felt her cheeks get hot in embarrassment, but Brian seemed perfectly fine, probably because he was at least dressed whereas she was in only a shirt and her underwear. Brian rubbed her back soothingly.

“Jimmy, come in man.” Brian said enthusiastically, Jimmy hurriedly skipped over to the couple. He turned to Brian first, ruffling his already bed ridden and messy hair, then kissed the top of his head.

“Happy birthday Bri, you old man!” Brian chuckled and thanked him. Jimmy then directed his attention to Erin, who still stood in between Brian's legs looking ready to hide in a hole.

“At least it wasn't your dad this time.” Brian chuckled to which Erin responded with a meek smile. Before anything else could be said Erin chose to excuse herself to get some proper clothes on. Once she did she wandered back into the kitchen ready to feed her rumbling stomach. When she entered she found Brian, Jimmy and Leana all plating up.

“Erin, hi!” Leana smiled brightly, “Brian said we could have some breakfast, hope that's okay.”

“Oh yeah, there's plenty.” Erin nodded and Leana bounced over to the fridge to grab some juice. Brian came over to her, two plates in his hand both overflowing with food.

“I got your plate ready, I gave you a little bit of everything.” He smiled at her, even in all of her doubts about things he somehow managed to make her feel a little bit better each passing minute.

“Thanks.” Erin smiled and kissed him quickly on the lips before getting herself comfortable at the kitchen table. Once they had all collected food on their plates they sat at the table, Erin spent most of the meal keeping to herself, glancing every now and then out at the beach then back at the three other people in the room.

“You okay Erin? You've been quiet.” Leana asked, Erin looked at the girl and nodded.

“Don't worry about Blondie here,” Jimmy said with a mouthful of food, he swallowed before continuing and wrapped an arm around Erin's shoulders. “She's just embarrassed that I caught her and Bri in the middle of getting it on.”

Leana rolled her eyes at her boyfriend, Jimmy continued talking but released his arm from around Erin. “You don't even want to know how many times Leana and I have been walked in on.”

Leana burst out laughing animatedly. “So many I've lost count!”

“They're like rabbits, it's disgusting.” Brian said before shoving a fork full of food into his mouth.

“Ahh, now that you have Erin, I'm sure we won't be the only rabbits around here.” Jimmy laughed, lightly slap his friend's back. Erin noticed Brian shift in his seat, and a blank expression on his face.

“We actually haven't yet.” Erin answered as she ripped a piece of toast on and popped it into her mouth. For the first time since she had met Jimmy, he looked surprised.

“Wow, Bri, you've definitely changed.” Jimmy complimented and Brian's once blank expression turned into one of pure discomfort.

Erin felt that familiar feeling of doubt wash over her, and wondered if this was indirect confirmation of what Michelle had said to her. Jimmy was about to continue but Leana cut him off.

“Erin that's a gorgeous necklace, where did you get it?” She asked the blonde. Leana took the opportunity to glare angrily at Jimmy when Erin looked down to capture the silver necklace in her fingers.

Brian ignored the couple and focused on his girlfriend and the forlorn expression on her face. He had seen her wear the necklace before, he actually couldn't think of a time where she hadn't been wearing it. It was a silver pendant and chain, the pendant was of a pair of wings with a simple diamond in the middle.

“It's my moms. I haven't taken it off since she died.” Erin explained as he reached out and ran the pad of his thumb lightly over it, feeling each little detail etched into the solid mineral. Erin's eyes watched his thumb go back and forth over the pendant. Her eyes shifted to meet his, a halfhearted smile crept onto her lips. Brian returned the smile, letting the pendant fall back against her chest.

Erin pushed her plate away from her, she had lost her appetite and felt even more confused than before.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“So where shall we wreak havoc next?” Leana slipped her arm through the handle of the plastic bag the cashier had handed her. After breakfast, Leana had dragged Erin to the local mall for the day in hopes of cheering her new blonde friend up but it had in fact done the opposite.

The more people that were around, the more Erin seemed to zone out completely and made Leana feel like she was talking to herself the entire time. She had tried her best to maintain her upbeat attitude but the solemn looking blonde next to her seemed to be lost in a daze.

“Wherever you want to go.” Erin answered mechanically, as they walked out of the store her attention clearly elsewhere.

Leana had suspected something had been on Erin's mind since the night at Johnny's where she found Michelle cornering her. Leana hoped that Erin felt comfortable enough to be able to talk about what was bothering her, because whatever it was, seemed to be on Erin's mind constantly.

“Do you want to go home?” Leana stopped walking and stood in the middle of the walkway.

“No, I'm sorry.” Erin apologized, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. She immediately felt bad for ignoring her. Leana had just wanted to have some quality girl time but Erin couldn't stop thinking about her own problems long enough to enjoy her company. “I've had a lot on my mind lately.”

“I couldn't tell.” Leana stated sarcastically with a small chuckle, then motioned over to a small table that sat in front of a Starbucks coffee shop across the way. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Erin sighed heavily sitting down at the table and Leana took the seat opposite her.

“It's about you and Brian, right?” Erin nodded her head, then half smiled at the small brunette.

“What gave it away?”

“I'm not blind, I saw those looks between you two at breakfast.”

“It's about that day at Johnny and Lacey's.”

“Let me guess, you and Michelle weren't discussing the summer fashion trends were you?” Leana spoke rhetorically, Erin smiled and shook her head.“What did she say?”

“Basically she told me that I'm a fool if I think Brian is serious about me because they've broken up before and he sees other girls until he goes back to her.” Erin felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest, and sighed a heavy breath of relief.

“Sounds like something she'd say.” Leana rolled her eyes and scoffed. “But I will admit that they were a very on and off couple, they fought a lot cause they're so damn similar.”

“I know I shouldn't take anything she says to heart but I couldn't help it, it made me doubt things.” Erin knew that Michelle more than likely said those things to cause skepticism between the couple.

“Take it from someone who's known her for a couple years now, she'd say anything to get what she wants. And she wants you away from Brian cause I know for a fact that it's killing her to see him happy with you.” Leana smiled at Erin, hearing what Leana had to say eased away some of the doubt within her.

“You think he's happy?” Erin asked and was met with an 'are you kidding me' look from Leana.

“Jimmy and I both agree you two are great together so,” Leana stood up from the table and reached out her hand. “I think you should talk to Brian later on but right now let's shop.” Leana sounded more serious than she had in the short time Erin had gotten know to her, but that soon faded as she was once again smiling.

Erin took her hand and got to her feet, letting Leana drag her wherever her heart desired.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Later that night Brian returned home later than he had expected, he hoped that Erin wasn't mad at him since he knew she was preparing a large dinner for his birthday.

Brian slowly made his way into the kitchen to find Erin with her back to him. He could hear the sound of the knife hitting the cutting board so he knew she was cutting something, he waited until she stopped before he crept up behind her.

He slipped one of his arms around her waist, and the other moved her hair to one side, exposing the length of her neck. He felt her shiver at his touch, he smiled as he brought his lips to her warm, sensitive skin.

“What are you making?” He asked, his voice deeper than usual thanks to the long and tiresome meeting with the heads of the label.

“Brian, we need to talk.” She said without turning around, she instead peeked over her shoulder. He tensed at her words, usually in his experience when that phrased was used it wasn't exactly leading to something positive. It was more commonly used as the beginning of a break up speech.

“Okay,” He released his arm from around her. She turned herself around, using the island as support. Her eyes darted down to the floor, then slowly made their way back up to meet his. He could see the fearful look in her eyes which made him all the more nervous.

“I-um,” She cleared her throat, throwing out a half smile for a second then pursed her lips together. “I don't know if you've noticed I've been acting kind of...different lately.”

Brian nodded slowly, still unsure of where this conversation was heading. “Yeah, a little. I figured if you wanted to talk about it, you would.” He finished with a shrug.

“I don't even know how to say this...” Erin struggled trying to think of a way to tell him without sounding like an insecure girlfriend. Brian took a step back, his brow furrowed.

“Are you breaking up with me?” Erin tried to fight the smile threatening to appear on her lips. She didn't want Brian to get the wrong idea when clearly he already was.

“You think I'd be making you dinner if I was breaking up with you? And on your birthday no less?”

“Then what is it?” He asked, sounding more desperate than he intended.

“I've just been thinking a lot lately, after meeting everyone and hearing some things they had to say... I just wonder if you're really in this relationship for the right reasons?” Erin desperately wanted to take the words back as soon as she spoke them. The look on his face read of a combination of confusion and shock.

“What I mean is, I've heard you had sort of a past before you and Michelle got together and we're taking it slow, it's just confusing. I don't--I don't know where you stand.” Erin studied him, hoping that his reaction wasn't an angry outburst that ended with him wanting to break up with her.

“Who told you all this?” Brian tried to look her in the eye but she avoided it by looking down to the ground. “Did Michelle say something to you?” Erin could hear the animosity rise in his voice, and out of the corner of her eye saw one of his hands clench into a tight fist.

“Fuck!” He cursed loudly turning his back to her and ran a hand through his hair. She winced slightly at the power of his voice. He took several deep breaths to calm himself down then turned to face her once again, she stared blankly at him.

“I'm sorry, she didn't have a right to say anything.” Brian spoke softly, tucking some hair behind her ear. Erin smiled and leaned into his touch.

“I will admit I had a past before Michelle, to put it bluntly I was a bit of a man whore.” He cringed at the memories and chuckled playfully. “But I was in my early twenties and stupid, I'm not proud of it.”

Brian took a moment to clear his throat before continuing.

“Every single relationship of mine started like that, I slept with them within at least twenty four hours of knowing them.” Brian moved closer, his hands finding the familiar spot on her hips and pulled their bodies closer together. She rested her hands on his firm chest. “I hope you believe me when I say that I wanted this to be different than the rest. Because you're different.”

“I'm different how?” Her blue eyes shone brighter than he had ever seen them, while a shy smile graced her lips.

“You're not like those other girls, who I just had a good time with. You're what my dad likes to call the marrying kind.” Brian watched her eyebrows raise in surprise.

“You're the kind of girl who makes a guy want to leave all those bad habits behind him and become a better version of himself.” He breathed, not even thinking his words over in his head before speaking them but they couldn't have been too bad because he saw Erin break out into a bashful smile.

He began laughing softly at himself. “When did it turn into a fucking episode of Dawson's Creek in here? Christ.” Erin leaned into him, her head resting on his shoulder, muffling her small fits of laughter.

“You watch Dawson's Creek?” She asked as one of her hands slid up from his chest to the back of his neck.

His smile faltered somewhat. “McKenna may or may not have made me watch the entire series.” He begrudgingly looked towards the ceiling, feeling embarrassed. Erin leaned back and grabbed his chin, placing a soft kiss to his lips.

“I'd like to meet her, and you're very wise father.” Brian smiled, the embarrassment left him momentarily.

“Well, the wise one is out of town this week.” His voice was now at a low whisper due to the close proximity of their mouths. “But he'll be back next week so I think I could arrange something.”

“I can't wait.” Erin kissed him again, letting her lips linger longer than before. “Happy birthday.”