Like Walking Into a Dream

I laughed along with Brian as we shared a platter of crab. He was telling me about how Jimmy ran into his house one day screaming that he saw a Stallion Duck.

“I never knew he did that,” I laughed.

“He does it all the time! He’ll look off into the distance and then yell Stallion duck!” I giggled once more and popped a piece of crab meat into my mouth.

We shared a few more stories and finished our lunch. Being the gentleman, Brian paid for lunch and we decided to walk on the beach. It was so nice out today. I took off my sandals and held them in one hand as we walked along the water’s edge.

“So when’s the wedding?” Brian asked out of the blue.

“June 12th,” I said.

“You okay? You don’t sound to happy…” he trailed off.

“Oh no I am. I love Eric, but he’s just been so busy with work lately that we haven’t had too much time to plan the wedding and the stress is getting to me.” I smiled.

“Tell me about it. Michelle is running me up the wall about planning our wedding.” He grumbled.

“You don’t sound too happy about it either,” I said.

“I’m not to be honest. I don’t want to marry her,” he admitted.

“Then why go through with it? If you don’t love her then don’t make a commitment that you won’t be able to keep in the end,” I whispered softly.

“I want to call it off. The only reason I gave her a ring was because she kept nagging me about how Val, her sister, is engaged to Matt. I just wanted her to shut up and before I knew I was engaged to her,” he grumbled.

“Brian,” I made him stop walking and face me. I rested a hand on his forearm.

“Don’t do anything you don’t want to do. If you don’t want to get married, don’t force yourself. It took Eric and me a few years before we even considered marriage. It isn’t some kind of game. You’re supposed to marry the person you want to spend the rest of your life with,” I explained. Brian gave me a small smile and thanked me.

“If I think about it that way, I probably will call off my wedding. Michelle may be my girlfriend, but I’ve never thought about spending the rest of my life with her,” he said.

“Just don’t end up leading her on,” he nodded and we started walking again. He nudged me playfully and I nudged him back with a smile. He nudged me harder and I did it back. We continued to do this until he pushed me hard enough to make me lose my balance and fall into the ankle deep water. I stared at him with my mouth wide open.

“Jerk,” I muttered. Brian smiled and held out a hand for me.

“I guess I don’t know my own strength,” I grabbed his hand and yanked him down next to me in the water. It was his turn to stare at me.

“I guess I don’t know mine either,” I smirked and jumped up. Water dripped off me, but I didn’t care. I was having fun. Brian returned my smirk and splashed water onto me. I reached down and splashed him back.

We ended up having a water fight and we were soaking wet. I was laughing so hard I thought my stomach was going to explode.

“Let’s go to my house. It’s only a few minutes away and I can wash your clothes for you,” I said once I caught my breath. He agreed and we walked back my and Eric’s house. I noticed he was still at work.

I opened the door and let Brian. He walked in and glanced around.

“Wow, it’s so clean. My house looks like a pigsty compared to yours,” he commented.

“Thanks,” I laughed, “Eric likes things clean.”

“I wish Michelle did. She doesn’t like doing any kind of work,” I led him back to my bedroom and opened the closet I shared with Eric. I grabbed a plain white t-shirt and sweat pants and handed them to Brian.

“You can change in the bathroom and then bring me your clothes so I can wash them.” I pointed to the bathroom and went to change out of my clothes too. I changed into clean shorts and a v-neck shirt.

I was in the laundry room when I heard Brian walk out of the bedroom.

“I’m in here!” I called as I put detergent in the washer. Brian thanked me and handed me his clothes. I smiled and put them in the wash with mine and started it.

“So, Mr. Haner, tell me what it’s like to be one of the top 50 fastest guitarists in the world,” I said once we sat down on the couch. He smirked and leaned back into the cushions.

“So you know about that, huh?”

“Jimmy tells me most of the stuff that goes on with the band. You’re his best guy friend. He likes to tell me about all the accomplishes you’ve made,” I shrugged. Brian chuckled.

“That’s just like him. It’s…fun. I can’t imagine myself doing anything else in life. Music is what I do best. And you know what they say about guitarists.”

“No, I don’t. What do they say?” I asked.

“They’re great with their hands,” he smirked. I scoffed a laugh.

“Don’t get a big head, perv,” I joked. Brian chuckled.

“Why a nurse? You could have been anything,” he said. I leaned back as well and smiled lightly.

“I’ve always wanted to do a job where I could help people. Nurses help people every day. I helped you and that made me happy. I’ve helped Jimmy when he broke his arm. I guess I’ve always wanted to be nurse and haven’t ever thought about being anything else.”

Brian and I got to know each other more and I realized why Jimmy liked him so much. Brian was easy to talk to once you got to know him as a person and not as a famous guitarist.

My phone rang on the coffee table and I picked it up and answered it.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Peyton, I’m going to be here for a while. I’m sorry about today,” Eric said on the other end.

“It’s fine. Do you know how much longer? I need to know if I need to make dinner for you,” I said softly.

“I won’t make it to dinner. I know that much. I'm about to go do another surgery. The injuries are worse than I thought they would be. I’ll call you after my last surgery unless it’s too late,”

“Okay, work hard,” I whispered.

“I’ll make this up to you. I promise. I love you Peyton,” he said.

“I love you too, Eric,” I hung up and sighed. Brian rubbed my arm.

“He has to work late?”

“Yeah, that’s all he does lately. Work. Work. Work. There’s never any time for me anymore,” I groaned. The washer’s buzzer went off and I got up to put the wet clothes into the dryer.

“I’m sure that once times die down at work, he’ll put you first. Maybe you should get Leana to help you pick out some things for the wedding that Eric doesn’t need have a say in,” he said. I smiled.

“Yeah, I’ll get Leana and Casey to help me with that this week. Next weekend you need to go with Jimmy to buy tuxes. He’s walking me down the aisle and I want him to look his best,” I told him. Brian gave me a mock salute.

“Leave it to me. I’ll do my best to make him look close to normal,” I laughed.

“Good I’m counting on you now.”