Let Me In

Pulling up on Main Street, Brian made sure he had his wallet and phone before getting out of the Fastback and heading in the direction of The Sugar Shack. He walked along the sidewalk with the hint of a smile twitching away at his perfect lips. For as long as Brian could remember, it had been a tradition amongst him and the four men he considered not only his best friends, but also brothers, that they would meet up on a Saturday morning, work permitting, and enjoy a leisurely breakfast together to catch up with what had been occuring in each others lives. Brian however, had been missing on more than one occassion over the previous months thanks to Clayre. Today though was about to change all of that. Brian Haner Jr was a single man, and spending more time with his friends was very high on his list of priorities. 

Opening the door and flashing a smile that over the years had caused more than its fair share of female hearts to flutter, Brian greeted the woman who was stood behind the counter.

"Morning Mrs.Turner."

"Brian! Good to see you sweetie. I gather the boys aren't far behind you," she stated, Brian then realising he was the first to arrive as he made his way to their usual booth.

Bringing over a cup and a pot of coffee, Mrs. Turner poured some of the steaming black liquid for Brian.

"I'll get those breakfasts ordered up," she told him warmly, before heading back for the counter.

Thanking her, Brian smiled. Having known each of the boys most of their lives, Mrs.Turner always made sure she looked after them well whenever they were in there. Just as he thought about maybe calling the others, the door to the diner opened. Brian shook his head and chuckled as the 6' 4" frame of one James Owen Sullivan entered. Taking hold of Mrs. Turner's hand, Jimmy proceeded to take her from behind the counter and in his arms, waltzing her around the tables.

"And how are we this fine morning, Mrs. Turner?" he inquired.

"I'm doing just fine thank you Jimmy," she laughed.

"Good good. Have I told you that you look exceptionally beautiful today?"

Mrs. Turner shook her head, still laughing.

"I've ordered your breakfast and I'll bring your coffee over," she assured him.

"That's all I needed to hear," Jimmy stated as they came to halt, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing it gently.

Brian eyed his friend suspiciously as Jimmy took a seat opposite him.

"You've either been inhaling sugar again, or got laid this morning," Brian summised.

The sparkle in Jimmy's blue eyes told him it was the latter, bringing forth another laugh from Brian. As Jimmy's coffee was set on the table, the sound of bickering could be heard. Jimmy and Brian looked over in the direction it appeared to be coming from, and both shook their heads with a smile as Zacky Baker and Johnny Seward made their way over to join them.

"I'm telling you Seward, my car now smells like a fucking whore's boudoir thanks to you. Lex really won't be happy, it's gonna raise some questions," Zacky grumbled, taking a seat next to Brian.

"I couldn't help it!" Johnny cried. "I was running late, wasn't looking and grabbed the first bottle that came to hand. I didn't realise it til it was too late," he pouted. 

Brian and Jimmy looked between the pair in the vague hope that they would get an explaination.

"Short shit over there," Zacky began, jabbing a finger in Johnny's direction,"managed to drown himself in half a bottle of Missy's perfume instead of cologne this morning, and let's just say that my car is slightly more femininely fragrant than I could do with right now."

Brian bit down hard in his lip in a feeble attempt not to laugh, even though he was fairly sure the way his shoulders shook was a dead give away.

"Awwww honey, take no notice of grumpy pants," Jimmy stated, slipping an arm around Johnny's shoulders. "I think you smell beautiful!"

"Fuck off!" Johnny hissed, pushing Jimmy off of him.

Clearing his throat a little, Brian looked at Zacky before speaking.

"So what would be the problem with Lex?" he questioned, knowing that Zack's girlfriend Alexa was usually of an easy going nature. 

Thanking Mrs. Turner as she brought his coffee over, Zacky sighed deeply.

"I've got some cougar from the country club on my tail. She's managed to get hold of my cell number and keeps calling. It's really starting to piss Lex off, and she's even worse today because I have to give said cougar a golf lesson at noon," Zack explained, refering to his job as one of the resident golfing instructors at the Seacliff Country Club. 

"Oh," Brian mouthed, trying his hardest not to smirk at his friend's obvious predicament.

Wondering just what could be holding up the fifth member of their little gang, Brian glanced at his watch. It wasn't unusual for Matt to be the last one there, but he was never normally far behind them. Right on cue, the door opened once again, the unmistakable bulk of Matt Sanders almost stumbling into the diner. He lurched his way to the booth, not even removing the aviators that shielded his hazel eyes, and slumped into the seat, squashing Johnny somewhat in the process. The smirk finally reached Brian's lips as he watched Johnny struggle to push Matt off of him. 

"Was she worth it?" Brian questioned, knowing full well by Matt's appearance that there only had to be one explaination for why he was late. 

Matt Sanders had the reputation amongst the group of being something of a cassanova. It had gotten worse over the last couple of years when his last relationship had broken down, and Matt had vowed that it would be a cold day in hell before he got tied down to one woman again. Getting women to fall for his charms was not exactly a hard task either. One look in those warm eyes and a flash of the famous Sanders dimples, and they were quite literally putty in his hands. Brian was also aware that Matt had gone to the strip club last night to see Jimmy. If he had gone home alone, there had to something seriously amiss.

"What makes you think me being late has anything to do with a woman?" Matt replied with a yawn.

Johnny sniffed the air between himself and the larger man.

"Because Matthew, you smell like a fucking brothel...and not the good kind. Fuck! Did you even shower this morning?" he asked, trying not to gag.

"I did....but got somewhat distracted again," Matt replied with a grin.

"I'm more worried about how the hell Johnny knows what a brothel smells like," Zacky muttered. "Oh!" he added, suddenly remembering the night of Johnny's eighteenth birthday and how the rest of them had pooled together and paid for him to spend an hour in the company of a woman who really knew how to put a smile on his face. 

"Matthew was at the club last night, and became somewhat hypnotised by the....how shall I put this....rather obvious attributes of our latest female bar tender," Jimmy announced.

The conversation paused for a brief moment as their breakfast arrived. Zacky picked up his fork and dove into his eggs.

"Stacked then?" he asked.

"Let's just say that if Johnny boy here nestled in them, it would take a week to find him," Matt answered, grinning as Brian almost choked on his food. 

The five friends continued on with their breakfast, each filling the others in on what had been occurring in their lives since they had all been together. Brian took a look around the table at his friends and realized just how much he had missed their banter and private jokes, and found himself determined that he was never going to allow anyone dominate his life to the degree Clayre had ever again. Brian was slightly relieved that the conversation seemed to steer away from what had taken place that week, but as the discussion between his friends appeared to hit a slight lull, he knew he wasn't going to be safe for much longer. 

"So, Brian, how long do you see the break up lasting this time?"

Placing his fork down on the side of his plate, Brian turned a little to face Zacky who had asked the one question he knew had been on everyone's lips. He glanced round at the expectant faces of his friends, each of them anticipating an answer.

"We're done for good, there really isn't any going back," he stated, only to have his words met with a snort from Matt.

"What?" Brian questioned.

"Brian, no disrespect dude, but how many times have you said that in the past? It's how you and Clayre are," Johnny pointed out. "Unless of course you've got your eye on someone else," he mused.

"No, there's no one else," Brian shook his head adamently. "I'm just not going back. I walked away this time with a whole new outlook on the situation, and that episode of my life is truly dead and buried."

Zacky wiped his mouth with a napkin, discarding it on his empty plate.

"You may want to make Clayre more aware of that then, because Lex had the displeasure of bumping into her yesterday, and she told her that she has no intention of moving out of the house because she just figures you're gonna go crawling back to her as always," he informed Brian. 

"I told you that you should have kicked her out," Matt warned, pointing his finger at his friend. 

"Fuck!" Brian hissed, his hand running over his face, unsure of quite what to do at that moment.

"You need to be firm here Brian," Matt began. "You can't allow her to take hold of the reins again. Go out, play the field....get laid...that might get the point across."

Drowning out the noise of his friends all suggesting various women he could hook up with, Brian thought back to the converstion he had had with Beth. He knew his friends had his best interests at heart, that they didn't want to see him caught in a situation where Clayre had the upper hand once more, but maybe Beth had been right. Maybe he did need to get a female perspective on all of this.

"Excuse me Zack," he stated quietly, ignoring the questioning looks his friends threw at him as he walked outside the diner.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, Brian quickly found the number he needed.

"Dad, it's Brian. I wouldn't normally do this, but I have a favor to ask. Have you got Beth's number?"