Second Chance

Brian’s POV

“Your dad called. He expects us to attend his dinner party tomorrow night” Michelle says while straighten her hair. I’m lying in bed, haven’t moved an inch since I finished making love to Michelle. That was almost an hour ago. She’s going out with the girls tonight. Kinda a welcome party for Belle. Just another lame excuse for my wife to get wasted, if you ask me. “I told him we would be there 8 PM sharp” She says, fixing her lip gloss. I hate that damn gloss. Every time I kiss her, it gets stuck on my lips & it tastes horrible. “Are you even listening to me, Brian?” She says, turning around & placing her hand on top of her hip. I nod my head yes, letting her know that I heard her. “Are you ok, babe? You’re awfully quiet right now” She says with a little frown, creating small wrinkles on her forehead. I know that there was a day when I found that adorable… but right now, they are just a sign that my wife is getting old. “I can stay if you want” She says, walking towards the bed & sitting next to me.

“Go have fun with the girls. I’m fine” I assure her. She stares at me for a little while, before nodding her head & kissing me lightly on the lips, leaving her horrible lip gloss on my lips. I wipe it off, trying not to make a face.

“I’ll call you, ok” She says, grabbing her purse & putting her shoes on, gaining some inches in height. “I love you” She says & waits for me to say it back.

“Love you too” I mumble. It was enough for her cause as soon as the words escaped my mouth, she turned & left the room. I faintly hear the front door shut & her car starting. I stare into the ceiling, wondering what I’m gonna do. I feel so lost. Everything that I seemed to love about Michelle annoys the hell out of me now. How her shorts are too short, or how her shirts never seem to reach the top of her jeans. Or that hideous smelling body lotion she uses after taking a shower. Or how she loves using that red lipstick that just doesn’t suit her. But what annoys me the most is how her touches make me feel. Making love to my wife has become quite a challenge. Not because she’s ugly or doesn’t turn me on, because she does. It just doesn’t feel right. Her touch, her kisses, my name escaping her mouth, her moans… everything feels wrong. & I know that one day, while we’re going at it, Belle’s name is gonna be the one I moan when I’m exploding inside of her. “Fuck this” I say, getting up, fed up with my pity party & walking towards the bathroom, hooping into the shower & turning it on. The water running from my head to toe does nothing to clear my head, but it helps me forget about the way Annabelle’s body felt against mine. The way her short hair felt when I ran my finger through it while I was slowly thrusted in her. Or how her mouth formed a perfect ‘o’ shaped while she was panting, too much pleasure for her to make a sound. How her fingernail left scratches down my back. All those things that Michelle failed to do for me. My fist collides with the shower wall in frustration. I can’t believe I let her go. I can’t believe I left her crying in that church room even when she begged me not to. I can’t believe how stupid I was. I shut off the shower & step out, wrapping a towel at my waist & running my fingers through my wet hair, a few droplets falling on my damp body. I hear my phone ringing & grab it from the night stand, seeing Johnny’s face flashing. “Hello” I answer, grabbing a clean pair of boxers from a drawer.

“Hey, man, what’s up?” He says.

“Just got out of the shower” I say, throwing the boxers on the bed. I start grabbing a pair of shorts that are lying on the floor. Most of our clothes are lying on the floor. Michelle isn’t much of a housewife when it comes to keep the house tidy. That’s why Stella comes Monday, Wednesday & Friday’s to clean & do whatever she does when she’s here. She’s our housekeeper. & she was McKenna’s babysitter & she’s now part of the family. I love that lady to death.

“Well… I’m heading to Johnny’s bar. I was wondering if you want to join me” He says. A couple of beers wouldn’t hurt me.

“Ok. I’ll see you in a bit” I say, dropping the shorts & walking into the closet to find a pair of jeans. Alcohol is exactly what I need to keep my trouble mind off of her.

Johnny’s POV

“Are you ok, man?” I ask him again. He’s been wondering off way too much for his own good. After a minute & several sighs later he nods his head.

“Yeah, just a bunch of stuff in my head right now” He says, sipping from his beer.

“Can’t stop thinking about her, huh?” I say, sipping from my own beer. His head snaps towards my direction. I see his eyes wide with shock. “What?” I ask him. He just lowered his gaze & took a sip from his beer. I take out a cigarette & offer him one. He took it & took a long drag once it was lighted.

“I can’t seem to stop thinking about her” He says after a while, looking at the wooden bar. “It seems that’s the only thing I fucking do lately & it’s driving me fucking insane” He says, taking another drag from his cigarette.

“I knew this was going to happen” I say. “She shouldn’t have come back” I say, swallowing the cold beer that just hit my mouth. “If you want to be with her so bad, why the hell aren’t you with her?” I ask. See… I always thought Annabelle & Brian should be together. Michelle isn’t the one for him. Even the way they got together was fucked up. & everyone knows that. It was brought up more than once days before their wedding.

“Because I’m married, dumb shit” He answers in an annoyed voice. “She’s getting married. There’s nothing left for us anymore” He says bitterly, while fidgeting with his beer bottle.

“Well, you’re a fucking asshole” I say. His fist collides with my arm immediately. “Ow” I whine, rubbing my arm that’s now in pain. “Why are you hitting me for? It’s not my fault that you ended married to the wrong girl” He can surely throw a punch. He glares at me, before putting his cigarette out, a bit roughly. “You can’t lose her again, Brian” I say after a while. “I hate seeing you like this. You need to fight for her” I finish saying. He just lets out a small chuckle while shaking his head.

“How am I supposed to do that?” He asks, looking at me with his bright less eyes.

“Well… she’s here, right?” I ask & he nods, pointing out the obvious. “John isn’t” I finish. I almost see the light bulb clicking. “Take advantage at the fact that she came here looking for you, not even thinking for a second about her fiancé when she took that plane. She hasn’t been here in 3 years & not even 24 hours without you in New York made her come back. You made her come back. Which means… she loves you more than she’ll ever love that dude she’s going to marry. Just make her realize that you’re not gonna allow her to make the same stupid mistake you made & that you’re willing to do everything you can to be with her” I say & I see in his eyes that his mind is thinking thoroughly my words. “Just love her the way John will never be able to” I say, patting his back. I throw a couple of bill on the bar top & head towards the door. I stop & turn to see him nodding his head, almost as if his brain was telling him that this was the right thing to do. A small smile appeared on my face. My part of the plan is done. Now I’ll just have to wait to see if the others will be able to accomplish our goal… get Brian & Annabelle together.

Annabelle’s POV

I put my shoes on & stand up to stare at my reflection in the full size mirror at my closet door. Ever since I’ve been back, I’ve been dying to wear this dress. & what better occasion than a girls night out, crash all the places we used to go before I left. My hair is pulled back in a very stylish messy bun & my makeup is very light. I plan on having fun tonight. I plan on enjoying my time with my girlfriends & not worry or think about neither Brian nor John. It just feels so great to be back in my hometown & to know that I’m close to all my friends & family & all the people that care about me. It makes me feel like there are no worries in the world. That everything in my life is great. Even though my life is so fucked up right now. But this night I’m gonna put that behind & just enjoy a couple of drinks with my girls, dance a little & tomorrow I’ll worry about everything else. I sigh before grabbing my purse & check to see that I have everything as I make my way down the stairs. As I step to the last stair, there’s a knock on the door. “I’ll get it” I say, not looking up. It’s probably Lacey who promised to pick me up. I swing the door open just to be left staring at a pair of almost hazel eyes, with specks of green eyes.

“Surprise” He says quietly, pulling his hand from behind, to expose a red rose. A smirk is placed on his face as he hands it to me. Wish a smirk was on my face too.

“John? What are you doing here?” I ask my mouth still a bit open from the shock.

“Well… I’m here visiting my beautiful fiancé & wondering why she left New York without a kiss goodbye” He says, walking closer to me. Before I knew it, his lips were on mine. Slowly, I started responding to the kiss. My arms wrapping around his waist as his hands were holding my face delicately. “Mm… I missed this. I missed you” He says, his lips never leaving mine. I open my eyes slowly, still in a dazed from his kiss. I look into his eyes & see a bit of hurt in them. “You’ve been ignoring my calls. Is there something wrong, Bellie? Did I do something?” He asks, his hands moving a few strands from hair from my face. I shake my head no, letting him know that it wasn’t him that made me come back here. “Then why did you left without telling me?” He asks, his eyes fixed on mine. I couldn’t lie to him.

“I need to resolve some issues with Brian” I say, lowering my gaze. His hands fell from my face to my wait. I felt his lips on my forehead as he kissed it.

“What’s the deal between you & him? & don’t lie to me, Bellie” He said, hugging me & planting a small kiss on my neck. I took a big breath.

“We have some issues that I’m not ready to talk to you about” I say, pulling away just to see his eyes. It wasn’t a complete lie, although it wasn’t the complete truth either. “It’s just… very personal” I finish. He nods, disappointed with my answer. “Babe, it’s nothing” I say, kissing his jaw.

“Then why didn’t you answer my calls, Bellie?” He asked, looking at me.

“I just needed time” I reply quickly, not giving him a chance to really over think this situation. It’s not gonna be pretty if he starts tying the loose ends. “How did you find me?” I ask him. I don’t recall giving him my parents address.

“Mikey gave me the address. I think he got fed up with me nagging him day & night” He said with a chuckle. I force a smile. I know John being here is gonna stir more shit between me & Brian. There are more chances for him to find out the truth about me & Brian. & I can’t let that happen. Even though I’m pissed with him showing up at my doorstep, I play it cool. I understand him being worried about me. When you love someone & they suddenly leave… of course you’re gonna want answers & find out if they are ok. “I love you, babe” He says, kissing me again & making me go in a daze again. After a couple of minutes of us making out at the door like a couple of teenagers, I hear someone clear their throat. I turn to look at my parents standing there, a frown in their faces.

“Annabelle, who is this young man you seem to be very close to?” My father said through clenched teeth. Oh fuck… I forgot to tell them about John.

“Um… uh… Mom, Dad, this is John” I say, watching John give them a small wave & a polite ‘Good night’. “He’s, um…” I stop, not sure I want to know how they will react to me giving them such huge news.

“I’m your daughter’s fiancé” John says, wrapping an arm around my waist. I see my parents eyes get wide as they stare at us before staring at themselves for a couple of seconds. I see my dad look past us, before I turn to see Lacey’s car stopping in front f my parent’s house.

“Well, Annie, I think your ride is here. Go have fun while we get to know John” My father says, ushering me outside. I turn to look at John, worry etched in my face. He chuckles & kisses my nose, assuring me that everything is gonna be fine. I walk outside & close the door, not without glancing one last time inside. I let out a big breath. Guess this won’t be the carefree night I was looking forward to.