The Hint of a Spark

Kelsi stood in front of her closet, her hair still dripping wet from the shower she’d just taken. Her feet ached from standing at work all day, and her back was acting up as it usually did, but none of those aches or pains were truly bothering her at the moment. Instead, excitement and nervousness were coursing through her body as her eyes kept glancing to the clock, knowing it was getting closer and closer to the time for Brian to pick her up. They hadn’t exchanged numbers, so there would be no warning or indication for when he’d arrive, but she was banking on the fact that he’d show up at the time he said he would; eight.

“Can’t pick out an outfit?” Alaska asked as she came into the room, taking a seat on Kelsi’s bed with Archibald in her lap.

“More like I have too many options,” she laughed, sifting through her tops.

“Do you know where y’all are going?”

“To dinner?”

Alaska smirked. “I happen to know the exact place,” she taunted, tilting her head to the side.

Kelsi rolled her eyes, playfully scoffing. “So, should I keep it simple or do I need to dress up?”

“Simple. Cute, but simple.”

Kelsi nodded her head and proceeded to pull out a navy blue and white tank top, knowing that the material would show off a bit of skin as it would hang loosely from her torso, but not too much. She paired it with black shorts and went into her bathroom to change. When she returned into the room, she grabbed her makeup bag and began searching for her cover up and powder.

Behind her, she heard Alaska gasp before the girl jumped off the bed. “Fuck!” she cursed.

Kelsi turned around, two dabs of the cover-up underneath her eyes. “What?”

Alaska’s tanned face reddened and she moved to stand in front of the bed, her eyes wide and a nervous smile on her face. “Uh … nothing. You just finish getting ready and I’ll fix this.”

“Fix what?” Kelsi questioned before making her way over to the bed. She had to fight her friend to see what had happened, but once she had, her mouth fell open and her hands curled into fists. “Damn you, Archie!” she shouted, clamping her eyes shut as she took deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. The cat had used his paws to rip the fabric of her comforter; her expensive comforter. “I fucking hate that cat, Alaska!”

“I know, but he didn’t mean to, Kels! I'll sow it up or something. If all else fails, I’ll buy you a new one!” Alaska told her, biting down on her bottom lip.

“Whatever. Just get that spawn of Satan away from me and out of my room!” Without saying another word, Alaska collected her cat and darted from the bedroom, closing the door behind her. “Damnit,” Kelsi cursed under her breath before returning to her mirror.

After taking a few moments to compose herself, she continued on with her makeup. Once her powder had been put on, she coated her lashes with a few swipes of mascara and decorated her eyes with black eyeliner. Figuring that was all she needed, she moved onto her hair, drying it completely before straightening it. When all was done, she applied a light pink lipgloss to her lips before slipping on a few gold bangles to her right wrist. She slid her feet into a pair of sandals and grabbed her purse, leaving the room.

When she walked into the kitchen, she saw Alaska was nibbling on cookie dough, whilst Archibald was curled into a ball by her feet. Still feeling angered at the cat, she gave it the evil eye before grabbing a water bottle from the fridge.

“I know you hate me and everything right now, but Matt texted me and said Brian left about ten minutes ago,” Alaska said.

“I don’t hate you, I hate your cat,” Kelsi clarified.

“One day you will love him like I do and there will be nothing in your eyes that he could do wrong.”

“I highly doubt that,” she laughed, taking another gulp of water.

The two chatted for another five minutes before the doorbell rang. “Should I give Brian the best friend talk or leave that for the second date?”

“Who said there’ll be a second date?” Kelsi challenged.

Alaska grinned. “Me, and you can quote me on that,” she stated before walking away, going to the door. When she returned, Brian was in tow of her and Kelsi almost wanted to drool at how handsome he looked in his dark blue jeans and white v-neck, his ever present aviators on his face. “So, here are the rules, Gates: no touching or kissing unless Kelsi gives you permission; you will be a complete gentleman and open all doors and pull out all seats for her; you will compliment her and treat her like the precious doll she is. If you fail to comply to these rules, I will know and I’ll have Matt carry out the consequences.”

Kelsi watched as Brian rolled his eyes before laughing. “Are you done, mom?”

“I’m waiting,” Alaska sang, looking at the tattooed man.

“I’ll adhere to your rules, banshee,” Brian smirked, giving a wink.

Alaska blushed at his name calling, and Kelsi arched a brow. “What am I missing?”

“Nothing, nothing!” her friend rushed, pushing her towards the foyer. “Y’all have fun!”

Kelsi, still confused, eyed the girl skeptically before walking towards the door, Brian following her. She allowed him to step out first before closing the door behind her. There was a large, black, expensive SUV parked in the driveway and she stared at it in amazement for a moment before realizing Brian had opened the passenger door for her and was waiting with a look of amusement on his face.

“Thanks,” she told him before climbing in.

He nodded his head before going around and getting situated behind the steering wheel. Once he had backed out of the driveway and they were making their way down the road, he sneaked a glance at her. “You look beautiful, by the way. I didn’t get the chance to mention that before Alaska started her little rant.”

Kelsi gave a laugh. “Thank you. She can be protective when she wants to be.”

“You should see her with Matt.”

“What do you mean?”

Brian cackled. “She’s not annoyingly jealous or anything like that, but she makes sure it’s known that Matt is with her.”

“I believe that,” she grinned, knowing all too well the ways of her best friend. “Can I ask why she got all flustered when you called her a banshee? Alaska never blushes like that.”

At this, Brian gave a hearty laugh whilst making a left turn. “You’ve never heard her and Matt going at it?”

Kelsi pondered the question for a moment. “Well, yeah, but they usually try and keep it down. Roommate rules,” she said, smiling.

“Lucky you, then. Well, let’s just say she’s a screamer and Matt definitely gets his kicks out of it. If you didn’t know any better, you’d swear he was murdering her,” he explained.

Kelsi couldn’t help laughing. “Oh, God.”

When their laughter subsided, the low music Brian had playing on the radio filled their silence. Although she had been worried before, Kelsi could feel her nerves calming down now. When they reached the restaurant, Brian parked the car and they made their way into the building, him opening the door and all. They made their way to a booth near the back and sat down, Brian removing his sunglasses from his face as they did so.

“This is probably a bad time to ask, but you’re not a vegetarian or anything are you?” he questioned, picking up the salt shaker and fiddling with it.

“Ha, like I could give up meat,” Kelsi said, crossing her arms on the tabletop. Brian raised his brows, giving her a suggestive look and she rolled her eyes as she laughed at his immaturity.

Their waitress soon made her way over and despite being quite young, she was polite and offered both Kelsi and Brian smiles as they ordered their drinks and large pepperoni pizza.

“Now to the interesting part of the date,” Brian said, twirling the wrapper of his straw in his right hand. Kelsi gave him a perplexed expression and he smiled. “Getting to know each other.”

“Oh, of course,” she playfully sighed. “What do you want to know?”

He took a moment to think it over. “You’re a baker, right?”

Kelsi nodded her head, taking a sip of her coke. “A baker who owns her own bakery.”

This made his eyes widen. “Really?”

“Really,” she confirmed. “I opened it about six years ago now. I’m nothing like The Cake Boss or any of those other shows, but I do pretty good for myself.”

Brian chuckled. “Well that’s great. I mean, you’ve established a career for yourself.”

She nodded her head, placing her chin in the palm of her hand, her elbow resting on the table. “It might be stupid to ask, but for the sake of formalities, how’s being the lead guitarist of a famous band?”

“Pretty much everything I dreamed of and more,” he answered cockily, making the both of them laugh. “You have bad days, just like at any other job, but the good usually outweighs them.”

“What do you miss the most when you’re out on the road?” she queried, trying to keep the conversation going.

“Honestly, my dog Pinkly. She’s a little shit, but she’s my little shit.”

Kelsi giggled. “What kind of dog is she?”

“A Maltese,” he answered, just as the waitress arrived with their pizza. “Thank you,” he told her politely before she walked off. “You have any pets?”

Kelsi scoffed as she eagerly reached for a slice, not having eaten anything since much earlier on in the day. “I don’t, but Alaska’s got that God forsaken cat.”

Brian laughed, grabbing a slice for himself. “Yeah, I’ve heard about him. He’s scratched Matt pretty good a few times.”

“I believe it. He’s given me a few, too. I swear I hate him, but Alaska loves him, so there’s not much I can do,” she told him before taking a bite of the pie, burning the roof of her mouth in the process. “Shit!”

“Hot?” Brian asked cheekily.

“Shut up,” she laughed, wiping her mouth with a napkin. “So, what about your family? Do you miss them when you’re touring?”

“Yeah, we’re all pretty close. I try to see them as much as possible when I’m home, but it’s not always easy; they’ve got their own stuff going on, too, you know?” Kelsi nodded her head in understanding. “I’m probably closest to my dad, though. I tend to see him, my step-mom and younger sister more than the rest of my family, but that’s mostly due to them living the closest to me.”

“Your parents are divorced?”

Brian nodded his head. “Yeah, it’s not too uncommon nowadays.”

“No, I know,” Kelsi said, quickly trying to clarify things. “My parents are divorced, too.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yep, got divorced after I graduated high school. My mom’s never remarried, but my dad met a woman, Tessa, not too long after. They got married and moved to her hometown in Nashville.”

“Do you get along with her?”

Kelsi shrugged. “She’s a nice enough woman and I don’t dislike her, but we’re not exactly close either.”

“I get that.”

The two continued to eat their slices of pizza, talking in between bites. Unlike the previous douchebags she had dated who never cared to really get to know her, Brian genuinely seemed interested in hearing everything she had to say, and when she didn’t say quite enough, he’d ask her more questions until he was satisfied with her response. He didn’t make the entire conversation about himself, and he made her laugh so easily; something she definitely appreciated.

When they’d finished their food, Brian paid the bill like a gentleman and although most women might have put up an argument, Kelsi didn’t feel the need to. Maybe it wasn’t totally politically correct, but there was a part of her that felt like the man, at least for the first date, should be the one paying for the expenses. Of course, if there was a second, or possibly a third date, she’d offer to split whatever bills there were, but for now, she was content with Brian taking the duty of doing so.

As they got situated in the car, Brian’s phone vibrated and he quickly pulled the device from his pocket, checking to see who was calling or texting him. He mumbled a few words under his breath before quickly typing something out and turning to look at Kelsi.

“Well, I planned on taking you out for dessert, as well, but apparently Zacky is two seconds away from murdering Pinkly,” Brian told her, making her laugh; she could understand the way Zacky was feeling.

“It’s alright, Brian. You can take me home,” she said, giving him a smile.

As they began their drive, the topic of music was brought up. They talked about their favorite bands and lyrics, and of course, being in the music industry, Brian had a bit more insight to offer in the conversation. She hardly noticed that they were pulling to the front of the house, until Brian stopped the car.

“Well, thank you for taking me out, Mr. Gates,” Kelsi jested, making Brian laugh.

“You’re very welcome …”

“Thompson,” she informed him of her last name, all the while grinning.

“You’re very welcome, Thompson,” he winked, chuckling. “Maybe next time I’ll have Christ watch Pinkly.”

“Next time?”

“I did follow all of Alaska’s rules, didn’t I?” he smirked before unbuckling his seat belt and stepping out of the car. It took only a moment before Kelsi’s door was opened.

She laughed as she undid her own seat belt and stepped down from the car. She hitched her purse over her left shoulder. “She’ll be proud.”

He laughed and shut the door. He stood quietly for a moment, before swiping his tongue over his lips. “In all seriousness, I’d like to take you out again, Kelsi.”

Those words made her heartbeat skyrocket, and there was a wide smile itching to cross her face, but she was fighting against both actions. “Maybe you should ask me for my number then,” she teased.

He grinned as he held out his phone, letting her take it. Kelsi saved her number to the device before giving it back to him. “I don’t get to do the same?”

She shook her head. “I’ll get it when or if you decide to call me.”

He laughed, slipping the phone into his back pocket. “I’ll be calling,” he promised before taking her by surprise and pulling her into a hug.

It took her a moment to react, but Kelsi eventually returned the gesture. She couldn’t help but inhale the scent of his shirt, admiring the mix of cologne, and despite not having lit a single stick on their date, there was still a hint of cigarettes lingering on the fabric. Before she could get too carried away, however, she pulled out of his grasp and gave him a smile.

“I’ll be waiting,” she told him before turning and making her way up to the front door of her house. Before she could even reach for her keys, the door opened, revealing a very smiley Alaska.

“You’re back kind of early,” she said as Kelsi stepped through the door.

“Yeah, he let Zacky babysit his dog and apparently it isn’t going too well,” Kelsi explained as she kicked off her sandals.

“That’s because Brian spoils her. I swear, she’s worse than a kid,” Alaska laughed.

“Oh, look who’s talking!” Kelsi joked, making her friend roll her eyes.

“Anyways, how was the date?”

“Good.”

“Good? That’s it?”

“He followed all of your rules,” Kelsi stated, going towards her bedroom.

“Did he touch you in any no-no spots?”

She couldn’t help the laughter that began bubbling out of her mouth. “You’re such an idiot.”

Alaska smiled, coming to a stop right outside of the door. “But that’s really all you’re going to tell me? I don’t get any juicy details?”

“Nope! Good night, ‘Laska!” Kelsi grinned as she shut the door in her friend’s face before laughing and making her way further into the room.

As she changed out of her clothes and into her pajamas, she couldn’t keep a smile off her face. She was undeniably attracted to both Brian’s physical appearance and his personality, but they had only just had their first date. There was still a lot she didn’t know about him and a lot he didn’t know about her.

As she crawled into bed, she let out a content sigh and stared at her ceiling. One thing was for sure: she couldn’t wait for that phone call.