Girls, Breaking Hearts

John was leaving for a two-month tour in three days, and those three remaining days he planned to spend with the one girl he loved. She was plopped on the couch, as she had been for over an hour, her eyes focused on the TV watching a series John wasn’t keeping up with. She had taken his blanket with her, and it covered her entire body from her toes to her chin. Even her hands were cooped inside them, like she was actually freezing and John knew exactly why. Her body temperature was rapid. One minute she’d want to turn the AC down, the next she was begging to have more blankets. It was silly but John found it cute, the way she would turn the AC up and go back to watching, only to stand up after a few minutes and turn it down again.

But it wasn’t what John was focused on right now. He concentrated on her outfit, the one she actually had on besides that blanket, which was a shirt of his that went all the way down to her knees, and nothing else. He knew this because she didn’t put anything else when she got up from his bed, and it was doing certain things to him.

He clucked his tongue against his cheek, a smirk finding its way to his lips as he plumped down next to her, carefully pulling the blanket away and pressing kisses to her jaw.

“John-” she groaned, trying to push him off lightly, but not really meaning it. “I’m cold-”

“I know.”

“John I’m watching and I’m cold,” she whined, but didn’t put up a fight when he finally managed to remove the blanket. He moved to her neck, grazing on her skin and she moaned softly, tearing her eyes away from the TV now. “John...”

“Babe I can think of other ways to keep you warm,” he murmured, smirking down at her as he moved to the other side of the couch, yanking her ankles towards him. She gasped, ignoring the way her heart was frantically beating. She knew this side of John, and she loved it. Every time he came home from tour he would be sweet, showering her with romantic kisses and passionate sex and then after a few days horny John would surface, that aggressive persona that fucked her brains out. She could see his eyes twinkling in mischief as he started trailing kisses up her thigh. She’d completely blocked out the noise emanating from the TV, now only focused on her breathing which was getting more intense by the second as John continued to tease her.

He lifted the shirt up, not removing it but simply leaving it up to her hip. He planted menacing kisses on the inside of her thighs, then sucked on her skin, and repeated the action three more times before letting his fingertips dance across her thighs. She instinctively bucked her hips forwards when his forefinger reached her opening, but he was quick to back down. She moaned in frustration, only to have it cut off when he connected their lips in one sudden movement and kissed her roughly. She could feel his growing bulge against her bare thigh, and she moved her hand to grab his package but he was quick to block her by grabbing her wrist, and pushing it behind her. His hand roamed her thigh, and once again his finger found its way to her opening but this time it didn’t just tease. He rubbed, first slowly, and then escalating quickly as he dipped into her. One finger first, then another, then another. She could feel herself starting to crack, but she didn’t want to just yet, when there was one part of her that needed attention too. She lifted the shirt up, showing her breasts and his mouth quickly covered one, sucking and biting and his hand, squeezing the other. He was doing so much at the same time and she couldn’t take it, not anymore. She moaned, moaned, moaned his name over and over, grabbing his hair and letting herself collapse.

She hadn’t even settled yet, when suddenly John was thrusting himself inside her, hard, hard, harder. Faster, faster, faster and harder each thrust and she moaned in pleasure, clutching to his hair tighter as he alternated between squeezing her breast and her ass.

She didn’t even question it when he finished, erupting inside of her, and pulling out a few moments later his organ completely bare, obviously devoid of a condom. She didn’t think to question it all, she didn’t have the energy to so she just panted, releasing his hair and setting her hands on her stomach. For a few minutes, no one between them spoke, they just continued to breathe heavily, laying there both on their sides with their bodies still pressed together and now Brooke was nowhere near cold.

John pulled her into his arms, sighing as he pressed his lips on her shoulder. “I love you,” he whispered. “Shit I don’t know how I can last two months.”

“You can use your hand,” she joked, easing onto his chest. He laughed, and she felt the vibration of his laughter against her back.

“Yes, I can do that,” he said nibbling at her ear. “But who will I hold like this, after? This is my favourite part.”

And she knew he was being honest. John mostly held her like that, especially the night of getting back from the tour when he’d be so excited to see her. A lot of people probably thought that they fucked the very day he came home, but it wasn’t like that at all. The first night, after a few passionate kisses then and there, he would simply hold her like that and they would talk until either fell asleep. The second, a lot of touching, then him turning the kisses down to innocent and recreate the first night. Now the third day, in the morning, he craved attention, and just that for the rest of the day. It was a routine she didn’t think she would ever get tired of it.

So she didn’t say anything, about the fact that he’d forgotten to wear a condom, or the possibility that one little thing could arise out of that quick fuck. She simply laid in his arms, content and peaceful, and soon, that incident slipped her mind.

~

The nights prior to John leaving for tour were always peaceful and intimate. They would spend the whole day together, but she wouldn’t stay the night. She would leave before midnight, and after giving him a minute-long tight hug, she’d call him when she got home, and they would simply talk until it was time for him to leave. The minute they put the phone down, all her insecurities would come creeping back in, and usually she distracted herself with a book, a new series to watch, or her friends, all the while keeping her phone close to her in case he’d text. And he always did, always updated her where he was, what they were doing, how amazing the crowd had been. John missed her more than she missed him, it was obvious, and the fact that his friends didn’t know about her heightened that. Now that they did, he wasn’t sure he missed her less.

He was on his fourth beer, whining to Kennedy and Peter about how much he missed his girlfriend. They continued to let him talk, relay stories and their previous conversations. Soon he started talking about how soft the strands of her hair were, and by that point Kennedy had had enough.

“Just call her and tell her that,” he groaned. “I don’t want to hear it anymore- you’re borderline creepy!”

John sighed as Kennedy and Peter continued to make fun of him, calling him lame and obsessive and gay. He wanted to call her, but it was 2 AM in Tempe and she had to take an exam in the morning. He didn’t want to bother her, and she studied the whole night so they hung up at 10 PM, after an hour of talking. He had only been away for two days, yet he already missed her so much, and he knew he would continue to, especially since her sister was visiting in a few days and of course, Brooke would be allotting time for sister-bonding as well. John wasn’t spiteful of that, he knew how much Brooke missed Bailey and vice versa, and he loved being on the road, he loved travelling and seeing the world, but the first few days were always the hardest. All he wanted to do was take her with him, have her see firsthand the tour life, for her to be able to experience it for herself. But that was nearly impossible, and he hated that. Times like these he hated their relationship being a secret- although now that their friends knew, he couldn’t help but want more. It was like sleep, naps sufficed for deprivation, even those fifteen-minute ones, but once you’ve had ten hours of sleep or longer, you’d end up wanting more.

It was how John felt right now. He wanted more. And whatever he felt always escalated when he was drunk.

Kennedy and Peter stood up from where they were sitting to go to their bunks, leaving John still distracted and staring straight ahead, thinking of what to do. Well for one he wanted to announce his relationship to the whole world, wanted to confirm and clarify that he was, indeed, in-love and happy- but of course he wouldn’t do that without Brooke’s go signal, which she couldn’t give over a phone, he knew that of course. Maybe he was just too drunk to think properly right now.

He sighed, standing up and walking over to his bunk, deciding to sleep it off, hoping tomorrow would be a better day.

~

“Mom and Dad are flying back to Texas after Christmas,” Brooke stated, sipping her drink as she sat across her older sister. “Are you coming with them?”

Bailey Shelton was back, at least until the year ends. She had taken a two-month vacation from her life in New York, bringing along her fiancé with her, who her family adored. Justin Hill was a photographer, and the guy-next-door. He was the one guy that made Bailey get her shit together and finally settle down, so it just made sense that the Sheltons loved him. However, the sisters couldn’t help but find irony in the fact that their boyfriends were the same age, though it would have been funnier if Bailey was dating a minor.

“Maybe.” Bailey shrugged, raising her eyebrows at her little sister. Ever since Brooke told her that she was dating an older guy, and she reprimanded the younger, they hadn’t made-up, only acting civil when their whole family were Skype-ing and now that Bailey was back, they were determined to keep the act up- but Bailey was hell bent on fixing things, and despite being tamer now, she was still stubborn.

Brooke simply nodded, allowing the silence to settle in. Bailey had invited her that morning to go around the town, just the two of them, and of course she accepted, all the while knowing it would be awkward. But she also knew they had to fix their fight, officially talk it out and not just yell at each other.

“Okay, let’s cut to the chase,” Bailey announced, letting out a deep breath as she slumped her back against the seat. “Tell me how it started.”

Brooke sighed, nodding once more as she kept her gaze on her drink. She grabbed on to the napkin and tore it to small pieces, feeling her nerves kick in. “I was the one who, um, pursued him,” she confessed. “I’ve liked him for a long time, and- I mean he’s one of the few guys I’ve ever liked, so I...I just decided to give it a try, and I had no idea it was going to happen like that. But it did. I mean he refused me at first, but then we started talking everyday, and we just, connected. We still do. So he asked if I wanted to give it a try, and I said yes, and, there.”

The older sighed, crossing her arms over her chest and keeping her eyebrows arched. “And I’m assuming he’s your first?” she asked, knowing the answer would be yes but not necessarily wanting it to be, of course. She was protective of Brooke, she was like her third parent especially now that she was tamed. Although she understood that teenagers would be teenagers and would still make mistakes, she believed she needed to take a stand. She needed to have a firm hand on the matter. She wanted her sister to be with someone worth it. But then again, no matter how much she trusted Brooke, she didn’t know if she would ever consider any guy ‘worth it’ for her baby sister.

Brooke nodded once more, this time meeting Bailey’s eyes. Her eyes were pleading for her older sister to understand her, believe her. “I love him, Bailey,” she said sincerely. “Maybe this is the young kind of love, or whatever, but I love him. And I don’t want to end it.”

“I’m not asking you to,” she said softly, sighing deeply. “And even if I did, you won’t listen anyway. I trust your judgment, Brooke, if you think this guy is worth it, fine- but you have to understand that you’re my little sister; I don’t want you to make my mistakes and end up getting hurt. If I could, I’d protect you from every bad thing out there. I know it’s cliché but I’m just looking out for you, that’s not an excuse.”

“I know,” Brooke quickly said. “But I- I just get defensive when it comes to him- that’s why I yelled at you, but I swear I’m not acting up, I don’t have any reason to. It just happened.”

“I’m sorry I yelled as well, you know how I get sometimes.”

“Yeah I do,” Brooke said, chuckling, causing Bailey to crack a smile. “You’re permanently hormonal.”

“I am,” she accepted, nodding. “But I do want to meet this guy, Brooke- I promise I’ll play nice but I want to meet him, make sure he’s serious about you and not just fucking around.”

Biting her lip, Brooke nodded shyly, already knowing Bailey would say this but she still didn’t know how to tell her. But she figured she had to do it now, rather than make things harder for John. “Here’s the thing,” she slowly started, hoping her sister wouldn’t freak out as loud as she hoped, “it’s John, Shane’s brother.”

Bailey was silent for a moment. She studied her sister’s features, sensing the sincerity in them, but she still didn’t want to believe it. She was utterly speechless, her mouth slowly gaping open by the second as she let it sink in. “John the Fifth?” she hissed, keeping her voice low as she leaned over the table. “The musician? As in the oldest son of Jenny and Jay?” she continued, not really expecting a response as it was all rhetorical. “Fuck, Brooke- what’s wrong with Shane? Why not just him, he’s the one your age, he’s your friend-”

“And we’re just that, friends,” Brooke insisted, cutting her sister off. “It’s not about age, it’s about how we feel, and-”

“And John O’Callaghan is feeling you up-”

“Bailey!”

“Oh shit, did he like you when he was babysitting you?!” Bailey snapped, scoffing as she practically went ballistic. “Fuck, I swear if he did I am going to-”

“Bailey, no!” Brooke exclaimed, heat rising to her cheeks as she tried to calm her sister down. “He didn’t try anything then, God no, please just- please, stop.”

“What, you can’t ask me to stop!” Bailey grunted, slumping on her chair once more. “I mean, for fuck’s sakes, it’s John. Did you know that I pranked him before? Pretended I was going to bust them for smoking pot, and God, he was too much of a pussy that-”

“Bailey!”

“No, it’s true he was a pussy, he started freaking out and shit and even his friends are all sissies,” she insisted, almost angrily. “And now what, he thinks he’s cool enough to have these tattoos and songs and my sister as his secret dicksucker?” Her eyes then widened, as if she just realized what she’d just said. “Oh God, please don’t tell me that you’ve-”

“Bailey!” Brooke covered her face with her hands this time, wanting nothing but to end the conversation. She was entirely mortified. “I’m his girlfriend, not his fuck buddy or whatever, please stop, you’re making me uncomfortable.”

Bailey scoffed, glaring at her sister and huffing in annoyance. “Whatever,” she snapped. “I want to have a talk with him- and don’t even try to talk me out of it because I will, one way or another, and it will be better for all parties involved if you don’t interfere- and granted, I will not play nice.”