Too Scared to Love Again

A heavy sigh slipped passed the tiny gap between Brian’s lips, meanwhile he picked up the cigarette that had been abandoned rather lazily at the corner of his ashtray. He had one hand wrapped around his half-empty beer, and the other holding the cigarette he was nonchalantly tapping over the tray.

“Mind if I sit down?” a female voice asked, as the guitarist looked into a pair of light green curious eyes.

The woman had dirty blonde hair that slipped down her back, and she was wearing a ripped tank top along with tight shorts that merely covered her butt. Brian didn’t hesitate as he shrugged and watched her slip into the other side of the booth, placing her Margarita in front of her as she then fished for her own packet of cigarettes.

Brian stumped the rest of his cigarette, noticing that he had reached the bottom, before he started searching for another one, realizing that he was basically chain-smoking now.

“Here.” the woman across from him said, as she’d seen him search for a smoke for a little too long now.

“Thanks…” Brian muttered, his dark eyes meeting her gaze in a very brief moment.

“I’m Juliet.” she introduced herself, placing her elbows on top of the table and watching as he placed his hands in front of the cigarette.

“Brian.”

“I know.” she half-sniggered, the guitarist looking at her framed cleavage and realizing that he really believed the top did her body justice.

“You’re a fan?” Brian guessed, taking a swig from his drink.

“You could say so,” Juliet sniggered, pushing a stray of hair out of her face and exposing the tiny deathbat she had tattooed behind her earlobe. “I got it a while ago.”

“Wow,” Brian dropped. “That’s awesome.”

“Oh, you better think so. It fucking killed me.” Juliet shrugged, and then took a drag from her smoke.

“You tell me!” the guitarist announced, requesting her attention upon his impressive sleeves.

“That shit is good.” the brunette admitted.

“You have anything else?”

“Oh, you bet!” Juliet chuckled.

“Like what?” he cleared his throat, suddenly very interested in Juliet’s artwork, as it pushed his attention over to something else than Lynn for once.

“I have an eagle here,” she said, pointing at her ribcage. “And an octopus on my shoulder blade.” Juliet added, and tried to remove a piece of her article in order to show him.

Brian could barely see the tip of the sea animal, meanwhile he nodded slowly. “Cool.”

“I like the Marlboro tattoo.” Juliet admitted, allowing her hand to gently grip his and run her thumb over his ink.

“It’s a good one,” Brian sniggered, feeling her skin against his, as he looked down at her rather pale fingers. “No ink here?”

“Not yet.” Juliet reassured him.

“Can I see the eagle?” Brian asked, and then picked up his beer and chugged the rest of his drink.

“Of course!” she responded, waiting for him to move over to her side of the couch, as Brian gently allowed his fingers to climb under her shirt and lift it until he reached her dark lace bra.

The man was barely looking at the tattoo as he noticed her full breasts that were currently unavailable for him due to the bra she was wearing. Juliet seemed to notice what he was looking at, as she placed a hand on top of his and slowly guided him under her bra and allowed him to fully feel her underneath her underwear.

Brian’s fingers rolled over her breast, the tip of his fingers rolling over her pierced nipple, before he took his time to gently massage her spot, earning a sharp breath from her.

“God.” Juliet half-moaned a little.

Brian smirked to himself.

♠♠♠

“Okay, get your fucking shit together.” Lynn hissed at herself, and then let go of her pen. She was sitting with her legs crossed in her bed, curled papers all over her wooden floor and her notebook in front of her.

She had been trying for merely an hour to find the pros and cons of talking to Brian about her feelings, and so far it felt as though she was just digging holes into her own head.

“Pros of believing that I like him…” Lynn drummed her fingertips on top of the book. “People will stop bitching about it all the time?” she concluded. “But fuck… that’s not a real pro. Maybe I’ll get something for the first time in forever?” she tried again.

Lynn tore the page out of her book and curled it as tight as she could in the palm of her hand. The page turned into a tiny ball and was soon thrown onto the floor, as her fingers disappeared into her dark locks.

A heavy groan fell from her lips, probably for the hundredth time that day. She was frustrated beyond belief. Her entire body was shaking with anger, and she had no idea what to do about it.

Do I like Brian?

The thought of it brought a grimace unto her face, and she shook her head in disgust. Brian represented everything Lynn considered negative about a man. He was way over his head when it came to his confidence. He was cocky as hell, and he was genuinely convinced that every female wanted to rub their underwear in his face.

The idea of liking someone that represented that made her stomach twist.

Meanwhile that was the Brian she had met at first, he was constantly trying to prove her otherwise. Meanwhile he was way over his head, he was also a helpful hand every time she needed it. He would also be the person to drive her to the hospital when necessary, and the person to watch her crash on his couch and not try to take advantage of that.

The qualities she’d seen in Brian that she liked, happened to be a lot of the same qualities she’d seen in her previous fiancée, and perhaps that was the reason why she’d hated him so much. Every good quality in Brian happened to be the same qualities she thought Carter had, and the idea of giving into that again, scared her.

It scared the living hell out of her.