The Desired Effect

Linger

Friday 23rd December - Las Vegas, Nevada
"Are your eyes open? I can't tell" Poppy whispered. The cool early morning air, chilly against their skin. They lay facing one another, oblivious to their hands loosely holding onto one another. Poppy tried to stifle her childish giggles which only made Brandon smile more in return.
"Mmaybe" His deep, husky voice rumbled. There was a pause while Poppy tried to figure out if he was lying or not. She moved closer to inspect, forgetting how close their faces now were.
"They are open!" She declared, finally sure that she was staring into his open and rather scary, dark eyes. Brandon chuckled and rolled onto his back. "Your eyes are so dark, they just look like black holes" Poppy added, adjusting her position so that her chin was resting on her arms.
"I'll keep them closed then shall I?" Brandon sassed, sliding his arms up to rest the back of his head on his palms.
"Nooo!" Poppy defended, reaching out a hand as if to physically stop him from doing so. The silence remained for a moment. It was a comfortable, tired silence. Poppy gazed at the silhouette of the man beside her. In a haze, she reached her hand out towards his face. She swallowed any worries she had and softly ran her finger along his jawline. He didn't flinch, it was almost as if he expected to feel her touch. With the touch of an angel, she ran the finger along his smooth skin, feeling the tiny dashes of stubble tickle her finger tip. From his jaw, her finger travelled north towards his cheekbone. Her eyes followed her finger as it moved slowly and carefully. Poppy was pulled from her trance when she felt a hand grab hers. His bigger, stronger hand had grasped hers, taking it in and holding it captive. His domineering behaviour soon turned gentle and tender.
"We should get up and get ahead with that track" He groggily suggested, a hint of reluctance in his tone. Poppy was too absorbed to answer right away. Her mind was lagging.
"Um, yeah sure" she agreed, pulling her hand free from his. They sighed in unison then proceeded to get themselves on their feet.
"I reckon we'll have the track done tonight" Brandon declared proudly before he disappeared out of the office, leaving Poppy alone to try and figure out what was going on by herself.

The pair made the most of the early morning and were well ahead by time the boys arrived a couple of hours later. They strode in one at a time, each clutching fresh coffees in their hands. Jake carrying an extra 2 in a holder for the dynamic duo.
"How's it going?" Jordan boomed, bursting into the mixing room. Poppy continued to tap at the desktop, too engrossed in the task to remove her eyes from it.
"Really Good!" Brandon responded, taking the coffees from Jake, "thanks man" Brandon carefully set down the drinks before turning back to the gang. "Yeah, um, listen to it, see what you think" Brandon suggested, "I don't think we'll be too long today" they each raised their eyebrows, pleasantly surprised news of the progress made.

So that's what they did, the group sat around the monitors and listened intently to the track. Ensuring they listened to it properly they played it twice.
"I-is that? Pop, is, Poppy is that? You?" Chris stammered like a confused child, brow furrowed. Jordan and Jake each shared the same expression. A contrast to Brandon's rather satisfied and pleased expression.
"Damn girl!" Jordan quipped, as they each flipped their gaze to a slightly uncomfortable Poppy. "Is there anything you can't do?!" He continued, before they all laughed and nodded in agreement. Poppy did her best to shrug the attention off and instead turned her focus to the track to avoid her blushing cheeks giving away her embarrassment.

The session was productive as anticipated. It helped that everyone was in a positive, helpful mood. By lunch time they had eventually achieved their goal. 2 tracks fully recorded and mixed ready to be finalized and approved by the label with a bunch of high quality demos also in the tank.
"Are you sure you're ok with packing up by yourselves?" Jordan queried as they headed out for lunch.
"Oh yeah, don't worry about it, I find it therapeutic" Brandon admitted, locking the studio door behind him, the others slowly wandering towards their cars.
"And I have to do whatever he tells me so I guess it's ok with me too" Poppy joked, dramatically rolling her eyes, causing the contingent to erupt into laughter.
"See you there!" Chris called out the window of his car as they each began to jump in their cars and pull off, the crinkling of the dirt signifying their departure.

One by one they petered into the friendly, little restaurant. They frequented the place quite often or at least Chris did and so they were offered the best table, a spacious booth near the TV and air con yet far enough away from other patrons.
"What you doing for the big day then Poppy?" Jake quizzed, sipping his coke. She awkwardly avoided eye contact, embarrassed by the truth she would have to share. Brandon's eyes instantly flicked to her. He had been too absorbed by work to ask.
"Um not a lot actually" she finally broke the silence. The boys shared a look of disappointment.
"Damn, how come?" Jordan piped up, concern spread across his face.
"I don't have any family" she shrugged, "the only friends I have are in New York" she focused her eyes on the straw that sat in her coke.
"What about us?" Jordan persisted.
"Yeah, surely we can do something, we can't have you home alone on Christmas Day!" Chris suggested, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table.
"Let's do something in the afternoon!" Jordan continued, "what d'you wanna do Poppy?" Their attention returned to her. Brandon watched sheepishly as the planning began.
" I don't really mind, just something fun" she answered, a smile slowly curling at the edges of her mouth.
"we're in Vegas baby, everything is fun!" Jake chuckled.
"We'll get dressed up and go to a casino, it won't be so busy, we can be enjoy the delights of Vegas like tourists!" Jordan announced excitedly, almost like an over eager child. Brandon simply remained quiet and watched the scene unfold.
"I'd love that" Poppy nodded, now beaming, giving her approval. Then right on time the planning meeting was interrupted by the arrival of delicious smelling lunch.

The gang tucked into their celebratory meals, gradually each unwinding as time pressed on. They settled the bill then headed back out to their vehicles, not without some friendly banter with the waiting staff on the way out. Brandon had insisted on the others calling it a day but Poppy insisted that it'd be her responsibility to sort the monitors and software out. So, the boys finally set off for home while Brandon and Poppy set off for the studio for the final time that year.

"It shouldn't take too long," announced Brandon as he unlocked the door and proceeded to push it open, "I'll square the live room away, you do what you need to do in the mixing room" he finished as the pair wandered in. A cool confidence oozed from both of them, as if they'd done this a thousand times before. Just as planned the pair of them got on with the task ahead of them but not before Brandon could put the radio full blast to keep the mood high. Poppy could hear Brandon humming away next door but did her best to focus on her task. Meanwhile Brandon was in his own little world, tidying and straightening up the little world he had built, ever so often stealing glances of Poppy who was tapping away at the computer or sliding and turning faders and dials.

Poppy finished her half of the bargain first and so wandered into the live room to help Brandon.
"I'm nearly done as well actually" Brandon admitted, rolling up a cable with precision.
"I'll give you a hand" she insisted, joining him on the floor, a mass of tangled cables between them. They sat quietly with focused eyes. As Poppy got herself comfortable on the floor and began ravelling the first cable, she suddenly felt the thick atmosphere. Something about the air between them had changed instantly and Poppy couldn't quite put her finger on it. On the other hand, Brandon was very aware. He wasn't sure of what he was feeling but he was definitely feeling something. Every other moment he gazed across at Poppy as if stealing one more glance would give him the guidance or courage he needed.

Then, his courage took him by surprise. He tactfully grasped the opposite end of Poppy's cable. He confidently pulled it towards him, doing his best to act surprised when it pulled her closer to him. His eager eyes locked with her startled ones. The moment lingered and the space between them diminished. His right hand now cradled her face, his long fingers delicately placed upon her sharp jawline. Her lips just millimeters away from his. Their eyes fluttered open and closed for a moment, both willing for something to happen. Instead it didn't. Just as quickly as the situation escalated, it deescalated. Brandon was back at a safe distance. Both sat their awkwardly staring at the last few tangled cables that now separated them.
"Just these to do now, then I'll drive you home" Brandon coughed and did his best to regain the flow of the conversation.
"Cool, I say 10 minutes then" Poppy added confidently, doing her best to salvage the awkwardness.