Almost Easy

Shut Up For Like Five Minutes

Only Brian gets POV in this one! One more chapter I think..

Brian's POV

Not gonna lie. I was pretty pissed. Pissed that she totally disregarded what I'd said. And I wasn't going to go after her. But dammit if my conscience who sounded a lot like my dad didn't remind me that I fucking loved her.

I founded her in the pool lounge downstairs that I assumed rich ass old men used to hide from their wives when they weren't playing golf. The room smelled like expensive cigars.

She was standing there, back to me, balancing on one foot, scratching the back of her left left with her right. Just like she did when I first met her. She was engaged in conversation with Johnny. When he saw me the look on his face gave away that I was standing behind her. She must have asked what he was smiling at because he nodded in my direction and she turned.

She turned to see me, a tired expression on her face.

My feet moved on their own and I came to stand right in front of her. Looking down at her, which I know she loved.

"You need to stop walking away from me," I said rougher than I intended to.

"You're not the boss of me," she challenged but I was sure it was only because we had an audience. I hadn't noticed Matt and Val, or even Lacey and Matthew's date, before but suddenly I could feel the weight of their eyes on us.

"No I'm not but you're going to listen to what I have to say."

Her perfect eyebrows thundered together and she crossed her arms under her chest "We can't do this here. " she growled adorably.

"Why?" I took a good look at her, the woman I wanted to be with and then turned to look at my friends who were staring curiously "You think they don't know? They are our family. They fucking know everything."

She took a deep breath and was probably getting ready to blast me but instead she just glared. "So talk."

"My parents divorced when I was ten years old. And I never got over that shit. I mean I know they both found true love and remarried but I knew..."

"You came to talk to me about your parents? Seriously Brian what does this have to do..." she asked confused and frustrated.

"No, please, just hear me out." I interrupted "Seriously, shut up for like five minutes. Okay?"

Her green eyes glittered dangerously and she pursed her lips but she nodded for me to continue.

"After my mom left him, my dad....well, he's a decent looking guy, I guess"I cracked and was rewarded with a timid smile "and he knew how to turn on the charm. Had a lot of girlfriends. And believe it or not there were a whole slew of them. It was like he was trying to kill the pain of my mom leaving by going through as many women as he could. And... well I used to fall in love with every single one of them. I used to give my heart away, all the time. To all of them. I guess it wasn't the smartest thing to do but I missed my parents being together." I paused and took a deep breath. I felt like I was struggling to continue but I did. "The thing is before Suzy, sooner or later, every one of these women I loved left. Suzy, she is definitely a keeper and she changed my dad but I guess I was already fucked up. I don't know. I learned early on that love didn't always last. It made me tough. That probably didn't help in my relationship with Michelle because I settled for what I thought a relationship should be and I never gave her my full heart. I messed that relationship up and I made bad decisions and Lord knows, she and I paid for them. "

Zoey cleared her throat and interrupted "You deserved a better, Brian, a better past but I can't change what happened to you. Those years shaped who you are and I can't fix that. I can't fix you."

I moved closer to her lifting my hand to touch her face. "I don't need to be fixed anymore. That's already done. I..."

"Brian, don't.."she said huskily but without conviction.

I pulled back a bit "You're right. You deserve more. You deserve someone who loves you enough."

Hurt flickered across her face and she tried to turn away but I placed my hand on the side of her face to turn her gaze back to me.

"The thing is, I don't just think I love you. Or that I might love you. I'm in love with you. I was just too afraid to admit it before. I've never loved anyone the way I love you. I was in love with the minute I heard you singing that first day at your house when we were kids. I was in love with the minute I saw you harass Matt. I kissed you on your sixteenth birthday because I couldn't stand the thought of anyone else being your first. And I acted like a jerk when I first saw you on that boat because I was mad that you'd left. I knew you had a crush on me but you'd gone off to school and I was afraid that you'd forgotten about me. And I made love to you that day because I hated the idea of anyone else being your first. But thank God you lied about that. The day I found out you were married, I was crushed. And I'm not even going to try to lie that day I rescued you in the restaurant was one of the best days of my life. Of course, I didn't mean to marry you in Vegas but I never saw a reason to complain."

Her green eyes widened and she turned a delicious shade of red. Ha, I stunned her. Point to Brian.

I continued "If I haven't fucked things up too bad, I want to be with you, not just for today or for tomorrow or even for the next six months. But forever for however long that lasts."

She didn't speak. She tried to look away again because she was going to cry. I tilted her chin to look up me and I could see the tears glistening on her eyelashes.

I leaned in and kissed her. "Marry me, for real. Be mine, for real." I said softly against her lips. "Don't make me have said all this embarrassing shit in front of the guys for no reason."

"Ugh" she said sniffling before the she started to sob "You're a jerk for making me ugly cry in front of them."

"Yeah but you'll fix your makeup and be okay," I looked over at the guys "These assholes will never let me live this down. Don't make it all for nothing, Zoey."

She shook her head "Why do you have to make things so very hard? I hate when you do that."

"Do what?" I said giving her a smirk and pulling her into my arms.

"Make it very hard to say no to you,"she complained.

"Then say yes," I said looking into her eyes, leaning over to kiss her before she could answer.

And then our audience busted out in applause.