When (he)arts Prevail

9

Brian greeted Kaylee in training shorts and a black t-shirt when he opened the door to his house. He immediately stepped aside to let her in, but didn't let her go too far, pulling her in for a hug.Kaylee relaxed for the first time that day, wrapped up in his embrace. She allowed her eyes to close for a moment and a deep breath to fill her lungs. As usual, his scent just brought a sense of comfort to her, something she had missed the first couple of years after Nate's death.

"I ordered from that awesome Indian place we found out the other week." Brian's voice broke through Kaylee's thoughts. "And I've got a bunch of salty, fried goodies for you."

Kaylee shook with a chuckle. "That's awesome, thank you."

They walked over to the living room where Kaylee was met with a banquet already prepared on the center table with the food Brian detailed, two bottles of red wine and two wine glasses.

She froze at the entrance, eyes wide in surprise. "Wow. I was not expecting that." Opening the bag hanging from her shoulder, Kaylee took out yet another bottle of wine.

She placed it next to the others and sat down on the couch, groaning out a sigh. Brian grabbed the stereo remote to put on some music, the lights already dimmed down to a comfortable setting, and proceeded to fill two glasses of wine. He handed one to Kaylee before settling down next to her on the couch with a glass for himself. He, too, let out a sigh as he leaned back.

Kaylee whirled the wine before bringing it to her lips. She hummed at the taste.

"I thought you'd be with Sebastian, today."

Kaylee groaned.

"It's that bad?" Brian let out a dry chuckle.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I don't want to be the one to say I told you so, but..."

"I told you so," Kaylee mocked.

"Yeah..."

Kaylee took a long sip at the wine. "It's fine."

"You're better off without him, anyway."

Brian probably had a point. Sebastian was far from perfect. But no one was perfect and he had things playing in his favor. He was stable, Kaylee's parents approved of him — which was a rare thing — he was ambitious, he took her on good and fun dates. On the other hand, he was a bit disconnected, lacked depth, and Kaylee had always felt he didn't really see her.

"I'm doomed in this life. I'll be single forever."

Brian scoffed. "You really wanna talk about it?"

Kaylee's lips curled up a little. Brian had been on and off girlfriends since Alyssa, none lasting more than a few months. Pretty much the same as Kaylee. "You're only single because you want to," she said, peeking up at him. "I'm sure girls line up for you."

"Guys line up for you, too."

"All idiots."

"Well, maybe the girls lining up for me are idiots, too."

Kaylee laughed, smacking Brian's arm. "Maybe we're the idiots."

Brian raised his glass, performing an air toast. "Touché." He downed the wine in one gulp, grimacing at the end. "God, I'm old for this."

"Why would you drink it like that?" Kaylee put in with a chuckle. "You're supposed to savor the wine."

Kaylee and Brian talked nonstop the entire night, as if they hadn't seen each other for weeks. They talked about Brian's music studio, the one he owned with some of the guys since last year. Brian told her about the new local band they were helping produce their debut album. They talked about Kaylee's job, but she thought it a depressing subject, so she quickly changed to other more interesting topics.

The wine certainly helped loose their tongues and it definitely softened their hearts. Kaylee didn't remember the last time she had laughed so much. And this was exactly what she needed today, to just sit back and relax.

Two bottles down, Brian got up to pick up his guitar from across the room.

"What are you doing?" Kaylee asked with a light laugh. She was so dizzy she could barely see straight and Brian was going to play guitar?

Brian sat down on the arm of the couch, his fingers grazing the strings of the guitar, positioning, testing. A soft chord sounded. He tuned the guitar, and tested another chord. He tuned some more and strung another chord, and another. He paused then, repositioning his fingers. And then restarted playing, this time the chords working together in a beautiful melody. Kaylee stood there, staring at Brian and at his hands as he played.

When he finally stopped after a few minutes and looked up at her dazzled face, Kaylee didn't know what to say. She was speechless.

"Wow, Brian..." It was all she managed to let out.

Brian put down the guitar and ruffled his hair with his hand. He did that whenever he was nervous or embarrassed. "It needs work."

"I know I'm not in my right mind, right now, but that was amazing."

He offered Kaylee a lazy smile and slid down from the arm of the couch, sitting normal. 

"Thanks."

"Don't you ever get the feeling that you should be the one writing music instead of producing it for others?"

"I could ask you the same question."

Kaylee didn't do anything music-related, obviously, but she knew what he meant. Her job was to come up with designs for other people's projects. It had been a long time since she did anything for herself.

"It's late."

Brian sent her a pointed look, knowing perfectly well she was avoiding his question.

"I'm tired," she whined.

It really was late.

Brian rolled his eyes but lifted himself from the couch. When Kaylee followed she lost her balance for a second at the dizziness washing over her.

Brian held her elbow softly, helping her stabilize. "Maybe you should take an uber."

Kaylee looked up at him then, their eyes locking. He was close enough that she felt his warmth. "Maybe I should," she agreed.

Yet neither Brian nor her moved for a moment. Maybe she shouldn't had drunk so much wine. It was affecting her thoughts. It was Brian who cut the tension by clearing his throat and dropping his hand from her elbow. "I'm gonna go get you a ride."

As he walked away, Kaylee let out the breath she didn't know she was holding and helped take the bottles of wine and the remaining snacks to the kitchen. Anything to keep her distracted from whatever was happening.

As her ride finally arrived, Brian walked Kaylee to the door. She gave him a hug before leaving. 

"Thank you for tonight."

"I missed you," Brian whispered against her hair.

Kaylee raised her head, a slight frown forming.

"I missed your laugh," he clarified.

The cab honked outside saving Kaylee from having to reply. But she had missed her laugh, too.

Brian unlocked the door and opened it with a sigh, leaning against it. "Text me when you get home."

Kaylee promised she would and walked to the waiting cab, waving at Brian once inside.

Resting back against her seat, Kaylee realized she desperately needed some sleep.