Every Christmas ➳ Ally Brooke

five

YOUR POV

"Give me the strongest stuff you got." I sighed, laying my hands on the counter of the bar, still trying to receive some heat into my body.

"Hard day?" The woman behind the bar asked, reaching out for a bottle to fill a shot glass up to the brim and slam it down in front of me.

I took the glass and poured the shot down my throat as fast as I could before sitting it back in front of me to signal for more. "You could say that." I gasped, feeling the stinging sensation still burn down my throat.

The woman quickly filled the glass and I took the other shot as fast as I could. "You wanna slow down there?"

"Who are you? A cop?"

"No." The bartender smirked, "but if you take another one of these shots then you'll probably forget your own name."

"That's probably what I need right now." I told her, leaning my head against my hand, propping it up against the counter.

The woman pulled a bottle of beer from behind the counter and set it in front of me, using a bottle opener to pop off the top, not leaving my gaze even for a second. "I know it probably won't help, but sometimes when I'm upset I like to rant. And who better to rant to than a stranger?"

I thought about it for a second and she was right. I was having such a hard time battling with my emotions about Normani. I loved her, but I could only take so much.

I took a swig of the beer and let it fall down my throat, adding to the haziness my mind was already creating because of those first two strong shots. "You really don't mind listening?"

She shook her head and smiled, "It's not like I'm going anywhere."

I took one more sip before letting out a very deep breath and spilling every single thing out of me that hurt my heart. "I came down from New York to visit my girlfriend's family. We've been on and off ever since we were in high school. I was actually gonna ask her to marry me tonight."

The bartender's eyes got wide, "Then what are you doing here?"

"She keeps accusing me of cheating on her and I never had. She never believes me or anything. It just hurts to have someone who doesn't want to love you like you love them, you know?" She nodded, and the corners of her mouth started turning down. "And she really thinks that I'm fucking with her friend. I mean, sure, she's hot, but she's one of my best friends. I have no interest in dating her." I took another big swig, trying to numb all the emotions.
The deep emotions about Normani and how I treat her so good, provide, go to work while she spends years on some tour bus with four other girls. She thinks I don't see all of this 'laurmani' shit.

Sure, Lauren is a damn dream boat. Green eyes that catch the light just right. A smile that could make everything okay. That one look she gives when she's either hella confused or annoyed. She was a great girl that I've had amazing times hanging out with.

We'd actually hung out before I had to come back to work. What do I do? It doesn't matter right now. Just focus on the story at hand.

Like I'd said, we'd all hung out together before I'd left to work, and Normani was actually really sad that I had to leave. I had got the best vacation of my life. For three full months, I got to travel around with Normani and the other girls, Lauren, Karla, Brooke, and Jane. They were all really chill and laid back. They loved to party when needed to or just hang out if we were too lazy. Everything was really crazy for them and they were really hidden. They performed and were begged for interviews, but all agreed that they'd had enough talent to decide to stay away from all of the publicity shit.

Sure, we'd be in little videos here and there just for fun and Karla had become really good friends with Jimmy Fallon so he'd talked her into a show or two. But they were all really distant from the world. They had decided to spend their money traveling place to place and having the best time of their lives. And the fans were cool with it. I mean, it was hard for the paparazzi sometimes. Lately the paps had been getting worse. Fifth Harmony had hit a new level with the 5H2 album and newly signed tour. Republic had offered them a shot after they had just been dropped from LA Reid. Life was great at the moment. Couldn't be better, since then, the name is still lit every single time they release another single, but they're still on their owns doing whatever they want.

Lauren had been wanting to hang out with me after she had left her family's house. She was stuck in there but her ass was very sneaky. For years upon years, she snuck many things by her bossy father Mike, including her on-again-off-again girlfriend, Selena. And when Lauren and I were able to hang out, she was very flirty but I didn't think twice about it. Now that I know Normani spends more than 22 hours with her every day, I can't help but believe something bigger happens on that bus than I know about.

The woman stopped my train of thought when she spoke up to talk to me, "Do you love her?"

"Well, I am asking her to marry me." I chuckled, eyeing the bartender down.

"That doesn't mean you love her."