I Dated Brian Quinn

Chapter One Part Two

Jacklyn sat in the driver's seat of her Jeep, pizza in her lap. She flipped the box open and took out one of the veggie loaded slices. After a large bite she laid it back in the box.

She reached over to her purse and pulled out her cell phone. A call to her best friend would be just what she needed. Sarah-Lynn would listen to Jackie complain for hours about the guys and never judge her when she went right back to working for them the next day.

"Hello?" Sarah-Lynn's voice came over the speaker phone.

"Hey, Sar." Jackie took another bite of pizza and spoke with her mouth full. "Can you help me bury three bodies?"

"What did they do this time?" Sarah-Lynn laughed.

"I had a date. And Brian stole my clothes. I really liked this guy, Sar. Plus, I was going to get laid." Jackie pouted even though her friend couldn't see her.

She had flirted with this guy at the coffee shop everyday for weeks. The sexual tension was so thick between the two of them, she knew they wouldn't have lasted more than a few hours together before they were looking for a place to fuck.

"You do realize they do it because one of them wants to date you, right?" Sarah-Lynn interrupted Jackie's thoughts on coffee boy's body.

"That's ridiculous." Jackie dismissed Sarah's explanation while taking another bite of the pizza.

"Ok, Jackie. I've been around you and the guys together before. If you can't see the lovesick puppy dog expression that Brian constantly carries on his face, then you have no right dating in the first place."

"Brian is not in a place where he can date right now." Jackie closed the pizza box and sat it in the passenger's seat. "Besides, I'm not his type. He needs those bad girls to get his adrenaline going." She thought about the struggles Brian had with women in his past and she knew he didn't want to commit to a relationship.

"Are you kidding? It's not that he doesn't want to date. Brian hasn't dated because of you. And you are one of those bad girls. Whether you admit it or not."

"A few piercings and tattoos does not make me a bad girl." Jackie laughed for the first time since her confrontation with the guys.

"No, but whisky and a bitchy attitude does." Sarah-Lynn could barely get the words out between the laughing and gasping for air.

"You're not helping. I could have stayed at Brian's and got laughed at." Jackie wasn't amused with Sarah and scowled out the windshield. "And I can't help it that I like whiskey. It helps me deal with the job. And the bitchy attitude is because of what I have to put up with."

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry. Tell me what happened. From the beginning." Sarah-Lynn got her laughing under control and listened to her friend.

Jackie told her about the guys getting back early from their Las Vegas trip and how Brian had came to the bathroom to let her know they were there. Then she gave her a run down of confronting the guys and eventually having to leave while wearing no bra and oversized sweats.

"He's got it bad, Jacks." Sarah-Lynn told her. "If I were you, I'd drive him mad until he breaks down and reveals his feelings. Make him want you so bad he can't resist crossing that line."

"Thanks for listening, Sar. I've got to go. I'm heading home now." The two women said their goodbyes and hung up.

Jackie cranked the jeep and started to put it in drive before remembering she had taken a message earlier for Brian.

"Fuck!" She turned the jeep off again, grabbed the notebook she kept notes in and got out.

Even though she was mad, she still had to do her job. The message was from a brand company that wanted to do business with Brian specifically. It wasn't unusual for the guys to have their calls rerouted to her phone when they were away doing shows. It helped the guys out while she sifted through the unimportant calls for them.

Brian, more than the other guys, hated brand deals. This one was big though, and she had promised the gentleman that she spoke to that she would deliver the message personally. She'd tell Brian about it and then let him decide how to follow up.

She ran up the steps leading to his house and walked right in. Brian stuck his head around the wall that separated them when he heard the door close.

"Hey! You're back! You here to forgive me?" He stepped out to the hall and met her before she could move from the door.

"I forgot to tell you that I took a message earlier." She kept a straight face while she flipped through the pages of the notebook. "It's a brand deal."

"You could have just kept going then. You know I hate brand deals." Brian watched as she flipped through the pages of neatly written notes.

He knew she must have went through fifty tiny notebooks a year while dealing with the guys.When she didn't acknowledge his comment, he started to feel bad about what he had done.

"Hey, listen. You can have your dress back. I was just trying to look out for you." He waited for her to say something.

She continued flipping through the notebook and Brian reached out and grabbed it from her hands.

"I'm sorry, alright. Will you at least talk to me?" He'd never seen her this angry with him before.

Jackie crossed her arms in front of her and scowled up at him. She wasn't ready to forgive him yet. And she wasn't going to take the dress because it meant she'd have to stick around longer while she waited for him to go get it.

"The brand deal's written in there. You'll see it. Just bring the notebook with you tomorrow to set." She turned to walk back out the door but he reached his free hand up and held it closed.

"I've known you a long time, Jacks. There's something else bothering you besides the dress." Brian stood close enough that he could smell the flowery perfume that she wore. He let his hand fall from the door, brushing it gently down her long brunette hair.

There had been something else bothering her, something she hadn't even dealt with herself. She certainly wasn't about to hash it out with him right now.

"I'm on my period." She said through gritted teeth.

She knew he hated talking about those things. Before he could respond, she took advantage of the unguarded door and left.

Brian knew that wasn't it, but he let her go. If she wanted to use her period to cover up what she was dealing with, that was fine. He'd get to the bottom of it eventually.

He watched as she got into her jeep and pulled away from his house. Her perfume lingered well after he watched her taillights disappear. It was going to be a long night.