Been Hit Before - Brian Quinn

Let me watch you.

We had arrived at our official - yet not so official - first date. Things had been going pretty smoothly. Drinks were being poured as we waited for our meals. But I noticed a slight change in Q, however. I watched as he tapped his leg under the table, his body moving slightly with the rhythm.

"Tap your foot any harder and you're gonna make a hole in the ground." I stated, peering over my wine glass.

"Sorry." He chuckled, dare I say.. nervously?

"You're totally nervous, aren't you?" I smirked, almost bewildered. Surely he was used to going on not one, but several dates.

"What? No." He dropped the knife that he was fumbling with onto the table, almost sounding defensive.

"You so are." I grinned, liking that I had that affect on him.

"It's just, been a while. You know?"

"Do I really make you that nervous?" I quizzed.

"Not you. Well not really, sure I'm terrified that I'm gonna piss you off again somehow considering I've been great at that in the past, but it's really not you."

"So what is it then?"

"Just the whole date scenario. I'm awful at it."

"I'm sure you're used to it by now." My comment coming out before I really realized what I had actually said. That was only okay when I said it inside my head. God dammit Serena. He looked up at me, those big brown eyes looking softly into mine. I would have thought he would have gotten angry by such a comment, but his eyes told another story. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that.."

"Nah, it's fine." He sighed.

"No, no it's not. I really shouldn't have."

"I guess I hate that you think so little of me. It makes me wonder why you're even sat there." His comment made me freeze in my tracks. He was right? If I liked him so much to be out on a date with him, then why was I spending my time doubting him and calling him out on things that I wasn't even 100% certain that he had already been doing. This was all just assumption, and I had to stop treating him this way.

"It's not you, Brian.." I reached out to grasp his hand. "I've just had bad experiences in the past, ones that shouldn't have any affect on whatever this is that we have, but for some reason I allow it. I allow the thoughts, and I allow it to come out of my mouth. If I was even fairly certain that you were this way, then I wouldn't be sat here right now."

"You mean that?"

"Of course I do." I smiled softly, gaining one from him in return as he squeezed my hand gently.

After we had finished our meal, we made our way back to Q's house. The first time I had ever been here. Nowhere near the bachelor pad that I had been expecting.

"You can take your coat off, you know." He laughed as he brought in two glasses of wine, taking me out of my trance of taking in the surroundings of his home.

"Your place is actually really cute." I smiled, pulling my coat off and placing it on the arm of the couch.

"Cute probably wasn't what I was aiming for, but I'll take it."

"Not cute as in girly cute. Cute as in 'nicer than what I would expect a 40-year-old man living alone would be' type." I winked, letting him know I was playing.

"Oh she went there." Brian played offence to my comment. "In all seriousness though, you do have a lethal mouth sometimes." He swigged his drink.

"How so?" I questioned as I sat down next to him.