Back At One - All Bad Sequel

4. Ruin

And I'm not tryna ruin your happiness,
But darling, don't you know that I'm the only one for ya?
- Shawn Mendes

Brie's POV

I rushed down the sidewalk, after parking my car in the lot across the street from the studio and a nervous sweat had broken out in all my most unglamorous places.

I heard my mother's voice inside my head—"A lady doesn't sweat, Brie. She glows."

Well in that case, Mom, I'm glowing like a pig.

I hurried across the road, dodging the unstoppable LA traffic. Several drivers cursed me out but I paid them no mind. I merrily waved my middle finger at them, flipping them the bird.

I glanced at my watch as I entered the studio and headed straight to the dressing room. Mariel had called me earlier saying something came up and had asked if I could fill in for her at a photo shoot she had scheduled with a new client. Even though it was very unusual for Mariel to miss appointments with new clients, I had unwillingly agreed. And now I was rushing to meet the client since I didn't want to make a bad first impression.

Dammit. I was five minutes late.

I rushed out of the dressing room after reapplying my makeup and freshening up a bit. Just as I pushed open the door to main area of the studio it was then that I saw him, sitting in a chair like he owned the place. I let out a deep breath as my heart beat faster and my cheeks turned bright red. He got up from the chair just as he saw me come in.

He had a beanie on that he took off and ran his hand over his now much shorter light brown hair. It was different but I liked it. His jaw was lined with a layer of stubble like he hadn't shaved in a few days but he was still as adorably handsome as I remembered or maybe even more so.

"Hi, Brie." I felt suddenly naked even though I was fully clothed, seeing the way his eyes trailed over my body. A shy smile spread across his full lips. "You're just as beautiful as the memory in my head."

"Hmm. Maybe you should write that in a song, might make you famous." I joked, not knowing what else to say.

He chuckled softly. "Yeah, it might."

"What are you doing here?"

"I missed you." He said softly. "I miss you."

"How did you even know I was here?"

"I made a few calls." He was breathing hard, making his chest move up and down under the blue Purpose tour hoodie he was wearing. He even had on those blue ripped jeans that I loved seeing him in. He looked causal and sexy.

"There is no new client is there?" I asked already knowing what the answer might be.

He shook his head no.

"I know it's been a while." His brown eyes held mine for a moment, flickering something I couldn't read. He moved closer so he could be closer to me and responded sheepishly. "I needed to see you. I thought maybe we could talk."

As he gazed down at me, I felt that tug inside my heart. I nodded slowly, allowing him to take one step back into my life. I hadn't seen him in six months. Well, I'd seen him, on tv and in magazines. But not in person. Not close enough to physically touch.

"How are you?" He asked softly.

"I'm okay," I whispered. His familiar scent filled the air around me. Why did he always have to smell so good? My eyes drifted to his hand that was just an inch away from my body. His tattoos peeked out from underneath his pushed-up sleeves. He'd added more since the last time I'd seen him.