Quixotic (2)

12

He woke to the sound of his phone ringing on the bedside table. Swinging his arm to the side, he kept his eyes closed and placed the phone to his ear, "Hello?" He answered with half of his face in a pillow. He cleared his throat, but his voice remained raspy as he spoke, announcing, "Brian Quinn, who's calling?"

"Brian, it's almost eleven!" A familiar woman's voice exclaimed, and he flipped to rest on his back. He wiped his eyes and tried to fix his voice, "You sound like you've just woke up!"

"No, I've been awake for hours!" He exclaimed, a yawn accompanying the end of his phrase. A nervous laugh escaped his lips, "Aria, hi! How's D.C.?"

"We're back in Louisiana, but Mila's been upset." She hummed hesitantly, saying, "We can't find her lions from the zoo. I think we may have left them on the bus, but is there any chance they are in your jeep?"

"Yeah, yeah!" He sighed, a hint of forced excitement in his voice, "She dropped them in the back seat. I noticed, but never had the chance to, uh --." He trailed off, slightly shrugging his shoulders as he rested on his back with his tired eyes struggling to remain open, "Look, don't worry about it!" He exclaimed, saying, "I'll see you in two days on the Impractical Joker's Cruise, right?"

"I'm not making any promises." She hummed with a nervous laugh, saying, "I told you, I'm not a huge fan of water."

"Oh, come on!" He exclaimed, pushing himself to sit up in his bed, "I'm sure you'll enjoy it!" He exclaimed, adding with a smile, "You mentioned wanting to take Mila on a cruise, and you've got two free tickets!"

"We'll be there." She told him with a smile in her voice, asking, "When will you be in Louisiana?"

"We should be in New Orleans by four tomorrow evening." He told her, pushing himself to lean against the head board, "If you want, you could join us on the ship and I could give you a private tour."

"I'll have to pass on that offer." She hummed, a nervous laugh in her voice, "I'm not sure I want to torture myself to getting on a cruise ship more than once."

"Come on!" He exclaimed, his tired voice finally reverting to sound normal. A sigh escaped his lips, and he smiled, telling her, "Alright, well, I'll send you a link to the tickets! Print them out, and I expect to see you on the cruise." A playful laugh escaped his lips as he waited for a response.

"Well, Mila's excited." She told him, saying with a nervous sigh, "I'm sure I'll survive four days on the high seas."

"I mean, come on, I won't let anything happen to you!" He exclaimed seriously, adding, "You'll enjoy yourself, I promise."

"Thanks, Brian." She hummed with a smile in her voice, adding playfully, "Don't forget to bring the lions!"

"I won't." He hummed, telling her, "I promise."

The call was disconnected moments later when he heard a knock at his front door. Shoving his phone into the pockets of his pants, he moved to answer it. The guys stood at the front door in a row with concerned eyes, "What's up with you lately, man?" Joe asked seriously, commenting, "A woman comes to New York for a few days, then you start forgetting about your career? Man, we've been waiting for hours!"

Brian paused as he looked over their concerned features, then spoke, growling, "Joe, I don't understand." His eyes widened, and his voice was noticeably angry, "Two days ago, you were all gung ho about the situation." 

An aggravated sigh escaped his lips as he glanced to look at Murr and Sal for a moment, exclaiming, "I sat through the videos, and I heard her voice! You don't understand how difficult that was for me!" His voice broke, but he continued, adding roughly, "I'm sorry if I've been a little distracted lately!"