Blood and Bourbon

2

Posing in front of my full length mirror a couple of days after deciding I was moving out to Florida, I pursed my lips, considering my outfit of the day. My jeans and plain T-shirts had long since been shoved to the back of my closet, replaced by clothes that embraced showing off a little skin. Who knew I had such a great body all this time? My short black skirt paired well with my shirt, I decided. Alice would be proud. Had she actually stuck around to see it.

Today was going to be a great day. I could feel it in the air. The warm air, that is. It was surprisingly sunny out in Forks for once, and I wasn't letting a day like this waste away at school. Luckily, Charlie was working a weird shift today, and wouldnt be able to drive me to school. Hed been watching me like a hawk since the incident, as he's taken to calling it. I think hes being dramatic, but he has no idea how frequently I was at that bar, or that I knew Brian was watching out for me, regardless of how wild I got there. Not that I was going to mention the familiarity to my loving, police chief father.

Having escaped the ride in the police cruiser today, I had no intentions of making it to school like I had promised I would. Instead, I hitched a ride out to Port Angeles in a pick up truck with a creepy guy who couldn't stop asking personal questions and had to be reminded to "Please keep your eyes on the road" the entire way there. Another thing my dad would be thrilled to find out his little girl was doing.

"Brian! Where are you?" I said as I pushed through the doors of the bar, knowing full well he'd be here without having to call ahead. The bar was mostly empty, only a few stragglers hanging out in the early hours of the day, all of which looked like they probably hadn't been sober for a day in about twenty years or so.

Brians cute blonde self peaked out from behind the door to his office in the back. "Bella, is that you? What are you doing here? If your dad finds out youre here-" he started to say, until I knocked the breath out of him by squeezing him into a hug. "Come on, Bri, live a little." I smirked up at him. "And pour me a drink while you do it."

He smiled and warned "If I lose my liquor license, I swear, girl," even as he walked behind the bar and pulled out the Jack Daniels.

"You know I wouldn't have down here if I thought there was a chance I'd get caught-don't look at me like that Brian. I know I got caught last time, but my dad is working. He'll never know I didn't go to school." I drank my drink and he rolled his eyes, giving in.

We talked for a couple of minutes, well we mostly traded insults and hit on each other, interchangeably, before he leaned over his bar, and peered up at me with those green eyes sparkling. The same eyes that had attracted me to him it the first place.

--

It was about six months ago when I met Brian, at a party one of his friends was throwing just down the block. I had been checking him out from a distance all night, but at that point I was still overcome with anger at the male gender, I would never even have considered saying hi to him.

That is, before I played one to many games of flip cup with Jessica and some random people I'd been chatting with all night.

I was headed upstairs, looking for the bathroom when I bumped into the tall, lanky blonde with messy hair. Uff, I grunted, falling into the wall beside me.

"Oh my god! Are you ok?" The man reached down, grabbing my hand and yanking me up. I met his eyes for just a second, my drunken brain thinking that looking into his eyes was like looking into the most beautiful emerald the world has ever seen. The thought didnt last forever though, and I felt the world spin around me, and with my hand clutching over my mouth, I ran down the hall, and into the open bathroom door. I crashed through the door with a bang, but I made it to the toilet before I felt a hand grabbing my hair and holding it back.

As soon as I spit the last bit of bile into the cool toilet, I said "Get off of me!" With a growl, I pushed his hands from my hair and said "Who do you think you are? I dont need your help."

He looked surprised for half a second before his face turned red with anger. "Excuse me, miss, but I figured you might not want puke in your hair. My mistake." I laugh about that now, he had answered so politely, even when his voice was screaming for me to go fuck myself. He quickly turned and walked out of the bathroom. Oh, but I couldn't it end there. I could feel all of my rage towards the Cullen bubbling up in the pit of my stomach, and letting that lead me, I rushed after him, wrapping my hand around his bicep and pulling to get him to look at me again.

"Maybe if you had just watched where you were going in the first place-" In the next second, I was pushed back against a wall, again, but this time, he was pushed against me. Just like that, my anger turned into lust, and I was pushing back against him, our lips moving in sync.

We ended up in, what I later found out was his friends bedroom, and neither of us was seen again that night.

---

"So what brings you to this neck of the woods, gorgeous?" He said, leaning casually on his bar. I sucked down a quick gulp of my whiskey and said "I'm moving to Florida."

"What? When? Because you were here?!" He shot up, eyes widening with concern.

"No, I'm moving to Jacksonville, to live with my mom. Tomorrow, and it's only partly because I was caught here."

"Well thats bull! You belong here, in Washington, with me." His lips stiffened, pushing into a thin line, the way they always do when he's angry or frustrated. I reached across the bar and grabbed his hand, resting them between us and leaned in close to him. Lowering my voice, I said "You of all people know how rough its been lately, and my dad thinks its best for me to get away."

At this, my friend walked around the bar and wrapped him arms tightly around me, squeezing until I could barely breathe. "I know it sucks, Bri. I'm gonna miss you, but maybe he's right. I've been itching to get out of Forks anyway, and all the memories that come along with it."

He promptly kicked every single patron out of his bar, demanding they all come back tonight after dark. A laugh bubbled out of me as I watched him all but push the drunks out into the sun, half of them still gripping drinks in their hands.

Wrapped in Brians arms, feeling his bare chest against mine, we were laughing along to some day time game show on the TV mounted to the wall of his bedroom. His room has always been cozy, but I think it's mostly him. Feeling his eyes on me, I pulled my head off his chest and met his grassy greens. "I'm gonna miss you, Bella."

"I know." His loud laugh broke the quiet tension in the room, and I couldn't help but join in.

---

After a full day of laying in Brians bed, watching new episodes of our favorite show on Netflix and laughing at each other, Brian pulled his car up to my house as the sun was beginning to set. "Well, I guess this is goodbye" he drawled, his Texas accent slipping through the way it only does when he's trying to act like he isn't bothered by something. Giving him a look, I said "You know this isn't good bye. I'll see you again, and were going to talk all the time. No excuses." With a smile, he squeezed me into a hug.

After I managed to pry myself out of his arms, I watched him pull away from the door way and pushed down the lump rising in my throat. He's going to be the only good bye that I struggle with, and I know it. So quickly he had become the only person I actually confided in, the only one who knew all my secrets. Including that I had been knowingly dating a vampire. It's amazing what alcohol and reeling emotions can pull out of someone. To think our friendship started as a simple night of angry sex. Luckily, I couldnt have picked a better person to share all my secrets with.

The next morning, Charlie and I pulled into the airport and he helped me drop all my stuff off. We shared a quick hug, knowing that neither of us were going to be comfortable showing more emotion than that, and next thing I knew, I was up in the air, headed away from every bit of painful memories I had accumulated in my time spent in Forks.

At least there will be less chance of me running into any vampires in sunny Florida!