Count On Me - Sequel (Laughing into Love)

Chapter 17: Something to Celebrate

"Hey!" Melanie picks up her phone a few hours later when Brian calls her.

He spills quickly, clearly excited "it was awesome! This movie is going to be awesome and hilarious and the producers are great and the director is awesome and I'm so fuckin' pumped!" She hears some voices in the background and knows all the guys are just as excited as him right now.

She chuckles as he uses the same word multiple times to show his enthusiasm "wow, sounds incredible. I'm so glad it worked out for you guys."

"Hey, I gotta go! We're going out to celebrate. Love you!" He hangs up before she can even say goodbye.

Brian and the guys all go out to the bar close by for a round of celebratory drinks. Even Joe gets a glass of beer to commemorate the memory of them landing their first movie together. Melanie waits for a text telling her where he is to go and meet them but never ends up getting one. The day goes by and she hasn't heard anything more from her fiancé. She sits at the hotel room, a bit annoyed he left her hanging like this. She tried to stay busy by responding to emails for Sal but always got distracted with her thoughts. What is he doing? Who is he with? Why hasn't he called? All questions she's never really worried about while dating him have started to take over her mind. Although she doesn't want to be that kind of girl, she can't help but be annoyed at him for doing this. She starts to scour instagram and snapchats, looking for fans of the guys who may have seen them out and gotten photos so she can figure out where he is. She manages to find an Instagram post by some girl Chelsea who's page isn't private. She posted a photo with Brian and Murray, claiming to have been hanging out with them for the afternoon. All three of them have large smiles on their faces and Melanie's heart sinks. She takes out her phone and texts Caroline.

Melanie: So Brian's out in LA right now celebrating and I'm at the hotel wondering if he's going to go get another lap dance by some skank.

Luckily, her friend texts her back within a few minutes,

Caroline: don't be stupid, he would never fuck up like that again. He loves you. Didn't they all go out there for something to do with a movie? If he's celebrating must be good news. Don't freak out over it, you'll see him soon.

Melanie: why didn't he invite me out then? You think he's hiding something?"

Caroline: you sound paranoid. He's not hiding anything. Get yourself a margarita or something and relax. You deserve a good time, too!

Melanie: I am paranoid. Uhhhh, I don't wanna be that girl. Thanks cahr, love you!

Melanie puts her phone down and heads downstairs to the bar. She's there for over an hour filling up on drinks when her phone pings and she sees a message from Sal.

Sal: where are you?!

Melanie: the hotel

Sal: wtf you doing there? Come meet us!

Melanie: where?

Sal: Bar Front Street Grill

Melanie: I'll leave now, don't ditch me. I know how assholey you all can get when drunk together 😋

Sal: shut up, I'll fire your ass!

Melanie closes out her tab, grabs her jacket from the room and takes an Uber to the bar. When she gets inside it's a mad house and filled with people. It takes her a minute to find a familiar face but she sees Murray at the bar ordering a drink. She manages to get to him just as the bartender brings over 4 shots "getting a bit crazy, are we?" She teases him.

"Hey!" He smiles wide back at her. He turns to the bartender "2 more!" The bartender nods as Melanie gets over to him.

She asks "2?"

He hugs her "you're a bit behind, gotta catch up." He pushes one shot towards her and she smiles, taking it happily. When she finishes it, the bartender has returned with 2 more shots and Melanie goes to follow Murray to wherever he is off to. They get a few steps away from the bar when she spots Brian. He's pushed in a corner with 2 girls, and it's clear this is the direction Murray is heading over too. One of the girls who has long brunette hair has her hand resting on Brian's arm and he's chuckling as he's yelling over the music to say something to her. The girls smile is wide and her eyes glisten with the attention she is getting from him. This is the same women she saw in the photo earlier on Instagram.

She quickly stops Murray to grab the shot he got for her and tells him "I'll be right back, gotta use the restroom." She downs the shot and turns in the opposite direction, not sure what she's feeling at the moment.

She pushes herself back to the bar and opens her own tab, ordering two more shots and a beer. As she waits for the shots, the anger she feels for Brian begins to dissipate and the jealousy she feels takes over. Brian had a huge day and instead of inviting her out to celebrate with him and the friends, he didn't call her so he could flirt with other girls instead. Although the rationale side of her knows Brian wouldn't cheat on her, there's still that side that's telling her she could be wrong. Maybe he's not happy with me? Maybe he wants something else? She can't help but think of all these things. The shots arrive and she takes them down quickly, chasing them with the beer. She leaves the bar, waiting for the drinks to hit her so she can confront Brian. As she waits for it to hit her, a bar goer comes over and starts talking to her. She can still see Brian and Murray flirting with the girls so she decides to flirt with the stranger, telling herself it's okay as he started it first.