A Brian Quinn Love Story

Tour De Jokers (Jokers View)

I jolted awake at the loud beeping coming from the side of my bed. My alarm, the worst part of every morning. I turned it off as Benjamin began pawing at me, of course looking for food now that I was awake.

I groaned and made my way to the kitchen, putting 3 single scoops of food into 3 separate bowls. Benjamin was the first in the kitchen with Brooklyn not far behind. Chessie was a lazy cat who liked to sleep in most days, so I knew she would probably eat while I was showering. It was 11am and while that is usually considered a "late" start to the morning, it's pretty early when you were up until 4am thinking about the prettiest girl you've had the chance to meet.

You still couldn't believe you were at Avery's house until 3am last night, but you wouldn't have changed anything about it. You had such a good conversation with her and enjoyed the entire night spending time with her and the boys. You had to be at the airport around 2 so you hopped in the shower and got ready to leave.

After your shower you left a note for your friend Bryan Johnson, from the Tell Em Steve Dave podcast, explaining what your cats needed per day because he would be taking care of them while you were gone. I said goodbye to all of my cats, I always missed them so much on tour, and I was on my way to the airport. I decided to call an Uber so it would be less of a hassle than getting a parking spot and paying to be there. As we passed Avery's house, I couldn't help but wonder what she was up to. I know she wasn't home, she was at work because she mentioned last night that she was doing the last touches on her Jazz Fest piece. I smiled at the thought of the memories of the past few days. I don't know how, but I was falling fast, it was kind of scary. She just wanted to be friends, or so it seemed, but for whatever reason I knew we could be more.

Once I got to the airport, I had the usual long wait in the security line. Once I was through I found the gate and Sal was sitting alone in the corner. I sat down next to him, asking where the other two were.

"Joe texted me he was on his way an hour ago so he's probably stuck in security and I haven't heard from Murr." I shook my head, acknowledging what he said.

After about a half hour, the 2 other boys showed up. We were all sitting and talking about the tour and our excitement. While we were all talking, the lack of sleep was getting to me and the other guys could tell.

"Looks like Q is excited, he's dozing off a little." Joe laughed as he elbowed me back to reality. "Whats up buddy, you're never this tired."

"Yeah, i'm also never up until 4am." All the guys looked at me like I was crazy. Sal turned to me and said, "Why the hell were you up until 4am?"

I sighed, not really knowing how to explain myself or my feelings, afraid that I was maybe in over my head. "Because of Avery." "Avery kept you up until 4am?" asked Murr.

"Well technically yeah. I was at her house until 3 and then when I got home I was just thinking about her and couldn't sleep." All of the boys looked a little confused, but Sal was a little more aware of the situation. He said from the first day she was on set that she was into me, and I couldn't shake that from my mind, because what if she really was.

"So basically..." I paused, trying to think of how to phrase my thoughts. "Since Avery was on set the very first day, I was immediately attracted to her. But not like the usual, 'Oh this fan is hot I wanna bang.' Like a genuine 'this girl seems like an amazing person and I want to get to know her'." I paused again, taking in the guys facial expressions gauging where they all were. I continued, "At movie night, during one of the movies I could tell the way she was sitting was uncomfortable and her legs were bugging her so I told her she could rest her legs on me to be a little more comfortable. Having her that close with me was so different than with other girls. Something so simple as that made me feel calm and relaxed. It just felt natural. " The other guys were now smiling as I continued to talk. "Then whenever I drive her home, because I'm a gentleman, I walk her to her door. I swear every night I want to lean in and kiss her but I don't want to move too fast and/or scare her off. I would much rather just be friends than to scare her away. Then last night, there was a creepy guy laughing to himself in the streets so she invited me in until he was gone. Before we knew it, it was 3am. And every night we give each other a hug. Guys it's crazy, but I feel so protective over her. Like when she's in my arms, all I can think about is how I want nothing bad to ever happen to her. Am I crazy?"

All of the guys shake their heads and Joe adds, "If i'm being honest I could tell there was a spark between you guys but I didn't want to be rude and say anything. Honestly I would take it slow. Maybe try and gauge how she's feeling without letting her know that you like her. See if she drops any hints or something."

I let that sit with me for a minute and shook my head, agreeing with what he said. "Oh she also asked me if we could help her out with a little something on the Monday after we get back. She said her friends are flying in that day and have all been fans of the show for a while, like they had Thursday as girls night just to get together and watch our show. So she was wondering if we could stop by her house and surprise them and kinda hang out for the day."

Sal spoke up, "I think that would be great." The other two guys agreed. I sent Avery a message in the group chat, in case the guys had questions or wanted to add anything, I said, "The guys are onboard with surprising your friends Monday :)"

Once we landed in Pittsburg, we went to the hotel to check in. Usually we all get separate rooms but this hotel was a little pricey for our budget so we decided to double up on rooms. Me and Sal shared a room and Murr and Joe were right next door.

"So what are you gonna do about the whole Avery thing?" Sal questioned while getting his outfit ready for tonight. "I think I might do what Joe said. Kinda wait things out and see if I get any vibes from her or see if she drops hints. I don't know man. But you know me, I've never felt this way about a girl before. Especially someone I have known for such a short amount of time. It just feels so natural when we hang out." As we were talking I felt my phone buzz in my pocket.

AVERY: Oh the girls are gonna be so surprised! Are you guys gonna be able to hang out for a little that day or just kind of a quick stop-in?

JOE: Why don't we make it a day? We could get lunch, watch some movies, hang out and meet your friends and just chat.

MURR: I'm down, that sounds like a good time!

SAL: One request, can we do sushi for lunch? Do your friends like sushi?

I shot Sal a look, he knows full well that I don't like sushi.

SAL: Alright cancel the sushi, Q is shooting me daggers.

AVERY: I can do Jimmy Johns catering if you guys like that? All of us loved doing that for Football games at school. That was our go to.

Q: That sounds delicious.

JOE: I second that. I can bring some pastries, let the girls know what New York is all about.

MURR: Joe always needs his pastries.

I put my phone in my pocket because we needed to leave for the venue soon so I started to get everything ready. I was so ready for this show, touring was really special to me and I cherished these moments.

We walked into the dressing room and sat and chatted while the opening acts were on stage. Me and the guys were just kind of bullshitting with each other until we went on stage.

*****3 hours later*****

The show went amazing as it usually does. The crowd was having a blast which makes these shows worth it. When we finished the show, there were some fans waiting outside for us and we chatted with everyone and then went back to the hotel. My phone had died during the show so when I got to the hotel I plugged it in.

When it finally turned on, I had a message from Avery.

AVERY: Ok, this is weird. We were just talking about Area 51 last night and they have a special on the history channel tonight! It made me think of you, I miss you and the guys.

ME: Omg that's wild! And hey we miss you too. The first show went great.

I decided to call it a night after the long travel day and show. I set up my phone on the nightstand and drifted off to sleep, smiling thinking about Avery.