trust you an awful lot, I know all his secrets. Come have a seat at the bar and I’ll feed you and tell you all the stories I know about this loser.”
While Brian is pouring our drinks, I lean in to Zack and whisper. “How do you know this guy?”
He chuckles. “That’s Brian. The friend I’ve told you about?”
“That is Brian!?” When Zack told me all the stories about his childhood friend, this was not at all what I pictured him looking like. “But he’s so big….and frightening.”
“Yeah, he can be rather intimidating I guess. But he’s harmless. And I wanted you to meet him.”
“Wow…he’s not at all what I pictured.” I take a sip of my beer when Brian slides them across the bar. “Why is it so dead in here?”
“I asked him to close the place down for the night.” He says this like it’s the most normal thing to do.
“You did, what? Why?”
Zack simply raises his shoulders nonchalantly. “I want to be alone with you. And I knew Brian would do it for me. Plus, I wanted you to meet him. You’ve introduced me to all your favorite people, I want you to know mine.”
I think I melt into a pool of mush.
“It’s crazy to me that you can just make a call and people do what you want them to.”
“Brian’s like my brother and we’d do anything for each other. Consider this one of the perks of being a ‘rock god’ or whatever it is you and Mia call me.” He winks playfully. I want to throw my arms around him and never let him go. Sitting next to me on the barstool in the darkened bar that he had closed down just for me, he is irresistible.
“Thank you. I love your surprises.”
“This loser isn’t filling your head with any crap is he?” Brian interrupts us at the bar. Before too long, I’m listening to these guys laugh and share stories from their youth. I hear more about how awkward Zack was in high school. He blushes and refutes many of the stories Brian shares. But they’re all true. I can totally tell by his embarrassment and it makes me laugh. Brian tells me all about Zack’s first crush he had all through high school who wouldn’t give him the time of day, and how she called him after his first single was released practically begging for a date. I smile when I hear he turned her down.
Hearing who he really is makes me love him even more. I want him in this moment, more than I ever have yet. Maybe because I’m here, with someone who knew him before he was famous, and all I see is Zack. Not the rock star, but just the man. There is no pretense of an image when he’s with Brian. I noticed it as soon as we walked in the door, as comfortable as he is out in public, something changed when we walked through the door to Brian’s Place tonight. He’s completely himself and vulnerable here and offering me just a small glimpse of what life would be like with him.
And I want it. I desperately want all he has to give me.
I want him. It has never felt as right as it does in this moment.
When Brian walks to the back room, I slide off my stool and stand in between Zack’s thighs as he faces me. I move my hands to the back of his head and pull him to me, stopping when his lips are just inches from mine. My lips twitch up, just a bit, when I hear his breath hitch.
“Thank you,” I whisper, and move in just a fraction of the space between us. I can feel his warm breath on my lips.
“For?” He can barely choke the words out. He’s turned on right now, by me. It’s a powerful feeling to know I can do this to him.
“Yesterday. Today. It’s all been so perfect.” Before he can say another word, I pull him to me. Kissing him with more force and passion than I could ever imagine, but I want him to know. I want him to know what I feel, and what I want, and how much I absolutely love him and admire him. Not the musician - just the man.
He stops and moves away from me, looking me straight in the eyes. “It isn’t over yet.” And then pulls me back to him. His hands grab my hips and