I Dated Brian Quinn

Chapter Ten

Jackie reached as far across the bed as she could before she opened her eyes. Brian was gone. She let her eyes adjust to the darkness that still blanketed the room and focused on the clock beside the bed.

Four-thirty. Why would he leave at such an early hour? And without waking her to tell her he was leaving.

She propped her body up on her elbows and listened. She could hear a faint whisper coming from outside the bedroom. She found her clothes, neatly laid on the dresser, and pulled her shirt on before leaving the room.

Jackie tiptoed down the hall, following the intermittent whispers. She stopped right outside the living room.

"I'm not doing it, Joe. It's not worth it." Jackie could see Brian's silhouette standing by the window.

Though his voice was low, she could feel the frustration he had. She hated eavesdropping and crossed the room to him. Jackie slid her arms around his still naked body, resting her hands on his chest and pressing her cheek to his back.

She held on like he would walk away if she didn't. She felt his hand rub over her own and then felt his body tense.

"One tour and I'm done. That's all I've signed on for. This isn't worth it anymore, Joe. Fix it! I've got to go." Brian was no longer whispering and he ended the call before Joe had a chance to respond.

He didn't move from their embrace.

"I'm sorry if I woke you. I was trying to be quiet." His voice still held a tinge of anger but she knew it wasn't with her.

"It's fine. It sounded important." She kept her voice steady.

"Yeah." He said firmly.

Since Jackie had no idea what the call was about or why Joe would call at such an odd time, she didn't press the issue. Instead she kissed his back. She placed soft kisses across his shoulder and walked around to stand in front of him. His eyes were closed but his face was peaceful. She brushed her thumb over his lips before placing a kiss there, too.

"Come back to bed." She wanted to fall asleep in his arms again, maybe while he told her what the phone call was about.

He opened his eyes and studied her face. She ran her fingers through his hair and waited for him to agree.

"I want to. I can't." He sidestepped her, leaving her standing there with her hands hanging in the air where his hair had been.

She watched him walk back toward the bedroom and then come out fully clothed.

"I need to think and I know if I go to bed with you again that's not going to happen." He stood in front of her and brushed the hair out of her face, letting his palm rest on her cheek. "Forgive me?"

Jackie nodded, trying to trust that he could handle whatever was weighing on his mind.

"I understand. Call me later, ok?" She held his hand to her cheek and then let it go.

Brian nodded before walking out the door and leaving her standing alone in her apartment.

She didn't rush to watch him leave. When his headlights briefly lit the room through the window, she wondered if there would ever be a time when he would stay and let her love him through his hard times.

***************************************************************************

Jackie hadn't bothered going back to sleep after Brian left. She had brewed an extra strong pot of coffee and got to work on the reservations for the upcoming Tenderloins tour.

She had managed to make a list of all of the cities the guys would be performing in and had researched hotels in the area. She glanced at the clock on the wall at eight and yawned.

She would have loved to climb back in bed and sleep the rest of the day away, now that the sun was shining through the windows. Instead, she closed the notebook she had been writing in and walked to her bathroom to shower.

An hour later she was sitting in traffic with all of the other early morning commuters. Her thoughts drifted to Brian and she wondered where he'd gone when he left. She knew that she'd see him at the office because they were all meeting to discuss the final touches on the tour material. What she didn't know was how he would interact with her.

When she made it to the fifteenth floor and walked into the meeting room everyone in the room turned to look at her. She snuck a glance at the clock on the wall and saw that she was right on time so she smiled.

"Morning." She greeted them and then took a seat close to the door.

She opened her notebook and laid her pen beside it. When she looked up again, all eyes were still on her.

"Should I not be here?" She wondered if the original meeting had been changed and she just didn't know.

"There's a.....complication." Murr struggled to find the words to tell her what she needed to know.

"Ok, well I'm the person for the job. Tell me the complication and I'll work on it." Jackie picked up her pen, ready to take notes on whatever the problem was. She was used to dealing with last minute crisis right before tour.

"Let me tell her." Brian held a piece of paper in his hands and kept his eyes focused on it. "Get out." He said it almost under his breath.

"Me?" Jackie looked around the table, confused.

"No, them. Get the fuck out!" Brian yelled this time.

Jackie jumped at the sound. Everyone else filed out of the room and Sal closed the door behind them leaving just Jackie and Brian sitting at the table.

"Did I do something wrong?" She wanted him to look at her and tell her what was going on.

"No. I did." Brian stood up and walked around the table until he stood behind her. He slipped the paper in front of her.

She covered her mouth with both hands, suddenly realizing exactly what the complication was.