Cgc

"Me and you time with no distractions," Brynn says, leading me out of my house and towards her Jeep. I raise my brows, letting go of her hand to get in front of her and open up the passenger side for her. "Let's see if we can manage to get through the day without a distraction," I tell her before closing the door. We both had practice this morning and then our classes for the day. It's only 4 in the afternoon but we both decided to take the day off to spend some time together. Even though we do see each other every day, I still miss her when she's not around. I get on the driver's side and adjust the seat before turning on the car. "We told everyone not to bother us," she reminds me.

"I'm aware, I just don't think they'll listen," I say with a fake smile. She rolls her eyes playfully and grabs my hand to intertwine our fingers. "It's our first date so I'll be damned if anyone bothers us. Especially, at dinner," she says. I look over at her, my eyes wandering her body for a little too long. Most of the time my girl wears brighter hues but seeing her in this little black dress right now is driving me insane. Her toned legs are halfway visible and white heels sit underneath her feet. I'm too touch-deprived to be seeing the woman I'm crazy about dressed like this. I clear my throat as I focus back on the road even if we're about to be stuck in holiday traffic.

Oak Hill always gets packed as any holiday starts rolling around. Thanksgiving is on Thursday meaning we're getting a long weekend. I shouldn't even say that since we're all still studying for finals which start soon after when we come back. I'm not too worried but studying and football has been more stressful for me since the regular reason is close to finished. While I'm excited to give my body some rest again, I know my stubborn ass will be in the gym and on the field on the time off we have. The Orange Bowl is the most important game of the season to me. I need some kind of redemption after letting my team down last year. I'm taking them to the National Championship game.

Brynn's phone rings, taking me out of my thoughts. She groans, pulling it out from the cupholder. It's her Mom. She hits the decline button, putting it back down. "B, we're stuck in traffic. You could have answered," I say, feeling a little bad for her mom. Brynn falls back into the headrest and faces me. "No distractions," she repeats from earlier. I don't argue with her as I lift my ass from the seat to see how far back in traffic we are. Our dinner reservation is at 7:30 and it's already 7. Brynn looks out the window, her head leaning against it. Our fingers are still locked but I pull away to turn the radio on. She looks at me and frowns. "I was just trying to put some music on, clingy," I tease.

She blinks slowly, flipping me off with her yellow french-tipped nail. I grab her hand before she can move it and kiss the back of it. She rolls her eyes, but I catch her small smile. "How's Lauren?" I ask Brynn. It's only been about three days since we told her about Aiyden but I haven't talked to her. I've tried texting her like three times but so far I have yet to receive a response. "She says she's fine. I don't know if it's true, I don't think so," she says into a sigh. "Maybe we should have invited her to dinner," I say with a smirk. Brynn laughs, "No! This is supposed to be our date." I put my hands up in defense, holding onto the steering wheel with my knee as traffic starts to move a bit.

"I think it's a great date so far," I tease. She tilts her head and then eyes me the same way I was eyeing her earlier, only for a shorter amount of time. "You look very handsome," she says, almost like it kills her to admit. She knows the answer I give her every single time she compliments me though so I can't blame her. "I know," I say. She scoffs, slapping my arm and turning to face the front. "I take it back," she says, crossing her arms over her chest. I can't help but glance down but I look back up at her quickly. "I'm just playing with you, pretty girl." I reach over to grab her smaller hand in mine and intertwine our fingers again. "I am pretty," she says, sticking out her chin and sitting up straighter.

"You're more than pretty," I say truthfully. She's fucking gorgeous and anyone with eyes can see that. Her cheeks flush a light pink and she tries to hide her face. I chuckle starting to drive off into another lane as the traffic has finally moved along fully. I glance at the time. We'll make it.

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The waiter sits us down at our table and we order drinks. I'm stuck with drinking red wine since this fancy-ass place doesn't have beer. I'm still shocked Brynn let me bring her here without fighting me to let her pay for the date since I already bought her a plane ticket to come back a day later after my last game this weekend. She took the first sip of wine when the waiter left and said it tasted "fucking expensive". Maybe because that bottle was almost 500 dollars. Just like her plane ticket. I lied to her and said it wasn't that expensive everything here just tastes that way. It's why she's grilling me about bringing someone here before. I haven't.

"Just admit it!" she says, sipping on her wine. The tables around us are occupied but they're not too close to where they can hear this ridiculous conversation. "Admit what?" I question. She rolls her eyes, setting her glass down carefully. "I'm not the first girl you've brought here," she assumes. I think she forgot that I told her I haven't been on a date since high school. Or even had a girlfriend for that matter. "You are. But like I've said for the millionth time, I've been here before," I say. She raises her light brown brows. "This is a date place." She looks around the room, then back at me. "Everyone here is on a date."

I hold back a laugh. "I'm very aware but my bougie ass parents always find the most exp-" I pause, "the nicest place to come eat whenever they're here hence why I've been here before," I tell her. Her face contorts at the mention of my parents. Yeah, I don't want to talk about them either. "Exactly," I add. "Anyway, subject change," she says, leaning forward on the table covered in white tablecloth. "Hm. What do people on first dates talk about?" I question. She shrugs her shoulders. "Well, they get to know each other but we already know each other," she frowns. My lips almost pull up into a smile.

"What's my favorite TV show?" I challenge.

"You don't watch TV."

"But when I do, what is it?"

Her forehead crinkles. "I guess I don't know everything."

"Exactly. And it's Community," I say. She smiles. "My brother watches that one. I'm more of a Vampire Diaries girl myself," she says. I fake gag. "I think Maddy likes that one," I tell her. "I feel like everyone's watched Vampire Diaries! I can't believe you haven't! You have to watch it with me now," she says eagerly, wagging her brows at me. God, no. "Fine," I agree anyway. I'll watch some stupid Vampire show if it means spending time with my girl. She twirls her finger and I glare at her. It's the same thing Rhys, Xander, and Valdez do to me. They say it means Brynn's got me wrapped around her finger. So what? They're the same fucking way. Well, except for Rhys.

"Well now I know everything," she says, taking another sip of her wine. "What high school did I go to?" I ask. She smacks her teeth. "What high school did I go to?" she shoots back. "No one asks that question about each other, C." I shrug, "We should know it though." She smiles. "Fine, I went to Ocean View High. You?" I furrow my brows. "What kind of preppy ass name is Ocean View?" I ask. Then I remember she's an LA girl. Of course, Los Angeles has a school called 'Ocean View'. She chuckles. "No clue, C. I didn't pick it out cause of the same I just had to go there," she says. "I went to River Valley High," I tell her. "That sounds preppy too, what the heck!" I shake my head. "Not really, Ocean View."

"Okay what else hit me, I'm getting antsy," she says, reaching over and placing her hand on mine. I try to think of something I don't remember sharing with her although I can't seem to. We've known each other this well since before we officially got together. Now, I can't seem to think of anything that she doesn't know. "Wait I know," she says before I can think of anything. "Hit me," I say. She tilts her head lightly. "You might not like it." Curiosity hits me. What does that mean? "You know I'm blunt, I'll answer it," I say with a shrug. "Okay," she leans in closer, motioning for me to do the same, so I do. "How many girls have you slept with?"

She leans back into her chair but my body stays frozen in place. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't that. I blink slowly, trying to process my thoughts. Yeah, I might not want to answer that one. I inch back in my chair uncomfortably, rubbing my freshly shaved jaw. "Why?" I ask. She shrugs quickly. "It's just a question," she says casually. I squint one eye and tilt my head. It definitely isn't just a question. "What's yours?" I ask even though I'm sure I already know the answer.

One.

"I asked you first," she says, sipping on her wine while eyeing me from the top of the rim. I don't break eye contact. "You really want the answer to that question or are you just testing me?" I wonder. Believe it or not, I'm not an expert at relationships or girls for that matter. As much as I want to say I can handle them, I can't. Especially, Brynn. I don't want to say the wrong thing and upset her. I'm more worried about that than anything else. "I'm just very curious," Brynn says. I let out a breath through my nose. "Curiosity killed the cat, babe."

She raises her brows, rubbing her thumb on the back of my hand. Despite the tension from her question, we're still very much touching. "If I guess? Will you tell me?" she challenges. She'll never be able to guess. "I guess if you want to know that bad. Also if you're not going to get mad about my answer," I make sure to add that last part. She shakes her head. "It's in the past," she assures me. I hold my breath, nodding after a long moment. I pick up my glass of wine and start to down it. I'm going to fucking need it. "326?" she starts. My eyes almost pop out of their sockets and I lean forward, trying not to choke on my wine. What the fuck?

I look down at my white button-up to make sure that small droplet that fell from the corner of my mouth, didn't stain it. It didn't. "What?" Brynn asks. "That's an insane number, Brynn," I state. Does she believe I could sleep with that many women? "Okay, sorry. Uhm, 175?" It's not getting any better. I sigh, shaking my head. "Don't even bother guessing anymore," I tell her. She frowns. "Then tell me, I obviously suck at guessing," she says. My hard eyes land on her soft ones. "You think I've fucked 100 plus people?" I say, quieter just in case. "I wouldn't be mad, I think." She shrugs.

"You're right, it's in the past. New school year, new me," I say nonchalantly. "C, c'mon. Don't you want to know mine?"

No.

"I'm good, actually," I say with a fake smile. She grabs the wine bottle and pours more into her glass. She doesn't drink much but I told her to drink as much as she wanted tonight. I'm driving her Jeep anyway. "Fine. Then I guess we'll live the rest of our lives not knowing one thing about one another." I roll my eyes. And she calls me dramatic. "That's fine with me. I know everything I need to," I assure her. She tries to hide a smile terribly. "I don't like you," she says. I smile because I know she really does. "Feelings mutual," I joke. She frowns and I point to her. "Don't joke about that then."

"Fine," she says, as she starts to pull away from our touch. I grab her finger and lace our fingers together again. "Don't let go," I say. "And I'm the clingy one," she huffs. I smirk. "You are." I could name every time she's asked to sleep over and the few times I've said yes, she's always on my side of the bed as soon as we start to fall asleep. She grabs my hand all the time and when we're not together, she's texting me. I'm not complaining. For months, I wanted that from her. I don't want any less than what she gives me. "Well, then I guess that means I'm sleeping in my dorm tonight," she says, flipping her medium-length wavy hair behind her shoulders. Her collarbones stick out and I look at them for too long.

God, everything about her is fucking gorgeous.

I look back up at her slowly. "No. You're not. Thanksgiving is the day after tomorrow and I want to see you in the morning before you head off to your parents for the day." Since we don't have class tomorrow, Brynn is going to her parent's house pretty early to do some last-minute shopping. She's going to help her mom clean the house after that so I won't see her until Friday night. We leave for Louisiana Friday afternoon. "Fine, I guess I'm not," she says quickly after. I smile again. Only around her, me smiling is not such a rare thing. "You give in too easily, babe," I say, sipping the last of my wine. "Well, I've deprived you of myself for too long. You've had a crush on me for months," she says easily.

I almost applaud her for her little taunt. "You're funny," I say dryly. She laughs. "Did I lie?" she questions. I shake my head
,no. "But you like me more than I like you," I quip. It's a total lie. There's no way she likes me as much as I like her. No fucking way. "Oh, suuuure. We'll go with that." She chuckles. Now I feel kind of sad, she didn't agree even if I was only teasing her. Whatever. I still like her a whole lot more than I like anyone on this planet.

The waiter comes back and places both of our plates in front of us. We both ordered two plates knowing how tiny the serving sizes are. "Insta worthy," Brynn says, pulling out her phone. I furrow my brows. "You don't even post on Instagram," I say. She lifts her phone and I put a hand in front of my face as she snaps a picture. "Stalker much?" she teases. "Yes," I don't lie. She smiles and types on her phone before showing it to me. Her food comes out but so do I, my face completely covered by my hand. "How do I still look good with my face covered?" I say. She rolls her eyes and pulls her phone back to her chest. I smirk, unwrapping the napkin that holds utensils.

"You're extra cocky today, I might need to humble you," she says, stabbing her fork into the bite-sized lasagna. "Please do," I joke, putting my hands together. She sticks her tongue out at me as she cuts her food with a fork and knife. "Stick your tongue back in your mouth or else," I say, pointing my fork towards her. "Or else what?" she challenges. I shoot her a wink which makes her cheeks flush instantly. I laugh, shaking my head. "You're too easy," I say, eating a piece of my grilled chicken. "Jerk," she retorts.

We finish our dinner and I take her to the beach nearby. Oak Hill doesn't have LA beaches, but it's the nicest one in the city. We were only there for about thirty minutes because of how cold it got. Once we get back to the townhouse, we both change our of our clothes and change into something more comfortable. Brynn wears the first hoodie I ever gave her and some white, tight shorts. I put on some drawstring pants but sleep shirtless like always. We get under the bed quickly as the house is about sixty-nine degrees right now. Too cold for the end of November, but we obviously take advantage of the air conditioner since we live in the sun for most months out of the year.

I shut off the tv and the room darkens. My curtains aren't covering the closed shutters, so the light from the moon illuminates into my dark filling in the darkness. Brynn fluffs her pillow and lays down close to me. It's almost midnight and we're both tired, but I don't want our day to end yet. I move blonde hair from her face as she gets comfortable. "Did you know when I was sixteen, I got my wisdom teeth taken out and called my mom a whore?" Brynn says. My eyes widen. "What the hell, babe?" She laughs, throwing her head back. "Ryle caught it on video, it was so funny," she tells me.

The mention of her ex-boyfriend does it for me a little. Eh, I don't mind it, but it's not ideal to hear about him. I probably sound like a fucking dick for that. No, I do sound like a dick for that. I try not to overthink it too much but. . . how could I ever compete with him? She loved him her whole life. Strongly from the story she told me. Is she ever going to be able to feel that same way for me? Or am I always going to be in second place?

"Hey, you okay?" Brynn asks, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Yeah, why?" I recover quickly. She ruffles my hair lightly. "You zoned out for a second there," she says, her eyes flitting around my features. I cup her jaw and leave a quick kiss on her pink lips. "I'm fine, babe," I assure her. "I can't believe you called her a whore, what did she say?" Brynn's a lot better at being able to tell when I'm lying to her, so I lead on her story just so she won't worry. "She laughed on the video, I think she might still have it. I'll show it to you one day," she says. I try not to start thinking about the fact that her ex-boyfriend's voice might come out in the background of said video.

God, I'm not a fucking masochist. I need to stop.

"I wish I could do that to my mom, but not accidentally," I say. Brynn gasps and slaps my bare arm. "C, that's kind of mean! I felt so terrible," she exclaims. I laugh, "Yeah, but your mom's cool, mine isn't." I don't think my mom is actually a whore, it's just a funny thought. "I'm shocked," Brynn says. I nod her on. "That your dad stayed loyal to your mom after all these years. Well, not really. I mean, she's beautiful but it's just rare that a guy stays with a girl after she gets pregnant so young. And they got married and everything, you know. Just a thought," she rambles. I shake my head. "Yeah, it's shocking even to me. My dad does love her, though. Plus, my moms a hell of a lawyer. She could probably steal his company if they ever divorced. I think that's the only thing holding him back from cheating," I joke.

"Or maybe he just really loves her?" Brynn says, her statement coming out more like a question. I nod, wrapping my arm around the top of her head. "Yeah, maybe." I think both of them are capable of loving things. Even me again, if they ever tried. "Hey," Brynn whispers. I look toward her from the ceiling. "Are you rethinking things?" she asks. I shake my head. "No. I need to do this. If I wait any longer, I'll never do it. I rarely change my mind once I've made it up," I tell her. "Okay, good," she says, rubbing my jaw with her thumb. I grab her chin and lean down to kiss her.

I push all my previous thoughts to the back of my head as my mouth is against hers. Because nothing else matters to me in this moment. She consumes me whole and I'm more than okay with that.