Brynn

Our hotel was already downtown, so Cgc said we could walk instead of calling a Uber since everything is within walking distance. "On a scale from one to ten, how much do you trust yourself and me?" I say, walking in front of him as he holds my arms, making sure I don't bump into anyone. A smirk tugs at his lips. "You, a ten. Me? Depends on what you're asking," he says. "Let's day drink," I say wagging my brows. It's almost six o'clock so I guess I shouldn't have said day drink. He tilts his head like he's surprised by my suggestion. I'm just trying to have fun and I know he's been thinking a lot about this situation with his parents so I want to get his mind off of it for at least a couple of hours.

"Seriously?" he asks. I nod, "Lead the way, I'm just a tourist." He takes my hands and pulls me back to his side. He starts looking up at the street signs. "This way, gorgeous." We take a turn and walk about four blocks until he pulls me into a bar. It's not that crowded, but not empty either. He points up at a blackboard filled with names of drinks. I glance over it quickly and point to the right side of it. "Skip the beer and get the daily special with me?" I ask. He reads it and nods. When the bartender asks us for our orders, Cgc gets four instead of two. My eyes widen as he smiles at me. "You said you wanted to day drink." He shrugs his broad shoulders.

I kiss his lips quickly as we wait for our drinks to be made in front of us. He pays the bartender and then we're out of the bar with our drinks. We walk through downtown New Orleans while Cgc tells me creepy stories about some buildings we pass and I don't think I've ever been more turned on. That sounds so weird but something about a man knowing his history is so sexy to me. And he definitely knows what he's talking about. I'm starting to think New Orleans might be one of my favorite cities and I've only been here for a couple of hours. After we finish both of our drinks, we stop at another bar, and C orders a beer for himself and a Mai Tai for me.

"I thought the French Quarter would be more creepy," I say, looking around. I've watched too much of The Originals. I'm just patiently waiting for vampires and werewolves to start jumping off from buildings. I sip on my drink with wide eyes. "I think you're a bit drunk," Cgc laughs as I cling onto his muscly arm. I flinch when someone starts playing the drums on buckets. "Oh God, when was the last time I was drunk?" I ask Cgc. He smiles, "I think it's been a while." I hardly pay any attention to him when I notice another horse carriage. It's like the tenth one I've seen. "Wanna ride it?" Cgc asks. I shoot my head up at him. "What?" I question. He juts his head towards the white house. "Do you want to ride the horse carriage?" he asks.

"Oh, sure," I say with a smile. He nods, finishing off his beer and entering a small shop to throw it away. "Let's go." He pulls my hand, stopping me at the end of the sidewalk as he steps onto the street to get the attention of the guy with the horse. He keeps an eye on me as he talks to him and hands him over money. He holds his hand out and motions for me to come. I walk slowly, making sure to stay upright on these heels that are killing my feet right now. Cgc helps me onto the carriage and he joins me in after. I stare at the horse with wide eyes. I think I'll pet it once the ride is over. Cgc puts his arm around me and as the guy starts talking to us.

"How long have you love birds been married?" He has a thick accent I can't properly distinguish right now but my eyes widen at his question. Cgc laughs a little, not loud enough for the man to hear. "Actually, we're newly engaged. I'm just too broke to get her a ring. Getting down on one knee is always easy though," Cgc jokes. Oh my God, I mouth at his made-up story. "Ahhh, she's a keeper then? Sticking with you throughout the hardships?" the man says. I almost smack Cgc for lying to him. He's too nice. "A keeper she is," he says, looking down at me. I almost smile but forget he's being a little liar.

"How about we stop at Cafe Du Monde for some beignets? My treat! I love celebrating love. Especially young love." I swear I almost tear up. Either I'm being an annoying emotional drunk right now or it's about that time of the month soon. I start to shake my head at Cgc. "We'd love that. But I can pay don't worry, man. I'm not that broke." C winks at him and I almost groan. "Oh! That's not why I'm buying. As I said, I love celebrating love," he says. I shake my head again. "Your treat then," Cgc agrees. "Perfect," the man replies. I almost strain an eye muscle rolling my eyes.

I grip Cgc's shirt with two hands and bring his face down close to mine. "Don't be mean," I whisper. He smirks cockily. "I offered to pay. He said no, I tried," he says easily. He grabs my wrists and removes my hands from his shirt. "You wrinkled my shirt, babe." He pulls his face back up again while looking down at his white shirt. He smoothens it out. "Beignets from Du Monde are fucking amazing. Once you have one in your mouth, you're not going to give a fuck who paid for it," Cgc tells me. I have always wanted to try a beignet from New Orleans. I don't like lying to nice old dudes though. I frown looking at the guy giving us a ride.

"I'm tipping him when he drops us off," I tell Cgc. He chuckles. "Okay," he agrees. It only takes two more minutes before we make it to Café Du Monde and the man who I just learned is named Jacques told us to wait with the horse while he orders our beignets. I look at the white horse for a long time. "I want to pet it," I tell Cgc, finally finishing off my Mai Tai. "No, Brynnie. Stay on the carriage," he says. I frown, turning my head to look at him. "Jacq won't be back for another couple of minutes, c'mon!" I say, pointing to our driver who's waiting in line inside. We can't see inside but I just imagine he's still there.

"It's gonna bite you or kick your ass," Cgc says. I roll my eyes and hit his chest lightly. "My first time in New Orleans and you're already holding me back from having fun," I say with a fake frown. "Oh, we'll have a lot of fun later," he whispers. My cheeks start to heat and I swallow. What does he mean? "I'm taking you to my favorite nightclub," he adds. I breathe out in relief until realization smacks me in the face. "Wait, what? You moved when you were 18, you couldn't get in nightclubs back then?" I question. He looks at me a bit condescendingly. "You're acting as if I haven't been back since I moved. I've been 21 since February," he says. Oh, right. Jacques returns with our beignets and even got us some hot chocolate.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you-"

"Don't mind my girlfriend, or should I say fiancé," Cgc raises his brows and winks at me, "she's had a little too much to drink. She only meant thank you the first time." Jacques laughs. "No, I meant them all the times I said them. Thank you," I say once more. "Of course, belle," he replies before he starts taking us around the French Quarter some more. "Belle is correct. Alright, let's go, baby. Open that bad boy up," Cgc says motioning toward my beignet. I nod, unwrapping it. The powdered sugar falls into the bag as I make sure not to drop any on myself. Cgc takes his out too and hits it gently with mine. "Cheers." We both lift it slightly before taking bites.

"Oh my goodness." I put my hand in front of my mouth while chewing the dessert. "It's so freaking good!" I take a sip from my hot chocolate as Cgc nods. "Told you." I think I might want to come back tomorrow before we leave for another one. I lean into Cgc's warmth for the rest of our carriage ride which we simply enjoy by being together and enjoying the beautiful city. I always saw how amazing it was on TV but it's even better in person. I give Jacques a fat tip and we thank him as he drops us off at Cgc's favorite nightclub.

The music booms even from outside and people are coming in and out. "Don't worry, most people in there are around our age. No oldies," he says with a half-smile. I roll my eyes playfully and chuckle. "Will you dance?" I ask. He furrows his brows. "Fuck yeah, I'll dance," he replies. My smile gets one thousand times bigger and I get a lot more excited. I have never danced with him before but now I'm looking forward to it. I kind of thought he'd say no. He grabs my hand and we walk inside the crowded nightclub together. It's packed tonight but that's kind of not surprising since it is Saturday. Cgc leans down to get closer to my ear. "Want a drink?" I nod, since the carriage ride, beignet, and hot chocolate sobered me up some.

He leads me into the nightclub and towards the bar. I'm happy to see that people are actually taking advantage of the dance floor and not just standing around with drinks in their hands. There's only one bar stool available and C lets me take it. He puts his hand on the small of my back, standing next to me as he calls for a bartender. "What do you want, babe?" he asks, handing me a small menu. I glance over it quickly and point to a cocktail I cannot pronounce for the life of me. He nods ordering that and a beer for him. "Ohhh, you're a little French, huh?" I tease. The name of the cocktail had two French words in front of them. He chuckles, shaking his head.

"I thought you were smarter than me?" he questions. I almost stick my tongue out at him like a child. "It's another language Cgc, how was I supposed to read it?" I defend. "I took some French in high school and my freshman year of college," he tells me. I raise my brows impressed. I tried to stay the hell away from those classes but I was forced to take one in high school. I took Spanish but I cannot remember any words other than "hola" and "adios". "Oui," I say the only French word I know. He smiles and bends over my shoulder to kiss my lips very quickly. The bartender gives us our drinks and I take a long quick sip of mine. "I might have to call an Uber for you if you keep drinking like t-"

"Well if it isn't Cgc Scott!" A masculine voice says. I look around to try to find the source of the voice. I feel Cgc stiffen behind me and I finally catch the eye of a tall, auburn-haired man who inches toward my boyfriend. A brunette girl walks behind him, their fingers interlaced. "Julian Alexander," Cgc says, glancing at me quickly. Oh. Julian is the son of the man who's in competition with Cgc's father. "Man, I thought you became a West Coast boy," Julian says as they greet with a handshake. I don't know what I imagined this guy to look like but it definitely wasn't a 6-foot, gorgeous Vogue model. Seriously, he could be a model if he wanted to. He was so. . . pretty. Not Cgc pretty, but still pretty.

"We played against LSU this morning so I thought I'd come back home for a couple of days and show my girl around. This is Brynn. Brynn, Julian," he introduces me. I put on a smile and wave at him. "Hi." He smiles back, his teeth insanely straight. "A girl, eh? I remember you in high school man." He winks at Cgc before turning his head and pulling the brunette behind him to his side. "This is my girl, Layla," Julian says. I smile at her and so does Cgc. "How's your dad, bro?" Julian asks. Cgc rolls his eyes. "How's yours?" Julian laughs and shakes his head. "No fucking idea. I haven't talked to him in forever." He looks like he's thriving on his own. An expensive-looking watch sits on his wrist and he wears a Gucci belt around his waist. The girl with him looks just as expensive as he does.

Cgc reaches for my hand and I take his. "I'm only staying in NOLA until tomorrow night, but it was nice seeing you, man. I'm taking my girl dancing," Cgc says. I blush when he calls me his girl. It's not the first time but my cheeks always heat up when he calls me that. "Of course, of course. I'll see you around, man," Julian replies and we all say quick goodbyes. Cgc chugs almost half of his beer, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "God, I hate running into people I know," he says. "That's the drug addict you told me about?" I question, watching Julian walk out of the nightclub with his girlfriend. "I haven't seen him in a while and yes, don't know if he still does 'em," Cgc says. "Drugs that is."

"Well, are you going to dance with me like you said?" I ask, changing the subject quickly. Julian had to bring up Cgc's dad and I wanted him to have a night free from thinking about what's to come tomorrow. Dancing seems like a good enough distraction. We both finish off our drinks before we head onto the crowded dance floor. I grab his hand and we start to dance to the song playing. It's not the best song but it'll do. I haven't danced with a boy in so long but Cgc doesn't make me feel awkward or uncomfortable. The exact opposite actually. He brings me up against him, my back to his chest as I move my hips to the beat of the song. My head starts feeling dazed again, canceling out everyone except for the man behind me.

I breathe out a breath to calm myself down. I can't get too drunk, I say to myself in my head. Cgc's hand moves, wrapping around my torso. I press myself harder against him as I grind on him a little more. I hear his breath hitch from how close he is to my ear. I almost smile but hold back as I look up at him. His light blues stare down at me and this time I let myself smile. He leans down and places a featherlight kiss against my lips. When he pulls away, my eyes take forever to flutter back open. I inch away from him just shortly to turn my body around. I wrap my arms around his neck loosely being a little bit taller thanks to my heels. He wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me in tight so our chests are pressed up against one another.

I move my hips to the song again, grinding my body against his. Cgc's eyes follow my body and I see his chest heave. It's a little hotter on this compacted dance floor than it is outside. I flip the hair on my shoulders back, away from my face. C's fingers dig into my skin as he takes my hand and spins me and I land back against him. His groin lining up with my ass again. He likes it like this better, I recognize. I lift my hand up to hold onto the back of his neck. All bets are off when I've had a bit of alcohol in me and I'm way over my limit right now. Plus, he's my boyfriend.

He places his large hand towards the bottom of my stomach and moves his hips with mine. Heat prickles all over my body as I close my eyes and lose myself to him. I slide my body down on him, coming back up when I reach just below his groin. I could feel him under his jeans and I swallow the noise wanting to come from my throat when I feel him. God, this isn't good. Cgc's hand slips down from my stomach to my thigh, squeezing it lightly before bringing it back up. This time, I can't stop my breath from hitching. I feel his breath against my neck, both of our breathing a little too uneven.

I dig my body against his one last time, still feeling how hard he is. With that, I turn around and kiss him with need. We kiss slowly and lazily, the alcohol in both of our systems taking a little more control of us than we'd like. His fingertips dig into my sides as his tongue slips into my mouth with ease. I hold onto him just barely. I might need to lay down. I pull away — as much as it kills me to. "I think we should go back to the hotel," I say against his lips. He nods and grabs my hand. It takes us a good two minutes just to get out of the nightclub and Cgc stops us on the sidewalk. "Uber nearby, he's on his way," he tells me. His eyes are glossy showing me he's about as drunk as I am.

Even if the hotel is only a couple of blocks away, it would probably take us a while to get there. I suck at keeping my balance when I'm drunk and in heels. I hold onto his arm as we wait for the Uber which doesn't take any longer than five minutes. It only takes about ten more minutes to get to the hotel and into our room. We both empty our pockets on the small dining table at the entrance. I take my heels off too, my feet absolutely killing me at this point. Cgc's eyes hang low as he waits for me to untie the heels. "We didn't bring any comfortable clothes to sleep in," he slurs. We both wear jeans and I have the tightest corset on.

I move my hair behind my shoulders and sigh. "We'll just sleep naked," I suggest with a shrug. His eyes widen as much as they can right now and I smile small as I walk past him to get to our room. I shut my eyes closed tight. Why the hell did I just say that? Crap, I really didn't mean to. I enter the room first and walk over to sit on the surprisingly comfortable bed. Cgc walks in a couple of seconds after I do. He starts unbuttoning his shirt, pulling it off his shoulders. My head spins, staring at his bare chest. I've seen him shirtless plenty of times but it always surprises me how fit he is. He unbuttons his pants and I look away. I don't think I've seen him in only boxers like. . . ever.

I hear him chuckle behind me and after a couple of beats, I feel him getting under the covers. Oh, my God. Is he completely naked? Bad suggestion, Brynn! I facepalm myself internally for even saying that aloud before. This is why I don't drink four fucking drinks. I look down at my body already feeling insecure. I haven't been secure in my body for years. When you get cheated on with girls who look like models, that happens to you. I sigh. "Brynn, I'm not fully naked, babe," Cgc says from behind me. I swallow and nod still not turning to look at him. I stand up from the bed slowly. "Do you think you can turn around?" I ask him. "Yeah, of course."

I don't turn until I hear the covers shuffle. When I take a peek at him, he's facing the other way. I unbutton my high-waisted pants and pull them off my toned legs quickly. I reach behind my back and pull down the zipper of my corset, covering my body quickly. I quietly walk over and grab Cgc's button-up from the top of the chair he left it on. I pull the large thing on quickly and button it up. I should've thought more about suggesting sleeping naked when I knew I wasn't wearing a bra under my corset. I turn off the lights and run into bed, gasping as I almost slip on my jeans. I'm too drunk for this. Cgc turns back around, the room way too dark to even see each other.

"We should get some sleep. I'm taking you out to my favorite breakfast spot tomorrow morning," he says, words a bit slurred. I nod, hoping he can see or maybe even feel, my response. He rubs my arm lazily. "I bet you look like a fucking doll in my shirt," he says in a whisper. My cheeks heat at his compliment. Ugh, I like him too much it scares the crap out of me. I've quite literally never felt this way about someone. I inch closer to him and run a hand across his jaw. "Hey," I whisper. He hums in response, holding onto my waist. "Did you have a good night?" I ask.

"I haven't been this happy in New Orleans in a long time, so what do you think?" he replies, his voice raspy. It gets like that when he's tipsy or drunk. I smile but my heart sinks a bit. I can tell how much loves New Orleans but there's only one thing that ruins it for him. Tomorrow he's throwing that — or those — one thing away. I wonder if he'll throw away New Orleans too. "I like it here," I admit. I hear him lightly groan. "Don't let them ruin it for you," I add. "You let Ryle ruin Miami for you," he suddenly says, making me stiffen. "Fuck, Brynn. I didn't mean that. I'm spewing shit right now," he says quickly.

I shake it off. I know he didn't mean it maliciously. "No, you're right. I really enjoyed Miami the first two months I lived there. Even when I'd go visit him that first year when I was still a senior. I did let him ruin it for me." It's why I'm not fond of traveling back there. I just left the place a couple of months ago. It's why I'm kind of relieved I won't be going back when the boys play there at the end of next month. But Miami isn't my home like New Orleans is Cgc's. Los Angeles is my home and I still love it, but I live in Oak Hill now. I love Oak Hill because it brought me Cgc and our friends. It also brought me back to my family who also love Oak Hill.

"Oak Hill's my home," Cgc says, almost like he read my mind. "New Orleans will always be a part of me, I'm sure, but the best years of my life have been spent in California. I'll get over this stupid hating game on my parents eventually. I won't let them take away my first home." I hope that's true and not only because I want to selfishly come back here for a longer time. I just think his relationship with his parents shouldn't take this part of him. "Promise?" I ask. "Promise and again, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bit back at you with Miami and. . .Ryle," he pauses before saying his name.

"It's okay."
"It's really not."
"C."
"Brynn, it's not."

I grab his face with two hands and place a kiss on his lips. "You didn't mean it in a bad way just like I didn't. I'm not even a little bit mad. It's not like you called him a fucking asshole prick," I joke at the end. He chuckles weakly. "I would never do that," he says. I smile. "I know. I'm not mad and I accept your apology even though it wasn't needed so moving on?" I say. Cgc nods his head once. "Moving on," he repeats. I kiss him again but this time for a little longer.

The kiss is slow and sensual, his tongue brushing mine with soft strokes. I hate that he's a good kisser because I know he's had so much practice. I pull away and clear my throat. Insecurities, insecurities. Why can't I just be a normal girl who kisses their boyfriend without thinking about him kissing another girl? Of course, I can be. I just need to stop overthinking everything. "Ready for tomorrow?" I ask him. "I think so. Ready to be there for me?" he questions. "I will always be there for you. I'm ready for anything," I say truthfully.

"It might get messy."
"Oh, trust me, I can handle messy."

"I hope you can, Brynn Danvers," he pauses, "'Cause your head might spin."