Chapter 4 - Brandon

The way my name rolled of her tongue was phenomenal. It had been so long since I'd heard her say my name, so it sent a feeling of pure lust through me in a powerful ripple. All that had happened between us was a distant past, and all that mattered was the here and now. And right here, right now, she looked regal. Her long, golden hair framed her beautiful face before cascading down over her chest like a glistening waterfall. Her brown eyes were erratic, staring directly into mine one minute, then seemingly fascinated by some buckle on my jacket or even by my boots the next. I was having just as much difficulty concentrating on just one part of her. My eyes wandered from her eyes to her tinted lips to her slim waist and hips, her purple dress clinging revealingly to the perfect curve of her body. Her long legs balanced atop a pair of high heeled shoes, which served more like pedestals for a Grecian goddess than simple items of clothing.

We stood there for a while, admiring one another, taking each other in. I imagined what it would be like to touch her again, her waist, her neck, to touch my lips to hers. I licked my lips involuntarily at the thought, then decided that I had to do something. We were stood around a half metre away from one another, so I didn't have to reach far before I had her hand in mine. I used her hand as leverage to guide her closer to me, until there was only a few inches separating us. I leaned forward and set my mouth as close to her ear as I could without touching her.

"You look phenomenal."

I heard a small moan escape her mouth, and I saw her shoulders visibly relax. I couldn't quash the smug feeling that spread through my veins as I realised the effect I had on her. I swallowed hard, unsure how long I could control myself. She inched her head sideways, so that our noses were only a couple of inches away from touching. She looked straight into my eyes, such an intense fire burning in hers, making me feel like she was reading my mind.

"You look carnal."

The tone of her voice was lower than it had been earlier; it was seductive, svelte. I gritted my teeth, not wanting to succumb to my vulnerability to her, not yet. I met her gaze, called it, silently daring her to raise her bet. She didn't need to know I was bluffing, didn't need to know that her being there in front of me broke my heart and made me feel like a king all at the same time. I was enjoying toying with her when we were interrupted by a short, brunette girl wearing a shocked expression on her face.

"Oh. My. God. Brandon freaking Flowers, is that actually you?"

In all honesty, I'd forgotten who I was, what I did, where I was. Being contented in mine and Nina's bubble of sexual tension had made everything else irrelevant, so I was shocked back into real life with a jolt as this girl kindly reminded me of who I was.

"Tova!"

My head spun back towards Nina, who was now stepping away from me and towards the girl who'd just approached us. Nina hugged her with her back to me, and over her shoulders Tova's big blue eyes couldn't get any wider as she glared at me. Nina and Tova released one another, then Nina introduced me properly to her friend.

"Brandon, this is Tova. She's a friend of mine. Tova, this is indeed Brandon freaking Flowers."

Tova lunged at me and flung her arms around my neck. She must only have been five and a half feet tall, so in doing so she yanked my head down to her level. I shot Nina a "what the fuck" look over Tova's shoulder, before she let me go and I massaged the back of my neck for fear of having been given whiplash.

"Nice to meet you, Tova."

"My God. I can't actually believe it. Do you know him, Nina?"

"Yeah, he and I knew each other back when I lived here."

"I was her boyfriend, actually."

I was surprised at my own outburst. I'd only meant to make the comment in my mind, but I hadn't cut off the signal sending the comment from my brain to my mouth quick enough.

"Nina, you dated Brandon Flowers? As in Brandon Flowers of The Killers? Holy shit girl, you on fire."

The three of us laughed at Tova's choice of words. She was obviously intoxicated, and in that moment, I was glad that I didn't drink any more. I had trouble keeping my mouth shut at the best of times, without having alcohol in my system to fuel my tendency to share my regularly unpopular opinion, whether the contribution was welcome or not.

Nina and Tove started to chatter amongst themselves, and noticing that Nina's glass was almost empty I took the liberty of buying her another drink. As I leaned forward on my elbows onto the bar, Ronnie came up next to me and mimicked my stance.

"Hey, kid. You okay?"

I smiled at him and put my arm around his broad shoulders.

"I'm just fine, Ron. How 'bout you?"

Ronnie frowned at me and sported a confused look that reminded me of the face he wore when he was doing Sudoku.

"You been drinkin'?"

"No. I'm just having a good night."

I took my arm from around his shoulders, and dug into the back pocket of my jeans and pulled out my wallet as the bartender set down Nina's drink in front of me. I slipped a $20 bill out and handed it to the barman, gesturing to him to keep the change.

"I didn't think that would be to your taste, bud."

"It's not for me."

"Well who is it for then?"

I stepped back from the bar, took hold of Nina's hand gently to grab her attention, and jerked my head in Ronnie's direction.

"You remember Ronnie, right Nina?"

"God, Ronnie! Wow, it's so nice to see you! How are you? God you look different with a beard."

"Jesus, Nina! C'mere."

Ronnie engulfed Nina up in a bear hug. I was proud of myself for supressing the urge to rip him off of her. He'd just had more body contact with her in the last five seconds than I had in years and that made my blood boil green. I watched them catch up for a while, wary of Tova's impending stare shooting at me from a couple metres to my left. Nina was laughing and smiling, and it was incredible. Her warmth was gravitational and I felt every aspect of my mind and soul pull towards her as if she were some magnetic force. A grin spread across my face and a small laugh left me in a gush of air through my mouth. Ronnie took his focus away from Nina and gave me a knowing look. He stood up from where he'd been leaning against the bar as he spoke to Nina and came to stand next to me. He slapped his hand against my back.

"Right, we're moving on from here now, kid. You coming?"

I shot a glance towards Nina, not wanting to let my friend down, but also not wanting to tear myself away from my very welcome blast from the past.

"Don't worry, your lady friend can come too. Is it just the two of you Nina?"

"Uh… Yeah, us and two more."

"Gather the cattle then sweetheart, you're coming with us."