Out of Reach - B. Bradshaw

Part 2 | Overboard

~You shake my nerves, and you rattle my brain~

I mean, get it I guess? I start laughing as I put my hand on his shoulder and turn to lean against the side of the piano. His sunglasses are resting at the tip of his nose, and I swear I've seen that face somewhere else. I've known him for too many years to count now, but I mean this somewhere else is from when I was a younger.

~Too much love drives a man insane~

And then it hits me. A sudden memory I haven't thought about in years. But I'm confused as to why it's this specific one. A flashback sequence, perhaps?

~You broke my will, oh what a thrill~

Maverick? Mav and someone- a family friend maybe? He kinda looks like Rooster, but not exactly. Maybe that's why I connected it? This guy, he's playing a similar piano to this one, and I'm sitting on top of it. I have to be about 3 or 4, and there's a kid about the same age right next to me. I cant place what or who he looks like.

~Goodness gracious,~

I can't place it, but I come back down to earth when Bradley smiles up at me and clears every thought I had in that moment. I start singing along, noticing that the new drink in my hand might be talking again.

~Great Balls of Fire!~

Is Bradshaw drunk? Am I overthinking everything? Am I drunk? Nah. Scratch the last part. I've only had like- five drinks. Wait. Shit-- But anyways, this is odd. I mean I might be in my own head, but he's only been looking back to me the entire time he's been playing. Or maybe I only notice when he does?

~I laughed at love, 'cause I thought it was funny~

Just keep singing, leave all those thoughts behind you Mitchell- Fuck- Krazansky! It's Krazansky. And of course now is the time to remember that I'm more truthful with the more I drink. I can't tell anyone that that idiot is in my bloodline.

~You came along, and you moved me honey~

I take another sip of my drink and let it take over me. I sit down on the bench next to Rooster and wrap my arm around him as I continue yelling the lyrics, swaying with the upbeat feel of the song.
I continue this for the rest of the song. Bradley just keeps on doing his this, smiling and grinning back at me as he does this. He's cute. Wait no, well, is he? I don't know if this attraction to him is real or not. I mean, I didn't think it was real on that last mission we had, maybe I can just keep denying it?

My mind is racing, but I still manage to sing along like there is no tomorrow. And when he reaches the last line,

~Goodness Gracious, Great Balls of Fire!~

The whole bar cheers, and also literally does cheers. My arm is miraculously still wrapped around Bradley's shoulder, and I take it of to punch him in the arm. "You're quite the guy, Rooster." I say with a stupid drunken smile on my face. I down the rest of my drink and hold it up, yelling, "WOOOOOOO! PEN! ONE MORE! ONE MORE!"
Rooster raises a brow my way, "Jo." No response from me. It's too loud, and I'm waiting to see Penny with my next beer. He tries again, "Jolene!" There I am. I turn back around to face him, "Yessssss?" "Just how many drinks have you had tonight?" he questions worriedly. I start counting on my fingers, and he grabs the glass from my hand. I stop trying to count and give him a look of confusion. Penny finally finishes pouring, "Bottoms up, Uproar!" I go to stand, but I'm a little wobbly.
Rooster pulls me back down and leans in so I can hear him, "Yo. Can I give you a ride home? I'm just worried about what might happen if ya stay." Hell, I'm tired, I would've crashed in Nat's arms eventually if I stayed. I give a light nod and he helps me get up.
As he escorts me out, Jake tries to stop him. "Slow your role Bradshaw, this one's mine." he says, looking to me and winking. I smile back, but Brad saves me, "Hell no. She's drunk. I'm not letting you take advantage of her, asshole. Now, say goodnight to the nice man Uproar." He looks to me, and I lean forward, slightly tipping over as I drag out my sentence, "Goodnight Baaaaagman" And just like that, we get in Brad's bronco, and we're headed off.

"Roo?" I ask after a second. "What's up?" God, he's so sober. I wish I could be like that. I smile stupidly at him again,"You're pretty." He laughs at my comment, if only he knew I only spoke drunken truths. He plays along with it, "Yeah? Well I think you're pretty cute." He smiles, and I can't help but melt away. "Awww, there's no way that's true. I'll take it anyway." my God, is my accent prominent. He just keeps looking at the road, why? He starts after a few seconds, "Don't even start, Jo. It is true, you're cute. I could get lost in those 'eyes of emerald green'." He smirks at the last bit, and even drunk me is offended. I scoff and look out the window, and we spend the rest of the drive home in silence. Until...
"OH. MY. GOD. I LOVE THIS SONG." I yell as I hear a song come over the speakers. "Wow, and I thought you only liked Dolly." Brad responds.
(this is the part where you pick the song she's singing, lmk in the comments bc I'm curious)
I start absolutely belting the song playing, and he just sings along, laughing to himself. Aaaaand-

We're finally home. Or- 'home'? "Bradshaw, where are we?" I say, leaning up from his arms, confusion painted across my face. He's carrying me bridal style, and we're going through a big, dark hallway into some room. He turns on a small lamp in the corner and it illuminates a good sum of it.
"Your bedroom, I think? You passed out on the way in. I couldn't remember exactly the room that's yours, but this made sense." he replies. I mean, I think so too, I'm fine with crashing here. He lays me down on my bed and turns to leave, but without thinking, I grab his arm to stop him. "Hm?" he stops, turning to me.

We stare at each other in silence for a moment. Why did I grab his arm? I'm debating whether or not I'd actually ask him to stay. If he does, he'll have to make some grand escape tomorrow so my dad won't see him. If he doesn't, well, I don't know. Some part of me wants him to stay so I can break this invisible distance we seem to have. But there's no cons to him leaving. I've never been too selfish to my own knowledge, so I let go of his arm and he slowly brings it back to his side. He finally breaks the silence, "You good-? You want me to stay or somethin'?" Okay, now this feels forced. I'm still drunk though, my brain wants to just spit out the truth. "I mean, only if you want to. If you do, you'll have to go before my parents are up. But I can handle myself if you genuinely don't want to-" "Nuh-uh. No." he chimes in, waving a hand, "I'll stay, it's fine. I don't get why I'll have to leave early, but I guess I can do that." Welp. I have my answer then. And he wasn't an asshole about it.
I pat the part of the bed next to me and Bradley sits as I sit up and criss-cross my legs. I start off, "So, who is this Bradley guy anyways, hmm?" He confusedly laughs in response, "Uh- What's that supposed to mean?" "I mean, I've known you for ages now. You've driven me home drunk... over what, 30 times now? But I feel like I don't know you. So, who is Rooster, huh?"
"Well, there's not really much to tell-" I cut him off with an "Oh, come onnnnnn" and start asking about his favorite things. He gives me a small list of stuff, and he mentions a few that leave us conversing for over an hour. Less of a mystery, but there's still something off. For now I'll take what I can get, because I'm about ready to pass out. I lay down. He takes a second, but follows suit, laying down and facing me. "Well, you know me, you win." he mumbles, turning to look up at the ceiling. I have some band posters on my ceiling, and I can tell he's about to comment on them.
"Well I don't know everything, but I do know most basic info. Oh, and those are-"
"-Old? Yeah, I know. I can tell." he replies, finishing my sentence. He smiles again, and somehow it makes me smile twice as much.  "Krazansky?" "Yeah?" I respond. "Why do I have to leave early tomorrow?" Bradley questions. I sigh and turn away, responding tiredly, "Because, if my dad sees you, he'll think your some new boyfriend. And any guy I bring home just has to be in it for the long haul, so he'll bombard me about marriage, kids, housing, and all that shit." He's still extremely confused. "What? Why?" "'Cause that's what my sister did. My brother too. So now the pressure's on since both of my parents have been accustomed to it." I say, sighing. "But I think I'm tired, it's what, 2, 3 am? you can still leave if you want but I'm gonna pass out now-" and surely enough, I close my eyes and fall half asleep right after I say that. I feel blankets being gently pulled over me and jostling and turning from right next to me. Then, the sleep finally hits.

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Heyyyy!
Hope you guys enjoyed this new part, I wasn't too sure on how to end the night if Jolene ended up drunk so--
(this part will probably be edited as I go along with the rest of the story)
Love ya! -SP