Worlds Apart

Chapter 4

"I've written dozens of songs about you."

~~

I woke up in someone's arms. I blinked a few times before sitting up. I was also naked. What the fuck? I pulled a sheet up to my chest and turned around.

Fuck. I ran my hand through my hair. I messed up. She messed up. She had a girlfriend. I was drunk. Fuck. Brooklyn began to stir around until she turned over onto her back.

"Good morning." Her voice was raspy.

"You have a girlfriend. This—I make you a cheater, Brooklyn."

"I make myself a cheater." I turned my head back towards the front of the room. "I started falling in love with you in college, Alessia."

"It's been two years."

"I've written dozens of songs about you."

"Your songs are not going to win me over."

"I'm not—" She stopped and sighed. "Alessia," I felt her lips on my shoulder. Her lips trailed up to my neck. "Please."

I take the sheet with me as I get out of the bed. "I don't want anything to do with you until you breakup with Rachel. And I don't want you doing it based off a drunken night of sex."

"Okay. I promise I won't even stalk your social media unless I breakup with Rachel." I slipped into my pants. "Russel, I do feel bad about cheating on her. I...I never wanted to do something like that and yet I did." I could hear her shuffling around. "What can I do to prove it to you? To prove that I want you? I wasn't—I wasn't strong enough to tell you then, so I wrote a fucking song. I wrote fourteen songs. Most of them are heartbreakers but—"

"I felt something for you, okay? I did. I kept it hidden because I wasn't out then. I am now and I—I don't want to be with you because you cheated on your girlfriend. Who's to say you wouldn't do that to me?"

Brooklyn sighed. "You're right." I felt her hands on my hips and she pulled me close. "Can I take you out on a date?"

"If that's how you really feel, then yes. But I'm not rushing into this with you. Not after last—" I felt her lips on my back. "night."

"Okay. Will you turn around now?"

"No. I'm mad at you."

"Okay, yeah. I deserve that."

"Are you really mad at yourself?"

"Yes, but no. I'm not as mad because I found out she's cheating on me too. Has been for months. With another model. I saw the texts. The nudes and meet-ups planned. I was wanting to end it anyway, and somehow you show up at my show and here we are."

"You're not making this easy." I turned around. "I feel like this isn't going to end will, Brooke."

"I love you, Less. I spent four evenings a week in a dorm with you for five months. I know you're the youngest of three talented soccer players and you're not actually full English decent because your grandfather is of Italian decent. You're a United fan because of him. I know you broke your leg your sophomore year and were so worried the entire season you'd do it again. Luca had done it, so you wondered why you couldn't play over in America either. You—"

"You knowing so much about me doesn't mean you win me over or something, Brooke."

"I'm not trying to win you over. I wouldn't have remembered those things if I didn't feel something for you two years later. Now stop making this hard on yourself." I looked up at the ceiling and put my hands on her shoulders. "Russel..."