This Is Where We Get Off
THE BRUNETTE TURNED OVER on her side looking at her alarm, she sees the time on her blue alarm clock, five thirty two in the morning, she lets out a shaky sigh as goosebumps cover her arms up and down. She can hear faint sound of her air conditioning unit running along with quiet snore from her couch. In about hour she would have get herself and the man sleeping on in her living room up, she had to get to catch her bus before seven, a part of her wanted to stay behind but she knew that she can't just leave her family, though she deserved to be happy.
Her blue eyes dart around the room as she stared off with heavy eyelids, she had a few minutes left to sleep, she couldn't sleep, not with her thoughts racing faster than what she could keep up with. Its funny to her in profession she had to be aware of everything around otherwise she would be in trouble, she hated knowing what she wanted but that she can't have it.
She grabs her phone from her side, she mindless scroll's through her instagram feed, which consisted of random people's lives and occasionally political stuff, she only ever scrolled on the app to past time she dosent post often. Brandy look up hearing the sound of tossing and turning on her couch.
"Seriously." She whisper's, annoyed at his ability to sleep almost anywhere, growing up in her house you couldn't just nap anywhere.
"How does he do that?" She ask's, she sighs laying her head on her cold pillow.
She stared up at her ceiling, her stomach churned with anxiety. Dude just try and sleep, you know that sleeping on a bus is almost impossible, she thinks to herself gulping as she dozed off. You already know you might had the ride home, you could just stay, she think's over again, she groaned quietly.
"Fuck it." She whisper's, she moves her plaid comforter away, she felt the cold breeze hit her bare legs as she stepped on her carpet, she flip's on the lightswitch in her kitchen, the orange light illuminated her counter.
She rubs her eye's before she opens her coffee maker putting water into the machine, she was thankful that she hadn't used to much of her packet's over the last few week's of her training, she was gonna need as much as she could to get for her two day trip back home.
She glanced to her board of her picture's, she can see a postcard from San Diego posted on the board, she wasn't sure why she kept it as was the one thing she had ever actually gotten from Monica, that she hoped wasn't stolen, on the back it had some poem that the women may have plagiarized from someone, talking about forgiveness and traveling souls.
Brandy reached into her cabinet pulling out a dark blue chicago cubs mug. She poured the dark brown substance into the cup. She looked over to her couch seeing that Bob was still asleep, she smiled to herself as she started getting a sense deja vu of the day of when her sister, Fiona had permanently left chicago.
She couldn't go back to sleep and she just ended up hanging out in the kitchen. Both of them talked about how dramatic Frank was acting over his injury, she wished that it wasn't the last time she was gonna see her.
"Mhmm sooo good." She mutter's.
She messes with her wavy brown hair as she turns around, she grabs a opened box of cherry pop tarts, she pulls out the foiled treat. She walks into her living room sitting in her chair sitting near the sleeping man,grabs her remote to her tv, setting the volume to low.
She sat with her legs crossed in her chair, she clicked through the channels finding a eighties movie that she could mindlessly watch till she had to change her clothes. A quiet groan come from her couch make's her turn her head, seeing him turning over, her eyes dart to the coffee table seeing his glasses next to her lamp.
His blue eye's slowly flutered open looking up at her. "Hi." Brandy say's to him, her voice tired, he squints his eyes sitting up looking at the brunette.
She realizes pointing at her coffee table. "Uh your glasses are right there."
He pushed the Chicago blanket off of him, she watched him reach over grabbing the optics placing them on his face.
"What time is it?" He ask's her, his voice tired, she looks at the analog clock on her wall.
"About five minutes till six." She inform's him, she sips her dark coffee pointing at her small kitchen,
"I made coffee by the way." He looks at her nodding his head, she messes up her bed head as she sat her cup down. "Thank you." He say's.
"Its not the best coffee, it's not starbucks but its at least drinkable." She joke's, he nods his head wiping his eyes.
"When do you leave?" He groaned, she sighed. "Uh at seven, the bus station is only fifteen minutes from here." Brandy tells him, he nods his head.
"Uh I dont have too much for breakfast right now, I have one bagel left you can have it if you want." She tell's him, his lip's formed a lop sided smirk.
"Oh no I can't just." He stammer's, she holds up her hand stopping. "Don't be a gentleman with me,take the free food." She orders him.
he blink's at her bossiness, she smirked seeing her effect on him. "If you say so sunshine." He sassed, he jaw dropped watching him get up.
"Shut up." Brandy mumbled to him as he laughed. He stood in the cold kitchen, glancing over at the brunette as she adjusted herself in her the yellow seat.
Her brown hair messy as it draped over her White Sox's T shirt, goosebump's covering her bare leg's with lack of cover from her sleep shorts. He cleared his throat looking away, thinking something not appropriate for six in the morning.
"Hey you know you got a broken dial to your oven right?" He points out. She shrugged. "Let Lenny deal with it." She state's.
she turn up the volume to the tv, the sun had begun to rise in her small beachside apartment, she looked between the blind's of her windows and the man that poured himself coffee in her kitchen.
"Hey you didn't have to stay over you know I wouldn't have mind ubering to the bus station." Brandy say's to him, he looked at her shaking his head.
"Well uh I thought it would be convenient." Bob say's. She smile softly at his explanation, she shakes her head.
"You are way too nice to me you know that." She points out, he shrugs as he sits down. "Well better get used to it." He tells her.
she smirked feeling heat come to her cheek's. "That a threat or promise, Litutenat?" Brandy ask him.
"Mhm depend's." He say's, his voice deep from the morning. She licked her lips. "On what?" Brandy challenged. His blue eyes searched her's.
"How quick you can set that cup down and lay with me." He proposed with a mischievous smirk. Her heart skipped a beat in her chest.
She conceded as she set her mug down as she moved over to the couch. Brandy pulled her blue blanket onto the both of them, leaning into him as he adjusted himself for the both of them to have room.
She turned to face him. "Dont use to this." Brandy tell's, he smiles softly. "I'll try." He say's, chuckling.
Brandy's cheek turned red as he smiled at her reaction turning his attention to the TV. it was playing some cheesy action movie from the eighties, she furrowed her brows as she watched on. Her eye's slowly began to get heavy again as she leaned into his shoulder more.
The body heat from him radiating the entirety of her. She groaned softly as her head fell limp against him. A quick nap, really her enjoy the comfort he brought.
⍧⍧⍧
She leaned her forehead against the cold window as the morning sun shined on her features, the glass fogged up from the heat of her head. She watched the Fightertown pass out the window. Brandy messed with her bracelet on her wrist, a teal and black knitted bracelet, she had gotten it on one of her day's off. She wore almost the same outfit she had been wearing when she first arrived, only this time she wore a zipper jacket, she fought against the tiredness in her body that made her want to fall asleep in car, she leans over turning on his radio to keep herself up.
"You okay?" Bob start's off, she leaned away sitting up. "Yeah just..tired." Brandy awnser's, she sighed.
"So you're not taking a flight home?" Bob speak's up, she tiredly shake's her head.
"Nope, I have had enough of being in the air to last me the summer."She joke's wiping away crust from her eye's, he glances between her and the road.
"I thought you would have wanted to take a faster way home." He suggests. She smiled softly. "I do wanna go home, it's just wanted to stay on the ground for a little bit." She state's.
she was lying a little bit. Wouldn't be the first time she had taken a bus home or to another state, she honestly thought it was a little bit better then taking an airplane, even though she is a pilot taking a flight home make her uneasy.
"Are you asking this because your gonna miss me?" She starts off.
"Or because you are scared for my safety?" Brandy wonder's, he gulped as he cheeks turned red, she smirked seeing the effect her question had on him. "
"I'm just uh..buses are not necessarily the cleanest or safest thing." He stammers, she shakes her head.
"You should see the L train makes it look like first class." She joke's, he raised a brow at her reference. She turned over seeing his confusion.
"It's a Chicago thing."
"Oh you know you should see it during Christmas, other then freezing your ass off its actually a fun time." She tells him, he nods his head listening to her, she looks out the window seeing restaurants passing by.
"I will uh text you, first rest stop im at." She speaks up, he glanced over to her as he came to a red light.
"Its probably Los Angeles but you should know where im at." Brandy tell's him.
"You know it's not gonna be the same for me not seeing you everyday." Bob admit's. She smirks at his confession. "I dont know what im gonna do with you." Brandy say's. He shrug's,
"Cry." He suggests, she shook her her head." Stop." She pleaded with a laugh.
"Aww, well if make you feel good, your my first relationship in awhile." She tells.His brow's furrowed"You havent dated in a while?" He wonder's, she nods her head.
"No uh, my dating game isnt solid like my flying." She remark's, he nods his head.
"I mean I get it I haven't dated in awhile either, I've never done long distance so it will be an experience for the both of us." He gushe's, she shrugs her shoulders, guess your in this together, she thinks to herself.
"I will let you know that if you ever facetime it will be chaotic, quiet isn't something that is common in my house." Brandy tell him, he nods his head.
"Nothing I can't handle."She laughs lightly at his enthusiasm.
"Oh yeah, have you ever woken up to your brother shouting at your sister that he call the bathroom?" She asks him rhetorically, he shake's head.
Her eyes widen as she get''s reminded of something else that happened to her."Oh have you ever walked into you own house to see your sibling's chasing out a raccoon? One that your dad dropped from the ceiling on purpose."
She starts laughing seeing his jaw drop at her explanation, he shakes his head."No I haven't, what is wrong with your family?" He say's between laugh's, she shakes her head biting lip.
"I could tell you but that would take all day." She joke's, she wipes face as she sat back against the seat.
"Oh come on." He complains, she smirks shaking her head. "Please?" He plead's
"Okay, well you will have to tell me another day then." He suggests, she turned her head looking at him in the driver's seat as he focused on the road, she smiled in admiration.
I do not deserve him, she thinks to herself, how did she end up lucky to have someone as nice as him actually find her interesting let alone tolerate her bluntness and her constant mood changing. She couldn't even deal with herself most day's, how was this nice guy going to deal with her. She turned her head back looking at the road.
She laced her finger's with his free hand on the center console. Her heart pounded as she smiled looking out the window. He made her heart race in way's that flying a plane could never compare to.
"Do I just pull in here?" Bob asked gesturing to a parking spot near the symbol of the bus company, she nods her head.
"Yeah just park there." She instructs him, he turned his wheel pulling into the parking space, he puts the car in park turning to her.
She lets out an anxious breath, her hand's shake as she runs them through her curly brown hair, she stares forward as the morning sun shined on her face, her shoulder's felt as if someone was placing several needles in them as she felt the nervousness wash over her.
"Hey." He says softly, he reaches over the center console taking her hand in his, she could feel her heart slow as his warm hand in her cold small one. "You okay?"
"Yeah uh." She stammers.
"You know it's funny uh, i'm more nervous about going home then I was in the air." Brandy admit grimly, she chuckles weakly.
"When I first got here I wanted nothing more then to go back, and now im anxious about leaving." She laugh's weakly.
He sighs deeply as hold her hand in his, he look's meeting her eye's. "Your going to be okay, I have a good feeling." He says fondly.
"I mean I dont like that you are leaving." Bob admit's, her lip's parted at his confession.
"But I know that it's your choice." Brandy gaze softened at his tenderness, it wasn't something that she was used to, she liked the feeling she was getting in her stomach at his word,
"Say the word." She tell's him, he raised a brow confused. "What?" He asked in a soft whisper.
She shook her head. "Say that you dont want me to go, and I wont." Brandy's voice shook vunrable with the man across from her.
"Brandy I - "You are the best thing that I've gotten, and you are the only other thing that will keep me here." She confessed.
"So if you asked me to stay, I will, and if you don't then I will.-" She gasped as his lip's met her, he gently cupped her face as the two of them kiss. Brandy is taken back by his quickness, he pulled away, their blue eye's meeting.
"You have to go, Brandy." He whispered, she shook head. "I dont want to leave you." She tell's him in a whisper.
He leaned his forehead against hers. "We'll meet again, you know I cant stay away." Bob tell's her, she chuckled weakly.
His lip's formed a thin line as he looked at the brunette,she gently held his cheek before she brought her lip's to his, she inhaled deeply as she held him close to her, her lips moved against his with passion.Her hand's ran through his un styled hair, gently pulling at it. She could his hand trail to her waist seeming to want to pull her closer to him.
She groaned lightly, his calloused hand found it's way to her inner thigh. Sweat built up on her chest as she ran her fingers down his chest. Feeling him shiver for the gentleness of her touch. Brandy pulled away.She gasped for air, his hot breath against her face.
"Not the time." He whispers to her, she nods her head."Not the place." She agrees, she smirked.
"Not that completely opposed to it." Brandy admit's, Bob's heart raced at the brunette and her eagerness. "I'll Keep that in mind." Bob say's, his voice low.
She wanted him, she could take him right there in the cramped seat of the car without a blink, this was a different time. She pulled her head back as she sighs turning her head looking at the bus station then back at him.
She gesture's to the building. He nod's opening his door. She opened the car door grabbing her suitcase and bag from the backseat. She grunt's pulling on the strap of the red case dropping it to the sidewalk.
"I swear this thing got heavier." Brandy grumble's as she pant's, she pull the handle up as she turned on her heels pulling her suitcase right behind her, she sling's her bag over shoulder.
"Do you got it?" He ask her, she laughs.
"Yeah I got it." She reasures him as she continues to walk, she can hear the P.A announce the boarding of different buses including her own, she pat's down her jacket pocket's for her ticket.
"Oh shit."
"What?" He asks her his eyes wide in concern, she lets out an exasperated scoff. "My ticket, its not in my pocket." He realizes reaching into his own back pocket pulling out a piece of paper.
"You left it on your counter." He tells her, she sighs in relief talking it from his hand. "You're a lifesaver..literally." She says, he bit his lip smiling at her, she sighs again.
"So this is the part where we go our separate ways." Brandy say's, he looked down at his feet. "Got to say this really fucking suck's." She chuckles weakly, she wipes her tired eyes.
"I know, your telling me ." He agrees with her, she shakes her head.
"Hey uh." She speaks up as he looks up at her, the sun reflected off his glasses onto her face."Let's not think about this as goodbye, I really dont like goodbyes." She admits, he nod's.
"I know that, and you always come back." He tell her, her blue eyes look up at him."This is see you later." She suggests, he chuckled lightly nodding his head slowly.
"Okay...I like that." He agrees with her, her smile fell as her lip's formed a thin line.
She nodded her head as she turned around, starting to walk as her suitcase rumbled on the ground. She stop's, taking a deep breath as she turned around rushing back at him.
Brandy extends her arms as she pulled him into a embrace, He gasped stumbled back as he wrapped his arms around shoulders pulling her close. She took in is smell as if it was the last time she was gonna ever feel it close to her.
She could feel his breath as he sighed into her neck, he smelt of fresh coffee and cologne, a combination she didn't mind at all. She finally let him go.She looked up at him.
"You be good Brandy." He tells her, she smirked at the use of her name, it was refreshing to not hear her last name.
"You be better than me, Bob" She say's back to him, a silence fall's between the both of them, she dropped her shoulder. She leaned up kissing his cheek.
She turned on her heels as she slung her bag over shoulder, she rolls her suitcase on the rough sidewalk, she could feel his stare on the back of her head, she glaced over her shoulder waving to him as she turned into the bus station.
"818 from San Diego to Chicago." The bus driver shout's, she held her ticket in her hand as she handed it off to the ticket taker, following in line with people into the bus, the taker overlooked her ticket looking at her.
"Is this all your taking?" He asks her she nod's her head. "Yes."
"Alright, our buses are non smoking if you are found carrying item's prohabited from being on our transportation you will be escorted off." He remind's her, she nod's her head, she knew it was a security thing but they didnt have to single people out.
She filed on with other people as she headed to the middle section of the bus, she knew it would be less bumpy and easier to sit and fall asleep in, she grunt's as she pushed her handle down as she lifted it up putting it on the top shelf, she put's her backpack in the isle seat before taking the window seat.
"Excuse me." A soft voice spoke up, she turned her head as she looked up seeing a young girl around ten.
"You dropped this." She state's holding up a palm tree keychain with a f-18 flying through the tree. She smiled at the sight of the sevinor, she reache's taking it from her hand's.
"Thank you."Brandy say's with a warm smile
She nod's walking down the row, Brandy look's down at her hand at the small gift, she smiled looking out at the morning sun that shined through the window. She pull's out her phone putting in her white earbuds as she played light rock music. The bus roared to life as it began to move out of the bus station.
The building's pass by her as she watched on, her journey home was gonna be a long one and she knew for sure she was gonna be tired by the time it was done but she didnt mind her choice in taking this way home as it gave her time alone. Her blue eye's dart to a wood sign with an painted soilder looking to the sky, it read's.
Now leaving Fightertown, USA, drive safe.
A/N THIS HURTS! and fun fact I wrote this with no wifi so I'm basically doing this on a small bar of wifi. Its almost over and I'm not ready for it anyways you all have a good day and be safe