The aroma of fresh coffee roused Brian from his dreams. Wincing at the sunlight filtering through his blinds, he slowly sat up in bed and stretched. Tousling his hair, he got up. Grabbing his phone from his night stand he saw the usual bombardment of text he’d missed while he slept. Most were from Marie, a small ginger girl he’d met weeks before at a football game. He’d been the one to accidentally run her over during a play, but he’d also the one to run over her previous boyfriend that approached her the wrong way. Seeing a girl mistreated was one thing Brian didn’t stand for. Marie, unfortunately, took this as a sign that he liked her and has not stopped texting, calling, emailing, and stalking him. He has told her many times that he isn’t interested in much more than friends, but she pays him no attention. He stubbornly refuses to communicate with her anymore until she accepts the fact he only wants to be friends.
Brian stands and walks to the bathroom, proceeding with his daily routine of taking a shower, brushing his teeth, and fixing his hair. He stares in the mirror at his incoming beard. Should I cut it? He wondered, but deciding he kinda liked it, he shrugged and walked back in his room. Throwing on a pair of shorts and a somewhat tight fitting muscle shirt that showed off his build, he grabbed his phone and headphones.
The kitchen was empty with the exception of the pot of steaming coffee. Pouring himself a mug of the black liquor, he looked around slightly wondering where everyone else was. I know Marcus is at the tennis courts…Sean is probably still sleeping…who knows about the others though. Taking a sip, he realized the drink wasn’t as hot as he thought it was. After a few minutes passed, the coffee was gone and Brian was out the door, gone for his morning jog.
After hours of running, and the occasional stop for rest and water, he came back home. The silver SUV was gone. Figuring Sean had finally gotten up and left, he walked to the door before stopping abruptly. He could feel someone was watching him. Becoming slightly paranoid, he turned around.
“HI BRIAN!!!” The bubbly redhead ran toward him from the street. Stifling an exasperated sigh, he smiled slightly and waved. “I knew you’d be getting back around this time! I missed you! Why haven’t you answered my texts?”
“I told you already. I don’t want a girlfriend. Stop trying to get me to ask you out.” Brian tried his best to keep his tone from sounding annoyed. “All I want is a FRIEND.”
Sighing she nodded. “I know. I just like you so much and-“
“We’re only going to be friends?” Brian finished her sentence for her, knowing she would start one of her rants again, and he didn’t want to hear it. She sighed and nodded her head. He smiled. “Okay then. I’ll text you later, alright?”
“Okay.” She looked a bit sad, so feeling a little guilty, he hugged her.
“Bye Marie.” She smiled and bounced away. Feeling satisfied, he walked into the house to change into something more comfortable.
Sporting a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a pair of slightly ripped jeans, and some sneakers, Brian went to the garage and hopped into his favorite vehicle: a rather large, black Dodge Ram. He started it up and headed to the Pawprint.
As he pulled up, he could see Sean walking out. Always headed somewhere… Brian shook his head as he got out the truck. The sweet aroma of sweets lingered outside, making his stomach growl.