If Someday Never Comes

Chapter 9

Brookss' POV

I felt her before I saw her, the hair on the back of my neck stood up and tingles covered my skin. It was electric and took me a minute to discover the source of this sudden change in my body when Sam nudged my arm. I think our friendship started because we were trying to fill the void each other carried the minute that the two girls standing at the front of the bar walked out of our lives. It wasn't something we ever admitted out loud so sitting here together as they walked through the front door felt like some kind of sick twisted joke. There have been endless nights of drinking beers or hitting the gym that the subject could have come up but it was as if we shared some kind of unspoken bond that acknowledged neither of us wanted to talk about it or them. We found more comfort in the silence, pretending like they no longer existed but there they were and we couldn't force ourselves to pretend like we didn't feel the uneasiness radiating off each other. 

My eyes narrowed in on her smile as it lit up the room and she began hugging people that had greeted them at the door. The bar is packed, the night before Thanksgiving always brings a big alumni crowd. When people come home for the holidays they also decide they need a drink or five before they spend a weekend with their family. I know the feeling well.

I never expected to see her here though, she hasn't been home in years and I'm almost pissed that she decided to come back now. Flames ignite in my chest, who does she think she is to just waltz back into this town after all this time without any warning? A voice in my head answers, she's Sydney Graves, that's who, she does what she wants when she wants. 

I wasn't supposed to have to deal with seeing her until the wedding. I wasn't prepared for this and I feel my nerves radiating inside my body. My hand trembles slightly and my heart pounds in my chest. 

 I let out a breath and I'm surprised when it isn't followed by a puff of smoke as on fire as I feel inside, I study her, she doesn't quite look like the Sydney I once knew. 

Her hair is darker than it was when we were teenagers, shorter though, cut just below her shoulders. She has on this little black dress that hugs her body with a leather jacket over it and knee-high boots that make her short legs look miles long. Fuck, she looks good. Heat pricks my skin and my muscles tense followed by an old pang in my chest that I haven't felt in years. It reminds me of the pain I felt after losing her, it reminded me of the guilt I felt whenever I looked at her and it nearly knocked the breath out of me as her eyes moved in my direction and settled on my face. 

Everything spun around us as if it was all disappearing and I was caught in her crystal blue gaze across the busy bar. There was something different about her, a confidence that wasn't there before. The look on her face transformed into something I didn't recognize. There was a wall there preventing me from fully accessing her in the way I used to. She smirked and I was having trouble discerning the emotion there, was she happy to see me? My heart flipped and my pulse quickened as I reminded my body quickly she was off limits but it refused to listen. She pulled her gaze away and I felt an emptiness wash over me.

Before I realized what was happening, my heart was back to fluttering as I noticed her walking toward our table. Quinn was by her side, eyes wide and nervous but Sydney-she didn't look afraid at all. She looked untouched, unaffected, unbothered...

She stopped in front of us and I felt consumed by her nearness and her voice sounded like velvet as she smiled, "Hey boys, long time no see..." 

I apparently forgot how to speak and heard Sam let out a breath next to me. My eyes took an inventory of the rest of the table Jake Scott sat across from me and a smile covered his face as soon as his eyes locked on her and took her in from head to toe. I had to clench my fists to keep myself from punching that smile off his face. 

Sam's cheeks were bright red but he choked out a hello to both Sydney and Quinn. Across from him sat his little brother, Riley who was home from college. He jumped out of his seat at their arrival, "Syd! Quinn! It's so good to see you both!" as he wrapped his arms around each of them, when he pulled away he grabbed each of their hands and spun them in a circle, "Ladies, you are looking good." his boyish grin grew bigger as he praised both of them and I caught myself staring again. He's not wrong. Fuck that black dress. 

"Well, well baby brother Stevens is all grown up." The sultry tone in Sydney's voice nearly made me choke. 

"Charming suits you well," Quinn adds with a pointed look at Sam, and the tension surrounding us grows but Jake pipes up like he doesn't notice, "You two are a sight for sore eyes in this place. How long has it been since you've been home?" 

"I was home for a bit last Christmas, but only came in for a few days to visit my brother and the new baby," Quinn answers. 

"It's been five years for me," Sydney says with a deep breath. 

"Well," his eyes nearly set fire at the way he was looking at her, "it sounds like we've got a lot to catch up on then." 

My knuckles are white as I clench them under the table, my body, so affected by her presence that I feel the tension in places I didn't know possible while she stands there acting like being around me isn't phasing her in the slightest. She hasn't even acknowledged me sitting here so I decided that it's time for both of us to be as uncomfortable as I am, "Home for the holidays?" I try to catch her eyes but she keeps them locked on Jake's. 

"Yep." her short answer causes my blood to boil and I crush my back teeth together to keep from unleashing all this irritation on her. "We may stay through New Year's, depending on how exciting things get around here," she says slipping her tongue out over her full bottom lip with a smile. 

What. The. Fuck. Is. Happening. 

The fact that she is flirting with Scott right in front of me makes my chest feel like it's on fire and before I can get another word in Jake stands from his seat and looks at me, clearly ignoring the steam radiating off my body and says, "Guess we'll just have to make it exciting enough for you to stick around," he raises his eyebrows, "starting by getting you a drink." 

"You read my mind." She finally looks back at the rest of us at the table when her eyes stop on mine, " You boys don't have too much fun." and she walks away with Jake. 

They turn toward the bar, his hand lands on her lower back and I swear I hear a growl come from the back of my throat as Quinn narrows her eyes at me and Riley jumps from his seat, "Quinn, let me buy you a drink." and he places his arm across her shoulders and they head to join Sydney and Jake at the bar. 

I almost forgot Sam was sitting next to me when he decided to speak, "So...Sydney and Quinn are home." His gaze was pinned to the empty spot they were just standing while my eyes did their best to find her through the crowd, she was leaning against the bar with Jake, Quinn, and Riley curled around her as the bartender handed her a glass of red wine. She laughs at something one of them says, her head tilted back, smile wide and my heart jumps into my throat, "Yeah, I guess they are." 

AN: Aaaaayyyyyy How are we feeling??? Brooks seems to be feeling a little uneasy...do we feel for him or does he deserve it??? Tell me all your thoughts!