In Another Life

10

I watched him bite his bottom lip, then slowly released it from his perfect white teeth while he held my gaze. At least, I think it was slowly. Everything was kind of in slow motion for me at the moment and I was having a problem catching my breath. My heart was beating against my chest walls so hard, I'm surprised no one else heard it. Holy Fuck. He released his grip from my hand and smiled. "I honestly didn't think we would need security. We've never used them at Playlist before. I guess things have changed though and we should've learned from what happened at our Pop Up Shop in LA." He shook his head, releasing a long breath, before running his hand, yet again, through his hair. The red was almost completely gone now, the natural chestnut brown dominant. I could tell he didn't straighten it this morning either or either the Floriday humidity had it's effect, because the ends were curling up. I don't think I've ever found him more attractive. Of course, that could be because he was right in front of me, instead of on a screen. Was my tongue hanging out of my mouth? Cuz oh my God, I felt like I should be drooling. What was he saying? Something about security, I think. Yeah, that's right...I remember. I was still holding my hand up awkwardly in between our bodies. I brought it down, and let it rest by my side as I dragged my gaze away from him. "Um, yeah. Okay. You should probably think about that next time." I let out a shaky breath, and took a step back from him. I felt suffocated from how close he was. Even his smell...what cologne was that?...was enveloping my senses, turning my brain to mush. This was ridiculous. He was just a guy. I shouldn't be having a physical and mental breakdown just because he was literally right here...right in front of me...and he grabbed my hand. Okay, stop it. Back to reality. Stupid brain, confusing me, making me think of things that I shouldn't be thinking of right now. I cleared my throat, and met his gaze again. "So what are you going to do? Do you want me to call management and get them removed or what?" He grimaced and shook his head, his small curls lifting as his head swung. "No, uuggghhh, I can't do that. I'm already going to get dragged for this. I know they're mad and they're gonna let me know about it. If they're removed, they'll blame that on me too. Better to just let it be for now. Hopefully they'll leave soon." Just then, his stomach let out a fierce growl, and his face flushed red as his hand came up to cover his abdomen. "But I'm fucking hungry." "I'll go down and get your food," I offered, the words just spilling out of my mouth. "I mean, if you want me too. Denise and I can go. You can just wait here. You'll have to let them know that we're the ones coming down for it though." His eyes lit up, as his gorgeous brows raised. "Would you? That would be awesome!" He pulled out his phone and made a call, letting the people know that someone else would be down to pick up the food. "Uh name?" His eyes shot to mine as he replied "Her name is..." He trailed off waiting for me to answer. "Terra. Terra Brookes," I replied. He smiled a little, and spoke into the phone. "Terra Brookes will be picking up the food. Yes, that's right. Colby Brock. She'll be down soon. Thank you." I felt a rush hearing him speak my name, but I swallowed it down, determined not to act like a fluttery fan girl. I was grown and I would not succumb. That's what I kept telling myself anyways. He put his phone back in his pocket and brought both of his hands together in a praying motion under his chin. "Thank you for this. My stomach thanks you," he said as he kind of bowed to me a little. I felt the blood rush to my face again as I stuttered out a reply. "It-it's fine. N-no problem. Really. You guys shouldn't have to deal with this. It's not right." I felt myself getting a little angry again, and I guess he saw it too, because a little smirk crossed his face, as he shrugged. "Calm down Princess. I guess it just comes with the gig. I'm not crazy about it, but I'm learning to deal with it." I didn't know how to reply to that so I just nodded a little and turned to look at Denise. "Ready to face these crazy bitches?" She laughed and nodded. "Let's do it," she said glancing at Colby. "Can't promise I won't eat your food before we get back though. Kinda hungry myself." The look on his face was comical. His mouth dropped open a little, and his brows shot up, in panic. "No! Don't eat my Taco Bell!" We were already to the door by then, so we just laughed and walked out, shutting it behind us. The girls weren't in front of our door anymore so that was good. I was sure that they were lurking somewhere though. I could feel it. Sure enough, as we walked towards the elevator doors, a couple of heads popped around the corner of the adjoining hallway. They saw us, and the one girl that I wanted to snatch her hair out of her head, gave us a snarky smirk, then ducked back behind the wall. I rolled my eyes and shook my head, but didn't encourage another altercation. If Colby said to leave it alone, I was going to leave it alone. Until I couldn't. "Are we actually going to get food for the Trap House right now?" Denise asked, looking at me in disbelief as we stepped onto the elevator. I let out a breath, sure that my own face showed the same shock, and nodded. "We actually are. This is insane." We talked a little more, about how crazy this entire situation was, as we made our way to the front desk to pick up the food.