Brian Quinn: A New Man

Chapter 10

It had been a nice day for Jacki, she went to a meeting at the TruTV offices and then took time to explore more of the city. She toured around Greenwich Village and even found herself at the bottom step of the infamous Carrie Bradshaw apartment.

As she walked down Perry Street she thought about the ferry ride that morning. It was pretty odd to see Brian riding it to work when he had a perfectly good car. They hadn't been really spending any time together off set and even on set she had noticed Kelli, one of the P.A.s, basically attached at Brian's hip. Jacki knew better than to over think or over analyze something. Kelli was sweet, hard working, and ambitious. This was her first job outside of waitresses so Jacki chose to assume that it was lack of set etiquette experience.

"Hey everyone! Anyone interested in having some fun tonight head on over to The Slaughtered Lamb Pub at 5 for happy hour!"

The message hit the IJ Crew group chat around 3pm, and Jacki, who usually avoided group things, decided to go outside her comfort zone and attend. She only had a few weeks left in New York and she wouldn't mind one outing with her coworkers. She was interested in following up on the tarot reading she'd done for Q earlier.

A few minutes after five o'clock, Jacki made her way inside the pub. She saw her crew hanging out at one side of the bar. She noticed that Kelli was talking to one of the sound techs but her eyes were fixed in Brian's direction. He was in conversation with the bartender. Jacki walked over and leaned against the bar, he breasts resting on the hard surface. It was an old trick she used back in her twenties when she wanted the get attention. But the attention she got wasn't from the bartender.

"Ok put those away, you're gonna poke someone's eye out!" Brian teased, motioning in the direction of her chest.

It was then that the bartender looked at Jacki. He took her order and poured her a shot of whiskey, as she had requested. She downed it and pushed the glass back for another shot. Brian's shot glass was empty so he did the same. They drank four shots back to back until her Woodpecker Cider made its appearance.

"Cider huh?"

"Yeah. Something to cool down with."

Jacki turned and noticed that Kelli was glaring daggers.

"What's wrong with Kelli? Did the production meetings not go well today?"

There was a pause and another shot taken by Brian before he answered.

"No. Thats my fault. You know those cards you showed me today?"

Jacki nodded and then it hit her- Kelli was the situation that he needed to end. Her eyes widened. Kelli was 23, and Brian was definitely old enough to know better, along with being old enough to be Kelli's father.

"Brian you didn't! You slept with her! Shame on you!"

Jacki punched Brian in the shoulder, he winced.

"Ow! Just a couple of times! It wasn't anything. It didn't mean anything."

"Well it obviously meant something to her. Why would you do that?"

"Bored I guess."

Jacki rolled her eyes.

"Do you want to stay alone for the rest of your life? Because if you do that's fine, but if you want something real then you're going to need to date differently. Like go out with someone you already like spending time with. And if you genuinely like spending time with Kelli then ask her out. But if not, move on."

It was Brian's turn to roll his eyes. Jacki could tell she hit a nerve with her friend.

"I know my advice is totally unsolicited so do what you want."

"No, you're right. I just don't know if I believe in finding someone. I'm fourty seven, well passed prime. Who would even want me at this point?"

"Are you saying that seriously or just for attention?"

"I'm serious! I've had two engagements end because they were cheating on me. I tried dating after a while but nothing ever really works out."

"Maybe you're choosing the wrong people, Brian."

"Maybe I'm the wrong person."

Jacki reached out to his hands and placed her on top of his.

"That is absolutely untrue. Think about the things that are important to you- your beer especially. Somewhere out there is a woman who can be your biggest supporter when it comes to your dreams."

Brian looked at her and she felt something flutter in her stomach. They'd spent plenty of time alone before but they'd never touched like this, and she'd never seen the same look in his eyes. She lifted her hands and took a drink, she didn't need any kind of complication. She finished her drink and walked out of the pub, afraid that if she lingered any longer then some unwelcome feelings might surface.

She opted to park her Vespa at the ferry dock, near the security cameras, and take a cab after she got on Staten Island. The sun was almost down as the breeze hit her face. It seemed like it had been longer than just ten hours since she and Brian had been on the ferry together. Not seeing him practically everyday was going to be weird. But she had other plans and staying in Staten Island wasn't one of them.