Brandie paced around her bedroom, willing Nick's voicemail to pick up. She breathed a sigh of relief as she heard the message. Waiting 'til after the beep, she said, "Nick, it's Brandie... please come to the club this Friday night. It's important. Hope to see you then. Bye."
~~~~~
~Friday Night~
"Brandie! What the fuck has gotten into you?" Kirsten asked, watching as Brandie seemed to be moving around in overdrive, attempting to burn off massive amounts of nervous energy.
Brandie looked down at her from the row of lights and gels she was fiddling with, "Uhhh... you'll see later."
Kirsten shook her head and went back to dropping bottles of beer into the coolers behind the bar.
Brandie climbed down from the ladder she'd been on and scrambled up to the dj booth, trying out the new lighting arrangement she'd just put together. When the flashes of colored lights synchronized with the beat in her mind, she applauded her efforts. She put a record on the turntables, creating a private concert for herself as she wondered what the night would bring. She'd been preparing for the night all week... she'd called every number in her black book, asking them all to please come to the club. But it wouldn't matter how many of them showed up if Nick wasn't there, because then they'd never know why she'd invited them.
****
Daniel and Kirsten sat at the bar, drinking margaritas and wondering what Brandie was up to.
"Not a clue... she told me I'd probably see alot of familiar faces tonight.. whatever that means." Kirsten said.
Daniel shrugged, "Beats the shit out of me- she went and changed everything in the booth and then disappeared into her office- I don't think she had any alcohol with her, though."
"She didn't. She said she hasn't had any alcohol since last weekend." Kirsten told him.
"That hangover must've taught her a lesson!" Daniel laughed.
"No, it means she's definitely up to something."
****
Brandie lightly brushed the powder over her face and smeared her eyelids with a pale sparkly grey shadow and put her makeup away. She couldn't remember the last time she'd used that little. She looked closely at herself in the mirror. Her eyes looked brighter somehow, maybe it was just the absence of the mascara and eyeliner she normally wore, and the freckles sprinkled across her nose even seemed cute. She brushed her hair, handing straight down her back, and looked in the mirror again, smiling. Maybe she was onto something with this new simplistic approach.
She tugged on her jeans and a plain white t-shirt that hugged her body just right without being too tight, and then slipped on a blue football style jersy that read "Player 01", wishing the butterflies in her stomach would calm down.
She went over to her chair, sinking back into it and kicking her feet up on the desk. She wondered again if she was doing the right thing. She didn't know what was going to happen, but felt like she had to take the chance.
****
"What's going on again?" AJ asked Nick as they walked across the parking lot to the entrance of the club.
"I have no idea. She just asked me to be here, said it was important." Nick replied. He'd debated whether or not he should comply, but he was curious. He'd briefly considered bringing another girl with him, but after all the trouble he'd had getting rid of Adriane, he decided it wasn't worth it and asked AJ to come along.
AJ had been planning to be at the club anyway, he had a little idea of what Brandie might have in mind.
They walked past the bouncers and into hte club to find it even more packed than usual. AJ went with Nick over to the bar, but excused himself and snuck back to Brandie's office and knocked on the door.
Brandie jumped a little, "Come in."
AJ opened the door and peeked inside. "Hey baby."
Brandie got up and went to hug him, "Is he here?"
AJ laughed, "Nice to see you, too." He smiled, "Yeah, I came with him. You gonna do it?"
She nodded then asked, "Am I doing the right thing?"
"Brandie, if this is what feels right, then this is what you need to do." he replied.
"Okay.. yeah, I'm gonna do it."
AJ hugged her again, "Good for you. You look good tonight, too."
Brandie giggled a little, "Thanks. Let's just hope he thinks so."
**
Nick sat at the bar, impatiently waiting for AJ to return. He was pretty sure he'd gone to find Brandie, maybe he'd found out what was going on.
AJ strolled back to the bar, chuckling at Nick's anxious expression. "What?"
"Did you see her?"
"Yeah."
"And?"
"And what?" AJ asked, blowing Kirsten a kiss when she waved at him.
"What's she gonna do?" Nick asked.
"How the hell would I know? We'll just have to wait and find out like everyone else." AJ said, knowing whatever she'd come up with would be worth the wait.
~~~~
Just after 12:30 Brandie finally emerged from her office. She couldn't believe how nervous she felt, but she was about to take a big risk, without having any idea how it might turn out. She went to the dj booth to grab a microphone and asked Daniel what he thought of the new light set up.
"It's different, I like it though", he said. "Time for a change, huh?"
Brandie nodded, "Long past due, actually."
Daniel looked confused; it hadn't been that long since they'd changed the lighting.
Brandie smiled at him and descended the steps to the dance floor, headed towards the stage. She said hi to a few of her 'boys' as she passed them by, feeling no regret as she left them behind. She walked onto the side of the stage, looking out at the crowd. She was amazed at the number of faces she recognized- mostly guys who's company she'd shared at some point.
Kirsten left the bar to Drew, walking up to the dj booth to see what was about to happen. She and Daniel watched as Brandie moved to the center of the stage and asked for everyone's attention. Daniel turned down the music and cast the lights towards the stage, making Brandie the focal point.
"Hey everybody!" Brandie shouted, receiving a wild roar in reply. She waited until everyone quieted down before she continued. "I know there are a few curious people here tonight, wondering why I invited them here..."
Nick ran his hands through his hair again, silently agreeing with her. Hell yeah he was curious. He was surprised, too- she looked different tonight- softer somehow, cuter even, maybe. Whatever it was, he liked it.
"...Well, I"m about to tell you. I have something important to say... and I wanted to make sure all my friends were here..." she paused again, while everyone hollered, apparently honored to be included in Brandie's vast circle of 'friends'. She scanned the crowd again, searching for AJ and Nick and found them standing fairly close to the stage- AJ smiling and Nick looking a little apprehensive.
Brandie took a deep breath and said, "I am... retiring... from playing the game..." She stopped to pull the 'player' jersey she was wearing off, "From here on out.. I want to be a one-man woman..."
Kirsten laughed and applauded at the collective gasp that rose from the audience.
Brandie wadded up the jersey, and tossed it to Nick. "And he's the one I want."
"It's about fucking time!" Kirsten hollered as Brandie walked to the side of the stage.
Nick pushed through the mass of people, making his way to where Brandie was about to walk off stage.
She stopped on the bottom step as he approached her and looked into his eyes. "I can't play anymore... I broke the rules... "
Nick waited for her to finish before he replied. He knew what was coming now, he knew he'd won, but he needed to hear her say it.
"I got attached.." she whispered.
Nick smiled and pulled her into a tight hug, then lightly caressed the side of her face as his lips met hers in a passionate kiss.
Kirsten couldn't stop jumping excitedly around the dj booth and hugging Daniel as she watched the scene unfold- finally seeing Brandie make a move with her heart rather than her hormones. She knew 98% of Brandie's game had been strictly self-preservation, protection against getting hurt, and hope this would work out for her. But she figured if Nick would put up with as much shit as Brandie had dished out and go to pretty great lengths himself to prove a point- he probably had to be fairly seriously interested.
Daniel was laughing at the expressions on the faces of Brandie's former boytoys, all looking like they'd lost their favorite playmate.
AJ wandered up to the dj booth, immediately being pounced on with a hug from Kirsten. He laughed, "Pretty amazing, huh?"
"I can't believe she did that! I mean, I knew she liked him.. but damn!"
When Brandie finally pulled away from Nick, she could barely breathe, her heart pounding from the sheer amount of emotion she'd felt in their kiss.
Nick gave her a quick kiss, "We should go... somewhere else."
Brandie nodded and grabbed his hand, leading him back to her office.
~~~~~~
Late Saturday afternoon, Brandie woke up from being gently nudged as Nick rolled over beside her, still asleep. She sat up, glancing around his bedroom at their clothes strewn around, the jersey she'd given him folded up on the dresser, and then at his sleeping form beside her. She couldn't help but smile- she knew she'd made the right decision about wanting to be with him.
Last night they'd spent hours on the the couch in her office talking, her sitting in his lap, loving the feel of his arms around her. In the wee hours of morning they'd gone to Nick's house, falling into bed together- taking the time to learn and explore each other's body more completely than ever before.
Brandie couldn't think of any time she'd ever felt as satisfied as she had lying in his arms after they'd had sex- amazing sensual sex- touching, kissing, whispered words- the kind of sex that only people who really care about each other have- and she began to realize what she'd been missing out on.
She leaned down to kiss across his shoulders, her fingertips skimming over his chest. She saw his eyes open slowly, "Hey you..."
He stretched and rolled over to face her, pleased that she appeared to still be okay with what had happened and wasn't freaking out over still being with him. He put his arm around her, pulling her down onto his chest and kissed her forehead. "Now see, this is what waking up together is supposed to be like.
She raised up to kiss him, then snuggled back down onto his chest, "I can get used to this."
we could be so happy and free
inside a world of misery-
inside of you, inside of me...
this could be the one...
What do you think?
We could give it a try,
'cause you never know,
maybe we could be soulmates.
I want you to stay,
and blow me away...
your way..."
("The One", Limp Bizkit)