Drunk on You [Anabelle]

[Anabelle Grace Bryan]

e, with the moonlight hanging just over top of them. She nodded when he asked if she was all fluttery. “ You got it,” she said quietly. Maybe it was early symptoms of the flu. She lifted her eyebrows as Luke said that her heart was beating fast. See, he could feel it. She knew she was sick. But unexpectedly he lifted her hand and placed it on his chest. Instantly her fingertips curled against his chest as her palm laid firmly against his skin. “ Yeah that feels perfect” she said as she looked at her own fingertips, “ Your heart seems fine. Which is good. Both of us being sick would not be good,” she said before nodding as though that made sense. Anabelle but couldn’t help but smile as he lowered himself into the water to be more at her level. It wasn’t her fault she was so petite. She didn’t really notice it around a lot of people, but Luke’s height sure didn’t help. She held her breath as she felt his hands wrap themselves around her waist. If her heart could jump out of her chest it probably would, and all she could think of was how damn cute that hat was. Anabelle smiled as she looked over the features of his face before taking in a deep breath and sighing. “ I don’t really like the city. Way too much concrete and cement. I come out here a lot.. not as often as I want to,” she said, moving closer to him subconsciously. “ In fact the only city I ever used to dream about going to when I was a little girl was Paris,” she said with a nod, never dreaming in the world she would find herself in New York City. “But just for a night, I think. Then I’d want to go back home.”. Anabelle looked down at his shoulders, the way the water lapped against his collar bone and instinctively wanted to touch it. Bringing her fingertips up to the soft patch of skin that the moon happened to be lighting down on , she traced it softly over his collar bone before she looked back up at him. “ And what did a county boy such as yourself get on a plane for to come to the city?”

[Luke Thomas Bryan]

Luke nodded as Anabelle said she didn’t really like the city that much, and he had to agree. Far too much concrete and pavement. He could see that it wasn’t the place for her, that she probably would eventually go back where her heart belonged, which was in the country in the wide open spaces where creeks flowed for miles and you couldn’t drive ten miles without seeing some kind of farm equipment. For a moment Luke wondered then, why she had ended up in the city in the first place? But he knew the answer to that. She’d come because of the ex-boyfriend, and stayed because of the music label. Seemed like a good enough reason, though had a feeling it wouldn’t last forever. Roots had a way of grabbing hold of you when you least expected it, dragging your heart right back where it belonged. Luke agreed, “I’m not a huge fan of he city either. Only one I ever visit is Nashville, and even that is a different breed,” he laughed. Though what she said next he wasn’t expecting, “Paris?” he responded. “Hmm. I’ve never really thought about it, but I guess it does have an allure about it.” He’d noticed she had moved just oh so closer, but naturally found his arms wrapping around her waist further. Any closer and they’d be touching, but hey, that’d be alright. Luke watched her hand move across his skin, feeling the tingles where her fingertips moved, trying to focus on what she was asking him, “Me?” What was a guy like him doing in New York? Luke had never been a city slicker, never would be. He grew up on a farm, driving trucks and tractors, having bonfires and late night dips in the creek. He’d graduated high school and gone right into the marines, doing his duty and came home, working construction and living a bachelor life. Playing music in bars at night. That was the extent of it, what on earth was he doing here? “Just chasing a country girl.”

[Anabelle Grace Bryan]

Anabelle held her breath again momentarily as his arms wrapped further around her. In all reality this embrace was the farthest either of them had gone to suggest what might be going on inside either of their heads. And wasn’t that the scariest thing of all? She was glad he could agree with her in the country versus city debate. But really, did she expect any different? Birds of a feather. Anabelle lowered her hand from his chest down to the side of his arm, not realizing as they touched the outer edge of his arm to feel the shape of his muscles. “ I think it’s just the idea of what Paris means,” she said before shrugging casually. Anabelle looked up at him as he seemed to ponder what he was doing here. But then she smiled almost instantaneously as he said he was chasing a country girl. “ I don’t think she’s running” she said, trying to hide the small amount of blush that came across her cheeks, not that it mattered. It was dark, there was no way he could possibly see her blushing, right? Anabelle narrowed her eyebrows as she lost herself in thought for a moment before she looked up at him again hopefully, “ Do you think..” she started off hesitantly, “ That someday you might kiss me?” Anabelle looked down, trying to cover her cheeks and eyes before she forced herself to look back up at him.

[Luke Thomas Bryan]

Luke smiled at that when she said she wasn’t running anywhere, but he just shrugged, “Hey a little runnin’ never hurt anybody.” Luke didn’t mind the quiet for the moment, standing there in the water with Anabelle in his arms, the faint sound of country music playing from the truck in the background. It was nice. He hadn’t really been with a woman in a while not like this. Not with the chance that it might account for something. And even so, whatever one nighters came his way were few and farther between lately. What with helping watch Wesley when his sister had doctor’s appointments and all that. Family had been a priority lately. It was nice though, doing something for himself. Spending time with Anabelle, doing this tour thing. As bad a thought as it was, and he hated thinking it, just because one life was surely coming to a close didn’t mean it had to be the end of his. He still had to go on. He owed it to himself, his parents. He owed it to Wesley. Things had been better for a while, but it was an unspoken fact that his sister’s sickness would be back. She had a time frame, living on borrowed time. The last sands in the hourglass would fall and he’d have to continue to make life as normal as possible for himself and his nephew. He could do at least that. Hell, he’d promised that to his sister. And now, he was thinking, the best way to do that was to make the most of himself, to his best potential. Surround himself with the best people. Anabelle broke him of his thoughts and he smiled down at her, nodding because he knew he would. “Yeah, I think so for sure.” He paused for a second, his hands rubbing the small of her back gently, and then asked, “What exactly is your definition of someday?”

[Anabelle Grace Bryan]

“ You could just run with me,” she said quietly as she looked down at the way his arms were curved behind her. The feeling of security and comfort she felt.. that was insane, right? After dating Dalton you never thought security would have been an issue, he was the most protective guy she knew. But for some reason out in this water, with Luke’s arms around her she just felt secure. Anabelle linked as she took in a slow, deep breath and squared her shoulders. Lust wasn’t really something she comprehended because it wasn’t a part of her personality to only see in people what she could get out of them. Was it possible for someone to come into your world and turn it upside down. She’d been drawn to him because he had reminded her of home, but would anything feel like home anymore if he didn’t keep his arms around her like this? Anabelle felt the corner of her lips curl up into a smile as he said that he would in fact kiss her, but then asked for her definition. “ I’m not Webster, darlin’. But I think it’s fair to make up our own rules,” she said. The grip of his fingertips against her lower back, tracing back and forth was enough to make her lose her mind right there, and for what? Was she that dependent on him? The man that had never touched her before and now she felt she might thirst for his skin the way many thirst for water, to survive. “ Do you believe in love at first sight?” she asked, feeling the nervous catch in her throat before she adjusted her shoulder uncomfortably. “ Would you say I was crazy.. if I said I did. Starting a few days ago” She questioned before finally bringing her eyes up to his, even though her nerves had the best of her. Anabelle closed the distance between them, bringing herself to his chest as she wrapped her arms around his lower back and rested her cheek upon his chest.

[Luke Thomas Bryan]

Luke nodded, well that was a suggestion. Running together. Running where, he didn’t think it mattered, from what, he didn’t know. Maybe you didn’t need a reason to run, maybe running with someone was the whole fun of it. Just go and don’t look back, go wherever life takes you? Life was indeed too short to be uptight, maybe that was exactly the kind of life he should live, And who better then to have someone to share it with that saw it that way too. “I could, that is true.” Well this was just crazy. Luke couldn’t find an explanation for what was going on here except that he liked it and didn’t think it was right to question things like fate. There was just somethin’ about this woman that just got him. “Hmmm, make up my own rules? I could probably go for that.” Luke knew he wasn’t going to pass up this woman, she was definitely a keeper, but for that reason, he didn’t want to rush things. They had been drinking, she’d just broken up with her recent boyfriend. No rush. Honestly, he was so caught off guard by how taken he was with her, he wanted to enjoy every second of it. And do things the right way. She caught him off guard when she asked if he believed in love at first sight. Honestly, a few days ago he would have said, not really. And he found it interesting that she said exactly what he was thinking. “No, not at all… I didn’t, until a few days ago. Now I feel pretty different about that.” Luke shrugged, but smiled softly. There really couldn’t be anything else to describe this, could there be? Luke wrapped his arms fully around her, holding her against his chest, “Are you cold?” It had gotten a little chilly, he wouldn’t blame her if she wanted to go back to shore and warm up.

[Anabelle Grace Bryan]

Anabelle curled her shoulder up against his chest as she brought her hand to her face to push her hair away from it and just relaxed against his body. She gave a small smile as she realized that she could hear his heart beating against his chest, what a beautiful sound it made. How many girls dreamed of being in this embrace, and here she was clinging to him like he might disappear and she would open her eyes to an empty hotel room. She stayed quiet, listening as he agreed that he had believed in it starting a few days prior, too. Was that the same thing as them saying it to each other? Anabelle narrowed her eyebrows. So they both knew what the other was feeling, but there was no reason in rushing it in all in one night. Though she had a feeling she probably didn’t want to rush things for a different reason, if he even had one. But for her she never wanted to lose this feeling in her chest, the flutter. If he was a dream come true, she wasn’t going to waste all of her sleep on the first night. It was better to get doses of him. “ Logan isn’t gonna’ know what to do with us” she said with a slight laugh, deciding it was best to not drag out ‘feelings’ when really it was inexplicable as to how they had any. Anabelle nodded when he asked if she was cold before lifting her arms away from his lower back and brought them to his neck where she pulled herself up so that he could carry her back to the truck. It had gotten cold pretty quickly, but they’d been drinking and it didn’t seem like the right time to drive back to the city. “ Do you want to sleep out here?” she asked as she held her hands on the back of his neck before she gestured to the back of the truck. They had blankets, booze, music, somewhere to sleep, it really wasn’t that bad. Anabelle leaned into his chest as he carried her back to the truck and instead of putting on all of her own clothes she leaned down, picking up his shirt before she buttoned up most of the buttons and rolled up the sleeves. Her hair hadn’t gotten too wet so she just ran her fingers through it before climbing into the back of the truck where she sat down the whiskey bottle. Anabelle looked up at Luke, smirking as she pulled her boots back on over her bare legs, “ Come on in, sugar. I won't bite you tonight…” she said before smiling sweetly and laying down against the truck.