Don't You Want Me, Baby | Rooster x Reader
Summary: It was like a fairytale, the way you stole Bradley's heart with your gorgeous face, retro denim jacket, and karaoke skills. But when you disappear into the night, leaving only one small trinket behind, he's left wondering if he didn't just dream you up.
Warnings: Fluff, swearing and karaoke
Length: 3200 words
Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader
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Bradley's favorite thing about '80s throwback nights at the Hard Deck was seeing how his friends dressed for it. Nat usually went with neon spandex. Bob had a vintage Nintendo tee shirt. Jake found a windbreaker and matching pants at a thrift store. Even Penny got in on things by wearing a hideous blazer with enormous shoulder pads.
But Bradley just wore what he always did: one of his dad's tropical print shirts from circa 1983, his snug Levi's, and his slick mustache.
When he arrived at the Hard Deck, he realized that his least favorite part of this kind of night was the fact that he was always the odd man out now. He'd been single for such a long time, and it didn't usually bother him. But the way Javy had his arm around Nat, and the way Bob's girlfriend was making him blush... well, Bradley was starting to feel like he was missing out.
Nat handed him a beer as soon as he strolled up to the bar. "I can't decide if it's funny or sad that you don't even have to try," she told him, eyeing him up and down.
"Says the woman wearing a neon pink jumpsuit? What even is that thing?" he asked, gesturing to her outfit. Frankly, it was scary, but Javy seemed to like it as he kissed Nat and whispered in her ear before he walked away, turning to look at her several times.
She rolled her eyes and told him, "It's '80s workout attire! I'm going to sing the song Physical for karaoke, and I thought it would be fun to match the theme. You, on the other hand, wore the same thing the other day when we went out for pizza. You live in the '80s my friend."
"Whatever," Bradley grunted, sipping his beer.
"Rooster, did you sign up for a song yet?" Fanboy asked him, jerking his thumb to the karaoke setup in the corner.
Just as he was about to reply, Nat smirked at him. "How about I pick a song for you?"
Bradley just shrugged. "Sure." He liked singing. He was pretty good at it. And with tonight's theme, he'd know all the lyrics even without the video prompt. But he didn't like the smug look on his friend's face as she strolled away in her hideous pink outfit.
He sipped his beer. There were a lot of people here tonight that he'd never seen before. It was usually the same Naval officer crowd every weekend, so this was interesting. And there were a lot of cute girls with their hair all teased and hair sprayed wearing things that made Bradley smile.
Then his eyes caught on a denim jacket and a mini skirt on the cutest girl he had seen in a very long time. "Oh," Bradley gasped, finishing the last of his beer and setting the empty bottle down on the counter. You turned to laugh at your friend who was behind you, but your eyes caught on Bradley's, and he started stumbling through the crowd in your direction.
Then the DJ in charge of karaoke night called up the first singer, and the crowd closed in on the stage. "Shit," Bradley muttered. He lost sight of you amongst the too bright neon strobe lights. The song Sunglasses at Night started blaring, and Bradley couldn't find his friends either. The more he tried to shove through the crowd, the more dirty looks he got.
Two more singers performed terrible renditions of songs that Bradley used to like until he heard them here. He figured you must have left, because he couldn't see you anywhere. With a sigh, he leaned against the back wall. And then Nat was there, pressing another beer into his hand.
"Why do you look so pissy?" she asked over the music.
He just shrugged and rolled his eyes at himself. "It's so dumb. But I saw the cutest girl, and then she vanished...."
There you were, not far from the DJ booth. You were dancing along to someone butchering Billie Jean. Bradley could barely see you through the crowd as he smacked Nat's arm. "It's her. Denim jacket. Little skirt. Fucking gorgeous face."
"Go talk to her," Nat told him with a grin that made him a bit nervous.
"What do you think I'm trying to do?" he asked, looking for the best way to get over to you. The way you were dancing and laughing had Bradley smiling as he squeezed past Bob.
When you spun in a slow circle with your friends, you froze, eyes meeting Bradley's again. This time you bit your lip and waved to him.
Bradley laughed and mouthed, "I'm coming." He watched as you pressed your lips together and ducked your face down.
"Hurry up!" you called when the song ended.
Bradley was about to start throwing elbows to get as close to you as possible. Then he heard his name.
"Rooster is up next! Where's Rooster?" called the DJ.
Bradley let his head tip back as he groaned. He waved to the DJ and then winked at you. "Sorry," he mouthed as he smiled at you.
You smiled and shrugged and that's when the DJ announced, "Rooster is singing that iconic song from Dirty Dancing, I've Had The Time of My Life."
He turned to glare at Nat where she stood against the back wall. "You picked a duet, you jerk! I can't sing that alone!"
But his attention snapped away from Nat when he felt your hand on his arm. You had managed to close the distance to him, and Bradley met your eyes as you let your fingers glide down his arm until they met his hand.
"I'll sing with you, Rooster."
Bradley laced his fingers with yours, and you led him up to the stage as the bar was filled with applause. Bradley took the microphone from the DJ. You and he were going to have to share it, and he didn't mind that one bit.
"Ready?" Bradley asked you, keeping his flingers linked with yours.
"Let's do it."
Bradley nodded, signaling they were ready to sing, and when the music started, you smiled up at him. He missed the first few words as his heart pounded, scrambling to pick up the lyrics as you giggled.
Now I've had the time of my life. No, I've never felt like this before. Yes, I swear it's the truth, and I owe it all to you.
Then when it was your turn, Bradley was hypnotized by your voice. He could come up with about a hundred more duets he was dying to sing with you. Either here at the bar, or maybe back at his place. Maybe you'd let him have your number.
He missed his next line again, completely distracted by you biting your lip and holding the microphone for him. "Shit," he said with a laugh, finally getting back on track again. But you seemed to know you were the reason he was distracted, and he could tell he was blushing.
And when it was time to sing together, your voice blended perfectly with his.
So we take each other's hand, 'cause we seem to understand the urgency.
And then you started to dance with him a little bit, just a sway of your hips, but Bradley moved along with you. It was perfect, the way you shared the microphone with him. The way your smile made the song even better. The way you laughed at the end when Bradley's face was close to yours and the room erupted in loud applause.
"Thanks for bailing me out," he told you as he handed over the microphone.
"You're welcome, Rooster," you told him with a smile that made him want to taste your lips. Then you were slipping your hand free from his as your friends called you over. You glanced at him over your shoulder, and Bradley turned back to the DJ while another singer took the stage.
"I need you to let me sing again," Bradley told him.
"One song per person, sorry."
Bradley rolled his eyes and pulled fifty bucks out of his wallet. "One more song? Right after this one?"
And then, just like that, Bradley was signed up. When he turned your way, you were already looking at him, challenging him to make a move.
"Excuse me," he said, encroaching on your friend group and holding out his hand for you to take. "But, my friend accidentally signed me up for another duet. Think you can help me out again?"
You slipped your hand into his and smirked. "Really? It looked like you signed yourself up this time."
He shook his head and pulled you closer to him. "Nah. Just a trick of the lighting, I think. It was definitely my friend."
Your laughter had him reaching his free hand gently around your waist, tucking it inside your denim jacket.
"That's a cute mustache," you told him, reaching up to touch his lip. "Did you grow it just for tonight?"
Bradley shook his head. "It's a permanent fixture."
"Oh, even better."
Bradley was thinking about it. He was going to do it. He was inching closer, ready to kiss you, when the DJ called his name again. "Rooster, you're up for an encore!"
The room erupted in more cheers as Bradley led you up to the stage, hand still at your waist.
"Which song is it?" you asked over the applause, your lips next to his ear.
His smile grew as he promised, "You'll know it."
Then Don't You Want Me started playing, and you laughed as Bradley danced around on the stage, singing just to you until the chorus when you joined him. Your perfect, smiling lips were so close to his as you both sang "Don't you want me, baby! Don't you want me, ohhh!" together.
And then he let you have the microphone for your part, and your voice sounded even better than the original song. He let his voice blend with yours again and again, but then too soon, the song was ending. He briefly wondered if he could get away with bribing the DJ for just one more song with you.
He had the microphone in his hand, about to check if he had more cash in his wallet, when you wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed his lips. Right in the middle of the stage. Right in the middle of the applause and the neon lights and the DJ introducing Nat as the next singer.
Your lips tasted as sweet as you looked, and Bradley almost dropped the microphone trying to get his arms around you as well. You kissed his lips softly and then laughed before you let your lips skim over his mustache.
"I had fun, Rooster," you whispered over all the commotion as you stepped off the stage with Bradley in tow. When Nat snatched the microphone out of his hand with a wink, you took his hand in both of yours.
"Think they'll let us sing another song together?" he asked, watching the smile on your lips as you took your denim hair scrunchie off your own wrist and pushed it over his hand. He looked down at his left wrist, now adorned with it. "What's this for?" he asked with what he was sure was a dopey grin.
"Keep it, Rooster," you said, but suddenly your friends were there, slowly pulling you away from him.
"Where are you going?" he asked, his heart lurching as he ran his fingers over your scrunchie and tried to follow you. But the crowd was closing in on him, everyone going wild for Nat singing Physical. "I don't even know your name!"
You called out to him as you blew a kiss, but he couldn't hear you. He shoved Javy out of the way, trying to get to you again. As the crowd thinned near the exit, Bradley ran outside after you. But you were gone. There was no sign of you or your friends. All that was left was your scrunchie, the songs stuck in his head, and the feel of your lips on his.
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"I imagined her," Bradley said for the sixth time at work on Monday. "She was perfect, but she wasn't even real." He was stretched out on the couch in the aviators' lounge with your scrunchie in his hand and a pout on his face.
"She was real, Rooster," Nat told him with an eye roll. "We all saw her. We all saw her kiss you before she left. Maybe it was your choice of song? Maybe she didn't want you, baby?" she asked with a devilish smirk.
Bradley launched the scrunchie at his friend's face, making her squeal. But then he was up off the couch immediately, running to collect his precious souvenir from the ground before anything happened to it. He balled it up in his hand and tucked it into the pocket of his flight suit.
"It would be impossible to find her again. I don't even know her name," he mumbled, kicking his foot along the floor as he sighed. "She was just..." He was thinking about your voice as you sang and your pretty face and your vintage denim jacket. "Perfect."
Nat took a step closer and patted him on the chest. "There has to be some way... Oh!"
"What?" Bradley asked, meeting her bright eyes with his hopeful ones.
"There would have to be other '80s karaoke nights around San Diego," she said quickly, pulling her phone out of her pocket. Bradley's heart filled with hope as she said, "We could go to them, and maybe she'll be there."
"Nat. You're a genius."
When Friday night rolled around, Bradley picked Nat up in her hot pink spandex, and they drove to a bar in Oceanside where a throwback night was in full swing.
"See her anywhere?" Nat called over the loud music.
Just then someone started singing Don't You Want Me. Bradley's heart leapt. But it was a guy with a terrible voice and a girl who wasn't you.
"No," Bradley groaned, his heart full of frustration. "She's not here," he confirmed after walking through the entire bar.
And the following night, Bradley and Nat went to a bar in Balboa Park, ready to search for you again. They walked into a room full of people dancing around and singing to a Bon Jovi cover band.
After looking everywhere, taking his time to search the crowd, a dejected Bradley shook his head at Nat, and she followed him back outside to the Bronco.
The following Friday was no better as they hit up a club downtown. After they had no luck there, Nat told him about another karaoke night in Pacific Beach.
"This is it, Nat. This is the last one," Bradley told her, glancing at your scrunchie on the shifter as he drove. "If she's not here, then I need to stop looking."
"But, she could be-"
"Nat, come on. I've been like this for two weeks. I can't stop thinking about her, which is absolutely ridiculous. We sang two songs together, and then she bailed. I'm starting to think that even if I do find her, she's not going to remember who I am!"
She sighed in the passenger seat, and said, "I really hope she's here, just so I can see you proven wrong."
So Bradley searched the bar for you while he listened to so many bad singers in a row. He felt desperate now, knowing there wouldn't be another chance after this. And every time a denim jacket and a cute face caught his eye, he did a double take. But you weren't here either. The search was off now.
"Let's go," he told Nat, swallowing hard as he headed outside. And then he tossed your scrunchie into the center console, started up the engine and left.
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"Come on," whined Nat, pulling on Bradley's arm. "I'll be fun!" Bradley was trying to head home after working late on Friday, but she wasn't going to let him.
"I don't feel like going to the Hard Deck tonight." He just wanted to go home, relax and pretend like he didn't still have your scrunchie in his pocket half the time.
But she stomped her foot. "No. You've been pouting. Javy, Bob and Jake are already there. We're going."
Bradley groaned and agreed to follow her to the bar to have exactly one drink. But when he walked in and realized that it was set up for karaoke, he turned to try to sneak back out.
"There he is!" Nat called, rushing forward to grab his hand before he had a chance to leave. "You promised. One drink."
"Fine," he grunted, sitting at the bar with his back to everyone else who was rushing up to pick a song to sing. And when Penny handed him a beer, he drank half of it in one sip, trying to finish it as quickly as he could.
When he was done, he reached into his pocket to get his wallet, pulling out your scrunchie at the same time. He shook his head, ready to toss it into the trash can behind the bar. But then he heard the opening chords of I've Had The Time Of My Life start playing. He'd been listening to the song nonstop for weeks, and when he spun to face the stage, he saw you. In your denim jacket.
"Rooster!" You had the microphone held up to your lips, and you were calling out to him.
"It's you!" he called back, trying to make his way through the crowd to get closer as his heart pounded.
"It's me," you told him with a bright smile. "Looks like I accidentally picked a duet as soon as I saw you. I need a partner. Are you available?"
He pushed his way through the crowd and jumped up onto the stage. "Yeah, I'm available." Then your hand was grabbing the front of his shirt, and his lips met yours. The crowd was screaming and cheering as you smiled against his mouth.
"I thought I dreamed you up," he told you, resting his forehead against yours. "Like a fairytale Princess in a denim jacket. Please don't leave this time."
"I won't," you promised, kissing him hard before turning to the DJ and giving him a thumbs up. When the song restarted, Bradley took the microphone and sang to you.
Now I've had the time of my life. No, I've never felt like this before.
Yes, I swear it's the truth, and I owe it all to you.
And then he opened up his hand, showing you that he still had your scrunchie. You gently took it as you smiled up at him in surprise, and then you slid it onto his wrist before taking his hand. But after that song, Bradley didn't even bother trying to bribe the DJ for more, because he had you in his arms, your name on his lips, and your phone number saved for later.
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If your man won't search the kingdom for you and then turn to a pile of mush when he finds you, then he's not the one. Thanks @mak-32 and @beyondthesefourwalls
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Femme Fatale Guide: Fall Wardrobe Essentials
Staple Tees:
**Purchase in Modal, Pima cotton, or a cotton-cashmere blend**
Fitted crewneck tees (long-sleeves/tees & tanks for layering)
Relaxed fit long-sleeve tees
Turtleneck long-sleeve top (fitted & relaxed fit options)
Contour bodysuits
Blouses/Shirting:
Silk button-down blouse
Cotton button-down blouse
Silk shell top/t-shirts/camis (for layering)
Sculpt knit top(s)
Self-tie wrap blouse
Shirred boatneck, mock neck, or cowlneck silk blouse(s)
Leather button-down
Knitwear:
Thin cashmere/wool crewneck sweater (fitted/relaxed fit)
Thin cashmere/wool turtleneck sweater
Chunky relaxed-fit cable knit sweater
Knit polo-neck sweater
Cashmere sweater vest (crewneck, v-neck, and/or turtleneck)
Mockneck cashmere/wool sweater
Cashmere long-sleeve sweater dress
Cashmere/knit skirt (mini, midi, or maxi - depending on your personal preferences)
Sophisticated coordinating knit set (top/pants or skirt of your choice)
Casual knit set (top/pullover and relaxed fit pants)
Cashmere cardigan
Cable knit cardigan (doubles as a light jacket)
Bottoms:
Black straight-leg jeans
Black bootcut/flared jeans
Black straight/bootcut trousers
Wide-leg trousers (I love a solid black, black pinstripe, and black with lace-up detail selection)
High-waisted leather pants
Split hem trousers
Stretch jersey/cashmere pants (straight-leg or flared)
Quilted leather/tweed mini skirt
Knit/wool mini and/pencil skirt
Leather skirt (mini or midi)
Silk midi skirt
Dresses/Jumpsuits:
Knit/sweater dress
Little black dress (shift dress/A-line cuts are great)
Blazer dress/jumpsuit
Slip dress (for layering)
Minimal black jumpsuit ("LBJ")
Leather and/or denim dress or jumpsuit
Jackets & Outerwear:
Black tailored blazer
Leather blazer
Tweed jacket
Trench coat
Leather moto/cropped/bomber jacket
Black wool coat
Raincoat ( I like Rains for high-quality options on the affordable side that are still built to last for several seasons)
Statement jacket/coat
Footwear:
Sleek flat/low-heel black boots with a pointed-toe or square-toe silhouette (I love Vagabond, Jeffrey Campbell, Vince Camuto, and Sam Edelman for more affordable, high-quality options)
Black loafers/sleek black flats
Black lace-up boots
Black heeled boots
Black pumps
White sneakers
Rain boots (I recommend the Melissa Shoes Welly/Grip/Step boots or a stylish, sustainable, and more affordable option)
Accessories:
White/black ankle & crew socks
Black control top tights
High-waisted shapewear shorts
Chunky/small chain necklaces & bracelets
Simple pendant necklace(s)
Pearl necklace
Simple diamond studs
Crystal drop earrings
Minimalist bangles
Stackable rings
A sleek, minimalist black tote (can fit a laptop for work/travel)
Black shoulder bag
Small black bag (top handle, crossbody, etc.)
Statement bag/evening bag
Cashmere scarf
Silk/decorative scarf
Fingerless/touch-screen friendly, lightweight gloves
Lingerie/Loungewear:
Seamless bra/underwear
Lace bra/underwear
Matching pullover cotton sweatshirt/sweatpants
Knit or jersey cotton top/lounge pants set
Luxurious pajama set (silk, Tencel, cashmere, etc.)
A to-die-for piece of lingerie like a lace slip/silk teddy
Silk or cozy robe
Cozy open-back slippers
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