Memories Remain
Chapter Twelve
Stop fucking smiling! But I couldn’t! The grin plastered all over my face wouldn’t flatter for anything in the world and my cheeks hurt already. Images of the previous night swam in my head like endless waves and my heart would always shudder with utter excitement. God, Brian, what have you done to me?
I could only think about his kisses, and his lips, and his warm hands and body, and ugh. He felt and tasted the same, as far as I remembered, the only difference being that he was a much better kisser now. Years did him good; that was for sure.
Damn, Lara, can you drool any fucking more?
I lied down on his couch, snuggled up to the comfy comforter Brian had given me last night, and cartoons were playing on the TV. Every once in a while I’d glance at his bedroom’s door, hoping he would come out and greet me with his pleasant face, but I knew it was still early and he was probably fast asleep.
I sighed, still smiling like a big fool, and kept trying to watch television. It was only almost one hour later that I heard his door crack open, making me fight back a smile. I heard his low footsteps approaching, and when he was close enough, I looked up. “Hey.”
He grunted in response and joined me on the couch, crawling up my body to lay his head on my chest. “I wanna go back to bed,” he mumbled with shut eyes. Chuckling, I started to comb his messy, black hair and he draped his arm over my waist. “Please, don’t do that. I’m gonna fall asleep again and I can’t.”
"Why?" I asked, confused.
"Store."
"Oh."
"What’re you doing up, anyway? It’s fucking early."
"Watching cartoons," I answered with a small shrug, even though there was a lot more to it than just watching TV. "Ninja Turtles are the best."
"That’s why you wanted to sleep on the couch, uh? To watch those Karate Turtles in the morning without having to get up," he joked, peeking up at me with raised eyebrows.
I slapped his shoulder and narrowed my eyes at him. “It’s Ninja Turtles and they’re awesome! And yes, it’s my favorite thing to do in the morning.”
Brian’s smile slowly changed into a smirk and he moved up just a little bit more to kiss me on the lips. “I could think of better things to do in the morning,” he said, giving me a playful bite, as he looked me in the eyes with that mischievous glint.
Oh, Brian. Naughty thoughts right in the morning? Rawr.
"I thought you wanted to sleep," I teased.
"I did until thirty seconds ago," he laughed, claiming my lips in a few slow kisses that made my head spin, until he groaned and pulled away. "You’re awfully tempting here in my couch with just my shirt on."
"And panties," I added, making him chuckle.
"I don’t know, I haven’t checked that part yet, but-" he paused as his hand slipped from under the comforter to find the naked skin of my leg. "There you are," he said, moving his palm all the way up my thigh to the band of my panties where he pulled teasingly. Jesus Christ, just rip them off already. "Panties indeed. What a shame," he commented with that smug look on his face.
Ugh.
"Too bad you have to go to the store," I said, patting his upper arm lightly and smiling innocently.
His brow quirked high on his face, “I can always show up late. I bet no one’s going to notice my absence.”
"We’re not even dating officially yet and you’re already missing work because of me," I said, grinning, "How cute."
"What?" He blurt out, holding his weight on his elbows as he frowned. "Who said we’re not dating officially?"
"I don’t know. Are we?"
"Yes," Brian nodded, making my heart swell, "but do you want me to ask you the question? I can do that," he chuckled, already moving away to kneel on the couch.
"No, no! Don’t be silly," I tried to pull him back down and stop this idiotic thing, but Brian jumped out of the couch and ran to the kitchen, laughing. What the hell?
"Get ready, Shorty," he shouted from the kitchen. I turned my head to the doorway, curious to see what the fucking fuck he was preparing. He came out moments later with a donut in his hand.
"What’s wrong with you?" I laughed, sitting up straight on the couch as he took the seat next to mine.
His face lit up when he beamed widely and held the donut out for me, “Lara, Shorty, my new sweet, dear, baby, love, and all those cute names I don’t remember, will you be my girlfriend?” He asked and we both started laughing loudly at the master silliness happening in that room.
"Yeah, I’ll do the sacrifice of being your girlfriend, Asshole," I told him, and even though this was the most stupid thing I’d ever done, I couldn’t help but feel that tug on my heart as my eyes locked with Brian’s. He chuckled, and instead of giving me the donut to eat, he dug it on my finger like it was a big ring.
We burst out laughing again and Brian wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tightly. I, too, wounded my arms behind his neck, and that was just the perfect position for me to taste the donut.
"Are you seriously eating the donut when I’m here hugging you?" Brian asked, and I stood still for a second, with my mouth wide open and the donut just a few inches from it.
"Uh-uh. They’re yummy."
Brian pulled away, chuckling, and removed the donut from my hand, much to my dislike. I didn’t have time to complain as he leaned into me and presented me with a passionate kiss, his tongue tracing my lips slowly, teasing. My green eyes met his brown ones for a moment and we shared a smile, before he reunited our lips again, kissing me softly at first and then deepening it. His hands cupped my face sweetly as our tongues met briefly, caressing each other almost timidly. God, it was hot in that room. When Brian’s fingers grazed down my cheek to grab my chin, his kiss slowed down to a stop and he pecked my lips a few more times. “Now I know why we stayed up until 3 am last night. I. Can’t. Get. Tired. Of. You,” he said between kisses. “And you taste so sweet,” he growled.
I giggled and pointed to the donut forgotten on the center table. “That’s the source of all the sugar.”
Brian shook his head, his eyes not drifting from mine, “You’re sweet, with or without yummy donuts.”
"Awn. Maybe I fell into a well of sugar when I was younger," I joked, "Like Obelix."
Brian let out a loud laugh and smacked a hand on his forehead, “You’re helpless, you know that?”
"Yes," I said and he looked down at me, with that toothy smile of his.
Breaking us from our bubble, Brian’s phone started ringing and he had to get up and make a quick run to the bedroom, where the sound was coming from. He came back with the device attached to his ear and walked over to me, sitting on my lap. I yelped with his weight but wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned forward to rest my cheek on his back.
"Yeah, I know, I know," he said to the person on the phone. "Dude, shut up and listen to me. Lara came back and I had to leave the store earlier, that’s why there’s still shit to put in the shelters." He paused for a moment and then sighed. "Yes, she’s back. I don’t know if she wants to come with me- wait." Pulling down the phone, Brian turned to me. "You’re coming to the store with me?" I nodded with my head and Brian lifted his phone back to his ear. "She’s coming, so you can talk to her then. Okay?" Another pause came until Brian chuckled. "Fine. See you in a bit."
He hung up the call and groaned loudly before sliding off my lap and onto the couch next to me. His eyes found mine and his lower lip slumped out into a pout. “What?” I smiled.
"I don’t want to work today."
"It’s not like you have much of a choice."
"At least you’re coming with me," he beamed, kissing me softly.
"Go get ready, now," I smirked, pushing him away so I could stand up, "Zacky will kick your balls if you get late."
"You probably want a shower, too," he said, following after me, "so go ahead first while I prepare breakfast. I’ll go next."
I chuckled, “Please, don’t burn the food.”
"Keep talking like that and you will starve until lunch," he threatened but his seriousness quickly dropped when I punched his arm and he laughed. "Damn, you have a good right," he said, rubbing his sore arm.
"Did I really hurt you?"
"No."
I placed a gentle kiss on his arm, anyway, and another on his cheek before smacking his ass. “Then go or I’ll hurt you for real,” I smiled.
"Oh, I’m so scared!" He joked, waving his hands in the air, and I glared playfully at him. "Alright, I’m going, mom."
"Idiot."
"Pushy," he said back.
"Whatever. I’m out. Can I use your shampoo?"
"Whatever," He shouted, his back already turned to me as he headed for the kitchen. Smirking, I made my way over to his bedroom where my bag and the rest of my stuff were.
As I stood in his bath tub, water running down my body, I couldn’t help but wonder how it would be if Brian was in there with me. Well, cleaning ourselves wouldn’t be our top priority, I thought to myself. God, stop thinking about that, Lara! What a frustration!
I stepped out of Brian’s room minutes later, dressed and ready, and walked into the kitchen. The smell of donuts filled my nose as soon as I got in and my stomach started roiling with hunger. “Holy shit, did you do that yourself?” I asked and Brian turned around in his chair to look at me.
Smiling, he shook his head, “I bought them in the best donut shop around.”
"Aw," I cooed.
"It was for me, not you. Don’t feel too important," he stated as he took another bite on his donut, hiding the smirk curling at the corner of his lips.
I stared at him blankly. “You’re mean.”
"Aw! I’m just kidding!" He chuckled as he grabbed my hand and pulled me onto his lap. "Of course it was for you," he told me in a whisper, his lips grazing my cheek softly when he wrapped his arms around my waist. I smiled and squinted down at him. "And you look damn sexy with wet hair," he said.
"Result of my laziness."
"You can be lazy whenever you want," he growled in my ear.
I shivered at his words and covered his hands with my own. “Stop with that or you won’t leave this house soon enough.”
He pulled away, intrigued, “What does that mean?”
"You know what it means."
When he narrowed his eyes and chuckled darkly, I knew he had understood. “Are you seriously threatening me with sex?”
"Yes," I stated nonchalantly.
"Because I’ll take the sex."
"Not now, you won’t. Then you’ll have to explain to Zacky why you’re late and we wouldn’t want that, would we?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Lara…" He warned, his grip around my waist tightening.
"Go take a cold shower," I laughed.
"What a fucking tease. Damn."
I kept laughing as I stood up from his lap. “Sorry about that.”
"Yeah, right." He slapped my ass and got up on his feet as well. "You’ll pay for that later, just so you know."
"Was I supposed to be scared or thrilled?"
Oh, God, I loved to tease him.
Brian’s face darkened at what I said and he stopped for a moment, eyeing me carefully, earnestly. “One more and we’re really not leaving this house until I have my way with you,” he said, his tone low and dangerous as we stared each other in the eyes. He waited for me to say something and I highly considered pushing him a little bit more but, on the other hand, we were actually running late, so I kept my mouth shut.
I just smiled and turned my back to him. “Go.”
I heard footsteps behind me and I frowned. Before I had time to spin around, I felt a pair of strong arms circling around me. “I love you,” Brian whispered, kissing my temple, “but stop driving me crazy.” And just like that he was out of the kitchen again, leaving me there in distraught.
I was still not used to hearing him saying that he loved me, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like to hear it. I tried to fight the smile that forced to climb up to my lips, even though I knew it was a useless effort. Brian had the gift of making me grin like an idiot. “Brian, Brian,” I sighed.
"What’re we gonna say to the guys?"
"About us?" Brian asked, glancing at me from the driver’s seat. I nodded with my head to which he shrugged his shoulders. "The truth."
"Yeah, but- I mean like, ‘Hey, guys, we’re dating now,’ sort of thing?"
Brian chuckled and rested his hand on my knee, “Chill out. We’ll probably walk in hand in hand, so they’ll just have to put two in two together and figure out for themselves.”
"Um."
"Or we can walk in while we’re making out and I’m sure they’ll know we’re together," he joked.
"Brian!" I chided.
"Relax, you’re acting like I’m gonna meet your parents or some shit like that," he laughed, squeezing my knee.
"We’re meeting with Zacky which is almost the same."
"True story, but he can kiss my ass."
I looked up at Brian and he smiled. “Don’t be like that,” I said, seriously. “Zacky is your best friend.”
"So what? I don’t need his approval. He’s not your father nor mine."
I rolled my eyes and decided to drop the subject. Getting into an argument with Brian because of this stupid thing was exactly that - stupid.
I was feeling nervous by the time we parked the car and made our way to the store. Just like Brian had said, we had our hands intertwined with one another and my grasp was pretty tight on him. He chuckled right before we entered and placed a kiss on my cheek. He knew me too well.
"Finally, dude! I thought you were never getting here!" Zacky exclaimed as the bell of the store went off and he saw us coming in. I noticed the confusion swirling in his emerald eyes when they diverted to my and Brian’s united hands, however, Zacky made no comments about it.
"Hey, Zee," I greeted.
"You’re back, uh?"
"Long story." I blew out a deep sigh.
"Hey, you-" Zacky pointed to Brian. "Go finish your job while I talk to her."
"Yes, Boss," Brian replied with a smile before kissing my head and going to the back room. I pursed my lips together, hoping that Zacky wouldn’t ask questions about Brian’s behavior-
"What’s going on between you two?" He asked. Oops. "You return from New York and don’t even tell anyone? You just go straight to Brian’s arms?"
I furrowed my eyebrows at him, not getting where his sudden outburst came from. “Are you angry?”
"I just don’t understand. We’ve been worried about you and you didn’t even send us a text to announce your arrival. Next thing I know, I’m calling my best friend and he tells me you’re with him. What the hell?"
"Wow, calm the fuck down," I told him, "Yesterday was a shitty day for me and I just came to the store because I didn’t want to be alone. I had no fucking idea that Brian was the one here. So don’t fucking blame me for that!"
"Guys? Is everything okay?" Both Zacky and I turned to Brian, whose head was peeking around the corner. "Don’t need to get stressed out."
"Mind your own business, man," Zacky exhaled, scraping the back of his neck out of annoyance.
Brian ambled closer. “This is my damn business when you’re yelling at my girlfriend!” He blurt out, his own anger emerging on the surface.
Great.
"You guys are dating?"
"Yeah, problem?" Brian defied, crossing his arms over his chest.
Zacky frowned but seemed to simmer down a little as he shook his head. “No, man. I just- I wasn’t expecting it.”
"Zee," I drawled, moving closer to him, "don’t be mad. I didn’t mean to hide away from you, guys. I was just really tired yesterday and upset, and I needed to rest. Brian just happened to be here."
"And now you’re boyfriend and girlfriend."
Brian and I shared a glance and we both chuckled. “Yes,” I confirmed.
Zacky flitted his gaze between us a few times before giving in to a laugh as well. “I knew it would happen sooner or later.”
"Who didn’t?" Brian grinned and I stared at him in shock. "Don’t look at me like that. We knew exactly what we were doing."
"Speak for yourself."
Brian scoffed, “I mean lately.”
"Oh, wow. Sherlock is amongst us, I see," I teased, making Brian glower at me even if it was all in good fun. Zacky and I burst out laughing. "He’s grumpy now."
"I’m not. I’m gonna go back to the shelters."
"Aw! No!" I ran toward him and wrapped my arms around his neck, giggling. "Give me a kiss."
"Oh, God, no!" Zacky complained, faking gag noises as he turned to the opposite side from us. "I don’t wanna see that."
Brian chuckled and let his arms wound loosely around my lower back. “You make fun of me and then you want a kiss? You better sit and wait.”
"No…" I hugged him close and trailed my lips down his neck. "Brian…"
I heard a low groan leave his throat and I smiled at that, knowing my plan was working. “Tease. You’re so gonna pay.”
I moved my hands to cradle his face and locked our gazes. “Kiss?”
"No." He kissed my nose and left to the back room again, making me pout.Asshole.
"Can I look now?" Zacky queried and I looked over my shoulder, laughing.
"Yes."
"Cool. Now tell me the whole story."
After one hour I was able to explain every single detail of my trip to New York to Zacky and the general idea of my encounter with Brian. Zacky didn’t need to know those private parts, right?
"Hey, who’s giving lessons today?" I asked Zacky as I looked around the store, paying special attention to the drums’ equipment.
"Jimmy and Matt in the morning, Brian and Zacky later."
I scrunched my brows together and looked at him. “Did you just mention yourself as Zacky?”
"I guess I did," he chuckled, typing something on the computer in front of him as he sat at the counter. "Wanna attend Jim’s class? I know you like drums."
My head shot to Zacky and a big smile spread across my face. “Oh, my God, of course I want that! Yes!” I rushed to where Zacky was, jumping slightly with excitement. “He won’t mind, will he? Jimmy?”
"It’s Jimmy we’re talking about."
"Who’s talking about that sexy man?" We all laughed as the so called, crazy head approached the counter. "LARA!" He sprinted toward me and lifted me off my feet, "How’s my favorite girl doing? I didn’t know you were back!"
I laughed and held onto him, afraid I’d fall. “I’m good. Pretty good.”
Placing me back on the floor, Jimmy rested his hands on my shoulders. “You are happy.”
"She has a boyfriend, now," Zacky smirked, somewhat answering Jimmy’s assumption. I coughed out a giggle and looked away from them.
"What?"
"Zacky you have a big mouth," I said, trying to sound angry, but failing miserably when all I could do was smile.
"Brian?" Jimmy guessed with that light in his blue eyes. When I nodded he sped off to the back room. "Just a spoonful of Jimmy helps the whole world go down," he sang, beaming widely as he disappeared around the corner.
Zacky and I looked at each other before doubling over with laughter. It wasn’t long before Jimmy and Brian were coming back, both grinning ridiculously wide. I locked eyes with Brian and sighed, knowing that the next few days were going to be filled with sneaky comments by our dear friends.
"Peanut head, come here," Jimmy said, one arm draped over Brian’s shoulders and the other stretched open, waiting for me to dig in. When I was engulfed in his embrace, Jimmy kissed my temple and Brian’s and kept smiling. "I’m very happy for you two lovebirds, and I hope your love lasts forever, because if you went through all that shit and eight years later fell back into each other’s arms, then you’re meant to be together until Hell raises."
"Thanks, Jim," I chuckled, giving him an awkward side hug.
"Well, I have a lesson to prepare and the kids must be coming, so I gotta head up."
"Wait." I stopped him from walking and he turned to me, his gaze quizzical. "Can I watch your class?"
"Of course! Come on," Jimmy waved for me to follow him, however, a familiar clearing of throat caught my attention and I was forced to come to a halt.
Brian was standing behind me, a look of mirth in his eyes. “What do you want?” I asked, struggling against a smirk.
"Assisting his classes? I’m feeling betrayed."
"You see, Jimmy here doesn’t have a problem with being affectionate and adorable," I said, leaning into the tall man. "And if I asked him for a kiss, I’m sure he wouldn’t have a problem to give me one, right, Jim?"
"I’ll give you all the kisses you want," Jimmy laughed, wrapping me in his arms.
"So this is still about the kiss, uh?" Brian asked, folding his arms and tilting his head to the side.
"Yes."
He gave me his signature smirk. “You want a kiss?”
Many. Many kisses, please.
"No, now I don’t," I said, instead, biting down on my lip.
"Yes, you do." He came to chase after me but I started for the other side and ran around the store to escape him. I’d squeal and laugh when he got close, and Zacky was going nuts with our childish manners. Brian cornered me after a while, in a hidden place away from our friends’ eyes and the rest of the customers, and grinned mischievously at me. "Gotcha!"
"No!" I cried, backing away until I couldn’t go any further. Brian ambled over to me and pinned me between him and the white wall, and without warning brought his lips down to mine, kissing me hard. I tried not to laugh at the need he was pouring into that kiss, his rough side coming to life. "Brian," I groaned once he pulled away, "that was hot."
"I swear to God I’ll go insane with you," he replied in a raspy voice as he cupped my face in his hands and rested his forehead on mine.
I smiled and pecked his lips. “You’re not the only one.” The sexual tension was becoming palpable as the day dragged on, and we were only together for a day. What was wrong with us?
"Good. I feel much better now," he chuckled dryly, granting me with another soft kiss.
"Guys!" We heard Zacky call. "Get a fucking room."
"Maybe we really should," Brian whispered, wiggling his eyebrows at me.
We definitely should.
I laughed and grabbed his hand, “Come on, you wild man. We need to cool down before this store gets a mess.”
"We still have the back room," Brian suggested as we made our way back to where our friends were. I glanced up at him with a smirk, but kept in silence. I just might say yes if I spoke my will.
"Don’t ever fuck in the store. I’ll fucking cut your balls, dude!" Zacky shouted no sooner did we reappear in front of him. "What if someone enters and walks in on you, uh? Keep your dick in your pants!"
"Zacky is pissed," Brian chuckled, draping his arm over my shoulders.
"I am, man. I’m really pissed."
"We weren’t doing anything," I clarified, stifling a giggle. "No need to worries."
"Damn, you horny fuckers," Zacky muttered under his breath, his head shaking disapprovingly at us. That was all it took for me to start laughing. He was such a drama queen sometimes.
"Where’s Jimmy, anyway?" I asked.
"He’s probably upstairs already. I’ll take you there," Brian said as he took my hand in his again and headed for the stairs. “Zacky needs some time alone so he can calm down.”
“I heard that!” He yelled from behind us. Grumpy.
I got to attend Jimmy’s class and I noticed that his approach was slightly different from Brian’s. Jimmy would jam with the kids for the first half of the class, and only when they were relaxed and warmed up would he get into the details. It was really fun and I even played a bit after the class ended, because I’d always loved the drums.
“Holy shit, this is so awesome! It’s been fucking ages since I put my hands in some drumsticks,” I said, excited, feeling the adrenaline filling my veins. Standing up from behind the drums, I bounced back to Jimmy’s side. All the kids had already left and I was the only one in that room alongside with Jimmy.
"You should come more often," he told me. "You can really kick some ass if you practice."
"Aw, thanks. I’ll think about it,” I smiled, feeling quite proud of myself for hearing Jimmy say that. He was an awesome drummer and receiving compliments from him, even if he was one of my best friends, meant the world to me.
As we exited the room we crossed paths with Matt, who had also been giving a lesson. His dimples dug in his cheeks once he saw me, and even though he looked happy to see me, there was still that hint of surprise adorning his features.
“What’re you doing here? I thought you were in New York.”
“She came back yesterday,” Jimmy answered for me.
“Cool.” Matt gave me a quick hug and kissed my hair. “How did things go?”
I frowned, “Not really good. Long story short, they were the biggest scumbags ever.”
“Next time I go to New York I’m gonna go there and kick each one of his balls, I promise you,” Matt said, still smiling his adorable dimpled smile. He was just the most adorable guy on this planet. He had to be.
“Had fun?” Brian asked when we all reached the bottom of the stairs.
I smiled widely and glanced at Jimmy. “I think I’m gonna attend more classes from now on.”
“You’re gonna ditch me,” Brian said, his lower lip sticking out into a pout. “I don’t wanna be your friend anymore.”
“I’m glad I’m your girlfriend then,” I chuckled as I moved closer to him and wrapped my arms around his middle. Looking down at me, his pout turned into a full grin and he pulled me to him.
“Group hug!” Jimmy exclaimed as he threw himself in our direction and trapped us in his arms, making us all laugh. “My favorite new couple. I always knew you guys would get together again. I’m really fucking happy for both of you, okay? I love you, guys, and I’ll be here whenever you need. Peanut head, if there’s any day when you wanna say shit about Brian you can come to me; and, Brian, if you ever need help to choose the engagement ring, I’ll be here, too.”
I gasped at Jimmy’s words and at the idea of marrying Brian. Damn, it’s toio soon. I mean, too soon. Too. Not even my thoughts worked fine. Jimmy pulled away from us, smiling his bright smile.
“Why can she say shit about me and I can’t?” Brian queried, sending a playful glare at his best friend. I elbowed him in his ribs and he howled in pain. “Ouch.”
“Are you guys together?”
“That’s for even thinking about saying shit about me. I’d kick your ass before you had time to open your mouth, just so you know,” I told him in the most serious tone I could manage. He looked skeptically at me and I mimicked him before we both erupted with laughter.
"Asshole."
“Are you guys together?”
Brian circled his arms loosely around my shoulders, chuckling, “You love me so much.”
"Yeah, yeah…" I grinned, leaning back into his chest. He kissed my cheek soundly and then moved away from me, making me hum my disagreement.
"She can’t live without me, now," Brian said to Jimmy, who had been watching us with an amused expression on his face.
"Yes, I can!" I protested. "I just choose not to."
“No one’s listening… Are you guys together?” Matt almost yelled after a while. I jolted slightly at his voice but ended up laughing when I glanced at him and both of his eyebrows were raised and his dimples were still on his face. God, Matt.
“We are. She succumbed to my beauty and my fingers’ skills.”
“What?” Everyone shouted at the same time.
Is he serious?
I punched his chest and narrowed my eyes at him, however, it was impossible not to burst out laughing. “Oh, my God, you fucking perv! I can’t believe you said that, especially when I still haven’t seen anything.”
Matt’s and Jimmy’s jaws barely contained themselves and almost hit the ground. “Dude, you’re in trouble,” Matt snickered, nudging Brian. He just stared at me, that challenge look in his brown eyes boring into my soul. I guess I hit a sensitive nerve.
“Anything to say?” I teased, pursing my lips together to suppress the smirk climbing to my lips.
Brian ran his tongue over his bottom lip as we looked into each other’s eyes, and the movement seemed so slow to me, so sensual that I had to gulp hard not to let some weird sound escape into the air. Oh, my…
“Man, I’m out of here. I’m getting a boner because of these two,” Jimmy laughed, before turning around and walking toward the counter where Zacky was. Matt soon followed him and I was left alone with Brian and that thick aura surrounding us. Again. I was in so much trouble.
“You, little miss, just wait. I’m writing down your smartass comments and you’re gonna pay for each one of them. I’m dead fucking serious. I’m only waiting for the time you get in my bed and then you’re gonna regret all the tease you’re giving me,” Brian threatened, his finger pointed at me. I thought of biting it, but that would probably unleash the beast in him even more and I didn’t want that. Or did I?
“Oh, what if I keep sleeping on the couch?”
“I’ll throw the couch away just so you have to be on my bed,” he smiled, taking a step closer and grabbing my hands. “Seriously, though, you’re gonna kill me one of these days.”
“Blue balls?” I giggled.
Brian laughed, too, and nodded with his head, “Yeah, that’s exactly it.”
“I just don’t understand why that would happen. It’s not like I’m holding back,” I said with a small shrug before pushing past him and going back to the other guys. It was like dropping the bomb and leaving. I heard him groan from behind me and that made me beam proudly. More tease for Brian. This was too much fun.
Since there were four of the guys in the store and they needed to buy some stuff, Zacky asked Matt if he could be in charge until lunch so he, Brian, and Jimmy could go take care of those things. Matt agreed and I decided to stay with him so he wouldn’t be alone.
Seeing all those CDs and thinking about Brian and his guitar skills, I remember about something. I took the chance of Matt being all by himself and decided to try my luck. “Hey, Matt?” I called. He swept up his hazel eyes to mine at the sound of his name, and I walked over to where he was, seated on his chair behind the counter. When I reached it, I rested my elbows on its top, “You know,” I started, hesitantly, “the other day, like… long time ago, I was in Brian’s car and I was looking through his glove compartment and found an Avenged Sevenfold CD.”
Matt’s face, different from Brian’s, stayed calm and showed no emotions or whatsoever. “Yeah, it’s possible,” he told me, with an insignificant jolt of his shoulders, his gaze dropping back to the small laptop on his lap.
"So… I asked him if I could listen to it and he kinda freaked out."
At the mentioned, Matt sighed and placed the laptop on the counter, before getting up on his feet. “Brian… He has some issues about the band thing,” he said, and it seemed to me that he didn’t want to say much about it.
"But I’ve talked to him before about the band and he acted as if he was okay with it," I said to which Matt smiled softly at me.
"Of course he did that. That’s the way he likes to deal with it. Pretend everything is okay and maybe you start believing in it. That’s his mantra," Matt explained, moving from behind the counter to disappear into the back room. “But trust me when I say that he’s far from okay with this thing."
As Matt returned to the front, I noticed he was carrying a CD in his hand. Oh! Is that…?
"Here." He threw the CD carefully onto the counter, and it slid right in my direction. “Don’t tell him I gave you that. He’ll cut my head." I looked down and picked up the object, reading Avenged Sevenfold - Tape I.
"Oh, my God," I whispered. I remembered that Brian’s CD was Tape III.
"Yeah, well there are a couple of more," Exactly. “but I’ll only let you have them if you like that first CD," he said and I turned my gaze back up to his face, seeing that adorable dimpled smile of him yet again.
"Thank you so fucking much, Matt. This is awesome!" I beamed, hugging the CD to my chest, making him chuckle.
"Just be careful with Brian."
I nodded forcefully, “Don’t worry!”
I put the CD in my bag and hoped Brian wouldn’t see it. I couldn’t wait to get to the Hotel and listen to that album, because I was so damn curious. I had been curious ever since that day in Brian’s car and now I was finally allowed to make that curiosity disappear. However, Brian had a class in the afternoon and I had promised I’d wait for him until he was free. He had told me he wanted to take me out to dinner to celebrate the beginning of our relationship and, obviously, I couldn’t say no.
I arrived at the store right before Brian’s class finished. I had gone out to take a walk and catch some fresh air due to the fact that I was sick of being locked in the store all morning. Johnny called me as soon as I stepped in and I walked over to him, finding it weird.
“What’s up, Johnny boy?”
“Brian told me that he wants you upstairs in his classroom. He said he needed to talk to you. I don’t know,” he explained. My eyebrows furrowed even deeper at that and suddenly I got worried. What if Brian had found out about the CD? Shit.“Oh, and I’m gonna call it a day, so tell him to close the doors and all that stuff before he leaves, okay?”
“S-Sure.”
I said goodbye to Johnny and made my way to the second floor where Brian should be. I was slightly nervous because I didn’t really know what to expect. I hoped he wasn’t angry or upset with me. I knocked on his door before opening it. I poked my head inside and saw nothing, so I just got in completely to check the place better.
But before I could even close the door, I was grabbed and pushed up against a wall. There was no time to yelp or to see who it was – not that I needed – as Brian’s lips pressed to mine in a harsh and hungry kiss. I let my hands travel to his hair when he gripped my waist and pulled me flushed against him as he practically ravaged my mouth. It was only when we were both out of breath that he paused for a moment, leaving us panting heavily.
“What’s gotten into you?” I chuckled, tugging at the ends of his hair as he nuzzled my neck.
“I can’t fucking handle this anymore. I want you. So fucking bad,” he growled.
I drifted my eyes close when he sank his teeth on the sensitive skin of my neck, applying just enough pressure to have me moaning softly at him. “Dammit, Brian,” I breathed, my hands lowering to his shoulders and arms. He trailed his lips up my neck and to my jaw, where he nipped at gently before reaching my lips again.
He locked his now dark eyes with mine and his hands slipped from underneath my sweater, warming not only my skin but my entire body. “Ready to pay for your teasing?” Brian smirked on my lips.
“No!” I cried. He leaned forward anyway, pretending he was going to kiss me, but pulled back in the last second. He did that again, and again, only kissing near my lips and my cheek but never where I wanted him. “Brian,” I whined and grasped his hoodie, feeling extremely frustrated.
“Lara,” he whined back playfully. He let his hands climb a little bit more on my torso and I gasped when he reached my bra. “I didn’t even touch you yet and you’re already collapsing on my arms.”
“I’m not collapsing, asshole.”
“Uhm,” he chuckled, “angry and feisty. I like that,” he murmured on my lips, giving me a chaste kiss. I tried to deepen it but he moved away too quickly. “Nuh-nuh.”
“Stop with that! I can tease you, too, you know?” I said and he quirked his eyebrow at me, as his hands began roaming my sides and back slowly, making me shiver in delight. “Stop.”
He smiled, shaking his head, and when I opened my mouth to protest again he cut me off with a kiss. That kiss. I shut up immediately and he kissed me again, more passionately this time, enough to cloud my mind with inappropriate thoughts. All I could think of was on the touch of his hands, the taste of his lips as they moved along with mine. I was lost. So lost in him and in the sensations he was providing me only with his body.
I moaned when his mouth changed routes and attacked my neck again, planting kisses and bites on its passage. I held onto his shoulders but he was too damn clothed for my liking, so I tried to pull his hoodie off. He laughed lightly at my failed attempted and stopped what he was doing to help me out. He lifted his arms up and I freed him from the hoodie, his shirt rising, too, and showing his happy trail and part of his belly.
“You should take that shirt off as well,” I told him with a tight smirk.
“No need for what we’re gonna do.”
“What’re we gonna do?” I asked, but of course he didn’t answer me. Not with actual words at least. He just wrapped his arms around me, seeming pretty fond of that wall behind me as he pressed me against it one more time, and connected our lips again. This time, though, his actions didn’t stay as innocent as before, and in a very smooth way he lowered one of his hands between our bodies and palmed me through my jeans.
I shuddered at his touch and broke the kiss inevitably, but Brian didn’t stop there and started undoing the button of my jeans. Oh. My. God. How was I supposed to deal with all of these feelings? I peeked down at his hand, my lips parted as I tried to breathe, my heart beating wildly within my chest. Brian tilted my chin up with his other hand to make me look at him. “We’re not gonna have sex,” he told me and I became confused.
“We’re not?”
“No. Not that I don’t want to but our first time won’t be in the store,” he chuckled, stroking my chin with his thumb. “You’re more special than that.”
“Brian, I don’t really care where we do it.”
“I do.”
At the look of confusion and desperation on my face, Brian smiled softly and kissed me. “It doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun, because I really am frustrated and I could use some release.”
YES!
“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” I said, just to mess with him.
“Oh,” he smirked, “you hadn’t noticed, uh? Want to notice it?” He asked as he grabbed my hand and guided it to the bulge in his pants. I coughed out a giggle and closed my hand around his excited friend, making him groan in response. “I’ve waited eight years for this.”
“No more than I waited for you,” I replied, leaning up to have my time with his neck as he kept his assault on my jeans, eager to get rid of them. He smelled so good and his skin was so hot and kissable. I made sure not to miss any spot on his neck, leaving soft bites here and there whenever his hand rubbed too close to my throbbing and needy area. “Brian,” I whispered, letting go of his jeans to cup his face and kiss him hard and long, our lips moving desperately against each other, trying to ease some of the frustration we felt, but it wasn’t working.
Brian fumbled with the button of my jeans for a while, distracted with the heated kiss we were sharing, but when he succeeded he pulled my jeans down and they pooled at my feet. He continued kissing me, but this time his hands had more room and access to my lower half, which he wasted no time in exploring.
Wanting to feel him more as well, I unbuckled his seatbelt and unbuttoned his pants as fast as I could. He helped me with the undressing thing and soon we were both engulfed in each other’s arms again. Brian grinded his hips against mine, creating that so needed friction between us, and that simple gesture was enough to make us moan into the kiss. It felt so good, yet we wanted more. So much more. “I don’t know how we’re going to control ourselves,” I panted.
Brian chuckled, “We’ll have to.” His hand started heading south again and my heart sped up in anticipation, my lips working faster with his own out of desperation. But it only took a brush of his fingers to make my body react completely to him, increasing the longing I already felt.
“Brian…” His name fell from my lips effortlessly, barely above a whisper. “You better be good at this.” When he moved his fingers even deeper, I was forced to take a moment to myself and enjoy that pleasurable feeling. It’d been a long time.Damn, he was good indeed.
He was slow, too slow, as he moved his fingers, probably on purpose so he would tease the hell out of me. Sick of being tortured to death, I tucked my hand in his boxers and circled it around his more than excited throbbing member, beginning my slow movements as well. Brian threw his head back, biting down on his lip, and for a moment he lost his composure. “Big enough for you?” He asked, his dark brown eyes meeting my lust filled ones.
“I thought the size didn’t matter.”
He curled his fingers inside of me and my knees buckled a little. “It doesn’t,” he whispered in my ear, and just like that his soft side was thrown away.
It was hard for me to keep up with the fast pace he took and with how quick my pleasure was increasing. I had no control over my actions and my thoughts, and the only thing consuming me was the need to reach that peak. I tried to give Brian what he wanted, I tried to focus enough to be pleasuring him as well, I did, but those feelings were too much to ignore. And I’m sure that if it wasn’t for Brian’s other arm supporting almost all of my weight, I’d have fallen straight to the floor when that pool of pure bliss burst in the pit of my stomach.
Endless moans were heard in that room, both from Brian and I, and that’s when I realized I still had him in my hand. I spent my last bits of energy in him and did my best to at least give him the same level of pleasure he’d offered me.
“That was exactly what I needed,” Brian told me, holding me tightly in his arms as we bathed in the aftermath, seated on the floor. I was utterly spent and tired, so I just hummed my agreement and reveled in the feeling of his embrace. “Can’t wait for the big deal, though,” he commented and we both let out lazy laughs. True story.
I could only think about his kisses, and his lips, and his warm hands and body, and ugh. He felt and tasted the same, as far as I remembered, the only difference being that he was a much better kisser now. Years did him good; that was for sure.
Damn, Lara, can you drool any fucking more?
I lied down on his couch, snuggled up to the comfy comforter Brian had given me last night, and cartoons were playing on the TV. Every once in a while I’d glance at his bedroom’s door, hoping he would come out and greet me with his pleasant face, but I knew it was still early and he was probably fast asleep.
I sighed, still smiling like a big fool, and kept trying to watch television. It was only almost one hour later that I heard his door crack open, making me fight back a smile. I heard his low footsteps approaching, and when he was close enough, I looked up. “Hey.”
He grunted in response and joined me on the couch, crawling up my body to lay his head on my chest. “I wanna go back to bed,” he mumbled with shut eyes. Chuckling, I started to comb his messy, black hair and he draped his arm over my waist. “Please, don’t do that. I’m gonna fall asleep again and I can’t.”
"Why?" I asked, confused.
"Store."
"Oh."
"What’re you doing up, anyway? It’s fucking early."
"Watching cartoons," I answered with a small shrug, even though there was a lot more to it than just watching TV. "Ninja Turtles are the best."
"That’s why you wanted to sleep on the couch, uh? To watch those Karate Turtles in the morning without having to get up," he joked, peeking up at me with raised eyebrows.
I slapped his shoulder and narrowed my eyes at him. “It’s Ninja Turtles and they’re awesome! And yes, it’s my favorite thing to do in the morning.”
Brian’s smile slowly changed into a smirk and he moved up just a little bit more to kiss me on the lips. “I could think of better things to do in the morning,” he said, giving me a playful bite, as he looked me in the eyes with that mischievous glint.
Oh, Brian. Naughty thoughts right in the morning? Rawr.
"I thought you wanted to sleep," I teased.
"I did until thirty seconds ago," he laughed, claiming my lips in a few slow kisses that made my head spin, until he groaned and pulled away. "You’re awfully tempting here in my couch with just my shirt on."
"And panties," I added, making him chuckle.
"I don’t know, I haven’t checked that part yet, but-" he paused as his hand slipped from under the comforter to find the naked skin of my leg. "There you are," he said, moving his palm all the way up my thigh to the band of my panties where he pulled teasingly. Jesus Christ, just rip them off already. "Panties indeed. What a shame," he commented with that smug look on his face.
Ugh.
"Too bad you have to go to the store," I said, patting his upper arm lightly and smiling innocently.
His brow quirked high on his face, “I can always show up late. I bet no one’s going to notice my absence.”
"We’re not even dating officially yet and you’re already missing work because of me," I said, grinning, "How cute."
"What?" He blurt out, holding his weight on his elbows as he frowned. "Who said we’re not dating officially?"
"I don’t know. Are we?"
"Yes," Brian nodded, making my heart swell, "but do you want me to ask you the question? I can do that," he chuckled, already moving away to kneel on the couch.
"No, no! Don’t be silly," I tried to pull him back down and stop this idiotic thing, but Brian jumped out of the couch and ran to the kitchen, laughing. What the hell?
"Get ready, Shorty," he shouted from the kitchen. I turned my head to the doorway, curious to see what the fucking fuck he was preparing. He came out moments later with a donut in his hand.
"What’s wrong with you?" I laughed, sitting up straight on the couch as he took the seat next to mine.
His face lit up when he beamed widely and held the donut out for me, “Lara, Shorty, my new sweet, dear, baby, love, and all those cute names I don’t remember, will you be my girlfriend?” He asked and we both started laughing loudly at the master silliness happening in that room.
"Yeah, I’ll do the sacrifice of being your girlfriend, Asshole," I told him, and even though this was the most stupid thing I’d ever done, I couldn’t help but feel that tug on my heart as my eyes locked with Brian’s. He chuckled, and instead of giving me the donut to eat, he dug it on my finger like it was a big ring.
We burst out laughing again and Brian wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tightly. I, too, wounded my arms behind his neck, and that was just the perfect position for me to taste the donut.
"Are you seriously eating the donut when I’m here hugging you?" Brian asked, and I stood still for a second, with my mouth wide open and the donut just a few inches from it.
"Uh-uh. They’re yummy."
Brian pulled away, chuckling, and removed the donut from my hand, much to my dislike. I didn’t have time to complain as he leaned into me and presented me with a passionate kiss, his tongue tracing my lips slowly, teasing. My green eyes met his brown ones for a moment and we shared a smile, before he reunited our lips again, kissing me softly at first and then deepening it. His hands cupped my face sweetly as our tongues met briefly, caressing each other almost timidly. God, it was hot in that room. When Brian’s fingers grazed down my cheek to grab my chin, his kiss slowed down to a stop and he pecked my lips a few more times. “Now I know why we stayed up until 3 am last night. I. Can’t. Get. Tired. Of. You,” he said between kisses. “And you taste so sweet,” he growled.
I giggled and pointed to the donut forgotten on the center table. “That’s the source of all the sugar.”
Brian shook his head, his eyes not drifting from mine, “You’re sweet, with or without yummy donuts.”
"Awn. Maybe I fell into a well of sugar when I was younger," I joked, "Like Obelix."
Brian let out a loud laugh and smacked a hand on his forehead, “You’re helpless, you know that?”
"Yes," I said and he looked down at me, with that toothy smile of his.
Breaking us from our bubble, Brian’s phone started ringing and he had to get up and make a quick run to the bedroom, where the sound was coming from. He came back with the device attached to his ear and walked over to me, sitting on my lap. I yelped with his weight but wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned forward to rest my cheek on his back.
"Yeah, I know, I know," he said to the person on the phone. "Dude, shut up and listen to me. Lara came back and I had to leave the store earlier, that’s why there’s still shit to put in the shelters." He paused for a moment and then sighed. "Yes, she’s back. I don’t know if she wants to come with me- wait." Pulling down the phone, Brian turned to me. "You’re coming to the store with me?" I nodded with my head and Brian lifted his phone back to his ear. "She’s coming, so you can talk to her then. Okay?" Another pause came until Brian chuckled. "Fine. See you in a bit."
He hung up the call and groaned loudly before sliding off my lap and onto the couch next to me. His eyes found mine and his lower lip slumped out into a pout. “What?” I smiled.
"I don’t want to work today."
"It’s not like you have much of a choice."
"At least you’re coming with me," he beamed, kissing me softly.
"Go get ready, now," I smirked, pushing him away so I could stand up, "Zacky will kick your balls if you get late."
"You probably want a shower, too," he said, following after me, "so go ahead first while I prepare breakfast. I’ll go next."
I chuckled, “Please, don’t burn the food.”
"Keep talking like that and you will starve until lunch," he threatened but his seriousness quickly dropped when I punched his arm and he laughed. "Damn, you have a good right," he said, rubbing his sore arm.
"Did I really hurt you?"
"No."
I placed a gentle kiss on his arm, anyway, and another on his cheek before smacking his ass. “Then go or I’ll hurt you for real,” I smiled.
"Oh, I’m so scared!" He joked, waving his hands in the air, and I glared playfully at him. "Alright, I’m going, mom."
"Idiot."
"Pushy," he said back.
"Whatever. I’m out. Can I use your shampoo?"
"Whatever," He shouted, his back already turned to me as he headed for the kitchen. Smirking, I made my way over to his bedroom where my bag and the rest of my stuff were.
As I stood in his bath tub, water running down my body, I couldn’t help but wonder how it would be if Brian was in there with me. Well, cleaning ourselves wouldn’t be our top priority, I thought to myself. God, stop thinking about that, Lara! What a frustration!
I stepped out of Brian’s room minutes later, dressed and ready, and walked into the kitchen. The smell of donuts filled my nose as soon as I got in and my stomach started roiling with hunger. “Holy shit, did you do that yourself?” I asked and Brian turned around in his chair to look at me.
Smiling, he shook his head, “I bought them in the best donut shop around.”
"Aw," I cooed.
"It was for me, not you. Don’t feel too important," he stated as he took another bite on his donut, hiding the smirk curling at the corner of his lips.
I stared at him blankly. “You’re mean.”
"Aw! I’m just kidding!" He chuckled as he grabbed my hand and pulled me onto his lap. "Of course it was for you," he told me in a whisper, his lips grazing my cheek softly when he wrapped his arms around my waist. I smiled and squinted down at him. "And you look damn sexy with wet hair," he said.
"Result of my laziness."
"You can be lazy whenever you want," he growled in my ear.
I shivered at his words and covered his hands with my own. “Stop with that or you won’t leave this house soon enough.”
He pulled away, intrigued, “What does that mean?”
"You know what it means."
When he narrowed his eyes and chuckled darkly, I knew he had understood. “Are you seriously threatening me with sex?”
"Yes," I stated nonchalantly.
"Because I’ll take the sex."
"Not now, you won’t. Then you’ll have to explain to Zacky why you’re late and we wouldn’t want that, would we?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Lara…" He warned, his grip around my waist tightening.
"Go take a cold shower," I laughed.
"What a fucking tease. Damn."
I kept laughing as I stood up from his lap. “Sorry about that.”
"Yeah, right." He slapped my ass and got up on his feet as well. "You’ll pay for that later, just so you know."
"Was I supposed to be scared or thrilled?"
Oh, God, I loved to tease him.
Brian’s face darkened at what I said and he stopped for a moment, eyeing me carefully, earnestly. “One more and we’re really not leaving this house until I have my way with you,” he said, his tone low and dangerous as we stared each other in the eyes. He waited for me to say something and I highly considered pushing him a little bit more but, on the other hand, we were actually running late, so I kept my mouth shut.
I just smiled and turned my back to him. “Go.”
I heard footsteps behind me and I frowned. Before I had time to spin around, I felt a pair of strong arms circling around me. “I love you,” Brian whispered, kissing my temple, “but stop driving me crazy.” And just like that he was out of the kitchen again, leaving me there in distraught.
I was still not used to hearing him saying that he loved me, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like to hear it. I tried to fight the smile that forced to climb up to my lips, even though I knew it was a useless effort. Brian had the gift of making me grin like an idiot. “Brian, Brian,” I sighed.
"What’re we gonna say to the guys?"
"About us?" Brian asked, glancing at me from the driver’s seat. I nodded with my head to which he shrugged his shoulders. "The truth."
"Yeah, but- I mean like, ‘Hey, guys, we’re dating now,’ sort of thing?"
Brian chuckled and rested his hand on my knee, “Chill out. We’ll probably walk in hand in hand, so they’ll just have to put two in two together and figure out for themselves.”
"Um."
"Or we can walk in while we’re making out and I’m sure they’ll know we’re together," he joked.
"Brian!" I chided.
"Relax, you’re acting like I’m gonna meet your parents or some shit like that," he laughed, squeezing my knee.
"We’re meeting with Zacky which is almost the same."
"True story, but he can kiss my ass."
I looked up at Brian and he smiled. “Don’t be like that,” I said, seriously. “Zacky is your best friend.”
"So what? I don’t need his approval. He’s not your father nor mine."
I rolled my eyes and decided to drop the subject. Getting into an argument with Brian because of this stupid thing was exactly that - stupid.
I was feeling nervous by the time we parked the car and made our way to the store. Just like Brian had said, we had our hands intertwined with one another and my grasp was pretty tight on him. He chuckled right before we entered and placed a kiss on my cheek. He knew me too well.
"Finally, dude! I thought you were never getting here!" Zacky exclaimed as the bell of the store went off and he saw us coming in. I noticed the confusion swirling in his emerald eyes when they diverted to my and Brian’s united hands, however, Zacky made no comments about it.
"Hey, Zee," I greeted.
"You’re back, uh?"
"Long story." I blew out a deep sigh.
"Hey, you-" Zacky pointed to Brian. "Go finish your job while I talk to her."
"Yes, Boss," Brian replied with a smile before kissing my head and going to the back room. I pursed my lips together, hoping that Zacky wouldn’t ask questions about Brian’s behavior-
"What’s going on between you two?" He asked. Oops. "You return from New York and don’t even tell anyone? You just go straight to Brian’s arms?"
I furrowed my eyebrows at him, not getting where his sudden outburst came from. “Are you angry?”
"I just don’t understand. We’ve been worried about you and you didn’t even send us a text to announce your arrival. Next thing I know, I’m calling my best friend and he tells me you’re with him. What the hell?"
"Wow, calm the fuck down," I told him, "Yesterday was a shitty day for me and I just came to the store because I didn’t want to be alone. I had no fucking idea that Brian was the one here. So don’t fucking blame me for that!"
"Guys? Is everything okay?" Both Zacky and I turned to Brian, whose head was peeking around the corner. "Don’t need to get stressed out."
"Mind your own business, man," Zacky exhaled, scraping the back of his neck out of annoyance.
Brian ambled closer. “This is my damn business when you’re yelling at my girlfriend!” He blurt out, his own anger emerging on the surface.
Great.
"You guys are dating?"
"Yeah, problem?" Brian defied, crossing his arms over his chest.
Zacky frowned but seemed to simmer down a little as he shook his head. “No, man. I just- I wasn’t expecting it.”
"Zee," I drawled, moving closer to him, "don’t be mad. I didn’t mean to hide away from you, guys. I was just really tired yesterday and upset, and I needed to rest. Brian just happened to be here."
"And now you’re boyfriend and girlfriend."
Brian and I shared a glance and we both chuckled. “Yes,” I confirmed.
Zacky flitted his gaze between us a few times before giving in to a laugh as well. “I knew it would happen sooner or later.”
"Who didn’t?" Brian grinned and I stared at him in shock. "Don’t look at me like that. We knew exactly what we were doing."
"Speak for yourself."
Brian scoffed, “I mean lately.”
"Oh, wow. Sherlock is amongst us, I see," I teased, making Brian glower at me even if it was all in good fun. Zacky and I burst out laughing. "He’s grumpy now."
"I’m not. I’m gonna go back to the shelters."
"Aw! No!" I ran toward him and wrapped my arms around his neck, giggling. "Give me a kiss."
"Oh, God, no!" Zacky complained, faking gag noises as he turned to the opposite side from us. "I don’t wanna see that."
Brian chuckled and let his arms wound loosely around my lower back. “You make fun of me and then you want a kiss? You better sit and wait.”
"No…" I hugged him close and trailed my lips down his neck. "Brian…"
I heard a low groan leave his throat and I smiled at that, knowing my plan was working. “Tease. You’re so gonna pay.”
I moved my hands to cradle his face and locked our gazes. “Kiss?”
"No." He kissed my nose and left to the back room again, making me pout.Asshole.
"Can I look now?" Zacky queried and I looked over my shoulder, laughing.
"Yes."
"Cool. Now tell me the whole story."
After one hour I was able to explain every single detail of my trip to New York to Zacky and the general idea of my encounter with Brian. Zacky didn’t need to know those private parts, right?
"Hey, who’s giving lessons today?" I asked Zacky as I looked around the store, paying special attention to the drums’ equipment.
"Jimmy and Matt in the morning, Brian and Zacky later."
I scrunched my brows together and looked at him. “Did you just mention yourself as Zacky?”
"I guess I did," he chuckled, typing something on the computer in front of him as he sat at the counter. "Wanna attend Jim’s class? I know you like drums."
My head shot to Zacky and a big smile spread across my face. “Oh, my God, of course I want that! Yes!” I rushed to where Zacky was, jumping slightly with excitement. “He won’t mind, will he? Jimmy?”
"It’s Jimmy we’re talking about."
"Who’s talking about that sexy man?" We all laughed as the so called, crazy head approached the counter. "LARA!" He sprinted toward me and lifted me off my feet, "How’s my favorite girl doing? I didn’t know you were back!"
I laughed and held onto him, afraid I’d fall. “I’m good. Pretty good.”
Placing me back on the floor, Jimmy rested his hands on my shoulders. “You are happy.”
"She has a boyfriend, now," Zacky smirked, somewhat answering Jimmy’s assumption. I coughed out a giggle and looked away from them.
"What?"
"Zacky you have a big mouth," I said, trying to sound angry, but failing miserably when all I could do was smile.
"Brian?" Jimmy guessed with that light in his blue eyes. When I nodded he sped off to the back room. "Just a spoonful of Jimmy helps the whole world go down," he sang, beaming widely as he disappeared around the corner.
Zacky and I looked at each other before doubling over with laughter. It wasn’t long before Jimmy and Brian were coming back, both grinning ridiculously wide. I locked eyes with Brian and sighed, knowing that the next few days were going to be filled with sneaky comments by our dear friends.
"Peanut head, come here," Jimmy said, one arm draped over Brian’s shoulders and the other stretched open, waiting for me to dig in. When I was engulfed in his embrace, Jimmy kissed my temple and Brian’s and kept smiling. "I’m very happy for you two lovebirds, and I hope your love lasts forever, because if you went through all that shit and eight years later fell back into each other’s arms, then you’re meant to be together until Hell raises."
"Thanks, Jim," I chuckled, giving him an awkward side hug.
"Well, I have a lesson to prepare and the kids must be coming, so I gotta head up."
"Wait." I stopped him from walking and he turned to me, his gaze quizzical. "Can I watch your class?"
"Of course! Come on," Jimmy waved for me to follow him, however, a familiar clearing of throat caught my attention and I was forced to come to a halt.
Brian was standing behind me, a look of mirth in his eyes. “What do you want?” I asked, struggling against a smirk.
"Assisting his classes? I’m feeling betrayed."
"You see, Jimmy here doesn’t have a problem with being affectionate and adorable," I said, leaning into the tall man. "And if I asked him for a kiss, I’m sure he wouldn’t have a problem to give me one, right, Jim?"
"I’ll give you all the kisses you want," Jimmy laughed, wrapping me in his arms.
"So this is still about the kiss, uh?" Brian asked, folding his arms and tilting his head to the side.
"Yes."
He gave me his signature smirk. “You want a kiss?”
Many. Many kisses, please.
"No, now I don’t," I said, instead, biting down on my lip.
"Yes, you do." He came to chase after me but I started for the other side and ran around the store to escape him. I’d squeal and laugh when he got close, and Zacky was going nuts with our childish manners. Brian cornered me after a while, in a hidden place away from our friends’ eyes and the rest of the customers, and grinned mischievously at me. "Gotcha!"
"No!" I cried, backing away until I couldn’t go any further. Brian ambled over to me and pinned me between him and the white wall, and without warning brought his lips down to mine, kissing me hard. I tried not to laugh at the need he was pouring into that kiss, his rough side coming to life. "Brian," I groaned once he pulled away, "that was hot."
"I swear to God I’ll go insane with you," he replied in a raspy voice as he cupped my face in his hands and rested his forehead on mine.
I smiled and pecked his lips. “You’re not the only one.” The sexual tension was becoming palpable as the day dragged on, and we were only together for a day. What was wrong with us?
"Good. I feel much better now," he chuckled dryly, granting me with another soft kiss.
"Guys!" We heard Zacky call. "Get a fucking room."
"Maybe we really should," Brian whispered, wiggling his eyebrows at me.
We definitely should.
I laughed and grabbed his hand, “Come on, you wild man. We need to cool down before this store gets a mess.”
"We still have the back room," Brian suggested as we made our way back to where our friends were. I glanced up at him with a smirk, but kept in silence. I just might say yes if I spoke my will.
"Don’t ever fuck in the store. I’ll fucking cut your balls, dude!" Zacky shouted no sooner did we reappear in front of him. "What if someone enters and walks in on you, uh? Keep your dick in your pants!"
"Zacky is pissed," Brian chuckled, draping his arm over my shoulders.
"I am, man. I’m really pissed."
"We weren’t doing anything," I clarified, stifling a giggle. "No need to worries."
"Damn, you horny fuckers," Zacky muttered under his breath, his head shaking disapprovingly at us. That was all it took for me to start laughing. He was such a drama queen sometimes.
"Where’s Jimmy, anyway?" I asked.
"He’s probably upstairs already. I’ll take you there," Brian said as he took my hand in his again and headed for the stairs. “Zacky needs some time alone so he can calm down.”
“I heard that!” He yelled from behind us. Grumpy.
I got to attend Jimmy’s class and I noticed that his approach was slightly different from Brian’s. Jimmy would jam with the kids for the first half of the class, and only when they were relaxed and warmed up would he get into the details. It was really fun and I even played a bit after the class ended, because I’d always loved the drums.
“Holy shit, this is so awesome! It’s been fucking ages since I put my hands in some drumsticks,” I said, excited, feeling the adrenaline filling my veins. Standing up from behind the drums, I bounced back to Jimmy’s side. All the kids had already left and I was the only one in that room alongside with Jimmy.
"You should come more often," he told me. "You can really kick some ass if you practice."
"Aw, thanks. I’ll think about it,” I smiled, feeling quite proud of myself for hearing Jimmy say that. He was an awesome drummer and receiving compliments from him, even if he was one of my best friends, meant the world to me.
As we exited the room we crossed paths with Matt, who had also been giving a lesson. His dimples dug in his cheeks once he saw me, and even though he looked happy to see me, there was still that hint of surprise adorning his features.
“What’re you doing here? I thought you were in New York.”
“She came back yesterday,” Jimmy answered for me.
“Cool.” Matt gave me a quick hug and kissed my hair. “How did things go?”
I frowned, “Not really good. Long story short, they were the biggest scumbags ever.”
“Next time I go to New York I’m gonna go there and kick each one of his balls, I promise you,” Matt said, still smiling his adorable dimpled smile. He was just the most adorable guy on this planet. He had to be.
“Had fun?” Brian asked when we all reached the bottom of the stairs.
I smiled widely and glanced at Jimmy. “I think I’m gonna attend more classes from now on.”
“You’re gonna ditch me,” Brian said, his lower lip sticking out into a pout. “I don’t wanna be your friend anymore.”
“I’m glad I’m your girlfriend then,” I chuckled as I moved closer to him and wrapped my arms around his middle. Looking down at me, his pout turned into a full grin and he pulled me to him.
“Group hug!” Jimmy exclaimed as he threw himself in our direction and trapped us in his arms, making us all laugh. “My favorite new couple. I always knew you guys would get together again. I’m really fucking happy for both of you, okay? I love you, guys, and I’ll be here whenever you need. Peanut head, if there’s any day when you wanna say shit about Brian you can come to me; and, Brian, if you ever need help to choose the engagement ring, I’ll be here, too.”
I gasped at Jimmy’s words and at the idea of marrying Brian. Damn, it’s toio soon. I mean, too soon. Too. Not even my thoughts worked fine. Jimmy pulled away from us, smiling his bright smile.
“Why can she say shit about me and I can’t?” Brian queried, sending a playful glare at his best friend. I elbowed him in his ribs and he howled in pain. “Ouch.”
“Are you guys together?”
“That’s for even thinking about saying shit about me. I’d kick your ass before you had time to open your mouth, just so you know,” I told him in the most serious tone I could manage. He looked skeptically at me and I mimicked him before we both erupted with laughter.
"Asshole."
“Are you guys together?”
Brian circled his arms loosely around my shoulders, chuckling, “You love me so much.”
"Yeah, yeah…" I grinned, leaning back into his chest. He kissed my cheek soundly and then moved away from me, making me hum my disagreement.
"She can’t live without me, now," Brian said to Jimmy, who had been watching us with an amused expression on his face.
"Yes, I can!" I protested. "I just choose not to."
“No one’s listening… Are you guys together?” Matt almost yelled after a while. I jolted slightly at his voice but ended up laughing when I glanced at him and both of his eyebrows were raised and his dimples were still on his face. God, Matt.
“We are. She succumbed to my beauty and my fingers’ skills.”
“What?” Everyone shouted at the same time.
Is he serious?
I punched his chest and narrowed my eyes at him, however, it was impossible not to burst out laughing. “Oh, my God, you fucking perv! I can’t believe you said that, especially when I still haven’t seen anything.”
Matt’s and Jimmy’s jaws barely contained themselves and almost hit the ground. “Dude, you’re in trouble,” Matt snickered, nudging Brian. He just stared at me, that challenge look in his brown eyes boring into my soul. I guess I hit a sensitive nerve.
“Anything to say?” I teased, pursing my lips together to suppress the smirk climbing to my lips.
Brian ran his tongue over his bottom lip as we looked into each other’s eyes, and the movement seemed so slow to me, so sensual that I had to gulp hard not to let some weird sound escape into the air. Oh, my…
“Man, I’m out of here. I’m getting a boner because of these two,” Jimmy laughed, before turning around and walking toward the counter where Zacky was. Matt soon followed him and I was left alone with Brian and that thick aura surrounding us. Again. I was in so much trouble.
“You, little miss, just wait. I’m writing down your smartass comments and you’re gonna pay for each one of them. I’m dead fucking serious. I’m only waiting for the time you get in my bed and then you’re gonna regret all the tease you’re giving me,” Brian threatened, his finger pointed at me. I thought of biting it, but that would probably unleash the beast in him even more and I didn’t want that. Or did I?
“Oh, what if I keep sleeping on the couch?”
“I’ll throw the couch away just so you have to be on my bed,” he smiled, taking a step closer and grabbing my hands. “Seriously, though, you’re gonna kill me one of these days.”
“Blue balls?” I giggled.
Brian laughed, too, and nodded with his head, “Yeah, that’s exactly it.”
“I just don’t understand why that would happen. It’s not like I’m holding back,” I said with a small shrug before pushing past him and going back to the other guys. It was like dropping the bomb and leaving. I heard him groan from behind me and that made me beam proudly. More tease for Brian. This was too much fun.
Since there were four of the guys in the store and they needed to buy some stuff, Zacky asked Matt if he could be in charge until lunch so he, Brian, and Jimmy could go take care of those things. Matt agreed and I decided to stay with him so he wouldn’t be alone.
Seeing all those CDs and thinking about Brian and his guitar skills, I remember about something. I took the chance of Matt being all by himself and decided to try my luck. “Hey, Matt?” I called. He swept up his hazel eyes to mine at the sound of his name, and I walked over to where he was, seated on his chair behind the counter. When I reached it, I rested my elbows on its top, “You know,” I started, hesitantly, “the other day, like… long time ago, I was in Brian’s car and I was looking through his glove compartment and found an Avenged Sevenfold CD.”
Matt’s face, different from Brian’s, stayed calm and showed no emotions or whatsoever. “Yeah, it’s possible,” he told me, with an insignificant jolt of his shoulders, his gaze dropping back to the small laptop on his lap.
"So… I asked him if I could listen to it and he kinda freaked out."
At the mentioned, Matt sighed and placed the laptop on the counter, before getting up on his feet. “Brian… He has some issues about the band thing,” he said, and it seemed to me that he didn’t want to say much about it.
"But I’ve talked to him before about the band and he acted as if he was okay with it," I said to which Matt smiled softly at me.
"Of course he did that. That’s the way he likes to deal with it. Pretend everything is okay and maybe you start believing in it. That’s his mantra," Matt explained, moving from behind the counter to disappear into the back room. “But trust me when I say that he’s far from okay with this thing."
As Matt returned to the front, I noticed he was carrying a CD in his hand. Oh! Is that…?
"Here." He threw the CD carefully onto the counter, and it slid right in my direction. “Don’t tell him I gave you that. He’ll cut my head." I looked down and picked up the object, reading Avenged Sevenfold - Tape I.
"Oh, my God," I whispered. I remembered that Brian’s CD was Tape III.
"Yeah, well there are a couple of more," Exactly. “but I’ll only let you have them if you like that first CD," he said and I turned my gaze back up to his face, seeing that adorable dimpled smile of him yet again.
"Thank you so fucking much, Matt. This is awesome!" I beamed, hugging the CD to my chest, making him chuckle.
"Just be careful with Brian."
I nodded forcefully, “Don’t worry!”
I put the CD in my bag and hoped Brian wouldn’t see it. I couldn’t wait to get to the Hotel and listen to that album, because I was so damn curious. I had been curious ever since that day in Brian’s car and now I was finally allowed to make that curiosity disappear. However, Brian had a class in the afternoon and I had promised I’d wait for him until he was free. He had told me he wanted to take me out to dinner to celebrate the beginning of our relationship and, obviously, I couldn’t say no.
I arrived at the store right before Brian’s class finished. I had gone out to take a walk and catch some fresh air due to the fact that I was sick of being locked in the store all morning. Johnny called me as soon as I stepped in and I walked over to him, finding it weird.
“What’s up, Johnny boy?”
“Brian told me that he wants you upstairs in his classroom. He said he needed to talk to you. I don’t know,” he explained. My eyebrows furrowed even deeper at that and suddenly I got worried. What if Brian had found out about the CD? Shit.“Oh, and I’m gonna call it a day, so tell him to close the doors and all that stuff before he leaves, okay?”
“S-Sure.”
I said goodbye to Johnny and made my way to the second floor where Brian should be. I was slightly nervous because I didn’t really know what to expect. I hoped he wasn’t angry or upset with me. I knocked on his door before opening it. I poked my head inside and saw nothing, so I just got in completely to check the place better.
But before I could even close the door, I was grabbed and pushed up against a wall. There was no time to yelp or to see who it was – not that I needed – as Brian’s lips pressed to mine in a harsh and hungry kiss. I let my hands travel to his hair when he gripped my waist and pulled me flushed against him as he practically ravaged my mouth. It was only when we were both out of breath that he paused for a moment, leaving us panting heavily.
“What’s gotten into you?” I chuckled, tugging at the ends of his hair as he nuzzled my neck.
“I can’t fucking handle this anymore. I want you. So fucking bad,” he growled.
I drifted my eyes close when he sank his teeth on the sensitive skin of my neck, applying just enough pressure to have me moaning softly at him. “Dammit, Brian,” I breathed, my hands lowering to his shoulders and arms. He trailed his lips up my neck and to my jaw, where he nipped at gently before reaching my lips again.
He locked his now dark eyes with mine and his hands slipped from underneath my sweater, warming not only my skin but my entire body. “Ready to pay for your teasing?” Brian smirked on my lips.
“No!” I cried. He leaned forward anyway, pretending he was going to kiss me, but pulled back in the last second. He did that again, and again, only kissing near my lips and my cheek but never where I wanted him. “Brian,” I whined and grasped his hoodie, feeling extremely frustrated.
“Lara,” he whined back playfully. He let his hands climb a little bit more on my torso and I gasped when he reached my bra. “I didn’t even touch you yet and you’re already collapsing on my arms.”
“I’m not collapsing, asshole.”
“Uhm,” he chuckled, “angry and feisty. I like that,” he murmured on my lips, giving me a chaste kiss. I tried to deepen it but he moved away too quickly. “Nuh-nuh.”
“Stop with that! I can tease you, too, you know?” I said and he quirked his eyebrow at me, as his hands began roaming my sides and back slowly, making me shiver in delight. “Stop.”
He smiled, shaking his head, and when I opened my mouth to protest again he cut me off with a kiss. That kiss. I shut up immediately and he kissed me again, more passionately this time, enough to cloud my mind with inappropriate thoughts. All I could think of was on the touch of his hands, the taste of his lips as they moved along with mine. I was lost. So lost in him and in the sensations he was providing me only with his body.
I moaned when his mouth changed routes and attacked my neck again, planting kisses and bites on its passage. I held onto his shoulders but he was too damn clothed for my liking, so I tried to pull his hoodie off. He laughed lightly at my failed attempted and stopped what he was doing to help me out. He lifted his arms up and I freed him from the hoodie, his shirt rising, too, and showing his happy trail and part of his belly.
“You should take that shirt off as well,” I told him with a tight smirk.
“No need for what we’re gonna do.”
“What’re we gonna do?” I asked, but of course he didn’t answer me. Not with actual words at least. He just wrapped his arms around me, seeming pretty fond of that wall behind me as he pressed me against it one more time, and connected our lips again. This time, though, his actions didn’t stay as innocent as before, and in a very smooth way he lowered one of his hands between our bodies and palmed me through my jeans.
I shuddered at his touch and broke the kiss inevitably, but Brian didn’t stop there and started undoing the button of my jeans. Oh. My. God. How was I supposed to deal with all of these feelings? I peeked down at his hand, my lips parted as I tried to breathe, my heart beating wildly within my chest. Brian tilted my chin up with his other hand to make me look at him. “We’re not gonna have sex,” he told me and I became confused.
“We’re not?”
“No. Not that I don’t want to but our first time won’t be in the store,” he chuckled, stroking my chin with his thumb. “You’re more special than that.”
“Brian, I don’t really care where we do it.”
“I do.”
At the look of confusion and desperation on my face, Brian smiled softly and kissed me. “It doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun, because I really am frustrated and I could use some release.”
YES!
“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” I said, just to mess with him.
“Oh,” he smirked, “you hadn’t noticed, uh? Want to notice it?” He asked as he grabbed my hand and guided it to the bulge in his pants. I coughed out a giggle and closed my hand around his excited friend, making him groan in response. “I’ve waited eight years for this.”
“No more than I waited for you,” I replied, leaning up to have my time with his neck as he kept his assault on my jeans, eager to get rid of them. He smelled so good and his skin was so hot and kissable. I made sure not to miss any spot on his neck, leaving soft bites here and there whenever his hand rubbed too close to my throbbing and needy area. “Brian,” I whispered, letting go of his jeans to cup his face and kiss him hard and long, our lips moving desperately against each other, trying to ease some of the frustration we felt, but it wasn’t working.
Brian fumbled with the button of my jeans for a while, distracted with the heated kiss we were sharing, but when he succeeded he pulled my jeans down and they pooled at my feet. He continued kissing me, but this time his hands had more room and access to my lower half, which he wasted no time in exploring.
Wanting to feel him more as well, I unbuckled his seatbelt and unbuttoned his pants as fast as I could. He helped me with the undressing thing and soon we were both engulfed in each other’s arms again. Brian grinded his hips against mine, creating that so needed friction between us, and that simple gesture was enough to make us moan into the kiss. It felt so good, yet we wanted more. So much more. “I don’t know how we’re going to control ourselves,” I panted.
Brian chuckled, “We’ll have to.” His hand started heading south again and my heart sped up in anticipation, my lips working faster with his own out of desperation. But it only took a brush of his fingers to make my body react completely to him, increasing the longing I already felt.
“Brian…” His name fell from my lips effortlessly, barely above a whisper. “You better be good at this.” When he moved his fingers even deeper, I was forced to take a moment to myself and enjoy that pleasurable feeling. It’d been a long time.Damn, he was good indeed.
He was slow, too slow, as he moved his fingers, probably on purpose so he would tease the hell out of me. Sick of being tortured to death, I tucked my hand in his boxers and circled it around his more than excited throbbing member, beginning my slow movements as well. Brian threw his head back, biting down on his lip, and for a moment he lost his composure. “Big enough for you?” He asked, his dark brown eyes meeting my lust filled ones.
“I thought the size didn’t matter.”
He curled his fingers inside of me and my knees buckled a little. “It doesn’t,” he whispered in my ear, and just like that his soft side was thrown away.
It was hard for me to keep up with the fast pace he took and with how quick my pleasure was increasing. I had no control over my actions and my thoughts, and the only thing consuming me was the need to reach that peak. I tried to give Brian what he wanted, I tried to focus enough to be pleasuring him as well, I did, but those feelings were too much to ignore. And I’m sure that if it wasn’t for Brian’s other arm supporting almost all of my weight, I’d have fallen straight to the floor when that pool of pure bliss burst in the pit of my stomach.
Endless moans were heard in that room, both from Brian and I, and that’s when I realized I still had him in my hand. I spent my last bits of energy in him and did my best to at least give him the same level of pleasure he’d offered me.
“That was exactly what I needed,” Brian told me, holding me tightly in his arms as we bathed in the aftermath, seated on the floor. I was utterly spent and tired, so I just hummed my agreement and reveled in the feeling of his embrace. “Can’t wait for the big deal, though,” he commented and we both let out lazy laughs. True story.
Notes
Here's another chapter :p Things are starting to heat up between Brian and Lara, uh? ahah
Hope you guys liked this chapter and thanks for the amazing comments :)
Lol, I have this problem where sometimes I skip a paragraph on accident. I read "Jimmy probably picked this song" after I read them touching each other with wandering hands, automatically thought "closer" by nine inch nails, and went back to check. XD this story is amazing
3/22/16