Matt's POV

The bright sun was burning through my closed eyelids, making the insides look like an intense fire. I didn't dare open them because then I knew that this moment would be over: this comfort, total relaxation, and peace. It was funny how time played that little trick on you and today I was going to stretch that bastard to his limits.

Without opening my eyes, I flexed my arm and pulled the beautiful girl that still lay beside me into my body. I smiled as I inhaled the floral scent of her shampoo, just enjoying our closeness. It had been ages since I felt this content with a woman in my arms, especially since towards the end of my last relationship I spent this time planning on how to get away before she woke up. I wasn't being an ass; I was jus trying to avoid the inevitable fight between us. But Maya, she was the last thing I wanted to walk away from. Hell, if I had my choice, she would be by my side all the time but I knew we were still avoiding Larry.

"Matt...What are you doing?" Maya groaned as I gently pulled my fingers through her long dark hair, enjoying its silky touch. I slowly opened my eyes to see an amused smile and dark eyes staring back at me. God she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.

I smiled and leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "Good morning, beautiful," I said after pulling away, my voice husky from sleep. "I was just enjoying your company in my bed."

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, big boy, but this is my bed—oh shit! Ave!" She looked so fucking adorable as she covered her face with her hands. "She's gonna kill me." Maya started to sit up but I pulled her back down on top of me, my morning wood greeting her hello.

"Come here," I practically growled, my lips placing a trail of kisses down her shoulder. "Ave is fine, I promise. Just relax...she probably waxed some lucky bastards dick and is sleeping soundly."

Maya raised a brow at me and shook her head. "We're talking about the same person right? Little gnome-like brunette that usually wears a beanie? She wouldn't do that..."

"Fine but let's pretend she did because I have more important plans for you!" I growled, quickly flipping her over so her back was in the mattress. Maya squealed and looked surprised as she bit down on her plump bottom lip. That thing right there was sexy as fuck.

I looked down into Maya’s eyes, my thumbs gently caressed her soft cheeks while I held my body weight over top of her. She slowly rocked her hips into mine and her core moved tormentingly slow over my erection. I slowly ran my thumb over her lips as they pulled into a smile. “What are you doing now?”

“You’re beautiful.”

“You are pretty amazing yourself,” she said, running her fingers through my short hair. “Though I think the next time, I’m going to pull your hair?”

“Oh yeah?” I laughed. I loved it when Maya talked dirty to me and showed me her wild side, one of the many things I really liked about her.

With a sparkle in her eye, she tugged on my hair, provoking the animal inside of me. The one who like it rough sometimes—kind of like last night but more intense. Growling in the back of my throat I leaned forward and kissed Maya’s lips hard. She moaned and immediately opened up to me, our tongues dancing in a battle for dominance. She tasted so sweet and I wanted to devour her lips and every other part of her.

“Ave? Time to get up for breakfast!” A loud knock accompanied the voice and I groaned, knowing my time with Maya would be cut short.

“Fuck,” I hissed, and before I could even move my naked ass the door burst open. “What the fuck, JB?” I yelled, quickly pulling the sheet over Maya and myself.

“Shit. Sorry Shadz…didn’t know you were here.” Jason covered his eyes with his hand and shook his head. In any other circumstance I would have been laughing, but this wasn’t fun. This asshole just ruined my morning with Maya.

Maya sat up and pulled the sheet around herself. “Wait, she’s not out there?” she gapped, giving me a worried look. “So where the hell is she?”

“Wait, you don’t know where she is?” Jason asked, running his hands over his face. “Shit…I just hope she is with Zack and…fuck.” He slammed his fist on the door and turned to walk out before coming back in. “You don’t think—“

“Just everyone relax,” I sighed. This was not at all how I wanted my morning to go. “She’s fine. Jason go check our bus and don’t come back when you do,” I said, receiving a small glare from Maya as Jason disappeared again. “What? She’s a grown woman if she wants to fuck Gates you should let her. Now where were we?”

I leaned back down into Maya, kissing and nibbling her neck. “But do you think he would make a move on her when she was drunk?”

“Maya, really?” I asked, looking down on her with a cocked eyebrow. How can she be thinking about her best friend when my dick is ready to plunge inside her? Jason’s taking care of it.

“Yeah…sorry, carry on,” she said, smiling up at me as I moved back down to her neck, my hand gently cupping her perfect breast. I would get to those perfect nipples in a minute, just had to make a path. Her skin was so fucking sweet like a perfect drug to get addicted to…

“But seriously, he wouldn’t do that, would he?” I sighed, cursing inwardly, knowing that Jason had ruined the moment. There was no way I was getting laid again this morning and that though alone was causing blue balls to set in. I slowly sat up and put my head in my hands. “Matt?”

I took in a deep breath, knowing that Gates had done some pretty questionable things before—like sleeping with girls who were too drunk to know their names, but I didn’t think he would do that to Avery. He seemed too invested in her to pull a dick move like that, especially after the blow out yesterday. “No, he wouldn’t…but my bet is she slept in Zack’s bunk.” Oh, these blue balls were already killing me. Fuck you JB, fuck you.

“But what if he did something, that sneaky bastard?” Maya continued and I groaned, falling backwards on the bed now.

“He didn’t do anything, babe. Just calm down….and please can we get back to my plans now?” I practically begged but she just raised a brow at me and scooted over to my lap.

“I need to make sure Ave’s okay, but I promise I’ll make it up to you, okay?” Maya whispered in my ear, her hot breath making my mind wander to all the dirty things I had planned for her. She leaned in pressed a sweet kiss to my lips before pulling away to get dressed. Shit, this fucking sucked!

I quickly pulled on my jeans, wife beater shirt, and cut off flannel and followed Maya off the bus. I swear after all this, Ave had better be stuck in a well or having a massive fight with Gates because those were the only two things that I could think of that would make this situation appropriate. “Maya, she’s fine, I promise.”

And sure enough, as soon as we turned the corner around the bus, she was standing and talking with Jason, both of them smoking a cigarette. Fuck me backwards, I just missed out time with Maya for this. Oh, I would make JB pay for this…someway. I narrowed my eyes at him and he shot me an apologetic smile. “See, she’s fine…now let’s get back to…”

“Good morning!” I heard Larry’s voice boom and Maya took a nervous step away from me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Avery chuck her cigarette, hoping that he father didn’t catch her. “How are my beautiful girls?”

Larry stepped next to me and patted my shoulder as he looked between Maya and Avery with a big smile on his face. “These guys are being gentlemen I hope,” Larry teased, squeezing my shoulder.

“They have been nothing but accommodating,” Maya said, being pulled into his side with a wicked smirk in her eye. Those dark brown orbs met mine and I had to bite my cheek so I didn’t laugh. She really was something else. “Matt was just talking about taking us out for breakfast before we start our long day.”

Larry looked over at me and I nodded, my lips in a tight smile. “Thought we’d show them our favorite dive,” I shrugged, hoping Larry would believe this story.

“Well, that’s good, I’m sure the girls would love Reggies but I will have to pass. I have a meeting and speaking of which, I have some great news girls,” Larry continued, moving over to hug his daughter who still looked like she had seen a ghost. Guess she wasn’t used to almost being caught by daddy.

“That you increased our salary?” Maya joked and Avery shot her a wide-eyed stare that made Larry, Jason, and I laugh.

“No, but I did just hire a new merch guy! He will be here in two days for his trial run,” Larry explained and I felt like the world was crumbling around me. The girls were leaving? After Maya and I just got everything settled between us, finally starting to be like a couple. I didn’t know if that’s what we actually were but that’s what I wanted. I guess we would have to talk about that later.

“New merch guy?” Jason said thickly, shaking his head. I couldn’t help but notice the sad look in his eyes as he looked over at Avery and her father. Trust me, I felt the same way about losing Maya. “But what about Ave and Maya? Are they staying on too?” He asked hopefully but Larry just laughed.

“Grown that attached already, JB?” Larry let go of the girls and pulling out his phone.

“Well, they are part of the A7X family now,” Jason explained, putting his arm around Avery’s shoulders in a friendly manner. If Jason could get away with that, maybe I could too? I took a step towards Maya but only received a stern look from Larry. What was this double standard here? Maya wasn’t actually his real daughter but Berry could touch his precious baby girl? Tell me how that was fucking fair! “Besides, you know how we hate to train new people.”

“Well hopefully this one will stick with us for the remainder of the tour,” Larry shrugged, now scrolling on his phone. “And I think you ladies deserve a nice little treat as a thank you? Huh? How does a weeklong trip to the Bahamas’ sound? I know it’s your favorite!”

“That sounds amazing dad!” Avery gushed and Maya nodded in agreement. They looked so excited and happy about the news.

No. No. NO! I didn’t want Maya out of my sight and I could see guys flocking her on the beach as we speak. And what would stop her from ignoring their advances if I was on the road? Shit. This wasn’t okay and I had to find someway to stop it before it was too late.

“So you guys will be leaving in three days for the Bahamas and the luxury spa package, how’s that?” Larry said and I just kept shaking my head. I didn’t want to hear anymore of it, I couldn’t. The girl’s couldn’t be leaving—I wouldn’t allow it and that was final.

I quickly grabbed Jason and headed back towards our bus, leaving Larry and the girls to talk. “What the hell was that?” Jason asked, taking off his ball cap and running his fingers through his hair.

“I was wondering the same thing,” I said, my thoughts racing a mile a minute. “But I know one thing, we need to find some way to make them stay. This new merch guy bullshit isn’t going to fly.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Jason agreed, following me up the steps of the bus to find a war zone of bottles. Zacky was sitting at the table nursing his head and looking like complete death.

“Where’s the fire?” he groaned.

“Band meeting so get your shit together,” I hissed, sending Jason to go wake up Jimmy. He knew how to wake the sleeping giant so I would let him. As I continued to the back of the bus, I ripped open Johnny’s bunk, tapping his face lightly. “Get up, short shit. We’ve got a meeting in five.”

“Wait—what?”

“Just move your ass, I’ll explain in a minute.” I continued back through the bus and was surprised to find Gates’ bunk empty. Now where the hell was he? I didn’t have to search long because exactly at that moment he came flying from the backroom, his eyes wild. “There you are Gates. What the fuck are you doing in my—“

“Have you seen Avery?” he cut me off, looking around me and peeking in through the opened bathroom door. “Did she come through here?”

I shook my head, having no idea what he was talking about, nor did I want to. I had more important things to worry about, like keeping Maya here. “She’s outside talking to Larry,” I informed him, watching his features fall.

"Fuck...I can't fucking believe this," Gates hissed, running his hands over his face.

"I don't know what's going on with that but we have to talk. Band meeting, now.” I lead the charge back out to the main room to see all eyes angrily glaring at me. Sorry to wake the sleeping beauties but this was important.

“What is so important that you couldn’t wait until a decent time of day to wake me up? Like one o’clock?” Johnny groaned. I rolled my eyes and ignored the confused look Zack was shooting me over top of his coffee.

“I don’t know how to say this but—“ I started but Jimmy groaned.

“Just fucking say it! I need some coco puffs and you are blocking the cupboard,” he pushed past me. Man he was a grump when he was waken up after a night of partying. Where had he been anyway? I’d have to find out.

“What the hell is going on?” Zacky sighed, rubbing his temples.

“The girls are being replaced. They leave on Friday,” Jason answered for me as everyone’s face fell.


Avery’s POV

“So…how was your night?” Maya practically begged as she grabbed my arm. We were heading down to set up the booth after a quick meeting with my dad. I couldn’t believe that our time here was over already and even though I was excited to go on vacation, I didn’t want to leave. There were still too many unanswered questions, mainly between Jason and Brian.

“It was fun,” I shrugged, trying to keep up with Maya’s long strides. Damn her and her gorgeous long legs. If only I had been blessed with height, then I would be unstoppable.

Maya stopped and turned me around to face her with a raised brow. “Fun? That’s all you’re going to tell me? Come on, Ave…tell me some details here! I’ll tell you what I did last night.”

I laughed and shook my head. “I know what you did last night. You don’t have to tell me,” I shuddered at the memory. “I’ll never be able to wash that image that is stained in my brain…and by the way, we have to burn the bed.”

Maya gave me a sheepish smile. “You saw that huh?”

“I wish I hadn’t,” I informed her, still thinking about the end of my evening. I couldn’t help but let a smile come over my face as I thought about falling asleep in Brian’s arms. It was just so easy and pressure free—totally different from any encounter we had before. So much so that it confused me ever more. “But don’t worry about it, I’ll just make you pay for my therapy.”

Maya threw her head back with a loud laugh. “Okay fine…so what did you do last night? And don’t tell me ‘nothing’ because that little smile on your face would call you a liar.”

I smirked as I looked at Maya out of the corner of my eyes. “I went to the party with Zack...”

“And…Where did you sleep and why was Jason looking for you this morning?”

Shit, I totally forgot about breakfast with Jason this morning. I had just snuck out of Brian’s bed before he woke up and was having my morning smoke when he found me. We didn’t have much time to talk before my dad arrived and crashed our party. “Well…Jason asked me to breakfast this morning…” I said, still trying to avoid the first question. I knew Maya wouldn’t be happy knowing that I was with Brian after their fight yesterday.

“So you have a date with the sexy Mr. Berry?” Maya gushed with a smile, causing me to blush.

“It’s just breakfast…he didn’t propose or anything. Calm down, My,” I laughed, rolling my eyes. “I guess we’ll have to have a rain check because Dad kind of ruined my plans.”

“What were your plans? And you still haven’t told me where you were last night!” We had just reached the truck and started to set up the table and the merchandise. “Come on, Ave, don’t make me ask someone else!”

“Fine…I ended up sleeping on the Avenged bus. I went to look for Zack because our bus was full and ended up falling asleep with Brian,” I snapped, blushing madly as Maya’s jaw dropped.

“You slept with Gates?” She yelled, looking shocked and angry. I could see people turning to look at us.

“Shhh….I didn’t sleep with Gates…I just slept next to him…we talked and…. Kissed… but that was it,” Oh, I couldn’t look at her right now.

“Ave!” Maya whispered with intensity. “You let him kiss you after all the shit he’s done?! What about Jason?”

“I don’t know, okay? Brian was different last night,” I tried to explain as I set up a line of shirts. “He was looking out for me and kept me from falling on my face. He was a perfect gentleman.”

Maya scoffed and shook her head. “Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see him. So what did he say this morning?”

I shrugged my shoulders, looking at her with a smirk. “I don’t know, I left before he woke up.”

Maya opened her mouth to say something but I didn’t hear her because an ear splitting scream filled the air.

“MAYA?! AVE?!”

Notes

Oh no, so the girls are leaving? What will the guys plan? Can they stop them? How does Brain feel about being left before he wakes this time?