Matt’s POV

“Gates what the hell are you doing now?” I laughed, leaning on the counter next Zack and Larry. He had just entered the kitchen and started to make two drinks with a frown. My head was starting to spin from the Patron but I could still read the frustration all over his face.

“Yeah, didn’t you just take that girl upstairs? Don’t tell me you’re done already.” Zack had a smirk on his face, obviously thinking the same thing I was. Either it was a quickie or she refused to put out, whichever way it was hilarious. No one had ever done that to Gates before and he looked pissed to boot.

“I’d expect more from you Gates,” I continued, laughing and holding myself up on the island. Oh this was priceless. We could rag on him about his for weeks. And there goes the vein in his neck and the tight jaw, so he was pissed.

He scoffed and shook his head, slamming the bottle of tequila down on the counter. “Shut your fucking mouths,” Gates glared between Zack and I with narrow eyes.

“What happened?” Larry asked, taking a sip of his beer. He looked a little out of place at a raging house party but he was really relaxed. It was nice to see him as a friend instead of a manager from time to time.

Gates ran his hands over his face after taking a sip of his drink. “It was going great and it was fucking amazing…until she freaked out bolted out of the room to look for her friend.” He chuckled lightly. “I think she was afraid of the cobra, but can you blame her? You saw how small she was.”

“So that still doesn’t answer why you’re back down here, making two drinks,” I pointed out, raising my brow. “And wasn’t her friend with Jimmy?”

Gates snorted with laughter. “She sent me down to get her a drink, so maybe she’ll calm down a bit with it,” he shrugged. “And you should have seen that little lady march down the hall and barg right in on Rev and her friend—“

“Wait so that little brunette cock blocked you and Rev? That’s hilarious!” Zacky roared, slamming his fist on the counter as he laughed. Gates chuckled and nodded his head, sipping his drink. “That has to be a first.”

I couldn’t hide the smile that crept over my face. Jimmy hadn’t slept with that tattooed beauty and I somehow felt relieved about that. I mean, I hadn’t even really got to know her and yet I felt a certain claim to her. I know I had no right to, but I couldn’t help myself. I was instantly attracted to her and wanted her for my own. It was probably the Patron talking because I knew that I would never see her again. So why was I letting it bother me?

Gates narrowed his eyes and pointed at Zack. “I’d shut your fucking mouth if I were you, Vee. You and I both know that I get more pussy than you.” With that he picked up his cups and motioned his head towards the stairs. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m not letting her get away this time.”

“Good luck with that, Brian,” Larry laughed, as Gates turned around and headed toward the stairs.

However, just at that moment, Jimmy came flying down the stairs like a bat out of hell. His eyes looked wild and Gates instantly stopped when he saw him, his body language changing. This was going to be good. I crept up to foyer between the kitchen and the living room so that I could hear their conversation. This was honestly the best entertainment that I had seen in weeks.

“I could fucking kill you!” Jimmy raged, taking one of Gates’ cups and downing its contents in a few sips before throwing it on the floor. “You just cost me a good fuck!”

“Hey, it’s not my fault I couldn’t stop her. She was a fucking woman on a mission,” Gates chuckled, shaking his head. I looked to my left to see Zacky standing next to me and holding onto the molding. This was too good to be true. “You’re not the only one that got cock blocked. Now I’m going to go try to get her back into my room.”

Jimmy let out a frustrated scream, taking Brian’s other cup and drinking that down too. “They already left,” he groaned. “That’s what I was trying to tell you! She grabbed her friend and ran out the back door. What the hell was her deal? I was about to have mind blowing sex with that sexy lady!”

Brian groaned and ran his hands over his face. “Be damned if I know. Fuck! This is not how the evening was supposed to go.”

“What’s the matter Gates, that girl got the better of you?” I chuckled, entering the room as he pulled out a pack of Marlboros. He lit up and took a couple of puffs as Jimmy ran his hands over his face.

“I can’t believe that little lady cock blocked me…her friend was so damn hot…and now—fuck. We’ll never see them again.” Jimmy was frustrated and I could understand why, but part of my was thankful for her little friend. Maya was still unclaimed and that meant if I ever saw her again that I could make a move. Who was I kidding though? I wouldn’t see her again. We left for tour in a day now and we knew better than to have a party the night before we hit the road.

“This fucking sucks,” Gates hissed, blowing out a cloud of smoke. He didn’t even care that he was breaking his own rule of no smoking in the house right now. I could tell something was bothering him about the whole situation but knew that he wouldn’t spill. He only bragged if he closed the deal and he obviously hadn’t made it past second base tonight.

“Tell me about it,” Jimmy groaned, looking down at his phone. “We didn’t even get their numbers. Fuck.”

“Well, back to the selection of groupies on the veranda,” I was having way too much fun harassing these two about their failed hookups. “Unless you’re done for the evening.” Jimmy, Gates, and Zacky all turned to look at me, knowing that I had just said some fighting words.

“Well, hate to burst your bubbles but it looks like Johnny is the only one making progress,” Larry laughed, joining us in the living room. All four of us turned around to see dipshit walking down the corridor with a blonde and I heard Syn curse. “And I’m sorry to hear about your lost tail. Good news is that there are always more girls,” he shrugged and he was right.

“Well, I’ll make you boys a wager,” Gates said, a smirk spreading over his face. “First one to close the deal tonight gets the master suite for the first month of the tour.”

I narrowed my eyes and stepped forward, sticking my hand out. “You’ve got yourself a deal, Gates. May the best man win.”

Avery’s POV

I groaned and put my throbbing head in my hands as I stared into my cereal. I felt sick and I was still hung-over from the night before, even though it was six in the evening now. Could you believe that I slept all day? Well, as much as you could call it sleeping because those brown eyes and amazingly hot dreams kept me rolling around for hours. I just couldn’t get the feeling of those soft lips against mine and don’t even get me started on that tongue. Shivers covered my arms at the mere thought.

I shook my head to push the thoughts away, knowing that I couldn’t have those feelings for the infamous Synyster Gates. Oh, but he tasted so good and I was literally craving his lips against mine. No, Avery, you wont see him again and he probably doesn’t even remember you. I mean, how many other girls did he get in a night? I wasn’t even on his radar and I really didn’t want to be. From everything that I heard from my dad and looked up on the internet, he was a man whore and was only looking for a hook up. That wasn’t me so I needed to stop wasting my time and thoughts on him.

“Hello, earth to Avery? Are you there?”

I shook my head and looked up to see Maya waving her hands in front of my face. She was still upset with me for stopping her hookup with Jimmy but she more than understood when I told her why. As soon as I uttered the word dad we booked it out of the house and didn’t look back. What was my dad even doing at a party anyway? He was too old to be out drinking and hanging out with people our age. It was kind of gross to think about.

“Yeah sorry…I was just—“

“Drooling over you hot make out session with Synyster Gates? That guy couldn’t take his eyes off you. He was practically eye fucking you all night,” Maya teased, pulling over my bowl of untouched cereal and taking a few bites.

I held up my hand and closed my eyes. “Please, don’t. I still can’t believe out of all the parties in Huntington Beach that you dragged us to one of their parties. If dad would have caught us there we’d be dead!” I hissed, lowing my voice as I heard the front door open. I put my spinning head in my hands again, letting out a long sigh. She was right though, I couldn’t get him off my mind.

“Well was it good?” Maya wagged her eyebrows at me as a small smile pulled over my face, knowing she was talking about the kiss. “See! I knew you liked it! Why didn’t you just go for it then?”

“Because I’m not that kind of girl…besides he probably doesn’t remember what my name is,” I sighed, looking back up at her. “I can’t do what you do…”

“You mean almost have the most amazing sex with a really sexy drummer?” She moaned lightly before she continued and I cringed. I loved the girl but I really didn’t want to hear about her sex life. “Oh, the man has a very talented tongue down south, if you know what I mean….and he was huge…if only you hadn’t barged in the room. I would have felt—“

“Okay enough!” I said, standing up now. I was starting to get annoyed because she was rubbing it in that I messed up her night, plus she knew that I hated these dirty details. “I already told you I was sorry at least three times…can you please—“

“Oh and how his fingers moved over my lady parts…it was fucking heaven.”

“I’m done with this conversation,” I grumbled, obviously annoyed as I headed out towards the kitchen were dad was pulling out stuff for dinner. Maya’s laugher carried into the kitchen. I swear some days I could kill her.

“Hey there’s my baby girl,” Dad said, pulling out the fixings for stir-fry. He smiled at me and I instantly felt guilty. What would he say if he knew I had been making out and thinking about one of his artists? I knew he wouldn’t approve and if he ever found out Maya and I were at the party last night he would flip out. I hated keeping things from him and I always felt like the worst daughter on the face of the earth when I did.

“What did you and Maya do last night?” Oh, god, the question I had been trying to avoid.

“Erm… just went to Johnny’s with the girls. You know, had some drinks, shot pool, karaoke, the normal outing,” I lied, thankful that I could hide my face in my hair so that he wouldn’t see that I was lying. “How about you?” What am I suicidal? I don’t want to know about him parting it up with Avenged.

“I had my dinner with Matt and then I ended up at his house party. Nothing too exciting,” yeah, the house party where Maya was about to sleep with his drummer and I was making out with the lead guitarist. This was so messed up it wasn’t even funny and I was mortified that he would find out. I felt sick all over again. “But good news, we filled the position for the merchandise booth. Though, how would you and Maya feel about coming to Burbank for the concert tomorrow night?”

“That sounds amazing, Mr. Jacobson,” Maya said, sitting down at the island as I gapped at her. She did not just promise that we would go see those guys play! Oh, now I was really mortified. What happens if they recognized us? What happens if they said something to my dad? Fuck. I couldn’t do this.

“But don’t we have that other thing to do tomorrow night, May? I asked, narrowing my eyes at her as my dad turned around to put vegetables in the wok.

Maya smirked at me and leaned back against the counter, shaking her head. “I don’t think so. That got canceled remember? I think we could use an evening of fun and good music.” I tried to suppress a groan and settled for running my hands over my face. “What time to we leave?”

“Well, you see here’s the thing,” Dad started, turning back around and forcing me to put back on my chipper smile. I couldn’t let him know that I was hiding something even though it was literally killing me inside. “I need your help,” he sighed.

“Oh?” I asked, shooting daggers at Maya every time my dad turned his back. Why would she want to put us through the torture of seeing those guys again? There was no way they would remember who we were and if they did, I’m sure they would be pissed at me for ruining their evening. Or even worse, they would think that I owed them. Well, I wasn’t that kind of girl, especially not with my dad around. Besides, they were his artists and I knew they were off limits.

“I need you girls to help set up the merch booth. My new guy is going to be late and I want to make sure it is up before the rush starts,” he explained, stirring dinner. “I’ll have Matt and Jason Berry help you out and it will be no problem. Then you guys can go backstage and watch the show,” he explained like it was that easy. If he only knew that I didn’t want to be backstage where they could see me. “What do you say? Can you do that for me, baby girl?”

I put on my best smile and nodded. “Sure thing dad. Maya, can I talk to you for a minute?”

I grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into the living room where dad couldn’t hear us. “What the hell are you doing? Are you nuts?”

Maya laughed and crossed her arms and leaned against the back of the couch. “No, I’m just thinking that you owe me after last night. Besides, like you said they probably wont remember us, so what’s the big deal? Unless you want brown eyes to remember you…”

“His name is Brian okay!” I snapped only to get a smug smirk out of her. I couldn’t help but feel the blush creep over my face, knowing that she was right.

“So you do like him, fancy that,” she said looking oh-so amused. “It’ll be fun love, I promise. We probably wont be in direct contact with them anyway. And what’s the worst that happens? We get invited to the after party?”

“With my dad? That will be so much fun,” I said sarcastically with an eye roll. “He’ll be watching us like a hawk, making sure none of those guys come near us. You know how he is. Remember when we went to see Good Charlotte last summer and he was always there when we went back stage? But these are his artist…do you really think he’d let you and Jimmy fuck around?”

“You worry too much,” Maya waved me off as she pulled out her phone. “We’re going and we’re going to have a good time. No buts about it, and wear something sexy…you know what never mind. I will pick you out something.”

“Maya…” I groaned, my eyes pleading with her. “Please can we just pretend we have something else to do tomorrow night and go to Johnny’s?

“Trust me, love. Besides, what do you think we’re doing tonight? Johnny’s is calling our name.”

The night at Johnny’s was a complete blur and the only thing I knew about last night was that I had drank way too much. How did I know that? Well, at this exact moment I was extremely hung-over on the Avenged roadie bus with Maya on the way to Burbank. It was noon and we had been on the bus since nine this morning. I seriously felt like I was going to throw up all over the place. I sipped my water and closed my eyes, willing the feeling to go away.

“I’m never doing a shot challenge with you again. Ever.” I muttered miserably to Maya as I lay down on the couch. She looked fine and like she didn’t have a hangover and that kind of pissed me off. Why didn’t she ever have a hangover?

Maya laughed and pet my head as I put in her lap. “You were the one who challenged me, sweetheart.” Her voice was soft and soothing and I really appreciated it.

However, I couldn’t say the same for the group of guys who were playing the Xbox. “I think you were trying to impress the guys at the end of the bar,” she whispered. Though the only person I wanted to impress was the one person I wanted to avoid. I pushed that thought away, wanting to still hate him. I did, but I also liked him at the same time. I mean, he lied to me about who he was but he also was so kind to me. I was torn. What the hell was this?

“You know what’s really good for hangovers?” One of the guys with a handsome face and a beard asked, passing his controller off.

“Not drinking,” I groaned as we hit a bump in the road, my stomach churning.

“Yes, but even better than that,” he said, walking over to the cupboard and pulling out a small bottle of liquid that looked like vomit. “Take a swig of that and I promise you that you’ll feel better in about ten minutes.”

I took the bottle and sat up, eyeing the contents. He didn’t seriously wanted me to drink this stuff, did he? I looked at Maya and she shrugged. Oh, what the hell, it couldn’t make it any worse could it? I opened the bottle and took a swig, surprised to find that the substance kind of tasted like cold tomato soup.

“Thank you…what’s you name?” I asked, sitting up and looking at the guy.

“It’s Jason and that’s my brother Matt, Dan “the body”, Za, and Pete. We’ve worked for the guys since the beginning, so welcome to the shit show. You are in for one hell of a summer,” Jason explained, taking a seat next to me as the pain in my head started to go away. I’ll be damned that shit actually worked!

“Oh, we are only here for the day,” I countered, receiving an elbow in the ribs from Maya. What? I wasn’t going to lie to the nice guy.

Jason raised a questioning brow at me and I let out a sigh. “We are here to help out my dad…Larry.” Jason took in a big breath and mouthed the word ‘oh’ before looking between Maya and I. “We are setting up the merch booth for the new guys. I guess he is going to be late.”

“So he went with a dude, huh? Well, that’s probably for the best. Then we wont have any problems like last time,” Matt chuckled, glancing at us from the game. “What are you’re names?”

“Oh, sorry. I’m Avery and this is my best friend Maya,” I was definitely feeling better now and I felt like I could conquer the world. “That stuff is amazing, I feel great!” I exclaimed as the bus stopped.

“I’m glad it worked, and here we are. Go get yourselves ready because we start set up in five minutes,” he explained.

“Go pretty yourself up,” Maya said as I disappeared into the small bathroom. I quickly changed into a pair of short denim shorts, a black lace tank-top, a pair of black converse, and applied some makeup. I looked decent but also ready to work at the same time.

The next thing I knew, Maya and I were putting up the merchandise tent in the hot California sun. Maybe black wasn’t the best color to wear but this work would only be temporary, the new guy should be here anytime. However, that’s when my phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Avery? So we have a little problem…” Dad said and I had to suppress a sigh. I could just see where this was going. He needed another favor, I could tell by the tone of his voice, and of course I couldn’t tell him no. “So my new hire decided he didn’t want to go on the road. I hate to ask this but would you and Maya mind staying on until I can find someone?”

“We would love to, Mr. Jacobson!” Maya squealed next to me and I could kill her. I hated when she eavesdropped.

“Perfect, so tomorrow when we get to Oregon, I will take you girls shopping for some tour clothes and supplies. Sorry I couldn’t give you a better heads up. It shouldn’t be more than a week or two before I can get someone. Thanks girls, you really are life savers!”

“No problem, Dad,” I sighed and hung up only to see Maya dancing around. “I can’t believe you just promised we’d work for these guys. I mean what about our summer plans—shit.”

I instantly froze as I saw a group of five very familiar guys heading towards us and my heart started to race. They were exactly who I had been hoping to avoid on this journey. What were they even doing walking around the venue right now?

“Looks like we’ve got company!”

Notes

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