Matt’s POV

My heart was still pounding heavily in my chest as I picked up Maya and lay her gently down on the bed next to me. She looked so beautiful and relaxed that I was having a hard time concentrating on anything else besides her. This girl next to me made me feel and act out in ways that I never would have imagined before. I knew I was falling for her but it was too soon to say those words. Hell, how much did I really even know about her besides the basics? Maybe if I got her to open up then she could say them first. Though I didn’t know if she would. I could still see something hiding in her eyes, something that stopped me from knowing everything about her, even though I wanted to.

“Tell me something about yourself, babe” I asked as I ran my fingers through her long silky hair. She closed her eyes and let out a small sigh, as if she were enjoying my touch.

“What do you want to know?” Maya shrugged and slowly opened her eyes. That was a silly question, wasn’t it?

“Everything,” I chuckled. It was then that a brilliant idea hit me and I sat up on my elbow. “Howa bout I take you out again and we make this all about us getting to know each other better—“

“You cant take me out, remember the paparazzi?” Maya sighed and I nodded. Shit, I totally forgot about that part. “And Larry’s coming over as well.”

Fuck, there was the Larry cloud hanging over out heads again. Was he always going to keep us apart? I could barely stand not being able to touch or kiss Maya at the TRL studio so I couldn’t even image going however long Larry stayed with us away from her. That would be pure torture, especially since I craved her touch. I loved the way she made me feel.

“Right, but we will find a way,” I told her, my mind already reeling with ideas. I would make this one of the best nights ever if I had my way. Now I just hoped Maya would go along with it. “And I still don’t see why we shouldn’t tell Larry about us…” I started, looking down at her. If she didn’t care what Larry thought or let me talk to him tomorrow, then we could do whatever we wanted to know.

“Matt,” Maya whimpered, collapsing her head onto my chest. “We can’t tell Larry. I told you that already. He won’t have it.”

I sighed and leaned my head against the headboard. Maybe I should talk to him tomorrow anyway, then maybe I could tell Maya she was overreacting for no reason. I’d play it by ear of course, but I couldn’t stand hiding anymore. “I just don’t want to hide anymore,” I admitted, those beautiful brown eyes peeking up at me. They looked almost sad.

“I know, but it’s for the best…” she said, looking away from me. “But you know I’m all yours at night.” Before I could even process her words, she was straddling my lap with a mischievous smirk. My eyes instantly moved down to her cleavage and let out a slight moan.

“How about,” I started after swallowing thickly. As much as I wanted her again, I also had other plans for our evening. “How about you and I put on some warmer clothes, baseball hats, and sunglasses, and go for a walk and get some dinner? It’s dark out now and if we dress right no one will ever know who we are.” I gently ran my thumb over her cheeks with a dimpled grin. “And then you can tell me about yourself.”

“Or,” Maya interjected, stopping me from getting up. Her lips instantly moved to my neck, placing a small electrifying kiss between each word. “We could stay here, order room service, and make each other scream…” My heart rate was steadily increasing as my member throbbed underneath that beautiful ass. Maya gave me a knowing smirk as she slowly started to rock back and forth. “What do you say, big guy?”

I moaned and bit down on my knuckle, craving her touch all over again. “How about we combine the two,” I rasped, trying to stay in my own head. Maya was making that extremely difficult. “We play the silly twenty questions game as we go get some ice cream and then we come back here, order room service, and make each other scream?” I suggested, running my hands up and down her sides as she moved against my throbbing member. I could feel here dripping folds underneath her little black mini skirt and she was driving me wild all over again.

“How about I make you scream for ice cream first?” Her lips suddenly crashed down against mine and I moaned into the kiss. She tasted so damn good and I couldn’t get enough. No, Sanders, get your head out of the gutter! Get to know the girl better then fuck her brains out!

“Wait,” I breathed, my chest rising and falling quickly. I quickly cupped her face in my hands, forcing her to look at me. “Ten questions instead of twenty and then we’ll have sex.”

Maya looked up towards the ceiling and sighed. “Matt…”

“Ten painless questions and then I will make you scream,” I teased, rubbing her clit for a moment. “Deal?” I gave her a charming smile but she wasn’t really buying it.

“I don’t see what other choice I have,” she tried to joke but I didn’t buy it. Something was bothering her and I wanted to get to the bottom of it.

I gently picked Maya up and set her down on the bed next to me so that neither of us would be distracted. “Okay, we’ll start out easy. Where are you from?”

Maya chuckled and shook her head. “I’m from Huntington Beach, you dork. You knew that,” She giggled, looking at my hand as she traced it with her fingers. Why was that simple motion getting a rise out of me as well? What kind of magic spell did she have over me? Did Gates feel this same thing with Avery?

“See, painless?” I gave her a full-face smile before I continued. “I am also Huntington Beach born and raised. I know you said you had a brother, so what’s his name and what’s he like?”

“I never said I had a brother,” Maya said, raising a questioning brow at me.

“Then Ave must have told me,” I continued, giving her a pointed look. “Tell me about him.”

Maya sighed and put her legs over mine, rubbing them slowly up and down. I took in a shaky breath as I tried to concentrate but her touch was driving me crazy. “His name is Trevor and I haven’t seen him in years, easy as that.” That was it? That was all she was going to tell me about her family? She had to tell me more that than! This was a fucking copout.

“No, there’s got to be more than—“ It was then that I felt her hand slowly traced circles on my thigh, distracting me from my burning questions.

“What about you, big guy….you got a brother I should look out for?”

“No,” I growled, shaking my head. “Just a little sister named Amy…who happens to play basketball professionally.”

“Looks like you Sanders are full of tricks, huh?” Maya breathed in my ear, slowly kissing my shoulder. Damn she was making this hard and we were only two questions in. “Could you teach me some of them?”

I shook my head and swallowed thickly, ignoring the raging demon down below. “After my questions…” I stuttered. “What about your parents? What did they do before they passed?”

“A lawyer and a doctor,” she said curtly, moving back to straddle my lap with that mischievous smirk.

“Can’t you take this seriously?” I shot back, carefully moving her off me again. “I promise we will get to the fun, just humor me for a few more minutes.”

“I have the same old boring answers that everyone else in the word has,” Maya groaned. “I’m nothing specially and what you know about me is more than most. Can we just leave it there?”

I smirked and shook my head, holding her chin gently. “No, because I want to know all of you boring answers myself. Why did you decide to study fashion?”

“It’s the only thing I’m good at” she shrugged, pulling away from me and looking a little distant. “Next.”

I raised a brow at her and sighed. This wasn’t working out the way that I hoped. Why was it so hard to let me get to know her on a deeper level? She obviously let both Jimmy and Avery know her at a deeper level, so why couldn’t I be invited there too? I was her fucking boyfriend for crying out loud.

“What are you so afraid of?” I asked, her eyes locking with mine before they darted away again. Maya opened and closed her mouth a few times before moving back over onto my lap. She took my face in her hands and stared into my eyes with a look of fear and desperation.

“Falling….” She whispered, softly touching my face and trying to read my confused expression. What did she mean by ‘falling’?

“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice barely audible. “Does this have to do with that dream you had last week?” Was she afraid of falling someplace without everyone around her? I was confused. “Maya I told you that you don’t have to worry about losing me. I wont let you go and I will fight for you. Fuck, Maya I’m fall—“

Before I could even get out the words, Maya crashed her lips against mine. They moved quickly and hungrily as she lightly pulled my hair. There was eager desperation in this kiss and I couldn’t stop her or myself. I needed to feel her, comfort her, touch her, and get to know the real her, not just he outer shell that she hid behind.

“Tell me one thing,” I pulled away from Maya slightly, looking down at her. Somewhere in our heated kiss, I had crawled on top of her, pinning her down with her arms above her head. As I looked down at her, I felt my heart race in away it never had before. I couldn’t deny it any longer; I was in love with this girl. And as crazy as it sounded after only knowing her for a month, I didn’t care. She needed to know and I hoped she felt the same way. Maybe that would help her to open up to me and fully trust me. “Do you care about me?”

“Matt, of course care about you,” Maya looked sincere as her eyes searched mine. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t care about you. Ave and I would be in the fucking Bahamas.”

“Then promise me something.” I slowly made a trail of kisses from her lips down to her shoulder, and slowly down to her very exposed cleavage. I stopped right before her nipple, making her moan and squirm beneath me. “Promise me that you wont keep anything from me…I’m here for you Maya, whether you want to fully believe that or not. No amount of distance between us is going to change that.”

“How can you be so sure? You don’t know what the future holds, Matt,” she sighed, her eyes blazing into mine with lust and something else.

“Because I’ve fallen in love with you.”

Avery’s POV

“I know I’m in too deep already, and either I save myself and take a step back or he has to come to me and make me believe he really means this, as a relationship, because… I can’t do anything else…” I finished softly, tears forming in my eyes. I just bared my soul to Zacky and I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. I had reached my breaking point.

Zack moved over and took a seat next to me on the bed and pulled me into his arms. “I know I’m an idiot for caring too much but there is definitely something between us whether he is willing to admit it or not.” I cried, feeling the hot tears now run freely down my cheeks. “I can’t bare to be thrown out like this was all nothing. And the thought of taking a step back already hurts.”

“Hey,” Zacky said, cupping my face and looking into my swimming orbs. His thumbed gently whipped away my tears. “Look at me, Ave, you are not an idiot. Why don’t you stay here and relax and I will go talk to him?”

“No!” I frantically shook my head as the tears started to fall faster. “Please…Zack don’t leave me,” I cried, now hiding my face in his chest. “I just need some time to think about all this.”

“Okay, I’ll stay,” he almost chuckled, rocking me slowly as I cried. “Look, I know this sucks, love, but I’m sure if I talked to him that we could work all this out. Gates is just a little thick headed sometimes and doesn’t see the whole picture like the rest of us, but I know he does care. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. Besides, he is probably wondering where you are right now. He’ll be pissed when he finds out you’re here.”

“He’ll find me if he needs me,” I sniffed. “I just need some time to think…decide what’s best. I want to stay but I don’t know if I can. I just…want to know if he actually cares or not. I can’t just be the fling of the week.”

Zacky nodded and pulled me onto his lap. I rested my head on his shoulder as he traces small circles around my palm. He really was a great friend and I owed him the world. “Ave,” Zacky’s green eyes bore down into mine as he whipped away some more tears. “You and I both know that he does care. He is always by your side and I honestly have seen him look at another woman since he met you.”

“Yeah, right,” I scoffed. “He was all over those women at the signing.”

“Ave what happened at the signing was nothing,” He sighed with irritation but continued. “He was talking about you the whole damn time, almost to the point of being annoying.” Wait he was? Well, if he cared about me and wanted to be with me, he didn’t communicate that very well. “We’ve never had to tell him to shut up about a girl before, which is really some thing.”

“You’re just saying that,” I yawned, the stress of the day catching up with me.

“No I’m not. You don’t get it Ave,” Zacky was almost laughing now but I didn’t find any of this funny. “Tell me, what did you think of Synyster Gates before you met him?”

I chuckled as I met Zacky’s eyes. “That he was a playboy man whore who got into a lot of trouble.”

“And that’s who Syn Gates is. So don’t you find it odd that he hasn’t hooked up with a roadie since he met you? That’s not normal for him. Gates is the hook up with a different girl every night type and the fact that he hasn’t done that is remarkable. I’ve seen the way he looks at you and it isn’t a look I’ve seen from him before.”

“If he feels that way then he needs to tell me.” My voice shook as I spoke but I couldn’t’ help it. The thought of having to pull back hurt and I didn’t want to, but I would if it meant keeping myself intact.

“And he will,” Zacky assured me. “Now, let’s order you some ice cream and a movie. Then you can cuddle up and think all you want, until Gates comes busting down my door looking for his girlfriend.”

I frowned again when Zacky said that word, wanting nothing more for it to be true. Sadly I was stuck in relationship limbo with no clear definition of where I was headed. I really liked the guy and was in way over my head, but was it even possible for me to turn my back on him? Could I just pretend I wasn’t falling for the guy or would I have to leave entirely?

An hour later I found myself cuddled up in a blanket cocoon, stuffed with Rocky Road ice cream, and watching some movie Zacky purchased on Pay Per View. I was exhausted from all the crying, traveling, and from not having slept the night before with Brian. Everything was catching up with me and my eyelids were extremely heavy.

I was so tired that I couldn’t even open my eyes when I heard angry pounding at the door. I just moaned and rolled over in bed, pulling the blankets around me.

“Baker you better open this fucking door!” I heard a very familiar voice yell in my semi-conscious state.

“Shh…will you keep it down. It’s getting late,” Zacky’s voice answered just as the door slammed shut.

“Where is she?” the first voice called, accompanied by angry stomping through the hotel suit.

“Relax she’s sleeping, Gates. What the hell is your problem anyway?”

“What’s my problem?” I heard Brain laugh cynically. “What’s my problem? Oh, I don’t know, maybe the fact that you raced out of the biggest gig of our lives as fast as you could with my fucking girlfriend?”

I wasn’t sure if I heard him right because I was somewhere between sleeping and conscious. Did Brian just say girlfriend? I wasn’t sure because with each passing second I was drifting further and further away and there was no waking up or answering in this state of exhaustion.

“So she is your girlfriend?” Did Zacky sound amused?

“I-I…we…fuck, Baker, get out of my head,” Brain’s voice stammered. “She’s not yours so back the fuck off.”

“So she’s yours?”

“Of course she fucking is! Who else’s would she be?”

“That’s call a girlfriend, Haner,” Zacky chuckled as I started to enter dreamland. “And you might want to tell her that because she think’s you’re fucking with her again, and is thinking about leaving.”

“Fuck! She’s not fucking leaving… not when I just got her back.”

“Where are you going? Let her sleep, I’m sleeping on the couch.” I felt calloused finger touch my cheeks but I couldn’t open my eyes. I could only smile light in my state, knowing exactly who that was. I wasn’t sure if this was all a dream but I hoped it wasn’t.

“Fuck no, she’s coming with me where she belongs,” the low timbre whispered. “Come on, beautiful, let’s get you to bed.”

Suddenly I felt a strong pair of arms lift me into the air and I felt like I was floating. The next thing I knew I felt my back hit a soft mattress and a pair of arms pull me into a hard but comfortable chest.

“Good night, Ave,” the voice whispered before soft lips gently caresses mine, sending me into a peaceful sleep.

Notes

So Matt did something huge but how will Maya react? And Brian taking some big steps or was that just jealous?