78 – You think you know everything, don’t you?

Avery’s POV

“Can you believe how many people are in our store right now?! Our store!!” Maya gushed as I excitedly bounce up and down next to her. I could barely contain myself as I helped ring out customers at the front register. I was living on cloud nine!

I just couldn’t believe the turn out today. There was a long line of people waiting to check out and I could barely believe my eyes. Each person had multiple garments and accessories in their hands just waiting to take home and enjoy. All these people were really here for our merchandise? The things we made ourselves? I just couldn’t wipe the smile off my face at the thought. This was really a dream come true!

“I know!” I practically squealed with a permanent smile plastered on my face. “It’s so crazy! These people are here buying our stuff! It’s just unreal and hasn’t really sunk in yet. I’m still in shock!” I admitted, shaking my head in disbelief as I handed the customer their receipt. This was all so surreal! Maya and I had finally done it—we opened our own boutique with our own designs! “But we’re really going to have thank Zack and the guys for all their help. We really couldn’t have done this without them.”

I let my eyes wander across the all the faces in the store before they landed Brian, Matt, and Zack standing near the front door. All three of those guys really went above and beyond in helping us set up our little boutique. With all the late night hours, the stocking, promoting, and cleaning, I owed them more then they would ever know and I hoped that one day I could return the favor. They had all been wonderful and I couldn’t think of a better group of guys to end up with. Man I loved those guys and I still couldn’t believe that over two years ago I wouldn’t give them the time of day.

Maya and I had certainly come a long way since that summer. Now look at us. We were happily dating the men our dreams and living the life that most people only dreamed about. That in itself was still a lot for me to grasp sometimes. I mean, how did we get lucky enough to end up with two gorgeous rock stars that were two of the most kind hearted people that you’d ever meet? I didn’t know, but a flurry of butterflies exploded in my stomach when those chocolate brown eyes met mine, giving me a wink. How did he still have that effect on me after all this time? I felt a blush creep over my face as Maya’s voice brought me back to reality.

“Hello, earth to Little Gnome? Did you hear a word I just said?” Maya asked, waving her hands in front of my face. I shook my head and ripped my eyes away from Brian after he threw his head back with laugh. His musical and addictive laughter carried across the store and I couldn’t help but smile, wondering what one of the guys said that was so funny. God he was so handsome and I loved him so much that it hurt. I couldn’t imagine my life without him and I hoped that I never would have to again. Those months apart had been nothing but torture.

“Sorry…I was—“

“Staring longingly at brown eyes?” Maya laughed, nudging me in the side as I blushed again. “Oh, I saw you drooling and I think there is still a little bit left on your chin,” she teased, pretending to wipe my chin as I batted her hand away.

“No I was just—“ Maya’s pointed look stopped me mid sentence. Damn it! Why did she have to know me so well? “Okay fine, so maybe I was looking at Brian, but you can’t deny you’ve had your eye on Matt too!”

“Well at least I wasn’t drooling,” she winked and I playfully rolled my eyes. “But anyway, what I was trying to say before you went into brown-eyes land was that we’ve already made enough to cover half of our pre-opening production costs!” Maya said and my jaw dropped.

“What?” I asked in disbelief. “Are you serious? There are still loads of people in the store and we’ve only been open for a few hours!” We were really covering our production costs? Granted that Zack donated a lot of things to us, as well as some other friends, but still, it was huge that we were already doing so well!

A huge smile spread over Maya’s face as she pulled me close into a hug. “I know! We could make a profit today!” She said happily bagging a customer’s purchase.

“Let’s just hope that it’s not an opening day rush,” I said, earning a nod from Maya. “We’ll just have to keep up the promotion and be smart about how we move forward.” Damn, I sounded like our business professor in college and that left a bad taste in my mouth. Though I would rather heed his advice and be successful in the long run instead going out of business in a few weeks.

“Agreed, but for now, let’s enjoy the day and worry about all that later. You know time will tell how successful this place will really be.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. “And speaking of enjoying the day, how did you feel about treating the guys to Johnny’s after we close? That way we could celebrate our successful day and thank them for all their help.”

I nodded my head in agreement as I typed in the item codes into the computer. Oh, this really brought me back to being on tour and working the merchandise booth. Only this time it was our clothing and not someone else’s! “That’s a great idea, M! They always take us out and it would be a nice to take them out for a change.”

“Maybe we could even wear something that isn’t on the shelves yet? Do a little advertising?” Maya continued, wiggling her eyebrows at me. What exactly did my best friend have planned? I knew it had to be good considering she was giving me her wicked smirk.

“Wait, you mean to tell me that you girls have more items that aren’t up on the shelves yet?” the woman in front of us asked with wide eyes. Maya and I looked at each other and then back at the woman before nodding.

“Yeah, we’ve got a few more outfits out back,” Maya answered with a smile. “We were going to put them out in a few days.”

“And we could do some custom work if you have something in mind,” I added as the woman’s mouth hung open in awe. “Or an event that you need a special item for.”

The blonde woman looked back and forth between Maya and I before frantically nodded her head. “That is amazing! I think I have a new favorite store and I will definitely be back and spread the word! I just loved everything in here and cannot wait to see what else you girls have in store! Do you have an email listing?” And she wasn’t lying. She had over five hundred dollars in merchandise on the counter to buy.

Maya turned to look at me as panic shot through my body. Shit! I knew I forgot to do something! I didn’t put out the business cards! “Yeah, just give me a second to run to the back and grab them,” I said before quickly disappearing to the back room. By the time I got back, Maya had check out a handful of customers and was chatting with the woman waiting for the card.

“Here you are. Sorry about the wait, as you can see things have been a little bit hectic here,” I apologized just as Maya got us through another rush. “No problem, and I’ll be sure to come back tomorrow with some of my friends! Thanks girls and nice meeting you!”

As the woman left, I turned and looked at Maya in shock. The Huntington Beach community really seemed to enjoy our products. “Can you believe that?” I asked, still shaking my head and leaning on the counter.

“Its amazing!” Maya squealed, counting cash and putting it in the deposit bag underneath the cash drawer in the register. “I think we are onto something big here, Little Gnome,” she said and I nodded in agreement. “Aaannndd….we’ve got a substantial deposit for the bank!” she sang just as my phone started to ring.

“Who is it?” Maya asked as my frown slowly turned into a smile when I saw the name on the caller ID. James. I hadn’t heard from him since he and Ben flew to California to get Maya and I to come back to the UK with them. I just figured that it would be better to give him some space, considering that he and Brian almost got in a fight. But I knew after that day that I was right were I needed to be—home in Huntington Beach with Brian.

“Hey James,” I answered with a smile as Maya put her ear next to mine, listing into the conversation.

“Hey beauty, you have a quiet moment or is it bad timing?” James voice sounded a little distant. Was I on speakerphone? “I have a second,” I answered before James immediately replied, “then put us on speaker! Is Maya is near?”

My smirk grew at James’ memory. I could just picture him smiling on the other end of the line. He knew us too well and the look on Maya’s face told me that she knew that too.

I quickly looked around, checking for customers before shrugging at Maya. I didn’t see the harm in talking to the Asking guys for a few minutes if we didn’t have any customers in front of us. It wouldn’t be good business to be on the phone at the front register. So once the coast was clear, I quickly grabbed Maya and pulled into the corner.

“It’s on now, and she is beside me,” I announced, holding the phone between us.

“We wanted to wish both of you a great grand opening to your store, girls.”
It was so good to hear James’ voice. I still felt a little guilty for not talking to him for so long, but I knew it was all for the best.

“Yeah, we are happy you made it and wish you lots of success,” Ben’s voice sounded, causing me to raise my brow in surprise. I wasn’t expecting to hear his voice too, especially not after their last visit.

“Thank you,” Maya smiled and I nodded in agreement. “It’s so nice you called… you couldn’t make it, huh?” I added and we heard a loud sigh. Was this a sore topic too? Until now, I had honestly forgot that I had invited them to the opening, though it was really nice to hear from them. I still considered the Asking guys to be friends even after everything that happened between them and our boys.

“No, we are still in the middle of the album recording process so it wasn’t possible,” James sighed before Ben grumbled, “And we thought we wouldn’t be wanted from certain someone’s.”

“You are probably right,” Maya said and I nodded my head in agreement. Brian and Matt would have blown a gasket if they showed up here. All I could imagine was a replay of the last time Ben and Matt were in the same room. Oh god, that would have been an awful opening day. I was glad they had the foresight to avoid that conflict all together, even though it would have been really nice to see them.

“I know, love,” Ben said just as Matt came into view, looking like a bull in a china shop. Shit, this wasn’t going to be good.
“What the hell?” Matt growled before throwing Maya over his shoulder and carrying her away. It took everything in me not to burst out laughing at the sight. Those two were really something else.

“MATT! SET ME DOWN! THIS IS MY STORE! MATT!” I heard Maya yell until the door to the backroom slammed shut.

“Speak of the devil…” I heard James chuckled as Ben grumbled in the background. “Are you going to get pulled away too? Should I be worried that Gates is going to fly off the handle too?” James’ accent was thick as he spoke, and if I wasn’t mistake there was a hint of seriousness in his tone.

“No,” I giggled as I took James off speakerphone and turned around to block out the sound of the busy store. “I have a few more minutes before I should get back to work. Besides Brain and Zack are helping me out right now so there is nothing to worry about.” I looked over my shoulder to see Zack at the register, flirting with the female clientele.

“Has he been treating you well?” James suddenly burst and just from his tone, I knew he had been holding onto that question for some time now. Though I didn’t quiet understand why he was so concerned about Brian and I. Did I miss something there? “I swear if that bloke’s done one thing to upset you, I’ll get on the next plane to come beat his arse.”

“Don’t be silly James,” I smiled, shaking my head. He was so much like a big brother that it wasn’t even funny. “Brian has been great…wonderful actually,” I mussed, twisting a long blonde curl between my fingers. All I could think about were those muscular tattooed arms warped tightly around my waist, holding me close as his intoxicating cologne took over my senses. Damn, I really needed to think about something else because that thought alone was turning me on. “He’s been at my side ever since we got back and honestly I couldn’t picture my life without him. Besides, I really couldn’t have opened the boutique without him or his support.”

“Or Maya,” James snorted with a hint of disdain in his voice. “But seriously, Ave, are you happy?” Happy? Why would I not be happy? I just opened my own shop and was living with the man of my dreams. What more could I ask for?

“Of course I am, James,” I smiled. “I am living the dream surrounded by the people I love.” James let out a long sigh on the other end of the line. “Why? Are you happy over there?”

“Well, if I’m being honest,” James said, his tone instantly different. “I do miss you, beauty.” I felt my cheeks heat up at his words. “Its not the same without you here. When are you coming back?”

“James,” I sighed, biting my bottom lip. I suddenly felt extremely guilty for leaving the UK the way that I did, but really I didn’t have another choice at the time. I thought I was pregnant and Brian and I really needed to get things sorted out and get some answers. “We miss you too…but we can’t come back to the UK. Our whole life is here in California. ” I said slowly, just picturing the sad look on his face. I would be nice to visit again sometime, but I also knew that maybe it was better not to—for both James and Brian’s sake.

“Besides you’re too busy with you album to notice. How is that going by the way?” I added, quickly trying to change the subject. James chuckled and I could just imagine him rolling his eyes at my not so subtle tactics. What? Okay, so maybe I wasn’t every very skilled at that either—lying and avoiding things were not my strong suit.

“It’s going very slowly. You see we started out with one concept and it has sort of—erm—transformed into something else,” James started and I frowned, not really following.

“What do you mean?”

“Well you see—“ I heard James begin just before my phone was ripped out of my hand. What the hell? Who had the nerve to take my phone away? I quickly whipped around to find myself face-to-face with a very irate looking Brian. What was he doing? And as if on cue, Brian started angrily whispering into the phone.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing calling my girlfriend, Cassells?” Brian hissed into the phone as I opened and closed my mouth, my anger rising. This really wasn’t any of his business, especially since he just called to congratulate Maya and I!

“Brian!” I raged but he just held his hand up to me, which only pissed me off more. What the hell did he think he was doing? “I told you the last time to keep your fucking distance and I don’t ever want to hear of you calling her again. Do you understand?” he snapped. “Next time I’ll get a restraining order on your ass!” and with that, he ended the call with a smug look on his face.

“What the hell Ave?” Brian hissed turning on me as I snatched my phone out of his hand, glaring daggers. I couldn’t believe he just hung up on James like that! He didn’t even let either of us explain why he called! What the hell? “I turn my back for five minutes and you’re over here making plans with fucking Cassells?”

“What?!” I gapped, shaking my head my anger rising to a new level. “I wasn’t making plans I-I—“

“Well it sure fucking looked that way, Ave!” Brian growled, lowing his voice to not catch the attention of the patrons walking by. God this was the worst place to have this conversation, especially when my temper was about to boil over. “He’s trying to manipulate you because he’s not over you, Ave! Don’t you get it?”

I snorted and crossed my arms in front of my chest, shaking my head. He really had no idea what we were actually talking about. James wasn’t doing any of that and I certainly wasn’t planning on running away from him, if that’s what Brian was thinking. Fuck, he was just being ridiculous! Couldn’t Brian see I was head-over-heels in love with him?

“You think you know everything, don’t you?” I scoffed, my angry tone barely audible. I didn’t want any of the customers to hear our argument. “Well, let me tell you something, Brian. You don’t fucking know everything because he was just calling to—“

“Excuse me, miss,” A dark haired woman suddenly interrupted. “Could you help me find this in another size? This one is a little too big.” I instantly put on my biggest smile, turned my back to Brian, and nodded my head. I didn’t have time for his jealous behavior right now. “Of course and if you can’t find the one you’re looking for, I can also tailor it for you,” I said, leading the woman away toward the display and not once looking back at Brian. I just couldn’t believe how he was acting, and without even letting me explain anything.

Thirty minutes later, I found myself checking out customer after customer at the front register. As I worked, I took all means necessary to avoid any and all contact with Brian, knowing that both of our tempers would get the better of us and the boutique was not the place for that. So I avoided eye contact with Brian who was now standing over in the corner with Zack. Yeah, good luck convincing him that I was the one being out of line. I rolled my eyes just as Maya appeared next to me.

“What’s wrong with you and brown eyes? Something happened?” Maya asked and I huffed out a breath, shaking my head. “Go ask him, I think he knows everything better anyway… Or at least he thinks he does!” I scoffed before I turned around to face her. Maya had that signature smile on her face, telling me that she and Mr. Dimples just got down and dirty in the back room. Well, at least someone was happy.

“Can you take over for a second?” I asked before moving away from the register to pick up a little bit. I quickly moved around the shop, folding items, restocking and never looked at Brian twice. I was just too irritated from his stunt earlier. I needed to move around and pick up things in order to distress. Not to mention figure out what exactly I wanted to say to Brian when we were finally alone.

I mean, how could Brian think I was planning to run away with James? Or whatever delusional thought he had inside his thick scull! I had been glued to his side for the past six months now and he still thought I would go behind his back with James? Really? I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. Couldn’t Brian tell how much I loved him?

A few hours and a lot of pent up frustration later it was finally closing time. I smiled as I stood next to Maya at the register, looking over our store. It looked like a bomb had gone off in here with the way merchandise was thrown about. Though we couldn’t complain about the profits the first day brought in.

“Wow…we did it, Ave,” Maya said, hugging me close. “We had our first opening day and it was a huge success!”

“Yeah we did,” I agreed. “And now it’s time to restock and get ready for tomorrow before we go out an celebrate!” I announced, throwing my hands up in the air. “The quicker we restock and pick up, the quicker we get to Johnny’s!” I said, and as if on cue, Matt, Zack, Johnny, Jimmy, Jess, and the Berry’s spread out over the store to start picking up. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Brian glaring at me but I wasn’t about to open that can of worms yet.

“You know, you’re gonna have to talk to him at some point tonight,” Maya whispered in my ear and I smiled and rolled my eyes. “He owes me an apology first,” I huffed. “What did he do?”

“He thought he knew what was best and took my phone and hung up on James,” I said, folding the pile of shirts and jeans by the register. Maya’s eyebrows shot up as she looked over at Brian and then back at me. “And he didn’t even let me explain anything. He just flew off the handle,” I grumbled.

“Ave, you know he’s very protective of you, right?” Maya said and I let out a long sigh. “There was nothing to protect me from! I was talking to James about their new album! But Brian seems to think that he was trying to brainwash me into coming back to the UK or something like that. I don’t know!”

Maya smirked and put her arm around my waist, stopping me from folding any more clothing. “Little Gnome…I know it was a little out of line for brown eyes to hang up on James but—“

“A little?” I shot back with a pointed look. “Okay, maybe a lot, but did you ever consider that maybe he’s jealous? Kind of like Matt with Ben? Maybe if you two just talked it out like Matt and I did—”

“Talked it out?” I retorted with a snort, knowing that there was no talking happening in the back room. Maya threw her head back with laugh and I shook my head. “We’ll talk but I still think he over reacted and had no right to threaten and hang up on James.” I said before turning and heading into the back room to get the box of shirts. Unfortunately they were on the top shelf and there was no way that I was going to be able to reach them myself. “Fuck…”

“Hey Matt, could you help me out for a second?” I asked, walking right past Brian. “I need some boxes from the back room and I’m too short to reach them.” I explained as Matt looked between Brian and I. Oh, he looked like he was about ready to explode from anger, but he brought this upon himself. If he wanted me to talk to him, he needed to apologize for his actions earlier.

“Sure…” Matt said and I smiled in response. “Thanks Matty, you’re the best,” I said just as Brian called my name and reached for my arm.

“Ave—“

“I’ve got to do some more stocking,” I replied curtly before pulling my arm out of Brian’s death grip. I could see the vein in his jaw bulging from clenching it so hard, telling me that he was about ready to blow. “Avery!” he hissed again and all I could do was turn and walk away.

I quickly made a beeline for the back door, knowing it wouldn’t be long before Brian cornered me somewhere. It was inevitable but I was just still so angry with him for jumping to conclusions, thinking that he always knew what was best! Why couldn’t he just trust my judgment for once? And why was he jealous anyway? He knew that my heart fully belonged to him. So what was the big deal?

I let out a long sigh as I leaned against the cool back wall of the building, exhaling a long cloud of smoke in the salty breeze. Damn, that burst of nicotine was exactly what I needed right now. I slowly pulled my cigarette back up to my lips and took another long drag just as a familiar voice sounded next to me.

“You alright, beautiful?” My eyes snapped opened to see a pair of green eyes staring back at me with a knowing smile.

“I scoffed, letting the smoke slowly drift out between my slightly parted lips. “Yeah I’m fine, just needed a smoke break.” Well, at least part of that statement was true. I just didn’t want to get into the whole Brian situation again. He just needed to trust me and trust that I wasn’t going to do anything to compromise our relationship.

Zack chuckled and leaned against the wall next to me, drawing in a drag. “So how does it feel to be a successful business owner?”

“I don’t know about successful, but it felt amazing to finally open those doors and see people come in,” I admitted, twisting my cigarette between my fingers. “And we have you to thank for all that,” I smirked, poking him in the side. “All that promotion you did without telling us!”

“Hey, what are friends for?” He laughed again, dodging my pokes. “I know you would have done the same for me. Hell, you did when you and Maya stepped up to sell our merchandise two summers ago now.”

I took in another drag as I shook my head. “That’s different and you and I both know it,” I pointed a finger at him and he just chuckled. “Not really. Considering you where handing out VU stuff too.”

“Okay, fine,” I laughed. “Well, thank you all the same. Oh, and Maya and I are buy your drinks tonight at Johnny’s,” I added just as the back door slammed opened next to us. Those brown eyes that I loved so much instantly locked with mine and I swallowed thickly before I looked away. “It’s the least we can do.” I needed to continue to ignore him because I didn’t want to have this argument at the shop.

“You really don’t have to do that, Ave,” Zack said just before Brain grabbed my arm and pulled me away.

“Brian! I am in the middle of talking to Zack,” I snapped, trying to pull away from grip as he dragged me around the corner.

“Enough of this cold shoulder shit, Ave,” Brian growled before I finally freed my arm. “I cant fucking stand this anymore! We need to fucking talk!”

“What? What is so damn important that you had to drag me away from talking to my friend? Or am I not allowed to talk to Zack either?”

“Don’t even start that shit with me, Avery,” Brian warned, his eyes narrowing as jaw locked. He looked beyond pissed. Well he wasn’t the only one who was upset with this whole situation. “You know why I hung up on that asshole! He was trying to brainwash you and feed you a line of lies! How can you even listen to the shit he says? It’s all bullshit!”

“You are so unbelievable, Brian!” I hissed, shaking my head in disbelief. What exactly did he think James and I were talking about? Did he really think that I was going to turn around and run off with him in the UK? I had that opportunity and I didn’t take it. So why would I do it now? He wasn’t making any fucking sense!

“I’m unbelievable? You-you were—“ he spluttered, his hands flying out in front of him in frustration as I kicked my ash to the ground. Well, that was a wasted cigarette.

“I was what? “ I raged. “Oh right, you know everything so of course you knew that I was telling him how happy I was with you! Or how I had just gotten done saying how well you treat me and that I couldn’t ask for anything else!” I spat, feeling hurt that he would think I would try and cheat on him behind his back. Did Brian not know me after all this time? Hell, I was basically in love with the guy after the first night we spent together, and now he thought I was going to cheat on him? What the hell? That thought hurt more than anything else. “I’m with you, dumbass! What else do I need to do to prove it to you? Write it in the sky?”

Notes

So who overreacted, Brian or Avery? Was James really trying to get Avery back to the UK or was do you think he just misses her?

Tell us what you think! There are only four more chapters left!