MARLEY

I leaned back in the swivel chair and stretched as Zacky recorded the rhythm guitar for Welcome to the Family. Brian was standing behind me with crossed arms as he listened to the other guitarist. He'd occasionally ask me to press a few buttons.

It was just us three in the studio. Matt told me he was going to come but ended up on a date with Val. I was not impressed with my brother. Now I had nobody to act as a buffer between Brian and I when we inevitably argued.

Thankfully, he seemed to be in a quiet and almost agreeable mood. So my life was considerably easier. My phone buzzed in my pocket and I fished it out, scowling as I saw Matt's picture flashing with a new message sign. He was simply passing his time sending me stupid texts about how Brian and I were spending time at the studio together.

By now, Zacky had finished recording and had come out to listen to the playback. He glanced at me and grinned. "Who ya texting baby?" I raised an eyebrow before grumbling, "Your bitch of a vocalist." I shoved my phone back into my pocket and Zacky laughed. "It sounds good. Going to be your best album yet." I commented.

"Only because I'm in the band." Brian smirked and I rolled my eyes at his arrogance. "Actually, the tracks we've finished so far only sound as good as they do because Marley's hooked us up with some amazing strings and done some amazing work on the drums with Jimbo." Zacky replied and I stuck my tongue out at Brian.

A frown fell over my face when there was interference over part of Zacky's playing. I sighed and got to my feet. "I'll check the mike." I grumbled, heading into the recording booth. Fucking turns out that the plug had come off loosely, so I pushed it back again.

As I was coming out of the roon, I swear I heard Zacky utter my name. I froze and Brian began to speak. "There's just something missing you know. I mean the sex is great, but there's something that isn't there."

I so didn't want to eavesdrop, I just wasn't like that. But as I heard my name, I couldn't help myself. Was Brian talking about Michelle and him? I bet he was, but why would Zacky say my name out of the blue? "Do you want your relationship with her to work out?" Zacky asked and I waited for Brian's reply.

"I'm not sure. I like her, but I don't know if I want to be with her long term." Zacky sighed once again before saying my name. "Dude, Marley?" Brian shot him a firm look as if he had just asked the dumbest question. Before he could really answer, his eyes found me. "Denise, how much of that did you hear?"

"Just the end, and also my name." I said and Brian opened him mouth again but I cut him off. "I'm not going to tell Michelle, if that's what you're wondering. I may be a bitch at times, but everyone deserves to have private conversations about their love life without getting it reported back to the other."

Brian swallowed hard and suddenly looked really pale. I moved out of the doorway and poked Zacky in the side. "The mike is sorted, get your sexy ass back in there."

About an hour later, I fiddled with the buttons in front of me as Brian recorded a couple of riffs. Behind me, Zacky had fallen asleep on the couch.

My mind was on the conversation that Brian had with Zacky earlier. I knew that I shouldn't be happy that his relationship with Michelle was on the outs but I just couldn't help it. I glanced at the clock and yawned, it was half eleven.

"If you don't need me to do anything else, I should get going." I moved across the room to grab my bag. "Wait, there is something that you could do for me." I looked at him curiously, he was looking completely serious. "What?" He swallowed hard and licked his lips before saying, "Kiss me."

I froze. His expression was still serious, I had no idea if he was messing with me or not. Seeing my hesitation, he walked over to me and stopped an inch from me. "Kiss me Denise." His voice was low and quiet. Fuck knows I wanted to. I wanted to feel his lips against mine again. But I knew that I shouldn't. He was dating my friend, although not a close one, but still.

I glanced over at Zacky hesitantly, he was still sleeping. "He won't know." Brian's hand reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. His fingers lingered on my cheek and I couldn't stand it anymore. I moved forward and leaned up, pressing my lips against his gently.

He seemed surprised but slowly began to kiss back. His hand moved down to rest on my neck, his other hand moved to my hip and pulled me in closer. One of my hands tangled in the back of his hair and the other rested on his chest. His lips were so soft against mine.

The kiss was soft and gentle, totally unlike our kiss a year and a half ago. Eventually, I pulled away but didn't make a move to step out of his embrace. He leaned forward, resting his forehead against mine with closed eyes. His hand left my neck and moved down to my other hip, holding me close.

"That's what's missing." He murmured and I frowned slightly. "With Michelle. Whatever that just was, it's missing when I kiss her." I stiffened. What the fuck? Was he seriously telling me that? I moved to step back but his grip on my hips tightened. "Don't. Please Denise, don't go." His eyes were pleading me to stay.

I licked my suddenly dry lips. "I have to." His gaze was still locked with mine. He leaned in and pressed his lips against mine again. The kiss was short but I could feel what he was talking about. There was something there drawing us together.

He pulled away and kissed my forehead, his lips lingering there for a while. He pulled back and dropped his hands from my hips. Without looking at me, he turned and headed to the recording booth again. Without another word, I grabbed my bag and left quietly. What the hell just happened?

Notes

My cliffhangers are just the best, right?

More coming on next week!!
(Oh yay, they kissed :p)