Matt’s P.O.V.

Last night was the potluck at the boys daycare, and it was Val’s bright idea for Liv and I to go together. Val had greeted us at the door with a huge smile on her face, as I had expected from our previous phone conversation. She had called me yesterday to help me plan another date night with Liv. I was grateful that she had introduced us, and that she was so willing to help me swoon the young mom. I hadn't told her that we had sex, but she hinted about it, saying that if I laid the pipe Liv would fall in love. I had hoped that, but the way Liv reacted when we had sex made me feel otherwise. I knew she was still picking up the pieces from her last break up, and I understood that. I was never really the same after Val and I divorced, even though we fell out of love. Sleeping around with different women and not settling down was something I had planned on doing until I couldn’t take it anymore. Then Val called me while I was on tour saying that Cash had a new best friend, and that the mother of this best friend was my perfect woman. I didn’t believe her until I met Liv, and instantly felt a pull to her. I, Matt Sanders, actually wanted to be with her, not be inside of her, and I needed all of the help I could get to make that happen.

Liv was a different breed of girl. She had a job that she was just as passionate about as I was about mine. She busted her ass to try to be a good mom to Carson, and although she was young, her parenting style was astonishing. She was fiery, but sweet. Last night when Cash told her that Carson had gotten in trouble, I could see the blood boiling under her skin. I felt a slight tinge in my chest when it had to do with Kennedy’s daughter. I told myself that its as probably just a freak thing, but I didn’t like the way that Kennedy looked at Liv. I should’ve probably never made that remark in the beginning about Liv being my girlfriend that moved up here to be with me. That was probably one of the worst things I could do, but soon Liv would be my girlfriend and Kennedy would have to deal. Her and I were nothing but sex, anyway.

It was about 10:30 AM when I pulled into my driveway, already seeing Zack’s car parked without him in it. I shook my head, talking to myself as I pressed the button to go open my garage, “Why did I ever give them keys to my house?”. I got out of the car and walked inside, seeing him sitting on my couch with an eyebrow raised and a look just dying to ask where I was.

“Yes?” I asked him, my voice still gruff like I just woke up. He didn’t say anything and I walked into my kitchen, popping a k-cup in the Keuring and making a cup of coffee. I poured creamer into my coffee and stepped back out into my living room, taking a seat on my reclining chair and looking at Zack again, “When are the other two getting here?”

Zack laughed and looked at me, “Within the hour. You probably want to go change and take a shower so you don’t reek of sex and they don’t question your whereabouts.”

I sipped my coffee and rolled my eyes, “I didn’t fuck her, but nice try.”

“What’s your plan with her, Sanders? You’ve been spending a lot of time with her.” Zack asked and eyed me, “You like her, don’t you?”

“She’s a cool chick,” I shrugged. I knew if I could talk about it with anyone, it would be with Zack since he was in this position two years ago when he met Meaghan. “I enjoy her company.”

“It’s okay to have emotions, Matt,” Zack laughed. “Times have changed and we don’t expect you and Val to every get back together. She’s engaged for fucks sake, and you both fell out of love. You deserve to have someone to come home to at the end of the night as much as the rest of us.”

What sucked was that Zack was right. Part of the reason I was so keen on the lone-wolf lifestyle was because I did feel like everyone just expected that one day Val and I would be back together. Val and I both knew that would never happen, hence why she was marrying one of my best friends. It was just a strange situation, and it didn’t help that I literally never dated anyone BUT Val. We had been together since we were kids. Yeah, I fucked around behind her back when City of Evil came out and we got famous. I’ve slept with my fair share of women, but never was in the dating realm. This was kind of new to me, and that was why I was using my ex wife as a coach.

“I do like her,” I replied and set my coffee cup down on the end table. “She’s gorgeous, has an awesome personality and her kid is Cash’s best bud. I’ve even gotten close with her son, man. Last night he asked if we could have boy time, so Liv went upstairs and left me with him. We played with action figures and ate an entire pack of Oreo’s.”

Zack smirked, “Did you talk about his mom?”

“He asked me if I thought she was pretty,” I laughed. I knew Liv would be mortified if she had heard Carson ask me that. “He told me he likes having me around, and that Liv does, too. That makes things a little easier. I’m going to plan something for Wednesday when we usually have the boys hang out. I want River to be there. She had mentioned something about how she doesn’t think Riv likes her, and I want to make sure that he does before I carry on. I don’t want to make my son uncomfortable.”

“Maybe it’s time to have a talk with him. He remembers when you and Val were together, and he’s old enough now to have that talk with his dad about how sometimes mom and dad just aren’t really meant to be,” Zack said and I nodded, he was right yet again.

I probably did need to have a talk with River. I knew he liked Jason, but Jason was always an uncle to him. Liv was new and he didn’t know her well, so I could see where he might not be interested in me dating her just yet. I heard car doors slamming outside and the sound of Brian and Johnny yelling back and forth. I braced myself for the show that was about to come through my front door, and Zack turned his head to watch too.

Brian came in with Johnny in a headlock, Johnny’s eyes pleading for help. Zack and I watched in amusement, laughing at the two idiots. We may all be older, and supposedly more mature, but when it was the four of us it was like we were still twenty-five and out of control.

Johnny pulled himself from Brian’s grasp and dove onto the couch, “Get away from me, Haner.”

“Spill coffee in my car again, short shit. You’re going to pay for my seats to be redone,” Brian wagged his finger at Johnny and then looked over at me. “Didn’t you wear that yesterday?”

I shrugged and Zack laughed, “He spent the night with his girlfriend.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” I muttered while glaring at Zack.

Brian laughed, “So, did you finally hit it? What’s it like having pussy that is eight years younger than you?”

“I hit it a couple weeks ago, actually. She doesn’t look or feel like she’s ever had a kid. So tight and tasted so good. I plan on keeping this one around for a while,” I smirked and grabbed my coffee, sipping it again. I could feel Zack’s eyes on me but I shrugged it off, “I’m going to shower. You guys can head down to the studio. I’ll meet you there.”

Brian grinned at my words as Johnny smirked, saying the world “nice”. I walked toward my room, my coffee in my hand. I got into the bathroom and stripped myself of my clothes, turning the shower on and looking at myself in the mirror. I rubbed my face with my hands, asking what the hell I was doing. I could talk to Zack about my feelings for Liv, but not with the other two. Brian was a womanizer, more-so than I had ever been. He was still cheating on Michelle, even though they just got married last year, and I knew that he was trying to live through me and all my sexual encounters as a single man. Johnny thought I was the man for sleeping with so many chicks. It also didn’t help that Michelle and Lacey both had some strange thought in their heads that one day Val and I would get back together. They had some big idea that I would storm into Val and Jason’s wedding, begging for Val back and that we would get remarried. That would never happen, and since both of their husbands have a tendency to spill my information out there, I couldn’t risk telling them that I felt something for Liv.

I showered and headed back downstairs, meeting them in the studio that was built into my basement. We just wanted to demo a couple more songs that we had written for the new album before we recorded them for real. Everyone was sitting around and ready, I took a seat and started singing, “It seems I should have walked away. Reverse the wager I’ve no means to pay. Toto has pulled back the green tonight, in sight. And blue pills coat with such disdain. I wore the shades for so long, that I’ve forgotten how to see. The curtain rises but who dares to pull the strings.”

Notes

Some insight into Matt's mind!
And now everyone knows this is based right before releasing The Stage!