Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

“Twelve shots of Tequila,” Johnny said to the bartender with a newfound confidence that surely stemmed from being admitted into the bar without any hesitation from the bouncer. Ellie felt a smile tug at her lips as she thought back to the many times she had snuck into bars back in Orange County. Discreetly, Ellie slipped her credit card from her clutch and across the bar top as a silent request to start a tab. She locked eyes with the bartender and pointed out herself and the five guys she was with. He took a moment to study each of the men, before nodding. The man behind the bar expertly lined up six shot glasses, poured the golden liquid into each of them, and presented an array of lemon wedges on a silver platter to the group, followed by a salt shaker.

“To finally being reunited again!” Johnny yelled out as he lifted a shot glass in the air. This caught the rest of the group’s attention and they each grabbed a small glass off the counter to mimic his action. Had the music not been so loud, multiple clinks would have echoed through the air and seconds after, the sound of six glasses hitting the granite bar top. Six half chewed lemon wedges were promptly placed on the empty side of the platter, as the bartender filled the shot glasses a second time.

“To a night we’ll never remember!” Ellie yelled out ignoring the afterburning of the cheap tequila. She wasn’t used to drinking liquor off the bottom shelf. It came with her job, she had to know all about the liquor she served. To be frank, Ellie was used to having her drinks purchased for her, especially when she was off shift and ran into her regulars. They would always try to impress her with top-shelf drinks, seemingly forgetting that she had seen them all at their lowest points and had no interest in them. Nonetheless, she touched glasses with all of her friends and threw back the second shot of the night. The bartender skillfully cleared the six shot glasses before he started making everyone’s individual drinks. Ellie made a mental note to commend her former manager for his well-trained employees.

All along the wall to the left of the bar were private seating areas that were reserved for VIP patrons. Ellie made her way over to the round booths and scanned the reserved cards for her name. She was thankful there had still been a table available for her when she had called earlier. It was surprising that they hadn’t been booked in advance. She slid into the booth, taking the hard to get to the middle seat. Matt and Johnny sat to her left, Jimmy, Brian, and finally Zack on her right.

“This is a fuckin’ far cry from Johnny’s Saloon,” Brian said, taking in the atmosphere of the club. Most notably, the music was as opposite of the music that Avenged Sevenfold created and loved so much. R&B, hip-hop, and pop were the popular blend and although it was a little much to listen to while they were seated, Ellie knew they would appreciate it in about 45 minutes when the dance floor would fill up with a multitude of gorgeous women.

“You’re in my city now my friend, this is how we do it in Miami,” Ellie said, “besides, this is payback for all those nights I sat around watching you guys shoot pool at Johnny’s.”

“Don’t even go there Ellie, you kicked all our asses at pool!” Matt accused and gave his friend a knowing nudge on the arm with his elbow. It was true. Ellie, on most occasions, bested all of her friends at pool. Her father was a fan of the game, so she grew up with a pool table in her basement. The only one in their group that ever managed to beat her, fairly that is, was Matt, who also benefited by living next door to Ellie and having fairly open access to practice the game.

Ellie said nothing in response. She merely shrugged and smiled, bringing the straw of her drink to her lips to take a sip. She knew better than to indulge the boys in this argument. It always ended in a rematch, and Ellie really didn’t want to leave the club in search of a dive bar with a pool table.

“Man, I can’t believe that we’re sitting in a club in Miami, the band’s on tour, and we are reunited with Ellie,” Johnny said,

“Shut up short shit, don’t get all sappy on us now,” Zack snapped, flicking his eyes from his bassist to the drink he cradled between his hands on the table. His remark caused everyone around the table to tense up. The guitarist’s tone was past the joking insults the friends usually hurled at each other on a regular basis. Ellie felt super uncomfortable, considering this was one of the few things Zack had said all evening.

“Well,” Ellie finally said, breaking the awkward silence amongst the friends. “I don’t know about you fuckers, but I am going to party!” She slid herself into Matt’s side as a silent plea for him and Johnny to let her out from her spot in the middle of the round booth. Once on her feet, she headed to the bar for another drink.

“Come dance with me,” Jimmy whisked Ellie away as soon as she had her Jack on the rocks in hand. She flashed her tall friend a grin before reaching out her hand to him so he could lead the way. Jimmy stopped pulling Ellie through the crowd when they reached the center of the dance floor. The man loved to be the center of attention and this evening was no exception.

Ellie started swaying her hips in time with the music. From working in a bar herself, the music was somewhat familiar and she allowed herself to sing along with a few lines here and there. She and Jimmy were soon accompanied by Brian and some girl he had randomly picked up. The woman was small, blonde, and like Ellie, wearing a little black dress. Ellie smiled slyly at the girl, trying to feel out the girl’s demeanour. When the gesture was returned, Ellie reached out and pulled the blonde to her, so that the two of them were up against each other instead of dancing with the men that they were with.

“Damn man, Ellie’s still got it!” Jimmy yelled out. His loud voice caught the attention of those around them. Ellie turned her head and smirked up at Jimmy without stopping the movements of her hips before focusing totally on the music. When the song changed, Ellie flashed the blonde a grin before letting her return to Brian.

“Where are Ellie and Jimmy?” Zack asked once he caught up with Matt and Johnny at the bar. When they had collectively shrugged, Zack found himself scanning the crowd for the pair. It didn’t take much searching to find them. Jimmy’s height and hair were the first thing Zack noticed as different from the sea of v-neck shirts and button-downs. More notably, the fact that he had a gorgeous woman dancing with him made Jimmy really stand out from every other man in the room. Zack was a jealous man and he was well aware of that, though at this point he had no legitimate reason to be jealous. Ellie held no obligation to him, yet he still found himself wanting to go over and interrupt so that he could take his Jimmy’s place.

Zack turned his attention back to his friends at the bar only to find Matt watching him intently. He knew damn well that Matt had never liked the fact that he and Ellie had been sleeping together. Matt cared for both Ellie and Zack like family, but despite the fact the pair had claimed they weren’t the “relationship type,” he felt that Ellie was more susceptible to being hurt. Matt just didn’t want to see either of his friends upset, nor did he want to have to deal with the tension that could have erupted from their fling.

“Don’t even try it, Baker,” Matt stated, interrupting whatever Johnny had been saying. Johnny shut his mouth and flicked his eyes back and forth between his two friends. He knew exactly what Matt had been implying and was naively hoping that their time with Ellie in Miami wouldn’t bring up the drama between his friends that had essentially disappeared when Ellie had.

“Get over it Matt, you have no control over her. You never did and you never well. Besides, I’m pretty sure she’s been making her own decisions about me since we were sixteen,” Zack spat back, throwing his former relationship with Ellie in his friend’s face.

“Come on guys don’t start this now,” Johnny piped in as Matt’s chest puffed out and his eyes narrowed in anger. Johnny cautiously positioned himself between Matt and Zack, hoping that he would either serve as a distraction or that one of them would back off.

Zack was about to open his mouth again, but Matt beat him to it and started spitting out a whole string of insults. Zack balled his fists as Matt’s words began to melt together. He was bothered by the fact that he hadn’t had the chance to speak to Ellie all evening. It was killing him that he had no idea where they stood, even though he felt ridiculous for even having an ounce of hope that she still gave a shit about him. They hadn’t spoken in years. She didn’t owe him anything. Matt getting involved in his business pushed Zack from upset to angry. His breathing deepened; he was ready to start a fight.

“Walk,” Brian growled as the palms of his hands collided with Zack’s chest and forced him to take a step backward. Zack had been so caught up in his anger that he hadn’t even realized Brian had made his way across the dance floor with Ellie and Jimmy in tow once he caught a glimpse of the standoff between his friends. He looked back over to Matt, who now was being talked to by Jimmy so that he’d calm down, then over to Ellie, who was staring at him worriedly from where she stood beside Johnny.

“Let’s go, Zack,” Brian reaffirmed. Zack nodded before turning his back and walking in the direction Brian wanted him to go. He wasn’t looking forward to whatever he had to say, but the only thing that mattered to Zack at that moment was the fact that Ellie had looked worried. That meant she cared and in his mind, that was the go-ahead for him to take her aside and talk to her later. This meant he still had a chance.

“Was it Matt or Zack?” Ellie asked as she and Johnny watched their friends split up. Matt and Jimmy headed back to their booth, while Brian directed Zack outside, likely hoping a smoke would calm him down.

“Hmmm?” Johnny asked as he turned his attention from their friends to the girl beside him. He had missed her question completely, which made him feel bad because she was already agitated. He didn’t need to add to her distressed mood.

“Who started it?”

“Oh, Matt I guess,” Johnny stated. He had planned to leave his answer at that, but when she cocked an eyebrow at him, he knew she wanted to know more. “He told Zack not to try it, I’m, uh, pretty sure Matt was hinting at your past with Zack.”

“Matt always goes into big brother mode when I’m around. He’s been trying for a very long time to control what guys I see. Obviously, the fact that he hasn’t seen me in years hasn’t registered. Nor has the fact that I’m an adult and am completely capable of making my own decisions.” Ellie groaned, the alcohol obviously catching up with her as she rambled a little more than she cared to on the subject.

“Guess it’s a good thing we never hooked up,” Johnny teased, alluding to his brazen attitude he held towards the crush he had on Ellie when they had first met. Perhaps brazen wasn’t the right word. He was bold when the rest of the guys weren’t around. Ellie doubted the guys even knew that Johnny had made a pass at her. She sure as hell knew Zack didn’t know. Regardless of how he felt about her now, if he knew, he would have let the younger bassist have it.

“Zack definitely brought that up,” Johnny started, “I mean, the part about Matt being a control freak and your ability to make decisions on your own.”

“For fuck sakes, this isn’t exactly the reunion I was hoping for. I need to go find Zack. We need to talk this out. I’m not letting this petty ego fight between him and Matt ruin the little time we all have together.” Ellie rolled her eyes when Johnny sent her a knowing look. She didn’t glorify any other response and headed in the direction that Brian and Zack had headed. Johnny returned to the booth where Matt and Jimmy were noticeably less hostile than they had been moments earlier.

“Was all of that really necessary?” Ellie asked, as she walked up behind Zack, who was, like she had assumed, smoking on the street with Brian. Upon hearing her voice, Zack exhaled a cloud of smoke, turning to send her a sheepish grin.

“Ellie baby, c’mere,” Zack cooed as he reached out to pull her into his arms. He sighed softly as she flinched at his touch, but really he was quite content to be holding her. He felt like a fool for being so smitten with her, but he honestly couldn’t help himself. “I’m sorry. Matt started it if that’s any consolation.”

“Jesus Christ,” Brian grumbled to himself as he dropped the remnants of his cigarette and squished it with the toe of his shoe. Against his better judgement, he hailed a passing cab for his friends.

“Just prepare yourselves for Matt’s wrath in the morning,” Brian laughed as he clasped his hand on Zack’s shoulder and headed back inside. Ellie entered in one of the back doors of the cab and scooted across the back seat so Zack could slide in as well; telling the driver her address as she moved. Zack followed suit and pulled her close, neither of them bothering with words.

“We took a cab to go two blocks over?” Zack laughed as he shut the cab door after Ellie had crawled out. Ellie’s scowl deepened. She was already annoyed he had paid for the cab and now he was mocking her. She normally wouldn’t be mad at that, but her mood was all over the place given the events of the evening. She honestly wasn’t sure why she and Zack had left at this point. What good was anything they’d accomplish with the rest of their evening when he was leaving the next day? They’d both go their separate ways and fall back into the lives they had led prior to Matt walking into her bar by chance the day before.

“Yeah, we did. I don’t risk walking these streets after dark. It’s not a bad area, per se, but bar nights always bring out the worst crowd,” Ellie said flatly. She was quick to punch in the code that allowed the two of them into the lobby and even quicker to pull him into the elevator once the old doors finally opened. She pressed the button that would take them to the fifth floor and leaned back against the wall of the enclosed box. Zack was quick to test his luck with her. He placed his hands on Ellie’s hips and brought his forehead down to hers. There was caution in her eyes as she stared up into his, which was alleviated when he smirked down at her.

Being this close to each other again only increased the sexual tension between them. Ellie responded by pressing her hips forward subconsciously. When Zack noticed, he dug his fingers a little deeper into her hips, stopping her a mere few inches away from his body. She groaned lightly in protest, which sent shivers down Zack’s spine. He had her in the palm of his hand and he knew it.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Zack kissed the tip of Ellie’s nose and moved away from her, gesturing that he would follow her out of the elevator. He brought his hand forward so it collided solidly with Ellie’s ass as she walked by. She let out a sound that Zack wasn’t sure was more of a moan or a yelp as she jumped and turned to face him.

“You’d better quit all this teasing Baker,” Ellie warned as she walked backwards towards her apartment. Once there, she began searching through her clutch for her keys.

“And if I don’t?”

“You had better plan on following through eventually,” It was her turn to smirk as she opened the door to her apartment and said hello to Berkley, who was, surprisingly, too lazy to get off of his couch to see who was coming in through the door. Zack closed and locked the door behind him and picked Ellie up over his shoulder before she could even put her clutch down.

“Bedroom?” Zack demanded before Ellie could protest his actions.

“Down the hall on the right,” she said, though her voice sounded small compared to his dominant tone. He followed her directions and placed her down on top of the grey comforter that was, thankfully, placed properly on her bed. Zack wasted no time on discarding his T-shirt before crawling over top of Ellie and pushing her backwards onto the bed teasingly. He lingered over top of her, his hands planted on either side of her head and his mouth close enough to hers that they could feel each other’s breath until she began to squirm. Once she opened her mouth to begin cursing him for being such a tease he pressed his lips hungrily to hers.

Neither of them could believe this was actually happening again, though they weren’t in any position to complain. Ellie fell back into the same old rhythm and found herself fighting against his tongue. Her left hand reached up and curled around the nape of Zack’s neck as her right pressed against his pale chest. Every so often she’d push herself upwards to deepen their kiss, which would challenge Zack’s dominance and cause him to overpower her. He bit down on her bottom lip assertively and she recoiled by clawing at his chest. He pulled away and looked down before chuckling at the red scratches that had already shown up on his skin.

“Oh God, I’ve missed you,” Zack groaned as he brought his mouth down to Ellie’s neck and began to leave a trail of kisses down over her collarbone and into her cleavage.

“You’ve missed me or the sex?” Ellie questioned, though she knew there was a possibility that the answer to that question could break her heart.

“Both,” Zack answered as he sat up and cocked his head to the side. “But given the circumstances, I’m being reminded more of how much I missed having you underneath me, jumping at my touch and screaming my name.”

“Ever think that perhaps I’d prefer to be on top?” Ellie pushed up against Zack’s chest quickly to give herself enough room to switch positions. Zack decided to go along with whatever she had planned. He liked when she tried to be the one in control; it gave him a rush just thinking about how no matter how dominant she thought she was being at the moment, she’d be giving in to him by the end of the night.

“I guess I could let you have your fun,” Zack teased as he sat up, allowing Ellie to sit on his lap. She let out a small moan when she realized just how eager he was for the following events.

“Don’t play that game, Zack,” Ellie laughed. She placed a soft kiss on his lips before moving so she could whisper into his ear. “Besides, you wouldn’t be this hard if you didn’t like me on top.” With that she began to push back on Zack’s torso, nipping and kissing his skin from his neck down as she went. When she got to the waistband of his jeans, she sat up and took her dear sweet time with his belt buckle.

“For fuck sake Ellie,” Zack groaned as he sat up just enough to kick off his jeans. He made quick work of discarding the remainder of his clothing, leaving them in a heap on Ellie’s floor.

“Fuck it,” he growled as he flipped Ellie back over, causing her to inhale quickly, “I can’t take this teasing bullshit. Get rid of the dress.” She complied, and Zack was working on removing her thong by the time her dress hit the floor.

“A little eager are we?” Ellie teased. She had to admit that she was surprised he switched positions so soon. Zack wasn’t the type of guy to normally refuse a blow job.

“I told you I missed you,” Zack smirked back before lowering his mouth to her left nipple and sucking. Ellie once again found her hand on the back of Zack’s neck and playing with the little bit of hair that he had. He switched his attention to her right breast as his hand ran down her side slowly. Ellie inhaled sharply when he finally slid his finger between her folds.

“Apparently the feeling is mutual,” He laughed as he toyed her clit slowly. Ellie bucked her hips towards him, feeling no shame whatsoever over how wet she already was.

“Shut up and fuck me, Baker,” Ellie groaned. Zack began to circle her clit a little faster. He loved that she was begging for him.

“Is this what you want, baby?” He asked as he positioned himself between her legs. A quick adjustment and Ellie felt him pressed up against her. Ellie could only muster a moan of approval.

“Still on the pill?” Ellie nodded in response to his question and that was all that he needed. Zack pressed his hips against hers, causing Ellie to inhale sharply. He gave her a moment to adjust to him before he pulled all the way out of her and slowly slid back in.

“Zack, I swear to fucking God, if you don’t quit this teasing I’ll head to the bathroom and finish myself off.”

“Now who’s the eager one?” Zack chuckled, though he complied with her wishes and began thrusting into her at an accelerated rate. A string of moans and profanities fell from Ellie’s lips, which only encouraged Zack more.

“Fuck Zack,” Ellie moaned. It was impossible for her to keep her breath steady. She was already reaching her climax and she was quite surprised she was doing so quickly. Zack watched as she grabbed fistfuls of her bed sheets and immediately slowed his pace.

“Not yet baby,” He teased, “Besides, you never got your chance on top.”

Ellie didn’t need to be told twice. Zack had barely flipped himself over and she was straddling his waist and aligning herself on top of him. It was Zack’s turn to groan when Ellie dropped herself down, taking all of him inside her with one steady movement. She rocked her hips against Zack’s, which caused him to dig his fingernails into her sides. He had always loved when she did that and she was glad that hadn’t changed.

Zack’s right hand traveled from her waist to catch her breast as Ellie began to ride him. He loved how the noises she made would always get a little higher whenever he applied the tiniest amount of pressure on her nipples. Hell, he loved that after all the time apart, they fell back into the same rhythm they had become accustomed to at home.

“My god woman,” Zack groaned. Ellie was right in her earlier statement. As much as he loved to be in control, he loved to see her getting off while she was on top of him. Though when he saw her reach down to help herself reach her orgasm, he knew he had to switch things up one last time.

“You didn’t think I would let you finish on top, did you?” Ellie only groaned as she allowed herself to be flipped over and placed on her hands and knees so Zack could enter her from behind. She was getting impatient since that was twice she had been forced to abandon the commencement of an orgasm. Though she could read Zack’s body like a book; he was just as close as she was and he just wanted to finish off in control.

Ellie would never admit it, but regardless of how much she fought Zack for dominance in the sheets, she loved that he would always allow her to have her fun, but would take control by the time they were both well spent. He had quickly learned her boundaries and would never persist on pushing them.

“Jesus,” she hissed, dragging out the syllables as Zack dug his fingers deep into her hips. She could already tell that she would have bruises developing soon. That and since Zack had been relentless with his pace, she knew she’d be sore to the point of having difficulty walking in the morning.

Zack groaned as he felt Ellie clench around him. The frantic, breathless moans she emitted as her orgasm radiated from her core was enough to push him over the edge. His smirked with satisfaction as he came without the restriction of protection, an event that hadn’t happened since the last time he was with Ellie. Zack wasn’t a fool. He wasn’t going to gamble with the risks of unprotected sex with some stranger. Besides, he would never admit it aloud, sex without a condom was an intimacy that he didn’t like to share with just anyone. Ellie was the exception to that, as she was to every other of Zack’s standings on romantic and intimate matters.

“You’re perfect,” Zack muttered as he placed a few soft kisses on Ellie’s back before pulling out and rolling over to lay on his back on the right side of her bed. Ellie had no response to his comment, partially because she couldn’t help but feel like she had just made the biggest mistake of her life.

Notes

Hi all!

First, many apologies for this chapter being posted over a week after the last update. I've had a very hectic week at work. If it's any consolation, I have almost mapped out this storyline in its entirety, so I'm hoping that updates will come in a more regular fashion.

As always, thanks so much for all of your support for this story. I hope you enjoy the smut as a little thanks from me to you.

Anyone feel Ellie just made a huge mistake? Do we blame Matt or Zack for ruining their night out? Does anyone believe Ellie and Zack can sort their shit out or will they stay in a constant state of being a big ol' hot mess?