Eternal Blossom

A few days later, Aiyana was getting some work done when she heard her phone going off in the other room. It was close to three p.m., and she knew that she should finish her work but she had hit a road block where she just couldn’t focus any more. So, she put her paint brushes down and got up to answer her phone.

She’d been texting and talking to Brian pretty regularly since he left her house, but she still hadn’t heard from Matt. She assumed that he had made his decision, and was making things work with his ex.

Picking up her phone, she laughed when she saw the missed texts from Brian.

From Brian:
Are you working again?

From Brian:
You know all work and no play makes Aiya a dull girl, right?

From Brian:
Feed me, Seymour!

From Brian:
Fine, I’ll feed myself. Jerk.

Laughing at his Little Shop of Horrors reference, she responded.

To Brian:
I’m done for the day. I hit a road block. I’m glad you fed yourself, though. Those humans are getting harder to lure into your plant like clutches.

She stretched and ran her hands through her hair before heading to her room to get dressed. After the work that she’d been doing in her art room she either needed a good lay or a stiff drink.

Deciding on the drink, she stripped so that she could put on a plum colored dress that hugged her curves down to her waist line, showing off her ample cleavage with a simple v-neck before flaring over her hips and coming to a stop about mid-thigh.

She dug out a pair of white stilettos that showed off the pedicure that she’d gotten the day before with Rayne in the same shade of plum as the dress while they caught up about everything that had been happening in their lives.

Apparently Rayne and Zacky had been nearly inseparable lately, spending as much of their free time together as possible. He’d even taken her lunch a few times at the tattoo parlor that she owned. They’d had hot, messy sex in the supply room, and Rayne had gushed about how amazing he was both in bed and out.

Aiyana looked at her reflection after doing a little winged eyeliner and curling her naturally straight hair into gentle, loose curls that hung about her shoulders. Appreciating her reflection, she decided it was time to text Rayne that she was going to Johnny’s to do some drinking.

She picked up her phone and text Brian and Rayne that she was going to go to Johnny’s and they had an open invitation to join her if they so wished.

With that, she went to the garage and hopped into her jeep, deciding that since she was in a dress, she didn’t want her skirt flying around her gas tank, and showing the world her knickers. Once the engine roared to life she heard her text tone go off twice in rapid succession and looked down to see the messages.

From Brian:
I’m already there with the guys and your bestie. Glad you could join us, gorgeous.

From Rayne:
Bitch, get your ass over here already. We got a head start on you!

She laughed and pulled out of her driveway, wondering just how many of the boys were going to be there, and who would be with them.


Walking into the bar, she spotted Brian at the bar grabbing a tray, and walked over to him, putting a little swing into her hips. Maybe she could kill two birds with one stone tonight.

When Brian saw her approaching, a big smirk fell over his face as he scanned her body with his eyes slowly. She looked good enough to eat, and lord did he want a big bite. He put the tray back on the counter that was holding the round for the table, and took her into his arms when she got close enough.

He whispered in her ear, “Damn you make that dress look good.”

She felt her face flush as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a warm hug. Aiyana took a deep breath, resting her cheek on his chest for a moment, caught up in the hug.

“Thank you. You don’t look too bad yourself, there, Gates,” she said as she finally pulled back, taking in his deep v-neck white shirt and black jeans. It was a simple look, but one that really made her appreciate simplicity.

They walked over to the booth after Brian picked up the tray, and Aiyana’s gaze wandered over the table’s occupants as they neared.

Johnny and a woman were sitting at the back of the U shaped booth, Zacky and Rayne to the left, and Matt and a woman he had his arm around to the right. She took a deep breath, steeling her nerves for the introduction that she was sure was about to happen.

Johnny waved at her, and introduced Lacey, his fiancée. Aiyana waved hello to them, and hugged Rayne, who slid out of the booth.

“That’s Kristy,” Rayne whispered in her ear, holding onto her best friend to keep her close as she continued, “She just showed up. I don’t think she was invited.”

Aiyana nodded, and began to worry her bottom lip, not able to mask all of her worrying and nervousness.

Matt took in Aiyana, looking wonderful in her dress, and dropped his arm from around Kristy, standing to hug her a little awkwardly. He’d done a lot of thinking, (well, as much thinking as he could with Kristy in his bed off and on) and still wasn’t sure what he wanted to do.

“You look great,” he murmured as he rested his chin on top of her head, caught up in her scent for a moment. He had missed her, and he was now more confused than ever with her being there and Kristy showing up unexpected.

“Thank you,” she managed to get out as she hugged him back before pulling away.

“Who is this,” she motioned to Kristy, only to be met with a glare from the blonde woman still sitting in the booth.

“I’m Kristy, Matt’s girlfriend,” she answered as she reached for his arm, pulling him back to sit beside her.

Matt shook her hand off, noticing the glare she’d given Aiyana, and raised an eyebrow as he responded to her, “You’re not my girlfriend, Kristy. We talked about this last night. If you can’t be nice, you can leave.”

Kristy huffed and crossed her arms under her chest, pushing her breasts up so that they were almost spilling out of her shirt, “But Matty,” she began to whine.

Brian rolled his eyes and placed his hand on Aiyana’s back, motioning for everyone to scoot around a little so he and Aiyana could sit beside Rayne and Zacky.

“Don’t ‘but Matty’ me, Kristy,” Matt replied as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, his eyes falling shut to keep him from getting distracted by her breasts.

Kristy stood up and pressed herself up against the front of him fully, wrapping her arms around his neck so that she could pull him down to her level for a kiss. He reluctantly kissed her back, not wanting to really be doing this in front of Aiyana.

Brian leaned over and pressed a kiss to the side of Aiyana’s head, feeling bad that she saw the display, but secretly hoping that she’d stop thinking about Matt if he was going to let Kristy pull that in front of her.

Aiyana gave Brian a soft smile, and grabbed a whiskey sour from the tray.

When Kristy and Matt came up for air, Kristy told him she would see him later with a wink, and flounced towards the door to leave, feeling rather proud of herself.

Aiyana just rolled her eyes, and let herself be drawn into Brian’s side as his arm went around her comfortingly.

“How are you feeling today,” he murmured from beside her so that nobody could hear other than her.

“I’m ok. Probably a level 4,” she smirked, letting him know her pain scale. She normally operated around a 3 on a scale of 1 to 10, so it was a pretty good day for her today. “I was painting a lot, so my shoulder’s a little sore, but I’m good. Thanks for asking.”

Matt sat down opposite of them, watching the interaction, and feeling a little jealous of how close Aiyana and Brian had apparently gotten while he was busy thinking about the situation he’d found himself in. He didn’t want Brian comforting her. He wanted to be the one to do that.

Rayne looked over at Aiyana when she said she’d been painting, a mischievous smirk on her lips, “What cha paintin’?”

Aiyana laughed and pointed a finger at her best friend, “You sneaky little twat waffle.”

Rayne just laughed and snuggled back into Zacky’s arms, smiling like a fool.

Brian’s eyebrows went up, and he nudged her with his shoulder as he mimicked Rayne’s voice, “Yeah, Aiya. What cha’ paintin’?”

Matt’s eyebrows went up with Brian used the nickname Rayne usually used for her, and he suddenly felt like he was out of the loop. He knew she used to paint, but didn’t know she had any projects going on. Had he lost his chance with her when he left and didn’t contact her for days?

“You can come by and look at it tomorrow, but it’s not quite finished. I guess I could use an opinion or two,” Aiyana said easily.

This was met with everyone saying they’d come see it, which made Aiyana nervous. She didn’t usually share her art until it was done and up for sale to the highest bidder, but she liked the guys and valued their opinions.

She began to worry her bottom lip as the conversation resumed around the table. Matt saw this, and reached his foot out to nudge hers under the table to get her attention.

Aiyana looked up, surprised when she felt a shoe come in contact with her foot, and saw Matt looking at her, concern on his features.

‘You ok,’ he mouthed to her, not wanting to gain attention from everyone at the table as he expressed concern for her.

She nodded yes and released her lip as she heard Brian whisper huskily against her ear, “I told you not to do that. I can’t think straight.”

Her entire body felt flush with heat when she heard his voice, and her cheeks colored lightly.

This made Matt feel uncomfortable, and he stood up from the booth, saying he was going to get another round.

Aiyana watched Matt leave, and then looked at Brian to tell him to behave. However, her words caught in her throat when she saw his lips twisted into a smirk, his eyes darkening slightly with lust. Damn he was sexy.

Brian’s head dipped and he kissed her softly, earning himself a kick under the table from Zacky.

“What the hell, man? You know Matt has a thing for her,” Zacky hissed.

Brian looked over at him, surprised, and shrugged.

“Bro, he’s still screwing Kristy, and left Aiya’s house to go see her. He’s a big boy, and can’t play with hearts. He knows that,” he spoke evenly back to his fellow guitarist.

Aiyana felt her cheeks flush, and closed her eyes, her fears of being in the middle of drama coming back to her at his words. She was surprised though when Johnny let out a low whistle at Brian’s words.

“Yeah, fair game if he can’t figure out what the hell he wants. He never staked a claim,” Johnny stated.

“One thing, Gassy Baby, I’m not some trophy for participation. Why do men always talk about women like that,” she questioned him with a side of attitude.

Nudging Brian, she motioned that she wanted out of the booth. She tossed back the rest of her drink before getting out of the booth and heading to the bathroom. Rayne kissed Zacky and then followed her, knowing her best friend needed her.

Rayne found Aiyana in the bathroom, hands braced on the sink and taking deep breaths.

“They’re right, you know. Matt’s an ass for what he did, and Brian has been nothing but sweet to you,” she said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“I know, Rayne, but I still have feelings for him,” Aiyana said softly, not trusting her voice in that moment, “And seeing him with Kristy kind of hurt.”

Rayne sighed and wrapped her arms around her best friend’s waist from behind comfortingly.

“And what about Brian?”

“Brian,” Aiyana couldn’t hide the smile that his name caused, “Brian’s great. He’s a wonderful guy, and I have feelings for him too.” She lowered her head and sighed, “I’m so fucked, Rayne.”

Rayne smiled knowingly, and rubbed her friend’s arms. “No, but you need to be,” she said with a laugh.

Aiyana laughed softly, and turned to hug her friend.

“Rayne, what do I do,” she begged.

“You go back out there, and get drunk,” she said simply. “Decisions can wait. Obviously Brian doesn’t care if you have feelings for Matt, and he accepts them. If Matt can’t accept you having feelings for Brian, he shouldn’t have left you alone in that shower. He can’t expect you to wait for him to make up his mind.”

Aiyana nodded and held onto her friend a moment before taking a deep breath. She knew her best friend was right, and she would be damned if she was going to waste getting all dolled up by hiding out in the bathroom all night.

Walking back out to the bar with her arm around her cousin, she put a smile on her face and resolved to have fun no matter what.

When they got back to the table, Matt took her hand and pulled her out onto the floor, speaking softly to her, “Can I have this dance?”

She looked up at him and nodded as his arms went around her and a slow soft rock song began to play in the background.

“Won’t Kristy be upset,” she asked, a little venom in her voice that she couldn’t hide.

“I deserve that,” he acquiesced. “I’ve missed you, you know.”

She arched an eyebrow as his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her close as her body swayed to the beat with his.

“Missed me? Matt, if you missed me you would have called,” she rationalized.

“I started to a hundred times,” he said softly. “I just had some things to figure out.”

"And did you get it all figured out,” she asked.

Matt shook his head, enjoying the feeling of her in his arms again, “No, but I’m working on it. I promise.”

She bit her lip, not liking his answer. How much time did the man need? Did she really want to be with someone like the Matt that was at Johnny's tonight with Kristy, but couldn't call her?

“I want to take you out. Are you free Saturday night,” he asked.

“I don’t know, Matt. I’ve got some stuff to figure out,” she responded, throwing his words back at him.

He winced at her choice of words, and let her slide out of his grasp when she pulled away to walk back to the table. He sighed, and took a moment before following her.

Once at the table, Aiyana sat down beside Brian, and grabbed the whiskey sour that was on the table for her, drinking it quickly. She felt Brian’s hand on her thigh, and relaxed a little under his comforting touch.

Matt watched this as he walked over, and shook his head at himself. He grabbed his beer and drained it before letting everyone know he was going to head out for the night.

“Ya’ll have fun,” he smiled at everyone, and then turned his attention back to Aiyana, “Let me know about Saturday, beautiful. I’d really like to spend some time with you. I’ve missed you.”

She just looked up at him, hurt and confusion in her eyes before she nodded. When Matt turned to leave, Aiyana felt Brian’s arm circle her waist, and she leaned back on him a little as she watched Matt leave.

Shaking off the thoughts, she turned back to the table, and allowed herself to be pulled right into the conversation.

Notes

To brighten your day, @mama.llama18 . I know you had a rough day, honey. Big hugs to you.

Please don't forget to comment and vote, ya'll!