Eternal Blossom

That night at the club, everyone walked in as one big group. The women made their way to a booth while the guys went to the bar to get drinks for everyone. As they walked, Rayne gestured to Lacey and then to her stomach, playing charades with Aiyana as to whether or not she thought the other woman was pregnant. Aiyana waved her off with a look of irritated nonchalance and slid into the booth beside Lacey.

“So, what have you and the gassy baby been up to? We haven’t seen ya’ll in a while,” Aiyana asked, enjoying the fact that the club was not so packed with people that she would have to yell to be heard.

“Well, we’ve been planning the wedding for the most part,” Lacey replied, resting her chin in her hand as she looked at the two cousins.

“Oh, that’s right,” Rayne gushed quickly, “when is this thingy happening? I swear Zacky forgets to tell me anything.”

“Oh, we’re thinking before he leaves for Rock in Rio. There’s so much to take care of to get it all ready in time,” Lacey groaned, immediate to do lists popping into mind.

“Let us help, then. My muse has left me alone here lately, so I just wander around the house doing absolutely jack shit, and I’d love to help you get married to that tiny man,” Aiyana offered with a big smile.

Lacey laughed and nodded, placing her hand over Aiyana’s on the table, “thank you so much. I could really use the help. My mom has been great, but she’s pushing for a huge traditional wedding while Johnny doesn’t care as long as we’re hitched at the end of it.”

Aiyana’s face lit up, and she looked beside her at her cousin to see Rayne’s face lit up in a bright smile as well. She knew then that her cousin was definitely on board with helping Lacey, and the three girls quickly set up a day that week for them all to get together at Johnny and Lacey’s house to hash out some details for Lacey’s big day.

“Where are the guys,” Rayne asked as she realized they had been sitting there gabbing about cakes for a little bit and the guys still hadn’t made it back to the table.

“Over there. Looks like they got caught by a fan or two,” Lacey told her with a smirk, trying not to laugh when Johnny shot her a look that begged for rescuing.

Aiyana sat up straight to see over Rayne’s head, and laughed loudly before nudging Rayne in the side so that she would let her out. Someone had to rescue their men, and she figured that this time it was her turn. As she got closer she saw that Brian and Zack were taking a picture with a fan while Matt and Johnny signed a few autographs. She arched an eyebrow at them, and skirted around behind them to get to the bar.

Once she had the tray of beers and shots that had been ordered, she stepped up between the boys, and nodded to the table.

“Come on guys, we’ve got the table waiting when you get the chance to break free. I had to come rescue the alcohol before it hit room temperature,” she told them all before sliding past them and walking over to the table.

“Wait a minute, is that you, Aiya,” a loud voice with a soft brogue boomed through the small space as she sauntered away.

Aiyana nodded as she continued to walk to the booth, recognizing the voice, but knowing that she needed to set the tray down before the inevitable confrontation. She looked at Rayne with wide eyes as she approached, trying to let her know just what was following her back to the table.

No sooner did the tray get placed onto the table did Aiyana get swept into a hug by a woman her height and stature but with flaming red tight curls. Aiyana giggled and hugged her back, cooing about how much she had missed her. Rayne jumped up and hugged them both when she saw the woman that was hugging Aiyana tightly.

“Darcy, you gotta let her go before you break her. Air is essential for life,” Rayne told the red head as she let them go.

Darcy smiled at her but did as she said. Once she was let go, Aiyana looked over Darcy’s shoulder, her face hurting from the huge grin on it as she saw the boys coming finally.

“Oh my god, Darcy, what are you doing here? I thought your dad wasn’t in the best of health so you were taking care of him,” Aiyana questioned, knowing that Darcy lived in Scotland.

“I needed a break. Joe stepped in to take care of dad for a few weeks so I could get that break. I just got into town today, and I was going to call you lovely lasses tomorrow morning,” Darcy responded, hugging Rayne and Aiyana again quickly before nearly jumping out of her skin when she heard someone clear their throat directly behind her.

“Aiya, did you catch a stray from our pack of adoring fans,” Matt chuckled, not missing the way that the beautiful red head had jumped.

“Stray my arse,” Darcy responded with fire, twirling on her heel only to have to look up at the broad shoulder front man who only stood a foot behind her. “That’s my kin.”

Aiyana covered her mouth to try to hold back her laughter as Brian moved to her side and wrapped his arm around her waist to pull her into his side while he watched Matt and the red head. Zack moved over to Rayne and raised an eyebrow at the exchange before looking at Rayne, silently asking her who this woman was.

“Guys, this is mine and Rayne’s cousin from Scotland, Darcy. She’s visiting California for a few weeks. Darcy, these are the guys, but the important person here is Lacey. She’s the only sane one in the group,” she said with a laugh when Brian’s smile fell and he scowled at her playfully.

Lacey laughed and stood up to shake Darcy’s hand before everyone else introduced themselves to Darcy. Aiyana noticed that the red head had a hard time keeping her eyes off of Matt, and elbowed Rayne in the ribs, gesturing with her head to their cousin.

“What do you think, she said she needed a break from stress, and he needs to get laid before his testosterone levels climb anymore,” Aiyana chuckled with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

Rayne thought about it a moment, tilting her head from one side to the other as she looked at the two of them. With a shrug, she nodded. Both girls knew that nothing serious would come of it considering the ocean that lay between them, but in that moment the idea of them relieving stress together just made sense.

“Hey Matt, why don’t you take Darcy onto the dance floor,” Rayne asked, nudging her cousin in question towards him.

Matt grinned down at the little red head and held his hand out in invitation. Darcy allowed her
eyes to travel up his colorful and well muscled arm before she noticed the dimples shining at her from his cheeks, and she felt her knees grow weak.

“You two are going to hell for your shenanigans,” she threw over her shoulder as she placed her hand into his and allowed him to lead her out to the dance floor.

Brian laughed and kissed his girlfriend softly before mumbling against her lips, “you are up to something.”

“Me? Never,” Aiyana smiled, feigning innocence as she handed him his glass of favored whiskey.

“Are you and Rayne trying to hook them up? You do realize it’s weird enough for us to be dating cousins, let alone three fourths of the band,” Zack interjected as they all slid into the booth.

“Hey handsome, she’s here on vacation, and Darcy isn’t the kind of girl to get attached to a man. They can be mutual stress relief,” Rayne told him matter-of-factly before leaning into his side.

“Besides, look at them,” Aiyana motioned with her chin to the dance floor where Matt and Darcy were grinding together to the beat.

The guys all looked over at them, watching Matt’s hands settle on the red head’s hips directly in front of his own before Lacey spoke up.

“And we all know he needs a friend outside of you boys other than us girls at this table. Let him jump back on the proverbial horse before the groupies sink their fangs into him.”

Everyone nodded along with that sentiment and took a drink before starting chit chat at the table about the upcoming nuptials. The boys quickly grew tired of the conversation revolving around center pieces and started up a conversation of their own.

After a few minutes of conversation, their drinks were empty, and Brian stood, holding his hand out to Aiyana.

“May I have this dance, gorgeous? We haven’t had time to dance in a few months now,” he questioned her as the song changed to one he recognized from her play list on her phone.

“I think he’s trying to get lucky tonight,” Rayne told Zack loud enough to be over heard when Aiyana stood up and took his hand.

“And it’s working,” Aiyana laughed over her shoulder as she followed Brian onto the dance floor.

Aiyana and Brian danced through the song, her hips keeping perfect time with the beat, his hands rarely leaving the swell of her hips. When she turned around and pressed her ass into his denim clad crotch while allowing the beat to dictate her movements, Brian took a deep breath of air through his nose in an attempt to reign in the desire to leave the club with her right then.

Darcy saw Brian and Aiyana hit the dance floor, and smirked up at the big guy she was dancing with, enjoying the feel of his muscled arms under her hands as she moved to the beat. She’d been at the bar getting a drink when she’d seen Aiyana, and she couldn’t be more glad that she’d spotted her cousin and been introduced to this delicious hunk of man who had his hands roaming her sides. Nodding to the booth, she asked Matt if he was ready to go sit back down yet.

Matt smiled down at her and placed a hand in the small of her back as he turned them towards the table. When they passed Aiyana and Brian, he clapped Brian on the shoulder and kissed Aiyana’s cheek, whispering a quick thanks for pushing him to dance with her.

Aiyana watched them walk off, and caught her cousin and Matt laughing on their way back to the table. A bright smile came over her face as she gave herself a mental high five for introducing the two, knowing that the chemistry would work itself out between the two after how they were dancing together on the dance floor.

“I think they’ll get along just fine,” Brian chuckled in her ear before nipping on her ear lobe, causing a full shiver to run down her spine.

“Do you really,” Aiyana querried, turning around in his arms and resting her hands on his biceps as they continued to dance.

“I do. She’s fiery, and they couldn’t take their eyes off each other. Enough about them. I’ve got some plans of my own for tonight,” he confirmed before capturing her lips with his own in a searing kiss.

Aiyana felt the sparks fly like they always did when those slim lips met her own fuller ones, and molded her body to his, kissing him back instantly. Her hands slid up into the hair at the nape of his neck as Brian’s hand slid down to grip her ass, squeezing tight.

“I say we have two more drinks and then you take me home and ravish me,” Brian told her with a suggestive wink after he broke the kiss.

“One more drink,” she countered and kissed the tip of his nose.

“Sold,” he told her with a laugh before leading her off the dancefloor, discreetly adjusting himself as they made their way back to the table.

“And then, da told Rayne if she didn’t stop giving him attitude she’d have to sleep in the barn. Aiyana told him that she’d sleep there too if he made her sleep outside, and I couldn’t let them sleep outside alone, so we all ended up in the loft,” Darcy concluded her story as Brian and Aiyana got into ear shot.

Aiyana raised an eyebrow at the story, and sat down beside Darcy, sliding in enough that Brian could sit beside her.

“Are you seriously telling hella embarrassing childhood stories,” she questioned Darcy with a nudge to the shoulder.

“No, Matt asked me if I spent time with you for the holidays as a child, and I told him your da would ship you two off for Scotland occasionally to my da so you could get to know your ma’s side of the family,” Darcy responded cooly.

“She is telling embarrassing childhood stories, Aiya, make her stop,” Rayne groaned.

Aiyana laughed and shook her head, “Nope. She can tell whatever she wants. Most of those summer stories are only going to be embarrassing for you. Speaking of embarrassing for Rayne, how is Bobby doing.”

Rayne groaned and covered her face with her hands as soon as she heard the name that slid like silk from Aiyana’s lips.

“Well, now I want to know,” Zack chuckled, leaning forward in his seat. “Who is Bobby?”

“Och, he was her beau for a summer. She broke his heart when she told him she couldn’t do
long distance and she was leaving. He’s good. Bobby has been married for three years and has a little wean on the way with Bree,” Darcy told them, grinning over at Rayne who still had her face covered.

“That’s good. Did he ever come to terms with the fact that we didn’t leave for another week after she cut things off with him,” Aiyana asked, trying not to laugh mid-sentence.

“Poor thing, he was heartbroken, and it took him a few months, but he eventually got over his broken heart. He even wrote her a limerick about how he thought about her each time it rained,” Darcy replied before laughing loudly.

Rayne could feel Zack’s eyes on her in response to the story, and leaned back in her seat with a groan while her cheeks turned bright red. She knew she’d have to speak up in her own defense since everyone was enjoying her humiliation too much at the moment.

“His breath smelt like liver, guys. He wanted to kiss every time he was within 20 feet, and I couldn’t handle the idea of kissing him one more time,” Rayne said defiantly.

“Remind me to never eat liver,” Zack laughed, watching her as the corners of his eyes crinkled deeply with his mirth.

“Oh, are you snogging our Rayne,” Darcy asked, fully of piqued curiosity.

“They’re together, and Brian and I are together,” Aiyana said by way of explanation as she
laced her fingers with Brian’s.

“And you two are engaged,” Darcy said, looking over at Johnny and Lacey, only to be met with a nod from the duo.

Matt wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and whispered something in her ear that made her blush the tiniest bit under her freckles. Aiyana and Rayne exchanged a glance before whistling low in appreciation of Matt’s moves before laughing loudly.

“I think I’m going to grab my man and run before you turn on me and start sharing my few stories,” Aiyana told Darcy with a laugh.

“As much as I’d love to hear those stories, they’ll have to wait until you come over for dinner. See you guys Monday,” Brian told them as he stood and waited for everyone to get to their feet for the obligatory hugs and well wishes.

“Dinner tomorrow, and Lacey, Rayne and I will be over Monday around ten to help you,” Aiyana said to cut off the questions before wrapping her arm around Brian’s waist and heading for the door.


As Brian pulled out of the parking lot, he rested his hand on Aiyana’s thigh and squeezed. She smiled over at him and rested her hand on top of his for a second before raising his hand higher on her thigh. Arching an eyebrow in question, he moved his hand even further up her thigh, his fingers sliding just under the high riding skirt. When Aiyana just smiled back at him and moved her hand off of his, he chuckled.

“Somebody’s in a mood tonight,” he observed out loud, sliding his fingers over the soft skin of her inner thigh.

Biting her lip mischievously, Aiyana moved her arm under his and ran her hand over the bulge in his jeans as her only response. Brian swallowed and pressed down harder on the gas, needing to get them home as quickly as possible. Her high laughter at his increased need for speed brought a smile to his face, and when she went to withdraw her hand, he caught it and guided it back to his body.

“Don’t start something you can’t finish, Mr. Haner,” Aiyana all but purred, shifting in her seat so that she was closer to the center console.

“I’ve started it, and I plan on finishing it several times tonight,” he told her with a cheeky grin.

Notes

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