by Rachel Ryan
“Fuck off, Ava. He was trying to get you the entire time we were together.”
Looking past Jeremy I can see that everyone is watching us like they are waiting for some action to start.
“Jeremy it’s your fault. You wouldn’t have been all over those girls if you really cared about me!”
“Baby, I do care about you. Please just give me another chance.”
Jeremy steps right up to me and places his mouth on mine. For a small second I am frozen and unsure what to do. Shit! I push him away from me, ready to blast him with a piece of my mind. Before I can stay anything Brody appears right behind Jeremy and grabs him by the shirt, pulling him hard.
“Oh, of course, Prince Charming to the rescue.”
“Don’t you ever lay one hand on MY GIRL ever again.”
“My hands and mouth have been all over that sweet little body. She tastes divine.”
Brody takes a step toward Jeremy and pushes him hard in the chest. Jeremy stumbles backwards, and then regains himself. Taking one step forward Jeremy swings a left hook right into Body’s cheek. Hunter Jumps over the back of the couch and runs into the kitchen grabbing Brody and holding him back from Jeremy. Luke has a hold of Jeremy and he’s dragging him towards the door. Before he gets there Jeremy takes one look at me and smirks.
“Baby, when you get sick of him, my bed will be waiting.”
Brody makes another move for Jeremy just as Luke shuts the door. Standing there I’m just in shock. This is exactly what I was trying to avoid. Jo walks right past me to the freezer and grabs a frozen bag of peas and hands it to Brody.
“I’m just going to go and check on Stone.”
“Yeah.”
Brody barely acknowledges Jo. He sits down on the couch and takes a sip of his beer.
“Fuck.”
“Coops give him time mate, he’ll come around.”
“Like Fuck he will, Hunter. You heard the way he was talking to her. He is the one who fucked their relationship up, not Ava. I can’t stand him talking to her like that. ”
“I’m sorry I never meant for this to happen, it’s all so messed up. I hate that I’ve come between you two.”
“Ava you mean more to me than anything. I’m not lying when I say you’re the best thing to happen to me. I won’t ever give you up, so long as you want me.”
“I know Brody, but he is like your brother.”
“Not after tonight, the things he said, the way he kissed you… He can’t respect me and us so no, he’s not.”
“I really hate this situation, Brody.”
“I know you do, Baby. But if he wants to act like a jackass there isn’t anything we can do to change his mind. Come on, let’s go to bed.”
I follow him to his room and let him strip all of my clothes off me, before laying me down under the covers of his bed. He tears his jeans and t-shirt off before climbing in beside me and pulling me into his arms.
“I’m so sorry he is treating you like that Ava. I expected some animosity, but I never expected such childish behavior from him.”
“It’s not your fault Brody. I should have been more honest with him all along about my feelings for you. The whole time we were seeing each other I knew deep in my heart that I was with the wrong man. I should have told him; maybe it never would have come to this.”
He moves so that he is on his side leaning over me and staring into my eyes.
“Ava, we can’t change the past. We can only try to move forward and hope that he will do the same. I am madly, desperately in love with you, Ava Flores, and nothing is going to change that.”
I feel tears welling in my eyes as I see the intensity in his. This beautiful man always knows the right thing to say to reassure me that our relationship is right. I reach my arms around his back and pull his body down onto mine as I feel the tears fall.
“You are so perfect, Brody. What did I ever do to deserve you?”
He grins before claiming my mouth with his soft lips. The kiss we share is intense and heated, and goose bumps break out all over my body. All it takes is one kiss from him and my body is his. My body will always be his.
Jeremy
As I stagger in the direction of my car, I hear heels clicking on the footpath behind me. Thinking it’s Ava, I turn around feeling a little disappointed when I realize it’s Jo.
“Oh, it’s you.” She stops and glares at me.
“Were you expecting Ava? Sorry to disappoint your drunken ass, but she won’t be chasing after you. She’s not yours anymore Jeremy.”
Kicking my foot against a small rock on the ground I almost fall on my ass but manage to regain my balance.
“Fuck, Jo. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Everything was different with her. I wanted to be better for her. She made me want something more. I just can’t stand seeing them together knowing that she belongs with me.”
Jo walks toward me until she is an arm’s length away. “Is she really meant to be with you? Do you love her, Jeremy?”
“Yes…maybe…I don’t know. I want to love her. We were good together.”
Shaking her head at my words, Jo smiles. “It’s not enough, Jeremy. Without love, relationships never last. She has found love with Brody. You need to let her go.”
“I don’t know if I can Jo. I had her first. She belongs with me.”
Jo places her hand on my shoulder. “Jeremy, I love you, but sometimes you act like such a spoiled brat. Ava is not a possession, she is a person. She deserves love just like everyone else and she has found that with Brody. He loves her. You love the idea of you and her. She made you open your mind to the possibility of having someone, of being monogamous and building a life with someone. She just isn’t that person for you.”
I stare into her eyes “And, what? You think you are?”
She looks sad as she says “Maybe, maybe not.”
Before I think about the consequences, I grab her around the waist with one hand and pull her body up against mine. With my other hand I brush the blond hair off of her face and tuck it behind her ear. I hear a small gasp escape her lips and I lean in and claim her mouth. Her body tenses and her soft pink lips snap shut as she tries not to respond to the pressure of my mouth, but I don’t care and I force my tongue into her mouth. She moans softly and I feel her body relax against me. She wraps her arms around my neck as she deepens the kiss, her tongue darting out to lick mine. She sucks my bottom lip into her mouth and I run my fingers through her hair.
Suddenly I realize what I’m doing and I push her away from me. “I’m so sorry, Jo. I have to go.”
Before turning away from her I can see the despair in her eyes. What the fuck am I doing? She doesn’t deserve to be treated like a piece of fucking meat I can use to take my mind off Ava, and that’s exactly what I need right now. Scrolling through the contacts on my phone I search for a name that I know will help me forget all of my problems. I know I’ve had way too much to drink so I walk past my car and head straight to the bar down the road where I call some chick called Candy and arrange for her to meet me there. I don’t remember who the fuck she is but with a name like Candy, I’m sure she knows how to suck cock.
Brody
Three days after the disastrous dinner party we all meet up at the studio for a meeting with Travis. A few minutes after I arrive Jeremy walks in and takes a seat without greeting or even acknowledging anyone. He’s wearing dark sunglasses and doesn’t even bother removing them, which means he must have had a big night last night.
When I spoke to Jo the morning after our wonderful dinner party she expressed some concern over Jeremy’s behavior. She told me about the kiss they shared and how he then just walked off and left her. His head is obviously screwed up at the moment for him to do that to Jo. He has always treated her like his little sister, and knowing that she’s in love with him, to kiss her like that and then leave her is pretty fucked up.
Travis clears his throat as he stares around the room.
“Okay, boys.
I’ve lined up three gigs for you around L.A over the next two weeks.”
As he starts walking around the room handing out sheets of paper he says “I’m giving you a list of the dates and venues, there are also a few publicity ops listed on there as well and for each one of those we will meet here and travel together. The tour was a huge success and we want to keep the momentum going so that we can reach our goal of a National tour by the end of the year.”
He goes back to his chair and looks around at the four of us. “Why are you all so fucking quiet?” There is silence.
“If there is a problem I need to know now, we can’t afford to cancel any more of these gigs. You’ll get a bad rep and no one will fucking hire you.”
Hunter looks from me to Jeremy and back to me again.
“It’s all good; Trav. Everyone’s just a little hung over this morning.”
Jeremy stands up “Is that it? I’ve got somewhere to be.”
Travis frowns and holds up his hand. “Before you all rush out of here, I expect a couple of rehearsal sessions over the next few days. Jeremy said he’s been working on some new songs, so you all need to get familiar with those.”
As Travis leaves the room with Jeremy close behind him I glance over at Hunter and Luke who are both sitting across from me looking like they want to say something.
“What?”
They look at each other quickly and then back at me as Hunter says “We’re really worried Coops. Jeremy seems to be self-destructing and it’s going to fuck up our chance of securing that tour.”
I shake my head at them “What the fuck am I supposed to do about it? If he wants to act like a child that’s his problem, not mine.”
Luke shrugs “If it gets worse it will become our problem. We’ve got one shot at this. We can’t afford to have him fly off the rails. He’s our front man Brody, this band relies on him.”
I know they have a point, but I just can’t bring myself to care.
Hunter leans forward in his chair “Can’t you talk to him, sort this shit out?”
“Hunter, I don’t think he cares one bit about what I have to say to him. He’s pissed at me because he is convinced that I set out to steal Ava from the beginning. But you know what? I met her before he did, we had a connection first, and I pushed her toward him because I didn’t think I would be good for her. I didn’t think I deserved someone so beautiful and sweet. I knew she liked me but I knew she also liked him. I encouraged her when she started seeing him as I thought he was the better option for her. But you know what? He fucking hurt her. Not me; him. I love this girl so fucking much and I am not giving her up for anyone or anything.”
Hunter looks thoughtful as he stares at me across the table.
“I understand completely dude. But for our band to be successful, we need him. We need him to be at his best, not wasted all the fucking time. This shit between the two of you is not going to fix itself. You two need to talk and sort it out together.”
I sit in my chair for a few minutes after they both leave wondering what’s going to happen. Knowing how fucking stubborn Jeremy is I can’t see it improving anytime soon.
Chapter 4
Ava
Standing there in the crowd at the band’s first gig I can’t help but feel like a sheep in between the cows. Most of the band have been really short with me and have kind of kept me at a distance. Emma and Tori have been fine but so much has changed. Brody and Jeremy still aren’t talking and Luke and Hunter seem to be feeling the stress. If I didn’t love Brody I would just break up with him for the sake of the band, however, I feel if I did that it would tear him up a lot more then it is Jeremy. I am deeply his and as much as I think Jeremy is a great guy Brody is it for me. I didn’t want to come along tonight, I feel like my presence with all of them together just sets everyone on edge, including Luke and Hunter.
Jeremy is the first to strut up onto the stage followed by Hunter. Brody gives me a kiss and I wish him luck. Glancing up at Jeremy over Brody’s shoulder, I see that he is frowning down at me, well us. I feel a pang of guilt shoot though me; I hate what I have done. Just as Luke is about to walk on stage I grab him by the arm, Brody looks over his shoulder with a curious look on his face. Smiling at him I reassure him everything is fine.
“Look Luke I’m really sorry about everything, I just want you to know that if I could fix it I would. If I could leave Brody I would but it would kill me. And he would never forgive Jeremy.”
Luke looks at me then wraps his arms around me. Breathing in Luke’s earthy scent I hug him back.
“Ava, you have a heart of gold. This isn’t your fault. You two fell in love. I’m sure we will be fine, they are both just so stubborn.”
“Luke I know, but I’m worried about how it’s affecting all of you. I don’t want you guys to fail before you even begin, I’ll do my best to fix this.”
“Ava they need to fix it. Not you.”
Luke walks off ending our conversation, sitting down beside Emma and Tori, I watch the band start their set. Hopefully the crowd won’t notice the tension onstage.
Tori places her hand on my knee.
“Ava it will all work out I’m sure of it.”
“How, Tori?”
“They have been friends for years. They won’t just throw all of that away.”
“Are you sure?”
Emma pats my hand and gives me a small smile.
“What can you do though Ava? Brody is not going to break up with you so you can go back to Stone.”
“Em, I’m going to have to work on Jeremy instead, I know Brody won’t drop this because we haven’t done anything wrong, I just don’t understand why Jeremy can’t be happy for him. He knows more than anyone how bad Brody’s life was. Jeremy can have any girl he wants. Why me? I’m not that special. After all he did cheat on me with a couple of skank groupies.”
“Ava he changed a lot for you, but in the end it was never going to be enough, Brody was always going to be there for you when times got hard. You two clicked straight away. That is life. Jeremy just has to learn to deal with it and move on.”
Jeremy’s voice brings my attention back to the stage.
“I hope you are all having a great time. We have a surprise for you all to finish off tonight… a new song. This song is really personal to me at the moment I hope you all enjoy it.”
“A new song?”
“Didn’t Brody tell you?”
“No, What?”
“Just listen.”
Looking back to the stage I listen to Jeremy sing the first line, Brody isn’t looking impressed. He is staring at me with a sad look on his face.
“You stole my heart. You went behind my back.”
Standing up I look straight at Jeremy. That song is about me. He wrote a song about me and it isn’t a nice one.
Jeremy
As soon as our show ends I leave the stage and head toward the bar. I’m close to it when I feel a hand tug on my arm. I know who it is straight away.
“What do you want, Ava?”
“I want to know why you think it’s okay to air all of our dirty laundry onstage?”
I grin down at her “Who said that song is about you?”
I can almost hear her teeth grinding as she glares at me. “Jeremy, you need to get over this shit. You need to finally accept that we weren’t meant to be. If we were, I wouldn’t have caught you with your tongue down someone else’s throat.”
“Ava, I already told you, I was drunk.”
She shakes her head at me. “I don’t care. You obviously didn’t care enough about me to spare my feelings. You are selfish, Jeremy Stone.”
Grabbing her by her hips I pull her up against me “Dundee, you still want me. I can see the fire in your eyes. You want me bad.”
She forces her way out of my arms and slaps my cheek, hard.
“The fire you see in my eyes is anger, Jeremy. The only thing I want is for you to grow up and realize it is over between us.”
She walks away from me and I am stunned for a moment. I know she thinks she is in love with Brody, but she still seems to react to me with so much passion. I reckon I could have her again.
Stepping up to the bar I order a beer. I had a few before the show…and a few during the show and now I’m going to sit here and have a few more.
Leaning my back against the bar, my eyes scan the room as I rub my aching cheek. Someone turned on the jukebox after we finished our set and now there are couples covering the dance floor. Spotting a couple practically fucking, I look closer and realize it’s Hunter and Tori. God, those two are always going at it like a couple of teenagers.
My eyes drift further to the right and I see Luke, Emma, Brody and Ava sitting at one of the tables. Brody is staring straight back at me as the others are deep in conversation. I grin at him and he looks away. My eyes go back to the dance floor and I see a couple of girls shaking their hips and their fake boobs, dressed in tiny scraps of material. They notice me watching them and start running their hands all over each other. Grinning, I watch their little performance and throw back the rest of my beer, before walking over to them with all intentions of being the meat in their slut sandwich.
***
Five days later we are setting up for another gig in a bar similar to the last one. After playing in arenas and small stadiums when we were touring, these bars and clubs seem so fucking small. Hopefully Travis and the record company will come through with the National tour. Apparently, our album isn’t selling as well as they all hoped and they’re not entirely convinced a National tour is the right way to go just yet.
The other boys are pretty quiet as we set up our equipment on the small stage. This is the worst thing about the drama with Ava. It’s causing so much fucking tension between the band and our music is suffering as a result. Normally we would be rehearsing more and writing new songs, but seeing as I can’t really stand to be in the same room as Brody lately that’s the last thing I feel like doing. Travis is still pissed about what’s been happening and is constantly calling to check if Brody and I have sorted out our shit. But I’m not ready to do that yet. My best friend betrayed me and I’m not just going to let it slide.
