You're My Little Secret, chapter 9
Three days later I dropped both my parents and Adrienne off at the airport. Joey, Jakob and I gave them all kisses and hugs as Adrienne doted on the children, calling out last minute instructions and fussing as she always did before leaving.
Once back at their house I hung some things in the guest room closet and made myself comfortable. I never really worried about the kids because they always behaved themselves around me, but this time I was a little concerned about Joey's ever flaring temper.
We settled down in the den to watch TV in the evening. Adrienne had stressed to me their school routine and I was not planning on deviating from it. Joey was pouting and he had already thrown a fit on the way home from the airport complaining how it wasn't fair that he had to lose both of his parents at the same time, and that it wasn't fair that Adrienne got to see Billie Joe and he didn't. I calmly explained to him that when school let out in a month or so they would be spending three weeks overseas with his dad. That shut him up for the time being.
After the kids settled down for bed I helped myself to a glass of red wine and settled down to watch some TV in peace. It was weird being at my sister's house without my sister; usually the boys came to stay with me for long weekends not vice versa.
The phone rang shaking me from my thoughts.
"Hello?"
"Hey Ava, it's Billie Joe." I was surprised he called and not Adrienne but I played nice none the less.
"Hey Bill, how goes it?" I responded.
"Great, Adrienne just got here and she's taking a little nap. I thought I would call and let you know she arrived safely and ask how the boys are."
"They're good, sleeping right now. Adrienne told me they have a strict schedule for school so I'm going to try and stick to that." I answered, muting the TV and giving him my full attention.
"Sounds good, and thanks again for volunteering to watch the kids, they really do love spending time with you. I guess you're more fun than grandma." He joked.
I chuckled. "No problem, they're good kids." I said.
"Oh, and if Joey gives you shit you tell him to call me, I'll set him straight." Billie Joe offered sternly.
"Oh I will, don't worry."
I heard Billie Joe sigh. "I miss the them." He admitted, and I felt a little sad for him, something that didn't happen very often.
"They know you love them, that's all matters. And you'll seem them soon." I assured him.
He sighed again. "Thanks again Ava, we'll call tomorrow afternoon probably." He answered before mumbling, "Goodbye" and hanging up.
I was feeling a little bored and a little lonely so I walked over to the wall unit in the den and pulled out old scrapbooks and photo albums Adrienne had put together over the years. I ran my fingers over the old pictures of her and me growing up, skating on the ice pond in front of our house and eating birthday cake.
I looked through the boy's baby books, remembering how little they used to be. I flipped to more recent photographs and stared at a picture that had been taken in a club last year on my birthday. It was of Mike, Tre and me and I felt my heart pull a little at the memory of that night. Tre had walked up while Mike and I were posing for a picture and burrowed his way between us throwing an arm around both of us and kissing my cheek for good measure. That was such a good night... it seemed like forever ago.
December 1st, 2004
"Happy Birthday." Tre whispered through the darkness of my living room as we lay together on the floor, pillows under our heads giggling and kissing each other.
"Thanks." I replied as he ran his fingers over the delicate charm bracelet Adrienne had given me earlier at dinner.
I was still in my black party dress and he in his dress shirt and black pants, neither of us moving to get undressed... yet. I felt like we had gone to prom and snuck away from the after party or something; it made me feel tingly and special.
Earlier in the night we all got dressed up and went out for dinner at a really nice new restaurant, and then we went dancing and drinking downtown in the VIP room of our favorite club. It was just a few close friends and it was perfect, very intimate.
"I have a surprise for you." He whispered brushing his fingers along the ringlets in my hair.
"What's that?" I asked sitting up and clapping my hands.
He laughed. "You're so spoiled."
I grinned. "Come on, what is it?" I begged, grabbing his hands and trying to bribe him with little kisses but he wouldn't be swayed.
"You have to wait here." He said, getting up and walking through the darkness into my kitchen.
I sat up and leaned against the couch, wondering what it could be. I saw a single flicker of light come from the kitchen and I wondered nervously what he was lighting on fire. Probably his shirt, he wasn't much for cooking or doing anything domestic in the kitchen.
"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Ava, Happy Birthday to you... " I heard him sing softly as he came out of the kitchen carrying a cupcake with a single candle on top. I think I may have melted into the floor as he crouched down next to me, brushing my hair out of my face.
"It occurred to me that you didn't have any candles to blow out on your birthday... and that's just sacra religious." He explained as the candle wax threatened to harm the yummy looking yellow frosting on the cup cake. "Anyways, make a wish." He whispered.
I looked at him through the flickering of light between us, closed my eyes, blew out the candle and opened my eyes again, grinning at him.
"My wish came true... you're here with me." I whispered as we were enveloped in darkness again.
I felt his hand slide into my hair as he leaned forward for a kiss. I placed my hands on his chest and smiled against his soft lips as he pulled me into his lap.
"I want to eat my cupcake." I said, reaching for the dessert in his hand.
He grinned. "Alright, it is yours Birthday Girl." He complied, placing the cupcake in my hand.
I sat perched in his lap, his eyes widening ever so slightly as I licked around the rim of the cupcake very, very slowly. "Yummy." I said, giggling at the look of apprehension on his face. He leaned forward to kiss me and I sighed against his lips as he ran his tongue along my bottom lip.
"That IS yummy." He mumbled taking the cupcake out of my hand and placing it on the coffee table next to us. "Wouldn't want you to get that on your dress... not that you'll be wearing it much longer... " I giggled as he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me against him, holding me tightly and driving me crazy with his slow and maddening kisses.
"I think this is my favorite birthday to date." I whispered later on as the sun was coming up. We were still lying on the floor and I was wrapped in his blue dress shirt, my head propped on my hand, just staring at him staring back at me.
"Mine's coming up too. I want similar treatment on my birthday." He replied grinning. "Feel FREE to jump out of my birthday cake naked."
I grinned. "Only the best for you, Tre." I answered leaning forward to kiss him.
I was confused at first when he rolled away from me and got to his feet, but started giggling when he leaned down and scooped me up in his arms carrying me to my bedroom and snuggling down next to me under the covers.
It was the perfect birthday.
***
I sighed and closed the album, heading into the kitchen to refill my glass of wine. I was feeling rather relaxed, which was unusual considering I just shoved my face into several different reminders of how great everything used to be.
I decided to head to upstairs, but stopped as I passed a picture in the hallway that I never noticed before. It was of the eight of us all gathered together for the camera on Halloween last year. I sighed as Memory Lane officially opened again and I allowed myself to remember the first night Tre and I had slept together; the stepping stone for everything to come.
October 31st, 2004
I had flown out for a long weekend and was looking forward to spending Halloween, one of my favorite holidays, partying with the guys. They had a concert that night in Washington, D.C. but I had been promised, by Tre himself, that we would find a fucking awesome costume party to attend afterwards.
And he hadn't been lying.
After the show we stopped at the hotel and quickly changed into our assorted costumes. I had decided to go as a Flapper, adorned in a short feathery black dress and a matching black, bob cut wig. I draped some long jewelry strands around my neck and covered my eyes in charcoal and my lips in bright red lipstick. I slipped into some black high heels and grabbed my purse and headed next door to check on Adrienne and Billie Joe.
They decided to go as Tarzan and Jane, which was quite amusing considering they were wearing similar leopard print dresses; further fueling my theory that Billie Joe really was a woman in another life. As it turned out Sidney was able to meet up with us this weekend because she had meetings in D.C. in the upcoming week, which made Mike very happy. He went dressed as a Pirate and Sidney dressed as a Bounty Hunter... which consisted of a leather vest top that tied together in the front and leather pants with a gun slung on a holster. Let's just say Mike never let her out of his sight. Tre was the last to join us dressing as a Renaissance Nobleman. I teased him relentlessly about his knickers and his puffy sleeves, but in all honesty he still managed to look very adorable in his black and white ensemble.
As fate would have it we were all unknowingly paired up going into this event. Billie Joe and Adrienne; Mike and Sidney; Jason and Cassie; and finally Tre and I. We heard about a very large party downtown being held at an abandoned warehouse hosted by some very influential people, according to Sidney; she had been the one to hear about this party from some of her colleagues. We were just hoping it wasn't full of stuck-up lawyers and politicians.
The enormous warehouse had been made into a haunted house type atmosphere for the evening, complete with a live band and dance floor, and lots of different games and activities. There were people walking around in masks with trays of drinks, and the entire main room was decorated with cobwebs and fake spiders and other assorted skeletons and ghoulish decorations. We realized almost right away that there were probably over four hundred people gathered into the large warehouse already, and we might possibly never find each other at the end of the night, which made staying together in pairs an even better idea.
The couples split up; Mike and Sidney made their way over to the game area and Billie Joe and Adrienne disappeared together too leaving Tre and I.
"Want to dance with me?" I yelled into his ear as we made our way through the tables of refreshments. "I like this song."
He nodded and grabbed my hands leading me over to the makeshift dance floor where about a hundred people were already dancing around. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" is the perfect Halloween song in my opinion and there was even some people trying to get a group together to perform the actual choreography for the song. Tre and I danced off to the side taking in the huge warehouse and all it had to offer, occasionally leaning forward to talk to one another. A few songs later we decided to take a break and grab something to drink.
"This is a fucking awesome place for a Halloween party." I said as he led me through some of the tables they had set up, the theme being "Lab Experiments Gone Wrong"; complete with fake human heads, lots of smeared blood and other unidentifiable liquids, and much to my dismay; pig parts in discolored jars..
He nodded. "How about we go through an actual haunted house? They have one set up right over there through those doors." He suggested, his eyes twinkling with excitement.
"Umm, ok." I agreed, nervously swallowing. Truth be told I'm not a real big fan of haunted houses... or haunted anything for that matter. I'm kind of a jumpy person by nature so things popping out and yelling "boo" tends to make me want to piss my pants and run, but I went along with it anyway. After all it was Halloween, how bad could this be?
Bad, this was going to be really bad I decided as I held on to his arm tightly, careful not to get separated in the maze of rooms. We wound through different themed rooms all with walls that came down as people reached for us and yelled different things at us as we quickly passed through. At one point I decided Tre wasn't moving fast enough so I actually stepped ahead of him and proceeded to drag him through one room that was set up as a graveyard, complete with an abandoned car that honked so loudly when we got close to it that I think I may have swallowed my tongue. There was also a bridge set up in the middle of the room surrounded by fog and haze; making it impossible to see anything or anyone no farther than two inches in front of your face. We were fucking sitting ducks as far as these people running the show were concerned. Tre was getting a kick out of how I was pushing him from behind to go faster, or in some instances taking the lead and dragging him behind me. He kept murmuring that it wasn't real and that the actors weren't allowed to touch us; didn't matter to me, they were still creepy.
We were approaching the last portion of our little adventure when I discovered, much to my horror, that the next themed room was "Killer Clowns." I just about passed out; I had the biggest fear of clowns of anyone I knew and I knew this was going to be painful. Most of this part of the house was completely dark except for the people wandering around with bizarre glow in the dark paint on their faces. I was waiting for something to pop out and scare me, and sure enough a clown with razor sharp teeth popped out from behind a curtain and growled at me. My first response was to scream and my second was to bury my face into Tre's chest. I felt his chest rumble with laughter as we quickly walked through the rest of the clown exhibit with me still clutching to the front of him, not bothering to look up until we were several feet outside of the haunted house.
"I never knew you were such a scaredy cat." He teased grabbing two glasses of apple cider off a table and handing me one. I pressed a hand to my chest and tried to get my heart to stop thundering in my chest.
"I fucking hate clowns. And I don't like things popping out at me." I replied shakily.
"How can Halloween be your favorite holiday then?" he asked.
I shrugged. "I just like dressing up and the trick-or-treating."
I grinned as he rolled his eyes.
"Aaaand after that fun little adventure I need a fucking cigarette. Will you escort me outside my noble sir?" I asked in a polite voice as I curtseyed in front of him.
He chuckled. "Why yes, m'lady I will." He replied, offering his arm which I accepted as we walked towards the exit designated for the smokers.
We stepped outside and were immediately enveloped in the cold night air.
"Brrr, it's fucking cold." I commented struggling to light my cigarette because my hands were still a little shaky.
"Yeah, it is. Hurry your ass up." He joked leaning against the brick wall of the alley.
I finally got it lit and felt worlds better as I felt the nicotine surge through my veins. "Much better." I murmured closing my eyes and sighing, letting the anxiety and tension wash away.
"I'm glad you came out this weekend." He said as I opened my eyes and looked over at him. "I would have been forced to pair up with some weird girl... or Al, the lighting guy." He added chuckling.
"Me too, I'm having fun." I nodded in agreement and before I could change my mind added, "You know you look kind of cute in your dorky costume."
He grinned. "Yeah?" He inquired pushing away from the wall and imitating a model on a catwalk. "I think the fluffy sleeves really give it something."
I giggled. "You're right, they do."
We chatted for a few minutes about this and that until I finished my cigarette. We made our way back inside and once again headed for the dance floor, but not before stopping at the bar to do some shots, four to be exact. By the time we made it to the dance floor they had started up AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" and I was ready to dance and to have some serious fun.
Once on the dance floor I couldn't see past my knees because my feet were enveloped in the mist of the smoke machines that were working like crazy all around the dance floor. It was odd to look around and see complete strangers dancing around me, some who's faces were covered in masks; it felt a little trippy, like we had just dropped acid in the bathroom or something but I liked the effects of the warehouse and how authentic everything looked. I danced with a few different people, men and women both before deciding that I better stick close to Tre so that I would at least have someone to help me get back to the hotel later.
I beckoned for me him to come closer to me and he did, resting a hand on my hip and pulling me just a little closer.
"Everyone left us." I complained placing my hand on his shoulder and leaning in to whisper. He moved daringly closer to me, sliding his hand around to my back.
"I'll protect you from these weirdoes." He answered, grinning.
"Tre, you are the weirdo." I said giggling as he pretended to be offended.
Up until now I never realized that Tre actually had any sort of rhythm to him; usually he never stood still long enough to get a hold on him. I figured he picked it up from all the years of sex.
"Want some more shots?" he asked, leaning forward again a few moments later, his lips brushing my ear.
I nodded and enjoyed the closeness in which we were communicating. "Yeah, let's grab some more. This song is shit anyway." I replied grabbing his hand and letting him lead me through the throngs of people milling around.
We waited at the bar for almost ten minutes before we were served so we got two more a piece and threw them back easily. Coincidently we ran into Mike and Sidney who were headed for the dance floor.
"HEY!" Sidney yelled pulling me against her for a hug. "Are you having fun?" she asked a little too loudly, apparently she had been to the bar a few times as well.
"Yeah, we're heading back to the dance floor. You coming?" I inquired looking between her and Mike.
"Yeah, let's go!" Sidney answered for the both of them, grabbing Mike's hand and giving me a gentle shove towards the floor.
Sidney wrapped her arms around my waist and danced against me for a moment. I was really starting to feel the effects of the shots I had taken, the music was sounding a little duller and my lips were tingly.
Mike danced his way between Sidney and I, and not that I minded dancing with Mike too, but I didn't really feel like dancing with a couple so I broke away and moved over to Tre who was dancing with some lady dressed as a witch.
I easily stepped between them, pushing against his chest so he had to take a few steps back. I turned around to see the witch standing with her hands on her hips and glaring at me. I shrugged and turned back around to face Tre.
He smirked. "Bored with the married couple?" Tre teased slowly wrapping his left arm around my waist.
"I wanted to dance with you." I replied. We danced casually for a moment until I straddled his leg and started grinding against him. I knew my face turned red almost immediately because I was getting really warm feeling him grip my hips as I rocked against him. I felt that familiar attraction for him that always loomed somewhere in the back of my mind cloud my senses as I wrapped an arm around his neck to give me more balance as he let his other hand slither around to the small of my back. His blue eyes bore into my brown ones as we continued to press up against each other rather suggestively.
Unfortunately the moment was ruined when Sidney came bouncing over and grabbed Tre by the arm. "I want to dance Mr. Cool." She demanded giggling. I stepped back from Tre as he shot me an apologetic look. I shrugged and grabbed Mike by the hand. We danced a little more casually; I wasn't really interested in grinding against someone who I considered to be my big brother and I knew he felt the same way.
When J.Lo started blaring over the speakers we both decided it would be appropriate to silently protest this song from the bar...with a strong drink in our hands.
"This is fucking crazy." Mike yelled to me as we took another shot. Jesus, I wasn't going to be able to stand up very much longer if I kept drinking like this.
"I know! Have you seen my sister anywhere?" I asked scanning the surrounding area for a moment before looking back at Mike.
He shook his head. "No, I haven't seen Jason and Cassie either. There is an insane amount of people in here." He responded ordering another shot for myself.
"Can I ask you something, Mike?" I asked boldly leaning closer to him.
He nodded. "Sure kid."
"Does it bother you that Sidney... that she dresses like that and acts like that when you're together?"
He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Sometimes." He answered. "I know she's just having fun, I mean she's 28, but I would like to see her take things more seriously. Namely, us." He said glancing over at the dance floor and smirking as she practically swallowed Tre whole. It was kind of amusing because she was almost as tall as Mike, which meant she was about four inches taller than Tre, and even taller in the enormous stilettos she was wearing.
I nodded. "She does love you though. I don't think she could show anyone else this much commitment, no matter how little you think it is; it's something for her just to be this close to you." I commented. "But this is none of my business." I grinned.
He chuckled. "I appreciate you saying so, Ava. Should we rescue Tre?" he joked.
I nodded. "Yeaaah."
Mike walked over and winked at Tre as he pulled Sidney away from him and against his own body. She gladly started dancing her way up and down Mike again and I giggled as Tre wiped his forehead in relief.
"DAMN she's tall...and wild." He joked hooking his finger and beckoning to me. "I'm not done with you."
I raised an eyebrow. "Really?" I replied, smirking. "So have me."
I turned around and grinded my back against slowly him at first. After a few seconds of that he gripped my hips and picked up the pace as I covered his hands with my own. He was breathing heavily against my neck and into my ear, which only made me grind into him more. Slowly his hands slithered down to my thighs as he pressed himself impossibly closer to me. His hands gripped my thighs, his thumbs slipping just under the hem of my dress, making circles over my fishnet stockings and sending sparks through my body. I dropped my head back against his shoulder as he continued to press against me, his arousal quite apparent as he bumped against me. I reached one arm behind me and wrapped it around the back of his neck, pulling his lips against my bare shoulder, and sending shivers down my spine.
I honestly could have had sex with him right there on the dance floor when I felt both of his hands slip under my dress and grip my thighs. I enjoyed that sensation for awhile before I turned around in his arms suddenly, surprising him as I wrapped both arms around his waist and grinded against his front. He was biting his bottom lip and his eyes were dark, and at the moment all I wanted to do was make him bite clean through that particular lip that he was chewing on.
His eyes widened as I shimmied down the front of him running my hands over his ass and then sliding back up the front of him, grinding against him slowly. He smirked as he politely rested his hands on the small of my back before I felt his left hand slowly roll over my ass, stopping only for a second to squeeze ever so slightly, and then I felt it fall even farther as his hand gripped the back of my thigh, he smiled at me evilly as he bent down a little further gripping the back of my knee. I was confused for a moment, but I almost died when he brought my knee up to rest against his hip as he held my leg around him and ground against me.
Oh my God.
He was looking pretty pleased with himself when I clawed at his back as he rocked so perfectly against me, his left hand gripping the back of my thigh as I pulled him against me with my leg, the heel of my shoe scraping against the back of his leg. I dipped my head against his shoulder and focused on the sensation of being so close to him as the music washed over us as we danced.
By the way he was gripping me I could tell we either needed to stop and pour some ice down his pants or we needed to take this somewhere more private. I lifted my head off his shoulder and stared in his eyes trying to figure out where he stood with this situation. Upon looking at him I knew exactly what he wanted to do... me.
"Let's go back to the hotel." I said answering the questions that seemed to be swirling in his mind too.
He didn't say a word as he took my hand and led me off the dance floor for the last time that night. I couldn't have told you where Mike and Sidney went; they could have still been dancing for all that we knew. I didn't much care either. We quickly found the exit and when we stepped outside I welcomed the cool air against my warm cheeks and well, my warm everything else.
Tre was eerily quiet as though he was on a mission as he led me towards the side of the road to flag down a taxi, nearly tearing my arm off as went. I almost giggled at the look of concentration on his face; I could tell he just really wanted to get back to the hotel. When a taxi pulled up he opened up the door, allowing me to slide in first, and then climbed in next to me practically yelling our hotel name and the address at the cab driver. I was still holding his hand as we made our way to the hotel and he kept glancing around frantically as if trying to judge how much longer it was going to be. He looked like he was in complete agony.
Not caring much what the driver thought, thanks to my six shots, I daringly slithered my free hand up his chest and sent him a little message through my smirk. He glanced once at the driver and then leaned forward pressing me against the back of the seat and planting a warm and very much desired kiss on my mouth. I almost melted into the dirty leather seat right then in there in the cab. He moved a few inches closer to me as I felt him trace my bottom lip with his tongue and rest his hand on my left knee which happened to be crossed over my right one.
I knew if we didn't get to our hotel fast we were going to end up going at it right here in the backseat of this car because I was shaking so badly and I couldn't even think straight as his tongue pressed against mine. I had a hold of the front of his shirt, practically ripping the material off his chest and I honestly didn't think he could have gotten any closer to me.
When we felt the car stop Tre jerked back, threw some money at the driver, and quickly exited the vehicle. There was an unspoken agreement between us that we needed to act somewhat respectable walking through our hotel to the elevators; we couldn't exactly maul each other in case there were reporters or fans lurking around. Once we were on the elevator, unfortunately with another couple, I felt his hand covertly squeeze my ass and I let a small giggle escape my lips. He looked away and smirked and I covered my mouth apologetically as the couple next to us looked over questioningly. I swear the fucking elevator took forever because we had to stop and let the couple off, but we finally climbed to the top floor of the hotel where our suites were. When the elevator dinged and the doors opened we took off at a fast pace sprint, almost knocking over a plant stand in the process. I giggled as he slipped his hand into mine.
"Tre, do you have your key?" I asked, speaking for the first time in about an hour. My voice sounded strange to my ears; scratchy and a little strained.
"Umm... " he mumbled frantically searching his pockets as we stood halfway between my door and his.
I opened my bag and dug around for a second. "I have mine!" I answered enthusiastically, yanking the plastic card out of my purse and showing it to him.
He chuckled at my enthusiasm and then damn near knocked me over when he pulled my arm towards my suite. My hands shook for about nine different reasons as I attempted to put the damn thing in the slot. Finally the card slot turned green and I quickly opened the door as he charged in after me...
"This is the start of something good, I know it." He murmured as we lay tangled together afterwards. I only nodded before slipping into a deep sleep.
******
I smirked to myself as I set the picture back down on the table.
"You were right, Tre. It was the start of something really good." I muttered, turning around and walking up the stairs to the guest room.
I miss you.
Once back at their house I hung some things in the guest room closet and made myself comfortable. I never really worried about the kids because they always behaved themselves around me, but this time I was a little concerned about Joey's ever flaring temper.
We settled down in the den to watch TV in the evening. Adrienne had stressed to me their school routine and I was not planning on deviating from it. Joey was pouting and he had already thrown a fit on the way home from the airport complaining how it wasn't fair that he had to lose both of his parents at the same time, and that it wasn't fair that Adrienne got to see Billie Joe and he didn't. I calmly explained to him that when school let out in a month or so they would be spending three weeks overseas with his dad. That shut him up for the time being.
After the kids settled down for bed I helped myself to a glass of red wine and settled down to watch some TV in peace. It was weird being at my sister's house without my sister; usually the boys came to stay with me for long weekends not vice versa.
The phone rang shaking me from my thoughts.
"Hello?"
"Hey Ava, it's Billie Joe." I was surprised he called and not Adrienne but I played nice none the less.
"Hey Bill, how goes it?" I responded.
"Great, Adrienne just got here and she's taking a little nap. I thought I would call and let you know she arrived safely and ask how the boys are."
"They're good, sleeping right now. Adrienne told me they have a strict schedule for school so I'm going to try and stick to that." I answered, muting the TV and giving him my full attention.
"Sounds good, and thanks again for volunteering to watch the kids, they really do love spending time with you. I guess you're more fun than grandma." He joked.
I chuckled. "No problem, they're good kids." I said.
"Oh, and if Joey gives you shit you tell him to call me, I'll set him straight." Billie Joe offered sternly.
"Oh I will, don't worry."
I heard Billie Joe sigh. "I miss the them." He admitted, and I felt a little sad for him, something that didn't happen very often.
"They know you love them, that's all matters. And you'll seem them soon." I assured him.
He sighed again. "Thanks again Ava, we'll call tomorrow afternoon probably." He answered before mumbling, "Goodbye" and hanging up.
I was feeling a little bored and a little lonely so I walked over to the wall unit in the den and pulled out old scrapbooks and photo albums Adrienne had put together over the years. I ran my fingers over the old pictures of her and me growing up, skating on the ice pond in front of our house and eating birthday cake.
I looked through the boy's baby books, remembering how little they used to be. I flipped to more recent photographs and stared at a picture that had been taken in a club last year on my birthday. It was of Mike, Tre and me and I felt my heart pull a little at the memory of that night. Tre had walked up while Mike and I were posing for a picture and burrowed his way between us throwing an arm around both of us and kissing my cheek for good measure. That was such a good night... it seemed like forever ago.
December 1st, 2004
"Happy Birthday." Tre whispered through the darkness of my living room as we lay together on the floor, pillows under our heads giggling and kissing each other.
"Thanks." I replied as he ran his fingers over the delicate charm bracelet Adrienne had given me earlier at dinner.
I was still in my black party dress and he in his dress shirt and black pants, neither of us moving to get undressed... yet. I felt like we had gone to prom and snuck away from the after party or something; it made me feel tingly and special.
Earlier in the night we all got dressed up and went out for dinner at a really nice new restaurant, and then we went dancing and drinking downtown in the VIP room of our favorite club. It was just a few close friends and it was perfect, very intimate.
"I have a surprise for you." He whispered brushing his fingers along the ringlets in my hair.
"What's that?" I asked sitting up and clapping my hands.
He laughed. "You're so spoiled."
I grinned. "Come on, what is it?" I begged, grabbing his hands and trying to bribe him with little kisses but he wouldn't be swayed.
"You have to wait here." He said, getting up and walking through the darkness into my kitchen.
I sat up and leaned against the couch, wondering what it could be. I saw a single flicker of light come from the kitchen and I wondered nervously what he was lighting on fire. Probably his shirt, he wasn't much for cooking or doing anything domestic in the kitchen.
"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Ava, Happy Birthday to you... " I heard him sing softly as he came out of the kitchen carrying a cupcake with a single candle on top. I think I may have melted into the floor as he crouched down next to me, brushing my hair out of my face.
"It occurred to me that you didn't have any candles to blow out on your birthday... and that's just sacra religious." He explained as the candle wax threatened to harm the yummy looking yellow frosting on the cup cake. "Anyways, make a wish." He whispered.
I looked at him through the flickering of light between us, closed my eyes, blew out the candle and opened my eyes again, grinning at him.
"My wish came true... you're here with me." I whispered as we were enveloped in darkness again.
I felt his hand slide into my hair as he leaned forward for a kiss. I placed my hands on his chest and smiled against his soft lips as he pulled me into his lap.
"I want to eat my cupcake." I said, reaching for the dessert in his hand.
He grinned. "Alright, it is yours Birthday Girl." He complied, placing the cupcake in my hand.
I sat perched in his lap, his eyes widening ever so slightly as I licked around the rim of the cupcake very, very slowly. "Yummy." I said, giggling at the look of apprehension on his face. He leaned forward to kiss me and I sighed against his lips as he ran his tongue along my bottom lip.
"That IS yummy." He mumbled taking the cupcake out of my hand and placing it on the coffee table next to us. "Wouldn't want you to get that on your dress... not that you'll be wearing it much longer... " I giggled as he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me against him, holding me tightly and driving me crazy with his slow and maddening kisses.
"I think this is my favorite birthday to date." I whispered later on as the sun was coming up. We were still lying on the floor and I was wrapped in his blue dress shirt, my head propped on my hand, just staring at him staring back at me.
"Mine's coming up too. I want similar treatment on my birthday." He replied grinning. "Feel FREE to jump out of my birthday cake naked."
I grinned. "Only the best for you, Tre." I answered leaning forward to kiss him.
I was confused at first when he rolled away from me and got to his feet, but started giggling when he leaned down and scooped me up in his arms carrying me to my bedroom and snuggling down next to me under the covers.
It was the perfect birthday.
***
I sighed and closed the album, heading into the kitchen to refill my glass of wine. I was feeling rather relaxed, which was unusual considering I just shoved my face into several different reminders of how great everything used to be.
I decided to head to upstairs, but stopped as I passed a picture in the hallway that I never noticed before. It was of the eight of us all gathered together for the camera on Halloween last year. I sighed as Memory Lane officially opened again and I allowed myself to remember the first night Tre and I had slept together; the stepping stone for everything to come.
October 31st, 2004
I had flown out for a long weekend and was looking forward to spending Halloween, one of my favorite holidays, partying with the guys. They had a concert that night in Washington, D.C. but I had been promised, by Tre himself, that we would find a fucking awesome costume party to attend afterwards.
And he hadn't been lying.
After the show we stopped at the hotel and quickly changed into our assorted costumes. I had decided to go as a Flapper, adorned in a short feathery black dress and a matching black, bob cut wig. I draped some long jewelry strands around my neck and covered my eyes in charcoal and my lips in bright red lipstick. I slipped into some black high heels and grabbed my purse and headed next door to check on Adrienne and Billie Joe.
They decided to go as Tarzan and Jane, which was quite amusing considering they were wearing similar leopard print dresses; further fueling my theory that Billie Joe really was a woman in another life. As it turned out Sidney was able to meet up with us this weekend because she had meetings in D.C. in the upcoming week, which made Mike very happy. He went dressed as a Pirate and Sidney dressed as a Bounty Hunter... which consisted of a leather vest top that tied together in the front and leather pants with a gun slung on a holster. Let's just say Mike never let her out of his sight. Tre was the last to join us dressing as a Renaissance Nobleman. I teased him relentlessly about his knickers and his puffy sleeves, but in all honesty he still managed to look very adorable in his black and white ensemble.
As fate would have it we were all unknowingly paired up going into this event. Billie Joe and Adrienne; Mike and Sidney; Jason and Cassie; and finally Tre and I. We heard about a very large party downtown being held at an abandoned warehouse hosted by some very influential people, according to Sidney; she had been the one to hear about this party from some of her colleagues. We were just hoping it wasn't full of stuck-up lawyers and politicians.
The enormous warehouse had been made into a haunted house type atmosphere for the evening, complete with a live band and dance floor, and lots of different games and activities. There were people walking around in masks with trays of drinks, and the entire main room was decorated with cobwebs and fake spiders and other assorted skeletons and ghoulish decorations. We realized almost right away that there were probably over four hundred people gathered into the large warehouse already, and we might possibly never find each other at the end of the night, which made staying together in pairs an even better idea.
The couples split up; Mike and Sidney made their way over to the game area and Billie Joe and Adrienne disappeared together too leaving Tre and I.
"Want to dance with me?" I yelled into his ear as we made our way through the tables of refreshments. "I like this song."
He nodded and grabbed my hands leading me over to the makeshift dance floor where about a hundred people were already dancing around. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" is the perfect Halloween song in my opinion and there was even some people trying to get a group together to perform the actual choreography for the song. Tre and I danced off to the side taking in the huge warehouse and all it had to offer, occasionally leaning forward to talk to one another. A few songs later we decided to take a break and grab something to drink.
"This is a fucking awesome place for a Halloween party." I said as he led me through some of the tables they had set up, the theme being "Lab Experiments Gone Wrong"; complete with fake human heads, lots of smeared blood and other unidentifiable liquids, and much to my dismay; pig parts in discolored jars..
He nodded. "How about we go through an actual haunted house? They have one set up right over there through those doors." He suggested, his eyes twinkling with excitement.
"Umm, ok." I agreed, nervously swallowing. Truth be told I'm not a real big fan of haunted houses... or haunted anything for that matter. I'm kind of a jumpy person by nature so things popping out and yelling "boo" tends to make me want to piss my pants and run, but I went along with it anyway. After all it was Halloween, how bad could this be?
Bad, this was going to be really bad I decided as I held on to his arm tightly, careful not to get separated in the maze of rooms. We wound through different themed rooms all with walls that came down as people reached for us and yelled different things at us as we quickly passed through. At one point I decided Tre wasn't moving fast enough so I actually stepped ahead of him and proceeded to drag him through one room that was set up as a graveyard, complete with an abandoned car that honked so loudly when we got close to it that I think I may have swallowed my tongue. There was also a bridge set up in the middle of the room surrounded by fog and haze; making it impossible to see anything or anyone no farther than two inches in front of your face. We were fucking sitting ducks as far as these people running the show were concerned. Tre was getting a kick out of how I was pushing him from behind to go faster, or in some instances taking the lead and dragging him behind me. He kept murmuring that it wasn't real and that the actors weren't allowed to touch us; didn't matter to me, they were still creepy.
We were approaching the last portion of our little adventure when I discovered, much to my horror, that the next themed room was "Killer Clowns." I just about passed out; I had the biggest fear of clowns of anyone I knew and I knew this was going to be painful. Most of this part of the house was completely dark except for the people wandering around with bizarre glow in the dark paint on their faces. I was waiting for something to pop out and scare me, and sure enough a clown with razor sharp teeth popped out from behind a curtain and growled at me. My first response was to scream and my second was to bury my face into Tre's chest. I felt his chest rumble with laughter as we quickly walked through the rest of the clown exhibit with me still clutching to the front of him, not bothering to look up until we were several feet outside of the haunted house.
"I never knew you were such a scaredy cat." He teased grabbing two glasses of apple cider off a table and handing me one. I pressed a hand to my chest and tried to get my heart to stop thundering in my chest.
"I fucking hate clowns. And I don't like things popping out at me." I replied shakily.
"How can Halloween be your favorite holiday then?" he asked.
I shrugged. "I just like dressing up and the trick-or-treating."
I grinned as he rolled his eyes.
"Aaaand after that fun little adventure I need a fucking cigarette. Will you escort me outside my noble sir?" I asked in a polite voice as I curtseyed in front of him.
He chuckled. "Why yes, m'lady I will." He replied, offering his arm which I accepted as we walked towards the exit designated for the smokers.
We stepped outside and were immediately enveloped in the cold night air.
"Brrr, it's fucking cold." I commented struggling to light my cigarette because my hands were still a little shaky.
"Yeah, it is. Hurry your ass up." He joked leaning against the brick wall of the alley.
I finally got it lit and felt worlds better as I felt the nicotine surge through my veins. "Much better." I murmured closing my eyes and sighing, letting the anxiety and tension wash away.
"I'm glad you came out this weekend." He said as I opened my eyes and looked over at him. "I would have been forced to pair up with some weird girl... or Al, the lighting guy." He added chuckling.
"Me too, I'm having fun." I nodded in agreement and before I could change my mind added, "You know you look kind of cute in your dorky costume."
He grinned. "Yeah?" He inquired pushing away from the wall and imitating a model on a catwalk. "I think the fluffy sleeves really give it something."
I giggled. "You're right, they do."
We chatted for a few minutes about this and that until I finished my cigarette. We made our way back inside and once again headed for the dance floor, but not before stopping at the bar to do some shots, four to be exact. By the time we made it to the dance floor they had started up AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" and I was ready to dance and to have some serious fun.
Once on the dance floor I couldn't see past my knees because my feet were enveloped in the mist of the smoke machines that were working like crazy all around the dance floor. It was odd to look around and see complete strangers dancing around me, some who's faces were covered in masks; it felt a little trippy, like we had just dropped acid in the bathroom or something but I liked the effects of the warehouse and how authentic everything looked. I danced with a few different people, men and women both before deciding that I better stick close to Tre so that I would at least have someone to help me get back to the hotel later.
I beckoned for me him to come closer to me and he did, resting a hand on my hip and pulling me just a little closer.
"Everyone left us." I complained placing my hand on his shoulder and leaning in to whisper. He moved daringly closer to me, sliding his hand around to my back.
"I'll protect you from these weirdoes." He answered, grinning.
"Tre, you are the weirdo." I said giggling as he pretended to be offended.
Up until now I never realized that Tre actually had any sort of rhythm to him; usually he never stood still long enough to get a hold on him. I figured he picked it up from all the years of sex.
"Want some more shots?" he asked, leaning forward again a few moments later, his lips brushing my ear.
I nodded and enjoyed the closeness in which we were communicating. "Yeah, let's grab some more. This song is shit anyway." I replied grabbing his hand and letting him lead me through the throngs of people milling around.
We waited at the bar for almost ten minutes before we were served so we got two more a piece and threw them back easily. Coincidently we ran into Mike and Sidney who were headed for the dance floor.
"HEY!" Sidney yelled pulling me against her for a hug. "Are you having fun?" she asked a little too loudly, apparently she had been to the bar a few times as well.
"Yeah, we're heading back to the dance floor. You coming?" I inquired looking between her and Mike.
"Yeah, let's go!" Sidney answered for the both of them, grabbing Mike's hand and giving me a gentle shove towards the floor.
Sidney wrapped her arms around my waist and danced against me for a moment. I was really starting to feel the effects of the shots I had taken, the music was sounding a little duller and my lips were tingly.
Mike danced his way between Sidney and I, and not that I minded dancing with Mike too, but I didn't really feel like dancing with a couple so I broke away and moved over to Tre who was dancing with some lady dressed as a witch.
I easily stepped between them, pushing against his chest so he had to take a few steps back. I turned around to see the witch standing with her hands on her hips and glaring at me. I shrugged and turned back around to face Tre.
He smirked. "Bored with the married couple?" Tre teased slowly wrapping his left arm around my waist.
"I wanted to dance with you." I replied. We danced casually for a moment until I straddled his leg and started grinding against him. I knew my face turned red almost immediately because I was getting really warm feeling him grip my hips as I rocked against him. I felt that familiar attraction for him that always loomed somewhere in the back of my mind cloud my senses as I wrapped an arm around his neck to give me more balance as he let his other hand slither around to the small of my back. His blue eyes bore into my brown ones as we continued to press up against each other rather suggestively.
Unfortunately the moment was ruined when Sidney came bouncing over and grabbed Tre by the arm. "I want to dance Mr. Cool." She demanded giggling. I stepped back from Tre as he shot me an apologetic look. I shrugged and grabbed Mike by the hand. We danced a little more casually; I wasn't really interested in grinding against someone who I considered to be my big brother and I knew he felt the same way.
When J.Lo started blaring over the speakers we both decided it would be appropriate to silently protest this song from the bar...with a strong drink in our hands.
"This is fucking crazy." Mike yelled to me as we took another shot. Jesus, I wasn't going to be able to stand up very much longer if I kept drinking like this.
"I know! Have you seen my sister anywhere?" I asked scanning the surrounding area for a moment before looking back at Mike.
He shook his head. "No, I haven't seen Jason and Cassie either. There is an insane amount of people in here." He responded ordering another shot for myself.
"Can I ask you something, Mike?" I asked boldly leaning closer to him.
He nodded. "Sure kid."
"Does it bother you that Sidney... that she dresses like that and acts like that when you're together?"
He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Sometimes." He answered. "I know she's just having fun, I mean she's 28, but I would like to see her take things more seriously. Namely, us." He said glancing over at the dance floor and smirking as she practically swallowed Tre whole. It was kind of amusing because she was almost as tall as Mike, which meant she was about four inches taller than Tre, and even taller in the enormous stilettos she was wearing.
I nodded. "She does love you though. I don't think she could show anyone else this much commitment, no matter how little you think it is; it's something for her just to be this close to you." I commented. "But this is none of my business." I grinned.
He chuckled. "I appreciate you saying so, Ava. Should we rescue Tre?" he joked.
I nodded. "Yeaaah."
Mike walked over and winked at Tre as he pulled Sidney away from him and against his own body. She gladly started dancing her way up and down Mike again and I giggled as Tre wiped his forehead in relief.
"DAMN she's tall...and wild." He joked hooking his finger and beckoning to me. "I'm not done with you."
I raised an eyebrow. "Really?" I replied, smirking. "So have me."
I turned around and grinded my back against slowly him at first. After a few seconds of that he gripped my hips and picked up the pace as I covered his hands with my own. He was breathing heavily against my neck and into my ear, which only made me grind into him more. Slowly his hands slithered down to my thighs as he pressed himself impossibly closer to me. His hands gripped my thighs, his thumbs slipping just under the hem of my dress, making circles over my fishnet stockings and sending sparks through my body. I dropped my head back against his shoulder as he continued to press against me, his arousal quite apparent as he bumped against me. I reached one arm behind me and wrapped it around the back of his neck, pulling his lips against my bare shoulder, and sending shivers down my spine.
I honestly could have had sex with him right there on the dance floor when I felt both of his hands slip under my dress and grip my thighs. I enjoyed that sensation for awhile before I turned around in his arms suddenly, surprising him as I wrapped both arms around his waist and grinded against his front. He was biting his bottom lip and his eyes were dark, and at the moment all I wanted to do was make him bite clean through that particular lip that he was chewing on.
His eyes widened as I shimmied down the front of him running my hands over his ass and then sliding back up the front of him, grinding against him slowly. He smirked as he politely rested his hands on the small of my back before I felt his left hand slowly roll over my ass, stopping only for a second to squeeze ever so slightly, and then I felt it fall even farther as his hand gripped the back of my thigh, he smiled at me evilly as he bent down a little further gripping the back of my knee. I was confused for a moment, but I almost died when he brought my knee up to rest against his hip as he held my leg around him and ground against me.
Oh my God.
He was looking pretty pleased with himself when I clawed at his back as he rocked so perfectly against me, his left hand gripping the back of my thigh as I pulled him against me with my leg, the heel of my shoe scraping against the back of his leg. I dipped my head against his shoulder and focused on the sensation of being so close to him as the music washed over us as we danced.
By the way he was gripping me I could tell we either needed to stop and pour some ice down his pants or we needed to take this somewhere more private. I lifted my head off his shoulder and stared in his eyes trying to figure out where he stood with this situation. Upon looking at him I knew exactly what he wanted to do... me.
"Let's go back to the hotel." I said answering the questions that seemed to be swirling in his mind too.
He didn't say a word as he took my hand and led me off the dance floor for the last time that night. I couldn't have told you where Mike and Sidney went; they could have still been dancing for all that we knew. I didn't much care either. We quickly found the exit and when we stepped outside I welcomed the cool air against my warm cheeks and well, my warm everything else.
Tre was eerily quiet as though he was on a mission as he led me towards the side of the road to flag down a taxi, nearly tearing my arm off as went. I almost giggled at the look of concentration on his face; I could tell he just really wanted to get back to the hotel. When a taxi pulled up he opened up the door, allowing me to slide in first, and then climbed in next to me practically yelling our hotel name and the address at the cab driver. I was still holding his hand as we made our way to the hotel and he kept glancing around frantically as if trying to judge how much longer it was going to be. He looked like he was in complete agony.
Not caring much what the driver thought, thanks to my six shots, I daringly slithered my free hand up his chest and sent him a little message through my smirk. He glanced once at the driver and then leaned forward pressing me against the back of the seat and planting a warm and very much desired kiss on my mouth. I almost melted into the dirty leather seat right then in there in the cab. He moved a few inches closer to me as I felt him trace my bottom lip with his tongue and rest his hand on my left knee which happened to be crossed over my right one.
I knew if we didn't get to our hotel fast we were going to end up going at it right here in the backseat of this car because I was shaking so badly and I couldn't even think straight as his tongue pressed against mine. I had a hold of the front of his shirt, practically ripping the material off his chest and I honestly didn't think he could have gotten any closer to me.
When we felt the car stop Tre jerked back, threw some money at the driver, and quickly exited the vehicle. There was an unspoken agreement between us that we needed to act somewhat respectable walking through our hotel to the elevators; we couldn't exactly maul each other in case there were reporters or fans lurking around. Once we were on the elevator, unfortunately with another couple, I felt his hand covertly squeeze my ass and I let a small giggle escape my lips. He looked away and smirked and I covered my mouth apologetically as the couple next to us looked over questioningly. I swear the fucking elevator took forever because we had to stop and let the couple off, but we finally climbed to the top floor of the hotel where our suites were. When the elevator dinged and the doors opened we took off at a fast pace sprint, almost knocking over a plant stand in the process. I giggled as he slipped his hand into mine.
"Tre, do you have your key?" I asked, speaking for the first time in about an hour. My voice sounded strange to my ears; scratchy and a little strained.
"Umm... " he mumbled frantically searching his pockets as we stood halfway between my door and his.
I opened my bag and dug around for a second. "I have mine!" I answered enthusiastically, yanking the plastic card out of my purse and showing it to him.
He chuckled at my enthusiasm and then damn near knocked me over when he pulled my arm towards my suite. My hands shook for about nine different reasons as I attempted to put the damn thing in the slot. Finally the card slot turned green and I quickly opened the door as he charged in after me...
"This is the start of something good, I know it." He murmured as we lay tangled together afterwards. I only nodded before slipping into a deep sleep.
******
I smirked to myself as I set the picture back down on the table.
"You were right, Tre. It was the start of something really good." I muttered, turning around and walking up the stairs to the guest room.
I miss you.
