Sequel: Beyond the Sun

The Bird and the Worm

twenty five - the balance

When I woke up the next morning, Brian’s half of the bed was empty, and as I sat up, I noticed that nothing out of the ordinary was lying about the room, which meant he hadn’t gone insane and bought zillions of roses and left them scattered around the room so that they could be there to greet me because he couldn’t.

I smiled to myself as I crawled out of bed and picked up the shirt he’d discarded the night before, pulling it on and glancing into the mirror, surveying the layout of the bedroom as I went, getting a feel for the house I would be sharing with the man that had unfairly been everything I’d ever wanted for three days straight and then picked up where he’d left off last night.

The fact that this was now our bedroom had failed to sink in. I still felt like an awkward guest, walking downstairs and settling onto the couch, turning on the TV, curling up and staring mindlessly at the screen. I didn’t really know what was on, but taking into consideration the sheer amount of yelling and crying, I assumed it was some kind of a soap opera, and I found that I was slightly amused by it. The drama sort of reminded me of my own family, and that only made me all the more enthralled.

I became so absorbed in this ridiculous plot line that I barely noticed the phone ring. Not used to this house, I glanced over at it, not really sure if I should pick it up or not. It had, after all, brought me out of my television-induced trance, and that was a state of mind I hadn’t exactly been complaining about. I sighed, and then I picked it up right before it went to the answering machine.

“Hello?”

“Hey beautiful.” I smiled. “I’m glad you’re up. I just wanted to let you know that I’m on my way back.”

“I was a little crushed when I woke up alone this morning, mister. I mean, it was my first night in your big bad California mansion and all.”

He seemed unrepentant when he chuckled, offering a, “Aw well I am sorry about that, Miss Byrd.” I snickered at him, and I could tell that he was suppressing the urge to sigh. “I wasn’t sure when you woke up when on break, so I figured I would do a few things while you were still asleep. Clearly, I missed my mark.” I snickered again.

“But there is a way you can redeem yourself,” I said with a slight mystical tone in my voice, smiling and shifting on the couch, turning the television’s volume down a little bit.

“Really now.” I’d piqued his interest.

I nodded. “Yeah. You can come back smelling like peppermint.” He laughed softly. “I’m serious, mister rock star,” I said, and despite the teasing tone in my voice, I think he believed me. I didn’t think that blackmail such as casually pointing out that the only things covering my body at this point were a pair of undies and the shirt I’d pulled off his body last night was technically necessary in order for me to win this one. Or that I was curled up on the couch, considering making something to eat. Of course, the cooking was out of the question because I didn’t know where all of his pots and pans and such were, but the thought was still mildly appealing. “Oh yeah. And. I love you.”

“I love that you say that as an afterthought,” he said, laughing. I remained silent, biting my lip to keep myself from laughing, and he sighed. “Alright, alright, you win. I love you too, and I swear to you that I will come home smelling like peppermint.” I smiled. “Good enough?”

“I guess so,” I said dramatically, and he chuckled. “I’ll see you soon, Brian.”

“Yep, see you soon. I love you.” He hung up, and I sighed, setting the phone aside.

Drawing my knees to my chest and wrapping my arms around them, I rested my chin on my arm and refocused on the soap opera before me, though my concentration was half of what it had been when I’d first begun watching television- which I still had no clue was two hours ago. I kept getting distracted by how I thought Brian would react upon seeing me in one of his shirts rather than the clingy material that Michelle’s (mine, technically, since he’d given them to me, but I still had to remember who’d worn them before me) were made of. I wondered if he would immediately sweep me into his arms or if he would let me greet him with a kiss and then curl up with me on the couch, allowing me to absorb the peppermint essence he’d promised would surround him.

Another possibility also involved me greeting him with a kiss, but after that was a quick trip to the bedroom before the couch-cuddling and a possible lesson on cooking while barely clothed.

For about three seconds, I stopped to consider the way I’d changed since that night back stage, with the first time Brian Haner’s lips had ever touched mine. Five months ago, I’d been the quiet, shy one that refused to ask for much more than being around someone like him, blushing and smiling each time he’d taken my hand or kissed me even slightly. But now, because I’d been his for so long and he’d been the same for me, we had become so much more comfortable with each other, and this relationship functioned as others did- love, sex, gifts, flowers, phone calls, and all that jazz. I wasn’t bothered by this change, however, because it had allowed me to hold on to him for so long.

And then when he walked through the door with his keys and a gift bag in one hand and a box of chocolates in the other, I didn’t even care that I’d changed at all. I let him set his burdens down, and then I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him down into a rather relaxed kiss. His arms wrapped themselves around my torso, and I let my body curve against his as he pulled me closer.

His lips lingered on top of mine for about a minute or so, and when he broke it, he smiled, his thumb tracing over the outline of my hip bone. “That was one hell of a greeting,” he purred, and I let him steal a shorter kiss before I got up on my toes to kiss his neck and inhale his scent. “I wish we could have woken up like this.” His voice was more of a whisper now. “So do I pass the scent test?”

I pulled back to smile up at him. “I guess so, considering you’re just oozing ‘sexy’ and ‘cool’ right now.” He quirked an eyebrow, his hand running up and down my back a couple of times. “And peppermint. Just the right amount of peppermint.” Murmuring something about being glad to pass the test, he pressed his smooth lips to my forehead.

“And you smell like freesia.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Maybe it’s just your hair, but it’s actually…well, kind of appealing.”

I quirked an eyebrow at him, sliding my hands from his neck, tracing a fingertip downs his chest. “And what about the fact that this is your shirt I’m wearing?” He smiled, and I tugged him down into a short kiss. “Does that appeal to you too?”

His lips spread into a lopsided grin that looked perfect on him as he picked the gift bag up along with the box of chocolates. “Very much so. But just one thing.” We walked over to the couch, and I curved my left hand around his arm as he set his gifts in my lap. “Are you sure you’re the same girl I met in Florida five months ago? I mean, she was shyer than hell, and you…” He glanced over at me, grin still in place. “You are the most beautiful and enticing person I’ve ever met, and a nine-year age difference just doesn’t seem to bother you.”
I removed my hand from his arm and pulled his present to me from within the bag, smiling over at him and examining it. “I dunno, but if you give me five minutes, I’ll be in this little outfit and you can feed me those chocolates with a huge smile on that ridiculously handsome face of yours.”

He laughed, touching two fingers to my chin and giving me a short and gentle kiss. “Sounds like a plan.” I winked at him, and then I practically skipped upstairs and went into the bedroom, digging out my makeup and slipping out of his shirt and into the outfit he’d bought for me, humming to myself as I quickly applied a thin layer of makeup to my face, just enough to accentuate the colors I was wearing.

I was pretty sure I had his full attention when I strolled down the stairs.

((Brian’s POV))

She whispered my name from the stairway, and I turned around on the couch to look at her, smiling as I saw her standing at the bottom, one hand on the railing and the other on her hip. Her hair was brushed forward, so that some of it hung behind her shoulders and the rest hung in front of them, and there was a faint hint of eyeliner and blush on her face. The only thing that covered her torso was the red top I’d bought her, and she’d managed into the stockings and garters, too.

I rose from the couch and walked over to her. She rested her hands on my shoulders, and mine rested on her hips, my knuckles brushing along her skin. “And here I thought I was dating a lowly music major with no sex drive,” I murmured, and she smiled, laughing softly as she pulled me down so that our foreheads rested together, her parted lips less than an inch away from mine. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”

“I take it you like the way your present looks on me,” she said with a smile. “Maybe it’s dumb that I like kissing you so much, but-“ I touched a finger to her lips, and she smiled, doing that Angelina Jolie thing with her eyes, her arms around my neck now. I shook my head, and she relented, her fingertips stroking the hair on my neck as I kissed her. She kissed me back, holding me close to her, her lips parting slightly just so that she could pull at my bottom lip. I traced my hands along her sides for a moment, and I pulled her as close as I could, her body now pressed to mine as much as possible.

I felt her fingertips skim my face, and then she pulled back, staring up into my eyes and smiling. “I love you,” she said, and she did the Jolie thing with her eyes again before pulling out of my arms, stroking my face and walking past me to settle onto the couch, gently patting the cushion next to her, waiting, I picked up the chocolates I’d bought for her, and when I joined her on the couch, I handed her the box, and she pulled the lid off, flashing a small smile over at me. “I don’t deserve you.”

I picked up one of the chocolates, pulling the wrapper off and holding it near her slightly separated lips. “Yes you do,” I said, and she took a bite of the chocolate offered to her, her eyes closing and a soft moan escaping her lips as she licked them slowly, glancing up expectantly at me. I offered her another one, and she did the same thing.

These soft moans that left her lips were tantalizing, and when she turned her head to look at me and placed her hand over mine, there was a new sort of smile on her lips. That deviant curve continued to tease me as she licked her lips, batting her eyes once as she held my chin, drawing me closer. I set the now half-empty box of sweets aside, and Heather sidled closer to me, our legs barely touching, my fingertips brushing along her thigh as she kissed me. “Well, well, well, look at you,” I murmured.

“Shh,” she said, kissing me softly to silence me. “Just once, stop trying to prove that I’m perfect for you.” She kissed me again, and there was something in her voice that made me obey without question. She moved so that she was completely in my lap, and I let my hands find their place on her hips as her arms shifted to fit this new position, her touch gentle no matter where it was. I knew that she wasn’t trying to completely dominate me- after five months of saying ‘I love you’ without being able to touch in the slightest degree, it was perfectly understandable that the first day home was spent like this.

Her continuous kisses distracted me from everything Jimmy and the guys had said last night, and she kept my mind focused on the two of us. In a million and one ways, she told me how grateful she was that I loved her without even saying a single word about it. I simply knew because of the way her body moved and the way she eased her lips onto mine each time she kissed me.

((Heather’s POV))

Never in a million years had I thought I would be straddling Synyster Gates’ lap like this, kissing him over and over again because I had to get five months of being without him out of my system and touching his face or his neck or his chest because I didn’t think that being sexual on his couch would be the best idea, and I wasn’t really up for it, anyway.

I could only imagine the reasons why Brian was going along with this in such a relaxed manner. Either he was thinking about the last few months we’d spent apart, considering the wise words of his best friend Jimmy Sullivan, or he was blocking all that out and concentrating on just us, like a true freaking sap. I didn’t care. His lips were warm, and they were soft, and they were needlessly inviting. Besides, as his girlfriend, I had a right to stuff like this, and as my boyfriend, he could have easily said that he didn’t think now was the time.

But, I had dressed myself in the outfit he’d just bought for me, which was reminiscent of the night I’d danced on stage (if you could call swinging your hips and running your fingers through your hair while moving sensually across the floor with five ridiculously gorgeous rock stars watching you out of the corner of their eyes dancing) to Beast and the Harlot. That meant I had the right to bite my lip and blush a little when we were done, and he had the right to rest his hand on the side of my face and practically grin up at me.

“Wow,” he breathed.

“What was so wow about that?”

The almost-grin morphed into my favorite lopsided smile. His voice was soft when he spoke. “I must have neglected to remind you that you are an amazing kisser.” I rolled my eyes, leaning my face into his hand regardless. “Come on. I bet you haven’t eaten yet, and I feel like showing off my culinary skills.”

I smiled, releasing a mock-gasp. “The great Brian Haner has culinary skills?” I asked, pretending to be surprised, even placing my hand over my mouth and widening my eyes for effect. He snickered and pulled me into a short kiss. “I mean, I guess I’m not surprised.”

“Well for my girl, I can do anything.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m going to make you prove that sometime.”

The lopsided smile remained. “I know.” I climbed out of his lap, and I noticed his eyes skim along my form, taking everything in, for just a few seconds before he rose as well and slid his hand into mine. “Come on. I should introduce you to your new perch.”

About a minute later, I was sitting on the counter, my fingers curled loosely around the edges, and his hands were resting lightly over mine as he leaned in for a short kiss.

Then, with a flashy smile and a quick wink, he turned to begin on what he’d hinted would be some sort of lobster dish before too long. I had to admit, I was impressed, and I was glad I’d walked backstage to see him that first night with him, otherwise I never would have been here with him. I never would have stood a chance, and Michelle would be where I was, except she would have had her ring on his wedding finger, and I was glad that things had gone this way. Brian was mine, despite everything he’d been through with me, and he was willing to protect me from the bipolarity of my mother’s decisions.

And I loved him for all of it.