Forgive Me

“Aw, aren’t they so cute?” The first thing I heard was Jack’s lovely voice and felt a finger poking my ribs.

“Just precious.” I could hear Maria smirk as she agreed with him. Then a bright flash went off and a click noise that belonged to some kind of camera went off.

“Fuckers.” Alex’s sleepy voice came right next to my ear and I felt him bury his head in the back of my neck. It sent shivers through me and a smile spread on my lips.

“Aw, look! He made her smile.” Maria cooed and then laughed while the flash and click went off again.

“What time is it?” I sighed and opened my eyes a bit to see Jack two inches from my face and Maria right next to him. “Ah!” I jumped and forced my head back, causing it to hit Alex in the face.

“Ow.” He complained and shifted so his chin rested on my shoulder and his cheek on my cheek.

“Why are you so close?” I giggled now as Jack sniffled, pretending to be offended that I’d screamed at his face.

“I was trying to wake you up with my intense stare.” He gave me puppy eyes as if this was the most innocent thing ever.

“You are such an oddball.” I laughed and switched from laying on my side to my back.

“You know you wish you could have this.” Jack retorted smugly, making me laugh so hard my sides hurt.

“Come on Barakat, before you kill the poor girl.” Maria grabbed Jack’s collar and yanked him up. “Oh, and Steven wants you to call him tomorrow!” She yelled at me from the hall with Jack choking behind her.

“I wonder what that could be about.” I muttered but soon lost my track of thought as Alex started to trail kisses up and down my neck. An involuntary moan escaped my lips and he chuckled at it.

“Nice to know I still have that affect on you.” His tone would have made me repulse if he weren’t so damn adorable. He kissed me again right below my ear and on my jaw before propping himself up on his elbow and staring down at me. “What are we going to do?” The sudden switch from playful to serious had my head spinning and I had absolutely no clue what he was talking about.

“Do about what?” I asked politely and he sighed before throwing himself back on the bed, now lying on his back like me.

“Us.” He sounded so exasperated, like we’d had this conversation a million and two times.

“Um, I’m still seemingly shocked that you have feelings for me like this and that I get to have a relationship with my best friend, plus you’re not so bad on the eyes.” I turned my head to him smiling at me, with such a goofy look in his eyes.

“You’re not so bad yourself.” Alex chuckled and leaned in to lightly kiss my nose. “But that is not what I was talking about.” He added, almost regretfully and rested his head back on the pillow.

“Then what were you talking about?” I propped up on my elbow and laid my head in my palm. His deep brown eyes were focused on the ceiling, obviously thinking hard about something, and just looking at him made me happy. Because he was mine. “Enlighten me on your thoughts.” I nudged his side, mostly to keep my mind from wandering down a path that would distract me greatly from the topic at hand.

“It’s nothing.” Alex sighed again and gave me a half smile, wrapping his arm around my waist. “I’ve got you now.” His half smile turned into a real one as he pulled me close, into a hug.

“You’ve always got me.” I giggled and hugged him back before quickly jumping out of the bed. Both he and I knew if one of us didn’t do it soon, we wouldn’t leave the bed for the rest of the day.

“Muffins!” Jack’s voice rang through the apartment as he yelled in a victorious tone. I busted out laughing and made my way to the door with Alex close behind and laughing just as hard. “Muffins! Muffins! Muffins!” Jack was still yelling in the living room and jumping up and down in front of the TV. Maria was trying unsuccessfully to throw pillows at him and Zack and Rian had just entered the apartment with Starbucks.

“You guys are so addicted.” I shook my head and watched as both Jack and Alex tackled the other two boys for coffee and over sized muffins.

“Not addicted!” Zack defended and then smirked. “Just spoiled.” I rolled my eyes and sat down next to Maria on the couch.

“Same difference.” I muttered and snatched the remote from Maria’s hand. She glared at me from the corner of her eye but said nothing as she waited for Zack to hand her her latte. I scanned through the channels, not really paying attention to the conversation but feeling my stomach flip as Alex sat on my other side and slid an arm around me. This just doesn’t get old.

“It’s Steven!” Maria shouted and my thumb freezed over the up button. I had landed on FUSE and sure enough, my boss was on a commercial for his new show.

“Oh my shoes! This is his new show I was telling you about! It’s called The Weekly Riff.” I excited turned up the volume just as the screen changed to some other commercial.

“Oh my shoes?” Rian mocked me and I shot him a fake glare.

“I’m trying to cut back on my cursing.” I explained and then turned back to Maria. “It’s this brilliant idea he came up with while I was babbling about some bands on Warped. This is supposed to be my first actual assignment.”

“And what’s that?” Maria questioned with her eyebrows scrunched together.

“Well, for starters I have to call a bunch of people to see who wants to talk the Riff and when they’d be able to appear on the show.” Jack groaned before I could go on.

“We just got off tour! Please no more talk about work.” He begged, making me smile.

“Okay, just for you Jacky.” I laid my head down on Alex’s shoulder and left the remote on the couch cushion between Maria and me. “So what are our plans for today?” Everybody just kinda looked at each other before a smirk planted itself on Zack’s mouth.

“Laser gun tag.” Boys.