Better Than Me

Riley was sitting Indian-style on the sofa, Joker on her right and Ghoul on her left, consoling herself with a pint of Ben and Jerry’s moose tracks, when there was a knock on the door. She paused the DVD she was watching (The Secret Window) and got to her feet. Joker trotted down the hallway ahead of her, reaching the door and letting out a single bark. It was obviously someone Joker knew on the other side of the door and this left Riley no doubt who was here.

“Hi, sweetie,” Sammi, Jeremy's girlfriend, said the instant Riley pulled the door open.

“We figured you needed some company,” Corinne, Christian's girlfriend, said. “We would’ve been here sooner, but we stopped at the store for some necessities.”

She and Sammi both held up the bags they were carrying. Riley saw that Jake's girlfriend, Piper, was juggling two bags as well.

“For fuck’s sake, are y’all planning to get fat while the boys are gone?” Riley asked, peeking into one of the bags in Sammi's hand. It was full of junk food.

“If we do, they can only blame themselves,” Piper said. “If they didn’t leave, we wouldn’t need comfort food.”

The girls made their way to the kitchen and began putting away all the food they’d brought. Some of the items were actual groceries, but the majority were things like popcorn, Doritos, Chex Mix, cookies, brownies, etc.

“Skylar and Violet will be here soon with our main source of comfort,” Sammi informed Riley.

Riley knew this to mean liquor. The girls had figured out that they would have to buy their own while the boys were gone. Riley had heard the stories of how Sammi and Piper had learned the hard way that the Black Veil Brides didn’t appreciate coming home to a house devoid of alcohol. The girls had decided it was better to buy their own than to drink what the boys left behind and risk forgetting to replace it.

“I don’t see why the boys want to drink the day they come home anyway,” Piper grumbled, just as she had after that fateful night the guys had returned to find that all their alcohol had been consumed by the girls. “It’s not like they don’t drink enough on the road for an entire naval fleet to float on.”

“It’s gotta be the male DNA,” Sammi theorized. “They come home and the first thing they want is sex. As soon as they’re satiated, they need a drink.”

“And a cigarette,” Riley muttered.

“Riley?” a familiar female voice called from the front hall.

“We’re in the kitchen!” Riley called back.

A second later, Skylar and Violet appeared in the archway that opened onto the kitchen from the front hall. Riley smiled at the sight of them together. They had been dating for almost three years now. It had seemed, back then, that Skylar was going to hook up with Ashley, and Violet with Jake. But fate had intervened. Neither girl had known that the other was bisexual. One night, drunk, Christian had spilled forth that bit of news: he had told Skylar that Violet was attracted to her. Skylar immediately went to the hotel room that Violet and Jake were sharing and told her she felt the same. Ashley and Jake had been disappointed at first; however, Ashley had soon realized he was happier playing the field and Jake had met Piper. Pleased with their lives, the two guys had concluded that Skylar and Violet together wasn’t a bad thing, simply a very hot thing they could fantasize about occasionally.

“We have booze!” Skylar set a brown paper bag on the table.

Violet added two more. “I think this should do you ladies for a day.”

“Ha ha,” Corinne drawled sarcastically.

Violet grinned.

“God!” Sammi burst out suddenly. “I hate it when the boys are gone!”

Piper wrapped an arm around the other girl’s shoulders and gave her a brief squeeze. “We all do.”

“I am not listening to you four whine and moan all week!” Skylar exclaimed. “It’s damn depressing!”

“It really is,” Violet agreed. “You all have lives, you know. Friends and family and things you like to do. You seem to forget that when the boys are home.”

“It’s called love,” Sammi said.

“Well, whatever it’s called, I think the time spent apart is good for you. It gives everyone a chance to relax and have fun and remember the good old days of being single. Sometimes, you girls get entirely too immersed in being part of a couple.”

Sammi, Corinne, Piper, and Riley all looked at Violet and Skylar pointedly. “And you two don’t?” Piper retorted.

Violet held up her hands in a placating gesture. “Fair enough. We do. But we take our vacations from each other, too. It’s how we’ve stayed together this long. I believe it’s the reason your relationships with the boys have lasted. Everybody needs their space.”

“She’s right,” Riley said after a moment of silence. “I know how annoyed I get if someone is in my business 24/7.”

“Yeah,” Sammi conceded. “But it still sucks that they have to be away so long.”

“You get to see them in a week,” Skylar pointed out.

“Yeah, but after that there’s no telling when we’ll get to visit. We may not get to see them again until the last show.”

“You know that’s not going to happen,” Violet said. “They can’t go that long without their ladies. They’ll move Heaven and Earth to bring you to wherever they are. It’s called love.”

Sammi smiled.

“Listen, let’s go out for lunch,” Violet suggested.

“That sounds good,” Corinne said.

“Cori has to drive,” Piper stated. “CC is the only one with a vehicle big enough for all of us and you know he doesn’t let anyone but him and his woman drive his precious SUV.”

Corinne laughed. “True.”

“Andy's the same way,” Riley said. “Except he barely trusts me to drive his car.”

“Yeah, but Andy spent some serious money on his car,” Corinne said. “He bought one of those ‘hey, look at me, I’m rich’ cars. CC bought a damn SUV and he won’t let anyone play in it. SUVs are meant to be handled roughly. Look at how Jake treats the Navigator.”

“Personally, I think he learned that from M. Shadows,” Piper remarked.

“M. Shadows, destroyer of Escalades,” Jeanie joked.

“M. Shadows, destroyer of vehicles, period,” Riley corrected, laughing. “I wish he could teach Andy to relax. If the Coup ever got even the tiniest scratch on it, I think Andy would have a coronary.”

“It’s a good thing he’s not the same way about you,” Skylar said with a sly grin.

Riley rolled her eyes. “He used to be. I had to prove to him about a million times that I’m not made of glass. I couldn’t have paid him for rough sex back then.”

“And now?” Sammi questioned with a gleam in her eyes.

“It’s like an episode of ‘When Animals Attack,’” Riley giggled, blushing.

Violet looked at Riley affectionately. “You’re so cute when you talk about sex. You still blush.”

“That’s because she and Andy have only been sleeping together for about three months,” Piper said.

“I couldn’t believe you made him wait,” Sammi said, shaking her head.

“I can’t believe he waited!” Riley said.

“Of course he waited,” Corinne said. “You’re amazing and he’s smart enough to know how lucky he is.”

“Waiting was, without a doubt, the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Riley declared.

“And you deserve a prize,” Sammi said. “The rest of us only made it, what, six months?”

Piper made a face. “Four. But in my defense, Jake is a sexy motherfucker!”

The girls giggled.

“Okay, enough about sex.” Corinne rubbed her stomach. “I’m starving!”

Riley turned off the television and slipped on her favorite sneakers. After sticking her mostly-melted pint of moose tracks in the freezer, she and the girls headed out to get some lunch.