I'll Take You There And Back Again

"It's almost your birthday! It's almost your birthday! And I have… your preseeent!" Garret sang as we walked down the crowded streets of Miami.

"Would you shut up! I know it’s almost my birthday!" He leaned over and ruffled my hair causing me to groan and sulk.

The date was July 3rd. We had stopped in Miami yesterday and learned that we would be spending several days here. The guys had all made elaborate plans to celebrate my and Brian's birthdays on the 4th at the beach. Supposedly, there was an amazing fireworks show that the city put on out in the water somehow. So the day would be celebrated on the soft sand with lots of booze according to the guys. Our show in Miami was actually on my birthday itself, the 6th, and then we were staying until the 8th, partly so Brian wouldn’t be stuck on a bus for his big day.

I was excited but overwhelmed at the same time. With our busy schedules we hadn’t had time to do any shopping yet. So that left us with today. Everyone split up and decided to go out somewhere, Garret was tagging along with me since it was decided I had to have a guy by my side. Sometimes I hate being the only girl on tour.

"Well someone's a little cranky." Garret slung his arm around my shoulders in a casual fashion. You bet I was cranky, we had wandered all over and I still couldn’t find something for Syn. My green haired companion however, claimed he already had both of our gifts.

"What the heck do you get a rockstar who already has all he wants for his birthday?" Garret just laughed at my mumble and continued to guide me down the street. We had passed shop after shop and nothing had stood out to me so far.

"Hey check this out!" Our walking took a pause as Garret steered me into a store that sold gothic jewelry. He had led me over to the counter and was staring at the various necklaces that were under the glass.

"You should get him one of these considering he broke his other one on stage the other night." He snickered, probably thinking back to the memory. Brian had been pissed that night. They had just finished their set and were walking off stage. Brian had tossed his guitar off of him rather quickly and his chain necklace snapped off. It was one of his favorites he had claimed.

I turned to Garret and gave him a huge hug. "You are the best."

"Tell me something I don't already know." I rolled my eyes at his reply and stared back down at the case. Moving down the case I stopped as one caught my eye. It was perfect. The overall design was of a spider web with an ax cross in the middle. But what really got me were the purple jewels in various places in the spider web. Now don't get me wrong, this was certainly no chick necklace. Especially with the extra thick chain.

"That one looks like him." I jumped slightly as Garret leaned over my shoulder to take a look at my newest treasure.

"I thought so too. I think I'm going to get it for him." I paid for the necklace and the girl put it in a box for me. I gently put it inside of my purse so no one, meaning Brian, would see me walking back to the hotel with it.

Speaking of hotels, my evil tour mates had decided that we would be keeping the same roommates as before, meaning I was once again with Brian. I hadn’t been to the room yet, we had checked in, but were told that our rooms wouldn’t be ready until two in the afternoon. Looking at my watch I realized that our rooms should be well ready by now seeing as it was three already. Time sure flies when you are out in Miami.

"I think we should head back. I'm getting tired." Garret nodded. We had been out for most of the day, and walking had just made it worse. It was hot humid and I wanted a shower.
It only took us ten minutes to get back to the hotel from where we had ended up. We were staying in yet another nice hotel, and had suites to go with it.

"You know, now that you've mentioned it, a nap sounds pretty nice right about now. I'll catch ya later Kace. I think we're all going out to dinner tonight or something like that."

"Alright Gare. Enjoy your snooze." He gave me a hug before turning and heading into his and Zacky's room. I sure hope Brian wasn't back yet. Or if he was that he would be quiet for a bit. I slid my key card into the door and slowly pushed it open to reveal a very nice looking suite once again. My eyes widened and I smiled as I saw that this time there were two beds. Two big beds.

I slipped my flip flops off and put them in the closet. I was thankful to see that our bags had already been brought up and placed in there as well. Crossing my fingers I looked into the bathroom and spotted a Jacuzzi tub.

"Heck yes!" I let out a squeal and grabbed my bag before placing it on one of the beds. Deciding not to bother with clothes right now since Brian was still gone I just made my way into the bathroom and shut the door partway. I turned the water on and watched the giant tub fill with the steaming water. I noticed on the counter there were several bottles of substances. Checking them over I read that one was shampoo, one was conditioner, the third was soap, and the last one was bubble bath. I snatched the last bottle and dumped it into the water. I slowly climbed in and settled as the bubbles continued to form around me.

Now this was relaxing. No guys to deal with, no loud music, no people drinking and smoking, nothing but me and my bubbles. I reached over the side of the bathtub and snagged the headphones that were connected to the itouch I brought in with me. I scrolled through until I got to No Doubt and pressed play before settling back and letting the music flow into my ears. If only all afternoons could be like this.

I reached out and paused my music a few minutes later, thinking I had heard a door open. I popped my earphone out and waited, but heard nothing still. I set my earphones down next to my itouch on the floor and relaxed back into the water. I shut my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

"Holy shit." My head snapped to the side at the sound of the male voice. My eyes widened as I stared at the smirk Brian had on his face.

"Brian! Get the fuck out!" My heart was beating a mile a minute and I quickly looked down to make sure the bubbles were covering everything.

"What the hell are you waiting for? Get out!" I watched as he stood there unmoving. His eyes were wandering until they reached my face and stopped there. I was trying to stay still so nothing would show but I was so pissed he wasn’t moving to get out of the room. He silently shut the door behind him and stepped further into the room, his smirk growing with each step. I sunk down further into the water hoping he would just go away.

"Someone's looking like they're enjoying themselves." I glared at him as he took a seat on the edge of the giant tub.

"Well I was trying to." He chuckled at my tone. I was extremely uncomfortable with him being this close to me, mainly because I was naked under the layer of bubbles the covered the surface. I shivered as his hand ran through my hair. I watched as he stood up and started to pull his shirt over his head.

"What are you doing?" My voice was shaking as he threw his shirt to the floor and moved his hands to the buckle of his belt.

"Oh hell no! Don't you dare." He just smirked at my words and continued to unbuckle his belt.

"Well princess, you see, you're in quite the tough position here. I know you won't get out of the tub with me standing here because you don’t want me to see you in all your glory just yet. But then we have me here, who doesn’t give a fuck if you see me. Therefore, I am joining you." I brought my hand up to hide my face as his pants dropped to the floor. I could feel the heat rising to my face. This was unreal. Why couldn’t he just leave? I felt the water shift some and was extremely thankful right now that the tub was huge, and that there were still plenty of bubbles.

"Its funny how you're so shy."

"Oh shut up." I managed to mumble through my hands.

"You know you can look now." I could tell he was quite amused with the situation we now found ourselves in, all thanks to him. I parted my fingers slightly to see he was in fact in the water. Pulling my hands away from my face I glared at him.

"There is such a thing as privacy you know. It's rather something I enjoy." My sneer caused him to slide closer to me, in which case I moved further away.

"I wouldn’t move too much if I were you. Might give me a free look." I could feel my eyes widen and my pulse quicken as he took another slide toward me.

"You stay right there." I lifted my finger up and pointed at him. It was quite apparent he was extremely amused still. He wiggles his eyebrows and slid yet closer. He was now within arms length and I was ever so uncomfortable. "Brian stop!" He ignored my plea and slid the rest of the way so he was sitting next to me. He stretched his arm out and wrapped it around my shoulders, pulling me into his side. Our bodies were now full on touching, my thigh against his thigh, my torso against his.

"That's not so bad now is it?" I groaned as his hand moved to rest on my bare thigh. He was pushing the limits here, like massively.

"B-Brian." My voice was shaking as I spoke. His hand slid up my leg slightly and I turned to face him. My own blue eyes got lost in his brown ones. It was all I could do to keep from kissing him senseless.

I came back to my senses however when his hand started to move between my legs. I broke out of my trance with his eyes and scooted further back. Not caring if he saw anything anymore.

I quickly reached over the edge of the tub and pulled up a towel before standing up and wrapping myself in it.

"Oh shit. I can't do this." I saw a smirk still on Brian's face yet I didn’t know if it was from the fact that he saw me naked or from the reaction he got from me. I felt the tears start to well up in my eyes and I saw his soften when we made eye contact. I hurried out into the bedroom but not before hearing a last remark from him. "Fuck!"

I quickly put on a pair of shorts and a tank before grabbing my key and heading out into the hallway. Why did I always get put in these situations? I knocked on the appropriate door and practically collapsed into Zacky's arms once it opened. My body wracked with sobs as he tried to calm me down. He led me to a bed where I curled up and Garret came running out of the bathroom.

"Holy shit Kace. What's wrong?" He was rubbing my back while Zacky sat there looking sort of confused. How could I tell them? This was going to sound so stupid.

"Shhh its okay babe. Just relax." Zacky's soothing voice filled the air as my breathing evened out.

"I just don't know what to do. He's getting to me and I don’t like it. I like him so much but I just can't take it anymore. I just don't know what to do." More tears fell from my eyes and were wiped away.

"So Gates is getting to you. And let me guess, you're scared to fall for a rockstar." Zacky hit the nail on the head and Garret nodded to let him know he was indeed right.

A soft knock was heard on the door and Zacky got up to go answer it. He opened the door and Brian came flying in looking rather flustered.

"I screwed up again dude! Fuck! I can't…" He trailed off as he saw me lying on the bed with Garret stroking my back. His eyes went wide as he stared into my red tear stained eyes.

"I think you two need to have a chat." Zacky said as he pushed Brian toward the bed. "We'll be back later." He and Garret hurriedly left the room leaving Brian to stand there awkwardly. He carefully made his way to the bed and took Garret's spot.

"I've gotta stop putting you into those positions. It's just hard for me to control myself around you. I'm sorry Kacie but I really like you." I rolled over to face him and gave him a weak smile. His eyes held sincerity and yet nervousness at the same time. His usual cocky demeanor was no longer showing through.

"I really like you too Brian. I'm just scared. You're a big bad rockstar and I'm just me. I'm not the prettiest girl out there, nor am I the most likable. I'm just scared of getting hurt I guess."

"Oh Kacie." He leaned down and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into him tightly. He kissed my head lightly and let his lips linger there while he spoke. "Kacie I would never do anything to hurt you. You are fucking incredible and I like you just the way you are. That's why you're so intriguing to me, you're not like other girls out there. You're not fake, you have a great personality, and despite what you may think, you're very attractive. Your stage performance is amazing and the crowd absolutely loves you. Not many people can get a crowd worked up like that." He paused for a moment before looking down. "Or me for that matter." The last part was mumbled but I heard it all the same.

"You really mean that?" He nodded his head before grabbing my hand and entwining our fingers.

"I really fucking mean it." I smiled at the sincerity of his comment. Who knew behind that ego of his he could say something so sweet to a girl? Let alone me. "So what do you say we get back to our room" he paused for a moment and glanced at the door before continuing "and let Garret and Zacky return to their gay sex that we all know they enjoy!" He yelled the last part and the door came flying open as Garret and Zacky stumbled back in muttering profanities at Syn who was smirking triumphantly.

"You fucking suck Syn." Zacky grumbled as we stood up. I let go of Brian's hand seeing as Garret had beckoned me over to him for a moment. He wrapped his arms around me in a hug.

"You alright?" I nodded my head against his shoulder before replying.

"Yeah. I'm great. Thanks hun." I retreated from his hold and made my way over to where Brian was standing holding the door open. I stepped through and turned to face Garret and Zacky once more.

"Thanks guys." They gave me a smile.

"Use protection! We don’t want little Syn's and Kacie's running around just yet!" Brian just lifted his middle finger high above his head at Zacky's comment before shutting their door and leading me back toward ours.

Seeing as it was only five, we changed into some more presentable clothes and headed down to the lobby to meet everyone for dinner. The guys all looked exceptionally good tonight and looked ready for a night out on the town.

"You guys up for some seafood tonight?" Rev placed his arm around my shoulders and led me out the door behind everyone else.

"Dude, seafood is the shit. You don't have to ask us twice about that." Drew turned and yelled back.

"So I heard about you and Syn earlier." I looked up at Jimmy.

"Oh really?" He nodded as we left the lobby and made our way out into the hot Miami night.

"Yeah. Everything alright between you two?" I nodded.

"Everything's great Jimmy. Thanks." He returned the smile I gave him.

"Good because you two need to hurry it up and start dating." I felt my eyes widen and my cheeks redden at his statement. "Oh please. You two are like highschoolers all over again. Right Matt?" I laughed seeing as it was obvious Matt had no idea what we were talking about since as he was so far ahead of us. But he still turned to look back at the two of us.

"Fuck yeah Rev." Jimmy and I burst out laughing as Matt now looked confused.

"What'd you say?" Johnny asked.

"He agreed that Kacie and Brian need to start fucking soon." I smacked Jimmy in the arm as all of the guys snickered. Brian hung back and pulled me from Jimmy's grasp so that I was now settled in his.

"Don't mind them."

Before I knew it we were entering the restaurant and were seated. The guys all ordered beers seeing as we had walked to the restaurant. I myself settled for a coke once again. The subject of tomorrow was quickly brought up and everyone agreed that they had been successful in their shopping today. It flattered me knowing that they all cared enough to get me presents, even when I said I didn’t need any. They really were great guys.

"Dude, someone order the calamari over there." Johnny pointed to a fish tank that had octopuses swimming around in it. I grimaced not liking octopus very much.

"Why don't we just go feed you to it." Zacky snickered as everyone laughed. I patted Johnny's leg seeing as he was sitting next to me.

"No worries Johnny I'd come save you." He was quick to stick his tongue out at the rest of the group as well as flip them off.

"At least I know someone loves me." Brian was quick to rest his hand on my bare thigh causing the chills to run up my back.

"Not as much as she loves me though." I turned to smile at him.

All throughout dinner he kept his hand on my thigh. Occasionally he would rub small circles with his thumb or rub his hand up and down. But he never went too far so it was nice. He even gave me a few bites of his salmon when I commented that it looked good.

I noticed Jimmy was watching the two of us interact throughout the meal. He would send me a wink every now and then, as would Zacky. It was like everyone was noticing it but never said anything.

Dinner surprisingly passed rather quickly and we headed back out. The guys all said they were going to hit up a bar which I really didn’t feel up to doing.

"I'm just going to head back. I'm not so much in the mood for a bar." They whined and complained but I really wasn't in the mood to be hit on tonight. I said my goodbyes and turned back in the direction of the hotel. I had only taken a few steps when I felt someone grab my wrist. Turning quickly on the spot I was faced with Brian's grinning face.

"Why don't you come with me and we'll go get some dessert or something."

"Brian I don't want to take you away from the guys. Just go with them. You'll have fun." He was having none of it though.

"Nope. I don’t really feel like drinking my mind out tonight anyway. And I had a few beers at dinner so I'm good. Now come on. I saw a Coldstone down the street." I grinned and allowed his arm to snake around my waist as he led me down the street. I leaned my head onto his shoulder as we walked and I saw him grin down at me. Small gestures like that meant the world to me. It showed he really did care.

We entered Coldstone a few minutes later and we both ordered. Brian got chocolate ice cream with marshmallows and chocolate sauce while I on the other hand got mint ice cream with Oreos and chocolate chips. We left and walked across the street to where there were some benches on a walkway that overlooked the water. Grinning down at my mint covered spoon I turned to face Brian.

"Hey Bri you have some on your face." He furrowed his eyebrows and felt around before facing me.

"I do?" I snickered as I brought the back of my spoon up and dragged it down his cheek.

"Yes you do." His jaw dropped and he turned to glare at me.

"That wasn’t nice." His shocked expression turned into a pout. He set his ice cream on the bench beside him and tackled me to the bench so I was lying on my back and he was hovering over me.

"Now you have to get it off." I giggled as I reached up with my finger but he pulled my arm back down and pinned it to the bench beside me. "Nope. That's not going to work." He turned his head sideways and places his mint covered cheek right in front of my mouth. Blushing slightly I leaned up and licked the ice cream off of him. He grinned as he turned back to face me. Our eyes locked and everything around me faded except for him. Our faces inched closer and eventually our lips touched in a gentle innocent kiss. He let go of one of my hands and allowed me to rest it on the back of his head, pulling him closer. We pulled away, both slightly out of breath. He had this sheepish grin on his face as he pulled me up so we were both sitting.

"You are something else you know that?" He chuckled as he spoke.

"Well I could say the same to you Mr. Gates." He pulled me up and we threw away our now empty ice cream containers before heading back to the hotel hand in hand.