Three's a Crowd

“So, what did you think of the band last night?” Ashley asked Raven as she approached their booth in Seven Bar Lounge, armed with drinks and snacks.

“The guitarist with the lip piercings was hot!” Raven smiled, her blue eyes lighting up at the thought of the dark-haired hunk that had played pop-punk songs to them the previous night. “Where were they from again?”

“Maryland, I think…” Ashley shrugged, Raven nodding her head.

“You know, if I wasn’t with Gates, I’d be jumping the first flight there to hunt his fine ass down. That guy was just heaven on the eyes, I’d let him use his fingers on me any day!” Raven shot her friend a mock warning look. “Just don't tell Bri' that I said that….”

“My lips are sealed!” Ashley laughed as she placed the drinks and bag of potato chips down onto the table before taking her seat opposite Raven. “So, speaking of Romeo, have you heard from him?” The brunette asked, watching as her best friend shook her head forlornly.

“Not since the start of the week….” Rae let out a sigh, pulling open the bag of chips and grabbing a handful of the savory snack. “Like I know he’s busy with the band and stuff but it’s the weekend already! I thought I would have heard from him by now…”

“Like you say, he’s probably just hella busy with the band,” Ashley said, Raven looking over at her with worried eyes.

“Yeah, but you don’t think that he’s…” She started, Ashley shaking her head and cutting her off before she could finish her sentence.

“Don’t even go there, Rae,” The brunette insisted. “Brian worships the ground you walk on. You’re his world. He’d never do anything to hurt you…”

Raven took a moment to think over her best friend’s words before nodding her head; “Yeah, you’re probably right but it just sucks, you know? He's off touring this whole damn country, having the time of his life and I'm stuck here listening to dull English Lit lectures…”

“You miss him, huh?” Ashley asked, knowing that her question was as rhetorical as it could get.

“Like you wouldn't believe….” Rae trailed off, eating more of the salty snacks.

“I bet he's missing you just as much,” The brunette reasoned, Rae pursing her lips.

“I bet he's too busy getting drunk with the guys every night to even think about me…” Raven shook her head sadly, her fingers playing with the black plec that hung on a leather rope chain around her neck. It was the necklace that Brian had given her before he left, the necklace that she never took off.

“Will you stop? That guy adores you….” Ashley told her friend reassuringly. “Besides, at least you have a guy to worry about….” She added with a sorrowful sigh.

“Do you still wish that you had stuck it out with Mattie McHottie?”

“Every damn day…” Ashley replied honestly. “It's been, like, over a year and a half now and I still regret breaking his heart the way that I did….”

“You did what you thought was for the best at the time….” Rae assured her, reaching out a hand and giving Ashley's arm a gentle squeeze.

“I just…” Ashley sighed, looking up at her friend with tears in her eyes. “I wish I could see him again. Just to make things right between us. We haven’t spoken since the day he left…”

“Well, the guys are due home soon. In two weeks in fact,” Raven brightened. “Maybe you and Shads could pick up where you left off?” She suggested, Ashley nodding her head thoughtfully.

“Yeah… Maybe….”

The girls were so deep in conversation that they didn't notice the tall, dark-haired male dressed in torn black jeans and a black sleeveless shirt approaching their table until he spoke.

“Hey, uh, does this belong to you?”

Raven looked intrigued by the sound of the familiar male voice and for a moment she thought she was imagining it until she noticed the tattooed arm of the man holding out a tattered stuffed tiger towards her.

Ashley smiled and gestured towards the guy behind the redhead, Raven turning in her seat and feeling her heart skip a beat when she realized who the voice and arm full of monsters belonged to.

“Brian?” She asked, her eyes wide in disbelief. “Oh my God, is it really you? Are you really here?” She jumped up from her seat and threw her arms around her boyfriend in a hug that had been long overdue.

“I’m really here!” Brian laughed, wrapping his strong arms around her slender waist and pulling her closer to him. He’d waited for far too long to get to hold her like this again. “Hey baby,” He smiled as his fingers threaded through her scarlet hair. “Miss me?”

“No, I haven't thought about you at all…” Rae teased him bringing her face so close to his that their noses touched as she grinned at him. “I was more concerned about what was happening to Tigger…”

“He, uh, may have had a threesome with two Barbie’s he met out on the road but he doesn't want to talk about it….” Brian joked making his girlfriend giggle as she stared up into his eyes.

“He was pure and innocent until he met you….” She mock scolded him. “You're a bad influence, Brian Elwin…”

“You bet your sweet little ass I am…” Brian grinned before finally capturing her mouth in a kiss he had been desperate for ever since he had taken her into his arms.

Ashley sat silently watching this interaction between her two friends, sipping her drink through the plastic straw as she waited for them to break their embrace. When they were still clinging to each other for another minute or two, the brunette cleared her throat and Raven broke away from Brian, turning to look at her best friend sheepishly.

“Should I disappear and allow you guys to get reacquainted?” Ashley asked with a teasing smirk and Raven bit down on her bottom lip as she shook her head, reaching behind her to take hold of Brian's hand.

“Sorry, Ash…” The redhead apologized but found herself unable to refrain from smiling happily as she felt Brian’s fingers close around her hand.

Rae glanced behind her to look at her boyfriend, noticing how he hadn't changed at all since she last saw him six months ago when she had paid him a visit out on the road. His dark brown, almost black hair was a little longer but that boyish grin of his that she loved so much still lingered on his face. Brian smiled at her, his gorgeous brown eyes meeting her icy blue ones and the whole world seemed to disappear. He was back... Brian... Her Brian...Was back in California and she couldn't help but think that if this was some kind of dream, then she never wanted to wake up.

Ashley cleared her throat once more, feeling incredibly awkward as she sat there playing spectator to the intimate moment her friends were sharing; “Starting to feel like a third wheel again, guys…”

“Sorry,” Brian apologized this time, tearing his gaze away from Raven to look at the brunette watching them. “Hey Ash, it’s good to see you…”

“Hey Brian, it’s good to see you too…” Ashley smiled back at the guitarist who had quickly become the love of her best friend’s life, happy to see her friends reunited.

“So, come on, what are you doing here?” Raven asked, tugging on Brian’s hand to regain his attention. “I mean, you said you weren’t coming home for another two weeks and then suddenly you’re here and you didn’t even call…” She slid back into the booth to join Ashley, pulling her boyfriend in next to her.

“A couple of shows got cancelled on us, which sucks, but it meant we got to come home early…” Brian explained, his hand still tightly gripping Ravens. “And I didn’t call you to tell you that I was on my way back because I wanted to surprise you…”

“Gates, you know that I don’t like surprises. Especially after what happened the first time I ever met your dad…” Raven stated, reminding Brian of that awful time when his father had walked in on them, catching them in the throes of passion.

“I know, baby, but I just couldn’t resist…” Brian smirked, leaning forward and placing a light kiss to his girlfriend’s cheek. “Am I forgiven?”

“I’ll think about it…” Rae grinned. “But that still doesn’t explain how you knew we were here…”

Brian laughed; “You know anyone would think that you’re not happy to see me the way you’re quizzing me. I knew you and Ash were here because face it, Bonnie, where else are you guys going to go on a Friday night?”

“He’s got a point, Rae…” Ashley chipped in. “This place has turned into our hangout of choice since we moved here…”

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop with the questions…” Raven looked down at her cherished threadbare childhood toy that Brian still held firmly in his other hand. “I can't believe Tigger actually survived a tour with you guys...” She said, pointing to the toy. “And surprisingly he's actually in pretty good condition…I mean apart from the fact that he’s now a whore…” She took the cuddly tiger out of his hand and inspected it.

“Rev appointed himself as his personal bodyguard…” Brian told her with an amused smile as the memories of his best friend dragging Raven's stuffed toy around with him everywhere he went flooded back into his mind. “That little tiger rocked out on stage with us every night because Jimmy insisted that he sat on his drum kit with him…” He laughed, shaking his head. “Honestly, I'm surprised that I managed to claim him back for you…. Rev was smitten….”

“Well, I'm sure I could allow Tigger to stop by and see him from time to time. So long as Jimmy doesn’t hook him up with anymore Barbie’s…” Rae giggled, placing her well loved stuffed animal down on the table and curling into her boyfriend's side as he lifted his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders.

“So, speaking of Jimmy… Where is he?” Ashley asked, stirring at the ice in her drink with the straw as she looked over at Brian curiously. “Maverick doesn't usually fly without Goose…”

“Goose is probably sleeping off the amount of toxins he managed to put into his body last night…” Brian informed her, making the brunette smile as she realized that some things don't ever change. “Zee has gone out on a mission to get laid; Johnny has gone to see Gabby with the hope of also getting laid…” He continued, allowing his fingers to curl the ends of his girlfriend's bright red hair. “Personally, I think Zee is gonna be the successful one…”

“And Matt?” Ashley asked before she could stop the words from falling out of her mouth and Brian shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“He's, uh…” The chocolate eyed male brought a hand up to rub his face as he looked back at the expectant brunette, her questioning gaze making him feel uneasy. “Fuck, Ash, I didn't want to be the one to tell you this, but…” He paused, knowing that he was about to break her heart with what he was about to say. “He met someone, out on the road…He was swinging by her place before heading home…”

“Oh….” Ashley slumped back in her seat, finding it a little hard to breathe. Brian moved forward and opened his mouth as if to apologize for what he had just told her but she raised her hand, gesturing to him to stay silent.

“Don't worry; I can pull the knife out of my chest on my own…” The brunette managed to say, standing up and grabbing her purse. “I shouldn't have asked…” She forced a smile as she fought back the tears that were pricking against her eyelids. “I'm gonna head back, you guys have fun…”

“Ash, wait…” Rae moved out from under the safety of her boyfriend’s arm and stood up but her best friend simply shook her head at her.

“Don't, Rae…. It's okay…” Ashley assured her. “Breaking up with him was my decision; it's something that I have to live with… Not you…”

She shook her head at her friend before turning on her heel and hastily leaving the club as Rae and Brian watched her go helplessly.

Rae slumped back down next to Brian once Ashley was out of view and let out a breath as he looked at her apologetically.

“I'm sorry, baby; I never meant to hurt her….”

“It's okay, Bri'…” Raven turned to look back at him, offering him a small smile as she squeezed his knee reassuringly. “Something like that was bound to happen sooner or later, I guess she was just hoping that it was going to be a lot later than now….”

“Do you think she's gonna be okay?”

“Honestly? I don't think there's a band aid in the world big enough to heal the wound she's got right now…” Raven replied with a sigh, hoping that her best friend was going to find the inner strength to get through such a heart breaking revelation.

“Matt's an ass, he should have been the one to tell her….”

“He should have but you had no choice but to tell her,” Raven told him, glancing at him sideways. “Trust me; she would have hated you more if you had lied to her about it….”

She offered him a knowing smile. “You think I'm crazy when I get mad, you are yet to get on the wrong side of Ash…She can go from nice and calm to homicidal maniac in the blink of an eye when someone crosses her…”

“I'll keep that in mind…” Brian chuckled softly before clearing his throat as if to be nervous about telling her something. “So, um, I've got something for you…”

Raven turned in her seat to face him, her eyebrows rising as she looked at him curiously; “Really? What is it?”

“Well, I can't really show you here…”

“Please don't tell me that you got drunk and got your Johnson pierced because despite popular belief that just doesn't turn girls on as much as guys think…”

“Oh, so you wouldn't like that?” Brian asked, a mock-hurt look falling across his face as he looked back at her. He watched as she shook her head furiously, biting his lower lip to refrain from laughing. “Well, that was a waste of money then….” He sighed, bowing his head as she looked at him with wide eyes. “I guess I should go take it out…” He moved to get up out of the booth, a secret teasing grin on his lips.

“You didn't?!” Raven reached out and grabbed his wrist, making him turn to look at her.

“No, I didn't….” He grinned, laughing a little as Raven scowled at him. “But I had you worried there for a second, didn't I?”

Raven released her hold on her boyfriend's wrist, crossing her arms in front of her chest; “That's not funny….”

“I know, but you look so cute when you're mad at me….” Brian slid back to his original position beside her, snaking an arm back around her waist as he brought his face close to hers. “Especially when you pout like that…” He spoke in a low, seductive voice knowing what kind of effect it was going to have on Rae as he brushed his lips against her pouting mouth. “I can't resist it…” He kissed her again, smiling when he felt her kiss him back.

“And you know that I can't resist that sexy voice of yours….” She told him breathlessly, her hands snaking their way up his chest and winding their way around his neck, tangling in his hair.

“You wanna get out of here?” Brian asked her, well aware that their little public display of affection was about to get a little higher than PG-13.

“Sure….” Raven smiled, kissing him once more before they broke apart and made their way out of the booth, Tigger safely tucked under Rae's arms as she held him close to her chest.

“Come on then, Miss. Matthews….” Brian held his hand out to her and after re-adjusting her treasured stuffed animal in her arms; she took it and allowed him to lead her out of the bar and towards his car. “Let's get you home…”

Gabby had been studying at Maci’s house when the blonde had declared that as it was Friday night they should go out and party but Gabby wasn’t in much of a partying mood and she didn’t really fancy playing third wheel to her friend and the latest guy she would no doubt pick up during their night out so she had decided to head home instead or at least see what the girls at Casa de Sevenfold were up to.

As soon as she had her bag over her shoulder and her keys in hand she rushed out to her car, her cell phone glued to her ear waiting for someone to pick up at her friend’s house. She had just stepped off the porch when she noticed a figure leaning against the side of her car, the closer she got she realized that it was Johnny; the boy she had been waiting for all these months.

“Johnny?!” She squealed, excitement plain as day in her voice as she threw her arms around his neck and held him close.

“Hey you…” He trailed off, remaining motionless against her car.
Gabby pulled back to look at him, noticing that his caramel eyes were shaded by a pair of aviator sunglasses even though it was night time and his hands remained stuffed in his jean pockets. She gave him a questioning look, one eyebrow raised as she tried to figure out why the guy who had once begged her to let him touch her and be with her was suddenly so standoffish.

“Are you okay?” She asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Yeah, baby, I’m fine…” Johnny replied simply, taking a hand out of his pocket and slinging his arm around her neck to pull her close.
Gabby giggled slightly, trying to figure out if maybe he was just tired from all the travelling he had obviously been doing over the last year and a half. Riding around in a van with four other guys plus band equipment couldn’t have been as fun as it sounded, especially when those other four guys treated you like a human punching bag. Pushing Johnny’s mood to the back of her mind, Gabby decided to just enjoy the fact that he was finally home.

“So, uh, where’s your car?” She asked him, looking around but failing to see any sign of the bassist’s car.

“Zee dropped me off on his way into town,” Johnny replied, Gabby eyeing him suspiciously.

“How did you know I was here? You didn’t call my house, did you?” She wanted to know, a little panicked to think that he had spoken to her parents.

“No, I didn’t have to. We were driving past and I spotted your car in the driveway, or at least I guessed it was your car and just took a chance waiting next to it…” He explained with a chuckle, Gabby breathing a visible sigh of relief. “I figured your cute little ass could give me a ride back to your place and we could get reacquainted,” He smirked, Gabby frowning at him.

“Johnny, my parents are home tonight….” She trailed off slowly, Johnny shrugging his shoulders.

“So?”

“So, maybe you should go home to sleep off your hangover and we’ll hang out tomorrow?” Gabby suggested. “I’ll give you a ride back to your place but then I’m going home. Alone…” She told him, Johnny shrugging his shoulders again as he removed his arm from around her.

“Okay, sure, whatever….” He muttered, getting into the passenger side of Gabby’s black Honda, his eyes immediately closing as soon as she pulled out of her friends driveway and Gabby couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to the sweet boy she had met at the start of the new millennium because the one who had returned home to her wasn’t the same guy she had promised to wait for.

Ashley reached for the front door handle, surprised when she was able to turn it with ease but then she remembered that Brian had said that Jimmy was probably sleeping off his adventures from last night and figured that the drummer had returned home before the others. She slung her bag off her shoulder when she was inside, tossing the black messenger bag onto the couch as she passed it. Kicking her shoes off at the foot of the steps, she ascended the stairs, ready to just sit in her room with a book and try to forget the fact Matt moved on. She was still scolding herself, knowing she was stupid for asking about Matt.

“Of course he was going to find someone else,” The brunette muttered, shaking her head when she realized that it was her own fault she lost him. She passed Matt's old bedroom, pausing when she saw the door cracked open and heard the familiar voice singing out loud without any music.

“Nothin' lasts forever and we both know hearts can change…”

She took a deep breath, raising her hand to knock on the door frame. Matt was just humming now, louder as she knocked again. She pushed the door open, watching as he walked between his bags and his closet, hanging some clothes up on the rack. He was shirtless, revealing the canvas of tattoos on his chest and arms as he went about his business, his jeans fitting snugly on his hips. Ashley had to clear her throat in order to keep herself from drooling all over her t-shirt.

“Matt!” She called out, her hazel-eyed ex's gaze finally meeting hers. He stopped in his tracks, taking his headphones off and tossing his portable CD player onto his bed.

“Hey Ash,” He greeted her with a smile that made her weak at the knees.

She was having a hard time finding her voice, choking out a quiet welcome around the lump in her throat.

“Hi Matty…”

He crossed the space between them, wrapping his arms around her smaller frame. She mimicked his embrace, her forehead pressing against the crook of his neck. It was awkward for her, to say the least, knowing she was in the arms of her ex while he had someone else. It was hard for her to not melt into his arms, to not reach up and kiss the lips she had missed for over a year and a half. He wasn't her Matty anymore. Their hug ended, Matt pulling away and turning to continue unpacking his bags.

“How have you been?” Matt asked her, Ashley biting her lower lip as she struggled to answer.

Yes, he was still Matt, who still had her heart in the palm of his hand if he even cared to notice. But he wasn't hers. He had only changed a little. His hair was much shorter, less than an inch long and definitely not long enough for her to run her fingers through. His skin that wasn't covered with ink was tanned from exposure to the sun, the new skin tone suiting his more defined build. He had definitely been working out a lot more, Ashley deciding this as her eyes dragged along his torso, wishing to follow the path with her hands as she admired the tightness of his skin over his rippling muscles. Then again, it seemed like he had changed a lot.

“Ash, are you okay?” His voice cut through her near-inappropriate thoughts, Ashley's eyes snapping to meet his. It took all her might to stay standing where she was, her lungs nearly collapsing as if she had been holding her breath forever. She wanted so badly to just rush over to him, to remind him that he was the one she wanted. The thought of him being with someone else was what stopped her from jumping him.

“Ashley?”

She coughed, nodding at him.

“Yeah, I'm fine. I just spaced a little,” She confessed, subconsciously picking at her cuticles beside her thumb as she looked at the floor.

“You tend to do that a lot,” He chuckled, his back visible as he turned away from her to hang a Metallica hoodie up in his closet.

Her eyes saw the faint scratch mark that had scarred on his shoulder blade, the only one remaining out of the set of eight she had left him. It blew her mind that any of them were still there. She wondered if he knew her mark still marred his skin, and if his someone new asked about it.

“I, uh, wasn’t expecting to see you here… I mean, I just saw Gates and he said that you had other plans…” Ashley said, trying to muster enough volume to make herself audible.

“Oh, uh…” His voice trailed off as he scratched the back of his head. “I did but then I thought that I better get a head start on unpacking and, you know, settling back into life at home.”

“Didn’t your girlfriend come to help you?” Ashley asked as casually as she could, Matt visibly astonished by her words.

He cleared his throat; “She, uh… She was busy and I just kinda wanted to do this on my own anyhow…”

“Oh… So, what's her name?” The brunette quizzed him.

“Um… Uh… I, uh…” He stammered, Ashley shaking her head at him as she blinked away the tears forming in her eyes.

“You don't have to explain,” She caught herself before she said `Matty'. “We broke up and you moved on. I need to realize this isn't a romance novel where everything turns out right for me,” Ashley explained, leaving his room with a heavy sigh.

“Ashley…” He began, following in her footsteps and grabbing her wrist. “Ash?”

She stopped when his hand slipped around hers, their fingers lacing together. He was backing her against the wall, Ashley immediately surrendering to his touch as he cupped her face.

“It's not a romance novel… But I haven't forgotten our love story,” Matt assured her, his lips tantalizingly close to hers as their noses brushed.

“Don't lie to me,” Ashley whispered, her eyes fluttering shut as she waited for their lips to meet. She felt the heat of his breath against her lips, her body arching in his grasp.

Their lips were centimeters away when the front door slammed, Ashley’s face falling when Matt released his hold on her.

“So, you never told me what it was that you got me….” Raven's voice echoed down the hallway and Matt let out a breath, rubbing the back of his neck and glancing at Ashley as if he was going to say something but the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs made him reconsider.

“I never said that I was going to tell you…” Brian claimed with a teasing grin as he appeared at the top of the stairs, looking back at Rae.

“You're an ass….” She poked her tongue out at him, turning to look at Ashley and Matt standing awkwardly on the landing when she reached Brian. “Oh, hey guys….”

“Hey…” Matt muttered, raising his hand in a slight wave before ducking back into his bedroom to finish unpacking. Ashley watched him go, peeling herself away from the wall before turning to head into the bedroom she called her own and Rae exchanged a look with Brian before they both followed their respective best friends into their rooms.

“Ash, wait…” Raven called out to the brunette, holding out a hand to stop the bedroom door from closing and Ashley turned to look at her.

“Just leave it, Rae…. I'm fine, really….” She forced a smile, waving a hand dismissively at her red haired friend. “Go spend some quality alone time with Brian… I know you missed him…”

“Ash, Bri' can wait… I wanna know that you're okay….” Rae informed her, her voice carrying a concerned tone as she watched her best friend try to dismiss her again.

“I am… Really….” Ashley explained half-heartedly, Raven shaking her head at her.

“I don't believe you; I know that it was awkward for you to see him,” The redhead spoke, Ashley gnawing on the inside of her cheek.

“No, what was awkward was the fact that I know he's got someone else and yet I was willing to let him kiss me,” She retorted, Rae's eyes widening as she pushed Ashley into her room.

“What?!” Rae slammed the door shut, ensuring the two girls were in complete privacy before joining her best friend on the bed. “Spill all, now… I want details,” She demanded.

In Matt’s room, Brian stood watching his friend unpack his things wondering what was going on with him.

“Hey, man, you okay?” Brian started, Matt shrugging his shoulders as he started tossing his dirty clothes into a pile on the floor.

“I’m fine, dude,” Matt replied, Brian's gaze narrowing at him.

“Are you sure? Because it looked like me and Rae interrupted something major between you and Ash,” Brian pointed out, Matt looking over at him.

“It was nothing. We were just saying ‘hi’…” Matt explained, Brian nodding.

“You still love her, don’t you?” Brian asked, Matt turning away from his band mate.

“I’ve got some unpacking to do here, Gates. Why don’t you go see that girl of yours, huh?” Matt continued to pull clothes and other personal belongings out of his bags as Brian stood behind him, watching him.

“I know that you do, Matt. It can’t be easy coming back here and seeing her,” Brian said, Matt looking back at him again.

“I’ve moved on, Gates. I’m with Val now, remember?” Matt told him, Brian shrugging his shoulders.

“Just because you’ve got a new girl doesn’t mean that you don’t feel anything for Ashley,” Brian stated. “I was there to pick your drunken ass up when you were trying to drown her out for the first six months of the tour, remember?”

“Whatever, man,” Matt shook his head. “She broke up with me. I wanted to give her the fucking world and she took it from me…” He snapped before gesturing towards the door. “Now if you don’t mind, I’ve got shit to do…”

“You're a dick…” Brian shook his head at the hazel-eyed male, walking out of the room and heading to his own bedroom to wait for Raven to join him.

Matt let out a sigh, running a hand over his head as he flopped down onto his bed and looked around the room that held so many memories of him and Ashley; “Tell me something I don't know….”

Brian laid full stretch on the double bed, his arms behind his head as he enjoyed the feeling of being back in his own room. It was wonderful to feel a soft mattress beneath him and know that he could fall asleep with Raven beside him tonight and a lot of other nights to follow. The door swung open and he smiled when he saw her standing there in all her glorious beauty, realizing just how much he had missed her whilst he was away.

“Okay, so that wasn't awkward at all….” Raven announced as she entered the room, smiling at the sight of him stretched out on the bed.

“Yeah, I guess there's gonna be some changes to get used to around here….” Brian said, propping himself up on his elbows as she walked over to him.

“Well, at least we're the same, right?” She asked, claiming the empty space beside him and settling into his side.

“I made a promise that we would be, didn't I?” He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers and she let out a small, breathy moan as she moved closer to him, allowing the kiss to deepen.

“So, where's my present?” Raven wanted to know, breaking the kiss to look at him her fingers dancing along his jawline.

“I never said it was a present, I said it was something for you….” The teasing grin was playing on his thin lips again and Rae rolled her eyes at him, slapping his chest lightly.

“Aren't they the same things?”

Brian chuckled lightly, kissing her again; “Okay, you really wanna know?”

“Yes!”

“Okay…” Brian sighed, standing up off the bed as his long fingers curled around the hem of his top before he pulled it up over his head. He looked back at Raven expectantly but she just sat there, staring blankly at his toned torso.

“I don't get it, what am I supposed to be looking at here? Because I've seen your body a thousand times,” Raven looked puzzled, her blue eyes roaming over every inch of his revealed skin before they found his staring at her. “I mean, as fabulous as it is….” She quickly amended noticing the look on his face and mistaking it for hurt when in fact it was disappointment. Disappointment he felt because she hadn't noticed the inked tribute to her on his tanned skin.

“I swear you can be so clueless sometimes, Rae….” He rolled his eyes, stepping back over to the bed and sitting down beside her as he pointed to the tattoo on the left side of his chest, right over his heart. “You're supposed to be looking at this, silly….”

Rae squinted, trying to figure out what the tattoo was supposed to be of before realization struck her and she gasped as she looked up into her boyfriend's eyes; “Wait, is that a…?”

“A raven, yeah…” Brian nodded, glancing down at his new tattoo with a proud smile, his long fingers tracing its outline. “I thought it would be cooler than getting your name done… I'm not one for clichés….” He admitted, looking back up at her. “Do you like it?”

“It's, um…. Well, it's…” Raven fumbled for the right words to tell him how she felt about the tattoo he had got for her but her mind was so muddled with the mixture of shock and awe that had struck her when she realized what the black shape was that she was finding it difficult to say anything but the beginning of a sentence.

Brian took her flustered look as a sign of her disapproval and went to grab his shirt; “You hate it. I should have listened to Zee; I never should have got it done….”

Raven pulled her lip ring into her mouth, trying to force her brain to work just long enough to say something but as she watched the hurt look fall on her boyfriend's face she knew that she had to do something other than just sit there in silence. She reached out a hand, pulling him back from leaning over to pick up his top.

“Don't…” She told him as he turned to look at her, his brow furrowing. “I like it…” Her fingers moved their way up his arm towards his chest, lightly touching the tattooed bird there. “It's cool… And sweet…I guess I was just shocked by it, that's all…”

Brian forgot all about his top, leaving it discarded on the bedroom floor and sitting back up properly, wrapping his arms around Rae.

“You sure you're not freaked out about it or anything?” He asked her gently, staring into her blue eyes and Raven looked back at him thoughtfully for a moment before ducking her head and placing a warm soft kiss against the bird he had permanently etched into his skin just for her.

“I love it,” She told him with a smile, bringing her head up to brush her lips against his. “And I love you…”

“I love you too, baby, always….” Brian whispered back to her, his mouth covering hers as they fell back against the sheets.

Raven could feel Brian’s heart beating rapidly against his chest as he pressed against her and kissed her hard. Their hands started to roam over each other’s bodies, their fingers removing items of clothing that were obstructing the exploration and discarding them beside the bed. Each kiss, each caress, every little breathy moan they shared seemed to be intensifying the situation.

As crazy with desire as Brian was, he forced them to take it slow, taking his time to enjoy every single moment of being with Raven like this again. When she moved to straddle him, he gently rolled her onto her back and pleasured her even though his own body was aching for sweet release. He was firm but gentle and ever so loving, making Rae realize just how much she had missed being this close to him.

Finally, he was poised over her open thighs, his muscular arms supporting his weight above her as they kissed.

“I've missed you…” He whispered, breaking their embrace to open his eyes and look down at her.

Rae brought her hands up to rest against his cheeks, staring up into his muddy brown orbs; “I've missed you too….”

Brian closed his eyes and smiled, bringing his face down to rest his forehead against hers; “I love you….”

He kissed her sweet and slow as he entered her body with his, joining them completely, making them become one and it was then that she whispered her declaration of love for him, promising him that she was his forever and always, no matter what.