Come Back to Me - It's Almost Easy

They were half way through their second beer, when the door opened again, and a group of 5 guys came in, laughing and chatting away. It seemed like the smallest one of them was trying to make a point to a conversation that must have started ages ago, his hands wildly supporting his every word. They didn't pay much attention to their surroundings, while they were making their way down to Dave's table, until one of the guys turned his head and looked straight at Lea, a sparkle in his hazel eyes, accompanied by a little smirk, playing around the corners of his lips. His strong body was overshadowing the small guy a lot, and he almost fell over the small guy as he stopped right in front of the table. Yes: they seemed to be just as wasted as Dave!

"And you must be Lea! Michael didn't lie one bit when he said you're one amazing girl! I guess we can count ourselves lucky you have the time to work with us - you single?"

one of the other tallish guys said, a flirtatious smile on his face, as he reached out his hands, his longish hair hanging wildly in his face as the other hand was holding his fedora in place. She reached out for his hand to shake it, but slower than usual. She was still checking out the guy with the heavily tattooed, muscly arms.
Sandra could see her friends’ brain cells grinding and made an effort to bridge the awkward silence.

“She surely is, and it’s not only her pics that are legendary. I’m Dave’s sister and a big fan of your music by the way, nice meeting you guys! How you like NYC?”

She shook his hand and greeted the rest of them as well: Brian aka Synyster Gates, Zacky Vengeance, Johnny Christ, Jimmy aka The Rev and Matt aka M. Shadows. She noticed, that Lea was still staring at Matt…then shifting her eyes over to Zacky. She almost expected her to start drooling into her beer.

“Yeah, we love NYC…it’s a great city, loads of places to misbehave at! Dave keeps talking about you and Lea, he must be missing you two like crazy, being all the way across the country. I can now see why!”

Matt replied, giving her a warm smile.
While Lea was able to hear them talk, she had now turned her attention to the small group of people, that just got in. She couldn’t believe that Jay actually had the guts to show his face around here! Him and 3 of his friends stood at the bar, flirting with the scarcely dressed waitress while ordering drinks. She could see his white teeth shine as he smiled.

“Sandra, did you tell Jay where we would be tonight?”

She asked quietly, leaning over to her friend. Sandra didn’t even need to reply, the guilty look on her face was a tell-tale sign by itself, that she had disregarded Lea’s strong feelings against meeting Jay at this stage, forcing his company on her.

“- but I told him to stay off your case, unless you strike up a conversation with him! Come on Lea, start acting like a grown-up, he just wants to see that you’re ok. You won’t be able to avoid him forever! And I think that after 5 years together, you’s two should be able to at least have a civilized conversation with each other.”

“You and your brother are one of the same! You don’t ask before just deciding things over my head! I wanted a clear cut from him, because I know, that I might get weak again if he starts sweet-talking me, and we both know that he’ll leave nothing unattempted to convince me that he didn’t cheat on me! If you like him so much, why don’t you date him!”

She grabbed the fresh pitcher one of Dave’s friends had just brought over from the bar, her thoughts rebelling, fury written all over her face. She poured her glass full and hastily skulled it back. Lea knew she was being too hard on Sandra, but she hated the way her friend kept pushing her to do something she seriously didn’t want to do.

“No time or place for a pretty lady like you to be all upset over something. If someone is raining on your parade, just double the drink and punch someone out. Trust me, works for me every time. Wanna go outside for a smoke?”

It was Matt, his smooth big hands touching her arm. His hazel eyes penetrated her’s and she was simply unable to look away again. She hadn’t even talked to the guy before, yet his sudden concern made her agree. With a smile, he grabbed her hand and pulled her up. They walked past the bar and passed Jay and his friends, towards the entrance. Everything happened so fast, she didn’t even know what was going on. They both stepped outside and he led her towards a sofa that was standing underneath a roofed part of the smoking area. He came to a halt and started foraging in his jeans pockets, apparently searching for his smokes.

“So-“ he said while offering her a smoke, lighting it up, and doing the same for the cigarette that was stuck in between his lips, “- Michael tells me you’re quite the heartbreaker! The guy your with can call himself lucky to have a woman like you by his side.”

Lea just huffed, sitting down on the sofa next to him.

“Well you can ask him if he did feel lucky, when he cheated on me with one of his groupies the past 5 months of our relationship. Bet he now thinks he should have kept his cock to himself!”

She immediately put her hand in front of her mouth: she couldn’t believe she had just said this, to a complete stranger! She turned her head towards him, hoping that for some reason, he hadn’t heard her comment, but a huge smile on his face told her different.

“I’m sorry! That wasn’t very…professional from me. I am just so freaking mad at him and Sandra and, people in general at the moment. Hell, I don’t even know what’s going on with me!”

He just started laughing softly, exhaling some cigarette smoke.

“Always a pleasure to meet people that speak their mind. I don’t think I introduced myself earlier, my name is Matt, or M. Shadows as many people call me these days.”

She relaxed a little and inhaled some more smoke, the taste of it was almost making her a little dizzy. Matt was apparently amused over something again, and his smile produced deep dimples on his face. She kinda felt like she had to explain why she was so confused, otherwise he’d think she was a complete nutcase.

“Ok, Dave’s sister is my best friend, but she’s never listening to me at all. She does know that I want to keep away from my ex Jay, yet still she calls him up and tells him that I’d be here tonight. He was always able to talk his way back into my heart after I have heard that he had things going on with other girls. Hell, I am such a push-over!”

Matt let his hand glide through his shortish black hair, looking on the ground when crushing his cigarette with his boots. Once again, she wasn’t able to take her eyes off of him…this time fixating her gaze on his lips, and the lip ring that was sparkling as it reflected the light.

“Well, let’s be blunt to him then! We could pretend that you’re way over him, flirt a little and just have a fun night together. I mean, what better way to show him you’re not needing him anymore than showing off with a new guy by your side? Plus, people thinking that you’re my girl would push my ego a lot!”

They both smiled, though his smile was a lot more mischievous than her’s, and once more, his hazel eyes had this sparkle to them. Lea wasn’t sure about putting on a show, Jay had always been able to read her like a book, but it was worth a try. She instantly liked Matt, he didn’t only listen to her, but he also seemed to have a very interesting personality, he had been smiling for most of the evening so far, and hell, did she dig that smile, not to mention his eyes and his body, or at least the parts she was able to see.
Without a further warning he pulled her up and wrapped his left arm around her shoulder. Before they reached the door, he winked at her. His warmth carried the smell of his cologne, and as his arm now slowly slid down to her side, grabbing her a little more firmly on her hip, she was ready for anything.
Jay turned around as they entered, just as she had expected him to: he was the same old, predictable Jay! As if it was the most natural thing in the world, Matt raised his hand a little, silently greeting Jay and his friends, before they made their way around the bar to Dave’s table. She could feel Jay’s stares burn in her back. Sandra’s and Dave’s confused facial expressions didn’t help taking the slight feeling of discomfort from her. But before she was able to say anything to them, as to why Matt was having his arm around her, Matt had sat down already, pulling her onto his lap.

“We decided to play a little game to keep her ex at bay. It was my idea by the way, she was very concerned about it not being professional from her, I assure you. Let’s just go with it and enjoy the evening!”

Matt said to a dumbfounded Sandra. Once again though, his enchanting smile seemed to void any doubts that Dave had, seeing Lea being all cozy with Matt, who, after all was a client, not a flirt. He never did like Jay, so teaching him a little lesson wouldn’t hurt. And the anger on Jay’s face was already worth it!

“Ahhhh…we better be getting another round of Tequila to celebrate this new union then! Shots for everyone!”