Masterpiece Theater

I woke up in a not new state of hungover. The sun shone behind my curtains. My phone told me it was after ten and I had two missed calls and a handful of messages. The guys wanted to go surf before hitting the studio.

Throwing my legs over the side of the bed and getting vertical, I lit a cigarette and called Matt back.

“Hey man. We’re just pulling up.”

“Alright. I’m hitting the shower.”

I hung up before he could crack any jokes. I’d told them about what happened with Laurel. They were all understanding. Or, at least had been at first. None of them approved of my only staying sober long enough to record.

I needed to get a fucking grip.

Unfortunately, the only grip I had was the one on my cock every morning in the shower. Drinking until I passed out did nothing to stop the dreams of Laurel. Extremely vivid and extremely detailed, I felt every kiss and bite and scratch as she cried out in ecstasy while I pumped myself inside of her. It didn’t help that I actually knew what she felt like underneath me now, soft and tender, eager and giving.

Even now, my cock was throbbing, waiting for an empty release. I put out my cigarette and shuffled to the bathroom, turning on the water and letting the steam fill the room before getting in.

I hissed when the hot spray hit my skin. Quickly and routinely, I washed my hair and soaped up a washcloth, running it over my arms and chest first. Next came my feet and my legs while the water rinsed off the rest of me. Lastly, I ran the washcloth over my stomach and between my legs, up and down my shaft.

The whole process was so routine that I didn’t even really need to think about it anymore. The image of Laurel laying beneath me, completely naked and glowing with satisfaction was enough to keep me going.

It was also extremely pathetic.

“Fuck.” I grunted, raising my free arm above me to lean against the wall. I pumped myself faster, urging out a release. The first one was just a warm up. I usually wasn’t able to get out of the shower until I’d gone two or three rounds.

I jerked when I came, groaning as I slowly stroked out my load and built myself up again. “Fuck me, Laurel.” I mumbled in desperation.

“Gee, Brian. All you had to do was ask.”

I jumped, crashing into the frosted glass door. Weakly, I pushed it open, and my jaw hit the floor when I saw Laurel standing there, stripping down. “How did you-”

“Your friends let me in. I tried to call but you didn’t answer. I pulled up right after them.” She explained casually. She folded her clothes neatly and set them on the counter. I could only stare in surprise as she slid open the door the rest of the way and got in beside me.

Speechless, I shut the door, closing us in under the water.

“What are you doing here?” I finally managed to ask, trying to situate myself in such a way that it wasn’t totally obvious what was going on between my legs.

“I wanted to talk. Everything got mixed up before. I thought we could have some coffee and I could explain.”

“So why didn’t you wait downstairs?”

I wasn’t exactly irritated. I just didn’t know what to say to her. She stood under the spray, her back to me. Without thought, I soaped up the washcloth again and began sudsing up her back, stepping close, but not touching.

I really didn’t trust myself to be this close to her.

“Well I was going to, until the Rev decided to tell me how miserable you’ve been and I should come up and help you feel better.”

At the use of Jimmy’s nickname, my hand stilled.

“You know?”

“Yeah, I know, and I feel stupid for not figuring it out sooner.”

She turned and put her arms over my shoulders, smoothing my hair down my neck. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t want it to get in the way. I wanted it to just be us for a while.”

Her gaze was soft and sympathetic. She kissed me softly, water sluicing between our lips. She pressed her body closer, closing the distance, and I groaned, digging my fingers into her sides.

When she flicked her tongue over my lips, it was game over.

I lifted her up and wrapped her legs around my waist, pushing myself inside her as she tugged on my bottom lip with her teeth. I groaned again, kissing her harder. I cupped the back of her head and gripped her hair so I wouldn’t hit against the tile wall as I rocked myself in and out of her.

“Oh fuck.” She cried when I lifted her up a bit and pushed inside her a little harder. Her nails bit into my shoulders, so I did it again, picking up speed, doing my best to keep us both stable.

“Brian. Fuck, Brian.” She moaned before becoming completely nonvocal. She whimpered and her lips found mine again. I kissed her deeply, slipping my tongue into her mouth, and pulled out of her, spewing curse words against her neck as I came, shooting it down the drain.

I shut the now cold water off and slumped against the wall, out of breath and feeling a hell of a lot better than I did when I had to do the job myself. Laurel pushed her hair out of her face, leaning against the opposite wall. I reached for her hand and she took it, smiling and trying to get a handle on her breathing.

“Wow.” I managed, before someone started banging on the bathroom door.

“If you’re done in there, we really have to go! Come on Gates, wrap it up and bring her with.” Johnny called. No doubt, the rest of the guys were crowded outside the door, too, trying to get a listen on everything.

“Bring me with where?” She asked. On shaky legs, I got out of the shower. I helped her out and handed her a clean towel before grabbing one for myself and leaning against the sink to dry off.

She sat down on the toilet and rubbed the rough terry cloth against her chest, her nipples rising in irritation. I had to force myself to look away before I started another round and made us even later than we already were.

“To the studio. We’re finishing up one of our new songs today. You wanna come?”

“To watch you record?”

“Yeah. It’ll be fun. We can grab something to eat after and...talk.”

“I’d love to.” She answered with a smile.

“Great. I’ll let you get dressed and you can meet us downstairs.”

“Sounds good.”

I walked out before tending to the abuse she performed on her breasts.

Luckily, it was only Matt in my room as I entered stark naked and began digging through my dresser. He apparently was more interested in the girl than caring about the nice view of my ass he was getting.

“You were only supposed to talk.” He pointed out.

“Kinda hard when she walked in on my jerking it.” I tossed over my shoulder. I pulled a V neck over my head and stepped into some board shorts, tying them as tight as they would go.

“Seriously? What is it about this chick, man? I mean, yeah, she’s hot, but what’s so special about her?”

“What’s so special about Val?” I snapped back.

“I didn’t put myself in a drunken, horny stupor because Val rejected me.” He answered. I ignored him as I pulled on a pair of Levis.

“Wait, that’s it. It’s because she shot you down. Twice.”

“No, it’s not. It’s because she’s beautiful and real and more concerned about other people than herself and doesn’t care about me being in some huge rock band.”

“I don’t?” She quipped, coming through the door, squeezing her hair between the folds of the towel.

“No, you don’t.” I answered curtly.

“Okay then. Is there any way we can get coffee before we go?”

“Yeah, there should be a fresh pot downstairs.” I glared at Matt and placed my hand on the small of Laurel’s back, ushering her out of the room. We made it downstairs and into the kitchen before I heard Matt’s footsteps coming down.

I filled two to-go mugs with fresh coffee and handed Laurel one. She sipped generously, giving a hum of approval.

“Good coffee.” She mumbled, now completely satisfied.

Jimmy and Johnny snickered into their own mugs.

“We ready?” Matt asked, finally coming in.

We all filed out, my arm around Laurel’s waist. I helped her into my Jeep and kissed her before moving to my own side. Johnny and Zack climbed into the back. Jimmy chose to ride with Matt. I kept Laurel's hand in mine as I drove, unsure of what all of this meant.