Booze, Boys, and Buses

I groaned and opened my eyes. Matt was lying next to me asleep. I got out of bed as silent as possibly. Matt said something in his sleep. I just laughed at his subconscious murmurs and walked out of the room. I’d decided that since it was our first day back from tour, I would treat him to a nice breakfast. It was the least I could do.

While I was cooking pancakes over the stove, I began to think about something that had bothered me a little. He was considering marrying me. Sure I wanted to be with him for a long time, but this was awkward. Zack said he’d been with Val for ten years before he asked her to marry him. Did this mean that he loved me more? Maybe he was scared that I was going to leave him and he wanted to prevent that from happening. Or perhaps he was just using me as a rebound. I didn’t want to start and post-tour drama, but if I had to, then I had to.

After cooking the pancakes and the eggs, I sliced and orange and put it all on a tray. I brought it upstairs and set it down on the end table. I shook him awake and he jumped. I laughed.

“I made you breakfast in bed.” I explained, smiling as he sat up.

“Aw thanks babe.” He said, reaching up and kissing me.

He fully sat up and then I sat the tray down on his lap. He smiled at me and took a bite out of his pancakes.

“These are great.” He said. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” I replied, sitting down next to him on the bed.

“Do you want any?” He asked, holding the fork out to me.

“No thanks, I’m not hungry.” I replied, scratching the back of my head. He shrugged and continued to devour the meal in front of him.

“Why did you talk to Zack about marrying me?” I asked, looking at my feet.

He laughed. “I wasn’t talking about right then. You see, I asked him when would be a good time to ask you. That’s when he said something about only being together for two months. I wasn’t planning on asking you anytime soon. You don’t need to worry.”

He kissed the top of my head, but my hair got stuck to his lips.

“Ow!” I shouted, trying to pry my hair off of his lips.

He chuckled. “Hold on.”

He got my hair off of his lips and he laughed again.

“Jerk, you know you shouldn’t kiss people with sticky lips.” I scolded, pinching his nose and leaving the bedroom.

“Where are you going?” He asked, his mouth obviously full.

“The shower!” I shouted into his room.

“There’s one in here.” He said, I imagined rolling his eyes.

“Oh yeah.” I said, laughing and walking back into the bedroom where the bathroom was attached at the right.

I undressed myself and got into the shower. The hot water rolled down my body, making me feel so happy to be home. Speaking of which, I’d been avoiding my grandmother’s phone calls for the past couple weeks. I knew that she wanted to pester me about not coming over on Christmas, meaning I was going to have to make a trip up to Maine soon. As soon as I was done in the shower, I got out in my towel and walked into the bedroom.

“I have to call my Nana.” I said, rummaging through my drawers for something to wear.

“Why?” Matt asked; raising an eyebrow I’m sure.

“Because I told her that I was going to be coming up for Christmas and I didn’t. So I owe her now.” I informed him, pulling on some underwear.

“Please tell me that we won’t have to do any more traveling. I want to stay home for a while.” He begged, giving me the pouty face I can’t resist.

“Matt, I know, I want to stay home too. She’s my Nana; the woman that raised me when my parents were gone. I owe her.” I explained, pulling my shirt over my head.

I was now fully clothed and leaving the bedroom. Matt called something to me over the stairs, but I didn’t quite catch what it was. I picked up the phone and dialed the number to my Nana’s house. She picked up, sounding a little surprised.

“Hey Nana.” I said, a smile teasing my lips.

“Oh Cassandra! It’s you!” She shouted, I knew she was smiling now. “Why are you calling from California?”

“I have a new boyfriend Nana.” I explained, half-smiling.

There was an awkward silence on the other end. “How come you never told me about that?”

“I wasn’t so sure if you would approve of him.” I honestly admitted.

“Of course I will. You should fly up to Maine and bring him with you!” She exclaimed, her excitement was radiating through the phone.

“Well, we just got back from touring with his band. How about you come over here?” I suggested, wondering how Matt would take this.

“Sweetie that would be wonderful.” She said, “I’ll pack my things and get a plane ticket over.”

“You can’t afford that.” I murmured.

“I can afford to see my baby. Now make some room for me to come in and stay.” She said, laughing. “I love you, See you at the airport. Los Angeles right?” She asked.

“Yeah. I love you too. Bye Nana.”

“Bye sweetie.”

I hung up the phone and put it on the receiver. I don’t think she quite expected that my boyfriend was quite wealthy and had a house big enough for an elephant and his twin brother. I suppose I was going to have to tell Matt about this. I knew right off that he wasn’t going to like it.

“I have some news for you.” I began, biting my lip.

“What?” He asked, coming out of the bathroom.

“My Nana is coming over for a couple weeks.” I informed him, waiting painfully for the reaction.

“Don’t you think you should consult me first before you go inviting people into a home that isn’t yours?” He asked, scoffing.

“Wow Matt, way to make a girl feel welcome.” I replied sarcastically.

“Well you didn’t ask, and you don’t pay the bills. As far as I’m concerned, you have no say in who comes over and when they come over and for how long they stay.” He said, dropping his towel and reminding me brutally of one of the things I loved about him. His sexy ass.

“Fine then, I’ll leave.” I said, walking downstairs. “And I’ll go to a hotel and get a job. I’ll live there and I can tell my grandmother that the reason why she can’t meet my boyfriend, is because he’s an asshole!” I shouted, turning on my heel and leaving the room.

“Wait Cass.” He said in a weakened tone.

I turned back around. “Yes?” I asked, smiling on the inside because of my victory.

“She can stay here.” He said, hanging his head in defeat.

I smiled. I pressed my clothed body against his naked one. I needed to remind him now of why he let me win ever battle we faced. I pressed my lips to his and gripped his back. My hands worked their way from his back down to his rear. I pushed him onto the bed as I never let our lips part. He helped me remove my shirt and pants more quickly than I could have on my own.

He turned me over onto my back and hovered over me. He was ready to go, as was I, so we began. We swayed together slowly at first. As our pace quickened, our breaths grew ragged and uneven. I screamed his name as I reached my climax.

“I love you.” I whispered to him as he lay next to me under the covers.

“I love you too.” He said, kissing my lips.

I looked over at the clock. It was already three in the afternoon. What a great way to spend the first day back. The phone rang beside Matt’s head and he answered it.

“Yeah I am glad to be back.” This followed with some laughter. “Really? Dude us too.” I strained to understand what they were talking about. “Yeah we like just got done.”

I smacked his bare chest. “Matt! You don’t need to share our sex life with the world!”

“It’s not the world, it’s just Brian. He had sex with Michelle last night, happy? Now you know about them too.” He said, laughing at my awed expression.

“But—“ I began.

“Nope. I’m right and you’re wrong.” He said, grinning sheepishly.

“Need I remind you why that statement is not true?” I asked, kissing down his neck.

“Ok, you’re right honey, as always.” Matt said, groaning a little.

I heard Brian faintly over the phone. “Ok, if you guys are going to get it on while I’m on the phone, I’m gonna hang up.”

I laughed. “Don’t worry Brian, I was just reminding him who’s boss.”

I heard a chuckle and then I lay back down on my pillow. Matt’s talking lulled me into a sleep. I’d been sleeping a lot, but I deserved it. Dealing with five guys and their girlfriends earned me some sleep. I woke up when I felt a set of lips on mine.

“Morning baby.” I said, opening my eyes. The eyes that met mine were not Matt’s, but in fact Zack’s. I jumped and screamed. “What are you doing?” I asked, my eyes grew wide.

He laughed. “We all wanted to see your expression.”

“Jesus Zack.” I said, rolling out of bed.

I heard Zack laughing and I sighed. “You look beautiful first thing in the morning.”

I turned around and looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was a little bit all over the place. Ok, a lot a bit all over the place. I tried my best to straighten it out. I slapped Zack in the chest before leaving the bedroom. My loud footsteps I’m sure could be heard in the kitchen.

“Matt! Zack kissed me!” I yelled, placing my hands on my hips.

“So?” Matt asked, chewing on a piece of bacon.

My mouth fell agape. I had expected him to do something about it. “What? You don’t care?”

“Not really.” He said, opening up the fridge.

I sighed and rolled my eyes at him. Kacie was sitting at the island table in the kitchen, as was Michelle. They were both laughing at me.

“Why are you laughing? That’s your boyfriend.” I pointed out to Kacie.

“Yeah, but Michelle says that it happens to all of us. I don’t know who I’m going to get my ‘welcome to the group’ kiss from.” She laughed at this.

As if out of nowhere, Jimmy ran into the kitchen and seized Kacie by the back of the head. He pressed his lips fiercely to hers. Her eyes grew to the size of melons.

“Happy?” He asked, wiping his mouth and walking off.

Kacie didn’t speak, or move. She just sat there, staring off into space. Her reaction caused an eruption of laughter to fill the kitchen.

“Haha!” I shouted, laughing along with the others.

“Bitch.” She murmured, wiping her mouth. “Jimmy, you’re a horrible kisser.”

His mouth dropped. “Way to ruin a guy’s ego!”

“You’re welcome.” A shit eating grin spread across her face.

I rolled my eyes and went into the living room. This was too early for nonsense like this. I was way too tired to deal with it. The phone started ringing and Matt walked over to answer it.

“Hello?” He said, scrunching his eyebrows. “Yeah right here.”

He held the phone out to me, I accepted it. “Hello?”

“Hi honey!” My Nana said.

She always made me smile. “Hi.”

“I’m going to be arriving in the airport in an hour.” She informed me.

“Ok, Matt and I will be there to get you.” I assured her, saying a goodbye and hanging up.

“Matt, we need to go and get my grandmother from the airport. She’s going to be there in about an hour.” I said, turning to go upstairs.

“Where are you going? We need to leave now.” He said, a little attitude playing at his voice.

“I need to change first.” I said, rolling my eyes.

I changed into a simple tee-shirt, sweatshirt, and jeans. Matt and I ran out to my Malibu, but I decided that it would be best to let him drive, considering that he knew where he was going. I fell asleep on the way, my rude awakening left me tired. When we pulled into the parking lot of the airport, Matt shook me awake. I jumped and looked out the window.

“We’re here.” Matt said, taking off his seat belt.

I proceeded to take my seat belt and get out of the car as well. Matt took my hand as we walked into the large building. I looked around for my Nana, but I didn’t see her anywhere.

“Cassie!” I heard from behind me.

I jumped and turned around. “Nana!” I shouted, embracing her.

“I’ve missed you so much!” She exclaimed, not letting go of me.

“Nana, you’re choking me.” I said hoarsely. She laughed and let go of me. “Nana, this is Matt, Matt this is my Nana, Eva.”

The two of them shook hands and said their hellos. “Are you ready to get going?” I asked, looking in the direction of the door.

“Nope, I need to go and get my bags. I’ll just find you guys in the parking lot. What are you driving?”

“A dark grey 2008 Malibu.” I explained. “We’ll just pull up so you can hop in.”

“Ok, see you in a couple minutes.” She said, smiling and stroking my face before she turned away to retrieve her bags.

“Babe, why don’t you stay and help her out with her bags?” I asked, rubbing his back.

He sighed. “Alright.”

He walked after her and I smiled. I walked out to the car and started the engine. I smiled every time I did. I was so glad he got this car for me. The engine purred as I began to drive over to the main doors of LAX. I parked there and waited for Matt and my grandmother. Matt was smiling when he walked out of the building holding onto my grandmother’s bags. She was smiling as she walked out behind him. She sat down in the front with me, Matt was a gentleman and sat down in the back.

“Thank you so much Matt.” Nana said, shifting in her seat.

“You’re welcome.” Matt said.

I literally almost cried seeing how nice they were being together. Yes, there were definitely times that I hated being a girl, mostly for the silly hormones.

“Off we go to the Sanders residence.” I said, adjusting the rearview mirror and smiling at Matt in the backseat.