Duff
I was woken up by the sound of my door opening and shutting, and the creak of the floor boards underneath the weight of someone's feet.
I felt the blankets move slightly, and the bed dip down.
A hand wandered across my shoulder blades, pausing for a minute over the tattoos that covered my back.
"Duff?" her throaty yet sexy voice questioned me.
I turned over in bed to meet her gaze, and her big blue eyes burned right through mine.
Now it was my turn to ask. "Where's Axl?"
She bit her lip carefully and batted her long lashes at me. "I'm not sure. I heard a bunch of noises last night, and then he came in. I asked him what was going on and he told me he'd tell me in the morning. When I woke up a few minutes ago he was gone."
She stopped a second and stared at me. "What in the hell happened to your nose?"
I looked at her, thinking carefully of what to say. "Nothing, it's nothing." I said, brushing her off.
A silence took over the room, with her blue eyes continuing to stare into my own.
Finally, after a good minute, she rolled over towards the window, away from me. She began to speak.
"I'm not sure why I came in here." she said plainly, staring out onto the LA skyline.
"I can't just sit in that bedroom by myself anymore. He can't keep doing this to me, but I care about him too much." she said.
I kept silent as she continued to talk.
"Things were so much easier when we were just friends. I didn't worry as much. When he went missing for a few days, I didn't take it personally. But now all I do is cry and worry."
Silence.
"I don't want to hurt him, Duff. I know it's not right for us to be together. He's proven that to me in these two months we've been dating, but seeing him upset kills me." she said.
I knew exactly what I wanted to tell her, but I kept my mouth shut. "I don't know what to tell you." I said.
Silence, once again.
"You know, I really like you." she said, turning back towards me.
"I really like you too, Ana." I responded.
"And I really don't know what I'd do without you, Duff. Your always there when I need you." her hand touched my bare chest, and she scooted in closer. I took her in my arms and wrapped her in a tight hug.
I seized the opportunity to drink in every aspect of her. Her smell, the feeling of her bare skin against mine, and the sound of her voice. Every hair on my body stood on end, and it took every bit of self control I had not to kiss her pretty lips. I silently wished it would last forever.
I was taken by surprise when I felt hot tears hit my chest. She cupped my face gently, and planted a kiss on my cheek, but I grabbed her chin instead, gently lifting her lips to meet with mine.
And it happened.
Everything I ever felt for her poured out of me and into the kiss, channeling the sweet emotion between the two of us.
And then her fingers were in my hair, and my hand wandered to the small of her back. Her tongue was suddenly mingling with mine, doing the tango.
Between sweet kisses, she spoke. "I've gotta get ready for work." she tried, but her body said otherwise. We continued to lock lips, and my mouth wandered down to the nape of her neck.
She tasted as sweet as sugar and smelled even better. I couldn't help but smile against her skin when she let out an almost silent moan, for only me to hear.
"Duff." she said my name softly, like honey from her lips.
I kissed her again, and we became entangled. Somehow, she managed to end up underneath of me, with my hips pinning her to the mattress. She had a firm hold of my back side, pulling me closer against her body.
"I want you, Duff." she said, as I trailed kisses between her breasts and down her stomach.
She guided my head back up to meet her own lips once more, but I didn't want to push her any further. It was her choice whether she wanted to do this, not mine.
I moved up to her ear lobe and nibbled at the soft spot behind it.
"I'm gonna be late, baby." she moaned.
"You don't have to go, Anastasia. Stay with me." I whispered in her ear.
I stopped kissing her, and her crystal blue eyes locked with mine.
"I don't want to have to rush this." she began. "You and I both know we have some sort of chemistry. I've never felt this way with anyone else, Duff." She paused for a second.
"I want you to make love to me, and we don't have enough time right now for that right now." she planted one last kiss on my lips and I watched as she got out of my bed slowly, heading for the mirror that hung on the wall.
She pulled her unruly blonde hair into a ponytail, and ran her fingers underneath her eyes, removing any smudged make up our little tryst may have caused.
I really didn't want her to leave. Whenever she was gone, I felt empty, like a piece of me was missing. And now that I've had a taste of her sweet lips, she was like a drug I couldn't get enough of.
"You don't have to go you know. You don't have to work-- not today, not ever." I paused a second, and she glanced back at me in the mirror.
"I'll take care of you. Whatever's mine is yours, baby." I tried.
"You know I can't do that, Duff. We're all broke." she answered.
"I'll make it work. There's always a way." I tried to convince her.
"It's not just me and you, Duff. Although I wish it was." she looked down at her hands.
"It's me. And it's you. And it's Axl. And it's Slash and Izzy and Steven. We're all one big fucked up mess, and if one person strikes the match, the whole house is gonna come tumbling down."
"And you know what they say." Her eyes flicked up to lock with mine.
"If you play with fire, you're gonna get burned."
______________________________________________________
Axl
After hanging out in the studio all afternoon, I figured it would be a good idea to go see Ana at work.
I put the car in park at the front door of K.C's, stepping out carefully.
I twirled my car keys around my finger and pulled the door open, only to be greeted by Kasey herself.
"Well if it isn't Mr. Axl Rose. I don't remember putting you on the set for tonight, but I guess we can squeeze you in." she joked, clutching an armful of menus.
"Good one, Kase. I'm just hear to talk to a specific employee of yours." I narrowed my eyes and scanned the large restaurant for her.
"And who might that be?" Kasey questioned.
I chuckled. I forgot that Ana didn't know that I knew Kasey, and Kasey didn't know that I dated Ana.
"Anastasia Fisher." I told her. Kasey looked at me strangely, but I didn't pay too much attention to her. She cheated on her husband with Steven, right up until the day she got caught.
"You don't mind if I steal her for a couple minutes, do you?" I asked her, still looking for Ana myself.
"To be honest, I don't think she's in yet. Gimme a second, alright?" she said, walking towards the kitchen.
Late for work? It wasn't like her at all.
So, I sat right down at the bar and ordered myself a beer.
It was a good twenty minutes when I saw her walk in, completely flustered but still looking sexy as hell. She wore a pair of tiny denim shorts, a tight t-shirt, and a pair of red high heels. Her long blonde hair hung down her back in perfect ringlets.
I felt a tap on my shoulder, so I turned around.
"She just got in, do you see her?" asked Kasey. "That's her section right there." She pointed to a set of five tables.
"Thanks Kase. Did she say why she was late?" I questioned.
She nodded her head. "She said she woke up late since her alarm didn't go off."
"Thanks again." I told her.
I got up from the bar and made my way to one of Ana's tables, sliding my sunglasses over my eyes and putting on my jacket.
It wasn't more then 5 minutes before I watched her strut towards me, popping her gum and staring at her order pad. She didn't make eye contact, but she began to speak.
"Welcome to K.C's on the Water, I'm Ana and I'll be taking care of you tonight. Our special is Conch Fritters in lime sauce. Happy hour is 5-6 tonight and we're offering 1 dollar jägerbombs all night. What can I start you off with?" She rattled off, not looking up from her order pad once.
She took a pen from in between her boobs and prepared to begin writing.
_______________________________________________________________
Anastasia
I fiddled with my pen while waiting patiently for the customer to look over his menu. How hard was it to choose a drink?
"I'll have a piece of that ass." he said, and I flicked my eyes up to meet his.
Fucking Axl, harassing me at work. He's lucky I realized who he was, because anyone else would have gotten a sucker punch to the jaw for saying something as vulgar as that.
My lips twisted into a smile, and I blinked quickly. "You know, I don't think my boyfriend would appreciate that."
He chuckled. "I think--" he paused. "Actually, I know, he'd be okay with it."
I bit my lip and bent down to kiss him gently on the lips.
"What are you doing here?" I questioned.
"What? A man's not allowed to visit his girlfriend at work? I didn't know it was against the law now." he grinned.
"The real question is, why weren't you here on time?" he wanted to know, and I froze.
Fuck.
I hated lying, but I had no choice. I couldn't tell Axl that I'd spent my morning making out with Duff in his bed.
"The alarm didn't go off this morning. I knew there was something wrong with that damn alarm clock. I'll have to go before work tomorrow and get a new one." I complained, hoping he wouldn't question me any further.
"When's your break?" he questioned, and I breathed a sigh of relief, just happy he dropped the 'late' subject.
I glanced around at my tables and then back to Axl.
"By the time you eat, I'll be ready for break. What are you hungry for?" I asked him politely.
"Let me get a beer and a cheeseburger with french fries-- no onions." he smiled at me.
"I'm afraid I'm going to need to see your ID, sir or I'll have to ask you to go home. " I joked.
His hand landed square on my ass. "Axl! Seriously?" I scolded him.
"Hurry up, or I'll take you home." he said seductively.
I rolled my eyes. "Be back in a few minutes. I love you." He shot me a smile.
After about an hour, I had made sure all of my tables were waited and I told my boss I was going on break. She agreed, and I sat down across from Axl at one of the tables.
"It's about time." he grinned, reaching for my hand across the table.
He had his sunglasses on and his hair was styled strangely.
"Why do you still have your glasses on? And why is your hair like that?" I questioned out of curiosity, looking him up and down.
"You didn't hear?" he asked.
"Hear what?"
"What happened last night. No one told you?" he wanted to know.
"No, no one told me anything. I heard some commotion, but that was it. What happened?"
"Duff and I got into a fight." Axl responded, and my stomach twisted into a knot.
Fuck.
"About what?"
"About you." he sipped his beer, but never let his eyes break contact with my own.
"What about me?" I said carefully, being sure not to jump to conclusions too fast.
He picked at the remainder of his french fries. "He tried to tell me that I wasn't treating you right, and that everyone else has to take care of you because I don't."
I went silent, because what he had just said was mostly true. He was rarely home, and Duff was always there for me.
"I told him to mind his own business-- that we were fine and that you could take care of yourself, but he just wouldn't shut the fuck up. So I swung first and we got into it." He pulled his glasses down a bit, revealing a black eye. I gasped at it's raunchy blue-black color, but I still didn't say anything.
"I know I've been in the studio a lot, but it'll get better once the album is finished. I promise. You just gotta give me time-- patience." he said, gently kissing my hand.
I kept quiet, wondering what I should say or do. Axl answered this question for me.
"What time do you get off work tonight? I want to show you something."