When Saturday came I had mixed feelings about the barbecue. I'd been fine while I was planning what to wear and deciding how to do my hair to look my best but now I was ready I was starting to have second thoughts. Part of me was really excited about Chris picking me up and taking me, about seeing Christine and Rami again as well as meeting the rest of the band. But there was a small part of me that was worried about what Taylor would think. The thought of making him jealous had been all well and good when I was upset and angry but now the time was drawing near I wasn't sure I was doing the right thing. By the time the clock struck seven I was pacing my apartment with nerves.
When the knock on the door came I nearly jumped out of my skin I was so wound up. I gathered my thoughts as best I could as I went and opened the door. There was Chris smiling at me. Immediately my nerves melted away and I felt a smile spread across my face. Why did this man make me feel so relaxed?
He stepped inside and then leant forward to kiss my cheek.
"You look beautiful." he said and I felt myself blush.
"So you ready?" he asked that grin of his spread wide across his face.
"Yep. I'll just grab my bag." I told him.
I gathered my things and headed outside where Chris was now waiting. As we walked towards the cab he slung his arm loosely around my shoulders
"Are you looking forward to tonight?" he asked.
My heart skipped a beat at his touch. It must have been because he'd caught me by surprise.
"Yeah." I answered a little hesitantly.
"You alright?" he questioned looking at me a little concerned.
"I haven't told Taylor I'm going to the barbecue with you and now I'm feeling a little nervous about it." I shrugged
He gave my shoulders a little squeeze.
"Hey I'm sure he'll be fine. He knows I'm your friend and I can always have a little word with him if you need me too."
He was always so kind and caring I thought as I looked at him and smiled
"Thanks but I'm sure you're right, he'll be fine."
He wasn't looking directly at me anymore and I couldn't help but notice that his smile seemed to have a hint of sadness in it all of a sudden. I placed my arm around his back and returned the friendly squeeze. He looked into my eyes for a moment like he was going to say something but in the end decided not to.
As we reached the cab he opened the door, gestured for me to get in and joked
"You chariot awaits." I rolled my eyes at him and giggled as I climbed in.
Chris shut the door, then walked round to the other side of the cab and got in beside me. As we travelled across town we chatted and laughed like we always did. I really liked Chris' company and was still amazed at how lucky I'd been to stumble across his gig and meet him that day.
When we arrived at Dave's house Chris paid the cab driver and we walked up to the front door. The house was huge and like nothing I'd ever stepped foot in before. Chris rang the bell and soon Dave opened the door and greeted us with a warm smile.
"Chris" he called taking his friend into a hug.
As Chris stepped past him Dave caught sight of me
"And Mia nice to see you again." he said giving me the same warm hug.
For famous musicians these guys really were very down to earth.
We followed Dave through the house and out into the back yard. As we walked outside I heard Christine call
"Mia I'm so pleased you could make it." I smiled as she walked over and embraced me.
As she stepped aside I saw Rami following over to do the same.
"Hi guys it's great to see you again." I said
"Come and meet the others." Christine continued
She linked her arm in mine and led me over to where everyone else was sitting. She pointed to each person in turn
"So this is Nate and his wife Kate. This is Pat and his wife Rebecca and this is Jordyn, Dave's wife. You've already met Taylor. This is Mia."
"Hi" I managed to say feeling a little overwhelmed meeting all these people.
I glanced over at Taylor who was staring at me a look of shock on his face. I swallowed hard. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all. As everyone said hi to me Taylor seemed to regain his composure and was soon greeting me with that cheeky grin of his that made my heart flutter.
"Great to see you again Mia. I wasn't expecting to see you here." he said as he kissed my cheek.
"I....erm..." I stammered trying to think of a suitable answer, one that didn't involve agreeing to go with Chris to make him jealous.
"We discussed it the other evening over takeaway. Mia and I had been out shopping, when we got back to our place Rami and Chris were already there so we invited her to stay for dinner. When the barbecue came up in conversation we just thought it would be nice to invite her along. Isn't that right?" Christine said looking at Rami for backup.
He looked a little confused but nodded as he took a mouthful of beer. I worriedly glanced over at Taylor but he didn't seem to have noticed.
"Yeah" I heard Chris' voice say behind me "I offered to pick her up so she didn't have to arrive alone."
"Cool" Taylor said "So Mia what would you like to drink?"
He led me over to a table full of various drinks and I chose a beer.
"You're looking very sexy as always." he whispered in my ear and I felt myself blush. I looked up at him, he was stood staring at me with a hungry look in his eyes. I felt my cheeks burn even redder as I turned and walked back over to where everyone else was sitting.
I took a seat between Chris and Christine as Taylor sat back down by Pat. For a while I found it impossible to join in the conversations as every time I looked over towards Taylor I saw him watching me and it made me a little uncomfortable. Eventually though as I got further down my beer and started to relax I found myself chatting not only with Chris and Christine but the other members of the band too. They were all laughing and joking. Dave was a marvel with his grill and the food he brought over to us tasted like heaven. After about an hour I felt like I'd been a part of their friendship group forever. As people moved about to chat I found myself happily doing the same, joining in with whatever conversation happened to be going on.
After a while I wandered into the house to find the bathroom. It was a beautiful place and I found myself taking it all in as I walked slowly down the hallway to the room I wanted. As I left the bathroom I felt someone grab my hand. For a moment I panicked before I heard Taylor's voice say
"Come with me sexy."
He dragged me farther down the hallway to small room. Once we were inside he shut and locked the door. He took me in his arms and looked at me hungrily.
"I'm glad Shifty brought you along." he smirked before claiming my mouth hard.
"We can't do this here. It's Dave's house. What if he comes in?" I said as I pulled away from him
"Relax. Dave hardly ever uses this room." He grinned "Besides it's a party, you're supposed to do these things at parties."
With that he kissed me again and this time I kissed him back. Our tongues entwined as his hands made their way down my body, caressing every inch of me as they went. I shivered at his touch. As he pushed me back against the wall I could feel him growing hard against me. I let my hand fall to the front of his pants and stroked his cock.
"Oh God that feels good." he muttered as pushed himself harder against my hand.
His lips left mine and kissed down my neck as I let my head fall back to enjoy the moment. His hands were now down on my thighs and I could feel them making their way under my skirt. I gasped as they reached my skin. I fumbled with the zip on his pants and pushed them down his hips slightly so that I could take his dick in my hand. I felt his body shudder against me as I started with slow strokes and teased his tip with my thumb.
"Oh you really know how to turn me on." he said looking deep into my eyes.
I felt his hand brush up my thigh to the front of my panties. I gasped as I felt him touch me and he grinned as he said "Like that do you?" He smirked
I was too breathless to speak but I nodded my approval. His hand made its way inside my panties as he watched me intently.
"I like to watch you enjoying yourself." he said with a raspy voice
As the feelings inside me grew my grip on his cock tightened and I pumped him harder. He moaned and the sound made me want to kiss him. I took his mouth hard and deep before I whispered
"I want you inside me."
No sooner had the words left my lips than he removed my hand from his cock, slid my panties to one side and pushed inside me. Immediately his strokes were fast and hard and we were both breathing heavily. I was so close to coming already I didn't think I would last more than a few more pumps.
"I'm gonna come." I told him breathlessly.
"Enjoy it baby." he muttered pushing harder inside.
I felt myself climax as I bit my lip hard so as not to call out. Moments later Taylor buried his face in my shoulder to muffle his cries as I felt him shudder as he came. We stood gasping, tangled together for a few moments catching our breath. Then Taylor looked up and smiled as he removed himself from my body and pulled up his pants. I straightened my clothing a little shocked at how passionate our whole relationship seemed to be.
"I'll head back out now." He said as he pulled me in to his arms and gently kissed me "Give me a few minutes head start before you follow. Don't want people guessing what we've been up to do we?" He winked, gave me a quick kiss and then he was gone.
I stood in that room feeling empty and alone. All I wanted was to walk back outside with him, hand in hand and for people to know we were together. We were together weren't we? I found myself wondering if that were true. I started to feel sick as the thought that he might just be using me entered my head. I shook it off. I had to be wrong. He wouldn't do that would he?
After a few minutes I followed him back outside. I wandered slowly over to my seat beside Chris and sat down. I felt confused and really didn't know if I wanted to be here anymore.
"Hey Earth to Mia." A voice beside me suddenly said.
I turned as I felt a gentle hand on my arm to see Chris smiling at me.
"You alright? You were miles away."
"Oh...yeah I'm fine. My mind just wandered a bit that's all." I gave a half hearted smile in return.
"Anything you want to tell me about?" he asked.
I shook my head. "Nah, it's nothing really."
He held my gaze, nothing but concern in his eyes. "Sure?" he enquired.
"Sure!" I told him this time with a genuine smile. I still found it hard to believe that a man like him could be bothered to take such an interest in someone like me.
"OK" he replied still not sounding totally convinced "but you know you can tell me anything right? I'm always here if you need me." His hand that was still resting on my arm gave me a reassuring squeeze before he moved it and returned to the conversations around him.
For a moment I sat there thinking about Chris and Taylor and how different they were with me. Chris was always checking to see if I had fun, if I was alright, he was easy and true. Time with Taylor was exciting but I wanted to be loved and I was beginning to wonder if he was capable of doing that.
I decided to distract myself from my thoughts and so joined in with the laughing and joking going on around me until it was time to go. As people started to drift away Christine and Rami came over to me.
"Do you have a lift home?" Rami asked "We'd hate to think of going by yourself."
I didn't get chance to answer before Chris did it for me. "We've got it covered thanks."
Christine grinned a little as she said "That's good." Then she hugged first me and then Chris before saying "Goodnight both."
Rami slapped Chris on the shoulder as he said "Goodnight." and then gave me a hug before he put his arm around Christine and they headed for the door. They were such a sweet couple I thought as I watched them leave. They were exactly the thing I longed for.
Everyone was being so nice to me as they said their goodbyes. I got hugs and kisses on the cheek from everyone except Taylor who gave Chris a gentle shove and then put his hand up to me as he passed by. I had a crushing feeling in my chest. I couldn't understand how he could be so cold when earlier he couldn't keep his hands off me. I know he said he wanted to keep things a secret at first but surely we were past that stage now?
I watched Taylor leave, giving kisses to the other women as he went. My heart was aching and I felt so alone. Suddenly I felt an arm around my shoulders and heard Chris' voice whisper to me, sharp and clearly irritated.
"He's a fucking idiot." I looked at Chris, slightly shocked by what he'd said. "Sorry" he went on "I probably shouldn't have said that but he is. You deserve to be treated better than that and I've got a good mind to fucking tell him."
"No please don't. It's fine." I replied.
I'd never seen Chris look angry before but he did.
"It's not fine but I won't say anything if you don't want me to." We stood for a moment, then he sighed and his face softened as he went on "Come on let's get you home."
We took a cab back to my apartment. Things were a little quiet as I tried to figure out what I was feeling. I liked being with Taylor, it was exhilarating but I needed more than that from him and I was beginning to wonder if he could give it. Chris on the other hand was my friend but I was starting to have feelings for him that I probably shouldn't. He was so kind and caring. He actually wanted to know what I thought and I liked that, I needed that. I had to try and remember that this was just friendship and that I was only feeling this way because there was something missing from my relationship with Taylor. I really needed to sort that out I decided.
When we reached my apartment Chris asked the driver to wait for him and he walked me to my door. I stepped inside and then turned to face him. For a moment our eyes locked and we just held each other's gaze. Then Chris cleared his throat and dropped his head for a moment. When he looked back up at me he smiled.
"Well thanks for coming Mia it's been a great evening. I'll text you to arrange times for rehearsals."
"Thank you for asking me. I've had fun." Suddenly I felt shy and blushed
"Well goodnight." he said before kissing my cheek.
My heart fluttered slightly and I tried to keep it in check.
"Goodnight." I whispered as he turned and walked away, I knew he didn't hear it but my voice wasn't strong enough.
I watched as he got back into the cab and it drove away. Then I shut the door and walked into my living room, my fingers touching my cheek where Chris' lips had been moments before. I sighed as I realised I was now even more confused than ever.