Almost Easy

Trouble

Only Brian gets a POV in this one!

Brian’s POV 

I woke up alone. That’s never happened to me before. Usually I’m the one slinking out in the middle of the night or the early morning, but today I was the one waking up alone. I ran my hand across my face and through my hair. I reached my arm over to touch the empty space where Zoey had just been lying.

Last night was a whirlwind of activity. An exhausting whirlwind. Zoey and I shared a moment of bonding over the ice cream incident and the she had a cow over her “real” wedding ring. Then we came home and wound up in my bed having sex. Should have been a good thing, right? Then why the hell did I wake up to find that she’s gone. No note, no text, no call. Just gone.

Was she still mad at me because of the ring? Technically, I guess I did lie to her about it being a fake but I thought she’d be happy to find out that it was the real deal. I really was going to tell her, I just hadn’t picked out a good moment. Johnny and I just happened to stumble across Rare Earth Jewelers that day after hitting a few of the main engagement ring stores. I liked the feel of the place. It was earthy and comfortable, just like Zoey herself. Johnny knew immediately that we’d find a ring for her there. And we did. I knew when I laid eyes on it that particular ring was the one. 

She did seem genuinely upset about it when she quickly excused herself from the family scene. I noticed Zacky staring at me with a slightly disturbed look on his face. I shrugged as if to say “I have no idea, man.” He gave me a look of disapproval and I knew he was going to want to know what was going on. I watched the entrance to the kitchen hoping Zoey would be back soon. After about twenty minutes, which seemed like an eternity, she came back in and resumed her cleanup duties. She was quiet but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.  And she looked so cute and tiny standing out on the balcony. If she knew I said that, she’d probably land a solid left hook to my face. I couldn’t help but want to touch her.  So we had sex. Not just any sex. Mind blowing, earth moving sex. It wasn’t anything like the first time. She wasn’t an innocent virgin anymore. She was a woman and she felt so good, so warm. I couldn’t get enough. I knew it wasn’t the best idea and she even said it out loud but when I asked her if she wanted me to stop, she said “No.”Maybe that’s what she was upset about now? Did I miss a hidden queue there? Did she really want me to stop? 

She came home eventually. No explanation of where she’d gone. Why she’d left. Where she’d been. I try asking about what was wrong but she insisted that she was fine and that everything was alright. At that point, I figured it was best to leave it alone.  We both acted with mechanical courtesy that lasted for almost a week before I had to leave to New York for our interview and photo shoot with Metal News. I figured that would be the best thing for us both. A little space gave her time to miss me.

 Zacky picked me up from my house and we drove to the airport together. I knew he picked up on Zoey’s weird attitude and wanted to make sure she was okay more than anything. She said goodbye to her brother with a hug and even gave me a kiss on the lips, that I tried to deepen a bit before she pulled away. She wasn’t giving anything away.

Arriving at the airport, we checked our bags and proceeded through security. The rest of the guys had already made it across and I have to admit I was excited for the distraction of my home situation. That is until I saw her sitting next to Val in the waiting area.

What the hell was Michelle doing here?

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Shopping was the official answer. Michelle and Val were joining us in New York to shop. Like I bought that excuse. But it’s not like I could accuse her of anything without seeming like an arrogant ass.