I grabbed the salad I had been working on and brought it out amongst the squeals of Jaks, and cries of Cait.  I laughed when I put the food down and saw Jaks shoot Xavier with a Nerf gun then run away.  Seth was fighting with a tired Cait; it was past her naptime and she was fighting it hard.  I walked over in his direction when an arm wrapped around my stomach and pulled me back against a hard chest.

I didn’t need to look back to see who it was.  “Yes?”

“So how was it?” Cris whispered in my ear.

I shrugged.  “Fine, but we need to talk before you leave,” I told him.

He stiffened and let his arm drop.  “About what?”

“Later okay, I need to get Cait down for a nap and its lunch time.”

“Sure,” he muttered and I looked over my shoulder at him.

He gave me a strained smile before spinning and walking off towards where the guys from the shop were sitting in the family room.  I shrugged it off and went and saved Seth from a cranky little girl, I was working today.

Cris

“So I hear that you’re leaving soon; have a tour to finish?”

Sam took a drink of his beer and nodded.  “Yep.”

“What after that?” I asked Sam.

“We’re taking a break, working on a new album.”

“My Misery Muse, you and Max have some family stuff to deal with.”

Sam jerked his head to look at me.  “You know about that?”

“Yeah, Max told me, he wanted me to know so if he needed to take some time off, he could.”

“Yeah,” Sam said running his hand through his hair, “that makes sense.”

“I take it you haven’t told them?”

He shook his head.  “Don’t know how.”

“Well if you need anything, even someone to talk to.”

“Thanks,” he said softly.

“You’ll be gone six weeks?”

“Yeah, we have to finish the last leg of the tour we canceled after Drake’s accident.  None of us really want to, but it’s in our contract.  Once we finish this though, we’re done with that label.”

“I heard about that, congrats on buying your own label.”

“It should be interesting,” he murmured.  “Seth and I have wanted this from the beginning.  More control over our music, closer to home, it should be good.”

“So is it just you and Seth?”

“That’s the way it was planned but X wanted in also.  Eli wasn’t interested.  He just wants to beat on his drums, hang out, and not have any kind of real responsibility.”

“Yeah, but you can’t blame the guy.  His dad had been riding him since birth, all he’s known is responsibility.”

“That is true.  So what’s new with you and the shop?”

“Devi bought in as a silent partner in the shop.  We’re hiring a body modifier as well as some new tattoo artists.”  Sam nodded so I went on.  “And I’ve been dating Ash.”

Sam smirked at me.  “I know, how’s that going for you?”

“Ash or Devi?”

“Both,” he said grinning.

“Devi’s always been there, this doesn’t change anything.  She and I have been partners since the place opened; it’s just official now.  Ash and I are… I don’t know what we are but its good.”

“Good for you,” Sam said looking at the floor frowning.

“You okay?”

He nodded but was looking off in a different direction.  “Yeah, I’m okay just thinking.”

I cocked my head to the side and looked at my longtime friend.  “What’s her name?”

“Whose?”

“The girl you’re thinking about.”

He shook his head.  “No one, at least not how you think.”

“Then how is it?”

“A friend who needs help.”

“Someone I know?”

He nodded. “Yeah you know her, but she doesn’t want you or anyone else to know, hell,, she doesn’t want me to know.”

“Then how do you?”

“Would you believe by accident?”

I nodded slowly getting a bad feeling.  “If you need anything…” I began but he looked up at me and I could see the pain etched in his eyes.

“I can’t,” he said softly, “though I want to.”

I nodded reluctantly feeling like we were having two very different conversations right then.

“So how did Ash take you and Devi’s history?” Sam asked slyly.

It was my turn to look away.  “Haven’t told her.”

Sam stared at me, I could feel it even though I hadn’t looked back at him.

“Are you crazy or stupid?”

“A little of both?”

“Oh I would say a lot of both, you know she will find out.  Don’t you think it would be better if it came from you that you proposed to her not only boss but friend?”

I rubbed the back of my neck and looked at him.  “Yeah?”

“Then why haven’t you?”

“Haven’t gotten around to it?”

He shook his head taking a drink of his beer.  “You are a dead man,” he said then walked way still shaking his head.

I sighed and silently agreed with him.  This is why since Ash told me she needed to talk to me I had been avoiding both her and Devi.  Though if someone would have told her, especially Devi, I think my balls would have already been detached from my body.  Both women were scary when angry, though Devi’s moods had been all over the place lately.  That alone should scare me into telling Ash my history, as innocent as it was, with Devi.  I still couldn’t; I had tried more than once then stopped for some reason.

Max waved towards the door and I nodded following him out the front door and to our bikes.  I left without saying bye to anyone, something I knew I would pay for later.  Only I didn’t want to deal with my bubble being popped yet if that’s what was going to happen.  I had already been dealt that blow once when Seth came back.  I couldn’t handle losing Ash, even though it would be my fault for not being honest with her.  A few more days I told myself, then I’d tell her everything. 

Chapter 4

Ashlen

I let myself into Cris’s house using the key he had given me a few months ago.  I wasn’t sure how this evening would go, I was still pissed at him for ditching me last weekend.  We hadn’t talked much, every time I texted or called he would claim he was busy; I wanted to finally pin him down.  I wanted, no, I needed to know what was going on with us.  Devi hadn’t said anything about the shop being any busier than normal and I was scared to ask about Cris.  I didn’t want to come across like that, be that girl.  So I left it, and let it fester.

I found him sitting on the couch playing Xbox.  He glanced up at me then back to the TV where he was trying to shoot something.  I didn’t know and didn’t really care.

“Didn’t know if you would be coming over tonight,” he murmured.

“I texted and said I would be,” I told him bitingly.  “Devi and Seth took the kids out.”

He nodded and kept playing his game.

“Cris, want to maybe tell me what’s going on?”

“Nothing’s going on, why?”

“You’ve been ignoring me for almost a week, and that’s nothing?”

“I’ve been working,” he said after taking a drink from his beer.

“That’s never stopped you before.”

“It was busier than normal.  I’ve had interviews this week.”

I glared at him. “Cris, what the fuck is going on?”

“Nothing,” he mumbled cursing under his breath when he died on his game.

I nodded.  “Fine maybe tonight’s a mistake, I’ll just go home.” I turned towards to head back out the door when a hand clamped around my arm.

“I didn’t say you could leave,” he murmured.

“Cris, I may be submissive in the bedroom, but that does not pertain to outside life.  I will not let you treat me like this.  If you want this to work, if you want us, then you need to talk to me.  If you want a plaything then go get one, but it won’t be me.  We left that place already.”  I pulled my arm from his hold.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“Want to tell me what’s going on?”

“Not really,” he murmured kissing the back of my neck.

“This isn’t how it’s going to work, Cris,” I said a sounding a little breathless, “you’re not going to ignore me all week, then expect to fuck me.”