Zac
Carrick and I spent the night in the art studio, cuddled up on the couch together. It wasn’t as uncomfortable as it sounds, and it wasn’t the first time we’d slept like that; things get kind of crowded during Fools Banquet. We woke up way earlier than either of us wanted to, though, thanks to a text from Isaac telling me that he was having a family emergency – apparently Everett picked up a stomach virus somewhere and their whole household was suffering – and begging me to please go into the studio and try to get some work done with Taylor.
Well, that sounded like exactly how I didn’t want to spend my day. But I couldn’t very well tell Ike no without explaining myself. So I drug myself from the couch and took a shower. And once Carrick was done with me, I was pretty sure I needed another shower, but we were already running an hour late.
Carrick looked perfectly relaxed on the drive to the studio, one arm hanging out the open window and a cigarette dangling from his lips. I was terrified, though. I hadn’t spoken a single word to Taylor since he walked out of my studio, and I had no idea what I would say or do when I saw him. Carrick didn’t know any of that, of course; he had no idea how awkward of a situation I was about to drag him into. I knew that it would probably just make things worse, in a way, to have him there, but I needed the moral support.
Taylor’s car was already at the studio when I pulled up, and naturally, the only available spot was next to him. With a long sigh that I hoped Carrick didn’t notice, I put my truck in park and started to get out. I glanced across the cab and flashed him the best smile I could manage. He stubbed his cigarette out in the ash tray, then grabbed my shirt in his fist and pulled me in for a kiss.
I pulled back from him, blushing and incredibly thankful for the dark tinted windows I had paid extra for. With another smile, I stepped out of the truck and walked up to punch my security code into the studio door. A thought occurred to me as we passed over the threshold.
“We uh… probably should lay off the kissing in here. No offense, man, but we already smell like sex, anyway.”
Carrick laughed and pushed me up against the wall. “Better keep your scarf on then.”
With a wink, he stepped back. I laughed in spite of myself; the scarf I was wearing to cover my hickies had been a Christmas present from Taylor. I really didn’t feel like telling Carrick that, though. So I just rolled my eyes and said, “You’re something else, Carrick.”
Trying not to think too much about the scarf, I walked on down the hallway toward the studio portion of the office where I knew Taylor would be waiting. The whole way, I could feel how close behind me Carrick was and it wasn’t as comforting as I had hoped it would be.
Taylor was seated at the piano when we walked through the door. The door closed behind us with a thud, causing him to look up. I could only imagine how unhappy he would be to see me, but he smiled. He actually smiled. I didn’t have time to really process that before it was gone; his eyes widening as they fell upon Carrick.
“Umm… hey Carrick,” he said, standing up and holding his hand out to him. It seemed so awkwardly formal to me, and I had to wonder if Taylor didn’t already have a suspicion about why Carrick was there.
Carrick must have thought it was too formal too, because he returned the handshake with a one-armed hug. “Hey, man. How’s it going?”
I could see Taylor sniffing lightly as they hugged, and I didn’t have to wonder what he smelled – weed and, well, me. He glanced briefly at me, then back at Carrick. “I didn’t know you were in town.”
“He wanted to hear the new music,” I replied with a shrug. “Guess I forgot to mention he was coming.” I couldn’t help smirking at my choice of words. I knew it was awful of me, and I tried not to, but the smirk refused to go away.
“Uh huh,” Taylor replied, and I could practically see him fighting a losing battle against his face as he tried to force a smile. I had no doubt that he had caught that little innuendo.
Carrick flashed me a quick smirk and shook his head slightly — of course he caught the innuendo – then gave Taylor a smile. “Yeah, just got in last night.”
He smirked at me again and I actually had to cough to cover up my laugh. “Yeah… so uh, sorry I was late.”
“No problem,” Taylor replied, nodding slowly. “Ike’s not gonna be here today, so I thought we could just get some writing done. You don’t mind, right Carrick?”
“No prob, man,” Carrick replied, smiling innocently. It was almost convincing; at least, it would have been if I hadn’t known better. Laughing lightly, he added, “Like Fools Banquet, light.”
I gave Carrick the best smile I could manage. This was about to get very, very awkward. I glanced back at Taylor and asked, “Did you have any particular songs in mind?”
Taylor looked at me critically, his eyes trailing over my face. I saw his eyes widen a fraction, then he cleared his throat. “Um, no. Nothing in mind. What did you want to do?”
“Doesn’t matter,” I replied, glancing down and realizing my scarf had fallen down a bit. I had a sinking feeling that Taylor had seen a mark he knew he hadn’t left. I didn’t really mean to rub Carrick in Taylor’s face, but at that same time, it didn’t seem like that bad of an idea. Adjusting the scarf, I asked, “Are we gonna be here all day, though?”
Carrick gave me yet another smirk, but Taylor didn’t seem so amused. With a sigh, he said, “I don’t know, Zac. Did you have some place more important to be?”
“Umm, I’m sorry,” Carrick cut in, no doubt noticing the tension. “I didn’t mean to get in the way of your work. I could take off for a while if you want.”
Oh hell no. If I had to suffer through the day with Taylor, Carrick was going to suffer with me. And, hopefully, blatantly flirt with me, too. Crossing my arms, I said firmly, “No, Carrick. Stay.”
They both stared at me like I had grown a second head or just a set of balls. I stared back and forth between the two of them, silently daring either one to say a word.
Taylor gritted his teeth. “You know what, Zac? Go ahead. You’ve got company; go have fun.”
He was daring me, and I knew it. I didn’t really understand what the challenge was, but I knew that I was damn sure not going to do what Taylor told me to do, just on principle. “I can have fun later. You wanted to work today, so let’s fucking work already.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Carrick smirking. I got the distinct impression that he was proud of me for standing up to Taylor, even if he really didn’t understand what he was witnessing. As for Taylor, he refused to even look at me, and sighed heavily as he said, “Fine. Whatever you want, Zac.”
“Yeah, right,” I mumbled. We both knew that wasn’t true. Taylor was what I wanted, and I didn’t have him. So what reason did I have to think he would give in to any of my wishes?
Carrick looked at me questioningly and I suddenly felt really, really sorry for dragging him into the middle of this. I knew I should have asked him to stay at my house, but I couldn’t have explained to him why. I gave him what I hoped was an apologetic look, then glanced back at Taylor.
“Now, can I play him the demos he came here to listen to, or is that a problem, too?”
Taylor winced; even I was a bit surprised by how angry I sounded, but not enough to try to stop myself. Sounding utterly defeated, he replied, “Sure… go ahead.”
“Okay,” I replied, smiling smugly. I knew it wasn’t much of a victory, but it was enough for me. Motioning toward the control booth, I said, “Come on, Carrick.”
Carrick followed behind me as I walked into the control booth. I shoved the door closed quickly and saw with relief that the blinds – separating the control booth from the studio – were already down. Wordlessly, I turned on the computer and pulled up Tonight, a new song we had been putting a lot of work into for the past few weeks.
“Uh, sorry about that,” I said, glancing back at Carrick and seeing the confusion on his face.
“It’s okay.” He shrugged, but his frown stayed put. “I’m sorry things are tense, though. What’s up with you too?”
“Just some stupid shit,” I lied, shaking my head. I really hoped Carrick would buy that and just drop the subject.
“Yeah,” he replied, nodding slowly. A smirk crept across his face. “It’s funny, ya know? You two bicker like an old married couple.”
My eyes went wide and I felt myself shaking a little. “No. No we don’t.”
Carrick laughed. “You totally do, man. I’ve know you guys for how long now? You fight over some petty shit, do the silent treatment for a while, then go back to being all bff. It’s cute.”
“No, it’s not,” I replied, frowning. “And it’s not… not really like that this time.”
Carrick returned my frown. “Why not?”
“Just don’t worry about it, okay?” I turned away from him, picking at a spot on the mixing board. “I shouldn’t have brought you into the middle of it.”
“I’m… what?” Carrick asked, blinking rapidly.
Well. That was the wrong thing to say, wasn’t it? I fumbled for any way to reply that wouldn’t just dig a deeper hole for myself. I didn’t think Carrick could have figured out what had happened just from those few words, but anything was possible. I had to deflect, and I had to do it fast.
“I mean…” I stuttered out. “I knew things were gonna be tense here today, that’s all.”
He nodded slowly, but he didn’t look convinced at all. “Okay, but that doesn’t exactly put me in the middle of it…”
“Poor choice of words, okay?” I felt bad for nearly snapping at him, but I didn’t know what else to say.
“Yeah, okay,” he replied, raising an eyebrow and smirking.
“Just… just drop it, please?”
Carrick’s smirk fell and he nodded. “Okay, Zac. I’m sorry.”
He stepped in close and rubbed my arms. I jumped a little at the contact, but I still liked it. “You… you don’t need to apologize. It’s not your fault.”
“I know,” he replied, lifting my chin and looking in my eyes. “I just hate seeing you upset.”
“I’ll be okay,” I said, giving him a weak smile.
Carrick smiled and brushed him thumb across my cheek. He leaned in the tinest bit, until our lips were almost touching. I could feel his breath as he said, “That’s good.”
The feeling of him so close yet not touching made me tremble. My tongue darted out to lick my lips, and Carrick took the opportunity to press his lips to mine. He ran his fingers through my hair, and I moaned, taking a step closer to him. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer still and slipping his tongue into my mouth.
I was still frustrated over having to deal with Taylor, but Carrick made for a very, very nice distraction. It wasn’t enough, though. I needed more of him to wipe all thoughts of Taylor from my mind. I kissed him back as passionately as I could manage and grasped at his hips. I felt him moan into my mouth as he backed me against the mixing board and ground his hips into mine.
“And you said I was eager,” I panted, punctuating the statement with a smirk and a roll of my own hips.
His only reply was a smirk. One of his hands crept around to squeeze my ass, while the other had a tight grip on my hair.
“God, Carrick…” I growled.
He bit down on my neck as he grabbing my ass firmly and pulled me closer, grinding against me at the same time. He had already found all the right buttons to push, and I was hard as a rock. I ran my fingernails down his back as a moan worked its way out my mouth.
“Fuck, Zac,” he moaned. “Ready again, huh?”
I giggled. “For you? Hell yes.”
Carrick smirked, and thrust his hips against me again. I could feel his dick pressing against me; I wasn’t the only one who was ready again. He grabbed one of my legs behind the knee and lifted it, rolling his hips harder against me again. I wrapped my leg around his thigh just to keep from falling over; the way he was grinding on me, I was lucky to still be standing at all.
I rolled my head back and moaned loudly. “Fuck, Carrick… don’t be a goddamn tease.”
There were at least a million reasons not to let Carrick bend me over the mixing board and fuck the hell out of me. But in that moment, I couldn’t think of a single one. That is, until the door swung open.
“Zac, I –”
I froze. Carrick froze. And Taylor, well, he looked like he was going to pass out. His face was completely white and his eyes were wider than I had ever seen them. I didn’t think it was possible, but he looked even more shocked than when he had discovered that I was Sam.
He had to have suspected this was happening, but it was something entirely different to actually see it. And I had let him. Hell, I had practically given him a front row ticket. I felt sick.
Carrick was just this side of oblivious, though. He smirked and laughed nervously as he backed away from me. I was still pinned to the mixing board, though I didn’t really know how much longer my legs were going to hold me up.
“Tay… umm…” I stuttered out, shaking so hard that the syllables were almost unintelligible.
I could see tears welling up in the corners of Taylor’s eyes, and he bit down hard on his lip to stop it from quivering. Backing away slowly, he said, “I… I’m sorry…”
Well. Fuck.