Avery's Desire

Avery checked his phone again. It had been two days since he'd texted Brian and still there was no answer. Avery began to think that maybe Brian was too hurt or angry to text him back. Then again, maybe he was just too busy to be bothered with him at all. Avery knew that he was going to break it off with him, he'd already decided that, he just didn't want to leave things the way he had when they last spoke. He owed him an explanation at the very least.

Sighing, he laid his phone back on the table, lit another smoke, and went back to what he was doing. Rick sat down across from him and handed Avery a can of Mountain Dew.

"I'll take a swig of that." Avery said, eyeing the beer in Rick's hand.

"Sorry baby boy." Rick grinned, "Boom said no booze for the young'ins." He laughed as he took a drink.

"You dick," Avery teased. "You just turned twenty-one six months ago and suddenly you're old?"

"Older than you," Rick winked. "Looks like I robbed the cradle huh?"

Avery blushed some, making Rick laugh even harder.

Avery couldn't help but be reminded of the other day. It was so amazing. For never having given head before, Rick was surprisingly good at it. Avery was dying for a round two but Rick was adamant about waiting. Since that day they've had a few steamy make-out sessions but it never went any farther than that. Avery even hinted around about performing oral on Rick but Rick stuck to his guns and told him no.

Avery was becoming somewhat irritated. He just hoped Brian would get in touch with him soon; he was having a hard time holding out. It wasn't easy for Rick either, but he insisted that when Avery was truly free they could be together, and the wait would make it that much sweeter. Until then, they would both have to be content with cold showers and their right hands.

Rick looked across the table, watching as Avery wrote in a spiral notebook. "What's that?" He asked him.

Avery looked up, setting his pen down. "Lyrics to a song," He told him. "Just something I've been fooling around with. It's not finished yet and I don't think it's really that good."

"Can I see it?" Rick asked.

Avery hesitated for a moment then nodded and pushed the notebook towards him. Rick picked it up and started reading. Avery had really beautiful hand writing. It was graceful and a little fancy with long loops and swirls. Rick smiled as his eyes scanned over the words. It was written like a poem and it flowed perfectly however, the chorus was missing. Even without a chorus though, the words were powerful and very elegantly written. The message though was heartfelt, passionate, and seductive. Rick realized as he read it that it was a love song.

He looked up at Avery and just stared at him for the longest time. Avery sat, nervously, watching him. "Do you not like it?" He asked.

"Ave, I love it...it's...it's breathtaking. It's not like anything that you've ever written before though, why the change?"

Avery shrugged. "I never really had anything that inspired me before." He looked in Rick's eyes and smiled warmly.

Rick smiled back, handing the notebook back to Avery. "You write beautifully when you're inspired." He told him.

The pink tinge of Avery's cheeks slowly changed to a dark red. He cast his eyes to the floor shyly and grinned. "Thanks." He said in a barely audible voice.

"Hey bashful," Rick chuckled. "You should show your song to Trash and Kat. I bet they would love it too."

Avery looked up, suddenly horrified. "No...no way!"

"Come on Ave, it's a really good song."

"I can't," He closed the notebook and folded his hands over it as though guarding it. "If they hated it, I don't know what I would do. Besides, like I said, it's not even finished and..."

"Avery, you can't hide away in the shadows forever baby boy. Sooner or later you're going to have to come out and greet the sun."

"Yeah," Avery grumbled. "And knowing my luck, it'll start raining."

Rick frowned. "Then I'll get you an umbrella. But you have to at least take that first step. You have so much potential, you're just too scared to let anyone see it."

"You see it."

"Yeah," Rick nodded. "But I'm just one man."

_________________________________________________

Kat walked through the door and frowned when she saw Rick and Avery seated at the table near the bar. She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her coat and sauntered over to them. "So," She glared at the two her eyes hard and intense. "Are the two of you actually going stay and do some work today, or are you planning to cut out early like before?"

"That was an isolated incident." Rick said curtly.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Kat pulled out a chair and sat down next to Avery, a little too close for his comfort. She smiled sweetly at him but in a mocking manner. "I bet you have a lot of those don't you? Not very isolated though are they?"

"Just what are you implying?" Avery asked.

Kat shrugged. "Nothing, just making an observation," She raised an eye brow and smirked as she looked the two men over. "You are a couple aren't you? I mean, it's obvious by the way you act around each other."

Rick folded his arms and leaned back in his chair, staring at her, his eyes narrow as he scowled. "So what if we are." He snapped. "Is it any concern of yours?"

Kat laughed at that. "Of course it is! Especially if you can't separate your personal lives from your work, it affects the band, which affects me. If you ever plan on making something of yourselves then you need to get serious about your music. Running off for a mid-afternoon fuck when we have rehearsal isn't the smartest move, especially with the upcoming battle." She eyed them both carefully. "You do want to win, don't you?"

"Yes," Rick sneered. "And we will win. And as far as our work ethic, don't concern your pretty little head about that. Avery and I are hella serious about our music, and our band. We know when it's time to buckle down and focus and we sure as hell don't need a lecture from you of all people."

"Ouch, touchy," Kat smirked. She turned to Avery. "I think your boyfriend got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

He rolled his eyes then opened his notebook and started writing again.

"What, no witty come back for me?" She played.

"I'm trying to ignore you." Avery groaned.

Kat grinned. She sat back with one arm propped up on the back of the chair and crossed her legs. "Ah, now that hurts. I thought we were friends."

Avery slammed his pen down and glared at her. "What the hell is your problem with me anyway?" He snapped.

Kat shrugged. "I think you're lazy and undisciplined; other than that, nothing really."

Kat's honest and straightforward answer had taken Avery a bit off guard. He wasn't used to people being so direct, and Kat wasn't holding anything back. Avery kind of liked that about her, it was refreshing not to have to wonder about what she really felt. He still thought she was a bitch though.

Rick took another swig of his beer then leaned across the table and watched Avery write. Kat became interested as well. She leaned over, trying to sneak a glance, but Avery moved to the side out of her view.

"What's that?" Kat asked. "Is it your secret diary? Are you writing all about your 'twue wuve'?"

"It's none of your fucking business." Avery grumbled.

Kat laughed at the annoyed expression on his face. "You know it's all bullshit don't you?"

"What is?" Avery asked, without looking up.

"True love," She told him. "It doesn't exist. There are no Prince Charmings, no fairytale romances, and no happy endings. Love is real, just not romantic love. In the end it's all about sex or money."

"Boy, are you jaded." Rick chuckled.

"I'm not jaded," Kat told him. "I'm just being practical. I've never met a man that actually loved me. Sure, lots of them claimed they did, but it was just to get in my pants. Men just have this natural drive to screw as many people as possible, but they don't stay with them afterwards. The way I see it, men are solitary creatures. They seek out their prey, capture and fuck it, then discard it until they need 'fed' again.

Women, on the other hand are pack hunters. We go out in groups, find a guy, and size him up. Then our friends give him the once over and tell us if he's a go or not. Most of the time he's rejected and sent away from the pack; but if we do find one that we like, we try to assimilate him into the fold. But, because of his solitary nature he soon becomes restless, feeling trapped, and he'll do whatever necessary to break free and rejoin the hunt, and the cycle continues.

See, men realize this and when they see a group of women together, their main goal is to separate the one they want from the rest of the pack. This way she is helpless and alone and much easier prey. Without the approval of her friends, the guy knows that he'll never be accepted as one of them and so he doesn't risk being captured and forced into a monogamous relationship.

The only exception to this rule is for gay men. They are automatically accepted into the pack because the females think they are one of their own. That gives the females an upper hand because they can send the gay friend into enemy territory as a spy. He comes back, reports what he finds, and they can make a determination if the guy in question is worth perusing or not."

Avery was staring at Kat with a disbelieving look on his face. Rick had a similar expression though his was mixed with a slight smirk that he was trying his best to hold back.

"You're completely insane!" Avery practically shouted at her. "Seriously, you are bat shit crazy! Where the hell did you come up with that fucked up little theory of yours?"

"Years of experience." Kat told him. "Even the guys in high school were all a bunch of pervs. Being a pretty girl automatically made you a sex toy. The ugly ones were all ignored but they had it better. At least they weren't disrespected and treated like garbage. I learned fast not to trust any man though. Being alone is better than being used. That's why I decided to focus solely on my music and make a name for myself. If I get an itch that I can't scratch I may go looking for some action but on my terms. At the end of the night I'll be the one to tell HIM to get lost, not the other way around."

"Sounds good in theory," Avery said. "But you'll never find love that way."

"Can't find what doesn't exist, sugar." Kat grabbed the pack of cigarettes that Avery had lying on the table, popped one in her mouth and lit it with his lighter. She took a long, drawn out drag then exhaled slowly. "If you actually believe in true love, then you're a bigger idiot than I thought."

"Not all men are that way." Rick told her.

"Sure they are." She said. "You just don't see it because you're one of them, but give it time. Even your little romance here is bound to fail. Men just don't have the capacity for long term, loving relationships. Their drive to procreate is too strong. It's all they think about."

"You're wrong about that." Avery set his notebook aside and propped his arm up on the table as he looked at her. "I'd love to settle down with the one I love. I don't have any desire to go around sleeping with random people. I want love. A family with kids would be nice too but my goal isn't to go out and knock up as many chicks as I can, so right there your theory is shot to shit."

Kat smirked as she leaned forward and caught his eyes. "Honey, your point is moot. You're practically a woman. The only difference between you and me is that I get really bitchy five days out of the month and you don't. But when it all comes right down to it, you're just a chick with a dick, plain and simple."

Avery narrowed his eyes angrily, "I'm not a woman." He growled. "I'm a man that just happens to like other men."

"Yeah," Kat snickered. "Keep telling yourself that."

Avery shook his head and looked away. "Whatever." He grumbled.

Rick chuckled some. "Kat, I think it's been a little too long since you've been with a guy. Avery definitely isn't a woman. I've been with a few women in my time and I can tell the difference. Maybe you just forgot what it's like to have a huge dick between your legs."

"Well if you come across any guys that have a huge dick, let me know. I don't plan on wasting my time on some Vienna sausage." Kat laughed loudly, rocking back in her chair and making her huge boobs bounce up and down. Avery stuck his finger in his mouth and made a slight gagging sound, showing his disgust with the current conversation.

"Hey kid," She giggled. "Don't knock it till you've tried it. A billion straight guys can't be wrong."

Avery smirked. "How do you know I haven't tried it?" He asked.

Kat grinned. "Hun, I'd bet you a million dollars that the only pussy you've ever stroked had four legs and purrs."

She was right, of course, but Avery wasn't about to tell her that. Instead, he picked up his notebook and excused himself from the table.

"Where are you going?" Rick asked him.

"Someplace I can work in peace." He answered.

"Want some company?" Rick pushed himself away from the table and stood up.

"From you? Of course." Avery gave him a quick wink.

Rick shrugged, looking at Kat, and smiled. She rolled her eyes.

Rick put his arm around Avery's shoulders and the two of them walked to the back room together, leaving Kat sitting alone at the table.

"Touchy..." She mused, smiling to herself. She reached across the table and picked up the bottle of beer that Rick had been drinking, tipped it to the side and frowned when she saw that it was empty. She looked up at the bar and nodded to Nick, who tended the bar when Boomer wasn't working. He smiled, and nodded back, then rushed to grab a cold one from the cooler.

As Nick approached the table, he gave a Kat the once over, allowing his eyes to drift over her noticeably large cleavage a little longer than he intended. He raised an eye brow and gave her a half-cocked grin followed by a slight nod that she supposed was meant to be seductive. 'Dream on pal' she thought as he dropped a coaster on the table and then sat her beer on top of it.

"Hey," Nick said, trying to act smooth.

Kat tossed a couple of bucks down on the table, "Hey yourself," she said back.

Nick's eyes lit up, obviously thinking he was about to score. "So, I haven't seen you in here before."

"Yeah, I don't come to this end of town that often." She eyed him playfully. "At least I didn't use to. You can expect to start seeing a lot more of me though, in the bar I mean. I'll be coming in more often now."

"Really?" Nick grinned a wide, excited grin.

"Yeah, really," Kat chirped, turning up the corner of her mouth. "I'm the new guitarist in the back rooms little boy band. We'll be rehearsing here a lot which means I'll be here a lot."

"Nice..." Nick was really eating it up. Kat could tell he was really into her but she had no intention of going out with him, she just enjoyed playing around with him, but the game was getting old and she was ready to move on to more interesting things.

"Well, you know if you ever wanted to..." Nick stammered as he ran a hand through his short blonde hair, "You know, go out sometime..."

"Not a chance." Kat picked up the bottle and took a big gulp. It was so cold and refreshing; she wanted to savor the taste of it, totally ignoring the man standing beside her who was suddenly dumbstruck and frowning. Nick swiped the money off the table that she'd laid down and turned in a huff, stomping away. She had to laugh at herself, men were so gullible.

____________________________________________________________________

Trash arrived about thirty minutes after Kat. He looked like his normal grungy self though his hair seemed a bit neater and he wasn't dressed in the normal torn jeans and grease stained work shirts that he normally showed up to rehearsals in. Kat also noticed a change in his aroma. He was wearing musky scented cologne and smelled like he'd just taken a shower.

'Charming,' she thought, 'So he does actually bathe.'

Rick and Avery were still in the back room when Trash showed up. He got a beer from Nick and then he and Kat headed out back. The door was unlocked so they walked in without giving it a second thought but got the shock of their lives when they caught Avery and Rick rounding second base.

"Holy Shit you two!" Trash bellowed when he saw them. "Get a fucking room for God's sake!"

Avery turned about five shades of red but Rick was less embarrassed. He picked up his shirt and casually slipped it back on over his head then smoothed his hair down. "You could have knocked." He told them.

"Oh well excuse me." Trash sneered. "I guess I should have just expected my two best friends to be screwing each other when I opened the door."

Rick smirked. "We weren't screwing. If we were, neither of us would still have our pants on."

"Yeah, thank God for that." Trash shook his head. "I'd never get that image out of my mind." He shivered just thinking about it.

Rick laughed. He turned and glanced at Kat who was watching the scene with silent fascination. She wasn't expecting to get a peep show when she walked through the door, but from the look on her face Rick could tell that she liked what she saw.

Her eyes darted from Avery to Rick and then back to Avery who was struggling to button his shirt. His hands were shaking and his eyes were a little too focused on his buttons as he couldn't bring himself to look up at either Kat or Trash.

Kat couldn't tear her eyes away though. She'd caught a quick glimpse of the rose tattoo that encircled Avery's navel, the tattoo that became slightly visible again as he lifted his arms above his head, pulling his long hair up into a tight pony tail. The crimson petals peaked out from beneath the hem of his shirt, the stem of the rose twisted and turned as it disappeared beyond the waist band of his pants.

Kat didn't know why she found that tattoo so alluring. Avery wasn't even really her type. He was too thin for one, and his small stature made him look more feminine than masculine. She couldn't tell if he waxed or if it was natural, but his body was smooth and hairless. While it didn't look particularly bad, she did prefer men with a bit of fuzz on their chests, and she definitely preferred them to be a bit bulkier.

Avery was cute, she had to give him that, but he wasn't what she would consider handsome; he was just too girly for that. Adorable was a word that suited him better. In fact, that was the perfect word to describe him. He was adorable in a Gothic kind of way. She could understand why Rick was so into him. Avery had a very androgynous quality about him that most bisexual men probably found appealing, maybe even a few bisexual women.

She had to assume that Rick was bisexual because he definitely didn't give off a 'gay' vibe at all, plus he'd mentioned earlier that he'd been with women before. She could totally believe that. Rick was a pretty boy, but he wasn't effeminate. In fact, Rick was a paragon of raw masculinity with his firm, sculpted, abs and muscular arms and thighs. His back was smooth and hairless but his chest was lightly covered in a soft, thin, layer of auburn fur that dipped down onto his stomach, and trailed down to his groin.

As Avery finished fixing his hair his eyes caught Kat's gaze. He quickly pulled his shirt back down so that it covered him completely. He watched as her eyes diverted to Rick once more. The look in her eyes told Avery exactly what she was thinking; she was picturing Rick in fewer clothes than what he actually had on.

Avery moved to Rick and stood beside him, slipping his arm around his waist, and laying his head on his shoulder. Rick looked down and kissed Avery on the top of the head, smiling.