The Siren Dreams

Her lips parted as she watched me tug harder. Large brown-rimmed sunglasses shielded my eyes from hers, but I couldn't help notice that her upper lip formed an M as if it was saying "MMMMM". MMMMM is right, I wanted to nibble on that delectable lip like a strawberry.

I yanked once more and wrenched my shoulder hard. "Shit." I cussed and looked at her.

She came to my side even closer and put her arms around my shoulder and rubbed gently. "Careful. You're gonna kill yourself before the show." I melted to her touch. I stood at least three inches higher than her, but her slender fingers worked my aching muscle like dough. As great as it felt, I had to abstain from asking her to rub my other aching muscle.

When she slowed her kneading, I felt her hand graze my shoulder blade and then my backbone before resting above my tailbone. "Better?" I nodded and thanked her. She patted my lower back and I was thankful when she walked away, "I'll get you Vic."

I looked down and was grateful she had been behind me. Sure enough, my tan pants were tighter than usual and I could see my want stretching the material to its limit. I took a deep breath and smoothed down my red and black tee shirt. I cracked my knuckles and pulled them close to my face, exhaling deeply against my fingers.

In the distance, on a hill I could see a few fans watching. They were much too far away to notice what was happening with my body, but I felt even more uncomfortable just the same. I waited for Vic and showed him the suitcase I wanted. With one tug he had dislodged it from its entrapment and carried it onto the bus for me.

I had forgotten what I wanted it for but thanked Vic and stuffed it into my cabinet with all of my other belongings. I headed inside to the cooler arena. Braden and Dave were both skateboarding around the upper circles of the arena. The crew was still setting the stage and I knew from its placement I still had at least another hour to kill.

Jon sat with Mary and Julianna at the very back of the arena in some of the seats. Jon, who was now dressed in a black and white stripped t-shirt, a pair of dark blue jeans, and sandals waved to me as I approached. Mary was now in black capris and a yellow v-neck with her hair pulled up into a bun.

As I got closer I noticed Jon was balancing on an upright seat, and the two girls were standing on either side of him. I split the difference and stopped between the two of them facing Jon.

"Heard you haven't been sleeping well." Mary offered. I searched her voice for a hint of teasing, but despite Jon's knowing grin, she seemed genuinely concerned.

"Nah. Weird dreams." I mumbled as I had earlier on the bus.

"What kind of dreams?" Julianna asked. She too seemed genuinely interested, but not smug. I watched as Jon pursed his lips together to avoid a chuckle and looked away as if he was watching Braden and Dave.

"Just-" I racked my brain. "Different one's every night. Some end good, some end bad." It wasn't a lie. In the first dream Kelly had walked in on us. In a strange way, since I was so angry with her, the idea of making love to Julianna and her catching us turned me on. That's when I left stains on my sheet that night.

"Or don't end at all?" Jon offered, this time there was teasing.

"Nope, they always end." I heard Braden laugh behind me. Jon burst out laughing. The girls looked between each other curiously but neither had the answer to the joke.

Braden was now dressed too. I assumed the scratches on his chest were hurting him, despite his protests. The shirt he was wearing was black and much looser than what he normally wore. It was a t-shirt with white flowered outlines. He also wore dark blue jeans with a black belt and a vintage tan corduroy jacket that he was rarely without lately.

Dave joined us, the chunkiest in the group, his shirts, this time a red one, always clung to his little belly pooch. His sandy colored hair was spiked up, but his sideburns blended with his facial hair to make him look like one overgrown sunflower. He too wore dark jeans, these were much looser and torn, and sandals.

"What's so funny?" He asked feeling left out.

"Nothing." I demanded more from Braden and Jon than anything.

Braden and Jon were both still grinning, while Dave, Mary, and Julianna all looked equally confused, and I equally uncomfortable with where this could head.

"Vic wants us to meet him in a 'safety' meeting in ten minutes." Jon used his fingers for quotes.

We all glared at Braden, "what?" He chuckled. He knew, as we all did, that this meeting was because of his stupid stunt from the night before. As if I would fling my guitar off from my head and dive into the audience. I could barely look into the audience, let alone, swim amongst them.

"Should we go with you?" Julianna asked me more than the group.

I shrugged, but Dave answered, "no. They're terrible. Unless he calls you in, get away while you can."

I saw out of the corner of my eye Braden leading Mary a few feet away and stopping. He leaned his skateboard against the railing and grabbed onto her hands.

Julianna distractedly watched them so I turned my head to see what was so fascinating. Braden rested his head on top of Mary's and was saying something to her with his eyes closed. She was easily a head shorter than him so it took hardly any effort on his part to rest his chin against her hair.

"Well I'm gonna see if I can escape before Vic catches me." Dave laughed and hauled ass in another direction.

"Un ugh!" Jon hopped up after him. "He'll keep us there until you come!" I turned my attentions from Braden and Mary to watch Jon chase down Dave. Dave jumped onto his skateboard and took off from Jon at a much quicker pace.

"They make a good couple. Don't you think?" Julianna awed.

I looked over at her, and noticed her beautiful eyelashes, full and curled. She was still watching Braden murmur to Mary. Braden was now swinging her hands back and forth and looking down at her. She stared up at him with as much awe as Julianna had watching them.

"I suppose. I'm not familiar with good couples." I casually stated. While her eyes remained on the lovebirds my eyes remained fixed on her. I studied her face: the curve of her cheekbone, her delicate and slightly upturned nose, the way her jaw met her slender neck, and her small and pouty lips. Her lashes remained my main focus until she broke her gaze and turned to look at me.

Her stunning eyes made me lose my breath but I kept it hidden well. "Why's that?"

"All of my relationships end in failure."

She gasped lightly, "even with Kelly?"

I shrugged giving a non-answer.

"But Dave and Sarah. Jon and Kim?"

I shrugged again, committing to nothing.

"Look at them though." She waved her hand in their direction. Braden had not disappointed Julianna's stance. Again his head was in top of Mary's but this time his arms were embraced around her. Mary's head rested against Braden's chest and her hands hung onto his forearms. "How can you not say that's cute?"

"It is cute." I stomached the sight only for Julianna's sake. To be closer to her for even a few minutes longer.

"How can you tell me then that you don't know a good couple when you see it?" She scoffed and looked back at me. Her hands dropped to her waist, ready to take on my next rebuttal.

I had one, "Every relationship starts off like that."

"Like what?"

"Like they're the only person in the world for you. Give it three months and they won't act that way." I snapped my mouth shut at my own accusation. I felt like I was the grim reaper dooming Braden's happiness.

Julianna obviously was thinking the same thing. "No wonder you write the way you do."

I threw my head back with an over exaggerated laugh, "what way?"

"Sarcastic, dry, skeptical, and always calling people in love hypocritical." I noticed her neck was flushing. As she got angrier, her eyes flared and became shadowy.

We had caught Mary's attention. Her eyes had opened and she stared inquisitively towards us. When Braden spoke her eyes shut again, obviously uninterested in what we might be talking about.

"Well look at them!" Now I indicated towards the couple. "So much physical contact in such few short days! Soon they'll want their space and they'll be barking at each other like dogs on leashes! Then will come name calling, nasty remarks, and they will be forgivable but never forgotten! Or-" Julianna tried to cut me off, but I spoke louder, "they'll get bored because all of the new and fun things in their relationship have gone away too quickly and then the 'meant to be' romance they thought they had will become another lost cause. I give them a shelf-life of four maybe five months"

Julianna's mouth hung down. If it were possible it would've been on the ground. She looked like she wanted to hit me. And not just with her fist. "Are you insane?"

I couldn't really say anything to that remark, but felt remorse for sealing my friend's fate. I didn't really know where the words came from, but I felt them and they needed to be said. Maybe more to myself than to Julianna. I tried to come up with something to say, and then had it, at least something to make me look stable- "Sex that fast in a relationship seals the package for an expiration date." Not mentioning that even my longer lasting relationships never involved sex before we decided to call it quits.

Julianna's mouth dropped again and before I could brace myself two hands were pressed against my chest, fast and hard. "They haven't even had sex yet!" The shove sent me off my feet and I scrambled to regain my balance. "It's always about sex with guys!"

Braden and Mary had pulled apart quickly; Braden's arm still holding onto Mary's. Julianna had spoken much louder than I had expected her to. Whether they knew we were talking about them or not, they both looked a little awkward.

I looked over at the couple after I had caught my balance. Braden leaned down and said something to Mary and kissed her eyelid and walked towards me, leaving Mary to look even more awkward than before.

"Come on, we better get to that meeting." Braden put his arm around the back of my neck and gently touched my hair. I looked at Julianna and felt my shoulders relax just a little bit. Her hands were still out in front of her, shaking; her face was red from anger and embarrassment.

I wanted to apologize, tell her it wasn't right to stir her up when she seemed so content with her friend's happiness. It was I who needed the encouragement. I who had the relationship expiration date-- and something told me it had already gone bad.