Dark affairs

My hands go to his hair and he grabs me and sits me onto the counter standing between my legs to deepen the kiss. I pull his face towards me, intoxicated by his scent and taste and his hands wander under my shirt, taking a hold on my waist pulling me impossibly closer.
We break apart to get some air and I stop him pushing his chest away before he can lean back in.
"No, Alex, that's exactly what we shouldn't be doing." I whisper breathlessly.
"We decided we needed a break from this." I add.

He looks at me and his eyes gleam with emotion.
" You decided! And where is my vote in this? How about what I want?" He challenges.

I sigh and try to calm him down, sensing he would get agitated again. "Alex, obviously at the moment you don't really know what you want. You are confused because you feel guilty towards your wife and insecure about Jack and I." I explain rubbing his shoulders trying to get him to look at me, "so I believe it's in everyone's interest to take a step back, rethink everything and talk about it later. I would suggest to wait until you guys are back from tour in two weeks."
He hesitates for a moment but then nods defeated.
"Okay, so I think it's best you go back home before Lisa realises you left and try and get some sleep. We'll see each other tonight at the show and maybe we can talk before you leave."
I didn't wait for his reply as I was already walking him to the door.
He turns in the doorway and looks at me sadly, "goodnight, my love" he calls me and leans down for a short soft kiss before he turns and leaves without looking back.
I watch him walking down the hallway, hunched over, his hands stuffed in his jeans jacket and I shake my head. What a mess!

I don't bother going back to bed seeing as it is nearly 4am now and my head is buzzing with thoughts. So I do what I normally do to clear my head, clean the kitchen.
When the first light comes up I take Max out for a morning run and get fresh baguette and croissants from the French bakery on my way back. When I get back home I take a shower and start making breakfast.
Just when I put the eggs and bacon on two plates Jack comes in grabbing me from behind and kissing my neck, humming in delight.
"Oh my god, this delicious smell woke me up," he grins ," and I don't mean the bacon." He jokes sniffing my neck and I giggle because that tickles.
He turns me around and studies my face. "You look tired baby, why are you up so early?" He pecks my lips cupping my cheek in his hand.

I sigh, "I am up since 3am because Alex called and we talked." His face falls immediately and he rolls his eyes. Then he takes my hand and pulls me to the table, sits me on his lap and starts feeding me. "You know what, I'm so done with this asshole and all his bullshit," he growls,
"yesterday's show was so bad because we practically ignored each other on stage. That's not fair to the fans and the crew. And then he pulls this stunt and leaves straight after, I mean, how shitty can you get?" He stares at me looking upset, seemingly waiting for a reply.

"Uhm, is that a rhetorical question?" I ask, unsure of what he expects from me.

This takes him out of his mood and he chuckles and holds another strip of bacon in front of me, which I bite off. "No, Mickey, I was wondering if he explained himself. "

"Oh, okay, well he just said he is very confused and he got into a fight with Lisa and he went off like that to 'set things right' with her." I make air quotes here, "actually, I wasn't really sure what he wanted me to do with this information but I told him that we want to take a break from this thing with him."

Jacks head snaps up, "and? How did he take it?"

"Uhm, okay, I guess. I mean he wasn't happy about it but I told him that the state he is in, it doesn't seem to be doing him any good."
Jack nods.
"And I promised we would talk when you are back from tour. That seemed to calm him down a bit." I shrug getting up to put the plates in the sink. I'm leaving out the fact we kissed because I think it will put even more strain on the guys friendship right now.
Jack takes in this information then slaps his thighs getting up as well. "You know what? I don't wanna talk about him any more. This day is about us. What do you want to do?"

I turn around and look him up and down. "You do realise you will be leaving me tonight for two weeks?" I smile suggestively
He smirks back. "Well in that case, my dear." He tries in a horrible British accent. "Will you do me the honour of accompanying me to your bedroom where we will indulge in some intimate contact."
I giggle childishly "Oh well, my dear Sir, how have you been reading my mind?" I play along holding out my hand gracefully to him. He grabs it and pretends to kiss it but then tackles me and sweeps me off my feet smacking kisses all over my face.
"Ieek, you are so weird, remind me why we are together." I shriek with laughter as he carries me back to bed.

.........

We have sex and laze around in bed after and watch some movie on Netflix, then we take a shower and get dressed to meet the rest of the band at the venue for sound check.
As I have suspected Alex again is a no show and Jack is getting pissed off. "Fuck! It's always like that! As soon as Lisa is around, it's like she doesn't want him to be part of this band any more. I believe for whatever reason she is deliberately keeping him away from us. This is just bullshit. I'm so done with this." He rants in the green room afterwards, pacing and kicking everything in his way in a temper tantrum. The rest of the crew and band sit around and just watch him and nobody argues, probably they all silently agree with him.

After he has let off steam he grabs a couple of beers and starts gulping them down, I guess to get drunk and drown his frustration. I hold his arm and take one of the cans away from him.
"Hey there Tiger, slow down will you? At this speed you'll be passed out before it's time for the show."
He glares at me but then I raise my brow and he plops down on the couch and sighs deeply.
"You're right, he's not even worth all this anger." He says running his hands through his hair, still aggravated.

It's another hour until the show and I manage to get Jack to cool down and start joking again.

Alex arrives with Lisa in tow about ten minutes before they go on stage and when he walks up to Jack probably to explain himself, Jack immediately cuts him off. "Alex, save it! I'm super angry at you and I don't want to talk to you at the moment. I don't care about your excuses and I don't want to ruin my mood so I suggest you leave me alone." With that he turns away from him and walks to talk to Mac his guitar tech.
Alex recoils like he has just been slapped and stares after Jack then he looks at me for help but I just shake my head and walk away as well, all the while Lisa stands there beside him with a stupid smirk on her face as if she has achieved something.

The set again has no stage banter between Jack and Alex and I can't help thinking that if this goes on for much longer the fans will seriously get pissed off.

Surprisingly Alex and Lisa stay for the after show get together and Jack pulls me to the other side of the room just so we don't get drawn into the conversation that happens around those two.
It's our last night before they move on with the tour and I get back to work so Jack and I party hard, we giggle and laugh and joke around with the rest of the crew like complete fools. Once in a while I look over to Alex and he is engaging in serious conversations with people keeping Lisa attached to his side. It doesn't look like he's having a lot of fun though.

Suddenly he clinks his glass and clears his throat to get everyone's attention. "Okay, guys, just to let you know. Lisa will be joining us on tour for the next week, thank you." He announces.
Jack turns around hitting the wall frustrated. "Oh for fucks sake!" He groans showing his displeasure and he is not being subtle about it. I look around, most of the guys don't seem too excited but murmur in acknowledgment. I see Linda's face in the crowd and she is not happy but the rest just shrugs, as if they couldn't care less. Alex has turned back to his conversation not reacting to Jack's outburst.
Phil comes up to me and hugs me,"I'm sorry that I've been teasing you all week, Mickey! I thought you were a nuisance, I had no idea it could get so much worse." He jokes and I have to giggle and slap him but secretly I'm so glad I don't have to deal with that. I feel sorry for Jack, this will be a hell of an awkward atmosphere on the bus.
Also I'm concerned that it will not help the band's performance but there is nothing I can do. I pat Jacks shoulder helplessly trying to calm him down. Another hour and it's bus call, time to say goodbye to all the guys. I go around the room and shake hands and exchange hugs and jokes because apart from all the drama it was a great experience to be on tour with them.
Saying goodbye to Rian is weird because I hold out my hand to shake but he pulls me into a hug and mutters, "I'm sorry okay? I will look after Jack and won't let this fight escalate," he is trying to reassure me. I smile thankfully and hug him back.
Zack the sweetheart also gives me a bear hug. "I like you," he simply says, "you're good for Jack."
I mentally awe at his kindness, "Zack, I'm sorry I snapped at you a few times, I'd wish this world would have more people like you! You, my dear have a golden heart! Stay that way!" He shyly smiles at that and reluctantly lets go of me.
I look at Alex and our eyes meet but he doesn't make a move to come over so I just nod a goodbye to him. He holds my gaze with dark eyes and nods back.
That hurts but I'm almost past the point of caring, if that is what he wants then so be it.
Everybody is already on the bus but Jack still holds onto me tight, "Mickey, can't you come with me? It will be so awful with Lisa there," he whines, "I don't wanna go!"
"Jack, come on, you can't let the kids down. This week will be over before you know it and then another week and you'll be back." I kiss him softly, "I'm gonna miss you so much, babe."
I wiggle out of his grasp and lightly push him to the bus door.
He turns around again and latches onto me slobbering wet kisses all over my face and we both laugh.
"Okay, that's it," Brian shout out of the window, "come inside, Jack. We need to leave, ASAP."
He finally enters the bus and I wait until they have rolled off the yard before I make my way home alone and worried what this week will bring.

Notes

Sorry about the layout of this chapter but the site wouldn't let me make paragraphs!
I'm struggling with the next chapters, I know what I want to write but it's just not coming out the way I want! Urghhhhh!