DISCLAIMER: I do not own Victorious. The storyline is a figment of my own imagination. Any similarities of characters, places, or situations to any person or persons, places, or situations real or fictional, are purely coincidental. I do not own any of the song lyrics used in this chapter.

A/N: A humongous thanks to all who have read and reveiwed this story so far. I hope this next chapter does not disappoint since it has clearly been a while since I have posted.

STORY RATING: M—language, angst, adult/sexual situations, depictions of sexual acts. This story is intended for mature audiences.

I couldn't get Tori out of my head. God, she was so beautiful. I would have liked nothing more than to have spent the morning with her—holding her, kissing her…

Making love to her.

But the vibration of my phone pulled me back into reality. I didn't check the caller ID—didn't fucking need to. I knew who it was. I already had thirty-eight missed calls, twenty-two voicemails and seventeen texts—all of which I ignored or deleted.

Jade. The phone calls, voicemails and texts were inevitable. As I drove along heading back to my RV, I began to wonder if all the hostility I was feeling toward Jade was pent up anger, or just because of what had happened at the party last night.

"Beck!" I turned to see Jade making her way over to where I was talking with André. She had gone off to the bathroom—and smoke, no doubt—and was now back in full babysitter mode. Seriously, I felt like she was watching and analyzing my every fucking move…

"How many beers is that now, Beck?" On my second beer.

"Why are you sitting so close to Tori?" I had been trying to hear the story she was telling me over the loud music.

"What were you and André talking about?" We'd been discussing the recent UFC fight.

And finally—"For fuck's sake—stop staring at Vega's ass!"

Okay, so the last one had been true. I had no excuse for it—other than Tori had a really nice ass. I couldn't help it if she chose to display it while she, Cat and Trina did an impromptu karaoke song and dance number to Katy Perry's California Gurls. You know, the part where Snoop Dogg says, "All that ass hangin' out"? Well, she'd certainly let it all hang out when she turned her back to the party, lifted the short, tight skirt of her dress and wiggled the goods.

And, man, were they good.

Of course, Jade hadn't agreed. And I couldn't have explained to her I was a guy, and while I was hardwired to look, I was entirely capable of appreciating a perfectly rounded butt (and mile long legs and full, perky breasts) without wanting to bang the chick.

Which may or may not have been the case with Tori.

"Look, Jade. I'm sorry. How could I have known she was going to flash everyone like that? I was just as shocked as you." I felt like I'd covered that pretty well.

She folded her arms across her chest and raised an eyebrow at me. "Fine. I'm going to go get a drink," she said, and stalked off to pout.

I was shaking my head at her retreating back when a pair of soft little hands covered my eyes. "Guess who?" asked a cheerfully sweet voice.

Glad for the distraction, I chuckled and decided to play along. "André?" I pretended to guess.

I was rewarded with a giggle. "No, silly!" Arms spread wide in a ta-da gesture, Cat jumped in front of me. "It's me!" she announced unnecessarily, her bright red hair swishing across her nose.

I could see her eyes were glazed over, and she was giggling even more than usual. She must have been pretty tipsy at this point. "And to what do I owe this pleasure?" I asked, quite sober myself as I'd only had two beers thanks to Jade.

"Dance with me!" she squealed and grabbed my hand. "I love this song!" she exclaimed as she dragged me into the crowd of gyrating bodies. The Black Eyed Peas' Boom Boom Pow poured from the speakers, and Cat began to bounce rhythmically to the beat. "C'mon, Beck! Move that body." She grabbed my hips and urged them to sway along with hers. "I'm so three-thousand n' eight—you so two-thousand n' late! I got that boom, boom, boom! That future boom, boom, boom!" she sang. Cat's energy and enthusiasm were too much to resist, and I began to dance in earnest. I caught Jade's eye from across the room. She gave me a look of approval; no doubt figuring me dancing with Cat was pretty safe since Cat had been dating Robbie for over two months now.

Add to that the fact Cat wasn't Tori.

That pissed me off. I shouldn't have had to worry about who I was dancing with. I had never been anything but faithful to Jade.

Cat and I worked up a good rhythm—and sweat—through three fast songs. When the music slowed and changed to Kings of Leon's Closer, Cat fell easily into my arms in comfortable, companionable embrace. As the haunting, yet seductive music surrounded us, she caught sight of something behind me that had her eyes lighting up in delight. "Robbie!" she exclaimed, her gaze focused right behind me. I turned to find Robbie dancing with Tori. "Hey, baby," Cat said to him.

"Hey, my little Kitty Cat," he replied, his voice full of genuine happiness, his eyes dark with lust. "Mind if I cut in, Beck?"

"Naw, man, she's your girlfriend." I stepped back so Robbie could swoop in on Cat.

"You're just going to leave me hangin', Robbie?" Tori asked, pretending to look mad, but failing. She started to giggle profusely. I could tell she was wasted.

"I'm sure Beck here will be happy to dance with you." Robbie winked at me as he gathered Cat in his arms.

Disgusted at myself even as I did it, I looked over into the kitchen to see if Jade was still watching me. She was nowhere in sight. "Absolutely." I turned to Tori with a slight bow and extended my hand. "My lady," I joked in my best British accent. Robbie whispered something in Cat's ear that made her eyes go big with pleasure, and then they disappeared into the throngs of swaying bodies.

Tori laughed flirtatiously and placed her hand in mine. I smoothly pulled her towards me, keeping my extended arm slightly stiff, intent on securing that a few inches remained between us. No such luck. She immediately wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing her body gently into mine. "Mmmmmm…" she sighed, her lips so close to my ear I could feel the warmth of her breath tickling my neck. "I like that. You calling me your lady."

"Tooooorrrrriiiii," I said, drawing her name out in a warning tone.

"Hmmmm…?" she purred, lazily guiding my body with her own.

I could feel her breasts pressing against my chest—soft and warm. I gritted my teeth and begged my body not to respond. "You know Jade's my girl," I whispered, as much as a reminder to myself as it was to her.

She looked at me through a half-lidded gaze. "Just shut up and dance." With that she laid her head on my shoulder and slid her hips forward, brushing the top of her thigh against my dick.

Fuck me.

I let out an involuntary groan as my hands slid down to grip her waist—a gesture I had intended to use to ease her away from me, but instead I found myself pulling her closer, arching my own hips forward to rock against hers. The music continued to play—an eerie, sensual tempo enticing those on the dance floor not to dance so much as to writhe against one another in some kind of sexually-charged hypnosis.

Including Tori and I.

Any thought I had of Jade at that instant was fleeting. Tori was so soft and tempting in my arms. As the band's lead guitarist created beautiful, evocative music by singing into his guitar strings, I imagined my own breath doing the same as it whispered across Tori's naked body right before using my lips, my tongue, to taste her flesh. Would she taste as sweet and seductive as she smelled?

We continued holding one another close, our bodies moving as one until the song tapered off. Even as the tempo changed to some fast paced pop, Tori and I remained locked in an embrace, swaying slowly.

We were lost in our own little world until we heard a throat clear from behind me. Tori and I jumped apart as if on fire.

"It's just me," said a deep and, much to my relief, definitely male voice.

I cleared my own throat, willing my heartbeat beat to slow down. "Ummmm…yeah. What's up, André?"

He shrugged casually, but gave me a pointed look. "Maybe you guys should take a break. C'mon—let's all go get something to drink."

We made sure to get Tori a water even though she tried to convince us she was fine for one more glass of punch. After grabbing our beverages, André led us to the slightly quieter alcove tucked just beneath the stairs. Chairs had been set up and several other partiers were lounging around in the dimly lit area, talking and laughing—not to mention a few couples were busy making out.

The minute we sat down, Sinjin swooped in on Tori, and André turned his attention on me. "So…what was that out on the dance floor with Tori just now?"

I took a sip of Trina's punch and nearly gagged. It tasted like gasoline. "What do you mean?" I set the offending liquid on the ledge of a nearby planter.

"Dude—you two looked awfully 'cozy' out there." He threw air quotes around the word cozy.

"And what do you mean by 'cozy'?" I mimicked, crooking my own fingers. "We were just dancing."

"It looked more like you two were trying to grind your way through each other's clothing."

I opened my mouth to deny it, but I couldn't lie to André—he was my best friend. "Look, man, I don't know what came over me," I admitted.

"I do. Tori's hot." He laid a friendly hand on my shoulder. "But you might want to watch it—I don't think Jade would be quite as understanding."

"Is there something going on between you and Tori? Did I overstep any bounds there? With you, I mean," I clarified. He had never come right out and said it, but I had always thought André had a thing for Tori.

He shook his head. "Like I said, Tori's hot. And, yeah, at first I may have thought that way about her, but now she's more like a sister to me. I love her to death, but not in that way."

"Then, Dré, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Is it wrong that I think I've always been attracted to her, and if I didn't have Jade…" I trailed off letting the insinuation hang. I couldn't help it; I turned my gaze over to where Tori was talking with Sinjin, and Cat and Robbie who had apparently joined the group somewhere along the way. I drank in Tori's beauty—she was so mesmerizing, vibrant and engaging. Don't get me wrong—Jade possessed beauty too, but the kind of beauty shrouded in intrigue and mystery. And where Tori's presence drew you in, Jade's pushed you away. Even if you were able to break through the initial barriers Jade had so blatantly built up, there were so many more walls to get through along the way.

It was like a never-ending battle to find the real Jade West. And while I may have enjoyed the challenge at first, I was beginning to lose hope.

"Right or wrong, it is what it is," said André, quite profoundly.

We sat in silence for a moment until he pulsing beat of Pussy Cat Doll's Don't Cha filled the air. "I love this song!" Tori said, jumping up and beginning to dance, hips circling to the beat.

Sinjin's eyes about popped out of his head. "Me too."

"This always reminds me of a song a stripper would use while giving a lap dance," André commented.

"Lap dance!" Tori hollered, and proceeded to turn and straddle Cat. Cat laughed and started cheering as Tori shimmied her boobs in the redhead's face.

My blood began draining from my head on a journey down south. I watched as Cat's small hands gripped Tori's hips, encouraging them to thrust against her lap.

"Hell yeah!" someone egged on from behind me.

Getting into it now, Tori swept her own hands up her waist, over her breasts and up into her hair which she shook, loose and glorious, over her smooth, tanned shoulders.

"Whoooooo!" André applauded.

"You want some too?" Tori asked, turning her attention to André.

Cat smacked Tori's ass, "Give it to him, baby!" she squealed.

Tori wobbly executed a half-turn, leaving her back to André. I heard him groan as the air was sucked from my own lungs when she bent over, giving us both a perfect view of her firm and delectable butt.

"Go, Tori! Go, Tori!" chanted Cat, dancing in her chair.

"Go André is more like it!" Robbie chimed in.

"What about, Beck?" someone in the crowd called out.

Tori turned her attention to me as I tried to shake my head no. But everyone was cheering us on…

The next thing I knew, Tori was standing directly in front of me. She rolled her body lithely while simultaneously trying to straddle my legs. I tried to stop her by straightening my position, but instead I ended up tripping her. She fell forward, and I automatically reached out to catch her, my hands landing right where the curve of her ass met her lower back. Oh, God, I could feel my fingers itching to tighten on the soft flesh. I barely heard the low whistles and catcalls as Tori gripped the edge of the planter behind me to steady herself. Her arms were positioned on either side of my shoulders, unintentionally trapping me.

And her cleavage was fully on display inches from my nose. I couldn't help it, I inhaled deeply the scent that that lingered there—so sexy yet so sweet, and completely Tori. She arched her back, shaking her butt at the onlookers before she dropped her hands to my shoulders and took a seat on my crotch.

Instant hard-on.

"Fight the feeling…leave it alone…"

As Tori started grinding her ass into my lap, the coherent part of my brain registered how ironic it was that that particular PCD song would be playing. The perverse part of it was just enjoying the hem of her short, tight dress riding up high enough I could clearly see the swatch of pink lace she probably called underwear.

"Let's keep it friendly…you have to play fair…"

A million images began running through my head. I imagined shoving the lace to one-side and dipping my fingers in to find her hot and wet…and waiting. She would moan as my ministrations worked her into a frenzy, and when I would begin stroking her clit with my thumb, she'd beg for more. Just as she was ready to cum, she'd lean forward and pant in my ear, "I want…you…in me…now, Beck…NOW!"

"Don't cha…don't cha…"

I nearly groaned aloud.

Unable to control myself, and against my better judgment, I allowed my hands to slither up Tori's waist, stopping just shy of her ribcage. I could see a light sheen of sweat on her skin. I had this insane desire to lean forward and lick it from the valley between her breasts. My hands, of their own accord, began creeping up towards her boobs.

Luckily, Cat's shout of enthusiasm broke me out of the trance I was in. "Whooooooo!" she trilled, instantly reminding me Tori and I had an audience.

I quite literally shook my head to clear my thoughts. Had I really been about to do that in front of all these people? Trying my hardest to act like this was just a gag, I winked at Cat and let out a loud laugh as I dropped my hands down to Toris' thighs. Tori giggled and threw her head back. I jokingly wiggled my own hips beneath her as she lazily rolled her torso to the beat. She began singing along with the song.

"I know she loves you. I understand. I'd probably be just as crazy about you if you were my own man..."

A sudden booming voice put an end to the antics.

"GET. THE FUCK. OFF. MY. BOYFRIEND!"

The next thing I knew, Jade was yanking Tori off of me. Off balance, Tori stumbled back and fell to the ground. I automatically got up from my seat to help her to her feet.

Jade grabbed my arm and spun me around. "Don't you fucking dare help her up." She glared at Tori as Tori remained seated on the ground laughing. Everyone who had, only moments ago, been cheering us on now fell silent.

I shook my arm free of Jade's death grip. "She's drunk, Jade. Leave her alone—she didn't know what she was doing."

"Is that your excuse too, Beck?" She turned back to me, eyes flashing with anger—and hurt. "You're too drunk to shove her skanky bitch ass off your fucking lap?"

"Whose ass is a skanky bitch?" Tori questioned, slurring her words slightly as she tried to get up off the ground.

Jade shot a murderous glower at her. She opened her mouth to respond, but I cut her off. "André—get Tori out of here." André gave me a nod and helped Tori to her feet. Robbie took it upon himself to usher the rest of the onlookers away and back to the party.

Once Jade and I were alone in the alcove, she spun on me. "Of course you want to protect your precious Tori."

"What are you talking about?"

"Gee, let me think—having André save her from the wrath of your girlfriend. Yeah, that's right. You're 'girlfriend', or did you forget you had one of those while she was busy dry-humping you?"

Touché. Okay, so maybe I had forgotten about Jade for a moment, but…I wouldn't have really done anything. "Wha—she…" I couldn't help but roll my eyes, "…she wasn't 'dry humping' me. Look—it was all just in good fun. There were about ten people around us. Everyone was laughing and joking—it wasn't like we were in a dark room by ourselves, getting off on it." Although, truth be told, the hard-on I'd had going on had been a pretty decent one—one that'd deflated the instant Jade showed up. But that was just a natural reaction for a dude when he has a hot chick grinding all over him—right?

Guilt began to eat at me when Jade's eyes started shimmering with tears. I knew she wouldn't let them fall, but they were there. "Good fun? So it was 'fun', was it? And fucking good?"

She was twisting my words around, although I couldn't really argue with her at this point. I tried switching tactics. "Look, babe," I pinched the bridge of my nose, "I don't want to fight—"

I tried reaching for her hand, but she snatched it away. "Don't touch me after your hands have been all over her."

I couldn't help but groan in frustration. "Jade! My hands weren't all over her. I swear I didn't touch Tori anywhere I shouldn't have."

"'Anywhere you shouldn't have?'" She looked at me incredulously. "You shouldn't have touched the bitch, period!"

I knew I was in the wrong. Jade was right. Even though the whole lap dance was meant to be in jest, I definitely was feeling more than friendly toward Tori the entire time. I should have tried harder to stop her—to stop myself. But something inside me finally snapped. "You know what—fuck you, Jade! I'm sick and tired of your jealous bullshit. If Tori and I want to be friends, we'll be friends. If we want to dance together, we'll dance together. If I want to touch her, I'll fucking touch her."

For the first time in all the years I've known her, Jade was shocked silent. After a moment, she spoke, her voice soft and ominous. "We're leaving. Now."

I was torn. Part of me really wanted to gather Jade into my arms and beg for her forgiveness. But…but the other part of me felt the need for liberation. Before I knew what I was doing, I heard myself speak. "No."

"N-no? You're telling me no?"

"You need to find another ride," I said, and turned to walk away.

"You're going to go run to her, aren't you?" she asked, and I could hear her voice waver slightly—although to anyone else, it would have sounded like controlled sarcasm.

Fuck me… I stopped in my tracks, but I didn't bother turning back to face her. "She has a name, Jade. It's Tori. And no, I'm not running to her." Finally I shifted around so I could look her in the eyes. "Why do you always think there's something going on between Tori and me? I've never been anything but faithful to you." Which was the truth. I may have had the occasional fantasy about Tori, may have flirted with her. But I never once pursued any of that because I did have Jade.

She didn't answer right away. "I don't know," she said finally.

If I hadn't been so hurt and angry and confused at that moment, I could have appreciated her honesty. "Well, let me know when you learn to trust me." With that I walked away and left her standing there.

When I gathered up the nerve to look back a few moments later, she was gone.

I pulled up to my RV. Taking a minute to gather my thoughts, I laid my head on the steering wheel. From the moment we had met Tori, Jade had become insanely jealous. I could almost blame her for pushing me right into Tori's arms, but that would be a copout. Truth was I had been attracted to Tori from day one. I would be lying if I denied it. We had chemistry. Not the kind that slowly developed, and then peaked over time. But that unpredictable, addicting passion that just blew you away—hit you hard when you least expected it.

Most people would never have guessed, but Jade was a very vanilla kind of girl. The rough and tough exterior was a façade. Inside there was a soft, insecure girl who craved attention and adoration. And gentleness. While our sex life was satisfying, it lacked spontaneity and…excitement. I had felt all that and more with Tori last night and this morning than I had felt with Jade in the past two years.

The way Tori had openly gawked at me that morning had been such a turn-on. Jade never did things like that. In fact, I probably would have been embarrassed about having morning wood in front of Jade because I was positive she would have wanted to know why. Were you dreaming about another girl, Beck? It was sometimes strange this shy, insecure girl that Jade would morph into when things would get intimate. It was all about the closeness with her, the need to feel desired and cherished. And while I enjoyed that aspect of it as well, sometimes I craved the wild, animalistic side of sex. She just couldn't let herself go to indulge in it.

I entered my RV surprised to find that Jade hadn't kicked the door in, nor was she inside waiting for me. A quick look around ensured me everything was intact.

Dropping down on my bed, I removed my flannel and tossed it to the floor. She must have really been hurt not to try and exact some kind of revenge on me. That was her way of calling for attention—it was expected. I began to feel a knot forming in my stomach. What had I confessed to Tori? That I wasn't sure if I was in love with Jade anymore? If I wasn't, then why was I feeling so awful about our fight? Even though Jade had her downfalls and could come across as queen bitch, she wasn't all bad. And she loved me. And as annoying as her jealous streak was—it was just a confirmation of that.

I was so confused. Jade had been an important part of my life for so long now—we had shared so many special things, special moments. But Tori made me feel like there was more out there to experience—more to do, more to enjoy.

I never imagined I would find myself torn between two girls. Quite honestly, I had often imagined myself married to Jade, living a comfortable life together. But in my vision, Tori was still always around, a friend I knew I couldn't ever let go of either.

They both deserved better, and I needed to make a decision. Before I knew what I was doing, I took out my phone to compose a simple text:

hey

She had to have been waiting to hear from me. I couldn't say I was surprised. Less than ten seconds later, I got a response:

hey

I felt a relieved smile tug at my lips.

im sorry

It took nearly a minute for the phone to buzz in my hand with a reply. My guess was she hadn't been sure if or how she should respond.

?

I knew she was going to make me explain myself. But that was okay, I'd play the game her way if it meant she'd give me a chance to redeem myself.

im sorry we left things btwn us like we did. i need to see u.

Another long pause. I was afraid she was going to ignore me, which I probably deserved.

i dont kno if thats a good idea right now. i feel like things hav changed btwn us. we might end up saying or doing things we dont mean.

I was a bit surprised with her reply. Did I really need to beg? My hands flew over the keys before my mind could decide:

please?

Again I sensed a hesitation when I didn't get an immediate response. Once it came, I could almost hear the sigh that surely went along with it.

ok…ill be there in 10

I felt my heart rate increase in anticipation. We had unfinished business we needed to take care of. I needed to be able to convince her my feelings for her were real, that they had always been.

thank u

c u soon beck

A smile formed on my lips as I entered my text and hit send.

see u tori

END NOTES: Still okay? I am thinking of adding a chapter from Jade's POV somewhere down the line. Yes? No?

Thanks for reading!