Spicy Sapphic Christmas

3. Bunny

THREE

bunny

Siena led the way into the backstage area. Bunny followed closely, worrying her fingers back and forth. She hadn’t been to Julianna’s in close to a decade, but it had been the exact spot that Siena had discovered them all those years ago. She rolled her shoulders and shot Piper a look of mixed frustration, annoyance, and curiosity as she held the door for both Siena and Piper to walk through.

Bunny put her hand at the small of Piper’s back as they walked through the thin hallways. This place had produced more A-list bands and musicians than any other in town. Whoever this duo was, if they were here, they must be at least halfway decent. Which Bunny could attest to. She’d seen them on stage only moments before, sweating and putting their hearts into the music they’d written themselves.

Siena knocked on the dressing room door.

Seeing her acting proper and polite was odd. They’d known each other so long that she was their third band member and had full access to them by now.

“Who is it?” A strong voice slid through the doorway.

“Siena Frazee.”

It was a long second until the doorknob turned and cracked open a bit. Inside, Bunny caught a glimpse of chaos, which was exactly what their own dressing room looked like on a good day following a show. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from making any comments as Siena was allowed inside.

The woman at the door was short, her curves voracious and alluring. Bunny’s insides immediately started churning with arousal. She shifted in her boots, more than a little uncomfortable. She trailed her gaze from head to toe over this woman, her dark blonde hair in soft ringlets to her shoulders, the line of her collarbone that disappeared under the edge of her bright red shirt, her full breasts just begging to be touched.

Nope. Stop that, you idiot.

Bunny flicked her gaze up to the woman’s face and canted her head to the side.

Stare at her face like you’re not some horny dog.

Come on. You’ve got this.

Bunny kept her lips sealed shut as Siena walked farther into the room and Piper followed closely. Seeing this woman close up instead of on stage was entirely different. The lighting hadn’t done her any favors. Bunny’s initial thought was that this one wasn’t the star of the show and the other could easily sell more tickets without dragging her sister around.

“It’s good to meet you two, officially.” Siena held her hand out to shake each of the women’s hands. “I hope you don’t mind, but I brought Bunny and Piper with me to check out your show. This is Bea and Jo.”

Bunny barely flicked her gaze to Jo. She was utterly entranced with Bea—with the way she moved, with the sourpuss look on her lips, with the annoyance in her eyes. She had a resting bitch face for days, and it was like she didn’t even know it.

“Oh my gosh!” Jo squealed and clapped her hands together. “I’m so excited to meet you two.”

Bunny’s shoulders stiffened when Siena’s phone went off, Free Bird playing loudly into the room, startling Bea. Bea flicked her gaze to Siena and then back to Bunny, as if she couldn’t look away, too scared of what Bunny might do.

Siena excused herself to the hallway. Bunny would do that too, considering who was calling. Siena had changed the ring tone for her ex-wife as soon as she’d filed for divorce. She had yet to change it back, but it made it really obvious who was calling and when. It was now Bunny’s turn to step into the lead role and make sure that Bea and Jo understood why they were there.

Which wasn’t to secure them a contract with Siena.

“I can’t believe she brought you guys!” Jo again was squealing.

Bea cut her a look that said shut up, and Bunny had to hold back her snort of laughter. She’d given Piper that look far too many times to count. Piper stepped forward, her hand extended. “Well, it’s good to meet you.”

Jo bounced in her shoes as she took Piper’s hand. “I didn’t think she’d bring you.”

“Siena likes to get a second opinion when she’s scouting new talent,” Piper said, shoving her hands into her tight jeans.

Bunny had barely been able to take her eyes away from Bea. She was stunningly gorgeous, and so far had also remained quiet through all the introductions.

“So you’re sisters?” Bunny said, cringing at the stupidity of the question. She already knew the answer from Siena who had filled them in during the set. Bunny’s shoulders tensed. Why was she always such an idiot when it came to women? But she couldn’t take her eyes off of Bea, and when Bea turned on her, those stunning blue eyes alight with annoyance, Bunny nearly melted.

“Yes,” Bea answered.

Bunny’s mouth went dry, her tongue swelling up in her mouth and making it impossible for her to speak. She wasn’t the suave person that most of the news outlets and fan bases thought she was. She was a clumsy idiot when it came to women. Not to mention, she didn’t really want anyone to know that she was a lesbian.

Nope. That couldn’t happen at all.

“I’m so sorry. I have to run.” Siena popped her head in. Her cheeks that were normally rosy were ashen.

Bunny immediately tensed. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Harley.” Siena stared down at her phone. “You’ll have to call a ride. I’m so sorry.”

“Family is important.” Bunny put her hand on Siena’s arm and led her out of the dressing room and toward the back door. “What happened?”

“She fell out of her bunk bed and broke her arm. Might have a concussion. I told Tori those bunk beds were a bad idea.” Siena’s voice wavered with leashed emotion.

Bunny wrapped an arm around Siena’s shoulder and tugged her in slightly. “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

“I can’t decide if I’m more worried or pissed.” Siena snorted. “Tori’s taking her to the emergency room right now, so I’m going to meet them there.”

“All right.” Bunny squeezed Siena in a side hug. “Let me know how everything turns out, okay?”

“Yeah.” Siena worried her lower lip. “Sorry about ditching you.”

“Don’t be. That’s what family is for, right?”

“Yeah.” Siena managed a small quirk of her lips before she slipped farther down the hallway and out of sight.

With her gone, however, Bunny and Piper were going to have to step in and figure out if Bea and Jo were worth Siena’s investment. And that was going to take some tact, which Bunny wasn’t known for. With a heaving breath, she turned on her toes and walked back to the dressing room.

Jo and Piper chattered away amicably. Bunny shoved her hands into her pockets and rocked back onto her heels. “Can we buy you some drinks?”

Bea’s lips parted in surprise. “Is everything okay with Siena?”

“Yeah. Her kid needs her.”

“How old is she?”

Bunny clenched her jaw. She was always wary about giving out more information than necessary, always the tight-lipped one. But since Siena had brought Harley up, by name, what could an age hurt? “She’s five. She just started kindergarten this year.”

“Oh, five?” Jo seemed to practically melt. “I love little kids.”

Fuck, Jo and Piper had the same energy levels. Bea, it seemed, was the balance to that. Bunny kept her hands in her pockets, trying to drag her gaze away from Bea.

“So drinks?”

“Sure. Sounds delightful.” Bea dragged out the last word, as if drinks with them would be anything but.

Bunny shuddered as the full force of Bea’s grumpy attitude hit her. Why did she always go for the ice queens? Cringing, Bunny turned toward the door, holding it open for everyone as they left. Julianna’s would be open for another two hours and the adrenaline from their own show was still coursing through Bunny’s veins. A nice drink to round out the night would be pleasant, even if the company was icy.

Jo practically bounced in her shoes as she headed for the bar. They ordered drinks and found a small, quiet table in the corner. Piper eyed Jo over like she had found her new best friend. Perhaps she had, though their bond wasn’t one that easily broken.

Bunny rocked back in her seat, looking Bea over again. “So you want to sign with Siena?”

“Yes,” Bea answered.

At least business was something Bunny could manage to talk about. “And you think we’ll give you the okay?”

“I don’t think she needs your approval to make her own decisions.”

Oh, this one is feisty, Bunny thought. She had to hide her smile in her beer. She loved a good challenge. “Siena doesn’t, but she asked for it. Which means there’s something about you that she’s not certain of yet.”

Bea’s full lips parted, her eyes widening. She curled her hair behind her ear and then turned her glass in front of her, staring at it instead of Bunny.

Fuck.

Bunny had already screwed this up. “What’s your angle?”

“Excuse me?” Bea jerked her head up.

“What’s your angle? Everyone has an angle. Why do you want to work with Siena?”

“Because she’s good at what she does.” Bea clenched her jaw. “Not everyone has an angle, you know. We want to be represented by someone who understands the business, who has experience working with duos, and someone who is queer.”

That last word sent a shiver of panic through Bunny. Did they know? Did the whole world know at this point, and was she just oblivious to the fact that she’d been outed somewhere? Bunny had to resist the urge to get on her phone and check every news site to see if she and Piper had been found out. If Jamie Kettlehouse had gotten hold of some information again, Bunny would have her head. The rumors of them being together would run amok, and it couldn’t be further from the truth.

“We want to do this right. And Siena Frazee can help us do that.” Bea gave Bunny a firm look. “Isn’t that what you did?”

“Kind of.” Bunny fingered the dewdrops on her chilled glass as they fell toward the tabletop. “So you want to be as famous as us? Or more?”

“I want to earn a good, healthy income, and I want to make music.”

Bunny nodded along, having heard all of this before, so many times. Yet it was rare for someone to make it into their level. It was rarer still for someone to make it above them. Bunny wasn’t stupid. She and Piper had a fantastic fan base. They made enough money to earn a respectable living, but they didn’t bring in billions every year either. That had never really been their dream.

“And you want to work with Siena because she’s queer?”

“Yes, wouldn’t you?”

“Wouldn’t I what?” Bunny tensed. She probably shouldn’t have brought up this conversation, but she wanted to know for sure. Was Bea queer?

“Want to be represented by someone who gets you.” Bea canted her head to the side, her curls falling over her shoulder.

Bunny leaned in, her hand flat on the top of the table as she lowered her voice so that Bea had to lean in and hear her. “I don’t have to be a lesbian to understand lesbians.”

“It’s easier sometimes.” Bea’s lips pulled upward as if in a half-smile. “At least I find it easier to work with other people from the community.”

Confirmed!

Internally, Bunny leapt for joy. But on the outside, she kept the same calm, cool, collected persona that she always had. She gave Bea a grin before pulling back and taking a long sip of her cold beer. “How do you plan on marketing your little duo?”

“Many ways.” Bea’s eyes lit up. “But I’m not sharing any of our trade secrets.”

Bunny snorted hard, the beer coming back up into her nose and burning it. She hated when that happened. She couldn’t fault Bea though. Trade secrets were just that—secret. It wasn’t like Bunny was willing to share any of her techniques for getting to where she was. Not yet anyway. Not with someone she’d just met and couldn’t quite trust.

“Duly noted.” Bunny raised her chin at Bea and then glanced at Piper and Jo, both of whom were staring at the two of them like they were deer caught in the headlights. “What?”

Piper shrugged. “Nothing.”

Bunny narrowed her gaze suspiciously. “Seriously. What?”

“Nothing,” Piper said again. “Jo and I were talking about dancing for a bit.”

“So go dance. You know that’s not my thing.” Bunny waved her hand, trying to convince them to go. She’d nearly forgotten they were even at the table.

“Order us a second round, will you?”

“Sure, sure.” Bunny waved her hand again. Piper needed to burn off that energy, otherwise she was going to be up texting Bunny all night. And Bunny strongly suspected Jo was the same way.

When she turned back to Bea, Bunny froze. Bea had a wide expression in her eyes, as if something had just clicked that hadn’t before.

“What?” Bunny asked, frowning. A deep line creased in her forehead, and she tried to shake it off. She shouldn’t be this concerned about what someone else thought of her. Then again, most people had awful opinions of her.

“You two aren’t together.” Bea said it like a confirmed statement.

Bunny tensed, fear racing through her, and then she paused. Bea hadn’t accused her and Piper of being together. In fact, it was the complete opposite. Bunny spun her drink on the table, keeping her eyes locked on Bea’s. She wanted to catch any little expression that she could.

“No, we’re not. Why would you think we are?”

“Oh, just… rumors.” Bea muttered the last word, her cheeks pinking with embarrassment.

Was she a fan?

Fuck, please say she’s not some crazed fan.

“We’re absolutely not in a relationship.” Bunny rolled her shoulders, trying to settle herself from that immediate upset.

“Well then, I suppose that leaves opportunities for others.”

“I’m not looking for a relationship.” Bunny chugged the rest of her beer and then looked around to see if she could find a waiter to get everyone refills.

“Who said anything about a relationship?”

Bunny jerked back sharply. “Excuse me? You did.”

Bea laughed lightly and nodded toward Jo and Piper on the dance floor. “You think I don’t know a lesbian when I see one?”

“Fun fact.” Bunny leaned in, her lips so close to Bea’s cheek. She tilted her head down slightly so that her breath would wash right over Bea’s neck and down into her cleavage. “Piper’s not a lesbian.”

“You didn’t deny you being one.”

Bunny sighed. “What’s it matter to you?”

Bea’s look was wickedly sexy. The raised eyebrows, the parted full lips, the tongue peeking out from the edge of her mouth. Her cheeks were curved with deliciousness, and Bunny wanted nothing more than to bury her face in Bea’s neck and pepper as many kisses as possible against her skin. What was so enthralling about this icy woman?

Oh right.

She was sexy as hell.

“Oh, it matters.” Bea lowered her voice and turned her head. “Because if you look at every woman that walks in your direction like you’re looking at me now, you’re in absolute, utter denial.”

A chuckle bounded its way up Bunny’s chest, into her throat, and out her lips. “Hard to ignore a stunning woman.”

“Oh, you do flatter me.” Bea rolled her eyes and pointed at her drink. “Weren’t we getting another one?”

“Hell yes.”