Spicy Sapphic Christmas

14. Bunny

FOURTEEN

bunny

Bunny pulled on the vest she wore, trying to keep it from bunching up on her breasts. Piper had made her dress nicely for tonight, and she was far more made up than she would be on any given day, but it was a nicer restaurant than they would normally patronize. Her muscles burned from her evening run.

She’d taken to those, too.

Because she had to burn off the sexual energy that Bea set off in her somehow every time they were in the same room together. And it had been bad the last few days. Bunny had resolved herself not to kiss, touch, or fuck Bea again. They had to stop this nonsense. It wasn’t good for either of them.

And tonight was going to prove that. They were here for Jo and Piper, nothing else.

Bunny stepped out of her car, pocketing the keys. She’d driven herself that night, needing the space away from everyone else. It was hard being in constant contact with two extra people every day. She wasn’t good at socializing, and being thrust into a room with Bea made it that much worse.

When Bunny stepped into the piano bar, she froze. Bea was at the front, a stunning little black dress wrapped around her beautiful curves, highlighting every single one of them. Bunny groaned, shoving her hands into her pockets and clenching her fists. She did not need Bea to look so fuckable tonight because she really didn’t need the temptation.

Then again, Bea always looked fuckable. Even when there were no innuendos or heated looks, as they talked about music, or about Piper and Jo. It had shocked Bea the first time she realized they had more than sexual chemistry between them.

“Hey,” Bea said, her voice tight. “Jo said she’d meet me here.”

“Same with Piper.” Bunny clenched her jaw. Were they being set up? Was this Jo and Piper’s ultimate plan?

Little did they know.

“Think this is all some elaborate plan of theirs?” Bea shifted her body, sliding one hip down and putting her fist on the other one.

Bunny had to swallow the lump of arousal that caught her. Her voice broke when she said, “Uh…yeah.”

“Wonderful.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Bunny had meant that to come out annoyed. Instead, it sounded like she was drooling over Bea. Which… she was. Bunny snapped her gaze from Bea’s breasts, pushed up so delicately and scrumptiously in the dress she wore, to her face. “I—”

“Your table is ready.” The hostess appeared in front of them.

Bunny flicked her a glance, really wanting to clarify to Bea what she’d meant, but she just couldn’t make herself do it. Bunny put her hand on the small of Bea’s back as they were led toward their table. They were set up right next to a grand piano that was cordoned off. The seats had low backs, connected like an uncomfortable couch from the seventies, and a round table in the middle of them. The fondue was already set up, with tastes of different items all around.

“Carrie will be your server. She’ll be over to ask what drinks you’d like.”

Bunny sat down, Bea next to her, despite the fact that she really didn’t want to be that close to Bea. She needed the extra inches of space.

“Here they are,” Bea said.

Bunny looked up to see Piper and Jo coming toward them, both grinning from ear to ear. “Thank God.”

“I didn’t realize my company tortured you so much.” Bea raised one eyebrow, looking directly into Bunny’s eyes.

“In more ways than one,” Bunny answered, giving back a look that was all fire and desire. If she was going to be forced to sit next to Bea all night, then they both deserved to be tortured. Bunny slid her hand against Bea’s knee under the edge of the table so the other two didn’t see. She shifted the edge of Bea’s dress up, and played her fingertips lightly over the soft skin on the inside of Bea’s thigh.

Bea dragged in a shuddering breath.

Exactly, Bunny thought before moving her hand. At least she wasn’t the only one struggling with this.

The meal went quickly, and with drinks flowing, Bunny finally found a way to relax. She finished off her second drink for the night and eyed the piano. For a piano bar, she really expected there to at least be some music.

Carrie came by, taking another drink order and dropping off some more items for the fondue. Bunny glanced at the piano again. “Will there be music tonight?”

Carrie sighed heavily before shaking her head. “Unfortunately no. Our pianist called out sick.”

“Do you mind if I—”

“It’s all yours.” Carrie grinned broadly. “I’d love the music.”

Bunny immediately scooted out of their table. She needed the break from Bea. She needed space between them to clear her head, refocus, and maybe make the night go a little faster. She moved the piano bench out and sat down. The keys were cold under her fingers, and she closed her eyes to think.

What songs did she actually have memorized that weren’t her own for the set list of their current concerts or those damn Christmas songs they’d been practicing nonstop? Something classical for sure. Something from when she’d been a teenager and forced to practice hours on end.

Instantly, she knew what she was going to play. The soft melodic tones of the Moonlight Sonata echoed throughout the building. The chatter from all the patrons turned into a duller, quieter noise in the background. Working solely from memory, Bunny worked her way into the second movement. She only messed up once or twice, but hey, it’d been decades since she’d played this properly.

When she opened her eyes, Bea was standing next to her, phone on the piano and turned sideways with the sheet music on it. “Piper said you could probably use this.”

“Thanks.” Bunny squinted at the screen, trying to pick up where she was at. Bea flipped the page and suddenly she found her place.

“Could you use a page turner?”

What was she supposed to say to that? Bunny nodded as her fingers continued to fly across the keyboard. Bea scooted next to her on the bench, the warmth from her thigh seeping into Bunny’s leg. Every time Bea leaned forward to hit the phone and turn the electronic page, Bunny would get a whiff of her perfume, of her scent, and it sent a shiver through her. She couldn’t make herself stay there. She had to get out.

Bunny finished the song and then shifted as if she was going to get up.

“Would you mind playing this one?” Bea held out the phone.

Bunny froze. What was this? Torture by proximity? She couldn’t handle it much longer. Biting her lip, Bunny skimmed the music. It was a jazz piece. Jazz wasn’t something she played often. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d tinkled the keys to that kind of tune.

“Are you going to sing?” Bunny asked, locking her eyes on Bea’s blue ones.

“If you’d like. This is one of my favorites.” Bea leaned in closer.

Bunny closed her eyes, trying to center herself, but no matter how many times she tried, she felt as though she was in a proverbial imbalance, always leaning toward Bea or away from her. “I didn’t realize you were interested in jazz.”

“I like all kinds of music, don’t you?”

Choosing not to answer that one, Bunny sat back at the piano. “But you don’t play.”

“Piano was never really my forte. I can play, but not well. Guitar is far easier for me.”

“It’s not quite the same when it comes to jazz,” Bunny murmured.

“It’s not,” Bea whispered back. “That’s why I leave it to the real piano players.”

“Why Bea, is that a compliment?” But Bunny started to play, not wanting to turn the pleasantry into another heated discussion.

Bea’s reply was a smile as the notes filled the room and Bunny’s chest. Bea hit the first note in the song, her voice pure and strong as she sang out. Surprise ricocheted through Bunny, and she had to work hard to keep her gaze on the music in front of her and not look at Bea because then she’d be completely lost. Bunny divided her focus, listening to Bea’s amazing voice and keeping her fingers moving on the keyboard.

The lyrics filled her soul.

Good Morning Heartache but with a modern twist, with Bea’s pure angelic voice pulling the notes and the lyrics together like the worst heartbreak song on the planet. Bunny blinked back tears. She couldn’t dare herself to look at Piper because she would completely lose it. She would break down from the amount of emotion in Bea’s voice, in the way she moved through the melody.

When Bea finished, Bunny sat back, awash with awe. “You’re amazing.”

“I’ve always had an affinity for jazz.”

“Based on what I’ve heard you sing, I think you could sing anything you set your mind to.”

“High compliment coming from you.” Bea beamed.

Bunny snorted lightly and rolled her eyes, but a smile played at her lips. “It’s well deserved.”

“Sing with me then.”

“I don’t know about that.” Bunny’s stomach roiled. There was no way she would be able to match Bea’s talent. Bunny had a voice, but more than anything she had the business mindset and acuity to get her to the top, or at least closer than she had been when starting out. That was what had propelled her and Piper upward. Not because of her abilities but because of her tenacity. Bea didn’t need that. She had the fucking raw talent that Bunny lacked.

“Please.” Bea pulled up another song and set it on the piano.

Bunny stared at it, narrowing her gaze in curiosity. What the hell was Bea up to now?

“You start. I’ll follow.” Bea rested her chin on Bunny’s shoulder as they reached the first line of lyrics.

Bunny took the alto lower part to Shallow. She sight-read the music as best she could, but she knew this song well enough to not feel chained to the music like she had with the last one. When Bunny finished her part, Bea immediately started, changing the lyrics slightly to be about two women instead of a man and a woman. The hair on Bunny’s neck stood straight up, but she ignored it.

No one would notice, would they?

They kept singing, their voices blending after the nearly full week of practice. They could hear each other in ways they wouldn’t have been able to before. Bunny instinctively knew when Bea would breathe and when she wouldn’t.

They finished the song, and a round of applause erupted around them. But Bunny couldn’t tear her gaze away from Bea. What were they doing here?

“Come home with me.”

“What?” Bea wrinkled her nose.

“Come home with me. Tonight.”

“I thought we weren’t going to do this again.” Bea lowered her voice so no one else could hear them.

“I changed my mind.” Desperation clung to Bunny. She couldn’t say why she wanted this. All she knew was that she had to have Bea, all of her, every inch that she was willing to give. And worse than that, she wanted Bea, not just her body. But maybe her body could ease some of this confusion bubbling up within her.

“Why?”

Damn her for asking the one question that Bunny couldn’t answer. Dashing her tongue against her lips, Bunny dropped her gaze to Bea’s mouth, to those scrumptious lips that would feel so good, taste amazing. Slowly raising her gaze up to meet Bea’s eyes, Bunny said the first thing that came to her mind. “Because you deserve to be worshipped.”

Bea gasped. She held Bunny’s gaze, her lips slightly parted, her breathing in short rasps.

“Tonight.”

“Tonight?” Bea repeated as a question.

“Yes. Right now.” Bunny couldn’t explain why she needed this to happen immediately. But something had changed. Something was different.

“Bunny.”

“I’ll be outside waiting. If you want to come —” Bunny put a specific emphasis on that word “—then get your things and meet me.”

Without another word, Bunny grabbed Piper’s phone and headed for the table. She left Bea on the piano bench to make her decision. Bunny dropped her phone right in front of Piper, leaned over and whispered into her ear, “If you disturb me tonight, I’ll kill you.”

Bunny couldn’t look at her. She straightened up, slapped some bills onto the table to pay for everyone’s meals and walked out. She couldn’t take the close proximity anymore. She needed to breathe fresh air, she needed to figure out what she’d just done.

Running her hands wildly through her hair, Bunny pulled at the strands as she asked for the valet to bring her car around. She was an idiot. Bea wouldn’t want her. Bea wouldn’t want anything with her. A quick fuck was all they’d agreed to, nothing more. In fact, they’d hardly agreed to that. It had been during little moments of anger.

The rain was cold against Bunny’s skin, but it was a good reminder of what idiotic decisions she’d been making lately. Bea wouldn’t want her. Bunny had nothing to offer other than quick moments of sex. There was nothing more that could be between them.

She was chilled to the bone when the driver brought her car around and handed her the keys. She stepped around the driver’s side and opened the door.

“Bunny!”

Bunny froze. Looking up, she stared directly at Bea as she walked toward her, one heel in front of the other, dress perfectly cut for her curvy figure. It showed off everything Bea had, everything Bunny wanted. Bunny’s heart was in her throat. She put both feet on the ground and faced Bea as she walked around the hood of the car and shut the driver’s door.

“You invite me with you and then leave without me?”

“What?” Bunny’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“That’s pretty rude, don’t you think?” Bea clasped her hand around Bunny’s upper arm, pulling her in. “And I don’t like it when people are rude.”

Their mouths pressed together. Bunny’s knees went weak. She sucked in a sharp breath and stepped closer, pulling Bea in by the small of her back as she parted her lips and slid her tongue against Bea’s lower lip.

“But I think you can make it up to me,” Bea murmured, kissing Bunny again quickly. “What do you say?”

Bunny had no idea what to say or think. She’d never been this thoroughly seduced before, and hell, it felt amazing. Bunny wanted this to happen every day. She moved, pushing Bea back toward the hood of the car and around the front of it.

She opened the passenger side door and held onto it firmly while she gave Bea a long and deliberate once over.

“Get in the fucking car,” Bunny ordered.