Spicy Sapphic Christmas

16. Bea

SIXTEEN

bea

Bea blinked slowly, warmth surrounding her in the big bed filled with soft fuzzy blankets. Who knew Bunny would have such a heavenly bed? Turning on her side, Bea reached for Bunny only to find that part of the bed empty.

Frowning, she looked around the room and found herself alone. she rubbed her eyes before stifling a yawn behind her hand. She wouldn’t let waking up alone be the undoing of all the warm and satiated feelings that swayed inside of her.

Bea took her time luxuriating in Bunny’s shower, imagining a future where it wasn’t just Bunny’s. She laughed, and the sound echoed around the tiles, mixing with the rush and pound of water. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so relaxed, even after the other times she and Bunny had sex. This had outdone all of them.

Taking her time, she allowed herself to linger in the memory of Bunny worshiping her body, as though she were the goddess Aphrodite herself.

Bunny still hadn’t returned when Bea got out of the shower. Refusing to let that take away her happiness, Bea got dressed, double checked she had all of her things and pulled the door locked behind her. As soon as she did, worry washed over her. Had Bunny left without her keys, assuming Bea would still be there when she returned?

Bea shook her head. She hadn’t seen any keys in the bowl near the door.

Almost skipping her way to the curb where her ride waited for her, Bea decided she would take a detour to the studio this morning and grab coffee on her way for everyone.

Using her back to push open the studio door, Bea carried a tray of coffee in her hands. Music filtered down the hall, and she smiled as she walked, her feet automatically stepping in time with a familiar song she couldn’t quite pin down. It would bother her later, or come to her later. Either way she stopped at the threshold of the piano room and took a deep breath.

Bunny sat on the piano stool, her body moving with the music she played. Bea took the moment to watch her unnoticed. She had become addicted to the shape of this woman, her strong wide shoulders, the muscles that rippled under her short-sleeved shirt. Bunny rocked into the music, and Bea’s hips swayed in time of their own accord.

“A really good job, Bunny.”

Bea startled a little, splashing a few drops of coffee over the tray, thankfully missing her own skin. She regretfully turned her eyes away from Bunny, and for the first time, noticed Siena sitting on the floor against the wall. She wore dark slacks and a tailored button-down shirt with sleeves that were cut angularly from beneath her elbow and down to her wrist. Siena sat with one leg stretched out in front of her while the other bent at the knee, her bare foot flat on the ground. On the thigh of her bent leg rested a folder with sheets of paper on it. Siena flicked through the pages as though she had done it several times and looked up at Bunny. “These lyrics are fantastic.”

Bunny spun around on the piano stool and stopped before she reached Siena. She had turned toward Bea, and as their eyes caught, Bea’s heart fluttered and her smile spread wide over her face.

“Hi.” Bea dipped her head and tucked hair behind her ear with a hand. The tray wobbled in just the one hand, and Bea quickly returned to holding it properly. Since when had she ever played the demure role? It didn’t sit well with her. “I brought coffee.”

“Bea.” Siena jumped up and strode forward.

Bea squared her shoulders. Professional—despite everything, she would remain the consummate professional. Always. Despite the wobble she felt in her legs as Bunny’s eyes raked over her body.

“Perfect timing.” Siena leaned forward and brushed her lips against Bea’s cheek. Maybe it was the corner of her lips and not her cheek. Bea had no idea and quite frankly didn’t care. Her eyes remained fixed on Bunny until Siena moved back, and Bea forced herself to return Siena’s look.

“Bunny’s reworked the song Baby It’s Cold Outside, and the lyrics are brilliant. This song will be the perfect duet for the two of you as the finale for the show.”

“We’re doing a duet?” Bea asked, her heart speeding up. The set list she’d seen so far still hadn’t included any duets for them. Every other combination was there except that one. Bea had tried to bring this up to Bunny, but she hadn’t thought her words had made any difference.

“It’d be a waste not to show off all the combinations of voices we have between the four of you. Wouldn’t it?” Siena voiced Bea’s very thoughts. Then again, maybe Bunny would actually listen to Siena.

“Well, yes.” Bea nodded, blinking in confusion. Had Bunny listened to her after all? Or had she only reconsidered after they had slept together? No, she shook the idea away as soon as it entered her thoughts. Bunny was a professional. Despite what they did away from the studio, or at least away from other people when in the studio, she wouldn’t do a duet just to keep Bea happy. She must really believe in the strength of their voices combined.

“Yeah.” Siena drew out the word, looking at Bea and then Bunny. Oh shit, had Bea missed something while she worked through things in her head? “So, are you okay doing it with Bunny?”

Bea’s eyes widened, and she snapped them back to Siena, having allowed them to drift over to Bunny once more.

“Umm.” Bea studied Siena’s face. Did she realize what she’d just said? Did she know? Her face gave away nothing, but Bea wondered if that glint in Siena’s eyes told more than what the woman was saying. “Yeah, as long as the lyrics have removed the lack-of-consent issues, then I’m absolutely fine with singing it with Bunny.”

“Great.” Siena clapped her hands and nodded. “You two can work together on the lyric changes.”

“Enjoy your coffee.” Siena laid a soft hand on Bea’s forearm for just a moment. Bea found that she didn’t really care one way or the other if Siena did know about her and Bunny.

What would it even matter? Bea wouldn’t go back into the closet for anyone, and while she tried to understand Bunny’s perspective on coming out, not even Bunny would make her hide who she was. Besides, she would get to sing with Bunny on stage. Even with the song still reeking of heterosexuality, it couldn’t take away Bea’s excitement about the duet.

“Thanks for the feedback.” Bunny smiled as she took the offered folder from Siena.

“Anytime. Glad I popped in.” Siena turned and gave Bea another smile, this one feeling a little more intimate than the previous one. “Can’t wait to hear you and Bea sing together.”

“Thanks, Siena.”

Siena nodded and left. She didn’t seem like one for big fanfares. And Bea could appreciate that.

“Oh my God. Is that coffee for us?” Piper walked directly up to Bea. After Bea nodded, Piper found her order written in the shorthand codes of the barista and smiled at Bea. “You’re my new favorite person.”

“Hey!” Bunny called from the piano chair.

Piper shrugged, taking a big sip from her cup. “Bring me coffee and you might be able to win back the title of best friend.”

“Oh, it’s conditional now, huh?” Bunny’s amusement colored the words, and Bea wanted to dive into this moment and let it wrap around her forever.

“There’s coffee?” Jo’s squeal interrupted whatever Piper’s answer might have been as she rushed into the practice room, tucking her pockets into her jeans.

Had she gotten dressed in the car? Worry ate at Bea’s stomach.

“Thank God.” Jo kissed Bea’s cheek as she grabbed her cup. “The line for coffee up the road was too long and there was no way we were going to be late again.”

We? There is a we? Bea looked at Piper and Jo and back again. Neither seemed fazed by Jo’s words or focused on anything except the coffee they consumed like starving lovers.

Bea placed the tray on the small table near the piano where Bunny had put the clipboard down next to a stack of papers. The top sheet was covered in Bunny’s small messy writing. Bea was glad she had a cup in each hand so the temptation to trace the words with her fingers couldn’t be acted on.

“And this one is yours.” She handed out the cup to Bunny, who remained seated at the piano stool.

“Thanks.” Bunny reached for the cup, but was that a slip in her stoic gaze?

Their fingers brushed, and Bea’s breath caught in her throat.

“So, what’s new?” Piper smiled as she pushed herself up on an empty table a little away from where Bunny and Bea both still held onto Bunny’s cup.

Bea swallowed, let go of the cup and turned to the rest of the small room.

“Yeah.” Jo’s lying face had never been good, but Bea shook her head. The frustration she had felt over it last night had subsided into a gratefulness she wished she could scream about from the rooftops. “Everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine.” Bunny stood up, placed the coffee on the table untouched and collected the stack of papers. She divided them up and handed them a relatively equal pile each. “These are your own personal lists. If you aren’t singing in one of the songs, it’s not in the list.”

They all thanked Bunny and instantly flicked through the music. Even Bea refused to linger on Bunny’s face as she took her sheets. She could be just as professional as Bunny. More so. Even though another kiss against the piano wouldn’t be unwelcome. She was a professional, sure, but she definitely wasn’t dead. Any thoughts of her libido being dead had fled the moment Bunny had first laid those smoldering eyes on her.

“Let’s get into rehearsing the first half hour of the show right through. I think we’ve gotten far enough to be able to do that. I’ve set up a timer so we know exactly how much time we need between each song to work out if we are going to do costume changes.”

“Really?” Jo and Piper’s eyes widened as though it were already Christmas morning and beneath the tree was a pile of gifts with their names on them.

“Only if we can get our timing right.” Bunny pursed her lips and looked at Piper and Jo with such serious teacher eyes that Bea had to press her own lips together so as not to laugh at the two nodding with their big puppy dog eyes.

“Of course.” Bea said, clearing her throat and nodding. “Shall we start warming up then?”

“Sounds like a good idea.” Bunny nodded.

The rehearsal was brutal with Bunny making them run through the first half of the show three full times, including multiple pauses to fix mistakes. Each time she gave critiques to each of them and, surprisingly to Bea, asked them all if they noticed anything she could improve in her own performance. The critiques were minimal and even Bunny seemed to relax into the joy of it all by the end of the third run through.

“We can do at least one costume change in the first half. If it runs as smoothly as that on the night, there will definitely be enough time.” Bunny nodded at them, still serious as she ever was.

Bea’s cheeks heated as Bunny’s gaze rested on hers a little longer than necessary before roaming down her body and back up again. How could her eyes have such power to make heat pool between her thighs?

“So, ideas for costumes?”

“Well.” Piper flicked her look to Jo and then back to Bunny. “Jo and I have a few ideas. Can we work on them together after rehearsal and bring them to you both tomorrow?”

“Sounds good.” Bunny nodded. “Shall we start on the next section of the performance? How are the dance routines going?”

“They’re going great.” Jo’s energy bubbled up, and it made Bea smile. “Piper and I work really well together. The choreography we’ve chosen isn’t too difficult. Simple, but still enough to make the crowd go ooh and aah.”

“Ooh and aah?” Bunny asked, raising her eyebrows, but Bea saw the pull of her lips as she fought back the smile.

“It’s the professional term for it.” Bea smirked, unable to help herself.

“Oh well then, who am I to criticize?” Bunny smiled outright this time, and Bea didn’t care that Jo and Piper were still in the room. She couldn’t pull her eyes away from Bunny’s lit up face.

“Take a break, get some lunch.”

Jo’s easiness was so nice to see. Bea wanted to bask in it a little longer, so she pulled Jo toward her. It had been a while since the two sisters had given in to their sibling squabbles, and Bea missed the playfulness between them.

Things had been a little tense, more than normal. Ever since Jo went and begged Siena for a chance to represent them. And then to top that off, the secrecy about Mandy contacting her again.

They hadn’t spoken about it. Bea avoided the topic as best she could even though her worries gnawed at the back of her mind. Jo was her responsibility. She was the older sister, and she had to make sure Jo was safe, despite her seriously shit choices of women in the past.

Jo nudged Bea’s shoulder, and they smiled at each other. Bea’s worry eased a little, and she would make sure they got some time soon to really talk about what was going on with them both.

The way Bea felt right now, she might even be willing to tell Jo about Bunny.

Maybe.