Spicy Sapphic Christmas

32. Bea

THIRTY-TWO

bea

The last day had been so quiet. Bea sat on her bed, the local news on, as she spooned cereal between her lips. She couldn’t believe that this had become her life. Jo had been off with Piper and Bunny doing press for the charity event coming up and trying to get some last-minute people to join them for the concert, and Bea was stuck exactly where she was.

On her makeshift couch in her studio apartment, eating cereal dry because she literally couldn’t even afford milk that week. Even with the boost to her income since she’d sung with Bunny at IBTC, she was still flat-broke. And she’d left it all behind because she’d been scorned.

Right?

Bea winced at that thought. It wasn’t because of that. She bit her lip and stared down at the cereal in her bowl. She’d been right. Bunny had gone off her rocker, but the last night at IBTC had been amazing. Not just because Bunny had apologized but because she’d been herself again.

The woman that Bea had seen the first night.

The one who was secretly soft underneath all her bravado and fear.

Sighing heavily, Bea shoved another spoonful between her lips. She froze mid-chew when she glanced up and found Bunny on her screen. Could the woman honestly get any sexier? She was dressed down compared to what she might wear for a concert, but Bea could still see that someone had dolled her up and just how uncomfortable she was.

The tank top wasn’t a loose racerback like she preferred, but a tight white tank with the band logo across the front. Her shoulders were squared, and the push-up bra she had on was clearly uncomfortable and not well-fitting. Bea’s lips pulled up to the side, and she reached for the remote to turn the volume up.

“Today we have Bunny from Bunny and Piper here to tell us about her upcoming concert.”

Bunny nodded, plastering a smile on her lips. It wasn’t a fake smile, but it certainly wasn’t genuine either. It was one that was meant for publicity, and Bea recognized it instantly.

“Thank you so much for joining us today. I’m excited to talk to you about this Christmas concert. It seems like a perfect celebration for the year.”

“It is, Heidi.” Bunny smiled again. “When the opportunity came up for Piper and me to join in, we couldn’t say no, even though it’s so far outside of our normal music.” Bunny pushed her hair behind her ear, her cheeks turning pink.

What was she thinking right then? Bea wanted to know. Because she had a feeling Bunny had about twenty other thoughts running through her head at the moment, including counting down the minutes until she could get into something far more comfortable.

“Piper and I are putting on a Christmas concert of all your favorites, and we’ll be pairing with Jo from Sole Sisters . Her voice adds an amazing middle to our mix, and let me just say this, Jo has some amazing dance moves.”

They both laughed, but it came out a bit hollow. What would Bunny say about Bea if she was still singing with them? Would she talk about her perfect tits? Bea snorted at that idea. She wouldn’t, but it was a nice thought anyway. Bunny would probably talk about her mezzo voice and how they weren’t going to sing a duet together.

“Piper and Jo have gotten close during this season. How did they meet?” Heidi asked.

Bunny’s face fell. Bea’s heart sped up and clogged her throat. She should have anticipated this line of questioning, that the world would want to know more about their relationship because of how public the fake proposal had been. But despite Jo’s confession that nothing was real and she wanted it to be, there hadn’t been any movement in the last week from either Jo or Piper to solidify things.

Biting her lip, Bea was glued to the television screen, the phone in her hand.

“I think that’s their story to tell, not mine.”

Oh, that was a good response. Bravo, Bunny. Bea relaxed slightly and unlocked her phone. She pulled up Siena’s number, about to text and see if she could find a time to meet with her. Bea’s panic over having nothing planned for the new year was setting in, and she needed to resolve that sooner rather than later.

“Can you tell us if the engagement is the reason that Bea is no longer joining the Christmas concert?”

Bunny cringed, though it was so quick that probably no one else picked up on it. Bea leaned forward, again locked on the television in front of her.

“What I can tell you is that Jo will be joining us for this concert. I went the other night to hear Bea sing a solo event at the IBTC, and she was as fabulous as ever. Bea has always had the ability to shine on her own, and I’m very proud of the steps that she’s taking to continue her career.” Bunny’s shoulders lifted up slightly, another sign that she was uncomfortable. Did the newscaster just not care? Or was she bluntly ignoring the fact that Bunny kept trying to avoid answering the questions.

“But to come out as gay in such a public way. There have been rumors for years that you and Piper were in a relationship. It is a bit shocking for your fans. Are you worried you’ll lose them?”

“No.” Bunny gave her an honest answer. “I’m not afraid of losing fans. I’m afraid of what it would mean for Piper to not be happy. But it’s none of your business, or the world’s for that matter, who Piper is in a relationship with, or who I’m in a relationship with. Our sexuality doesn’t matter when it comes to our ability to make good music. And we’re here to make good music. That’s it. Piper and I love to sing and play, and we’ll continue doing that for a long time. It’s one of the reasons we agreed to this Christmas concert.”

Bunny was amazing at turning the conversation right back to where it should be. Bea should probably be taking notes for her own lessons later on—assuming she ever got this famous as to land on the local news.

“This concert isn’t about us making money, but using our name and our talent to help a foundation continue their cause—which is to help single mothers. My own mom was a single parent. It was just her and me. She was my world, and I saw how much she struggled to make ends meet and to make sure that I had everything I could possibly want.”

Heidi parted her lips to try and interrupt, but Bunny just barreled on and ignored her.

“The Holbrook Foundation was founded by Bernadette Holbrook, to help single mothers have a hand up so that they could thrive in Portland and so that their kids could have better opportunities and chances. That’s what this concert is about. Raising awareness of just how hard it is to raise a kid these days, and that doing it alone is even tougher.”

“It’s admirable,” Heidi muttered, as if finally accepting that Bunny wasn’t going to slip up again.

“It is, and I’m proud to support the Holbrook Foundation and to be able to use my platform to help them fulfill their work. The concert is on Christmas Eve, and it’ll have all your favorite Christmas and holiday tunes. We’ve been preparing almost daily for the last month, and let me tell you, Piper might even get me to dance at least once.”

“And tickets are available…”

Bea tuned them out.

Why hadn’t she seen it before?

Bunny was protective. Why wouldn’t she be? With the way she’d grown up, the fear she’d had in her life from the time she was born. It had never stopped, had it? She’d just transferred it from her mom to Piper, and now onto Jo and subsequently Bea.

Bea blinked at the screen, watching as Bunny wrapped up the interview.

Everything was about protection.

Bea hit Siena’s contact information, calling instead of texting. She dumped her bowl onto the side table and immediately stood up to pace. Energy flowed through her in an instant. She should have seen it before. Bunny was freaking out because she couldn’t do what she thought her one and only job was.

But it wasn’t shame.

“This is Siena Frazee, please leave a message, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”

Was Siena with Bunny for this interview? Surely they’d had some conversation about how to navigate the questions they anticipated might come up.

“Hey, it’s Bea. Um… Can you call me back, like, ASAP?” Bea rolled her eyes at herself. “It’s kind of an urgent thing but not an emergency.”

She hung up and glanced back at the television.

“I hope you join us on the twenty-fourth!” Bunny grinned as she turned to the television. “I know it’s going to be a family friendly event.”

The way she said that word. She was sending hints out there. Bea stared at Siena’s name again. Should she call or wait? The news cut to commercial, and Bea shuddered. Energy flowed through her instantly.

She’d thought it was so odd the way that Bunny had left the club, but now it made total sense. She was protecting herself, because they were getting too close again. But Bea wanted to be close. If she didn’t, she would have held her ground and kicked Bunny out as soon as she’d entered the dressing room the first time.

She couldn’t wait. Hitting Siena’s number again, she waited as it rang until it went to voicemail.

“Fuck,” Bea muttered.

She was just about to call again, when Siena’s name lit up her phone. Bea answered with a short, “Hey.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Uhh…” How did she explain this one? “Are you with Bunny?”

Bea looked back at the television screen, like she could see into the news studio and whether or not Siena was standing right next to Bunny.

“I was. She’s just getting changed.”

“I need your help.” Bea moved to her dresser and immediately started pulling out clothes to change into for the day. This was going to involve an in-person meeting, and she had to be ready for it as soon as Siena had time.

“What’s going on?”

“I need to sing at the Holbrook event.” Bea held her breath, waiting for Siena’s response.

But she was met with silence.

“Siena?”

“Hold on.” Siena clearly held the phone away from her ear as she said, “Bunny, I’m going to be a few minutes. Take your time.”

“I don’t want to take my time,” Bunny growled.

“Do it,” Siena ordered. She came back louder. “One more second. Let me get… somewhere else.”

Bea twiddled her thumbs as she waited, still barely breathing. Was this a good sign? That Siena was interested in trying to make this work out? Or was she moving away so that Bunny wouldn’t ream her for changing her mind?

“All right. What’s going on, really?”

“I…” Could she say the words? “I need to do the concert.”

“I need to know why. Because after the last two weeks, I’m not just going to stick you back in it without a good reason.” Siena’s voice was so firm and unmoving.

Bea had no doubt that she meant business. “Because I love her.”

Again silence.

Bea’s heart rapped hard in her chest and then it moved into her throat. She felt like she was going to puke. She needed to get those words out for Bunny, not Siena, but panic set in either way.

“I need more than that,” Siena slowed down.

“Can we meet?”

“Yes. One hour. But give me something.”

“Please don’t tell her. I don’t want her to know without me being the one to tell her.” Bea glanced at the clothes she’d thrown onto the bed. She needed to get dressed and figure out exactly what she was going to tell Siena. “And I don’t want Piper and Jo to know either.”

“I won’t tell them,” Siena mumbled, and then louder, she said, “Bunny, I told you I needed a few minutes.”

“Let’s get out of here. That interview was ridiculous. No one should be prying into their lives.”

“I’ll text you where we’re going to meet,” Siena said right before hanging up.

Bea stared down at the phone and grimaced before she grinned. Bunny was doing her very best to keep everything together, wasn’t she? In place of the panic, nerves took root. Now all Bea had to do was explain to Siena what exactly had been going on for the last six weeks.

But she hadn’t lied.

She loved Bunny.

Despite her brusque and icy personality.

Despite how quickly she got mad sometimes.

Despite the fact that they had agreed to nothing beyond one quick fuck.

Bea just couldn’t stop falling in love with her. Because Bunny had been right. It wasn’t about being loud and proud. It was about living as exactly who they were and telling everyone else to fuck off when they wanted more of them. And Bea had done exactly the same thing, demanding Bunny give more than exactly who she was. She didn’t need Bunny to wave the flag for everyone, just for her. And she had, hadn’t she? She had said it, said she was a lesbian and while Bea had felt the monumental moment, she hadn’t truly understood what Bunny had done. Not until now.

This wasn’t about the audience or an angle.

It was about people.

Two people.

Her and Bunny.