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As Bea stilled, still grasping onto Bunny’s shoulders, Bunny had a choice. She could either take full advantage of tonight or she could escape. Pressing delicate kisses into Bea’s cheek and along her jawline, Bunny breathed in Bea’s scent. Ever since they had met, she hadn’t been able to get Bea out of her mind. And if this was going to be their last time together, then she was going to take full advantage.

Bunny cradled Bea’s body before holding her firmly. She slid to the edge of the chair and pushed herself up, gripping onto Bea as tightly as she possibly could. Moving swiftly, Bunny aimed for the counter where Bea had been checking her makeup and pushed her onto the edge of it. Not waiting, she immediately started kissing down Bea’s chest, across her breasts, over her stomach, and to her hips.

Pushing Bea’s knees apart, Bunny pressed her lips to Bea’s clit. She didn’t want to wait or hold back any longer. She kissed before parting her lips and sucking Bea’s clit gently. Bea moaned, her fingers back in Bunny’s hair, this time tenderly petting the top of Bunny’s head.

Keening loudly into the room, Bea pulled her legs up and planted her heels on the edge of the counter. Bunny focused everything she had on this moment, on memorizing Bea’s flavor, the feel of her against Bunny’s tongue, the sounds she made.

Bea said Bunny’s name in a repeating chant, her hips rutting against Bunny’s face. Buried between Bea’s legs was exactly where Bunny wanted to find herself. Not just tonight, but more often than she cared to admit. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the moments when they’d come together like this, when she’d been allowed to touch and taste and tease and tremble.

Standing up, Bunny pressed their mouths together. She ran her fingers soothingly down Bea’s sides, slowed the embrace, and sighed heavily. She couldn’t pretend. Half of her job was learning how to act and not be herself on the stage, in front of hundreds and thousands of people, and she couldn’t do it anymore.

Pressing her forehead to Bea’s, Bunny steadied herself. She had to end this before she continued the lie they were both standing on. Caressing Bea’s cheek, Bunny kissed her nose, then her lips and then her neck. But she didn’t do it to entice or seduce. She did it to give herself time.

Time to figure out what the hell she was about to say, knowing how much it was going to hurt—the both of them.

“I’ll see you around, Bea.” Bunny kissed her again, lingering with their lips pressed together before moving away and stepping back.

“What?” Bea frowned, confused.

Bunny swallowed the lump in her throat as she bent down and picked up her clothes. She said nothing as she pulled them on, risking glance after glance in Bea’s direction. Bea was gorgeous. Bunny had never wanted Bea more than she did right now. But it wouldn’t be right. Not with whatever was between them ending.

“I promise I’ll be civil.” Bunny tugged on her shirt and nodded at Bea.

“Civil?” Bea’s voice rose, the pain already clear.

“Yeah. That’s what we need to do, for Jo and Piper, right?”

“Yeah but—”

“Then I’ll see you around.” Bunny nodded sharply, effectively ending the conversation. She didn’t look over her shoulder as she left the room.

Wiping her palm over her face, Bunny left the club and stepped out onto the damp streets of Portland. She shoved her hands into her pockets and stared at the city in front of her. It was now or never, and Bea had been right all along.

There was nothing to be scared of.

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.