Brenna took some time to put her thoughts into a semblance of order, brushing her hands together and recalling the nuances of her emotions in Cassidy's presence, in her arms, when they made love. She slowly sat up.
"Max, I love who I am when I'm with her. She...I am totally me, and whatever I think, feel, do...she's...I don't know how, and I sometimes wonder why, after I treated her so badly, she can even stand to look at me. But when I do...her eyes never let me go. There's a connection I can't deny; I don't want to deny."
"I have known you through some of the highest ups and lowest downs of your life, Bren." He put a big, gentle hand on her shoulder. "It didn't occur to me that a woman would ever capture your heart. You seemed to find pleasure rather freely with men."
Brenna considered her relationships and an even deeper recognition occurred. "Max, I never felt this level of completion with any of them. It's that...my soul is happy, I think."
Max's lips curled into a smile. "You've never said that about any relationship." He squeezed her shoulder. "I guess I'm happy for you. Do you think it will last?"
Sighing, Brenna lifted one hand and ticked off potential barriers with the fingers of the other. "If we can get Thomas and James to relax, complete my divorce from Kevin, survive the press storm when our relationship inevitably becomes known. I also want to reconcile Cassidy and her parents..."
Max's chuckle filled the air as her voice trailed away. "Brenna, you are as bullheaded as they come. I have no doubt you will make it all happen."
"God, I hope you're right."
Impishly he said, "And when it's all over, I have no doubt you will be grand marshal at a Pride parade somewhere."
Brenna's eyes widened, then she closed them and covered her face with her hands. "You think I'm going to grandstand."
"You never do anything halfway."
"Cassidy wants to keep us as quiet as possible for as long as possible. I don't want to unintentionally do something until she's comfortable."
"Then I'd say you should do your research discreetly." He looked at the small table again and picked up the dog eared copy of Curve magazine. "The store where you bought this, anyone could talk."
Brenna groaned and took the magazine from him. "I picked it up on my last trip to the grocer's."
Cassidy was just readying herself for bed when the phone rang. She didn't recognize the Caller ID, but it was a local call. With a sigh, she picked it up. "Hello?" The line was silent, then a click indicated the caller had hung up. Puzzled, she replaced the receiver and shook her head, lying back and closing her eyes.
Chapter 7
Cassidy walked onto the set in full costume and makeup and saw Brenna and Max, with Brady between them, chuckling as they came in through the doors from the parking lot. "Hi," she called.
Max dipped his head in her direction and smiled. Brady blushed, clearly caught up by his hormones as he looked at her. Cassidy, however, was most pleased with Brenna's expression. A flush crept up her throat, and she swallowed several times. Hormonal rushes aren't just for teenage boys, Cassidy thought with a smile.
Finally Brenna summoned a "Hi." Max swatted Brenna playfully on the back of the head and she yelped, "Hey!"
Brady ducked past Cassidy, and she saw him stop to chat with Sean and Rachelle.
Cassidy approached Brenna and Max, and just caught the tail end of what Max was whispering, "...a hormonal teen."
"Who? Brady? Don't worry; I'm used to it," Cassidy said with a chuckle.
"No," Max replied. "Bren here had her tongue practically on the floor. If the two of you want to keep it under the gossips' radar, you'd better be more circumspect."
Cassidy's humor instantly changed into concern. "Bren?"
"We had a long talk last night."
"Brady seems okay with it," Cassidy said with a puzzled frown.
"He wasn't there. Max waited to browbeat me until after the boys were in their rooms for the night."
"Oh." Cassidy lifted her gaze back to Max. "She seemed to think you might be surprised."
"In this business? When every fifth person I've worked with is gay? Please." He turned away from her and abruptly stopped speaking. Cassidy turned around to find Jackie Gabby, the episode's second unit assistant director.
The young woman tapped her clipboard with the side of her pen. "Mr. Brightman, we need you over at Set C for the battle baton choreography."
"Right." Max excused himself.
Jackie paused before turning away. "Ms. Lanigan?"
"I'll be right there, Jackie."
"Yes, ma'am."
Cassidy felt Brenna brush against her as she moved, presumably to watch Jackie walk away. "Another day apart," Cassidy replied.
"Let's try a slightly different outing tonight."
"What?"
"Let's take everyone to Terry's playhouse."
"So that's why he's not here today."
"No, it's what he's doing when he's not here." Brenna smiled and Cassidy shivered, from that and the sensation of Brenna's fingertips across the back of her own hand. "I'm done here at four. The play starts at eight."
"You want to take Max, Brady, Ryan, Thomas, and James to a play out of town?"
"James and Thomas won't come. Ryan will enjoy it, and Max will be a less annoying cover than a publicist, so I can spend some time with you. And," she nodded, "yes, it's a bonus that it's out of town."
Cassidy laughed. How could she refuse? "All right. And maybe if we can get everyone used to seeing us together, you can accompany me to the opening of Vampyra."
Brenna shrugged. "How long have we got?"
"Opening is in three weeks."
"A vampire movie on Valentine's Day?" Brenna's quick distasteful twist of her lips made Cassidy laugh again. "I don't know about that."
"Would you rather we go to a chick flick romance?"
Brenna's expression turned to one of consideration and Cassidy ended the conversation before Brenna could say something which might be overheard. "Better get to your set."
"All right. I'll see you later."
Cassidy walked toward her own set call as Brenna walked in the opposite direction.
As soon as she had shut the door to her trailer, Cassidy flopped onto her couch. With a groan, she pulled off her shoes and lifted her feet in the air over her head, grasping one in each hand to massage them. When her cell phone rang, she considered ignoring it, but then thought maybe it was Karen Grinaldi with something about Ryan. She quickly rolled to her side and grabbed the phone from the desk. "Hello?"
She heard a click as the line closed. Shutting her phone, she waited a few seconds to see if the voice mail chime sounded. When it didn't, she looked at the caller ID. Mitch? What is he doing calling me?
She wondered if she should call him right back. Part of her quickly said no; another part was curious about what he might feel he needed to say to her; and another part was wary. In the end, she decided she didn't need the aggravation and did not return his call.
After work, the group of playgoers piled into Brenna's Mountaineer. With Brenna following directions as Cassidy read them, Los Angeles was soon left behind. The winding route put them on a two-lane road which turned around a mountain and entered foothills just off the Pacific Coast Highway. Vineyards, some old and clearly no longer cultivated, and others with rangy young vines, bordered the roadway closely on either side.
The road was relatively free of other cars. However, as they rounded a turn, a sports car behind them gunned its engine and passed, despite the double yellow lane lines.
Brenna jerked the wheel as the sports car cut back into the lane far too closely, only to speed away before she could get a good look at the vehicle in the headlights of the Mountaineer. She flashed her brights angrily at him, and pulled off onto the very narrow shoulder.
Taking a deep breath, she looked at each of the other occupants. "Everyone all right?"
There was a chorus of "fine" and "yes", while "what the hell was that?" came from Max. Br
enna shot him a dirty look for using that language in front of Ryan.
Cautiously, Brenna pulled back onto the road and continued. Finally, the sign for the playhouse diverted them onto a dirt road which they bumped over, much to Ryan's laughing delight but to the sorrow of everyone else's tailbones.
The art crowd seemed to be the only type of patron present. At least no one looks to be a reporter, Cassidy thought as she ruefully rubbed a sore shoulder from the jostling she had taken in the SUV.
Brenna approached, leading Ryan. "Sorry about the ride."
"No. It wasn't your driving. What was wrong with that idiot?"
"I have no idea. He seemed in a rather pointless hurry." Brenna looked around and grasped Cassidy's hand. "I'm glad we're here though. I like the place."
"Does Terry know we're coming?"
"No. I purposely did not tell him. I didn't want to draw attention to us."
"He'll see us anyway."
"Yeah, and he'll figure out we want to be quiet about this."
Cassidy nodded. "Shall we go find our seats?"
Brenna took hold of Ryan's hand and turned around. "Max, get lost, will ya?"
"What? Who me? Such a big, lovable guy?" He smiled, lifted his arms and shoulders in a shrug and ambled off, throwing one arm around his son's shoulder.
Cassidy put her arm around Brenna's waist and laughed. "I think I really, really like Max," she said.
"We've been friends a long time."
"What would you have done if he hadn't been accepting of our relationship?" Cassidy asked.
Brenna looked momentarily upset at the prospect. "I was worried about it." She smiled. "But it didn't happen."
Cassidy remembered her own thoughts after the holiday gala. "I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop."
Brenna, who was leading the way through to the audience area, paused. "What?"
"I mean, we've had small, easily explainable mentions in the paper; your sons have a problem with it, but mostly because they just don't want to 'see' it. My parents have expressed their disapproval. You've had a long-time friend not really blink. All pretty benign reactions. I can't help feeling that we're living on borrowed time."
Brenna slipped her free arm around Cassidy's back. "Let's just enjoy the show."
Cassidy admittedly felt better because of the cozy squeeze. "All right."
After the play, Terry Brown walked up to them through the mingling theatergoers. "I thought I saw you two. Glad you could make it." He looked at Ryan clinging tiredly to Brenna's legs. "Did you bring the whole crowd?"
"Mine don't want to be seen in public with me right now," Brenna admitted. She was casually brushing her fingers through Ryan's hair as she sipped on a bottled water, which Cassidy had purchased from the snack table.
"So it's just the three of you?"
When Terry's eyes fell on Cassidy, she shrugged. "We came out with Brenna's friends."
"Max is being a good friend?"
"Yes," Brenna acknowledged.
"Good." He grasped Cassidy's hand. "I'd really like you to think about coming here after Time Trails finishes."
"It's become a lot more complicated than when you asked me five months ago, Terry."
He laughed. "So, maybe I can get two for the price of one?"
Brenna nodded slowly. "It would be a good way to keep roots here when I have to go to England."
"As long as we haven't been driven underground by the press before then," Cassidy said.
Terry was confused. "What?"
"Cass thinks the other shoe's going to drop soon."
Surprisingly, Terry was on Cassidy's side. "You don't think so?" he asked Brenna.
"The only people whose opinions matter to me have already expressed their feelings. We'll work it out. That will be it."
Terry looked at Cassidy. "You don't see it that way?"
Cassidy thought there was more than a little wishful thinking in Brenna's assertion. "Terry, I..." She didn't want to argue with Brenna in front of Terry and she couldn't really put her finger on why it all felt just too tenuous to believe. She gave a half-hearted shrug but fell silent. Brenna continued rubbing Ryan's hair.
"So, you want to hang out here for a while?" Terry asked. "I can promise there's no media. We're practically invisible to them."
Cassidy commiserated. "I'm sorry to hear that. It was an excellent play." Terry shrugged. "We probably shouldn't stay any longer tonight, either." She looked down as Ryan shifted to her legs from Brenna's, rubbing his face against her pant leg. "I think we should get Ryan home to bed." Brenna started to crouch to collect Ryan, but Cassidy scooped him up first. "It's all right, I've got him."
"Cass?"
"Good night, Terry."
"Good night, Cass, Bren."
Brenna followed Cassidy to the entry doors. "Hold on. We've got to get Max and Brady."
Shaking her head, Cassidy stopped walking. "I'm sorry."
"Are you mad at me?"
What Cassidy felt wasn't anger. "No. I'm...I thought we'd be more of the same mind about keeping things quiet, I guess."
"So you're disappointed in me?"
Whether they saw eye to eye or not, Brenna clearly didn't want to upset Cassidy. "I'm as tired as Ryan," Cassidy admitted. "Maybe I m being just overly emotional."
"Good thing I'm driving. I remember worrying over you in the parking lot after you had that argument with Cameron."
"You did?" Cassidy watched as Brenna turned aside, waving at the air. She looked to see that Brenna had spotted Max. The man tapped his son on the shoulder and they joined the two women at the door.
"Going home?"
"Ryan's tired," Brenna said dispiritedly.
Max gave her an understanding smile. "All right. Let's go."
Brenna took Max and Brady by their hotel first. Once they were alone in the car with Ryan asleep in the back, Brenna asked, "So..." She hesitated. "My place is closer."
Cassidy looked over the seat to Ryan asleep in the back. "Bren, I..."
"No, I'm sorry I upset you. Please let me make it up to you?" Cassidy asked, "What about Thomas and James?"
"It's nearly midnight. They're home and asleep."
"Are you sure?"
"Cass, they aren't going to get used to us spending time together if we let them keep us apart." She reached across the center console and squeezed Cassidy's thigh.
"But I don't have a change of clothes for tomorrow."
"I seem to remember a sweatshirt in your size."
Out of objections, Cassidy reluctantly acquiesced. "All right. But I'll have to change as soon as we get to the set."
Brenna made the turn onto the highway headed south. "Done." The house lights were off when they arrived. Brenna unlocked the door, flipping the switch for the foyer as she stepped back and let Cassidy enter ahead of her, carrying Ryan. "Come on, we'll tuck him into the guest bed and then get some sleep ourselves," she whispered.
Leaving the foyer light on to illuminate their way down the corridor, Brenna leaned in to flip on the light in game room. "No, leave it off," Cassidy whispered. "It'll be easier to keep Ryan asleep."
Navigating by the light of a nightlight in the wall, Brenna flipped open the futon and put on sheets from the storage drawer beneath. She fetched a blanket from a closet. Turning back, she saw Cassidy efficiently stripping her son to his underwear. His eyes were closed, and he moved like a rag doll, obviously asleep on his feet. Soon Cassidy had tucked him between the sheets and stepped back. Brenna arranged the blanket over him. Standing in the doorway, she held Cassidy as they watched Ryan breathing easily.
Cassidy's head drifted against Brenna's. "Come on, time for you," Brenna said, guiding the woman out of the room and the few feet to her bedroom.
After closing the door, they turned on a bedside lamp. Cassidy automatically started to strip, and Brenna just watched her for a moment, marveling at her beauty. She was far too tired, and they had to get up far too early for Brenna to do anything about her arousal,
but she loved watching the shadows and light flowing across Cassidy's curves as she moved.
She went to her closet to look for something for Cassidy to wear, inhaling sharply as a naked Cassidy pressed up against her back. "We don't need anything," Cassidy said.
"I was just thinking we don't have time for me to ravish you," Brenna said, turning around. She let Cassidy unbutton and remove her blouse.
"So, how about I ravish you?" Cassidy's whisper trailed off and her hot breath brushed Brenna's skin as it was uncovered by Cassidy removing the rest of her clothing.
Brenna stepped out of her shoes and pants as Cassidy instructed.
"I'd like that."
"I know."
Their body heat alone was enough to keep them warm as they slid between the sheets together, naked. Brenna stroked every bit of skin she could reach as they entangled themselves, feet over ankles, knees between thighs, bellies and breasts pressed together.
Cassidy's hands stroked up and down Brenna's back until she cupped Brenna's buttocks, pulling her up slightly.
"Mmm, good." Cassidy's murmur brushed Brenna's temple with warm breath. Her movements slowed, then stopped.
Brenna drew her head back and chuckled softly, brushing Cassidy's hair from her cheeks. "Sweet dreams." She kissed Cassidy's breastbone and snuggled back into her lover's arms, joining her in sleep.
Chapter 8
The next morning, leaving Cassidy warmly wrapped in her sheets, Brenna pulled on a robe and stepped out of her bedroom. She checked on Ryan, who was still sleeping soundly.
Coming out of the game room, she met Thomas walking out of his room, a radio still playing inside. "Good morning," she said.
"Morning," he replied. "When did you get in last night?"
"Around midnight."
He looked at the door to the game room. "Ryan's here," he guessed.
"Yes."
"So she's sleeping in your room?"
"Of course." She put her hand out. "Come on, Thomas, please. Cassidy is important to me."
"I don't want to deal with this right now."
"When?" she demanded.
"Mom, why don't you understand that I can't?"
"Because you aren't talking to me," she replied with exasperation. "You and James—"
"What have I done now?" James appeared at his door, rubbing his hand over his head and face sleepily.
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