“Because I wasn’t allowed to be.”
“Normal kids are not as gifted as you were. And if we didn’t honor that gift and push you to practice and–”
“Okay, I think it’s time we call it a night,” her father interrupted. “I’m tired, and your mother is tired. I’m sure you’re both tired as well.”
“I was–” her mother tried again.
“Dad’s right. I’m tired, Mom. I really don’t want to have this fight again, and definitely not in front of Joanna, who you’ve managed to be rude to without even realizing it, which is exactly what I thought you’d do. So, we’re going upstairs to bed. I’ll just see you two after the performance tomorrow.”
“Macon, I thought we’d have breakfast at least,” her father protested, though lightly, and stood up at the same time.
“We’re going to have breakfast in our room. She’s leaving tomorrow. I want to have time with her alone before she goes.”
“She’s staying here?” her mother asked and stood.
“Mom, where the hell else would she be staying?” Macon stood as well, disconnecting their bodies, but she reached out for Joanna’s hand. “I’m an adult. She’s an adult. We’re together. We’re staying in the same damn hotel room, Mom. We share a bed. That’s how this thing works.”
“I don’t need you to tell me that,” her mother whispered while looking around at the relatively empty bar, as if to see if anyone had heard Macon’s words.
“Seems like you do,” Macon reminded. “Mom, we’re going to bed. And tomorrow, I’m going to spend time with Jo until I have to go to work. After the show, I’ll see her off to the airport. Then, the three of us can go to dinner or something. But please don’t spend this entire trip trying to browbeat me into doing things I don’t want to do, and don’t pretend you want to know about my love life when we all know you’re not interested because I’m gay.” She took Joanna’s hand. “Let’s go?”
“Sure,” Joanna replied. “It was nice to meet you.” She was then pulled away from the table by Macon.
“I am so sorry,” Macon said the moment they entered the elevator and the door closed behind them.
“For what?” Joanna asked her and placed her head on Macon’s shoulder as the elevator ascended.
“She’s such a bitch, and he’s not that much better. I shouldn’t have brought you. I should have just gone myself, answered the two or three questions they’d ask about work, and then come back up to the room. I’m so sorry, Jo.”
“Hey, you don’t have to be sorry. You warned me. I wanted to go; that’s number one. Number two is that you didn’t just sit there and let them interrogate or denigrate me, Macon. You stood up for me, and you left when it was time to leave. I’m okay. We’re okay.”
“I just want to scream at her sometimes.”
“Why don’t you?” Joanna suggested as the elevator dinged and arrived at their floor. “Seriously.”
“I don’t know.” Macon sighed as they walked down the hallway hand in hand. “She’s still my mom. I just wished she tried to understand me instead of always making me feel like I’m not enough.”
They arrived at the door. Joanna stopped Macon before she could use the key to open it.
“You’re enough for me.” She turned her so that they were facing one another. “You’re enough for me, Make. I don’t care about how your parents treat me. I can deal with that. You’re enough for me.”
“Thank you.” Macon laid her head on Joanna’s shoulder. “I am so tired.
“Let’s get some sleep then.”
“What? No, I didn’t mean–”
“Babe, we’re both exhausted; and after that fireworks show downstairs, I don’t think either one of us is in the mood.”
“I guess not.” Macon lifted her head. “I guess we’ll wait a little bit longer then.”
CHAPTER 20
“So, you two didn’t go through with it?” Emma asked as they sat at lunch the following Friday with Keira and Hillary.
“Go through with it?” Joanna tossed back like that sentence sounded ridiculous. “Emma, really?”
“You two have been apart for a while now, and we know you have the hots for her,” Keira egged her on.
“Well, she is my girlfriend. It kind of makes sense that I have the hots for her.”
“I knew it!” Emma pointed at her. “They are official. You owe me twenty, Hill.”
“Fine. Fine,” Hillary acquiesced and reached for her wallet.
“You guys bet on me? On Macon and me?”
“We weren’t sure if you’d come back official or still in limbo since you hadn’t had a lot of time together,” Keira replied. “And they bet on it.” She pointed at Emma and Hillary. “I didn’t.”
“Did you really just rat me out like that?” Emma laughed and wrapped her arm around Keira, placing it over the back of her chair.
“I’m not going down with you two,” Keira returned.
“I can’t believe you losers bet on us.”
“It’s actually a good thing,” Hillary offered. “We are betting on you. We’re on your side.”
“You didn’t think we’d be a couple?”
“I thought you had two days together on that little trip and that you guys would talk and get to know this new part of your relationship. I figured you’d come back and feel good about it, but that you wouldn’t be official yet. I thought that would come later. However, Keira does owe me twenty for betting that the two of you would have sex,” Hillary elaborated.
“What?” Emma laughed in Keira’s direction.
“Fine. Just give Hill back the twenty, and we break even.”
“So, you bet that Macon and I would have sex in Boston?” Joanna asked.
“The way you’d been talking about her, I thought you’d only have sex in Boston.”
“You two had a side bet going on, and you didn’t tell me?” Emma teased her girlfriend. “How can we ever get past this betrayal?”
“I guess I’ll just have to make it up to you then.” Keira lifted suggestive eyebrows.
“God, I need a girlfriend,” Hillary said. “If you two are still acting like this after being together for over a year already, and you and Greene are now an item, I’m the new fifth wheel.”
“You’re not a fifth wheel,” Joanna encouraged.
“Not now. But when Greene comes back in a week, I will be.”
“What about the coffee shop woman?” Keira questioned.
“Still with that, Keira?”
“Who’s the coffee shop woman?” Joanna asked.
“She’s this incredibly attractive woman who has been going to the same coffee shop as our beautiful little Hillary here forever, and she stares at her. They’ve never spoken, because neither of them, apparently, has the guts to start a conversation. It’s now just ridiculous,” Keira explained.
“I think if she wanted me, she would have said something by now, don’t you?” Hillary asked Keira.
“You want her. You haven’t said anything,” Emma joined.
“I don’t want her. I don’t even know her,” Hillary retorted.
“Because you haven’t talked to her,” Keira replied and laughed. “We could do this all day.”
“Around and around,” Emma said.
“Anyway, I don’t know about the coffee girl, but I think I am finally ready for something real; something lasting.” Hillary took a sip of her ice water. “I feel good. I’m healthier now. I love my job and my students. I still need some new friends that are actually nice to me, but other than that… I think I’m ready.”
Joanna’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out to see that Macon had texted her.
“Is that her?” Keira asked. “She’s been back in the states for over a week now, and she still hasn’t called any of us. Put her on speaker so I can yell at her.”
“It’s a text.”
“That says?”
“To call her,” Joanna answered.
“So, call
her.” It was Hillary this time.
Joanna rolled her eyes, dialed, and said, “Fine. But be nice to her. I want her to come home, remember?”
“Hey, beautiful,” Macon said into the speaker, and Joanna’s face turned a bright shade of red.
“Thank you, Greene. I changed moisturizers. It’s so nice of you to notice.”
“Keira?” Macon asked, and everyone other than Joanna laughed.
“Babe, don’t blame me. We’re all at lunch, and they wanted me to put you on speaker.”
“Oh.” Macon sounded disappointed.
“Nice to talk to you, too, Greene. It’s only been what? Like two months?” Keira said.
“Yeah, sorry. Things have been–”
“Busy?” Hillary interrupted her. “You seemed to have more than enough time to call Joanna over here.”
“She’s my–” She stopped. “Jo?”
“They know, Make.”
“She’s my girlfriend, Hill. And I have been busy. I was actually just calling my girlfriend to tell her something when you idiots jacked her phone. Can she have it back now so that I can tell her something?”
“You haven’t spoken to us in months, and we’re the idiots? Nice, Greene.” Keira laughed. “I guess we can just yell at you next week.”
Joanna took the phone off speaker and put it to her ear immediately.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything’s fine,” Macon told her. “So, they know about us?”
“They know we’re officially together, yes.” Joanna watched as three sets of eyes stared at her. “Talk amongst yourselves,” she ordered and stood to flee the table and the scrutiny as they laughed at her.
“Are they giving you a hard time?”
“I can take it.” Joanna walked toward the door of the restaurant to have some privacy from the group. “What’s going on?”
“They want to extend the tour again. They want me in Chicago after this, and then LA before I hit Canada.”
“What?” Joanna made her way outside and suddenly felt like she couldn’t breathe.
“I’m kidding.” Macon laughed.
“Macon Sage Greene!” she practically yelled.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist.”
“I hate you right now.” Joanna laughed back.
“I just called to tell you that we’re going out after the performance tonight, since it’s the final one at the school. I won’t be able to make our goodnight call.”
“Oh, okay.”
“I miss you, Jo.”
“I miss you too. You’ll be home soon though, right?”
“Yes, I’ll be home soon. I can’t wait to see you.”
“Me neither.”
“I should go. I have to rehearse.”
“Okay. Hey, Make?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m really happy,” she told Macon. “I just wanted you to know that I’m really happy right now. I can’t imagine how much happier I’m going to be when we’re actually in the same city.”
“I’m really happy, too, beautiful. I’ll call you tomorrow?”
“Have fun tonight, but not too much.”
“I’ll save my too much fun for you,” Macon offered.
CHAPTER 21
Joanna woke at six as usual and made her coffee before she took a quick shower. She didn’t have a shoot that day, but she did plan on spending most of it at home editing. She had not scheduled any actual work because she would only be unfocused and counting down the minutes for Macon’s arrival. Her flight would land at 7:14 p.m. It would take her about forty-five minutes to get off the plane, get to baggage claim and grab her bags. Joanna would be standing there as soon as she entered, and she could not wait to get to hug Macon.
She climbed out of the shower and dried her hair. When she turned off the hair dryer and slid it into the drawer, she heard a sound coming from the front door of the apartment. Her heart started racing. She worried she’d left her phone in the kitchen and had no way to call for help. She gulped and stuck her head slightly out the bathroom door but didn’t have a clear view. She moved out into the hallway. That was when she saw her.
“Macon?”
“Hi, beautiful. I’m home.” Macon smiled at her from just inside the door.
“What are you doing here?”
She ran toward her, not waiting for a response, and watched as Macon dropped her shoulder bag to the floor. Her violin case was already there next to her luggage.
“I took the red-eye. I couldn’t wait.” Macon pulled Joanna into her.
“God, I’m so glad you’re here.” Joanna wrapped her arms around Macon’s neck and squeezed her tightly.
“I also had to do laundry.” She laughed into Joanna’s hair. “You smell good.” She pressed her lips to Joanna’s neck. “You smell really good. You smell like home,” she added softly, and her lips pressed to that spot again.
“Laundry, huh?” Joanna had her hands in Macon’s dark, soft hair.
“Yeah, laundry,” Macon said again and kissed the spot just a little lower. “I came to your place first so I could–”
“Do laundry?” Joanna pulled back and stared into her eyes.
“Yes,” she whispered.
Joanna saw how exhausted Macon was in her eyes. The woman probably hadn’t slept well on the plane. But she could also see something else. She knew what was about to happen, because it had been building between them all along. Macon’s hands moved to her hips, around her waist, and then gripped her ass. Before she knew it, Joanna was lifted off the ground. She had no choice but to wrap her legs around Macon as her lips met Macon’s in a heated kiss. Macon walked them both backward, until Joanna’s back was against a wall and she was tugging at Macon’s shirt.
Macon held her in place but shifted her own body to allow Joanna to hastily pull it off and toss it to the floor. No words were spoken between them as Macon watched Joanna pull off her own shirt, which she’d only thrown on after her shower. She hadn’t bothered with a bra. Macon’s eyes went to Joanna’s breasts as she held her pressed to the wall; her stomach against Joanna’s center. Joanna reached around Macon’s back and unclasped her bra.
She knew she wouldn’t be able to get it off entirely, given their positions, but she still slid the straps down Macon’s shoulders. Macon moved into her, pressing their breasts together before Joanna had a chance to even look at them. It didn’t matter, though, because how they felt pressed against her own was enough to make the pulsing between her legs quicken.
Macon’s nipples were moving against her own as her lips and tongue played with Joanna’s neck. All that movement only provided her center with much-needed friction. She felt her own hips lift and fall against the wall to try to increase it, until one of Macon’s hands moved to her breast. Macon held onto it tightly while she continued to practically thrust into Joanna. Joanna could barely hang on and had her palms pressed to the wall behind her. Macon’s fingers played with her nipple, holding it so she could bring her mouth to it and return her hand to Joanna’s ass, which allowed Macon to use both hands to lift Joanna just slightly higher.
Macon’s lips engulfed her nipple. It had already been erect, and now it was painfully so. As Macon sucked it deeper into her mouth, Joanna couldn’t think about pain; only the sensations rushing through her body. Her wetness had now soaked her underwear through. She felt one of Macon’s hands move to her jeans to try to undo them. Joanna moved Macon’s hand back to herself, to hold her in place, and moved her own hand to her jeans. She had to try several times but finally got the button undone and then unzipped them.
She used both hands to push the jeans down slightly, and though they weren’t off entirely, they were down far enough that Macon seemed satisfied for the moment. Macon’s tongue bathed Joanna’s nipple while she pressed further into Joanna. She moaned into Joanna’s breast as Joanna’s wetness coated her abdomen.
Joanna needed more. She pressed her hands into Macon’s back, pushing the woman ev
en further into herself. Her own back was hurting from being pushed into the wall, but she felt like she could be absorbed by it and she wouldn’t mind as long as Macon was pressing into her like this.
Macon’s mouth moved to her other breast and paid it the same attention. Joanna’s breathing was so fast, she felt like she might hyperventilate. Without saying anything, Macon lifted her from the wall and carried her through the open door of her bedroom. She then dropped Joanna unceremoniously onto the bed. She yanked her own bra away from her body, then slid the jeans down her legs and kicked them off. She was dressed only in pastel purple boy shorts.
Joanna could see how wet she was through them. Her eyes stayed on that spot as she lay back, lifting herself on her elbows to take in the view before she watched Macon reach for her legs, pull them toward her, and then reach for the waistband of her underwear. Macon met her eyes. Joanna nodded. Macon’s hand went to work and pulled the underwear down over her thighs, her knees, and then past her ankles, dropping them to the floor.
Joanna observed Macon’s eyes as they immediately took her in. Macon’s tongue slid slowly over her lips as she did. Joanna was certain she’d never been more wanted in her entire life. Within seconds, Macon had removed the last remaining article and climbed on top of Joanna, moving back with her to the top of the bed, where she captured Joanna’s lips once more. Macon lowered herself. Joanna could feel every part of this woman pressed against her own skin. It was better than she’d imagined it would be.
Macon’s lips were on her throat, then her collarbone. It was all happening so fast, Joanna couldn’t keep up with the sensations she was experiencing. Then, Macon’s hips were rolling into her. Her own hips were lifting up without her even realizing it. Macon had a thigh between hers. Macon’s center was pressed into her thigh, and she could feel it. She could feel how wet Macon was; how turned on she was. Joanna gasped. Macon stopped for a moment and looked down at her; she didn’t say anything. She just looked down with such reverence, Joanna knew that if she didn’t want to do this, this was Macon giving her an out. This was Macon telling her silently that it was okay.
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