The Best You Ever Had

I Want You, Piper James

We stayed in bed, snuggled up in sort of a haze, while he traced the lines of my collarbones with one lazy finger.

I reached over and pushed some stray hair off his face.

"So," Brendon finally broke the comfortable silence. "Acting, huh?"

"If I can get into it, yeah," I confirmed. "Billy has his ears to the ground."

"What would you do if you got a part in something?" His finger dropped from where he'd been touching me so tenderly, and his hand lay on the bed in the minimal space between us.

I took it in my own.

"I don't know. I'd never stop making music. But I might drop it for a bit. Just until I'd finished filming."

"You'd really do that?"

"Well, you weren't making music when you did Broadway, were you?"

"No, I guess not. It was such a short run though."

I smiled. "I imagine filming a movie wouldn't be forever either."

"Touché," he said.

"I'd just put the music on hold. And probably write in my spare time. You know how it is when you get a melody or a lyric in your head. Won't leave you alone until it's at least on paper."

I rolled to my back and he scooted closer, putting an arm over my torso and keeping me close.

"Another important question," he said.

"Fire away."

"What's going on here? With us? Like...now that we know we don't hate one another. Now that we've spent so much time together, writing, and playing, and kissing..."

"And sleeping together," I added.

"That too."

"I don't know. I just got out of a relationship. Would people be judgmental if I got into another one?"

"Forget other people for a minute. Is a relationship what you want, or are we seventeen or eighteen again, doing the no strings attached thing?"

"Honestly? I don't know. Pretty sure I'm over thinking it."

"Who would need to know about us anyway? Our bands? Our closest friends, maybe?" His hand skimmed along my belly.

I had to close my eyes to prevent myself from moaning.

"My bandmates are my closest friends," I told him.

"Can I tell you what I want?" he asked.

I opened my eyes again and looked at him. "Absolutely. Always."

"I want you. I want Piper James. I want the private and the public. Is that okay?" He looked back at me with his dark, dark eyes, pleading, almost.

I thought of Brian, out and about with his new girlfriend. I thought about how even though our breakup was so fresh, I was in bed with another man. I thought about how there was no guilt this time, and how I was right where I wanted to be.

"You can have me. Privately for now. Publicly soon."

"Good enough for me," he said, beaming.

I rolled to my side again and kissed him hard.

"Now that that's settled, we should think about how to tease our song."

"Can't we just take a selfie right now with the caption 'working up a sweat together'?" he teased.