“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 outexactly 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.
THIRTY-THREE
piper
“Got a second?” Piper asked Bunny, every single nerve that she still had left in her body firing all at once. She wasn’t ready for this conversation, but it needed to happen. Time was up, and unless she made a plan tonight, then she wasn’t going to see Jo again.
The show would be over, and they would have no reason to see each other after that.
Piper clenched and unclenched her fists out of nerves. Siena would probably be the better person to talk to about this, but Bunny was her best friend. She had to have some advice that would be useful. And she’d been a lot calmer and saner since visiting with Bea last week.
Bunny cocked her head at Piper and then glanced around the bus they were staging in. Piper shook her head and gestured to everyone else.
“Where’s Jo?” Bunny asked.
“Warming up inside,” Piper answered.
Bunny clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Everyone out! I need to talk to Piper.”
It didn’t take long for the people who had been milling around to do last-minute preparations, gather up what theyneeded and book it out of there. As soon as the door was shut, Bunny turned to her.
“What was so important I had to kick everyone out?” Bunny plopped down onto the bench, crossed an ankle over her knee and gave Piper a serious look.
Piper nearly trembled in her boots. She wasn’t ready for tonight. No one was ready for tonight. “I don’t know what to do.”
“About what? Because we’re about to go on stage, and we really need to have our shit together. What number are you worried about?”
Piper’s eyes watered and she shook her head, pacing back and forth in the bus. The energy was coming off her in waves now, and she couldn’t stop it. Even if she wanted to. But she didn’t. She had to say this out loud, and she needed someone else to think for her. Because she wasn’t sure how she could get back to what she’d had before.