Page 72 of Spicy Sapphic Christmas

“I’m well aware of that.” Siena stood up, fingers splayed and pressed down upon her desk.

Now the rush of her blood pulsed at her temple. Siena hadn’t treated either of them like this in years. Not since they had become friends.

“So you’re dumping me?” Bunny’s eyes flew from Siena to Piper and back again. “Both of you?”

“What?” Piper exploded. “Jesus, Bunny. No. What I want is to start being treated like I’m an equal part of this damn group. I have to fight with you over everything. I have to beg for time off. I have to stay in the closet while you fuck any hot chick that smiles in your direction. And then you just expect me and Siena to cover up any backlash that might leak to the press.”

“So why are you still here if I’m so hard to work with?” Bunny’s throat tickled uncomfortably as she forced her voice over the lump and the emotion she refused to let out.

“Because I love you, you idiot. I love making music with you. We’ve always worked well together. But now,” Piper lifted both hands up at her side, palms facing the ceiling as she shrugged. “Now you’ve shut me out. You’re having work meetings alone, and you think it’s okay to make decisions without even talking to me about them.”

Bunny couldn’t argue with that.

The guilt in her chest squirmed.

Piper was right. Bunny had never left Piper out of anything to do with the band before.Theirband. It had always been their band.

What the hell was she doing? No wonder she needed to get out of this event. It was turning her into someone she wasn’t, someone she hated. Even more than she hated the closet she refused to step foot out of.

“I know you met with Jo and asked her to change the costumes.” Piper’s voice was filled with a sadness that just about broke Bunny’s heart. It came far too close to breaking Bunny’s rule to keep her emotions in check.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Piper asked, genuine curiosity filling her eyes when Bunny met them.

“I’m not sure exactly.” The heaviness in Bunny’s body doubled as the exhaustion of the confrontation slammed into her. Her arms had never felt so weighed down, not even after a second encore show.

Piper smiled. It didn’t fill her face with the light Bunny had always adored, the light she had always been incredibly jealous of, but it was something. “Well, at least you’re back to telling me the truth.”

They looked at each other, and that lump lodged more firmly in Bunny’s throat.

“And now we can finally talk.” Siena lifted her fingers from her desk and grabbed her phone. After a second, Siena asked for coffee before replacing the phone.

“Care to take a seat now, Bunny?” Siena waved her hand to where Piper had already returned.

Well-chastised, Bunny sat beside Piper without a word.

Siena moved into her normal chair, away from the desk that separated her from just clients. In a silence Bunny wasn’t surewas comfortable or not, they waited until the coffee was brought in.

When they all had a cup in their hands and something other than each other to look at, Siena broke the silence.

“What’s your biggest concern about the event, specifically?” Siena sat a little forward in her chair, just enough to show interest without intimidating. The movement made the corner of Bunny’s lips twitch. Siena’s job was far more complicated than people gave her credit for. She was certain that nowhere on Siena’s job description was there listedtherapist to various creative types.

And yet here Siena was, doing that exact job as though it was her entire profession.

“I can’t work with Bea. There’s no way I can do the duet with her. We’ll be lucky not to kill each other on stage even with Jo and Piper there.”

“Okay.” Siena sat back and nodded, her eyes filled with thoughts rushing past too fast for Bunny to understand. But she knew the way Siena worked, fast and effective. It was of the many things Bunny liked about the woman. “So, you and Bea have some issues. Is there anything else besides the costumes?”

“Piper talked to you about the costumes?” Bunny didn’t want to look up and see the hurt in Piper’s eyes again.

“Yes,” Piper answered softly, but loud enough to get the attention of the others in the room.

“I’m going to grab some cookies to go with this coffee. I’m in a cookie mood. I’ll be right back.” Siena hopped up and was already out the door before she finished the sentence.

The silence stretched between Bunny and Piper, but it didn’t last long. Piper was the one to break it.

“I did talk to Siena. That's why she set up this meeting.”

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