Waiting in the Wings by Melissa Brayden

agreement, still a little shaky on words at the moment. Adrienne moved up the bed and settled in next to me, moving the hair gently off my forehead. I ran a hand absently down her body, stopping at the small temporary tattoo. “I’m thinking that tonight we discovered a super power or two you already possess.” She opened her eyes, her smile filled with amusement. Adrienne pulled me to her so I was partially lying across her. I nestled my head into her shoulder, feeling tired, happy, and connected to her. At some point, I must have drifted off. I can’t say for sure when that happened because I was holding on to those lingering moments of silence.

    C hapter F Our

    I

    t must have been the sound of running water from the shower
    that woke me from the deep sleep. At first I thought I had dreamt the night before with Adrienne, but a quick glance around the much larger hotel room reminded me that all was very real. I smiled into my pillow and sighed with content. It felt good. I felt good. I just hoped she felt good. We hadn’t talked about the night we’d spent together. It hadn’t been my goal to sleep with Adrienne when I came to her room last night, but I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t occurred to me somewhere in the depths of my subconscious. I didn’t get a ton of time to ponder that particular detail before the bathroom door opened. Adrienne emerged in a fluffy white towel looking as alluring as she always did. She paused when she saw I was awake and smiled shyly. “Hi.”
    “Good morning,” I answered, sitting up.
    She walked to the bed, sat next to me, and leaned in, lightly greeting my lips with hers. “How is it you look so goddamn good when you wake up in the morning? It’s criminal.”
    “I do?”
    “You do.” She finished the kiss we’d started.
    “So last night,” I said.
    “Was unexpected,” she concluded matter-of-factly.
    Unexpected. Hmm. While there was some truth in that statement, “unexpected” wasn’t the first word that popped into my mind when I thought about the night we’d shared. I would have
    gone with “amazing” or even “earth-shattering,” but that was just me.
    “Yes, it was certainly unexpected.”
    “Are you okay with everything? First I say we should keep it light, and then the very same night I practically attack you.” She walked toward the window. “It’s strange. It’s like I don’t know if I’m coming or going when I’m with you, Jenna. You’ve got me all turned around, and it’s a little unnerving.”
    I followed behind her, pulling the sheet with me. “We could stop. Is that what you’d prefer?”
    She turned back to face me. Biting her lip, she shook her head solemnly. “No.”
    “Then I would definitely say I’m okay with last night.” Adrienne’s face softened at my reply and she took my hand in hers. “But for the record,” I said, gesturing to her attire, “you’re going to have to stop parading around in towels all the time. I don’t think I can take it.”
    “What do you mean all the time?”
    “If you’ll think back, the first day we met you were wearing a towel. It was all I could do not to drool all over you. Probably wouldn’t have been a great first impression.”
    “Oh.” She chuckled. “You mean the day you invaded my dressing room.”
    “Yes, that would be the day.”
    “Well, if I’d known then what I know now, I might have dropped that towel.”
    The idea stopped me short. Adrienne smiled triumphantly at what I could only imagine was a shocked expression on my face.
    “Well, aren’t we proud of ourselves?” I said, pulling her to me and kissing her, what I’d been dying to do since she entered the room.
    “We are. We are quite proud of ourselves,” she answered, deepening the kiss before gently pulling away. “I hate to cut this short, but I have a media thing at eleven and that means I have to hurry.”
    Damn. “I suppose that means I have to let you go now.”
    She nodded ruefully.