Like a Dream Come True

“Lianna, I can’t find the-”

“Advertising metrics report?” Lianna finished for Sandy. “It’s right here. I just wanted to double-check the figures in the customer acquisition cost section. Everything’s good to go, and I made a few extra copies, in case you want to mark this one up.”

The stress-filled look quickly left Sandy’s face and was replaced with a grin. “You are a lifesaver,” she told Lianna as she flipped open the report. “When did you find the time to add the graphs concerning underdelivery? This is fantastic.”

Smiling with pride, Lianna immediately felt herself get energized. In truth, she had stayed late at the office every day that week to get the report just right, exhausting herself and making it so she barely saw Joseph, but it was worth it. That’s what being an intern was all about – proving yourself and your skills. “I burned the midnight oil a few times,” she admitted to Sandy. “But I was happy to do it. I really appreciate you giving me the opportunity to work on something like this.”

Putting her arm around Lianna’s shoulder, Sandy gave her a little squeeze. “Well, you are quickly making yourself indispensable in this place,” she told the younger woman. “It looks like I’m going to have to talk to Mr. Vineland about bringing you on full-time once the summer is over. But for now, do me a favor and start your weekend early. Take the rest of the afternoon off and just relax. That’s an order.”

Lianna felt lightheaded with glee as she walked out of the building into the mid-afternoon sunshine, barely noticing the bustle of activity around her that always existed in New York, no matter the day or time. All her hard work seemed to be paying off, based on what Sandy had just told her. And now she could head back to the condo and take a nap so that she would have plenty of energy to spend time with Joseph when he returned from the studio later that night.

As soon as Lianna stepped off of the elevator in their building, her stomach dropped in disappointment. Voices and music could be heard through the condo door, and it was clear Joseph had some people over already. “So much for sneaking in a nap,” Lianna thought wryly as she put her key into the doorknob and opened it.

Sighing, Lianna quickly scanned the living room. Zip was making out with a girl on the couch, as he was wont to do, and they didn’t seem aware at all of Lianna’s presence. Two of the sound engineers that Lianna recognized from her few trips to the studio were drinking beers with Kirk at the table. They didn’t seem to recognize Lianna in her business clothes, but they also didn’t say anything in objection to her walking through the room. Glancing towards the glass doors, Lianna finally found sight of Joseph. To her disappointment, he was standing on the balcony with Frankie.

“Hello,” Lianna opened the doors to the balcony and stepped out in time to get a big whiff of the joint that Joseph was handing to Frankie. “How’s everything going out here?” she asked, keeping her eyes focused on Joseph only and a smile plastered across her face.

“Baby, what are you doing home?” Joseph asked as he turned around. He seemed neither bothered nor excited; Lianna guessed by his expression that he was too high to actually feel very much at the moment. “You’re not usually home for hours.”

“My boss gave me the afternoon off,” Lianna explained, trying to ignore Frankie’s annoyed stance in her peripheral vision. “What are you guys doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in the studio?”

“Adam got some sort of flu or something,” Joseph explained. “We were all fine until two hours ago, and then he just jumped up from the drums and ran to the garbage pail and starting puking. It was gross. So we decided to take the afternoon off and come back here and chill. But I’m glad you’re here now. This makes it even better.” He reached for Lianna and put his hands around her waist, pulling her to him.

“Okay, I can’t watch this,” Frankie said with disgust, causing Lianna to finally look over at her. For as bad as things had been with Frankie since Lianna had started seeing Joseph, they had gotten much worse since the newspaper article was printed listing Lianna’s name and quote in it. Since then, Frankie barely even acknowledged Lianna, only doing so to throw snide and insulting remarks.

Once Frankie stormed away from the balcony, closing the glass doors behind her with a bang, Lianna turned her attention back to Joseph. “Well, at least it looks like Frankie’s doing better with us being together,” Lianna said with a smirk as she laced her arms around Joseph’s neck. Even though she was tired and wished there weren’t six other people in the condo at the moment, Lianna still felt good being close to Joseph. Their schedules didn’t allow for much time together recently.

Letting out a chuckle, Joseph’s heavy-lidded eyes still somehow managed to sparkle. “I’m glad you’re here,” he told Lianna, pressing his lips softly to hers. “I feel like I never get to see you anymore. You’re always working.”

“And you’re always at the studio,” Lianna couldn’t help but be a little offended by Joseph’s words. There was no doubt that they were both tremendously busy that summer, but the fact that they didn’t get to spend as much time as they would like to together was not the fault of one person or the other alone.

“I know,” Joseph began kissing over Lianna’s jaw line as he spoke. “But that’s different,” he whispered as his mouth feathered over the curve of her ear. “Being in the studio is what makes it possible for me to earn money. It’s not like you’re making anything working as an intern. It’s more like a hobby than a job.”

Although the way Joseph’s tongue was now darting out, moistening the skin on Lianna’s neck just below her earlobe usually made her melt, Lianna found herself freezing up at Joseph’s words. If he noticed, he didn’t show it. Instead, he began grazing his teeth over the sensitive flesh. “Let’s go upstairs now,” he whispered into Lianna’s ear, his voice full of desire. “We haven’t gotten to be alone in days. I want to be with you.”

Pulling back, Lianna looked at Joseph with an expression of disbelief. “I cannot believe you just said that,” she told Joseph.

Obviously confused, Joseph searched Lianna’s face. “What?” he asked. “That I want to be with you?”

Shaking her head, Lianna tried to control her anger. “I can’t believe you just dismissed my internship, the thing I’ve been busting my ass at for the past month and a half, as a hobby and THEN told me you wanted to go fuck.”

“I didn’t say fuck-”

“I don’t care!” Lianna couldn’t believe Joseph was arguing semantics. “You completely insulted me, trivializing something that I really care about; you didn’t even realize you did it; and then expected me to follow you upstairs like some sort of puppy?”

It was obvious that the heated conversation Joseph and Lianna were having was quickly killing his buzz. “Listen, I just wanted to have sex with my girlfriend, something we don’t do nearly as often anymore as we used to because of your internship, and you freaked out on me. I’m glad you like the internship! I’m glad I was able to make it so you could go there, not get paid, and still live like this.” His arm motioned towards the condo. “But don’t get mad at me over fucking nothing. I didn’t mean to insult you; I just know that since the summer started, I never get to see you, and I miss you. How does that make me an asshole?”

Biting her lip, Lianna forced herself to count to ten. She knew that Joseph was being sincere just then. He just didn’t see how he had belittled and disparaged Lianna and everything she had spent her four years of college working towards. “Okay, I appreciate that you miss me,” Lianna took a step back towards Joseph, who had folded his arms across his chest in anger. “I miss you, too. And I’m sorry - I appreciate the opportunity that you gave me by asking me to move in here. But what really hurt me was when you called this internship a hobby, because I consider it the first step in my career.”

With his brow furrowed and a slight pout on his lips, Joseph looked incredibly cute when he was annoyed, Lianna couldn’t help but notice. She felt like her body was a traitor to herself, desiring Joseph so much even in the middle of an argument. She reached up tentatively and stroked his cheek, looking into his bright green eyes. “Come on, don’t hold a grudge,” Lianna said, bothered with herself for turning out to be the one apologizing in the end, but she couldn’t help it. “I would really like to go upstairs and be together. Can we do that?”

“No,” Joseph said, although the corners of his mouth were curling up. “We can go upstairs and fuck, like you said before.”

Smiling in return, Lianna nodded as Joseph’s face softened once again and he reached for her. She tried to ignore the disappointment she felt in herself for giving in so easily, without receiving so much as an apology from Joseph for what he had said. As he took her hand and led her through the apartment, past Frankie who gave a knowing look that said she had witnessed the argument take place on the balcony, Lianna looked down. She wished she had never said anything to Joseph in the first place; fighting with him made her feel weak and small, and doing it in front of Frankie made it all twice as bad.

-----

Lianna woke up in the bed alone a couple hours later, but couldn’t be disappointed. After all, she was tucked in lovingly in the sheets, in a way that made it obvious that Joseph had done it before leaving the room. At that moment, Joseph returned to the room. “Hey sleepy,” he greeted her with a grin. His hair was damp, and he had changed into a pair of cargo pants and a pullover hoodie, making it clear that he had showered while she slept. “I was just about to wake you. We’re all going out to eat, so I want you to get up and get dressed.”

“Who’s ‘we’?” Lianna asked a bit nervously.

“Everyone downstairs,” Joseph sat down on the edge of the bed and looked confused for a moment, until Lianna’s meaning seemed to dawn on him. “And yes, Frankie is going. But you can’t let her intimidate you.”

“She doesn’t intimidate me,” Lianna grumped. “She insults me. She puts me down. She calls me a glorified groupie.”

Getting a little smirk on his face, Joseph reached over and stroked Lianna’s cheek affectionately. “Well, you’re my favorite groupie,” he teased, eliciting a tiny smile from Lianna. “And besides, I know Frankie. Avoiding her is not the way to deal with things between you guys; just call her on her shit, so that she has to respect you.”

“Can’t I just hit her?” Lianna asked with a pout.

“You could try,” Joseph warned. “But her personal trainer is a gold-medal Olympic weight lifter, so you might just get your ass kicked.”

“You suck,” Lianna replied as she sat up in bed.

“Not as well as you do,” Joseph laughed and jumped up quickly so Lianna could not reach him as she swatted at him with a pillow. He walked over towards the door and turned around with a big smile on his face to look over at Lianna in the bed, terribly amused by his own lewd joke.

“Perv.”

“Groupie.”

“Ass,” Lianna rolled her eyes. “Give me five minutes to get ready.” As Joseph left the room with a grin, Lianna couldn’t help but feel the corners of her mouth turning up. She loved being with Joseph; she loved his sense of humor, his playfulness, his tenderness. Forgotten already were Lianna’s hurt feelings a couple hours earlier, as she rose naked from the bed and walked towards the closet to pick some clothes to wear for dinner.

-----

Lianna felt a bit like a sore thumb later that evening. The group had taken the car service to a bar/restaurant that was owned by the members of another band that Joseph was friendly with. The bouncer recognized Joseph, Zip and Frankie immediately, and let them in without any problems. Inside the glam locale, they got a corner booth, and were immediately bombarded by people from the music industry. Everyone seemed to know what to say – even Zip’s flavor of the evening – except for Lianna. Instead, she just pasted a smile on and nodded encouragingly at Joseph when he looked over.

In the bathroom a while later, Lianna looked at her reflection in the mirror. She had not expected that they would be going out to a popular celebrity-spotting destination that night; she was thinking more burgers and fries. So as she looked at the girls around her in the mirror, Lianna wished she had bothered to put on something nicer than jeans and a tank top. She ran her fingers through her hair, hoping to make it look less flat, when a girl approached her, taking her by surprise as she tapped on Lianna’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” the girl looked shocked that Lianna jumped like she did. “I, um, I… My name’s Sarah, and this is going to sound crazy, but I’m here visiting my brother for the week, and we just saw you sitting at the Broken Dynamite table, and my brother claims he knows you, but I knew he was teasing or something, but he told me to come in here and ask for myself, so I had to.”

The words that had just fallen out of Sarah’s mouth were fast and drawn together, making it almost impossible to decipher half of what she had just said. But the embarrassed blush that crossed over her freckled face was endearing, and reminded Lianna of her own sister. “What’s your brother’s name?” Lianna asked.

“Oh, Eddie. He said you guys went to school together. But I told him that was bull, because if you’re dating Joey Hart, why would you be going-”

“I do know Eddie from school,” Lianna interrupted the babbling girl. “We’re friends. Is he here? I’d love to see him. And then maybe I could introduce you to my boyfriend.”

“You would really do that?” Sarah’s eyes were wide as saucers. “Oh my God, I would die!” Yes, Sara sounded a lot like Kirsten. She seemed to be a couple years older, though, probably eighteen or nineteen, but no more mature. “My friends back in Ohio will lose it if I tell them I met Joey Hart!”

“Well,” Lianna smiled at the exuberant girl. “Lead the way to your brother.”

“I told you that your cool urbanized older brother knew celebrities,” Eddie smiled at Lianna, his eyes twinkling a greeting, as she followed Sarah to a much smaller, much dingier part of the bar than she and Joey were seated in.

“I’ve never seen this man before in my life,” Lianna told Sarah with a smirk. “Please let him know if he ever harasses me again, I will contact the police.”

Letting out a laugh, Eddie rose and gave Lianna a hug. She sat down with him and Sara for a few minutes, telling Eddie about her internship and listening to him talk about the workshop he was taking in preparation for grad school in fall. “Okay, Sarah looks extremely bored,” Lianna grinned. “And I was kind of enjoying being cool and sophisticated in her eyes, so I think it’s about time to introduce her to Joseph… Joey.”

“You go,” Eddie motioned with his hand. “I’ve met him before… Hot though he is, I think I’ll let the ladies take this one alone.”

Shaking her head, Lianna giggled and led Sarah over to the table. She introduced the girl around, and appreciated how Joseph scooted out of the booth to give the teen a few minutes of undivided attention, including an autograph and a camera-phone picture. Lianna led Sarah, all smiles, back to the table where Eddie sat waiting for them. “How did you even get in here?” Lianna asked suddenly, and immediately felt her cheeks heat. She hadn’t meant to sound like such a snob, but she knew that it was hard to get into this restaurant on a Friday night.

“It’s okay,” Eddie laughed, noting Lianna’s discomfort. “I actually went to high school with the floor manager back in Ohio, if you can believe that. I ran into him a few weeks back on the street, told him Sarah was visiting, and he said he’d make sure to get us the smallest, darkest, dirtiest, most cramped table in the place.”

Laughing, Lianna shook her head. “Well, it was great seeing you,” she said genuinely. “And I have your new cell number now, so I’ll give you a call soon, and we’ll get coffee or something.”

“I’d like that a lot,” Eddie replied warmly. He was looking at Lianna’s face intently, staring into her eyes in a way that made heat rise in her cheeks. “It was great to see you again, too.”

“Thanks for introducing me to Joey and everyone,” Sarah interjected.

“You’re welcome,” Lianna replied, moving her eyes over to Sarah and waving to the table as she walked off. For some reason, Lianna had an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach, but she wasn’t sure what it was about, so she just slid in the booth beside Joseph and gave him a big grin.

“All good?” Joseph asked, patting Lianna’s knee and giving her a smile.

“All good,” Lianna replied, watching as Joseph turned back to the table, to the loud buzz of conversation that was growing ever higher in volume by the minutes. Appetizers were now spread out across the table, as were several bottles of champagne, wine, beer and liquor. Everyone was laughing and chatting as Lianna looked around. Everyone but herself and Frankie.

-----

By 3 am, Lianna found herself dozing off in the booth, despite the ear-splitting level of volume in the bar. After all, she had been awake since 6 am the previous morning. “Joseph,” she whispered into her boyfriend’s ear. “I have to go. I’m exhausted.”

Looking disappointed to hear this, Joseph frowned. “But we’re having so much fun,” he replied to her, motioning towards the booth which, during the course of the evening, had filled up with even more people. Alcohol had been flowing freely, and Frankie had made a number of trips to the bathroom with various people so far.

“You can stay,” Lianna said, hoping her frustration didn’t show in her voice. “I’ll just grab a cab.”

Perking up, Joseph nodded. “Okay, if you need your rest, I understand,” he told her, leaning over to kiss her forehead. “I’ll have the bouncer hail a taxi for you, and I’ll see you when I get home.”

“That sounds good,” Lianna lied, wishing Joseph would just go back to the condo with her. She would love nothing more than to go home, make love and curl up around him in bed before passing out together. But she didn’t want to ruin his fun just because she was tired. “Have a good time.”

-----

Dawn was just breaking when Joseph got home, taking off his shorts and sweatshirt before he climbed into bed with Lianna. He reached over for her, and on instinct, Lianna settled herself in his arms. He smelled like a mixture of alcohol and smoke, but Lianna didn’t care. His body was warm beside hers, and it was a comforting feeling.

A moment later, Lianna felt Joseph slide his hand under the hem of the t-shirt she was sleeping in, up over her stomach and to her breasts. At first, Lianna felt herself dozing off again to the soft comforting feeling of his gentle stroking, but then she felt Joseph shift positions and push up her top. His mouth fell to her breast suddenly, waking Lianna a little bit more.

“I’m sorry, Joseph,” she said in a tired voice. “I’m not really in the mood right now.”

“Oh, I can put you in the mood,” Joseph replied, his voice slightly slurred. His mouth traced over the curve of Lianna’s breasts, and lips wrapped around one nipple, his tongue flicking it in an attempt at arousing her.

“Stop it, Joseph,” Lianna said with more annoyance in her voice. “I don’t want to right now. I just told you that.”

With a disgruntled sigh, Joseph pulled back and flopped his head onto his pillow. “Why not?” he looked over at Lianna, whose eyes were now open a little, looking at him. “It’s not like you have to wake up for your damn internship in the morning. And we never have sex anymore.”

“We had sex, like, twelve hours ago,” Lianna reminded Joseph. “And I only went to sleep an hour and a half ago. If you had wanted to come home with me then, I would have been in the mood to be with you. But right now, I’m half-asleep, you’re completely wasted, and I’d just like to get some rest.”

“So you’re punishing me for not coming home with you earlier?” Joseph countered.

“No,” Lianna had no idea how Joseph had twisted her words around like that. “I didn’t say that. I just said I was in the mood earlier, but I’m not right now. Why are you getting so mad about this?”

Joseph said nothing in response, but his eyes were flashing in a way that upset Lianna. She didn’t like seeing him this angry with her. “Listen,” she sat up more in bed. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I’m sorry. And look, I’m awake now, so if you still want to…”

“Don’t do me any favors, Lianna,” Joseph said in a cold voice.

“No, I mean it,” Lianna hated the desperation she heard in her voice. “I just wasn’t really awake just then, but I am now. And I’d love to be with you…”

Looking warily at her, Joseph’s face softened some. “Okay,” he said, as if conceding to something. He reached over to cup Lianna’s face, bringing his lips to hers. As his tongue traced the bow of her upper lip, Lianna could taste the Jack Daniel’s he had been consuming through the evening. “We don’t even have to take a long time,” he whispered to her as he began running kisses down her neck.

Lianna felt Joseph’s body move itself on top of hers as his hands slid under her shirt again. She stared at the ceiling as his rough fingertips rolled her nipples until they were hard, while his teeth nipped at her throat. She tried to will herself to get lost in the moment, but it was hard. Her feelings were very hurt at the moment by Joseph having reacted so poorly to her turning him down.

Apparently, Joseph had been serious about not taking a long time. All ceremony was skipped over as he slid Lianna’s flannel pajama bottoms and underwear down, and then his own boxers. His mouth was still tasting the skin around her jaw line, but he didn’t even bother tease Lianna’s core with his fingers before leading himself to her and pressing in. It didn’t hurt, but it also wasn’t exactly pleasurable. Lianna tried to raise her hips to meet his thrusts, but in his inebriation his movements were so jerky, Lianna had a hard time finding a rhythm, so she did the best she could. Within minutes, Joseph was moving faster and harder, his face now buried in the pillow beside Lianna’s head. She heard him let out a moan suddenly, and felt him come inside her.

Pulling out, Joseph rolled over. “There, wasn’t that a good idea?” he whispered, his eyes already closed. “Just something to relax us before we go to sleep.” And at that moment, his breathing evened out and Lianna realized he was already in a deep slumber, although mostly alcohol-fueled.

Lianna pulled her pajama bottoms back on and rolled over in the bed, facing away from Joseph. She felt tears in her eyes as she stared at the wall in front of her. She couldn’t believe what had just happened between her and Joseph. Even though she had done things with him before that were definitely taboo by society’s standards, she had always felt safe and respected. Just then, for the first time since she had met Joseph, Lianna felt like she had been fucked. And it made her feel very empty.

THANKS SO MUCH TO ALL WHO HAVE REVIEWED SO FAR. I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR WHAT READERS THINK ABOUT THE STORY. ADAEE, THANKS AGAIN FOR THE PAINFULLY (BUT FAIRLY) PUT CRITICISM - I DO APPRECIATE IT. AND THANKS TO GIRLFIXER, DEBBIE AND DARKDRAGON FOR THE POSITIVE FEEDBACK. IT MAKES ME FEEL SO GOOD.