Like a Dream Come True

When Lianna woke up on Monday morning, it took her a minute to figure out where she was. A soft feather down blanket covered her, and she was staring at a dark blue wall. Rolling over, she saw Joseph’s form beside her and smiled to herself. He was on his side, facing away from her, and Lianna was surprised to see the scratch marks she had left on his back. Reaching out, she ran her finger over a particularly long scratch and felt Joseph begin to wake up.

Rolling over, Joseph gave Lianna a sleepy smile. His hair was messy and he had a few pillow lines on his cheek. To Lianna, though, he still looked gorgeous. “Morning, you,” he reached for Lianna and she slid over to rest her head on his chest. “What were you just doing?” He idly pushed back some hair from Lianna’s forehead.

Glancing up, Lianna’s cheeks started to heat. “I was looking at the marks I left on your back yesterday,” she admitted sheepishly.

“And last night when we got home,” Joseph chuckled, causing Lianna’s cheeks to grow even pinker. “I have to say, you have pleasantly surprised me with how… impassioned you get during sex.”

Raising her head and cocking an eyebrow, Lianna gave Joseph a wary look. “You thought I’d be a bad lay?” she joked. “Is there something about me that just calls out ‘boring in bed’?”

Before she knew what was happening, Joseph had flipped both of them over, and he pinned her arms with his hands. “Gotta be a wiseass, don’t you?” he grinned down at Lianna. “Always got to get in the last word, right?”

Looking up into Joseph’s bright eyes, Lianna felt her stomach flip. He looked so amazing above her, she couldn’t even continue joking. “Not this time,” she said softly and closed her eyes as Joseph’s mouth dropped to hers. Although her body still ached from their little endeavor on the stairs before the party, as well as twice when they got back to the condo, Lianna still craved to be with Joseph. She had never felt this way before – never had this desire to be physically close to someone so much, to want them so fiercely. Luckily, Joseph seemed to have no arguments against this, either.

Lifting himself somewhat from Lianna, Joseph looked her in the eyes. “Turn over,” he requested softly, and Lianna immediately did. She felt him reach over and begin massaging her back. Getting ready to object and tell Joseph that he didn’t have to do that, Lianna felt him reach a cluster of knots in her back must have been caused by one of the steps the day before. Expertly, Joseph worked the knots out of the muscle.

“If you ever give up music,” Lianna told him over her shoulder. “You totally have something to fall back on. You’re amazing at this.”

Suddenly, Lianna felt Joseph’s body drop down, and his hot breath was on her neck. “I guess, but I really only like to do it when I can follow up with this…” Lianna felt Joseph’s mouth touch her shoulder, kissing it softly. His lips trailed over her back, his hands still working out kinks in her muscles at the same time. Feeling Joseph’s tongue darting out to tracing moist trails on her skin, Lianna couldn’t believe that her body could desire him so much again. It was probably only about four or five hours since Joseph had woken her the last time, but here she was, feeling as eager as the night before.

Moving his mouth down further, Joseph’s mouth slowly reached the curve at the small of Lianna’s back. As it did, she felt him lift his body to kneel between her thighs. He gripped her hips and encouraged her to raise her lower body to her knees. Lianna did so immediately, and before she had even gotten her upper body lifted, she felt Joseph lead himself to her and press in hard. Letting out a muffled groan into the pillow where her face still lay, Lianna forced herself up on her arms as Joseph pulled back and pushed into her again.

It took just a moment for Lianna to figure out Joseph’s rhythm, and she began tilting her hips back to meet his thrusts. She felt him lean over her, kissing her shoulder softly. “It feels so good to be inside you,” he whispered into Lianna’s ear as one hand reached around her to cup her breast. His thumb teased her nipple until it became hard, and then he carefully pinched it, causing Lianna to cry out.

Joseph’s hand then slid over her stomach as he leaned up again, his fingertips tracing over the shape of her swollen clit. He touched the nub gently, teasingly, eliciting tortured moans and even some whispered pleadings. “More, Joseph,” Lianna begged. “Please, more.” At her words, Lianna felt Joseph knowingly begin rubbing at her clit, sending waves of pleasure through her. At the same time, his other hand kneaded her ass as he continued thrusting into her hard.

To Lianna’s shock, she felt Joseph’s fingers run slowly down the crack of her ass and whisper over her anus, his touches ever so soft. The muscles in Lianna’s ass involuntarily tightened, and she heard Joseph murmuring soothingly to her. “I’m not going to do anything to hurt you, I promise,” his voice was hoarse and broken by the panting as he kept pressing himself in and out of Lianna. “I’m just touching, being very careful. Trust me, okay?”

Nervously, Lianna nodded and tried to concentrate on other feelings. Each time Lianna pressed her hips back, Joseph’s hardness filled her pleasingly. His hand still wrapped around her waist to reach between her thighs, touching her in a way that brought forward uncontrollable whimpers from Lianna’s mouth. Still, she couldn’t ignore the feeling of Joseph’s fingers behind her; surprisingly, they were rather pleasant feelings she was experiencing.

Joseph had been honest; he was just touching Lianna carefully. As soon as she became more accustomed to the feeling, Lianna realized it was actually a rather delicious sensation. She became so enraptured with the waves of pleasure Joseph was causing to so many different parts of her body, she was almost surprised when she began to feel her body reaching for an orgasm. However, Joseph didn’t seem to be taken by surprise.

Using one hand, Joseph was running his fingers over Lianna’s clit, teasing it, flicking it lightly, pressing on it. His erection pushed into her, the pace of their movements increasing and the pressure he used becoming greater. And finally, his pointer finger now traced softly around the small pink circle on Lianna’s ass. He could hear her moaning softly; he could see her hands desirously gathering the bed sheets in her fists. Just as he began to feel her muscles contracting around his cock, he let the tip of his finger press dip into her ass and felt her come hard around him. As her orgasm finally began to settle down, Joseph moved his hands so he was holding Lianna’s hips and thrust himself into her vigorously several more times before coming so hard, Lianna could feel him pumping liquid inside her.

Pulling himself from Lianna, Joseph let his body collapse beside hers and pulled her into his arms again. “Was that okay?” he whispered softly into her hair. “You seemed to like it, but I didn’t want to do anything-”

Cutting him off, Lianna looked at Joseph shyly. “I honestly would never have thought I would like something like that,” she blushed. “But with you, I feel like a different person. I feel adventurous and ready for anything.”

“Well, whoever you are around me,” Joseph kissed her head. “I am crazy about you. I cannot believe we’ve only had, like, three dates.”

“I know,” Lianna agreed, burying her head into the crook of Joseph’s neck. “It feels like so much longer.” They fell silent then, absently stroking each other softly. As they did, Lianna thought about what had happened with Frankie in the bathroom the night before. “I was dumb,” Lianna chided herself silently. “I shouldn’t have gotten so upset. If Joseph doesn’t use, why should I care if it’s around?” As she lay there silently trying to convince herself of this, she heard his breathing evening out, letting her know he had dozed off again.

Rising from the bed, Lianna gathered some things for the shower; she had two classes that afternoon, and it was about time for her to get ready. Looking at Joseph sleeping, Lianna willed herself to stop worrying. Sure, things in Joseph’s life were done differently than what Lianna was used to, but she would just have to get used to it. She wasn’t going to let her time with Joseph be ruined with silly concerns. She would do whatever it took to be with him – whatever it took.

-----

The enormous man holding a clipboard in front of the club appeared menacing, but Lianna had to walk up to him. It was Friday, and Lianna hadn’t seen Joseph since Monday due to her school schedule and his practice schedule. The band was playing a show that night, though – a rare between-tour performance – and Lianna was excited to see him perform. Actually, she was just excited to see him; she had really missed him over the past four days. She hoped he felt the same way. “I should be on the list for Broken Dynamite,” she said, handing him her ID nervously. “On Joseph… Joey Hart’s list.”

“Probably not, doll,” the man at the door replied in a nasty voice. “People like Joey Hart rarely remember girls’ names the next day… Oh, I’m sorry.” He suddenly seemed to be nervous. “No, I mean yeah, you’re on the list. Actually, there’s a note here that says I should show you where the band is right now.”

Taking back her ID, Lianna couldn’t help but feel a little bit good that this offensive man had been made to feel stupid. “That’s fine,” she gave him a big grin. “I’d appreciate you going out of your way like that.”

Mumbling something incoherent, the bouncer handed Lianna a laminated pass and led her into the club. They walked straight past the security, through the crowded club towards the stage, and back near the side of it. “Joey Hart’s girl,” he said gruffly to the guy guarding the side stage. As he led her back down a long hallway, the bouncer pointed towards a door marked “Private”. “They should be in here,” he looked chagrined, as if he were concerned that she would yell at him.

“Thank you so much,” Lianna said in a friendly voice. “It was really nice of you to bring me this whole way. Well, have a good night!” Before he could respond, Lianna reached for the door handle and walked in, shutting the door behind her.

The room was filled with hazy smoke and probably a dozen people. Lianna saw several girls dressed in revealing half-shirts and skintight pants, and then she recognized Zip. “Who are you?” a small brunette with a scowl asked in a completely unfriendly tone before Lianna could open her mouth to greet the singer. The woman had a “staff” pass around her neck and was obviously meant to keep undesirables out of the backstage area.

“Oh, I’m… uh…” Lianna was flummoxed, unsure how to respond. Luckily, she didn’t have to.

“Lianna!” Joseph’s voice rang out across the room. Looking over, she nearly lost her breath. Lianna had never seen Joseph in his full stage wear, but he looked amazing. He wore a sleeveless black t-shirt and black leather pants with a chain-link belt around his waist. His hair was done up even more than it had been the two times they had gone out, and he had black liner smudged around his eyes, making them look like two emeralds.

“You know her?” the brunette employee was still looking warily at Lianna.

Walking up to Lianna with a big smile, Joseph kissed her lips softly and put his arm around her shoulder. “Yeah, this is my girlfriend, Lianna. She’s cool to be back here.”

Lianna had noticed that several of the girls in the room gave her annoyed looks at Joseph’s statement, but she didn’t care. She actually hadn’t heard him refer to her as his girlfriend before, but she definitely liked the way it sounded. “You look great,” Lianna whispered to Joseph, grinning happily.

“So do you,” Joseph told her. “So, you remember Zip from last weekend, right?”

“Hey Lianna,” Zip smiled from the couch. His eyelids were drooping, and it was obvious he was high.

Waving, Lianna then went through a course of introductions with everyone else in the room. She had met the other two members of the band, Kirk and Adam, at the party the week before as well, but she hadn’t spoken to them too much. Just as Joseph finished introducing everyone in the room, Lianna heard a voice come from behind her. “God, you’d think I was trying to sneak a bomb onto a plane rather than get backstage, the way security acts in this place.”

Smiling at the familiar friendly face of Tavian, Lianna watched as Joseph greeted his best friend. Something about having Tavian there – someone who wasn’t part of the entertainment business but was just there for friendly support, as she was – made Lianna feel better. “Hey Lianna,” Tavian grinned as soon as he saw her. “You mean you haven’t gotten sick of this loser’s super-sized ego yet? Good for you.”

“Hi Tavian,” Lianna greeted him easily.

“Joey, can I see you for a minute?” Frankie suddenly entered the room. As usual, she looked as gorgeous as any runway model. “Oh, hello Lianna. I didn’t know you would be here tonight.”

“Why wouldn’t Joseph’s girlfriend be here?” Tavian asked, a sarcastic look of innocence written across his face.

Looking with distaste at Tavian, Frankie shook her head. “Mind your own business, you unwashed miscreant, before I have security throw your ass out of here.”

Turning towards Lianna, Tavian gave her a huge smile. “She wants me,” he told her loudly with an exaggerated nod of the head. “It’s almost embarrassing to see the way she throws herself at me in front of all these people.”

Trying to bite back a laugh, Lianna turned to Joseph. “Go ahead,” she encouraged when she saw his expression, asking if it was okay to leave her alone. “I have this unwashed miscreant to keep me entertained,” she whispered just loud enough for Joseph and Tavian to hear her, but not loud enough for Frankie to know what she had said.

Leaning over, Joseph kissed Lianna’s lips softly once more. “I’ll only be a few,” he promised. He patted Tavian’s shoulder as he passed him. “Always gotta start shit, don’t you?” he joked to his friend.

“It was good to see you, Frankie!” Tavian yelled loudly as she turned and headed out of the room, Joseph in tow. As soon as the door closed, Lianna burst into a fit of giggles.

“You really rub her the wrong way, don’t you?” Lianna asked.

“Please, that woman’s been rubbed every way possible by half the men in the music industry,” Tavian rolled his eyes. “I just don’t have the money or fame to be worthy of rubbing her. Or something.”

Shaking her head, Lianna smiled at Tavian. He really didn’t seem to let Frankie’s incredibly rude treatment of him bother him. “I wish I could tell people off that easily.”

“As far as I remember,” Tavian told her. “You told me off pretty well the first night I met you.”

“Oh, but that was all in good fun,” Lianna insisted. “I only dished out what you started.”

Lianna watched as Tavian greeted the rest of the band easily. They all seemed to be accustomed to having him around, and they all seemed to like him. He was easy to like; he just kept making jokes and offering friendly smiles. “Oh, there’s beer in the fridge, if you two want some,” Zip said, as if the thought had just occurred to him.

“Could you grab me one while I use the ladies’ room?” Lianna asked Tavian.

“I doubt the filthy hole of a bathroom in this place could hardly be called a ladies’ room,” Tavian grinned. “But yeah, go ahead. There are restrooms down the hall to your right.”

Thanking him, Lianna slid out of the room and down the hall. She was about to turn the corner where there was a sign pointing to the restrooms when she heard two voices, one of which was Joseph’s. “She is my girlfriend, Frankie,” he sounded annoyed. “I’m not going to pretend she’s not.”

“And she’s very sweet,” Frankie’s voice sounded soothing. “But I just think that it’s probably not worth it right now for you to put yourself out to fans and the media as unavailable when you’ve only been with Lianna a couple weeks. Why don’t we just wait a little longer and see how things progress?”

“Because I like her,” Joseph’s voice was strong, and Lianna felt her heart beat a little faster in her chest. She couldn’t believe how sweet he was being in his defense of her. “I don’t have to wait to see how things are going to go. I’m not going to make her pretend she’s a groupie or just a friend. That’s fucked up and disrespectful to her.”

“I know,” Frankie’s voice still sounded soothing. “I do, I understand where you’re coming from, Joey. But face it; you are the heartthrob of this band. You’re the star. Zip is cute, but he’s not you. You’re the reason teenage girls hang posters of Broken Dynamite on their bedroom walls. It’s just not good business to make them think you have a girlfriend.”

“But I do have a girlfriend,” Joseph sounded exasperated. “And that’s not business; that’s my personal life.”

“Then keep it personal,” Frankie’s voice was a little more harsh. “Don’t announce to a room with fans in it that Lianna’s your girlfriend. Keep that between you two.”

“There aren’t fans in there,” Joseph was beginning to sound a little deflated. “Those are groupies. If they can’t fuck me, they’ll move on to Zip or Kirk or Adam.”

“Yes, they will,” Frankie sounded as if she knew she was winning the argument. “And you will be going home with Lianna. She knows that; I’m sure she understands the need to keep up your image, though.”

“I guess,” Joseph finally sounded like he was giving up. “I don’t like it, though.”

“I know, Joey,” Frankie’s voice had a very false sounding sympathetic edge to it. “But it’s for the best, at least in the beginning.”

Knowing that the conversation was winding down, Lianna turned the corner. “Oh, hi,” she said, trying to pretend that she hadn’t been eavesdropping. “I was just looking for the bathrooms.”

“And you found them,” Frankie said in such a way that, to Joseph it just seemed like a statement, but to Lianna it sounded more like an insult. “Anyway, I have to get back to work. You guys are on in about half an hour. See you then.”

“Everything okay?” Lianna put her arms around Joseph’s waist and looked into his eyes. She felt guilty for listening to his conversation, and she wanted to assuage some of the guilt by making him feel better.

“You’re here,” Joseph told her, kissing her lips softly. “So everything’s great.” But his voice sounded flat and defeated.

“Well, I’ll just be a minute,” Lianna felt bad that she couldn’t think of anything else to say to make Joseph feel better. “Why don’t you go talk to Tavian and the guys?”

Looking as if he was thinking hard for a moment, Joseph took Lianna’s face in his hands. “This relationship is probably going to be weird for you,” he told her as he looked into her eyes. “It might be tough. But if you can deal with all the crap that goes along with being with someone in the media spotlight, I promise to treat you really well.”

Feeling tears prickling in her eyes, Lianna swallowed hard. “I can deal with whatever, as long as I can be with you,” she told him. With that, Joseph smiled and dropped his mouth to hers, giving her a deep kiss.

“I think you’re great,” Joseph said when he finally released Lianna.

“I think you’re great,” Lianna echoed his words. “Now go on, or I’m going to pee right here.”

Letting out a laugh, Joseph nodded. “By the way,” he told her as he headed down the hall. “I love that you say shit like that to me.”

“Happy to oblige,” Lianna giggled and headed into the bathroom.

-----

The show was fantastic as Lianna and Tavian watched from side stage. Despite his lackadaisical attitude back stage, Zip thrived on stage. But Frankie had been right: Joseph was the star of the band. He bounced around stage playing guitar, joined in singing with Zip half the time, and made funny remarks that had the crowd laughing in between songs. And he really seemed to love being on stage.

As the last encore ended and the house lights dropped, Lianna saw Joseph coming towards her. He was covered with sweat and had a huge grin on his face as he approached her, reaching for her and lifting her up to swing her around.

Laughing out loud, Lianna felt herself get caught up in Joseph’s excitement. “You guys were amazing,” she told him as he set her back down.

“You were great,” Tavian agreed from beside Lianna.

“Joey, that was a terrific show,” Frankie seemed to appear from nowhere. “Really, one of your best. And the crowd loved the new songs.”

“Thanks,” Joseph was still out of breath from his extremely physical performance. “That felt great. We haven’t played in front of a crowd over a month,” he explained to Lianna.

“Anyway, I’m doing a little post-show party at my place-” Frankie began, but Joseph immediately cut her off.

“Thanks, but I think Lianna and I are just going to head back to my place now,” Joseph gave Lianna a sexy grin.

“But I can come over to your place, if you want, Frankie,” Tavian added.

Rolling her eyes, Frankie wouldn’t even respond to Tavian. “Well, have fun anyway.”

“Oh, I will,” Joseph grinned at Lianna in such a way that she blushed. “So you mind if we split?” he asked Tavian.

“Go ahead,” Tavian told him. “I have a newspaper meeting early anyway, so I should get going. But give me call tomorrow. We should all do dinner or something this week.”

“That sounds great,” Joseph grinned.

“As always, it was a pleasure, Lianna,” Tavian took her hand theatrically and kissed it.

“As always, it was an experience, Tavian,” Lianna curtsied in response.

Taking Lianna by the hand, Joseph led her to the band room to gather his belongings before leading her down the hall to a back exit where he had a car waiting. “I hope you don’t mind skipping the party,” Joseph reached over and stroked Lianna’s cheek. “I just haven’t seen you in four days, and I missed you.”

Giving him an elated grin, Lianna shook her head. “There’s nothing more I would want to do right now than go back to your place and be alone with you.” And she meant every word of what she said.