Like a Dream Come True

Somehow, Lianna managed to pass all her finals – although not with the high marks she normally received. Still, this meant graduation wouldn’t be ruined, which had been a big concern to her.

Meeting her parents and sister at the airport, Lianna packed everyone into a cab and they headed back to her apartment. She was excited to see her family again, and she was thrilled that Joseph was due home in two days. Everything finally seemed to be falling into place, and Lianna was able to relax and be less anxious.

“Welcome back to New York!” Madison burst into the apartment shortly after Lianna and her family got there. Smiling, Lianna watched as her neighbor hugged Kirsten and greeted Lianna’s parents. From the corner of her eye, Lianna realized Madison hadn’t come alone. Tavian was standing in the doorway with his usual friendly smile.

“Tavian, come in,” Lianna gave him a grin. “Mom, Dad, Kirsten, this is… our friend Tavian.” Lianna saw Madison give her a little grin in appreciation for knowing how to introduce Tavian to the room.

Bringing out bowls of chips and cans of soda, everyone sat around the small living room talking easily. It was obvious that Kirsten was quickly developing an innocent schoolgirl crush on Tavian. But so is Maddy, Lianna thought happily to herself. A sudden knock at the door took everyone by surprise. “I think we’ve got three-quarters of Manhattan in here already,” Lianna laughed as she went to answer the door.

Letting out a little gasp, Lianna threw herself at a grinning Joseph standing in her doorway. He was in his ‘inconspicuous’ clothes – jeans, long-sleeve shirt, hat – but to Lianna he was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. “What are you doing here? You’re not due back for two days!”

“Well, should I go then?” Joseph teased, giving Lianna a sexy grin. His neck bent to meet her mouth and he kissed her softly, running his hands over her back.

“Hello, minor in the room!” Kirsten called out.

Looking like he hadn’t noticed the room full of people before this, Joseph smiled widely at everyone. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize the family was here already,” he told them. Following Lianna into the apartment, he closed the door behind him and took a seat on the arm of the chair Tavian sat in. Without thinking, he reached for Lianna’s hand before greeting everyone. “Mr. Long, Mrs. Long, it’s so nice to see you again. And it’s Kirsten, right? So how was your flight?”

Watching Joseph, Lianna could see just how he had become the unofficial spokesperson for Broken Dynamite. He was confident and at ease with himself in front of everyone, and as she could have guessed, it only took him about five minutes to win over her parents. It wasn’t the same way Tavian put people at ease, with jokes and friendly banter. Joseph was far more skilled at seeming interested, asking questions and bringing people out of their shells.

When Lianna went into the kitchen to get more chips, Joseph followed her with some empty soda cans. “There you are,” he almost sounded like he was growling as he slid his arms around Lianna’s waist and pulled her body flush against his. “I have missed you so much,” he whispered, pressing his lips to hers. Lianna pressed her body eagerly against his as she returned the kiss. She had missed Joseph tremendously over the past month; she reveled now in the clean smell of his skin, the sweet taste of his tongue, the firm grip of his hands as they slid back and over her ass, pulling her lower body closer to him and pressing his hardness against Lianna’s hip.

“I can feel how much you missed me,” Lianna teased as Joseph pulled back a little.

Unapologetically, Joseph shrugged. “I hadn’t expected your family to be here already,” he told her. “When our last show, that we were supposed to play tomorrow, got cancelled, I decided to fly in and come here. However, I was planning on having my way with you all over the apartment, but now that seems like that would be… a little tactless.”

Letting out a laugh, Lianna couldn’t believe how much better she suddenly felt with Joseph there. “I’ll tell you what,” she whispered. “We’ll settle everyone in here, and then we can go to your place, and I can spend the night. I’ll just have to meet them early in the morning.”

“Not a problem,” Joseph grinned. “I can just keep you awake all night until it’s time to meet them. It has been a whole month, you know. I’m pretty sure I could give Sting a run for his eight-hour-tantric-sex-lasting money right now.” With that he pulled her to him for one more deep kiss before they headed back into the living room again.

-----

“I’m glad your parents weren’t bothered by you coming to spend the night,” Joseph told Lianna as they entered his apartment. “I mean, they just got into town and right away the rock-and-roller is sweeping away their eldest daughter to do unmentionably terrible things to her for the evening.”

As soon as the door to the condo was closed, Lianna put her hands around Joseph’s neck and sandwiched him between her body and the wall. “To be honest,” she smiled up at him. “Talking about my parents is not really what I want to do right now.” With that, she pulled him down for another kiss.

“Wait, I want to give you something first,” Joseph pulled back a little.

Smirking, Lianna looked into his eyes. “I thought you giving me something was the plan.”

Laughing, Joseph shook his head. “And you call me the pervert,” he told her. “No, come here.” Leading Lianna by the hand into the living room, Joseph went over to where his luggage was sitting in a corner. Unzipping a suitcase, he rummaged through his clothes for a minute until he found what he was looking for. With a grin, he rose and handed Lianna a neatly wrapped package. “It’s your graduation present.”

Thanking him, Lianna took a seat on the couch and began unwrapping the gift. “When did you have time to get… oh, Joseph, you didn’t,” Lianna gasped, seeing a Tiffany & Company box. Nervously, she opened it and lifted out a necklace. It was obviously made of platinum, a small circle covered with diamonds all the way around. It must have cost a fortune.

“The woman at Tiffany’s said it’s called an eternity pendant,” Joseph looked overjoyed as he spoke. “It’s sort of like a promise ring, but not as high-school.”

“It’s beautiful,” Lianna told him. “But it’s too much, really-”

Sitting down beside Lianna, Joseph shook his head. “I make a lot of money,” he said in a matter-of-fact way. “The one thing that makes me truly happy is to spend it on the people I care about most. So please, just say you’ll keep the necklace.”

“It probably cost more than my parents’ car,” Lianna gave him a small grin. “Thank you so much.”

Taking the box from her hand, Joseph placed it on the coffee table. “Okay, now that that’s out of the way,” he pulled Lianna onto his lap with one quick movement. “Now we can focus on the really important things.”

Leaning down to meet Joseph’s mouth, Lianna was filled with a sense of guilt. The gift he had bought her was unbelievable, but in truth she would have just preferred to hear him tell her he loved her. Those thoughts – all thoughts, in fact – quickly began to fade though, as Lianna felt Joseph’s hands sliding up beneath her shirt to feel her breasts.

“I have missed you so much,” Joseph told Lianna as he pulled her shirt over her head and reached around to unclasp her bra. Taking a breast in his hand, Joseph took the nipple into his mouth. His tongue swirled in circles, his lips pulled it gently, and finally his teeth carefully scraped over it. Hearing Lianna let out a shuddered sigh, Joseph looked up at her face. “I’m sorry, I can’t wait any longer. I have to have you now.” It was so much like what he had told her the first time they were together that it sent chills down Lianna’s spine.

Rising from his lap to allow Joseph to stand, Lianna helped him remove his clothing first without a word. Then Joseph quickly undid Lianna’s jeans and helped her slide out of them. He kissed her once more before turning her around and guiding her to kneel on the couch. It took only a moment for Joseph to move behind Lianna and press into her with one deep thrust, which was accompanied by a groan of relief coming from his lips.

Lianna held onto the back of the couch for support as she felt Joseph pressing into her from behind. His movements were hard and needy, thrusting into her with reckless abandon while his hands ran over her ass. Lianna could feel her body responding to Joseph immediately, the rough movement sending waves of pleasure through her. As she felt Joseph run his fingers down her ass crack to tease the tight hole, Lianna let out a soft moan.

Watching himself move in and out of Lianna, Joseph touched the soft pink hole with his finger. Lianna’s body no longer resisted when his finger dipped inside exploratively, but instead he felt her press back against him. Suddenly, he knew exactly what he wanted. Pulling out of Lianna, he ran his erection, still covered in Lianna’s excitement, up and down over the tight hole. Leaning over, he whispered to Lianna. “I really want to…”

Nervously, Lianna told Joseph he could. She couldn’t believe she was letting him do this, but when it came to Joseph, Lianna had a hard time saying no, especially considering her concerns after finding those pictures. Besides, his finger had become a pleasurable intrusion after some time. Maybe this would-

“Ow, ow, ow,” Lianna bit her lip from saying what she was thinking. Pain ran through her body and she felt herself involuntarily tightening around Joseph’s hardness. He was moving slowly, easing himself in a little bit at a time. When he asked her if she was okay, Lianna just nodded. Her body felt like it was being stretched further than it could go, and the pain was overwhelming. At that moment, Lianna was very glad Joseph could not see her face, because there was no way she could stop her tears.

Finally, Joseph was able to press himself entirely into Lianna, and it felt unbelievable for him. She was so tight and warm, he didn’t even know how long he would be able to last. Pulling back languidly, he pushed back in with one firm stroke this time and heard Lianna make a sound he felt sure was a soft moan. With this encouragement, he began sliding in and out faster, his strokes harder as he held on to Lianna’s hips.

There was pain, real pain that Lianna couldn’t deny, but after a while she started to feel something else. As Joseph thrust into her, she began to feel pleasure as well. When Joseph finally reached down with one hand to begin teasing her wet core, Lianna was actually able to block out most of the discomfort and focus on the delightful feelings that were now also occurring. Each time he was entirely inside her, Lianna couldn’t ignore the momentary sharp sting, but each time he slid back she couldn’t ignore the intense thrill she felt throughout her body.

Dipping two fingers into Lianna’s hot center, Joseph used his thumb to massage her clit. At the same time, he willed himself not to come before her, but considering how amazing it felt to be driving into her tight ass, he didn’t know if that would be possible. Thankfully, he soon felt Lianna’s body beginning to ready itself for her impending orgasm and then he heard her cry out as her muscles tightened around his fingers and cock. It was too much for him; although he had intended to pull out before he came, Joseph couldn’t help it as her canal became even more indescribably tight. He let out a whimper as Lianna’s orgasm milked his erection and his cum spilled inside her.

Gently, Joseph pulled himself from Lianna. “Stay still,” he whispered, reaching over to pick his shirt off the floor. Carefully, he cleaned Lianna up with tender care. “Okay,” Joseph sat down on the couch and pulled on Lianna’s waist. “You can sit now.”

Wincing a little, Lianna sat beside Joseph as he wrapped his arm around her. “Did you enjoy that?” Lianna asked with a touch of nervousness in her voice.

“Of course I did,” Joseph squeezed Lianna’s shoulder and looked at her curiously. “Why would you even ask that? Are you okay, Lianna?”

Blushing, Lianna was embarrassed that Joseph had picked up on her insecurities. “I’m fine,” she told him softly. “I’m sorry if I was acting strange. I guess I just missed you a lot when you were gone, and you didn’t call that often… I suppose I thought that maybe you were getting bored of me…”

His brows furrowed, Joseph frowned. “I didn’t call that often when I was gone because I thought you were busy studying. I assumed that you would call me if you had time to talk, so I just let you be otherwise. But I thought about you the whole time… All I wanted was to be here, like this, with you. But when did you start getting so insecure, Lianna? One of my favorite things about you is that you’ve always seemed comfortable in your own skin.”

Feeling even more embarrassed, Lianna didn’t know how to respond. “I don’t know,” she admitted softly. “I guess it’s just a combination of things… being away from you, not being able to be public with our relationship, that magazine article about you and that teeny-bopper, and…”

“And?” Joseph pressed her to go on.

“I don’t want you to hate me,” Lianna began nervously, wondering if she should tell the truth but deciding she really had to. “But while you were gone, I came over to study. I was looking for a pen – I wasn’t snooping, I swear – and I found some photos…”

Looking completely lost, Joseph shook his head. “What photos?” He glanced around his living room as if he might see something that would clue him in to what Lianna was talking about.

“In your nightstand,” Lianna was humiliated. “There was one of you and Tavian outside the Attack of the Clones premier, and I picked it up to look at it, because I thought it was sweet. And underneath were some other pictures…”

“Oh, Jesus,” Joseph looked like he suddenly remembered what pictures Lianna was talking about. “Lianna, I haven’t thought about those pictures in forever. Do you know what year Attack of the Clones came out?” Lianna shook her head. “It came out in 2002. Three YEARS ago. That’s right around the time we first became popular, just after our first album was released.”

“I didn’t think they were recent pictures,” Lianna tried to explain. “It was just… I mean, you’ve done so much… had so many more experiences than I have… sometimes I just get afraid that you’re going to get tired of me.”

“Okay, let’s go through this one point at a time,” Joseph told Lianna, still squeezing her arm comfortingly. “I told you in the beginning that being with me was going to be difficult at times, but I am sorry about not being able to go public and about that magazine article about that ditzy girl. I wish it hadn’t come to this, but when Frankie sets her mind to something, we all sort of have to fall in line.” Lianna didn’t like this reasoning, but she didn’t say anything. “And regarding my experience… Remember what I told your dickhead of an exboyfriend on our first date? That you were the best lover I ever had? Totally true. You have more emotion and passion when we’re together than any girl I’ve ever been with. Any GIRLS I’ve ever been with. You get lost in ME when we’re having sex, not in my image. I love that.”

I love that, Lianna repeated his words in her head. Not quite an I love you, but it still made her feel good. “I’m sorry,” Lianna rested her head on Joseph’s chest. “I know you’re life’s crazy enough as it is, and you don’t need a wacked-out girlfriend on top of everything. I’ll try to remember all this.”

“Good,” Joseph grinned, kissing the top of her head. “Now come on and get dressed, and I’ll show you the thing I’m second best at – cooking.”

Rising from the couch, Lianna was feeling much better. “Oh, and what is it that you are the very best at?” she smirked, knowing the answer had nothing to do with his musical talent.

“Duh. Fucking.”

Laughing, Lianna began getting dressed. She picked up Joseph’s dirty shirt to throw it in the hamper, her eyes caught the tag. “You cleaned me up with an Armani shirt?!?” she asked incredulously.

“I guess so,” Joseph shrugged, heading towards the kitchen in his jeans, barefoot and without a shirt on. “I never really liked that one anyway.”

Shaking her head, Lianna tried to control the myriad of thoughts flowing through her. He hadn’t said he loved her. He hadn’t said they could go public with their relationship. And he had a completely different concept of money than Lianna would ever have, she realized as she glanced between the dirty $300 shirt and the gorgeous necklace that sat on the coffee table, which probably cost more than $5000. Glancing over towards the kitchen, where Joseph could be seen washing his hands and then pulling various boxes and cans from the cupboards, Lianna let out a little sigh.

Despite all this, I love him, Lianna thought to herself. And he seems to care about me, too. And for now, that’s enough.

-----

Graduation day never seemed to end. The university had made a poor decision to hold the ceremony outdoors. In late May. In New York City. As the temperatures reached into the nineties, the names of thousands of graduates were read off. Finally, things began to come to an end.

“I am sweating like a pig,” Lianna told Eddie in the auditorium after the ceremony was over. “This was a great idea, having an outdoor graduation in a million degree heat while forcing us to wear black polyester robes.”

Laughing, Eddie shook his head. “I didn’t think girls sweated,” he told her. “Don’t you glisten?”

“Ok, I’m glistening like a pig,” Lianna replied.

“Lianna!” Kirsten came running up to her sister excitedly, jumping up to give her a hug. Her curly hair was flying everywhere and her grin was ear-to-ear as she threw her arms around Lianna. “Congrats! Ew, you’re all sweaty.”

“Glisten-y,” Lianna corrected her with a smirk towards Eddie.

“Baby,” Lianna’s mother was walking up at that moment, her eyes glistening with tears of pride and joy. “Oh, Lianna sweety. We’re so proud. Magna cum laude – you didn’t tell us!” Wiping her eyes, her mother reached over to hug her daughter tightly.

“Lianna,” her father followed closely, an equally proud smile on his face. “Oh, congratulations darling.”

“Thank you, Daddy,” Lianna smiled over her mother’s shoulder. Just then, she spotted Joseph behind her father. He was wearing a hat and sunglasses, making sure that this day was all about Lianna and not about him or Broken Dynamite.

“Hey Lianna,” Joseph slipped his arms around her waist after she disentangled herself from her mother. “Congratulations,” he smiled, kissing her softly. “I’m really proud of you. Did you realize you’re all sweaty?”

Laughing, Lianna turned around and saw Eddie standing alone. “Hey everyone,” she said. “This is my friend, Eddie. We’ve been in school together from freshman year. Eddie, this is my mom and dad, my sister Kirsten, and my boyfriend… Joseph.”

Smiling widely, Eddie nodded towards everyone. “It’s really nice to meet you all,” he said. Lianna was eternally grateful that Eddie didn’t let his eyes rest on Joseph any longer than any other person in her family, considering that he knew who Joseph was and what was going on in the media regarding their relationship. “Listen, I should really go try to find my own parents. We’re from a tiny town in Ohio, and it’s likely my father has already been mugged, auditioned for a Broadway play and possibly been convinced to dress as a transvestite by a pimp, which he would do simply out of his old-fashioned manners. But once again, it was nice to meet you all. And Lianna, congratulations… Hopefully, we’ll run into each other again soon.”

“I’ll make sure we do,” Lianna told Eddie as she hugged him goodbye. “And thanks,” she whispered.

Pulling back, Eddie just grinned and nodded, understanding immediately what Lianna was thanking him for. Within moments, he was lost amongst the throng of people. “He seemed nice,” Joseph said. “Anyway, we should get going. Tavian and Madison are meeting us at seven, and we all need to change first.”

“Meeting us?” Lianna looked confused. “Where are we going? Why are we changing?”

“We have reservations for the Rainbow Room for your celebratory dinner. My treat.”

Her eyes growing wide, Lianna didn’t know what to say. “How did you get reservations for seven people for dinner at the Rainbow Room on a Saturday night during graduation season?”

“I dropped by there earlier this week and asked,” Joseph told her calmly, as if it were no big deal to get reservations with almost no advance notice at the most glamorous restaurant in New York, where regular people had to get reservations month and months in advance.

“Isn’t it awesome?” Kirsten’s eyes were dancing as Lianna turned around to face her sister. “My friends are going to be so jealous when I get back to California! Joseph, do you think there’ll be other… you know, celebrities there? I mean, besides you.”

Watching Joseph and Kirsten talk, Lianna felt dizzy. Her parents were standing by her side, glowing with pride over the honors Lianna had received and over their excitement about dinner in a restaurant they would never have been able to afford to go to themselves. Her younger sister was beaming with enthusiasm as she asked about the possible celebrity-spotting she might do that night. Her kind, generous, handsome boyfriend was his ever-relaxed self, glancing at Lianna every now and then to give her a smile. How did I get here? Lianna wondered to herself. How is all of this happening to me? And why can’t I just enjoy it like any normal person would?

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THANKS AGAIN TO EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN READING AND ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT TAKE THE TIME TO REVIEW. I APOLOGIZE IF THIS WAS A KIND OF BORING CHAPTER, BUT I AM TRYING TO ESTABLISH SOME CHARACTER TRAITS THAT WILL NEED TO BE CLEAR DURING THE REST OF THE CHAPTERS. HOPEFULLY, I’VE DONE ENOUGH OF THAT NOW AND FROM HERE ON IN, THERE WILL BE MORE ACTION AND MORE DRAMA. THANKS AGAIN!
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THANKS TO SPYNX AND COPE FOR POINTING OUT THAT I PUT THE WRONG NAME IN A COUPLE TIMES. I CORRECTED IT NOW. THAT\'LL TEACH ME TO WRITE FOR TWO STORIES IN ONE DAY!