Three times. Becca couldn’t believe it. She hadn’t had sex three times in one night in a long time. Maybe not since she’d last been with Josh.  She was still flushed as she got into the rental car that morning and drove to the auditorium for rehearsal. She almost didn’t want to leave him that morning. He had woken up just as she was getting out of bed to get dressed. He’d tried to coax her back in bed with him, but she had to turn him away or else she knew she’d never leave. Her head was cloudy. Her heart thumped against her chest. When she thought about him, she couldn’t help but smile to herself. He had told her so many times throughout their lovemaking that she was it, she was the one, that it would always be her. Their bodies intertwined so easily together and Josh knew exactly what to do to make her go crazy. It was all she could think about. And she knew she wanted more. Maybe it was time. Maybe she was ready to give it another chance.

Maybe.

When she pulled into the parking lot, she heard a shrill “ding” from her cell phone. She pulled it out and saw that Josh had sent her a text message.

You were incredible.

Becca smiled and quickly responded after she had parked.

So were you. And three times. We’re impressive ;)

She got out of the car and began the trek to the backstage door. She saw Joey a few steps ahead of her and he turned around after she called his name. As soon as he turned around, her phone beeped again.

It’s easy when you say my name like you do. Sexy. So sexy. I want you so bad right now.

“Hey, Becca!” Joey waved at her and waited until she joined him before he started walking towards the building again. “So, I heard Josh flew in last night. Is everything going okay? No fighting yet or anything?” Joey was partly teasing, but in all actuality, he was interested to know if they’d managed to be civilized.

Little did he know.

Becca felt instantly turned on by Josh’s message and suddenly all she wanted to do was run back home and do it all over again. She gathered herself together as best she could and smiled at Joey, “Yeah, he did. Everything’s fine. We’re really getting along.”

Josh texted her again, before she had a chance to respond.

 What are you wearing?

Becca had to laugh out loud at that. Was he serious? She then remembered their phone conversation and wondered if he was going to be texting her dirty messages all day long during rehearsal. If that were the case, by the time she came home, she knew she’d hardly be able to stand it.

Jeans, an orange cardigan, and beige flats. So not that sexy.

Joey eyed her and saw that she kept turning red in the face. “Whatcha got there, Becca?” he pointed to her phone and raised an eyebrow.

“Huh?” Becca looked up after sending her last text. “This? Oh, um, I was just texting Josh about what time Kelly would be there to get Dylan,” she cleared her throat, then nearly tripped over herself when she saw the next text that came in.

Not in my head you’re not. If you were here with me, you’d be in nothing but my sheets and me on top of you.

She let out a breath and tried to continue talking to Joey as though she weren’t in the middle of what was turning into being a very hot conversation with Josh. She knew she probably should quit for right now, especially because there were still some things she wanted to talk to him about when they got home. Though, judging from this conversation, she wouldn’t be able to talk to him about anything because as soon as she walked in the door, Becca knew that all she’d want to do was go back upstairs to his bedroom and lock the door.

Still she couldn’t resist.

I want that, too.

I’ll be careful. I won’t rip the cardigan off of you. I’ll just be sure to get every button undone before I throw you on the bed.

What about my jeans?

Might not be as careful with them. They’ve got what I want underneath.

“Becca?”

“Huh? What?” Becca looked up at Joey who was standing next to her dressing room. She hadn’t even remembered walking inside and knew she had to put her phone away.

“Um, just who are you really texting? Your face is all flushed and you’re sweating,” Joey smirked at her, then covered his mouth with his hand. “Wait a minute, are you and Josh still talking? Are you being dirty?” Becca tried to say something but her voice was caught in her throat. “Wow. Way to be, Becca. I didn’t think you had it in you!”

She sighed and rolled her eyes, knowing she was defeated and couldn’t think of anything to tell Joey otherwise. “We’re getting along now. Let’s just say better than we have in a long time,” she walked ahead of him into her dressing room, Joey fast on her heels.

“What does that mean?” he took a seat in one of her make-up chairs and began swiveling it back and forth, just to be even more obnoxious with her.

“It means-“ Becca sighed again and looked down at her phone, seeing another text come in.

I want to be inside of you so bad right now.

She bit her lip and tried to hide her smirk, then went back to Joey’s question. “It means that we’re starting over. I think. Or at least we did last night.” Becca paused, “Three times.” She had to tell someone. Joey seemed to be a fan of them getting back together, so blurting it out like she had probably would make his day even better.

“Three times?! Damn, Becca! How are you still standing?” Joey chuckled.

“I honestly don’t know. I also don’t know how the hell I’m going to concentrate today,” she told him, going back to her messages and responding to Josh.

That would feel so good, baby.

“Turning your phone off might help,” Joey motioned toward her cell phone, which looked like a permanent fixture in her hand. She was holding onto it so tight that her knuckles were turning white.

I love watching you when you come.

Becca actually gasped at that text and felt her insides go numb. Joey was probably right. Turning her phone off was going to be key if she was ever going to get through today. But how was she going to end this? It was like stopping in the middle of sex right before the climaxes hit and she knew good and well that Josh was enjoying himself very much.

“I will,” she cleared her throat and put her phone down, then looked at Joey. “I have to talk to him tonight. I need to know what this is all gonna be about.”

“You can’t judge that, you know,” Joey told her, still swiveling in the chair but at a slower pace. “No one knows what a relationship will end like. But it’s a chance you have to take.” Joey knew he’d told Kelly he wouldn’t get involved but now he felt like he had to say something. “Becca, you know what I think? I think you and Josh haven’t worked because you’ve never been in the same place for more than a week. And now, here you are, living in his house no less, and I bet if you asked him, he’d stay as long as you were doing the show. I just think that’s the only way you’re gonna know.”

Becca was silent. Her phone beeped again. She looked down at it and saw Josh’s next message.

Tell me what you want me to do to you. I’ll do anything, baby. I just want you so bad.

“Hang on,” she told Joey, then quickly responded again.

I don’t want to leave you hanging b/c I’m really enjoying this. But I have to get on stage soon. Let’s talk when I get home, okay? xoxo ;)

She looked at Joey, “He just was so jealous with me back then. And when I got pregnant he got so possessive and all we did was fight right after Dylan was born. It just scares me, Joey. I don’t want our daughter to be more confused than she is.”

“Josh had a lot of growing up to do. He was cheated on by all of his girlfriends before he found you. And Dylan’s four. When she’s old enough, you’ll be able to explain to her,” Joey stood and went over to give Becca a hug. “I’m going to call Kelly and tell her to keep Dylan for the night. Sounds like you and Josh have some major catching up to do.” He turned and left her in her dressing room, then pulled out his cell phone and began to type to Josh.

Talked to Becca. We’re keeping Dylan tonight. Dude, you better do something romantic and fun. You’re right on the verge of getting her back!

Josh got Joey’s text right after he’d read Becca’s. To Becca’s he said:

We’ll definitely talk. See you later, sexy.

And to Joey’s he responded:

Thanks for the heads up. And thanks for taking Dylan. Hope it will all work out.

And then he set himself on a huge task of getting things ready. He showered and shaved, dressed, and drove to a gourmet grocery store near his neighborhood. He bought two dozen roses, fresh pasta, all the ingredients for homemade Alfredo sauce, three bottles of the most expensive Chardonnay he could find, and a fresh baguette of bread. When he got home, he put one set of roses in a vase on the table in the kitchen and then went upstairs and made the bed, before he carefully plucked petals off of the other dozen and spread them all over the bed and the floor.

He made sure the house was exceptionally spotless, then went into his office and dug through old cds, finding a few random ones with songs he knew Becca had always liked along with Bryan McKnight’s Back at One, the one album they would always play when they were together. He dug through filing cabinets until he found the one picture that was his favorite, other than the one still framed by his bed. This one was the first picture they’d ever taken together. It was the second time they’d ever seen each other and Becca had flown to Chicago to see the band perform and spend the weekend with her new boyfriend. They’d gone on a riverboat cruise on his day off and a random person had snapped it of them. Josh had his arm around her shoulder and Becca was hugging his waist. His head was tilted on top of hers and they were both smiling big. He liked it because it was when he realized that Becca Sebastian was like no other woman he’d ever dated.

“So, do you always take your dates on riverboat cruises in Chicago?” she teased him, as they boarded the boat

“No. Do you always fly hundreds of miles to go on a date?” he teased her back, and took her hand, linking it through his own.

“Not unless I really like them,” Becca looked up at him and gave him a flirtatious grin, then pulled his arm towards the stairs. “Let’s go up top.” He followed her up the small flight of stairs and was surprised to see all of the seats empty, except for one or two.

They sat down on the end of the last row and Josh put his arm around her shoulder. The boat began to pull out of the dock and Becca leaned into him, neither of them paying attention to the tour guide, who had started his spiel on “Historic Chicago.” Josh couldn’t help but breathe in her scent. It was fresh and clean and sexy all at once. He pulled her closer to him and she looked up at him and smiled. And then, he couldn’t help it. He leaned down and gently kissed her lips, then pulled away, a little embarrassed.

“Why’d you stop?” Becca touched his face with her thumb, running it across his jawline.

“I didn’t know if you kissed on the first date,” he answered her, moving a strand of hair away from her face, then leaning down again. “But if you don’t want me to stop…”

“I definitely don’t want you to stop,” she whispered, and kissed him back. “And this is our second date, technically. I counted the Four Seasons as our first.”

“True,” he mumbled, sliding his tongue into her mouth and suddenly wishing they weren’t on a boat. “I like kissing you.”

“Then shut up and stop talking about it,” Becca was teasing him and he knew it, which made them both start laughing.

Josh shook himself out of his daydream of the past. He stood to his feet, picture in hand, and went downstairs to place it next to the roses. He hoped this talk would go well. It had to. Last night had been over the top. Becca was the only one who could ever do what she’d done to him. And that morning with the text messages….well, he’d felt it all over again. He’d saved them and read them off and on all day, hoping that when she walked in the door he wouldn’t grab her and head for the bedroom. He knew they had to talk. It needed to be done. There was no sense in blurring the line even more than it already was.

At five-thirty, Josh double-checked everything. Music was playing in the background in and outside, candles were lit around the pool, the lights were dimmed and dinner was warming in the oven. She’d be home any minute and he couldn’t wait to see her face when she walked in the door.

Becca was nervous. She was nervous because she knew when she got back to Josh’s house, all she’d want to do was grab him and let him have his way with her. All day she had tried desperately to stay in character, but all she could think about was the text messages and the fact that they had that house all to themselves. And of course the dreaded talk that had to come first. It had to. They needed to define what this was. Because if it was nothing more than a little fling, Becca knew she didn’t want to stay in it. She wanted it to be a long time, if not forever. And the way he had loved her last night was almost more than she’d ever felt from him. He was the best. In every possible sense of the word.

She opened the door and there he was, standing next to the staircase. He wore blue shorts that hit his knees and a white undershirt. He smiled softly at her as she turned and locked the door. Her heart was racing. He was there. Josh was right in front of her. The man she’d thought of all day and nothing else. She walked towards him and suddenly didn’t care anymore about anything else.

“Take me upstairs,” she whispered to him, and Josh picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

“Do you want dinner?” he asked between kisses.

“I want you,” she breathed huskily in his ear. “You’re all I thought about all day. I could barely concentrate on anything else.”

“Good,” he opened the door to his bedroom and walked her to his bed, pouncing on top of her as they landed. He slowly and deliberately discarded her top, one button at a time. She propped on her elbows as he took her bra off and leaned back as he went for her jeans next. She watched him eyeing her panties and she shook her hair off of her shoulders and sucked in her breath and he went for them next.

“Josh,” she moaned, feeling his lips on her stomach.

“I haven’t even gotten there yet,” he chuckled, sucking on her skin.

“I know but I’ve been waiting for this all day, baby,” she said, as his hands caressed her legs, then her thighs.

He loved hearing her moan. It turned him on even more than he already was. He felt her writhe beneath him and looked up at her face to watch her enjoying it all. She grabbed at his hair and groaned in ecstasy. He was all she wanted. This was all she wanted. And they’d only just begun.

“Josh. Josh, don’t stop,” she could barely get his name out because of the intensity of it all. He watched her as her hands grasped for the sheets, clutching them for dear life until her body stopped shaking. He crawled slowly back up to her.

“Was that okay?” he grabbed her hands and held them above her head. “Because it’s about to get even better.”

Becca didn’t think anything could be any better than what had happened the night before. But sure enough, Josh surprised her. He started off slow, calculating each movement inside of her so it felt. Then he began to gain momentum and soon Becca was forced to call out for him again. She watched his face as he moved above her and he was so intense when he finished that he had to grab the headboard above him.

Becca lay there in a high not able to move. She felt herself still twitching and Josh had collapsed next to her, his breathing fitful and uneven as though he’d just run a marathon and couldn’t catch his breath. She reached over and played with a curl that was sticking out on top of his head. He always sweated when they made love and now had been no exception. He found the strength to move next to her and neither of them said anything for a while.

“Becca,” Josh finally spoke.

“Hm,” her eyes were closed and she was running her hand lazily through his hair.

“Becca, I love you. I never stopped,” he told her. “And I don’t’ want to be a part from you anymore.”

She opened her eyes and shifted to her side to face him. “Stay with me. Stay with me and Dylan in your house until the show is over. Then we’ll know.” How she found the practicality to state that, she’d never know.

“I was already going to tell you I wasn’t leaving,” Josh pulled her to him and Becca closed her eyes again, reveling once more in what had just happened.

Later on, after they’d enjoyed dinner together and a few more walks down memory lane with other pictures Josh had around the house, they went outside and sat down by the pool. Becca couldn’t remember a more perfect night with him. She looked over at him and he smiled, then started laughing at her when she stood and took off her clothes, throwing them to the side and jumping in the pool.

“Remember when we skinny dipped in here?” she reminded him. “Come in here with me!”

Josh stripped as quickly as he could and followed suit. He went to grab Becca but she ducked under water and swam away. She popped up again and looked behind her at the cave that led to all those little coves. Then she turned back to Josh and raised both eyebrows in a flirty manner. Josh went after her and she swam from him again, until he finally caught up with her and drew her once more into his arms.

“Josh,” Becca said between kisses. “I just need to know something.”

“What?” he pushed her hair out of the way and began to taste the skin on her neck.

She pulled away and looked at him. “You’re not, I mean, you’re not jealous like you were, right? I mean, if I were to have friends who were males, you wouldn’t react like you did with Nick, right?”

Josh rolled his eyes. “No, because those guys probably wouldn’t be all over you like he was,”

“He was never all over me, Josh,” Becca had to laugh at him.

“Well, whatever. No, I won’t be jealous. Is that what’s kept you away from me for the last five years?” he kissed her lips and then parted them with his tongue.

“No,” Becca answered but she wasn’t sure if that was it or not. “We just seem to always fight.”

“We won’t fight anymore,” Josh gently touched her breast and Becca shivered against him.

“We’ll fight. That’s what we do best,” she was being backed into the cave wall, Josh was hardly paying attention to what she was saying.

He sighed and looked at her, “Becca, I’m trying to seduce you and you’re ruining it. And I think you know that after last night and today, fighting is certainly not what we do best.”

Becca was getting frustrated. They needed to have this talk and while all the sex was nice and him pleasing her like he was about to do right now was making her crazy, she wanted to talk everything out now.

“Josh, we need to talk about this. If we’re getting back together, then we need to figure out why the hell we always end up fighting!” she was exasperated all of the sudden and Josh looked at her in surprise. “I just need to know we’re not making a huge mistake. I don’t want Dylan to get hurt. I would die if she got hurt because of us!”

“Becca, you know this is a risk. But it’s a risk I want to take. I have to take it because you and Dylan mean more to me than anything else in the world. I’m not going to be a jerk this time and we’ve both grown up. But you’ve got to take a chance on this or else we’ll never find out,” he went over to her again and she looked at him, not knowing what to think at first.

“Okay,” she finally said. “Okay, then we’re going to do this. We’re going to be a couple again and figure all of that out.”

Josh leaned in to kiss her, not noticing the look of hesitancy all over Becca’s face.