Justin paced the living room, his eyes locked on the front door.  He knew that Rylee was probably OK, but he still hated leaving her with Christina like that.  It was amazing the emotional damage those girls could dish out, especially when they were wounded.  He just worried that Christina was going to undo some of the progress that Rylee had worked so hard for.

He did have to stop and smile though, when he thought about how far the two of them had come together.  It made him feel slightly girly, but he loved how it felt when she had confessed that she loved him.

Justin had been through a lot of relationships before, and he had ‘been in love’ a few times too.  Normally, he would’ve run away from a relationship that came with so much baggage and all this drama, but Rylee Jean was different.  He loved the way she laughed, he loved the way she fought for herself, and he loved the way she seemed to fit into his life so well.  It also did hurt that she was sexy as hell and she knew how to get him going, but that was just an added bonus.

He was looking forward to the time when the two of them could just enjoy each other and not have to worry about any of the drama.  Rylee had her own space now, which he was a little relieved about because he didn’t want them to get sick of each other.  He was amazed at how well the studio thing had worked out, and he knew that having her on his team was going to be just fine.

Right now, the only thing that could possibly stand in their way was Christina.  He hoped that Rylee was able to ignore anything that Christina might say and stand up for herself, but he was well aware of how horrible the girl could be.  He was hoping that he didn’t have a lot of damage control to do tonight, because he really just wanted to spend time with his girl.  And maybe get back to what she had started earlier…

He heard a car door slam outside and a moment later the front door opened.  He stopped his pacing and stood still, waiting to see what was going to walk through the door.  Rylee appeared a moment later, looking fine and seemingly unharmed, but he knew that looks could be deceiving.

“So…”  Should he not say anything?  Obviously she had to know he was going to ask, right?

“I’m fine, Justin.”  She gave him a small smile and he relaxed a little, but he still wanted to know what happened.

“Is she still alive?”  He was only half joking when he asked, but Rylee laughed so he knew things must have gone relatively well.

“Yeah, and so am I.”  She threw a bag down in the foyer and made her way into the living room, plopping herself on the nearest couch.  “She tried to apologize for everything and I basically told her to go fuck herself.”

Justin’s eyes widened at the mental image of Rylee bitching out Christina.  It made him smile.  He lifted her legs and sat himself down at the other end of the couch, placing her legs back over his lap.  He tickled at her feet and she playfully kicked at him.

“So…what else went down?”

Rylee picked at her shirt and shrugged her shoulders.  “I think she was looking to fix things, but I just couldn’t.  I really don’t think there would have been any way to have a friendship without always wondering about what we might be capable of doing to each other.”  She paused for a second, “I don’t trust her anymore, and I don’t trust myself with her, either.”

“Are you OK?”  He was worried and it was evident on his face, but Rylee gave him a genuine smile.

“I feel good, Justin.  I feel like I’m really ready to just…live.”  She lifted up and moved so she was straddling his waist.  “And I’m ready to be with you and not worry about whose toes I’m stepping on.”  She planted a deep kiss on his lips and giggled slightly when he sat back with a shocked look on his face.

“Well…”  He licked his lips and smirked.  “I think I’m going to enjoy this.”

He grabbed her by the hips and flipped them so she was lying on the couch and he was on top.

“And I think that we need to pick up where we left off…”  He started to kiss at her neck, but stopped when she pushed at him slightly.  “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing…I just feel really gross from all that moving and the mood was kinda killed when your ex-girlfriend walked in.”  He laughed at her words.

“So what do you suggest?”

Instead of answering, she pushed at his shoulders until he rolled off of her.  She walked back into the foyer and grabbed the bag she had dropped earlier.  “I brought some clothes with me.  I was hoping you might let me take a shower.”

The grin on Justin’s face grew as he made his was over to Rylee and pulled her body into his.  “I can do you one better.”  She raised an eyebrow in question.  “I’ll draw you a bath and all you have to do is get nekkid and I’ll do the rest.  If you want, I’ll even take your clothes off for you, too.”

“Oh baby, you’re just too generous.”  She laughed, moving past him toward the stair case.  “Are you coming?  These clothes are going to come off on their own.”

~*~

Rylee let out a contented sigh as she sat back against Justin’s chest and let his fingers work at the knots in her shoulder.  There was a soft scent of lavender filling the air from all of the bubbles Justin had put in the bath and the water was just the right temperature.  If this wasn’t heaven, she didn’t want to know what was.

“How am I doing?”  He lazily placed a kiss on her neck, enjoying the view of her entire front that wasn’t quite concealed by bubbles.

“Wonderfully.”  Her voice was breathy and he chuckled, a low deep sound that resonated in his chest.

They sat in silence for a little while, just enjoying the heat from the water and the comfort of being together.  After a short while, Rylee asked a question that had been bugging her but she’d previously been afraid to ask.

“What was it like, being with Christina?”  She could feel Justin shift uncomfortable beneath her, but his hands didn’t stop working at her back and shoulders.

“Uhm, well, what do you mean?”

She shrugged.  “I’ve always wondered what attracts guys to me or Christina, because I’ve never met a guy that’s wanted to be with both.  I guess I was curious about why you started dating her.”

“Well, I guess it was all physical, really.  I mean, I met her at the club where she bartended and I thought she was hot and I really only want to get her into bed.”

“But you stayed with her for a while.”  Rylee wasn’t sure why she wanted to know these things, perhaps it was a morbid curiosity. 

“It was easy, and it was the almost all no strings attached for us.  She didn’t want to get serious and neither did I.  Christina isn’t the type of girl guys get serious with, at least not me.”

Rylee let out a slightly bitter laugh.  “Tell that to the two exes that proposed to her.”

“I think that she’s attractive because you know she’s wild and you know she’s going to be fun, and at the same time you hope to be the one to tame her, the one that really gets to stake their claim.  It’s a macho thing, I think.”  He moved his hands from her shoulders and slid them down her sides to her waist, clasping his hands over her stomach.

“No, it’s not just men, I think women do that too.”  She settled back more, letting her head loll to the side and rest in the crook of his neck.  “Why me, then?  I’m nothing like that.”

“That’s just it.  Bring with Christina was fun but it was never something I wanted to last very long.  You, though, you were something else.  That first day you walked into the studio I knew I was in trouble.”

She giggled a little at his comment, knowing that she’d felt exactly the same thing.

“You’re such an amazing person, Rylee, and I was just taken with you.  Physically, mentally, intellectually, musically…you had everything I’d ever looked for in a woman and you’d walked into my studio and knocked me off my feet.  I never wanted to be with Christina, I just wanted to sleep with her.  I wanted to be with you all the time, even when I knew I shouldn’t.”

Rylee turned so she could place a small kiss on his jaw bone, smiling into his skin.  “I’m glad you gave into your curiosity.”

“Me too, Ry, me too.”  He hugged her tighter, relieved that the conversation went well and she didn’t get upset over anything.

“So…”  She smirked, “Whose better in bed?”  Justin let out a cough of air, surprised that she’d actually asked the question.

“Uhm…well…”  How the hell do you answer that without sticking your foot in your mouth or making an ass of yourself?  “Well with you I don’t worry about who else you might be sleeping with at the same time.”  He got a small laugh out of that.

“Except for Trace, because you know how I like to bone him when I get drunk.”  At this Justin did let out a loud, deep laugh.  He was glad that they could make jokes about this, because it was a little awkward that Rylee had slept with Trace and Justin had slept with Christina.  Talk about switching partners.

“You know, Rylee Jean, you are the only person I want in my bed and you have been the only woman that knows how to make me feel so incredible all the time.”

“Good save, lover boy.”  She smiled to herself, content with things and happy at the place she and Justin were in.  Life was good.

Justin stirred the water with his hands a little, watching the steam rise off the surface, moving the bubbles that were slowly disintegrating over them.

“How much longer before you think you’re finished with Haley and the guys?”  Justin knew he probably shouldn’t be bringing up work, but it seemed a better topic than Christina.  Rylee hummed in thought, giving her shoulder a slight shrug.

“I don’t know, we’ve only mastered three songs, so it’ll probably a while.  Why?  Is there a time limit or something?”

“Nope, not really.  I was just thinking…” He trailed off deliberately, smirking when she attempted to turn and look at him.

“Thinking about what?”  She was getting frustrated because he wouldn’t let her turn around and she could tell he was enjoying her curiosity.  “Justin…”  She was close to whining.

“Oh, you know…”  He pulled her shoulders so she was again sitting back against his chest, and his fingers traced patterns across her collar bone and chest.  “I usually take a vacation for a couple weeks, and I was wondering when you would be finished because I would love to take you with me.”

“Vacation? What kind of vacation?”  Her interest was piqued.  A vacation sounded like a very tempting idea.

“Well, perhaps some place warm, or tropical…I was thinking Hawaii.”  This time Rylee succeeded in turning around to face Justin, and he laughed at the sheer delight that rested on her face.  “I’m guessing you like that idea.”

“Like it?  I love it!  The only other places I’ve been is the East Coast, and trust me, Boston is by no means tropical.  Are we really going to Hawaii?”

He nodded his head, “If that’s where you want to go.  We can do whatever you want.  I’ve made sure to clear the studio so there aren’t any more artists scheduled to come in once you’re finished with Paramore.  If Hawaii is where you want to go, I’ll schedule the tickets as soon as I can.”

Rylee situated herself so she was straddling Justin’s waist, the water sloshing in the tub and over the edge, but at this point she really didn’t care.  She grabbed his face, taking a moment to stare into his smiling eyes, and then she planted a kiss on him that was so hard and deep it stole his breath.

“Wow,  If I knew that I was going to get that kind of reaction, I would’ve taken you on a trip a long time ago.”  Rylee blushed, but she didn’t move from her spot.  Instead she pulled him as close as she could and tried as best she could to express her gratitude.  Not just for the trip, but for everything he’d done for her.