“Yeah,” she replied softly, slowly breathing in, “you’re on your own with that one.” A smile formed on her lips as she titled her head slightly to look up at him. God, he was so attractive. How had she been so blind? Jane knew that most girls followed a set of unspoken rules when it came to intimacy with another person. One kiss on the first date was acceptable. [i]Maybe[/i] further by the fifth. Never have sex with him unless he asks you to be his girlfriend. Don’t be “easy.” She viewed such ideals as completely trite and traditional. Plus, most of these rules, in her mind, never applied to the situations she found herself in. Especially with Rob. They weren’t dating. They hadn’t just met. They weren’t learning new things about each other or getting to know one another. Officially, after Jane’s admission of her feelings the night before, Rob knew everything about her. Everyone who had touched her. All of the fucked up things she had done to people in the past. Her mother’s alcoholism. The fact that she felt so painfully alone growing up. Her odd habits, like saying “uh” too much when she tried to explain herself, or how she puked when she was nervous. In a both frightening and comforting revelation in that very moment, Jane realized – metaphorically – that she was completely naked with no way to hide from Rob now. She couldn’t pretend to be the soulless, carefree person that everyone thought she was. He was a both a strength and a weakness. Jane’s mouth moved to his chest and gently began to kiss him, inching up to his neck, ear lobe, and finally, his lips. It all felt so strange, that she was here in a moment with him, her best friend for years, but that didn’t stop her from acting on her desires. Vocalizing her feelings were never Jane’s forte. Probably never would be. But, what was happening now – this was her talent. Her arena. Her hands relocated to his neck, her thumbs slipping up in front of his ears, and the other fingers back into his hair, and she pulled him closer to her as she kissed him, eventually guiding him over her. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The sun peaking in from the window was causing Jane’s bare body to glisten in the light as Rob began to remove himself from her bed, and it was still riding a wave from what had taken place moments before. She couldn’t help but nearly giggle as Rob attempted to piece together words that accurately described what was happening, mainly because it reminded her of herself and her horrendous way with words. But the feeling of laughing stopped as he leaned down to kiss her again, once again lighting all of her nerve endings on fire, and her thoughts turned back to the morning they had spent together. The easy part, at least for Jane, was the physical aspect of the situation they were in. Saying that she was pleasantly surprised with Rob keeping up with her was an understatement, and Jane couldn’t imagine her getting sick of his body anytime soon, but the moments when they weren’t in bed together were the ones she feared the most. Would he expect her to be all over him? To act differently than she normally did? To call him “babe” or hold his hand? He would never expect that of her, right? If he had these feelings for the true, real Jane, than he knew that all of the things most people expect out of a bond like this weren’t in her nature, but logic couldn't keep the doubts from creeping up her spine. Without bothering to get dressed first, she made her way to the bathroom to take a quick shower, letting the hot stream of water hit her back before she did anything else. She sighed at the pleasurable feeling, and her eyes lingered on the marks Rob’s hands had left on her wrists. It made her smirk in delight. After doing a final sweep of her room and getting dressed, she made her way to Rob in the living room and dropped her bag on the floor before her phone vibrated in her back pocket. Jane: [b]Hey.[/b] Austin: [b]Yo, we’re meeting in the lobby in 10.[/b] Jane: [b]Got it.[/b] She dropped the phone down into the back and focused her attention on the man in front of her. She inched towards him and gently sat down on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Hey,” her raspy voice whispered. “We gotta be downstairs in 10.” They were playing two shows that day. An early set in Philly, then a late set in Cleveland. A busy day of performing and driving. “I’m, uh, I’m not concerned about the guys knowing,” she admitted, as her eyes, only inches from his, peered at him. “I just don’t want you to get upset if I’m not climbing all over you today.” She sighed as she heard what came out of her mouth, and her eyes looked away from his as she positioned her body to be cradled by him, her face resting in the crook of his neck. “Fuck. I didn't mean it to come out like that. I [i]will[/i] be climbing all over you after our set tonight,” Jane whispered as she pressed a kiss into his neck. "You know I suck at all of this shit." Jesus, what was happening to her? She cleared her throat and sat up stretching. “Let’s go, yeah?” ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hey," Jane greeted Austin through her round-framed sunglasses as she entered the lobby. Austin smirked. "Hey." Before he could ask any questions, the van pulled up in the loop outside of the automatic doors. "Here we go," she mumbled to herself, grunting as she repositioned the large bag on her back, and climbed into the van with the others. She took a seat in the very back of the van and wedged herself in a corner. She was already tired, and only a half an hour after they had taken off for Philadelphia, she had drifted off as her earbuds played [url=http://youtu.be/78aQ6gcsphA]Dead Golden West by Anywhere[/url]. An hour later, she woke up to see her legs laying on Rob's lap as he sat next to her. He emotions she abandoned in her sleep came flooding back to her at once, and almost immediately, they were making her panic. Jane found herself wanting to [i]hold[/i] him, to feel his arms around her, not even in a sensual way. It was as if she missed the feeling already. Like it had been days since the morning. And it was a sensation she wasn't fond of. [i]"You're becoming soft, Jane. Vulnerable. Lame. Idiotic."[/i] She shook the thoughts from her head instead of acting on them and remained where she was. "How much longer?" she called out to anyone that would answer. "About half an hour," Austin replied as he popped his head up from the seat in front of them. "Nice of you to join us, J. Why are [i]you[/i] so tired?" Jane swung her leg from Rob's lap and kicked the seat. "Shut up." She was painfully sober, and a half an hour from stopping sounded like a day away. [i]"Once you have a beer or two in you, you'll feel normal again."[/i]