As Rob worked on dinner for the both of them, Jane sat on the counter next to the stove and focused intently on the joint she was rolling. Not only did she not enjoy preparing food, she had no idea on how to do anything productive in the kitchen, so she left it up to him, asking him every once in a while if he needed any help, or laughing when something accidentally spilled on the counter.

The energy between them was the best it had been for weeks, and although they had unfinished business to attend to, the mood in the room was too good for her to think about it. All that was on her mind was the rest of her night with Rob and the joint she was putting the final touches on. Not even the mystery surrounding his and Zoe’s connection was getting her down.

Once he was done, Jane helped Rob bring everything to the small glass dining table, then grabbed two beers from the fridge for them and sat down. “Thanks for all this,” Jane smiled as she scooted herself in and began to eat the meal he had prepared for them. It was a sweet gesture, especially knowing that they had unlimited access to the city and everything it had to offer.

[center]*****[/center]

The television across from  the king sized bed illuminated the dark room as Jane laid on Rob’s chest and puffed on the joint before passing it to him. They had been laying together in silence, possibly for an hour or so, but it wasn’t the awkward type that they had grown accustomed to.

This silence was one of contentment. Nothing needed to be said to one another.

After it was passed, Jane groaned as she nuzzled up to him and closed her eyes. It was going to be difficult to return to sleeping on the bus with the others, or having to deal with the other relationships that they had started with Vicarious. Although Jane said that they shouldn’t deal with their issues that night, the anticipation of what was to come was starting to plague her thoughts.

Rob, based on what he told her earlier, still seemed to want to be with Jane, which provided her with a great sense of relief.  But, was the current state of their relationship to change? Would they still see other people? After a night like this, would they experience the friction they were before?

Jane sighed, then pressed a kiss into Rob’s neck gently without opening her eyes. Once her head returned to his chest, she spoke quietly. “This is nice.” Her voice was gravelly and lazy, which wasn’t out of the usual. “The bunks are gonna feel like shit tomorrow.”

Her fingers grazed his stomach lightly as she focused her eyes back onto the movie that was playing, although her mind was still elsewhere.

What if they decided that being together in a romantic way wouldn’t work for now? Would Jane be able to be on tour with him if they broke up? Or even worse, what if Rob, if he hadn’t already, started to develop feelings for Zoe? Even she could see the appeal – she wasn’t in the limelight, she seemed to be relaxed, and she definitely wouldn’t fall into the ‘wild’ category like Jane did. 

The more Jane thought about it, the more she felt herself becoming anxious, so she took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut for a momentarily, as if it would clear all of the negative thoughts from her head. And it didn’t work. 

Jane needed to distract herself somehow before she pushed herself into an emotional breakdown. 

“Hey,” she whispered as she rolled herself onto her stomach with Rob’s arm still under her. “I’m too stoned to pay attention,” she laughed as she nodded her head toward the TV. Her eyes lingered on his face for a few seconds before she grabbed one of his hands and brought it to her face.

The blisters were healing, but they still looked painful, and Jane winced at the sight and mumbled a “Jesus, Rob,” as she examined them. Then, after kissing his palm gently, she moved to his index finger and pressed her lips onto the tip of it as her eyes landed on hers.

It didn’t take much to get Jane in the mood, and in that moment, the adrenaline-like feeling washed through her body, but instead of acting on her feelings, she pressed her face into the pillow next to Rob’s and groaned.

“Do I need to go to meetings or something?” she asked rhetorically, her voice muffled by the down pillow. If Jane’s inability to control herself physically wasn’t bad enough, it seemed to be even worse around Rob. The fact that she was falling more and more in love with him as the days passed wasn’t helping either. 

“I’m sorry I’m like this,” she spoke again with her face still in the pillow. “I’m sorry I can’t sit still anymore. And that this tour has made everything between us so weird. And that I’m emotionally unavailable most of the time, and…” her voice cracked as she began to feel tears rush to her eyes. 

[i]”Stop it, Jane. Don’t fucking cry.”[/i]

Jane picked up her head and turned her face away from Rob as she worked to control her emotions. “I must be PMSing or something,” she mumbled in an attempt to downplay what was happening inside of her. 

When they embarked on the tour, Jane was confident in who she was. Now, part of her desperately wanted to change, to try to open up more, to try to get by on something other than physical pleasure and getting high. But, at this point, it was what she was familiar with, and definitely the easier path to take in times like this. 

She began to laugh at herself, and her hand wiped away any tears that may have formed, and once she worked up the courage, she turned to face him. It was almost comical that although both of them had slept with other people within the past twenty-four hours, they were still there together, unconcerned with everything else happening around them. 

“I’m glad we did this.”