Daylight

Pet’s POV

Wow, I didn’t know exactly why, but I wanted to get out of that hotel bar and back to Joe as soon as I could. What the hell’s wrong with me? I wondered, but the answer popped into my head almost immediately: I wanted, needed, to be with him, because I was in love with him.
Holy shit, this was gonna take some getting used to.

I found Joe on the Madmen’s bus, of course. His face lit up when he saw me. My heart flipped over.
“Hey, luv, you’re back so early!”
I stopped in my tracks. “Is…that bad?” I asked. I was dimly aware of Tom, Glenn and Bryan watching, but I didn’t care.
He smiled wider, if that was possible. “No, Pet, not at all.” He held out a hand. “Walk?”
“Sure,” I agreed. “Just let me go change.”
Joe had reached me within the last few seconds, close enough now to lean and speak softly into my ear. “D’you have to change yer clothes?” His hand rested lightly on my waist.
Yes. Uh, no. “How about just my shoes?”
He looked me in the eye and nodded. We linked hands, oblivious to everything else, and walked silently to my bus, where I went to change into other shoes while Joe waited.
I was a little breathless while I kicked off my nice heels and hunted around for my creepers. Things felt weird all of a sudden; they seemed almost wrong. I couldn’t read the tension in the air, and it scared me a little. I started second-guessing myself, thinking He was smiling at me, so things must be okay, but then wondering Was last night what I thought it was?
I had my answer when I emerged from the bunk area and Joe led me out of the bus, still not saying anything. It was almost full dark, and the day had cooled considerably.
We walked just a little ways out of the well-lit parking lot. Then, while we were walking side by side near the ticket booth, still holding hands, he stopped short and spun me around to face him. Before I could even ask what he was doing, he pulled me into his arms. I gasped as I collided with his body, and then he kissed me, hard.
Oh holy shit…seriously? was all I could think as we kissed, many many times, the world and my head spinning. Actually, we were spinning; I think he’d wanted to back me up to a nearby wall, which was covered with bugs, so I guess he changed his mind.
I was grateful just to hang on to Joe, the rest of the world fading away.

Joe’s POV

I hadn’t meant to be rough with Pet, I really hadn’t, but it was bloody awful, being apart; then when I saw her, I couldn’t hold meself back any more. I just wanted her alone with me, and I knew we’d not get privacy anywhere else.
I didn’t know I could miss her so bloody much in just a few hours.
I pulled her so close, so fast, that I felt her gasping, but I just couldn’t stop meself. Her lips opened under mine, and I dove in, dizzy, fucking insane with want all of a sudden. My eyes flicked open for a moment, tryin’ to find summat flat to stand up against, but we were at the ticket booth, and what I could see of the nearest wall was revoltin’.
What the fuck was I doin’? Bloody hell, who knows? I wanted a couch, a bed, a door with a lock. Was that too much to ask?
Pet yanked on me hair unexpectedly, bringin’ me back to me senses somewhat. I pulled away from her just enough to see her face in the dim lamplight.
“What?” I managed to ask.
“That was…wow,” she said when she’d finally caught her breath. “But, uh, what’s up? I mean, why drag me all the way out here? We could’ve….”
“I wanted privacy,” I hissed.
“Our bus has that big extra bunk in the back, and nobody’s using it tonight,” she remarked.
“Well, why didn’t yeh tell me?”
She looked annoyed. “You didn’t ask. I thought you wanted to go for a walk, and then you started…molesting me,” she muttered, drawing away with her arms crossed over her chest.
I felt bad. “Shit, I’m sorry, Pet,” I apologised. “I never meant….”
She waved a hand at me. “Hey, honestly? I wanted you to do that as much as you wanted to, okay?” she remarked, laughing. “I mean, we didn’t quite get to even that much last night, did we?”
I looked round myself. She was talking to me. “I have a question, luv.”
Pet cocked her head and waited.
I smiled wide. “Who are you, and what’ve yeh done with Petula?”
She moved back in closer to me, runnin’ her hands up my chest, smiling just a bit. “Who’s Petula?”
I shook me head and closed my eyes just before she kissed me. Her hands went back up into my hair; her mouth opened to me. I teased her tongue with mine, feeling her moan as she pressed into me again. God, she felt so good, so soft; her mouth tasted so bloody sweet….
This was fucking torture. With an effort, I pulled away, gently now. “Your bus, then?” I whispered in a shaky voice.
Pet just nodded.
“What if…your mates are around, luv?”
She looked up at me from under those gorgeous lashes. I wished the light was better; I wanted to see her expression. “I don’t care,” she whispered back. “I’m over it.”
“Right,” I said hastily, not wantin’ to wait, hopin’ she wouldn’t change her mind. “On the way.”

Pet’s POV

We made it back to the bus in record time, running up the steps and towards the back lounge with the big bed. We were met by Tia in her nightshirt, apparently on her way to the bathroom.
“Where’d you two come from?” she hissed.
I just looked at her. “Fine, don’t answer me,” she mumbled, already walking away. I wove my fingers into Joe’s and pulled him down the hall.
“What if they hear…?” he started to ask, but I didn’t let him finish.
“I told you, I don’t care,” I replied, putting a finger on his lips. He smiled and took my hand with his, turning it over gently, kissing the palm and the tips of my fingers. Oh shit. Just seeing that made my heart beat faster.
We got to the back lounge and shut the door carefully. I kicked off my shoes and sat on the bed, waiting for Joe to join me.
He was acting a little strangely, just kind of prowling around.
I patted the bed beside me. “Come sit,” I said. He did, but all of a sudden his body language was tentative, reluctant.
“Something wrong?” I asked softly.
He shrugged. “Can I tell yeh somethin’, luv?”
“Sure.”
He hesitated before answering. “Sometimes…I dunno what to do.”
“What’s that mean?”
He stood up abruptly. “So many things…I want you, y’know?”
I smiled. “I want you too,” I answered.
“But I don’t want it to be all that, y’know?” he continued. “Because I love you.”
“I know. I love you.”
He sighed; it was a frustrated sound. “Pet, I dunno if I’ve ever felt this way,” he admitted.
I held my hand out to him. “You know this is new to me,” I reminded him. “What’s the difference?”
He sank down next to me again. “I just…wanna make you happy.”
I laid my head on his shoulder, wrapping an arm around his waist. “You do already.”
Instead of answering, he just turned his head and kissed me.

I know it’s gonna sound weird, but something felt different already, right in that kiss; I could feel it. I couldn’t express it then, and I’m not sure I can make sense of it now. But it was like everything that happened from then on would be more that I could’ve expected.
I mean, I was scared, sure; inexperienced, absolutely. But there was something else moving around the edges of those facts, something unknown, just out of focus. It was there in the way Joe brushed the hair away from my face; in the way he watched me while he moved his hands to the front of my jacket, a question in his eyes.
I nodded slightly, and he started to unbutton my jacket with shaky hands. I had to remind myself to breathe, watching his fingers move slowly down, exposing me little by little. Once my jacket was undone, he slid it off my arms and laid it carefully over the single chair in the room. He reached around then and unzipped my skirt, still watching my face. Joe held out a hand and helped me stand up, and I stepped out of the skirt. He picked it up and layered it over the jacket. I was now wearing just a lace-trimmed slip and panties underneath (I hate pantyhose).
When I sat down again, Joe leaned over for another kiss. His mouth was warm, his lips soft, his tongue hot and teasing. His hands came up to my shoulders, and I half expected him to push down the slip, but he didn’t. Instead he laid me gently back on the bed and knelt up next to me.
“Joe, what…?” I whispered, but he laid a finger on my mouth.
“Shush,” he whispered back. “Relax, Pet, I just…I just wanna look at you.”
I smiled faintly. “You can’t see all of me, not yet.”
“I don’t need to see all of you to look at you,” he murmured with a serious look on his face. I shivered a little and closed my eyes as he very gently began touching me, starting with my hair and slowly, slowly working his way downwards. I tried to relax as his fingers stroked my neck and collarbone, which of course was damn near impossible.
“What do you want me to do?” I whispered.
“You don’t have to do anything,” he replied softly.
I wanted to lean into his touch, to touch him too, but I was still too shy, and just stayed as still as I could. Then he ran his hands along my arms and down my sides, which started out feeling great, but finally became almost unbearably ticklish.
I squirmed a little and a giggle escaped.
“Sorry,” Joe chuckled. “I’ll have to be more careful.”
I felt the bed shift and opened my eyes again. Joe was standing up, taking off his shirt and loosening his belt. I sat up partway, leaning on my elbows. “You alright?” I wondered.
“Uh, yeah,” he muttered, engrossed in getting his jeans off without crashing to the floor. He looked up at me, and I guess I must’ve looked doubtful, because he went on, “Pet, I’m not gonna attack yeh or nothin’, I’m just…gettin’ more comfortable, yeh know?”
“Yeah, I figured,” I answered, watching him. “But, uh, don’t you wanna…?”
He sat down and pulled off his jeans. “You know I do, luv.”
“So, uh…why not now, tonight?”
He smiled at me. “Eager, are we?”
I shrugged, suddenly embarrassed.
He leaned in close. “Because, now, tonight, isn’t the time, and here…isn’t the place.” He stretched out beside me. “But I wanna be close to you, and till we have some time alone again, this is the next best thing.” He kissed me lightly and pulled back before I could respond. “That sound alright, Pet?”
“Just to sleep?” For some reason I was having trouble wrapping my brain around the whole concept. I mean, I could see the hard outline of him underneath his boxers; I thought I knew how excited he must be.
“Yeah, just that,” he replied, amused. “Unless, of course, yeh think ya can’t control yourself.”
Truth? I was burning up wanting him; again, a totally new experience for me. But I figured if he could do this, then I could too.
I smiled back at him. “Okay, but I’m not making any promises.”
Joe pulled me closer and edged the sheet up over us partway. “That’s my girl,” he murmured, kissing me again.
He was asleep in a couple of minutes. It took me a lot longer to relax, wondering what everyone else on the bus would think; but then I realized what I’d told him earlier was true: I really didn’t care anymore.
I fell asleep smiling.