Symphony in Blue

by M. J. Duncan

  Dana licked her lips and shook her head. “I want to,” she whispered as her hands closed around Gwen’s hips in a tender hold, pulling her forward. “I want…”

  Gwen’s eyes fluttered shut as she pushed herself up onto her toes and looped her arms around Dana’s neck. Her heart skipped a beat as Dana’s hands tightened around her hips, urging her closer, and then surged forward in an erratic sprint when Dana’s body was finally, finally pressed tightly against her own. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter as she melted into the embrace that was a million times better than the ones that haunted her dreams because this time it was real.

  It was real.

  “God,” Gwen sighed against Dana’s neck as a feeling of rightness settled inside her, so warm and soothing that she never wanted to let go.

  Dana hummed and wrapped her arms around Gwen’s waist. “Yeah,” she agreed softly, her breath tickling Gwen’s ear. She cleared her throat as the sound of Luke and Regan’s voices warned them they wouldn’t be alone for much longer, and tightened her arms around Gwen’s waist one last time before she pulled away.

  Gwen swallowed thickly as she forced her eyes open, and her stomach flipped at the naked emotion she saw swirling in Dana’s eyes. “Dana…”

  “I know.” Dana’s lips quirked in a small, lopsided smile as she nodded. She sighed and looked past Gwen, to where Luke and Regan were having an exaggeratedly loud conversation about which Pentatonix song was their best.

  “Gwen, please tell this idiot that Hallelujah is the best cover Pentatonix has ever put out,” Luke demanded as he appeared from between identical white paneled trucks with Regan hot on his heels.

  “It’s a good one,” Gwen agreed.

  “Good, yes, but it doesn’t come close to their cover of Radioactive that they did with Lindsey Sterling,” Regan argued.

  “I gotta go with Luke on this one,” Dana spoke up, shooting Gwen a sly wink.

  “Okay, you know what?” Regan pointed at Dana, clearly fighting to keep from laughing—a battle she lost a split-second later. “Fine. Whatever. You all suck.”

  “You voted against her too, huh?” Dana asked Brooke.

  Brooke just smiled and shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “So much for loyalty,” Regan grumbled shaking her head. “Anyway, we need to pick up the food I ordered and I want some wine, so we’ll see you guys back at Gwen’s after the concert?”

  Gwen nodded. “Sounds good.”

  Jay kissed Luke on the cheek, and the turned with a smile to do the same to Gwen. “Break a leg, you two.”

  Luke grinned. “Thanks.”

  “Break a leg, guys,” Brooke and Regan chorused, waving as they turned toward the gate.

  Gwen smiled and waved her thanks as the almost hesitant brush of fingertips against her waist drew her attention to the only person she wanted to impress that night.

  “Break a leg,” Dana whispered, her smile so soft and gentle that it took Gwen’s breath away.

  Gwen licked her lips and nodded. “Thank you.”

  Dana nodded and gave Gwen’s wrist a light squeeze. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Okay…” Gwen murmured, her stomach coming alight with butterflies as she watched Dana take a few sideways steps before, shoulders lifting with a heavy breath, she turned toward the gate.

  “You okay?” Luke asked in a low voice.

  “Yeah. I am.” Gwen nodded as she tore her attention away from Dana’s retreating form to look at her friend. She smiled at the concern she saw staring back at her and reached out to give his hand a quick squeeze. “I’m great.”

  “Good.” He threaded their fingers together as they started to make their way back inside. “I was worried Regan pushed you guys a little too far that time.”

  “No.” Gwen shook her head, her lips curling in a gentle smile as she replayed how amazing it had felt to finally, finally hold Dana in her arms. “It was…” She sighed. “Really nice.”

  Luke chuckled and bumped their shoulders together. “Good.”

  THIRTY-EIGHT

  “And we’re in the car by ten,” Luke sighed happily as he climbed into Gwen’s car. Because they were meeting at her house after the concert, he had dropped his car off before the show and they’d carpooled over to make things easier. “I can get used to this.”

  Gwen smiled and nodded. Though they also played for two hours for their regular performances at Walt Disney Concert Hall, when the twenty-minute intermission and the obligatory after-show meet-and-greets were finished, they were lucky to be getting to their cars before midnight. Nights like this—where they were merely the supporting cast and not the main attraction—were a blessing. “Probably better to not get too used to it, though,” she pointed out as she started the engine.

  “Yeah, yeah. I know. Do you think we’ll beat them all back to your place?”

  “The concert was sold out, so who knows.” Gwen glanced over her shoulder as she began backing out of the parking space before focusing on the image from her back-up camera on her dash.

  “Could you believe they got called back for two curtain-calls?”

  “They deserved it. It was a great concert.” Gwen smirked as she finished backing up and shifted into drive. “How pissed do you think Regan was when they came back with Hallelujah again for the final one?”

  Luke cackled and shook his head. “God, that was so fucking awesome. I about died when they announced that.”

  Gwen laughed. “Yeah, I noticed.”

  “Whatever.” He punched open the little storage compartment where Gwen kept the auxiliary cable for her radio. “I made a new playlist today. Wanna hear it?”

  “Go for it,” Gwen said, relaxing in her seat as they inched forward in line toward the exit. Even parking in the premier lot was not enough to assure them a quick getaway. “Is it more dance-pop-type stuff? Dana’s been stealing a lot of songs off those playlists of yours for her swim practices.”

  “Because she’s a smart woman,” Luke drawled. “And, yeah, actually, it is.” He hooked his phone to the radio and opened the music app. “I’ve been trying to find some new songs for our wedding reception playlist.”

  “I still can’t believe you guys aren’t going with an actual band for that.”

  “First of all, you know as well as I do that bands are fucking expensive. Second of all, we just want it to be a big party. If the music is from a CD or whatever, who cares. We just want to have fun with our friends and family and dance until our legs give out.”

  “Oh, I’m sure that’ll happen,” Gwen assured him with a smile as the first song of his latest playlist began. She recognized the song as one Dana had been playing the other day on deck when she went by the pool to meet her for lunch, and bobbed her head with the beat as Luke sang along beside her.

  Once they finally made it out of the parking lot, the trip back to Gwen’s house took only ten minutes, and she smiled when she saw Dana’s Mini parked in her driveway.

  “Damn. That’s impressive,” Luke muttered. “How’d she beat us back?”

  “Honestly? She probably used her handicapped placard,” Gwen guessed, waving at Dana as she edged past her into the garage. “She doesn’t use it often, but when parking’s a bitch like it would’ve been tonight, she doesn’t have a problem taking advantage of it,” she explained as she shifted into park and killed the engine.

  “Oh. That makes sense. You know, I totally forgot she even…” He made a chopping motion at his shin as he picked up his phone. “She’s just Dana, you know?”

  “I know,” Gwen assured him as she opened her door. She smiled at Dana, who was hovering at the mouth of the garage, hands shoved in the front pockets of her slacks. “So, what’d you think of the show?”

  Dana smiled and tilted her head toward her right shoulder as she ambled into the garage. “Eh…”

  “Hey!” Gwen protested with a laugh as she yanked the back door of her car open.

  Dana shook her head, her gaze smoldering as she said, “You kn
ow I always think that you’re amazing.”

  “Yeah, what about me?” Luke demanded playfully as Gwen leaned into the back seat to unbuckle her cello.

  “Passable, I guess,” Dana retorted.

  “Good enough.” Luke shot her a sassy wink as a fresh set of headlights illuminated the garage. “It’s Jay,” he announced as he went to meet his fiancé.

  “Passable,” Gwen chuckled as she pulled the carbon fiber case from the back of the car and stood it on the ground in front of her.

  Dana smirked. “I know you can do it”—she pointed at the cello when Gwen turned around, her smile soft and hopeful—“but can I carry that up to the house for you?”

  “I…” Gwen sighed and swallowed the rest of the refusal that was poised on the tip of her tongue when Dana’s smile faltered. “That’d be wonderful. Thank you.”

  “My pleasure,” Dana murmured as she carefully slipped the straps over her shoulders and adjusted the case so it was comfortable. “Damn, this is heavy.”

  “And that’s one of the lightest cases on the market,” Gwen informed her as she slammed the car door shut. She tilted her head toward the mouth of the garage. “You okay?”

  Dana laughed and nodded. “I could carry you up those stairs on my back right now at a sprint; I think I’ll be okay with this little thing.”

  “There’s no way you could carry me up there,” Gwen argued as she punched the code into the keypad set in the frame to close the garage door.

  Dana’s gaze swept over Gwen’s body and a slow, suggestive smile tugged at her lips when theirs eyes met. “Oh, I totally could.”

  “Totally could, what?” Jay asked.

  “Damn, Gwen!” Luke whistled. “You’re actually letting someone carry your precious cello? Dana Ryan”—Luke winked at Gwen as he dropped to a knee in front of them, right fist held over his heart and head bowed low—“you are my hero.”

  “Shut up,” Gwen muttered, aiming a playful kick at his ass.

  Luke laughed and hopped away from her foot. “Whatever. I’m hungry. How long do you think Regan and Brooke will be?”

  Dana shrugged and motioned for Gwen to lead them up the stairs. “I took one of the disabled spots near the entrance and met them at the ticket window, so I dunno exactly where they ended up parking. I can’t imagine it’d be too much longer, though.”

  “Yeah, I’m totally riding with you next time we all go out, by the way” Luke informed her. “Because that can come in really fucking handy.”

  Gwen smiled at the sound of Dana laughing behind her.

  “You’ll have to fight that one out with Regan,” Dana told him. “Just be warned, she fights dirty.”

  “You know, that doesn’t really surprise me,” Jay chimed in with a laugh.

  “I can take her,” Luke insisted.

  “I dunno, she took down the starting outside linebacker back in college because he wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Dana shared as they reached the front porch.

  Luke laughed, clearly not convinced. “Really?”

  “Yup.”

  Gwen glanced over her shoulder to see if Dana was just messing with him, but she could tell by the smirk on Dana’s face that she was telling the truth. “Damn.”

  Dana nodded. “She has a third-degree black belt in Taekwondo.”

  “Bullshit,” Luke scoffed.

  Dana laughed. “Fine, don’t believe me. Not my ass that’s gonna end up in a sling.”

  “Is she for real, Gwen?” Luke asked.

  Gwen grinned and shrugged as she pulled her keys out of her purse and unlocked the front door. “Why are you asking me?”

  “Fuck if I know,” Luke answered.

  “I’m not bullshitting you,” Dana told him as they followed Gwen into the house.

  Gwen laughed at Luke’s incoherent mumbling as she set her keys and purse on the hall table and turned to Dana. “I can take that now,” she said, pointing at the cello case sticking up over Dana’s shoulders.

  “I got it.” Dana winked and shook her head. “You like to keep it in the corner of the study by the bookshelves in the study, right?”

  “Yeah.” Gwen shook her head “But you don’t have to—”

  “Like not having to do something I want to do has ever kept me from doing it, ” Dana retorted with a little laugh as she sauntered through the living room toward the back bedrooms.

  “Wow, she’s got you whipped,” Luke teased as Gwen threw her hands in the air and started for the kitchen.

  “Shut up.”

  Luke couldn’t help teasing her just a little bit more. “You really trust her to put your baby away unsupervised?”

  “Stop being an asshole,” Jay interrupted, smacking Luke on the shoulder.

  “Thank you,” Gwen said, throwing a grateful smile over her shoulder at Jay. “And yeah, I do,” she added, answering Luke’s question.

  “Damn,” Luke drawled.

  Gwen rolled her eyes and shrugged. “Whatever.” She waved at the fridge. “I just got a cheesecake sampler and a fruit and cheese tray since I didn’t know what people would be in the mood for. Can you grab them for me?”

  “Ooh, cheesecake!” Luke cheered as he yanked open the fridge.

  “Wine?” Jay asked.

  “Can you grab the white out of the fridge and maybe pick a bottle or two of red from the rack?” Gwen asked, motioning to the built-in wine rack that was built into the middle of the bank of upper cabinets on the fridge wall. “I’m not sure what everyone’s going to be in the mood for.”

  “On it,” Jay assured her with a nod.

  “Thank you.” Gwen opened the cabinet above the dishwasher and grabbed a half-dozen salad plates that would be more than big enough for their desserts. She set the plates next to the cheesecake Luke had set on the counter above the drawers that held her cutlery, and then began pulling out a matching number of stemless wine glasses. Each glass had a different colored silicone sleeve around it, and she rolled her eyes when Luke reached in front of her to snag the green one. “Really?”

  “It’s my glass,” he retorted with an unrepentant smirk.

  “Can I have the orange one?” Jay asked, smiling hopefully.

  “God, no wonder you two are engaged,” Gwen chuckled as she nodded and handed him his requested glass.

  “I call dibs on red!” Dana announced, pointing at the glasses as she sauntered into the kitchen with Storm hot on her heels.

  “Knock yourself out,” Gwen replied as she knelt down to say hello to her cat, and smiled at the way Storm immediately ducked under her hand for a light scratch.“Were you a good girl while I was gone?”

  “She was stretched out on your bed when I passed by your room to get to the study,” Dana shared as she plucked her desired glass from the counter and turned to Jay, who was in the middle of uncorking a bottle of merlot. “When you’re done, please?” she asked as she set the glass on the counter in front of him.

  “Absolutely,” Jay assured her with a smile.

  “How’s my buddy Storm doing?” Luke cooed as he knelt beside Gwen to tickle the soft fur behind Storm’s ears. “You’re getting so big!”

  Storm cocked her head at Luke and then, with a definitive swish of her tail, left them to wind herself around Dana’s ankles, her low, rumbling purr more than loud enough for everyone to hear.

  “Rude,” Luke said, pointing an accusing finger at the kitten.

  Dana laughed and bent down to pick up Storm, cuddling the kitten against her chest as she pushed herself back upright. “You can’t help liking me best, can you, Storm?”

  Gwen shook her head in amusement as she stood up, a soft smile tugging at her lips at the way Dana hummed and nuzzled the top of Storm’s head. She blinked in surprise when a light elbow landed in her ribs, and shot Luke a confused look. “Hmm?”

  “Doorbell,” he said, tipping his head in the direction of the front door. Sure enough, a moment later a loud triple-knock echoed down the hall. “You want me to get it?”

&n
bsp; “Oh.” Gwen nodded. “Sure. Thanks.”

  “You can make it up to me by giving me a piece of the Snickers and the white chocolate raspberry,” Luke replied with a grin and a wink as he headed for the foyer.

  “That sounds good,” Dana said, her eyes glimmering with warmth as she smiled sweetly at Gwen. “Can I have that too?”

  “Sure,” Gwen chuckled, nodding as she turned to the counter to begin plating. “Though I’m starting to think that I should have gotten two cheesecakes—one for you and Luke to split and one for the rest of us.”

  “Well, there’s always next time,” Dana agreed in an amused tone.

  “Gimme the kitty,” Jay demanded, and Gwen had no trouble picturing the way he was, no-doubt, holding his hands out and making a grabby motion with his fingers.

  “Ugh, fine,” Dana groaned, as if she were being incredibly put-out by having to share. A moment later, her fingers ghosted over the small of Gwen’s back as she murmured near her ear, “What can I do to help?”

  Gwen bit her lip and closed her eyes as the feeling of Dana’s breath against her ear sent a pleasant shiver through her, and had to swallow thickly to clear the lump in her throat before she answered, “Since Jay’s gone crazy cat lady and stolen my kitten, could you pour?”

  “Of course. What would you like?”

  “Whatever’s open is fine,” Gwen whispered.

  “You got it.” Dana gave her hip a light squeeze before disappearing.

  Gwen took a slow, deep breath and held it for a moment before letting it go in an even slower exhale. She licked her lips as she blinked her eyes open, painfully aware of the way her pulse was still racing at Dana’s now absent touch, and cleared her throat softly as she refocused on plating Luke and Dana’s desserts. “What’ll it be, Jay?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder.

  Jay’s smile was far too knowing for comfort, and he shrugged as he answered, “I’m good with plain.”