January 1977

Patricia Elliott lay in bed, drifting off to sleep with her usual thirteen year old fantasies of the perfect man. As she started to dream, she found herself falling into a familiar scene. She’d been here before, other nights as she lay sleeping in her bed. Wandering through an overgrown garden, she looked around and saw two angels sitting on the garden wall. One was bright, his long blond hair almost white in the moonlight, his white clothing almost blinding as it reflected the light. The other had dark curls falling about his face, his black clothes causing him to blend into the darkness around her. Both of them smiled at her as they jumped down to join her.

She felt a soft hand run over her face as the bright one whispered, “I’ve got to leave you for a while, my love. But we’ll be together again, never fear. For now, stay with my friend and he’ll protect you.” Then he was gone, leaving her alone with the dark one. But she wasn’t afraid, because he was as gentle as the bright angel and he loved her just as much.

Then, as they walked along, she saw a light ahead. The dark one paused and said, “You must do this on your own, little love. We’ll meet again someday.” As she walked towards the light, she found her bright angel again and ran into the safety of his arms.

After that, she always woke with a happy smile on her young face.

November 1984

Joe Elliott sat the phone back down in its cradle and let out a sigh. His band mates looked over at him, wondering just what was wrong. He looked up and saw their curious stares and said, “Remember me going to the funeral of my aunt and uncle that died in that car wreck a few months ago?”

“Yeah,” Sav answered as the others nodded. “What’s going on now?”

“Well, their daughter Patricia came to stay with my parents after the accident and now Mum’s wondering if she can come stay with me for a while,” Joe said quietly. “Mum thinks it would do her good to be around a ‘younger’ set of people for a while.”

“Joe, you don’t have time to babysit, remember, we’re recording an album here?” Phil replied nervously.

“Well, Trish is twenty one, so it’s not like I’ll have to watch her every minute or anything,” Joe answered. “But Mum’s determined she needs to get out of their house for a while, so she’ll be on the next flight out.”

Steve looked at Joe incredulously and said, “Your Mum really WANTS her around us? I mean, she could get into a lot of trouble here.”

“I tried to tell Mum that, but she refuses to believe that I could be a bad influence on the girl,” Joe said with a chuckle. “Guess we’ve hidden our chaotic little high jinks too well and Mum thinks her little boy wouldn’t do any of that ‘rock star’ stuff.”

“Yeah, right,” Sav muttered. “Well, what time is her flight?”

“She’ll get here in about five hours, so let’s get into the studio for now and not worry about Trish, okay?” Joe said with determination. There was no way he was going to let Trish’s arrival get in the way of recording the follow up to the band’s mega successful album Pyromania. If she did, she’d just have to go back, no matter how much Joe enjoyed his favorite cousin’s company.

A few hours later, Joe headed for the airport with Sav and Rick in tow. They waited for her flight, which as it turned out was actually arriving on time, in the airport lounge. As soon as it was announced, Joe got up and nearly ran Sav and Rick to her arrival gate. Confused, because neither of them thought Joe had wanted the girl to show up, they watched as he scanned the crowd for her. They’d only met her briefly the two years before, so neither of them knew who to look for. In a few minutes, Joe took off into the crowd and they watched as he picked up a pretty young brunette and spun her around, then stood back to look at her.

“Wow, you’ve really changed, luv!” he said with a broad smile. “Mum told me you’d lost weight, but DAMN, she didn’t tell me you looked this good now!”

“Well, thanks Joe,” the girl said shyly. “Guess there’s only half of me to love now, huh?”

“And it’s the most beautiful half, Trish!” Joe enthused. “I’m gonna have to keep you under lock and key around my mates or we’re going to have trouble, that’s for sure!”

“Don’t worry, Joe, I’m not here to snag a rock star or anything,” Trish laughed. “Aunt Cindy just thought I needed to ‘get out and see the world’ in her words. What better place to start than Holland?”

“Well, maybe I can take you sight seeing on my next day off,” Joe said as Rick and Sav walked up. “Trish, these are two of my friends, Rick Allen and Rick Savage.”

“That gets confusing, I bet,” she said, playing dumb. Then she turned to look at the two men who’d walked up behind her. She looked at Rick and said, “Now, which one are you?”

“Rick Allen,” he said with a smile.

Then she turned to Sav and her breath caught in her throat for a moment. Here was one of the most beautiful men she’d ever seen and she wasn’t sure how to handle it. Finally, she managed to say, “That would make you Rick Savage, right?”

“Yeah, but they all call me Sav to avoid the confusion,” Sav said with a smile that went straight to Trish’s heart. “Joe, you didn’t tell us how gorgeous your cousin was! Who woulda thought someone this pretty could be related to you?” Looking her over, he could see the family resemblance in the eyes. Hers were almost identical to Joe’s, right down to the near Oriental slant of them. Her chocolate-colored hair fell in perfect waves to her narrow waist. She had Joe’s long legs and was as tall as Rick. Sav could barely tear his eyes away from her as Joe said, “Well, if I’d known she’d grown up looking this good, I’d have told Mum there was no way in hell I’d let her around you blokes! Just treat her like my little sister and we’ll get along fine, okay?”

Sav swallowed hard and nodded, realizing Joe had just completely warned him away from her. Damn shame, that was. Sav’s girlfriend of six years had just broken off with him and he’d love to get to know Trish better. But, he reminded himself, hands off or he’d have to deal with Joe. Watching as Joe threw his arm over her shoulder, Sav shook his head in frustration. When they started walking, Rick and Sav followed behind and neither man could take his eyes from the gentle sway of her hips. Thunderstruck by her, they nearly walked right into Joe when he turned to ask them a question. Joe’s eyes narrowed, knowing exactly what his friends were thinking. If she hadn’t been his cousin, he’d have been thinking the exact same thing! But she’d grown up more like his sister than anything else, so he had to look out for her. So he stared flatly at Sav and Rick and said, “My sister, get it guys?”

“Ah, shit, busted,” Rick murmured quietly to Sav, but Joe heard him and said, “Damn straight! Hands off! I’m warning you both!” Trish turned around and smiled right at Sav, leaving him totally speechless. Rick only nodded as Joe stared him down. But when Joe turned towards Sav, he saw that his friend wasn’t even paying attention to him. His eyes were still fixed on Trish’s lovely face. And from the look on that lovely face, Joe was about to have his hands really full controlling his cousin AND his friend. He spun Trish away from Sav and gave her a loud smack on her firm rump, making her jump as he said, “And you, young lady, are not to go anywhere near them without me around!”

“Oh, come on, Zeff, loosen up!” Trish whined. “I’m not a baby anymore and you haven’t treated me like one since I was fifteen and you first passed me the whiskey bottle!”

“Jesus, did you have to bring that up?” Joe moaned. “Okay, I was young and dumb! No nineteen year old should be giving a little girl whiskey and I’m sure you know that now. Besides, then I wasn’t the one responsible for you!”

“And you’re still not!” she huffed. “I’m bloody well old enough to take care of myself now, Zeff, so knock it off!”

“Dad’s not around, you can call me Joe,” he said quietly.

“Sorry, I’ve called you Zeff so long, Joe is going to take some getting used to, okay? Now don’t change the subject on me!” she said as her voice regained volume. “If I want to sleep with the whole red light district of Amsterdam, which you ARE taking me to at some point, I damn well will! Got the idea?”

“Oh, man, why do I think she inherited his stubborn streak?” Rick mumbled.

“Cuz they act just like each other!” Sav said as he stared at her in total fascination. NO ONE had ever stood up to Joe quite like she was doing and he actually seemed a bit taken back by it. Joe hadn’t seen Trish for more than a few hours at a time since the Pyromania tour had started, so it seemed he’d forgotten just what it felt like. Sav gave Rick a grin and said, “I have a feeling this is going to be a VERY interesting visit!”

“You can say that again,” Rick laughed as Trish stormed away with Joe hot on her heels, heading for her luggage. Sav chuckled as he saw her struggling to keep Joe from taking the largest two bags from her. Then Sav walked over and said, “My lady, may I be of some assistance?”

“I can get it, Sav,” she said shortly.

He leaned over and whispered, “I know you can, luv, but make a guy feel useful, okay?”

Turning to face him, she laughed and said, “Oh, my, that was a good comeback. Just for that, you can carry this one!” Then she handed him the largest of her suitcases and continued to struggle with the rest of her cases until Sav murmured, “Make them feel like they’re good for something other than decoration, will ya?”

Reluctantly, she let Joe and Rick take the rest of her things and head for the door. Joe just shot Sav a dirty look and kept walking. HE was the one that was supposed to keep Trish in line, not Sav, he thought petulantly. At just that moment, he wanted to strangle Trish for putting him in this embarrassing situation. His friends had never seen him so out of sorts and they were both loving it, he could tell. When they reached the car, Joe threw her things in the trunk and slammed the lid shut as Trish sat in the backseat of the car. Sav slid in next to her, despite Joe’s dark look, leaving Rick to sit in the front next to Joe. Joe slumped behind the wheel in defeat, knowing Trish too well to think he would ever completely best her in a war of words. But he was sure as hell going to try to keep her out of ANY of his friends’ beds.

When they got back to the apartment complex they’d moved into for the duration of the recording session, Joe showed Trish to the place he was sharing with Sav. Rick, Phil and Steve were in the apartment next door to them, but Joe was beginning to think they were way to close for his comfort. And Sav was going to be a definite problem. Trish had already shown too much interest in him and Joe was going to have to douse that before it got to be a problem. He just had to figure out how.

The only available room in the apartment was right across the hall from Sav, which made Joe even more nervous. He thought about asking Sav to trade rooms, but they’d already been settled in where they were for three months and it seemed like a lot of trouble for what was probably nothing. After all, he could trust Sav, even if he wasn’t too sure about Trish at the moment. He set her bags down on the floor next to the dresser and turned to Trish, saying, “Welcome to our humble abode!”

Trish wrapped her arms around him for a hug and said, “Thanks, Zeff. I’m sure this is going to be a blast, okay?”

“Yeah, well, we’re going to be working a good bit of the time, so I hope you don’t mind occupying yourself around here,” Joe said quietly.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me okay?” she said with a smile. “Holland is a fascinating place, or so I’ve been told.”

“I wouldn’t know, all I’ve seen is the inside of a fucking studio and a couple of pubs between here and there!” Joe said with a humorless chuckle. “Working my bloody throat raw most nights! And we’ve got to head back there right now, so I don’t even have much time to welcome you here!”

“What time do you break for dinner?” she asked quickly.

“Actually, I used our dinner break to pick you up at the airport, so Sav, Rick and I will have to grab something on the way back,” Joe sighed. “Wonder if our producer is even going to be there tonight?”

“Oh, who are working with?” she asked. “Anyone I might know?”

“Maybe,” Joe sighed. “Jim Steinman, he worked with...”

“Oh my God, Meatloaf!” she said excitedly. “Bat out of Hell was awesome, but are you guys sure about this? Sorry, I just don’t see you guys sounding like that!”

“Yeah, well, he does things a lot different than Mutt did, that’s for sure,” Joe said as he ran his hands through his shoulder length light brown hair. “He seems to think we should just go into the studio and play the stuff live, then let it go at that. The things he thinks are acceptable, well, we just all hate!”

“I’m sure you’ll get it worked out,” she said confidently.

“Well, we’ll be back around twelve or one, so I’ll see you then,” Joe sighed. Then he was gone, leaving Trish on her own. She went to the refrigerator and shook her head. Looking inside, she knew she was going to have to head for the grocery first thing in the morning. Other than some condiments and a nearly outdated milk jug, the only thing in it was two cases of Guiness. If she was going to stay for any time at all, there had to be food in the apartment. Taking out a beer, she closed the door and headed for a chair next to the small fireplace. It was too warm for a fire at that moment, but there was just something comfortable about it. She picked up a book she’d brought with her and snuggled down to read.

Her head snapped up when she heard a key in the lock hours later. Joe stormed in, followed by a much quieter Sav. One look at Joe and Trish knew things hadn’t gone well that night. She didn’t say a word, just waited for Joe’s explosion. But they were obviously in the middle of discussing something as Sav grabbed a beer and headed for a chair, sighing, “Joe, we’ve agreed to give it two more weeks.”

“Yeah, two more weeks and another twelve thousand pounds with nothing to show for it!” Joe protested as Trish got up and handed him a beer and then opened another for herself.

“It’s costing you guys nearly nine hundred pounds a day to record!” Trish gasped as she sat back down.

“No, luv, you’re forgetting that we get one day off a week,” Sav said quietly. “It’s around a thousand pounds a day in the studio right now.”

“And every fucking bit of it is wasted, I’m telling you!” Joe said angrily. “We’re not going to have anything to show for the last two and a half months and the record company is going to pitch a fit!”

“There’s nothing we can do about it, Joe,” Sav said slowly. “Mutt just isn’t available right now.”

“Fucking Car’s album, anyway,” Joe muttered, then took a long swallow of his beer.

“Maybe we should think about who can replace Jim, in case things don’t get any better,” Sav said cautiously.

“Tomorrow,” Joe said in frustration. “I just can’t think about it anymore! I’m heading to bed, hopefully to sleep this nightmare away!”

“Good idea,” Trish said with a yawn. She got up and gave Joe a hug, saying, “Things will work out and you guys will be better than ever, I just know it!”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, luv,” Joe said softly. “You wanna come into the studio with us tomorrow?”

“Sure, sounds like fun!” she said with a smile. “But for now, I’m off to bed!” She turned and gave Sav a brilliant smile then said a cheery, “Good night!”

“Night, luv,” Sav said softly. As he watched her supple body move towards her room, he let out a soft groan. Staying away from her was going to be one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do. But she seemed to be a good influence on Joe, so he’d just have to deal with it. Finishing his drink, he looked at Joe and said, “Well, mate, let’s sack out and start over in the morning, okay?”

“Fine,” Joe muttered. “Night, Sav.”

“Night!” Sav said quickly. Then he walked back to his room and undressed for bed. He lay staring at the ceiling for a long while as his mind raced from the studio to Trish’s bedroom and back again. Sleep was a long way off for the twenty-three year old as thoughts crowded into his brain one on the other. First he’d think how frustrating the work with Steinman had been. Then he’d wonder just how good Trish’s soft female form would feel laying next to him in bed. Then back to the music. Finally, nearly an hour later, he managed to fall into a restless sleep.

He woke to a pounding on his bedroom door the next morning. “Wake up! Breakfast is here!”

“What the hell,” he muttered as he looked at the clock. When he realized it was nearly ten, he jumped out of bed and threw on his clothes quickly before heading out into the living room. Joe was already there, drinking tea from a plastic cup and munching on a croissant.

“I wasn’t sure what you’d want, so I got a little of everything they had for breakfast,” Trish said with a smile. Sav smiled back up at her as he took the cup of coffee she offered him. Then he grabbed a sweet roll and started eating. “These things are great!” he said enthusiastically.

“I found a little bakery just around the corner,” she said quickly. “The smells alone made me gain five pounds!”

Sav looked over her body and said, “Hmm, do we need to pat you down to find those five pounds? I don’t see them anywhere!” He sat back quickly when he saw the dirty look Joe shot him. Fuck, he thought, Joe is really gonna watch her, isn’t he?

“Okay, guys, what time do we leave for the studio?” Trish said quietly.

“Um, bout an hour,” Joe said, still giving Sav the evil eye. Trish raised an eyebrow in Joe’s direction as he turned to look at her. From the look on his face, Trish could feel a battle brewing already. But she shrugged him off and went back to her room to get ready for the day.

She came back out thirty minutes later, only to find herself face to face with Joe. He looked down at her and said, “I meant what I said about Sav, Trish. I don’t want you getting hurt, okay?”

“Zeff, I can take care of myself,” she sighed. He laughed and said, “You know, I’d rather not find out! Just stay away from him and the rest of the guys, okay?”

“We’ll see, luv,” she said with a playful smile as Sav came into the room.

“Ready to go?” Sav asked quickly, trying to ignore the tension in the room.

“Yeah,” Joe said roughly. “Let’s get the bloody hell out of here.”

The drive to the studio was quiet as all three of them got lost in their thoughts. For Trish, that meant putting Joe’s mind at ease about her interest in Sav. Sav could think of nothing other than the woman seated in the back of the car. And Joe, well, the poor man was confused. Sav was his best friend, but damn it, Trish was like his little sister. He couldn’t just sit back and watch Sav break her heart. Somehow, deep inside, he knew Sav wouldn’t intentionally hurt her. But the life they lead had already broken several women up over one band member or another and Joe was determined to spare Trish that agony. So he drove on in silence and tried to figure out how to handle the situation.

Steve had gotten to the studio before anyone else, trying to work things out in his own head. When Joe had told them about Trish coming, his heart had leapt in his chest. He could still remember the pretty young girl she’d been the first time he’d met her. A chubby fifteen year old, she’d stolen eighteen year old Steve’s heart with her warm chuckle and laughing green eyes. She’d been on a visit to Joe’s parents house that summer when Steve stopped by to ask him a question about the band. Steve found himself spending every day there for the next week, trying to work up the courage to ask her out under Joe’s intense stare. Finally, the last night she was in town, Joe’s parents left the three teenagers alone in the house while they went to visit Trish’s parents. Joe pulled out a bottle of whiskey he’d hidden from his mother and the three of them sat passing it around until Joe’s girlfriend showed up. Within fifteen minutes of her arrival, Joe had taken her up to his bedroom and left Trish alone with Steve. What had started as a brief kiss had lead to heavy petting. Before either of them knew exactly what they were doing, they were both naked on the couch. He could still remember the feel of the soft flesh of her stomach, the tender skin of her thighs as he’d lain there with her. And even with the haze of the alcohol, he’d remember how it had felt as he entered her, taking her virginity as she’d whimpered his name against his throat. They’d laid together, just holding each other, for a long while before he’d had to get dressed and go home that night. The next day, she was gone.

When he’d seen her the next time, it was three years later and they were just beginning the Pyromania tour. She’d gotten taller and thinned out a bit, showing the promise of a true beauty. He’d wanted to ask her out then and there, but the girl he was seeing at the time just wouldn’t leave him alone long enough. So he’d missed the chance to be with her again. And, as fate would have it, after she left and went home, Steve’s girlfriend had broken up with him. He let out a small chuckle, realizing that the break up had really been his fault. They’d been at the hotel the next night, having sex, when he said ‘I love you, Trish.” Carrie had not been amused and threw Steve out, never wanting to speak to him again. He’d stayed in Phil’s room that night and Carrie was gone in the morning, heading back for her home in Sheffield.

He picked up his guitar, running through a soft slow melody that was trapped in his head as he thought of Trish. It was pretty simple and the guys would probably laugh him out of the band if they ever heard it, but it helped him think about her. When the guys had shown up at the studio last night, he heard all about how beautiful Trish had turned out. But his heart had fallen when he realized that Sav was interested in her as well. Sav may have been a bit shy, but nothing like Steve was. Steve knew then and there that his situation was hopeless. Joe was still just as protective of her as well. He’d given Sav several dirty looks when Sav had mentioned anything about Trish. So not only would Steve have to deal with Sav, he had Joe in his way as well. Steve sighed. He’d just have to let go of his feelings and deal with Trish like Joe wanted him to when he finally saw her. Which, considering the hours they put in at the studio, wouldn’t probably happen for several days yet.

He didn’t hear the door open until Joe said, “What’s that you’re playing, mate? Got a new song for us?”

Steve jumped and said, “Oh, nah, just fiddling with the guitar while I waited for you guys to show up.”

“It sounded good though, can you play it again?” Joe inquired quickly. “Let me get it on tape!”

“Um, well, if you think so...” Steve said uncertainly as Joe headed for the control booth. Joe hit record and signaled for Steve to go ahead. He’d just finished playing it when Sav came in. Sav listened to the play back and said, “Man, that’s a riff that needs a serious bass line!”

“Yeah, I know, it’s not that great,” Steve said sadly.

“No! I mean with a really hard bass line moving under it, that could be a great piece,” Sav corrected. “We’ll have to work on that later, okay, mate?”

“Okay,” Steve replied as he heard laughter in the hallway. He recognized Phil and Rick’s voices, then froze as he heard a high feminine giggle as well. They hadn’t brought Trish to the studio, had they? His head snapped around just as she cleared the doorway and Steve was speechless. What Rick and Sav had said about her didn’t do her justice. She was the most beautiful woman Steve had ever seen. He caught the look Joe shot Sav when Sav crossed the room to her and Steve looked down at his guitar. Joe wasn’t going to let anyone have any peace with her around.

“STEVE! Oh, my God, I haven’t seen you in sooooo long!” Trish gasped when she saw him sitting there. She crossed the room and threw her arms around him, pulling him in for a huge hug. Giving her a shy smile, he stood and looked at her nearly eye to eye, saying, “Wow, Trish, you’re looking great!”

“Thanks, luv!” she said as she spun around in front of him. “You like?”

“Uh huh,” Steve murmured, wondering at the cruelty of his life. He more than liked what he saw, he knew his heart was gone at the first glance. Her smile still held that same warmth, her eyes still had that same sparkle as the first time he saw her. But instead of the chubby little girl he’d known then, here was a voluptuous full grown woman in that girl’s place. She turned to say something to Phil and Steve took that chance to grab a beer from the cooler they kept in the studio. When Trish noticed what he was doing, she said, “Hey, no fair! I want one too!”

“Here ya go, luv,” Steve said with a smile. He opened it and handed it to her, then grabbed another for himself. Then he watched her take a long swallow before she said, “Well, I’m just gonna head off into the corner and stay out of your way while you guys work. Just pretend I’m not even here!”

“Yeah, right,” Steve muttered so softly no one else heard him. At just that moment, Jim Steinman walked in and said, “Okay, you guys ready to play?”

Five men groaned as Steinman told them to all get into the studio and try out the song they’d been working on the night before. Trish sat in the control room behind Jim and listened as they played the song through several times. Then Jim told them to hang on and he played back what they had. “Sounds good, guys,” he said quickly. “What next?”

“Jim, I’m not real happy with the bridge on that song,” Phil said quickly. “I think we could do it better, let me try it by myself.” Then the tug-of-war between Jim and the band began again in earnest. For hours, Jim tried to move on to something else while the band would refuse to do anything but work on that same song. When they broke for dinner at six, Jim stormed out of the studio and said, “That’s it for the night, I’m done! I’ll see you tomorrow and maybe then we can get some work done!”

As soon as he left, the band members looked at each other and Joe said, “Okay, I’ve had enough of this shit, how about you guys?”

“You’re working on a Def Leppard album, isn’t that right?” Trish said quietly into the intercom. The guys all nodded and Trish said softly, “Why does he act like you guys are playing on his album then?”

“She’s right, mates,” Steve said softly. “It’s time to end this.”

Joe headed straight for the phone, dialing Peter’s number. By the time he came back, the others were already trying to decide who to get to replace him.

“Peter’s gonna call Jim tonight and tell him we’ve decided to work with someone else,” Joe told them quietly. “He did suggest we get Nigel Green, since he’s familiar with the way we like to record.”

“Good idea,” Phil answered as the others nodded in agreement. “Well, seems we’ve got a night off then guys! Anybody up for...”

“Hang on, we’ve got to wait for Peter to call back at our place,” Joe answered before Phil could finish his thought. “So let’s head back there for now, okay?”

“Mind if I pick up my girl first?” Rick asked quickly.

“Yeah, I’ll just go grab those stewardesses that live across the courtyard, that should make things interesting!” Phil said with a laugh.

“How many stewardesses, Phil?” Joe said with a smile.

“Well, four of them live there, but I’m not sure how many of them are home right now,” Phil said thoughtfully. “Let’s head out and see how many we can snag for the night!”

With that thought, they went out and piled into the three waiting cars. Joe made Trish ride with him, so Sav tagged along in the back seat with him. Rick took the second car to pick up his girlfriend Miriam. That left the Terror Twins in the last car, but for once Phil didn’t even notice how quiet Steve was being. His thoughts were already on the red haired flight attendant from across the way. As soon as they reached the complex, Phil dashed across the yard to their apartment while Steve headed up to Joe and Sav’s place. A few minutes later, Phil came in with two buxom beauties. His favorite red head was on one arm, while a well built blonde was on the other.

“Gentlemen, I’d like to introduce you to our neighbors, Natasha and Therese. Their roomies are off on a flight right now, but these two ladies were more than willing to join us for the evening!” Phil said with a broad grin.

“Welcome to our humble home, ladies,” Joe said quickly, motioning for the women to take a seat. Trish looked them over and dismissed both of them as total air headed bimbos quickly. She looked around and said, “Anybody else up for a drink?”

“Pass me a fucking bottle, luv,” Steve said quietly.

“Only if you promise to share with me, Steve,” she said with a smile. Grabbing a bottle of Scotch, she sat down on the arm of his chair and took a long drink before handing it down to Steve. Joe shot her a look that said she’d best watch her step, but she ignored him and said, “Well, seems the guys outnumber the girls a bit tonight!”

Sav grabbed a glass of whisky and sat down on the floor at Trish’s feet, saying, “Hmm, that is a problem isn’t it?”

“Well, how do we plan on getting to know the ladies who’ve just joined us?” Joe said as he smiled at Natasha.

They all turned to look at Trish as she busted out laughing. “Zeff,” she giggled, “I’ve heard you say that before, just before you announced you wanted to play spin the bottle!”

“Oh God,” Joe said quickly. “I knew there was a reason I didn’t want you here! Too good of a memory!”

“Spin the bottle, Joe?” Sav chuckled. “How old were you?”

“He was sixteen and I was twelve!” Trish laughed. “And as his luck would have it, his first spin landed on me!”

“Did you kiss her, Joe?” Sav asked quickly.

“Had to, they wouldn’t let me spin again til I did,” Joe said with a grimace.

“God, I haven’t played that game in years,” Phil said with a smile. “Got an empty bottle around here guys?”

“Sure, I’ll go get one!” Sav said, jumping to his feet. He came back with an empty whiskey bottle just as Phil and Therese were moving the coffee table to the side of the floor. They sat down next to each other on the floor and Therese pulled Joe down on her other side. Natasha and Sav took their places, leaving Steve and Trish the only ones not on the floor. She grabbed his hand and said, “Come on, luv, let’s have a little fun.”

“I don’t know about this,” Steve said uncertainly. But Trish pulled him down into the circle and sat between him and Sav just as Natasha reached for the bottle. She sent it spinning, then they waited for it to land on someone. It slowed as it past Joe, then came to a stop on Sav. Sav gave Joe a grin as Natasha got up and knelt down beside him. She licked her lips, then lowered her head to Sav’s mouth, running her tongue over his lips just before she kissed him. The others watched as she kissed him firmly, her tongue wondering into his mouth. Joe’s jaw dropped and Trish looked on jealously as she pulled back and left Sav stunned on the carpet.

“Wow!” was all Sav could say as she returned to her seat. Then he grabbed his glass and took a long draw on the whiskey as Joe reached out to take his turn. For a moment, the spinning bottle almost landed on Sav again, before going on to stop on Trish. Joe grimaced as everyone busted out laughing. “Oh, FUCK ME!” Joe said in frustration. He went to spin the bottle again, but Phil stopped him and said, “Sorry mate, it’s Trish this turn!”

“Bloody hell,” Joe groaned without making a move towards Trish. So she got up and crawled across the circle, then knelt in front of him. She put her hands on her hips and said, “Let’s see if that legendary Elliott charm works on another Elliott.”

“Oh, damn it, Trish, knock it off,” Joe said quickly.

“Bullshit, Zeff, let’s go! It‘s not like you‘re gonna sleep with me and you‘ve kissed me before!” she said quickly. She grabbed him by the front of his shirt and laid her lips heavily on his. It took about two seconds before Trish’s tongue worked its way into his mouth. They kissed for a long moment before Trish pulled back and said, “Hmm, not bad, Zeff.”

Joe’s eyes practically popped out of his head as he looked at her. Steve and Sav both stared at her with open mouths. Phil pulled himself together enough to say, “Looks like the Elliott charm backfired on him!”

Trish crawled back to her place in the circle with a satisfied smile as Joe finally pulled his wits back together. He looked at Sav and said, “Your turn, mate.”

“Okay,” Sav said quickly and spun the bottle around. The bottle wobbled around three times before landing on Phil. Sav let out a groan and Phil squeaked, “Oh, FUCK NO!”

“Um, Phil, tough luck matie!” Joe laughed. “If I had to kiss Trish, he has to kiss you!”

Sav put his hands over his face and felt Trish’s elbow go into his ribs as she laughed, “Too much of a threat to your masculinity?” Sav shot her a look that told her that was the least of his problems. He got up and went across the circle and stood in front of Phil.

“NO FUCKING WAY, SAVAGE!” Phil screeched.

“Rules of the game here, Phil!” Trish giggled. Phil’s mouth dropped open just as Sav leaned down to try and get the kiss over with. Joe gave him a push just as he was about to peck his lips on Phil’s, sending him sprawling on top of the smaller man mouth to mouth. Both men came up sputtering and spitting, looking to find who’d pushed Sav. But no one was telling. Sav threw himself back down next to Trish and tried to ignore the constant giggle coming from her body. Giving her the dirtiest look possible, he said, “Your turn, witch!”

Trish set the bottle spinning and watched carefully as it passed over Joe and Sav, then went past her, stopping slowly on Steve. She looked at him and saw a blush creeping up his face. Leaning over, she placed her lips softly over his without a word. Her fingers wound into his hair as his tongue went out to explore the heated recesses of her mouth. He saw her eyes close and wondered if she would rather be kissing Sav. But her tongue ran softly over his, encouraging him. They kissed until Joe said, “That’s bloody well enough, mate!”

Trish pulled back from him with a smile as Phil said, “Damn, Steve, now that was some kiss!”

Steve took a deep breath and said, “You’re telling me!”

Looking on jealously, Sav said, “Your turn now, Steve.”

Still dazed from her kiss, Steve leaned forward and set the bottle spinning again. And let out a laugh when it landed on Phil. Phil’s head slumped down on his chest. “Ah shit,” Phil sighed. “Not me again?”

“Yep!” Steve laughed, crawling over in front of him.

“Well, hell, I hope you’re a better kisser than old Savvy was at least!” Phil said in a resigned voice. Steve grabbed Phil by the back of the head and planted his lips firmly on his best friends, bringing a cheer from all three women. They’d done this before, goofing off for the camera, so this really wasn’t that big a deal. Within seconds, they put on a little show for the girls by switching to a big open mouth kiss. Then Steve pulled back and said, “Damn, mate, don’t you ever fucking shave?”

“Sorry, five o’clock shadow and all,” Phil sighed as Sav and Joe stared at them. The girls were still cheering when Therese set the bottle in motion again. When it landed on Trish, Sav, Joe and Phil let out a hoot. Trish looked at the other woman uncertainly and caught her wink. So she let Therese come over in front of her and got up on her knees as well. Their lips met and Trish closed her mind to the fact that this was a woman in front of her. Therese’s tongue quickly invaded Trish’s mouth as their bodies rubbed together, giving the men the full show. Four jaws dropped open as the women sat back in their spots with satisfied smiles.

The alcohol had been flowing freely as Phil, Natasha and Joe each took their turns. When it came back to Sav, he could only hope that he landed on a female this time. He watched the bottle spinning and felt his head start to spun along with it. But he snapped back to attention when the bottle stopped on Trish. She let out a drunken laugh as he looked down at her. Then he leaned over to her and took possession of her mouth. She felt his hard chest press against hers as his tongue worked magic inside her. But the alcohol in both their systems took its toll and they fell backwards, still kissing. Forgetting anyone else was there, Sav moved over on top of her and kissed her with a serious passion.

Then he felt himself being yanked away from her. Joe was glowering down at him, saying, “Okay, game over guys! Sav, can I talk to you? Outside?”

Trish tried to focus on Joe and said, “It was just a game, Zeff, chill down!”

“Yeah, Joe, a game, remember?” Sav said defensively. “You kissed her too!”

“Outside, Savage,” Joe said roughly. Sav managed to get to his feet, but only barely. Joe dragged him outside and said, “Didn’t I warn you to keep your hands off her?”

“Joe, I was just playing, okay?” Sav said unsteadily. “It’s not like I’m falling into her bed or anything, damn!”

“I’m telling you right here and now, I don’t want her involved with anyone from the band!” Joe said angrily. He got right in Sav’s face and said, “I mean anyone! Not even you!”

“Okay, okay, point taken,” Sav sighed. Joe let him go and they headed back into the apartment. They found Phil lip locked with the red headed Therese and Natasha sitting on the couch just watching them. Steve had moved up to a chair and Trish was on the floor at his feet, laying her head down on his knee. Sav looked at Joe and said, “Hmm, looks like I’m not the one to warn off her, huh, Joe?”

Joe just stared at Steve, who had his eyes closed and his head thrown back against the chair. He obviously wasn’t in any shape to talk to right then. Natasha got up and walked slowly over to Joe with a sensual smile. Putting her arms around his waist, she said, “Let’s forget about them and get a little time alone, how’s that?”

Looking down at the shapely blonde, he sighed and said, “You know, maybe that’s a good idea.” He let Natasha lead him back to his room and close the door, shutting his cousin out of his mind for the moment. He’d deal with that later, but their little game had awaken a more base need that had to be met at that moment. Kissing Natasha hard, he ground into her body. She gave him a playful shove onto his bed, then pulled at the waist of his jeans. Within seconds, she had his pants open and was running her hand over his now hard cock. Her lips closed over his manhood with the ease of years of practice. The slow motion of her mouth on him was just enough at that moment to send him spirally into sweet oblivion. She took all of his release in her mouth, then licked him clean and crawled up on the bed next to him.

“Now, let’s see what you can do for me, ya?” she said with a slow smile.

“Of course,” he said as he slowly undressed her. He spent the rest of that night in Natasha’s arms, completely forgetting about Sav, Steve and Trish.

The first thought to hit Joe when he woke the next morning was that he’d left a very drunk Trish in a room with two of his friends who were very interested in her. He managed to get out of bed without waking Natasha and slipped back into his clothes, then wondered where he should go find Trish. Checking her room, he found the bed still made and started to get angry. If she was in bed with Sav, Joe was going to kill him. He opened the door to Sav’s room and saw two sleeping forms under the blankets.

“You sorry fuck!” Joe yelled angrily as he pulled back the covers.

“What? HUH?” Phil said in confusion. Therese was pulling the blanket back over her naked body as Joe tried to apologize to Phil. He backed out of the room still stammering, “I’m sorry, okay?”

Puzzled, Joe headed for the living room and that’s were he found Trish. She’d fallen asleep on the floor beside the couch. Steve was lying on the couch sound asleep as well, holding on to Trish’s hand. Sav was behind her, his arm through carelessly over her body. All three of them were fully clothed, much to Joe’s relief. He slumped down into a chair and wondered just what he was supposed to do next.

Trish was the first to wake up, looking around with a confused smile. Seeing Steve first, she squeezed his hand then let go of him. Then she looked over her shoulder and saw Sav. Her smile broadened as she extracted herself from his arms and got up. That’s when she noticed Joe staring at her thoughtfully. Not wanting to get into a fight because her head was a thundering mass of hangover, she said, “Hmm, have fun with Natasha last night?”

“You could say that,” Joe said, but he still didn’t smile. Trish got up and put a pot of coffee on, then threw herself down at the kitchen table. When Joe crossed the room, she looked up at him and said, “Okay, I’ve had enough. What’s your problem, Zeff?”

“I don’t want you to get hurt by any of these guys,” Joe said quietly.

“Oh, come on!” she said, her voice starting to show her anger. “I’m old enough to make up my own mind and to make my own mistakes! You’re not my father, Joseph!”

“Damn it, Trish, I’m just trying to look out for you!” Joe said in frustration. “I’ve seen the women Sav’s gone through! Even while he had a serious girlfriend! I don’t want to see you go through the pain of him cheating on you, that’s all!”

“Okay, that covers Sav, now what about Steve?” she challenged. “Is he another lecher?”

“No, Steve’s not that bad around women. He’s too shy for that,” Joe sighed. “But, as if you couldn’t tell, Steve’s got a serious drinking problem! He’s already been in rehab a couple of times and you can see it didn’t help him one bit!” Neither of them saw Steve leaning against the door frame as Joe said, “Please, Trish, just stay away from them both, okay?”

“Zeff, I’ll make up my own mind,” she said finally. “If I feel like dealing with Steve’s drinking or Sav’s sleeping around, then I will. It’s my choice and NOT one you can make for me!” She stood up defiantly and said, “Case closed.”

“Trish, I enjoy you being here, so don’t make me send you back to Mum and Dad’s,” Joe said angrily.

“You couldn’t if you tried!” she said, her voice rising to a yell.

“Watch me!” Joe dared.

“Like hell you will!” Trish said angrily. “I’m old enough that you can’t make me go anywhere and I happen to have enough money that I don’t need your help, Zeff! The only thing you can do is throw me out of this place and then I’ll just find somewhere else to stay!”

“Bullshit, Trish!” Joe said, his own voice rising. “And you know what? I think you do need to go home! Being here is the worst thing you could do right now!”

“Fuck you, Zeff!” Trish threw back at him, then she got up and stormed out the door. Steve looked at Joe, then turned and followed Trish out. He found her leaning against the outside wall of the apartment, crying her eyes out. Wrapping her in his arms, he said, “Joe will calm down, luv, I know it!”

“Shit, Steve, I’ve known him my whole life and I’ve never seen him back down when he gets like this,” Trish said finally. Sav opened the door and found the two of them still standing there. He rubbed a hand over Trish’s back and said, “You okay, luv?”

“I’ll be fine, but I can’t stay here anymore, Sav,” Trish said in a small voice. “I don’t know where I’m going to go, cuz I really don’t want to go home.”

“You know, there’s a vacant apartment at the far end of the building,” Sav said thoughtfully. “You have enough money to get your own place?”

“Yeah, that’s not a problem,” Trish said as her interest peaked. “Where’s the manager of this place?”

Sav and Steve took Trish down to the manager’s apartment and within an hour, she’d rented the empty one. She returned to Joe and Sav’s place and totally ignored Joe as she threw her things back into her suitcase. Joe came in and said, “You’re leaving?”

“You’re surprised?” she said hotly. “I thought you wanted me to go!”

“No, I just don’t want you to get in a bad relationship!” Joe said quietly.

“Well, don’t worry, I’ll be out of your hair in no time!” she said, her voice breaking as she held back tears of anger.

“Want me to take you to the airport?” Joe asked softly.

“No, Steve and Sav will get me where I need to go,” she answered evasively. She’d already told both of them that she didn’t want Joe to know where she was for a while. If he ever chilled out, then he could find out where she actually was. Sav came in and grabbed some of her cases, then turned wordlessly and left the room. She picked up her last bag and said, “Bye Zeff!”

“Trish, don’t leave like this, please?” Joe begged quietly.

“You didn’t give me any choice, now did you?” she said, then turned and left the room. Joe slumped down on the bed and sat thinking over what had happened. Had he really been that overprotective of her? Enough to drive her out of his life? He didn’t know what to do. As an only child, neither he nor Trish had ever really had to deal with a sibling, so they didn’t know how to handle each other in such close quarters. He’d have to call Trish in a couple of days and apologize for how things had gone so wrong. That decided, Joe headed back to his room for a bit more of Natasha’s willing company.

“Joe’s gonna be majorly pissed at you two when he finds out you helped me,” Trish sighed as she opened the door on her new apartment.

“Won’t be the first time,” Steve said.

“Won’t be the last either,” Sav laughed.

“Thanks, guys,” she said, giving them each a quick peck on the cheek. Taking her bags through her sparsely furnished living room, they set the down in the bedroom. Then she looked around and said, “Hmm, guess I’m going to need food here, huh?”

“Well, we can’t go back for a while, so we’ll take you over to the grocery, okay?” Sav said quickly.

“Thanks luv,” she said quickly, giving him a brief hug.

The threesome headed off to the store, where Trish laid in all the supplies she would need for the next few days. Then, on a whim, she grabbed some steaks and said, “Your next day off, you two are coming to my place for dinner, okay?”

“Thanks,” Steve said quietly. He’d been silent for most of the trip, just glad she hadn’t really decided to head for home. Her attention meant a great deal to Steve, even if she did end up choosing not to go out with him.

“That’s a great idea, luv,” Sav said with a smile. Now he just needed to figure out some way to get time alone with her. Steve didn’t seem willing to part with her company, so this was going to take a great deal of thought on Sav’s part. On the trip back to her place, they stopped and picked up lunch, then ate when they got into her apartment. Afterwards, she looked at them and said, “Well, guys, I suppose you’d best get back home or Joe’s gonna wonder where you are. I’ll see you both later and I’ll give you my number as soon as I get the phone hooked up, okay?”

“Fine with me,” Sav said with a smile. Steve just nodded as they both hugged her for a quick goodbye. On the way back up to their apartments, both men thought long and hard about the woman they’d just left. For Sav, it was simply the need to find out what she was like away from Joe. But for Steve, there was a greater desire that she be a permanent part of his life. As they went into their respective apartments, both of them planned a way to get to know her better.

Trish spent the next few days exploring the area around her new home. To get around, she broke down and bought herself a bike and had a total blast riding it all over the countryside. She found little shops that carried all kinds of unique things and restaurants that made some excellent food. Sav and Steve had both come home one night to find notes taped to their doorway that contained Trish’s new phone number, so she got calls from both of them every night. But aside from them, Phil was the only one that knew Trish hadn’t really left.

Joe tried calling Trish at his parents house, only to be told by his mother that Trish wasn’t there. So he called her parents’ house in Sheffield, but got no answer. At first he thought maybe Trish was just still mad at him, so he let it go. But after nearly a week, he started to get worried. Their next afternoon off, Joe asked Sav to try calling her for him. Maybe she’d answer the phone if he called and left a message on her machine. But Sav was on his way out the door and told Joe he was sorry, he just couldn’t help him right now. Then he assured Joe that Trish was probably quite safe and left.

Frustrated, Joe went next door to talk to Steve. Maybe he’d be willing to help Joe out. But Joe caught sight of him heading into an apartment at the far end of the complex and shook his head. Apparently, Steve had managed to find someone to get his mind off Trish, Joe thought. Joe watched as he thought Sav was heading for his car and was shocked to see him go into the same flat. For a moment, Joe thought about finding out just who they were going to see, but at that moment Natasha came out and waved to Joe. Within minutes, the pretty blonde had Joe so distracted he forgot all about Sav and Steve.

“Okay guys, dig in!” Trish said with a smile. The two men were sitting at her table, ready to eat the meal she’d prepared as a ‘thank you’ for helping her get into her own place. While they ate, there was an awkward silence between the men as they each tried to figure out a way to get the other to leave without causing any problems in the band. Phil showed up just as they finished the meal and hauled Steve away, much to Steve’s dismay.

Sav gloated inwardly, glad to finally be alone with Trish. They sat down to watch television and Sav put his arm over her shoulders, pulling her in closer to him. She looked up at him and smiled just as he leaned over and kissed her. His kiss was warm and soft, but very insistent. He laid back on the couch and pulled her over on top of him. Trish could feel his hands running over her back and trying to burrow under her shirt, seeking the flesh underneath. But just as he touched her skin, she pulled away and said, “Wait a minute, Sav.”

“HUH?” Sav said in confusion. “I thought you wanted to...”

“I think we better get a few things straight before this goes any further, okay?” she said as she stood up. He looked up at her and said, “Sure, like what?”

“I know you guys pretty well can’t be faithful to one woman,” she sighed. “Especially on tour.”

“Oh, come on, luv! That’s not true!” Sav groaned.

“Please, Sav, Zeff’s told me all about your women!” Trish laughed. “What I guess I’m trying to say is, I don’t expect it from you, okay? But you can’t expect me to be here waiting on you either. If I feel like going out with someone else, I’m going to.” Sav leaned back and studied her face. She was completely serious about this, wasn’t she?

“Are you telling me you don’t want anything serious, Trish?” Sav said, totally astonished by what she’d said.

“I’m not saying that, I’m saying that right now I don’t,” she answered. “I really like you, Sav, but I’m not going to kid myself about the possibility of a future right now. We’ve know each other for a week, that’s it. It’s way too early for either of us to say “you belong to me”, know what I mean?”

Sav nodded slowly, then got up and crossed the room to her. Pulling her into his arms, he said, “I think I understand. You do your thing and I’ll do mine. If it doesn’t work out, fine. And if we decide to change things, get more serious later, that’s fine too.”

“Exactly,” she said with a smile. She wrapped her fingers threw his long brown hair and pulled his lips down to hers. The kiss was fevered, passionate, letting Sav feel her overwhelming desire for him. The only women he’d met who’d been so straight forward with their need had been the groupies he’d met on tour. But Trish was no groupie. The fact that he was a rock star meant nothing to her. To Trish, he was just a man. Fame and money didn’t come into the equation. It made her kiss that much more sweet to Sav. She wanted him, not the musician, just the man. His tongue went quickly between her lips, exploring her thoroughly as his hands began to wonder over her body.

She stripped his shirt off him quickly, wanting to feel his skin against her hands. A moment later, Sav pulled her thin t-shirt off over her head, then quickly unfastened the clips on her bra. Her breasts bared to him, Sav’s hands ran over them teasing lightly at her nipples. He sucked one quickly between his lips, pulling hard at her flesh as she gasped beside him.

“Mmm, Trish, you taste so good,” he murmured against her. Pushing her down into the couch, he quickly undid the button of her jeans, then slid the zipper down eagerly. Tugging roughly at her pants, he pulled them off her and took her underwear down as well. His hands went up her soft thighs, parting them gently as he lowered himself to her waiting mound. His fingers parted her outer folds, exposing her inner core to his hungry mouth. Trish gasped as his hot tongue moved over her clit, then lower to her wet opening. His tongue went over her, probing deep into her and making her squirm down onto him. Fingers worked deep into her as he went back to her hidden nub and ran his tongue over it. She let out a loud moan as the tension in her body broke and an orgasm flooded her senses.

“God, SAV!” she gasped as he looked up into her eyes. He gave her a smile and said, “Trish, luv, you taste so sweet!” Then he bent and captured her lips, letting her taste herself there. Their tongues warred and danced as he put his arms under her and picked her up, carrying her back to her bedroom. He laid her gently on the bed and shed his clothes under her heated gaze. Climbing up her body, he started to move into her but she pushed him over on to his back. Then she moved lower, her hand capturing his throbbing cock quickly. Moving slowly over the length of him, she lowered her mouth to him and swallowed his manhood with one swift move. She heard his swift intake of breath as her tongue went out over him, running along the veins of his member with long smooth strokes. Fondling his balls with one hand, she went all the way down on him and heard him moan as his cock hit the back of her throat. The tension in his body let lose and Trish tasted his hot seed pouring into her mouth as his fingers wound into her hair. She licked the last of his cum from his cock, then crawled up next to him and put her arms over his chest. Laying her head on his chest, she let out a contented sigh as he said, “Thanks, luv. That was fantastic!”

“Just repaying the favor,” she answered softly.

They lay drowsing in each others arms as Sav’s hand made lazy circles on her shoulder for a long while. Feeling his hand trail down her back, she smiled up at him and said, “Hmm, don’t start anything you can’t finish, luv.”

“Who says I can’t finish,” he said with a wicked grin. Pushing her over onto her back, Sav moved on top of her and said, “I’m always ready to finish something like this!”

“Oh really?” she giggled as her hand ran down between their bodies and found his reawakened member ready for action. She let out another giggle as he ran his hands down her side, tickling her with soft fingers. His eyes turned serious again as he moved between her thighs and sank into her without another word. Fire blazed in the blue depths of them as he looked down at her. His long curls trailed over her chest and throat as he began to move with her, her hips coming up to meet his each long slow thrust. The tension built quickly between their bodies and within moments, they were each gasping the others name as their climaxes hit them. Then Sav fell down next to her body with a contented smile and said, “Mind if I crash here tonight? It’s a bit...”

“On the late side, right?” Trish said with a laugh. “No problem, luv, just turn out the lights so we can get a bit of sleep, okay?”

“Sure,” he answered quietly as he flipped off the lamp. Then he pulled Trish into his arms and they both fell asleep within minutes.

The next morning, as Sav was leaving Trish’s place and rushing home to change clothes, he ran into Steve leaving for the studio. There was a tense moment of silence as Steve realized where Sav was coming from. Then he said quietly, “See you at the studio, mate.”

“Yeah, I’ll be there in just a bit,” Sav said nervously. As he was opening the door to his apartment, Sav turned and found Steve staring at Trish’s place with sorrow filled eyes. Closing the door behind him, Sav realized that he’d have to be careful not to rub what had happened with Trish in Steve’s face. And he wondered about Trish’s insistence that they keep their relationship casual for the time being. Maybe she’d had an insight into Steve’s feelings as well and didn’t want to hurt the poor bloke. Satisfied with that answer, Sav made his way to his room and got ready for the day.

Two days later, Steve knocked on the door of Trish’s flat nervously, hoping against all hope that Sav wasn’t there. Not knowing why he’d come, he stared at the door until Trish opened it with a sleepy, “Hi Steve!”

“Hi, luv,” he said softly. “I’m not disturbing you, am I?”

“Oh, no, come on it,” she said as she pulled her robe closed, stepped back from the doorway and let him in. “I’m surprised to see you up this early! It’s not even ten o’clock yet!”

“Well, I didn’t sleep too well, last night, so I finally gave it up as a bad job and hoped you were awake,” he said with a shy smile. He didn’t mention that the reason he’d slept so poorly was because of dreaming of her in Sav’s arms all night. There was no reason to burden her with his problems about that. He sat down on the couch and said, “I figured I’d stop by and see how you were today, since it’s my day off.”

“Oh, really?” she said in surprise. “Sav didn’t mention having a day off.”

“No, just Phil and I do,” he said slowly. “The rest of them are working on a track that the guitars are already finished on, we think.”

“Hmm, well, good for you and Phil, huh?” she said with a smile. “What are you going to do with yourself all day?”

“Well, mind if I bum around here for a while?” Steve asked cautiously. “Phil’s got Therese back at the flat, so I kinda felt like a fifth wheel.”

“That’s fine with me, maybe you can help me out with something,” she said quickly. She walked over to the closet and pulled out a guitar case, much to Steve’s surprise.

“Do you play, luv?” he asked softly.

“Well, no I don’t,” she said with a sheepish grin. “That’s what I want you to help me with. Think you could teach me a bit of guitar in your spare time, sir?”

“God, I’d love to!” he said with a broad grin. She sat down on the couch and patted the cushion next to her as she got the guitar out. Sitting it across her lap, she said, “Okay, teach away, Professor Clark!”

Taking the instrument from her hands, Steve plucked one of the strings and made a face. “Way out of tune here,” he grimaced. Working over the strings with deft fingers, he had the guitar tuned in what seemed to Trish to be record time. Then he handed it back to her and set it across her lap.

Wrapping her hand around the neck, she heard Steve chuckle and say, “You don’t need to strangle it, luv. Hold her like this.” Then he tried to reposition her hand. But in trying to face her while he did it, he got himself all mixed up as well. “Scoot forward, Trish,” he said quietly. “Let me show you this way.”

He got up behind her, his knee sliding behind her back as his long fingers wrapped over hers. His stomach met her back as he leaned around and positioned her second hand over the strings. She leaned back into him and felt his groin pushing into her lower back, the slight stirring there unmistakable. Trying to move back so she wouldn’t feel the beginnings of his arousal, he found himself pinned between her and the back of the couch. The only alternative to making a scene was to try and ignore what his body was going through, which is what he decided to do.

But Trish’s body was responding to his in a way he wasn’t aware of. She pressed her naked thighs together to suppress the wave of desire pounding through her. After what had happened with Sav, how could she seriously be thinking about Steve in that way? But Trish couldn’t help it. Suddenly, she was glad she’d warned Sav that they weren’t going to be exclusive with each other. If anything happened with Steve, she didn’t have to feel guilty about it.

She leaned her head back and looked up at him, seeing the uncertain fire starting to burn in the depths of his dark eyes. Licking her lips, she said, “Hold it like this?”

Nodding, Steve said softly, “The best way to hold a guitar is like it’s your lover. Firm, but gentle.” Then she saw a blush creeping into his cheeks as he realized what he’d said. She gave him a smile and said, “Show me what you mean, please?”

With a grimace she didn’t see, he said, “Okay, like this.” His long fingers covered hers, repositioning them over the fret board as she turned to watch what he was doing.

“Make sure you’ve got a little arch in your fingers or you’re going to be hitting more than one string at a time,” he explained as he tried to ignore how close he was to her.

“Like this?” she asked softly.

“Exactly,” Steve said as he examined her hand. Then he wrapped his arms around her to reach her other hand, showing her how to hold the pick as well. He moved back a bit and took her right hand in his, showing her how to strum the instrument slowly.

“That’s just an open chord, no fingers down on the frets,” he explained softly. Then his fingers moved hers, pushing down gently at certain notes on the neck. “Okay, that’s your first chord. It’s one we used a lot in some of our earlier songs. Look at where your fingers are.”

Staring down at the guitar, Trish tried to memorize just where he’d placed her fingers. She pushed down hard and heard Steve whisper, “No need to choke it, luv! Like this.” He loosened her grip on the neck and said, “Remember, firm, but gentle.”

Turning to say something to him, Trish found her face a bare inch from his. She could feel his breath on her cheek and completely forgot what she was about to ask. Instead, she closed the distance between them, her lips meeting his with a soft insistence that promised far more. His hands tightened over hers as her tongue found its way between his lips.

With a soft groan, Steve pulled away from her and said roughly, “I can’t do this! You and Sav...”

“I made things clear to Sav, just like I will to you,” she answered quietly. “I do what I want. I don’t belong to anyone but myself. So Sav has nothing to do with this, okay?”

He stared down at her in wonder. How had any woman passed up the chance to have an exclusive relationship with a rock star? From her tone, it was obvious that she was the one who had made this decision and he couldn’t figure out why.

“Steve, I’m not getting in between you and any of your band mates,” she said softly. “This way, there can’t be any hard feelings if I want to be with someone other than Sav sometimes.” He started to look away, but his head snapped back around as Trish whispered, “Like you.”

“What’s this, you want permission to fuck anyone in the band, Trish?” he asked as anger started to come into his eyes. He moved away from her and said, “Sorry, I’m not sharing any woman with the whole fucking band.”

“Steve,” she said quietly. “There are only two men in all of existence that I’m interested in. One of them is Sav.” She stood and put a hand at the small of his back and whispered softly just behind his ear, “The other is you. As far as I’m concerned, there’s not another man on the planet aside from you two.”

He turned and looked at her uncertainly, asking, “You told Sav that, because of me?”

Trish nodded then looked away. “Maybe I was stupid, and maybe I was wrong that you might have some interest in me as well,” she said softly. “I just thought...”

“God, Trish, yes, I’m definitely... interested,” Steve answered. “I just figured when you and Sav were together the other night, well, I’d kinda lost out.”

Trish shook her head as she sat back down on the couch. Then she said, “No, I’m not making any decisions right now. I just want to live for once and consequences be damned. Maybe I’m making a mistake, but I won’t know until I make it, will I?” She picked up the guitar again and laid it on her bare knee, trying to put her fingers back in the position he’d shown her. “Is this right, Steve?”

“No,” he said with a soft chuckle for her sudden change of subject. He knelt down in front of her and moved her fingers gently, saying, “Like this, luv.” His hand came to rest on her naked thigh as she strummed the chord he’d shown her. His thumb ran over her skin, pulling her attention from the guitar and back to her awakening senses. She smiled down at him, wondering if he’d try to take this any further after the conversation they’d just had. As he looked up into her emerald green eyes, his hand tightened on her thigh and he closed his eyes.

Trish laid back against the couch, letting her grip on the guitar loosen as she watched him. He seemed so unsure of himself, not the rock star at all. His hands moved to the guitar, following its strap up to her neck before slipping it off over her head. Then he took the guitar gently from her hands and said, “Maybe we should try your guitar lessons some other day, Trish. My mind’s not on it at all right now.”

Putting the guitar back into it’s case, he turned back to her and gave her a shy smile. Then he got up and sat next to her on the couch, saying, “So, can you think of anything else to do today? Maybe catch a movie or something...”

Wetting her lips with her tongue, she said, “Careful with that question, Steve. I can think of something, but you might not like it.”

“Hit me,” he said with a laughed as he sank back into the couch.

“No, I don’t think so,” she said, suddenly losing her nerve. She got up and started to walked past him into her bedroom to change close, only to feel him grab her and pull her down onto his lap.

“Patricia Marie Elliott, that is for me to decide!” he said with a laugh. “What do you want to do today?”

She looked into his eyes and whispered softly, “This.” Then her lips closed down over his. Surprised, Steve hesitated for just a moment before wrapping Trish in his arms and pulling her close into his body. Her long thin fingers went to his hair, winding through it as they kissed. Running his hands over her back, they went down over her ass and pulled her legs up on the couch next to his body. His tongue went out, tentatively exploring her as she let out a soft moan. Her mouth welcomed him, her tongue running gently over his.

As his lips trailed down to her throat, she let out a soft whimper, “Oh God, Steve!”

He sucked harder at the flesh of her neck as he heard his name on her lips, leaving a small red mark before going back up to her ear. Taking her earlobe into his mouth, he bit gently at it, bringing another moan from her.

Her mouth went to his ear, the tongue moving lightly over the out reaches before plunging into it and sending a shiver through his body.

“Oh, fuck, Trish, if you do that again, I’m not going to be able to stop myself,” he groaned against her throat. Then trembled as she ran her tongue into his ear again. He laid her back on the couch, his nimble fingers quickly undoing the tie of her robe and laying it open. The filmy short nightgown she’d worn under it did nothing to stop the raging fire of his passion. Laying on top of her, he kissed her hard as his hand traced over the pattern of lace at her neck.

Her hands went down his back and over the taunt muscles of his ass before wrapping around the thick leather of his belt and pulling him down into her. His mouth devoured hers as his fingers went to the tie of her nightgown and slowly pulled the strings loose. As his hand brushed the thin fabric back from her, his mouth moved downward until his lips closed over the hard bud of her nipple. His roughened fingers kneaded her flesh as his tongue swirled over the nub. Holding on to his belt, she ground his hips down into hers, feeling the full extent of his desire through the soft denim of his jeans.

His hands went under her, lifting her breasts to his mouth as he moved to her other side. Her legs twined with his as she said, “Oh, Steve, don’t stop! Mmm, you feel so good!”

Kneeling between her thighs, Steve pulled her up with him as he sat up. Her long legs wrapped around him as he continued his gentle ministrations at her breast. They turned slightly, letting Trish’s back come to rest on the couch as he kissed her again. His hands went to her shoulders, carefully sliding the material of her robe and nightgown off as his tongue once again explored the hot recesses of her mouth. As soon as her arms were free of the imprisoning cloth, her hands went to work untucking his t-shirt from his jeans. Pushing him back, she maneuvered the shirt off over his head. Then trembled as his chest crushed against hers impatiently. Her nails dug into his shoulders as she pulled him back to her mouth.

Her body shuddered as his thin fingers trailed over her sides then went to the waist band of her panties. After running his hand along the band, his fingers dipped into her underwear and found her sex waiting for him. Moving her hips down onto his hand, she gasped as his fingers found the hidden button of her clit. He rubbed it roughly, bringing another long low moan from her body. She shivered in anticipation as one of his long fingers finally penetrated into her snug channel, working slowly into her body. His kiss was fierce as a second finger slipped into her body to join the first. When a third slender digit entered her, her hips started to buck against his in orgasm as she cried out his name. “Steve, oh fuck, Steve, I’m CUMMING!” she cried against his throat.

“Oh, yeah, cum for me, Trish,” he whispered into her hair. “I want to feel it, baby!” Her body closed down on his fingers as she moaned, “I am, Steve, ooooh God! STEVE!” She collapsed back onto the couch and closed her eyes, letting the feel of his hand wash over her. Looking down at her, he saw her lips trembling as she fought for control of her body. She looked so beautiful laying his arms, Steve couldn’t believe it. His eyes studied the contours of her face as she bit down on her lip and panted for breath.

Her eyes sparkled a brilliant green as she ran her hands over his chest and said, “My God, that was intense!”

“Enjoy yourself, luv?” he said with an amused smile. She nodded mutely as she finally managed to get her breathing back under control. She could still feel the hard bulge in his jeans rubbing against her as he simply watched her. So she let her hand go lower, past his belt buckle until she could massage him through his jeans. The soft denim couldn’t hide the large lump of his rock hard cock as her hands closed over him. His eyes closed as she grasped him, letting her hand wonder down the denim clad length of his manhood. She pulled his lips back to hers as her hands moved back to his belt, undoing it with swift fingers. It was his turn to shiver as she slowly unzipped his jeans and peeled back the denim. A moment later, she freed his straining cock from the cloth, running her hand over him gently. The tip of it met with her damp panties and Steve nearly exploded at the feel of her desire.

His hand ran between them, moving the material of her underwear to the side so that she was exposed to his probing manhood. She guided him to her, running the head over her clit as she moaned against his mouth. A moment later, Trish’s hand moved him lower to the opening of her sex. His hips came forward slowly as he entered her body and left her gasping at the size of him. He was bigger than any man she’d be with in a long time, so she felt a slight twinge of pain as he drove into her, reaching barely touched regions of her body. Her head came to rest on his shoulder as he pushed slowly into her, her fingers digging into his hips as she pulled him in further. By the time he was fully inside her, he’d reached the opening of her innermost core. He began to thrust slowly into her body, each time pushing at the mouth of her womb. Her legs locked around him, pulling him deeper into her.

“Trish, luv!” Steve gasped as he held on to his self control by a bare thread. His body wanted to pound into her, to claim her for his own, but he was afraid he would hurt her if he let go. So he moved carefully, holding her tightly to him and keeping each thrust as gentle as he could. Then he heard her breath into his ear, “Harder, luv! Please! I want to feel you cum inside me, Steve!”

“Oh, God, Trish!” he whimpered as his last vestiges of control slipped from him at those words. His narrow hips slammed up into her body, bringing an impassioned cry from her throat. She pulled his lips back to hers, her kiss so fevered that his lips felt bruised from the pressure. His hands steadied her hips as his movements became frenzied. She drove down onto him with each movement as she felt the tension building in her body, the tension of an oncoming climax. She bit at his jaw as her body constricted on his, whispering, “I’m cumming Steve! Oh God, Steve, I’m cumming again.”

With a whispered moan, Steve slammed into her body once more and felt himself release into her waiting womb. His body trembled as he crushed her to his chest and said, “Oh God, Trish! I’m cumming tooo!”

She felt him shudder, then the hot rush as his seed spilled into her. Laying back against the wall, she held him to her shoulder as their bodies came down from the rush of orgasm With a gentle tug, Steve laid her down on the couch and pulled her to his chest as they both collapsed into satisfied sleep.

Coming slowly out of sleep, Trish realized she wasn’t alone on the couch. Her head still rested on a man’s chest and she was very nearly naked. It took her a moment to remember what had happened before she’d fallen asleep. She looked up slowly and found Steve staring down at her with an shy smile on his face. “Afternoon, luv.”

“Mmm, afternoon, Steve,” she said softly. Her hand went slowly down his chest as she smiled back up at him. “Anything in particular you’d like to do this afternoon?”

“Um, more of what we just did is probably out of the question, huh?” he said with a nervous laugh.

“Maybe later,” she answered with a grin. Snuggling down into his side, she said, “Right now I’m kinda happy where I am.”

“Trish, do you remember that night at Joe’s house?” he said uncertainly. They’d both been drinking, so he wondered how much she knew about what had happened. He was surprised when Trish nodded and said, “Every second of it.”

“No regrets about what happened?” he asked quietly.

“Only that I had to leave the next day,” she breathed softly onto his skin. “And when I saw you again, you were with someone else, so no chance for a repeat performance. That was disappointing, to say the least.”

“I couldn’t get Carrie to leave me alone,” he sighed. “But I really did want the chance to talk to you that night.”

“That’s good to know,” she answered quietly. He kissed her forehead and held her tightly to him, glad to know she hadn’t been hurt by their first encounter. Her fingers played idly with the trail of hair on Steve’s stomach, tickling him as she went. Grabbing her hand, he brought it to his lips and whispered, “Enough of that, Trish!”

“Aww, can’t a girl have a little fun?” she pouted.

“Oh, I’ll show you fun, luv,” he said in a throaty whisper. He rolled carefully on top of her, kissing her hard as she giggled. “So now I’m funny, huh?” he said in a mock hurt voice.

“No, not in the least,” she said with a smile. Then she tugged him roughly up to her mouth, kissing him with hard heat. But Steve was finished with the couch for the moment and pulled away from her, leading her to her feet in front of him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Trish kissed him again, driving any sense from Steve’s mind. He pinned her against a nearby wall and pulled her panties off with a rough jerk. Her fingers went impatiently to his jeans, fumbling with the belt he’d only recently fastened. Tugging it open, Trish reopened his jeans and let them fall from his thin hips as he moved her back to the wall. A moment later, her leg wrapped around him as he drove hard into her waiting body.

Her head flung back, Trish struggled to control herself as he pounded up into her. Biting her neck, Steve fought for his own self control. But it was a losing battle as his manhood slammed into her over and over again. Feeling her nails tear into his shoulders, he let out a moan as she started to tremble in his arms. She bit into her lip as her climax claimed her again, ripping a cry from her body. Only then could Steve give in to his own need, pouring into her with every ounce of his strength. His kisses became gentle again, soft and loving as he held her body in his arms. He felt her head slump down onto his shoulder as she whispered, “Thank you, luv. That was wonderful.”

“The pleasure was all mine,” he chuckled as he pulled away from her.

Miles away in the studio, Joe was pacing back and forth after another unsuccessful attempt to contact Trish in England. Sav watched him nervously, hoping he wasn’t going to have to tell Joe the truth. Throwing himself down in a chair, Joe sighed, “I’m going to have to take a couple of days off and find out where Trish is. Mum’s going to get worried if I tell her one more time that I can’t find the bloody little witch.”

“Fuck me,” Sav muttered. Unfortunately, Joe heard him and looked at him curiously. Letting out a long sigh, Sav said, “She’s not in England, mate.”

Joe’s eyes narrowed as he said quietly, “If she’s not in England, just where the hell is she?”

“Um, she’ll kill me if I tell you,” Sav answered uneasily.

“And I just might if you don’t,” Joe growled.

Sav rolled his eyes and took a deep breath, then said, “She never left.”

“Yeah, right, Savage, you’re funny,” Joe said angrily. “I just haven’t noticed her sneaking into the apartment at night, right?”

“No, she got her own place in the complex,” Sav answered as he moved away from Joe. Joe looked him over and said suspiciously, “Who all knows this?”

“Um, me, Phil and, um, well, Steve,” Sav said as he backed away from the anger in Joe’s eyes.

Joe crossed the room and looked Sav in the eye, asking, “I’d suggest you come clean with me. Have you been sleeping with her?”

“Shit,” Sav said, looking around anxiously. If he answered yes, somehow he just knew Joe was going to pound him to a bloody pulp. But he couldn’t lie to him either. He finally closed his eyes and said quietly, “Yeah, well, um, we did kinda sleep together the other night, but she doesn’t want anything to serious, so...”

Joe grabbed him by the collar and said, “How do you ‘kinda’ sleep with my cousin?”

“Okay, yes, I slept with her, okay?” Sav squeaked as he tried to pull away from Joe’s grip. “But she’s got this idea that I can’t be faithful to one woman, so she said she wasn’t going to wait around for me either. She was going to do what she wanted to.”

Joe pushed him down and said, “Okay, you’re going to take me to her place, right now! I’m gonna get this straightened out and get her on the next plane to England if it kills me!”

Sav didn’t say a word on the drive back to the complex. Somehow, he just knew anything he said would be absolutely wrong to Joe. When they arrived, Joe stormed up to the apartment Sav pointed out and slammed his fist on the door. Trish made her way sleepily to the door, as she and Steve had been taking a brief nap when Joe had gotten there. She was wrapped up in only her robe as she opened the door and looked at Joe in disbelief.

“What the fuck stunt are you trying to pull, Trish,” Joe yelled angrily. Then he looked up and saw Steve standing in the doorway of the bedroom with only his jeans on. He flew across the room and pinned Steve to the wall, saying, “Are you banging my cousin, too?”

Before Steve could answer, Trish got behind Joe and grabbed him by a handful of his long blond hair, pulling him off Steve as she hissed, “You will not come into my flat and start this shit, Zeff. Get the fuck out and leave Steve alone!” He tried to pull away, but Trish knitted the fingers of her other hand into his hair as well so that he couldn’t move without a good bit of pain. Trying to get a hold of her arm, Joe started to get frustrated by the fact she was behind him. If there was one thing she knew, if was how to neutralize the size difference between them in a fight. She’d won more than one childhood fight with Joe using this technique.

Steve rubbed his throat as he watched Trish manhandle Joe. Torn between anger that Steve was there and laughter over Joe’s situation, Sav chose to laugh as he watched his lead vocalist hit his knees. Joe was struggling to get his hands on Trish’s arms, but she was in the best position possible at that moment. Directly behind him.

“Let fucking go of me, Trish!” Joe shrieked.

“I don’t think so, Zeff!” Trish said angrily. “Not til you back off Steve. And Sav for that matter! What I do in my free time is my business, not yours. You’re not my father!”

“Damn it, Trish, I’m just trying to look out for you!” Joe yelled.

“No, you’re just trying to treat me like a child,” Trish answered. “Well, I’m not!”

Changing tactics, Joe reached down and grabbed Trish by the legs, pulling them out from under her. She landed on her ass still hanging on to Joe’s hair for dear life. Pulling him over on top of herself, she finally let go and Joe spun around, pinning her to the floor. “Trish,” Joe panted. “You really don’t know what the hell you’re doing! Neither one of these guys are good for you.”

“That’s up to me!” Trish glared at him. After trying to get away from him, Trish finally brought her knee up hard and slammed it into his tailbone. Joe’s eyes nearly popped out of his head with the pain. He rolled away from her just as Sav was about to get involved in their little battle. He’d figured Joe was just too big for Trish to handle alone and he didn’t want her to get hurt. Glancing up at Steve, she saw him about to get into it as well. She shook her head at both of them and said, “I can handle Zeff, don’t worry about it.”

“Damn it, Trish, you know you never fight fair,” Joe groaned. “I’m getting too old for this shit.”

“Well, old man, let the younger generation deal with their own lives then,” she said sarcastically.

“Fine,” Joe moaned, still holding his backside. “It’ll probably take both of them to handle you anyway! What the hell should I care if you end up crying when it’s all said and done? Make your own fucking mistakes and don’t come wailing to me if it doesn’t work out.”

“Good,” she said with a satisfied smile. “Now that we’ve got that settled, anyone up for a Guiness?”

Steve and Sav both piped up with quick, “Yeah, me’s” then considered each other quietly. Steve stared down at the carpet, sure Sav was going to go off on him any minute for sleeping with Trish. But when Trish came back in with their drinks, including one that she handed to Joe, she looked down at Sav and said, “I do what I want, simple, right?”

Sav looked up at her and said, “Right. Joe doesn’t need to worry about anybody breaking your heart, luv. You’re gonna be the heartbreaker here.”

“Yeah, something else I inherited from Zeff, I suppose,” she said with a smile. No one saw the troubled look that crossed Steve’s face at the exchange. His fragile heart was the one at the greatest risk of breaking and he knew it, though he could never tell her that. She came over behind his chair and leaned over, giving him a smile and a quick kiss. His dark blue eyes studied her as he managed to paste a small smile over his anxious features.

“So, when am I going to get my guitarist back,” Joe said crossly.

“He’s got today off, but I promise you’ll have him back tomorrow,” Trish said with a sweet smile. “I won’t interfere with your recording, Zeff.”

“You better not,” Joe mumbled. “We’ve got enough problems now as it is. And we don’t need a lot of tension in the studio, understood?”

“We’re all adults here, Joe,” Sav said quietly. “I’m sure we can handle this like adults instead of little kids.” Looking at Steve, Sav waited for his reply and got a curt nod from him.

“Fine, then we’ve got to get back to the studio,” Joe answered, talking to Sav. The two of them got up and Trish walked them to the door, giving Sav a quick kiss as he left. Then she turned back and found Steve staring at her, jealousy apparent in his eyes. She walked over to him and said, “Are you going to be okay with this, Steve?”

“Do I have a choice?” he mumbled. “You were with him first, so it’s this or nothing, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is,” she answered softly. Slipping on to his lap, she said, “Steve, I don’t want to hurt you in this. If you can’t do it, just tell me and I’ll understand.”

He ran his hand through her hair and said, “I want to be with you, Trish, and I’d go through hell to do it. If I just have to deal with Sav, it’s a small price to pay.” He kissed her tenderly, just a bare brush of his lips on hers. As the kiss ended, she laid her head on his shoulder and wondered if any man could ever be any sweeter than Steve. They sat there for a long time, with Steve just holding her and wishing Sav would find someone else. Then Steve could finally have Trish to himself and tell her how he really felt. But, for now, he couldn’t risk scaring her away.

She nibbled softly at his throat and felt him start to squirm under her. Working her way up, she sucked his earlobe into her mouth and ran her tongue over it, sending a shiver through Steve’s body. Tracing the shell of his outer ear, she let her tongue slip into it slightly, pushing Steve over the edge. He groaned as his hand slipped inside her robe, teasing her nipple with his rough fingertips. Moaning into his ear, Trish felt him trembling as he pinched her nipple lightly. Turning his face to hers, he captured her lips quickly and kissed her gently. He undid the tie of her robe, baring her naked flesh to his wandering hands. Pushing the material back off her shoulders, he bit tenderly at her skin and heard her gasp against his neck. He pulled her around to straddle his hips as he removed her robe. Her sex ground down onto his hard cock, making him buck up into her body. She slid back on his knees and unfastened his jeans quickly, then helped him take the denim down off his hips. Then with one quick movement, she sank down onto him. His hands rested on her hips, guiding her up and down the length of his shaft slowly. She kissed him hard as her body’s motion became more urgent, more frantic. Gasping against his lips, he felt her channel tightened on him as she climaxed, pushing him over the edge as well. He kissed her lips, her cheeks, her eyes as they stayed in each other’s arms in the warm afterglow of the experience they’d just shared.

“Think we’ll ever make it out of this apartment?” she laughed.

“God, I hope not,” Steve murmured with a throaty laugh of his own. “If I had my way, I’d keep you in bed with me for the next week!”

“Hmm, sounds good, but unfortunately, Joe would have my head if you didn’t show up for work!” she giggled.

“That, much to my dismay, is the truth,” Steve sighed. “Guess I’ll just have to make the most of tonight then, huh?”

“Well, if you don’t feed me soon, there’s not going to be anything left to take advantage of! I’m starved!” she said with grimace.

“Then go get some clothes on that body before I decide to ‘take advantage’ of it again!” he chuckled.

“Yes sir!” she said, jumping up with a mock salute. He smacked her bare bum and said, “Better get moving, luv!”

“Ow!” she screeched as she headed into her bedroom to get dressed. She returned moments later in tight blue jeans and a white blouse that hit all the right curves on her body. Steve let out a low whistle before heading in to retrieve his shirt. By the time he returned, she’d slipped into her short black leather boots and was waiting on Steve to finish dressing.

“Ready?” she asked quickly.

“Most definitely, but I’d still rather just have you for dinner!” he laughed as he grabbed her ass playfully.

“Sorry, but I’m not terribly nourishing,” she giggled. “Let’s go!” Then she took him by the hand and led him out to the car.

Phil was just heading to his car for an evening alone on the town. The trio took off for a nearby pub, where dinner was followed by pint after pint of ale. By the time they started for home, not one of them could see straight. Luckily for them, the roads were deserted and none of the trees grew legs to jump in front of them.

Steve pulled Trish’s giggling drunken form from the car, which Phil had parked in an amazingly cockeyed way, and leaned her on the car next to it so he could close the door. She cast an eye at the car and started to laugh even harder as she slid down the side of it.

“Was so funny?” Phil slurred.

“Jus membering sometink we did to Zess’ car when he got hes firs one!” she giggled.

“Was dat?” Steve said as he tried to pick her up from the ground. His inebriated state worked against him as he landed on top of her, making her laugh even harder. Then she laid her head on his shoulder and said, “Trashed it!”

“Oh, shit, he kill ussss!” Phil gasped.

“But it would be sooooo much fun, Philly!” Trish giggled. Pushing herself up, she managed to make it into her house, where she grabbed some toilet tissue and a jar of mayonnaise. On the way back out to the cars, she tripped over a lawn chair and whispered in a hushed yell, “Scuse me! Didn’t see anyone there!”

Then she made her way noisily back over to the two men. Handing them each a roll of toilet paper, she said, “You two gess to work on wrappin hes car in dat! I’ll take care the ress!”

Trying to keep as quiet as their drunken exploits would allow, Phil and Steve stumbled around Joe’s car trailing toilet paper behind them. Trish hit the door handles, smearing the underside of each one of them with a generous glob of mayo. Mission accomplished, they wobbled their way arm in arm back to Trish’s flat. Phil collapsed down onto a chair, while Steve and Trish landed in a heap on the couch. They all passed out within minutes of each other.

The practical joking trio forgot two major things. One was to set an alarm clock to make sure they were awake enough to play innocent when Joe showed up at her door. The other was to lock the door as they stumbled into her flat.

The door burst open around eleven o’clock and Joe boiled into the room like a tornado. “TRISH!!! Damn you, what the hell did you do to my car!!”

Phil bolted up out of the chair and landed on his ass on the floor. Steve jumped a mile, then clamped his hands over his head as his hangover caught the full force of Joe’s yell. But Trish merely opened one eye and looked up at Joe, then said, “Um, I don’t know. You tell me. Softly.”

“You wrapped it in fucking toilet paper!” Joe screamed as Phil’s hands covered his ears. “And it looks like someone shot a load of jism under the door handle!”

With a groan, Trish sat up and looked around the room with her one good eye. The other eye seemed to be matted shut. A jar of mayo came into her line of sight and she pointed it out, whispering, “That’s what’s under the doors, now can you let me get some more sleep?”

“Fine, you go back to sleep, but your little playmates have work to do today,” Joe said angrily. “AFTER they get done cleaning my car!” Grabbing Phil roughly, he pulled him to his feet and shoved him towards the door. He tried to do the same to Steve, only to find Trish hanging on to him.

“He’ll be out in a minute,” she whispered, pulling Steve into her arms. To Steve, she said, “Sorry for getting the two of you in trouble.”

“Don’t worry, we both had fun last night,” he murmured, still trying to avoid loud noises. Kissing her quickly, he said softly, “I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“Call me,” she said as he walked out the door under Joe’s glare. Joe turned back to Trish and said, “Jesus, are we going to have to start calling you three the Terror Triplets?”

“Go away, Zeff,” she groaned. “Before my head splits open!” She managed to get a pillow over her head just before Joe slammed the door shut. Falling back into a deep sleep, she managed to spend the rest of the day sleeping off her hangover.

Trish barely heard from Sav or Steve for the next couple of days because they were both busy in the studio. Joe called and said that they were trying to make up for the time they’d lost by using Jim Steinman, plus they wanted to get as much done as they could before going home for Christmas. A couple of nights over the next week, Steve landed in Trish’s bed just long enough to sleep before heading back to work.

A couple of days before the band was scheduled to go home for the holidays, Sav dropped in for a visit. Trish greeted him with a warm smile as she said, “Been a while since I’ve seen you, luv.”

“Well, I know Steve’s been staying here and I just didn’t want to interfere,” Sav said quietly.

“Thanks,” she said softly as she walked into his arms for a kiss. “So, any plans for today?”

“Um, wanna take in a movie?” he said with a smile. “There’s a theater not far from here.”

“Sound like an idea,” she laughed. “Let me get my coat and we’re off!” She grabbed her jacket and let Sav lead her out the door. When they reached the theater, Trish looked up and saw a marquee full of mostly foreign language films, much to her dismay. The only English film playing was “Streets of Fire”, billed as a “Rock and Roll Fable”.

They slid into a pair of seats at the back corner of the theater and Trish laid her head down on his shoulder as the movie started. But the two of them really weren’t all that interested in the film and within five minutes, they were kissing. Trish let out a gasp as his hand went up under her skirt, fumbling roughly with her underwear as he tried to reach her.

“Rick! We can’t do that here!” she whispered quickly.

“Why not?” he laughed.

“Cuz this is a public place!” she hissed.

“There are exactly five other people here and they’re halfway across the theater,” he said with a wicked smile. “I want you, Trish.”

“What if I’m trying to watch the movie?” she asked as his fingers slipped under the leg band of her panties.

“Then you wouldn’t have been kissing me, now would you,” he whispered heatedly. His free arm went over her shoulder, his hand trailing over her breast as she let out a little squeak. “Come on, baby! I really need you right now!”

Turning into his body, Trish moved her hand over his groin and felt his rock hard cock through the soft denim of his jeans. She groaned as he started to nibble at her throat, then went stiff as his finger penetrated into her hot wet sex. He slipped around in front of her and knelt between her thighs as a second finger went into her body.

“Please!” he pleaded. “No one will even notice us!” She kissed him roughly in answer and let him slip her panties off her legs. She opened his jeans, freeing him as he moved forward into her. Biting her lip, she fought to contain a moan desperate to come from deep in her throat. His hand went under her shirt and over her bra, teasing and pinching her nipple. She shuddered under his attentions as he thrust hard into her. Her breath was coming in rapid puffs as she struggled to stay quiet.

“Oh God, Rick!” she gasped as she felt her body tensing on his. Closing her eyes, she shut out the curious stare that came from in front of them. The man who watched them HAD to know what was happening. She saw him lean over to the woman he was with and start kissing her on the neck. Trish giggled, wondering if they were about to start an orgy right there in the theater. But it suddenly didn’t matter as she felt a climax tear through her body. Sav’s panting against her neck was a good indication he wasn’t far behind her. She felt him tremble as he came, then he laid his head down on her breast with a sigh. “Thanks luv,” he whispered softly.

“My pleasure,” she giggled. Settling back in their seats, Trish laid her head back down on his shoulder and watched the rest of the movie without really seeing it. A part of her wondered how she could keep this up. With all the time she’d spent with Steve, how could she keep seeing Sav? But at the same time, she didn’t want to lose Sav either. Both of them were so sweet! How could any woman be forced to make a choice between them? Sav kissed her forehead gently, reinforcing the torment Trish was in. There just wasn’t any way to make that decision.

When the movie ended, Sav led her out into the twilight of the December evening. He was hungry, so they went to a small pub not far from the apartment complex. As the first entered the pub, Sav had his arm protectively around her shoulders. But Trish went stiff when she saw Steve sitting there with Joe, Rick and Phil. She moved away from Sav with a regretful smile, not wanting to cause a scene. But Sav pulled her over to his band mates with an uncertain smile.

“Hi guys,” she whispered, then she saw the hurt in Steve’s eyes. This was so unfair, most of all to him. Trish could feel the pain emanating from Steve as she took a seat between Sav and Joe. Tears pricked at her eyes and she had to look away before she really started to cry.

Phil continued with the topic of conversation as Trish started off into the distance. “So, I think we really need to make a day trip into Amsterdam before we head home for the holidays. Do a bit of ’visiting’, what do you say?”

“Hell no!” Joe said emphatically. “If you guys go, Trish is going to want to and I’m not letting her anywhere near the red light district.”

“What’s the matter, Joe?” Sav asked curiously. “Afraid she just might take it over?”

“Hardly!”

“Then I for one would love to go,” Sav laughed. Trish barely ate as they discussed the possibility of a trip. Finally, Phil laughed, “Okay, who’s all in when we decide to go?”

“I’d like to see it,” Trish said softly.

“Then we’ll have to sneak you in past Joe!” Sav laughed. He could feel the tension in Trish and knew that it was from being around Steve, but he didn’t know what to do.

“Um, I think I’m ready to head home, so let me know if you guys decide to go, okay?” Trish said without looking at Steve. She stood up, so Sav followed. But she said, “I’ll catch a cab. You don’t have to leave them.”

“No, I brought you here, I’ll get you home,” he said softly. “I’ll see you guys in the studio tomorrow, okay?”

Everyone agreed, then turned back to their own conversation. But as they walked out the door, Trish turned to look at them one more time. Steve was watching her with hooded eyes. She gave him a tremulous smile, then let Sav led her out of the pub.

The ride back to her flat was silent as Sav tried to find some way around the awkwardness of the pub. Reaching the complex, he got out of the car and opened Trish’s door for her, then took her hand. She smiled up at him anxiously, afraid she’d hurt his feelings as well. Then he kissed her gently and said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know the guys would be there.”

“It’s not your fault, Rick,” she sighed. “If anyone’s at fault, it’s me. Maybe this is just getting to be too much for all of us.”

“No, we’re all adults, luv,” he answered. “Steve will deal with it, just like I do. Now, what do you want to do tonight?”

“I’m really tired, so I think I’ll just head for bed if you don’t mind,” she said softly.

“Can I join you?” he asked quietly. “No more hankie pankie, it would just be nice to wake up with you in my arms in the morning.”

Nodding, she unlocked the door and headed straight for her bedroom with Sav behind her. Maybe a good night’s sleep would take care of all the doubts she felt. At least she hoped so. They climbed into bed and after a very short time, Trish heard his breathing slow as sleep claimed him. She stared up at the ceiling for a long time, trying to sort out her feelings for the two wonderful men she’d found herself involved with. But she fell asleep with nothing resolved in her mind.

The next morning, she woke in a much better mood, able to put the encounter at the pub out of her mind. She dragged Sav out of bed, so he could get ready to go into the studio. They’d just finished breakfast when the phone rang.

“Trish,” came Steve’s voice over the telephone. “Have any plans for tomorrow night yet?”

“Um, now that you ask, no I don’t,” she answered with a laugh.

“Well, I know you mentioned wanting to see the red light district in Amsterdam and we decided we’re going there tomorrow night,” he said uncertainly.

“Sounds great, who’s going?” she asked curiously.

“Um, Joe and Phil are taking Natasha and Therese,” he answered. “Interested?”

“Hell yeah,” she said quickly. “What time?”

“We’re leaving early, cuz we’ll have to drive into town,” he said slowly. “Prolly around noon.”

“Okay, I’ll be ready then!” she said quickly. “See you tomorrow, Steve!” She hung up the phone and turned back to Sav, who was sitting on the couch.

“What’s up, Trish?” he asked with a smile.

“That was Steve,” she said as she sat down next to him. “They’re actually going into the red light district tomorrow, so he invited me along.”

“Oh,” Sav said quietly. He thought for a moment and said, “That sounds like fun, mind if I tag along?”

“Well,” she said uncertainly. “It’s three couples going, so you might feel a bit left out. Cuz I’ll be there with Steve, not you.”

Sav looked at her thoughtfully and said, “I may not have to be by myself, let me make a phone call.” He picked up the phone and within moments was deep in conversation with a woman on the other end. When he hung up, he said, “Ok, got myself a date, so let me go invite myself along with the group.”

“Oh,” Trish said quietly. “Who are you going to take?”

“Natasha and Therese’s roommate Talia,” Sav said with a smile. Trish looked up at him and he could see a bit of jealousy in her eyes, so he said, “Well, you’ve got Steve and I’ve got Talia. You didn’t think I was going to wait for you and Steve to be done all the time, now did you?”

“No,” she said, giving him a shaky smile. “I just didn’t know, that’s all.”

“Talia and I just have a bit of fun together every once in a while,” he assured her. “Nothing serious, like the way Steve feels about you.” She stared down at the carpet and Sav could see something was bothering her, so he asked, “What’s wrong, luv.”

“Oh, sometimes I just get to feeling guilty about the whole situation,” she said softly. “I care about him a lot, but I care for you too. I don’t want to lose either of you.”

“I’m not going anywhere, luv,” Sav answered quietly. “You set the rules of our little game up, so I’m just living with it. Any time you’re ready for a change, just let me know.”

“What if I decide I want to be with just Steve?” she asked slowly.

“Then I’ll live with that,” he answered. “It’ll hurt, but I’ll deal with it.”

“And what if I said I just wanted to be with you?” she challenged.

“Then I’ll deal with that, too,” he said with a smile. “I’ve got no problem with giving up Talia at a second’s notice.”

“Well, I’m not ready to make that decision yet,” she said with a sigh. Giving him a lingering kiss, she whispered, “But thanks for be so honest about everything.”

“Trish, luv, you’ve always been honest with me, you deserve honesty in return, you know what I mean?” he said as he pulled her into his arms. He returned her kiss, then said, “But for now, I’ve got to get my ass to the studio. Should I come back tonight when we’re done?”

“Um, better not,” she sighed. “I think Steve wants to stay here tonight.”

“Okay, then I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, kissing her quickly as he headed for the door. Trish slumped back into the couch, wondering just how her life had gotten so complicated. How had she managed to find not one, but two absolutely fantastic men? She could feel things coming to a head and knew eventually she was going to be forced to make a decision between them, one she didn’t know how to make.

Trish spent the rest of the day bumming around her flat, watching TV and straightening things up. That evening, she laid down on the couch and watched a movie until she fell asleep. Around one in the morning, there was a knock on the door. Trish opened it groggily and found Steve leaning drunkenly on the door frame.

“Hi luv!” he said with a silly grin. Then he took a long swallow from the bottle of whiskey he’d brought with him. Trish looked at him and gave him an indulgent smile, then snagged the bottle from his hand and took a drink for herself.

“Beware of Brits bearing gift, right?” she said with a laugh. She let him in and said, “Bad night in the studio, luv?”

“Eh, just some problems with the intro of this song I started,” he sighed as he sat on the couch. Then he pulled Trish down on to his lap and said, “So, do I have you to myself tonight?”

“Yep, tonight and all of tomorrow too,” she smiled as she took another drink.

“How’s I get so lucky,” he murmured as he nibbled at her neck.

“Just had a feeling you’d be stopping by tonight,” she giggled.

“Good,” he whispered. “Show me back to the bedroom, cuz I don’t know if I can find the way tonight.”

Taking his hands, she pulled him up from the couch and pointed him to her bedroom with a laugh. “Think you can make it?”

“Nah, you better come with me,” he said with a grin. “Wouldn’t want to get lost, ya know?”

“Hmm, it’s not like you haven’t been there before,” she said with a wicked chuckle.

“Come on, wench!” he laughed. He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back to the bedroom. Trish looked up at him with a surprised smile. Steve wrapped her in his arms and said quietly, “You know Sav is going to be going with Talia tomorrow?”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Trish said uncertainly. “I mean, I’ll be there with you, so why shouldn’t he have some fun?”

“Doesn’t bother you at all?” he asked, suddenly pulling back from her.

“Would you rather it did, Steve?” she said defensively.

“What if it was me that was going with someone else?” he countered.

“I’d be upset, but what right to I have to say anything?” she answered softly. “Yes, Steve, I’d be jealous as all get out, but I’m no better, now am I?”

Closing his eyes, he said, “No, I guess not.” He threw himself down on the bed as Trish took another drink, leaving her thinking he was about to pass out. Then he sat up quickly and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her down to his body with one quick motion. She landed on top of him with a giggle and said, “So, what do you have planned for tonight?”

“This,” he whispered roughly as he nibbled at her throat. She straddled him quickly, grinding her hips down on his now hard cock. Pushing him back on to the bed, she grabbed his belt roughly and tugged it open. His hips lifted off the bed as she slid his jeans down off him. She pulled away to remove her clothes as he slipped his shirt off over his head. But before he could grab her again, she pushed him back down and climbed up on to him. He slipped into her tight sheath with a rough thrust, burying himself quickly inside her body. Driving herself down on him, he could feel her body tensing as she started into a violent orgasm. Her body bucked against his, sending Steve spiraling into that sweet oblivion with her. Collapsing into his welcoming arms, the pair of them were asleep within moments of each other without an unnecessary word.

They woke in a rush the next morning when they realized the car was going to be there for them in less than half an hour. Steve threw on his jeans and pulled a shirt out of her closet that he kept there for just such an occasion. Trish eyed the way the white shirt fit him appreciatively as she pulled on her leather mini skirt. A flowing white shirt with billowing sleeves followed, then a pair of flat shoes. She was only an inch shorter than Steve and had no desire to tower over him. Piling her hair up on top of her head, she turned to Steve with a smile and said, “Ready to go?”

“Are you sure you want to do this, Trish?” he asked softly. “The red light district is, well, pretty raw.”

“Steve, I’ve heard all about it and I want to see it for myself!” she laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ll try to keep the maidenly blushes to a minimum!”

“It’s just that, um, well,” Steve stammered. “Well, I’ve gone there with the guys before and we, well, kinda tend to, um, get into it sometimes. You know, if we have our girlfriends with us?”

“So, be ready for more than a sex show on stage?” she said with a wicked grin. Sliding her hand over his crotch, she said, “I think I can handle it.”

“Mmm, I’d rather just stay here if you’re going to be doing THAT,” he growled.

“Sorry, luv, I’m just dying to see this for myself,” she said with a throaty purr. They heard the driver of their limo honk the horn and Trish took Steve by the hand, leading him out to the car. He got into the car and pulled Trish into his arms almost immediately. The three stewardesses were in next, followed by three smiling Leppards. Talia and Sav sat directly across from Trish and Steve, and Trish saw Sav go stiff when he looked up at her. Steve just pulled her in closer to him and tried to give Sav a smile unsuccessfully. Joe and Phil both rolled their eyes at the obvious tension in the car, hoping things weren’t about to blow up in everyone’s faces.

“Where’s Rick today?” Trish asked, trying to break the ice.

“Um, he and Miriam are probably going to meet us, actually,” Joe said quickly. “There’s this coffee shop that’s one of Rick’s favorites...”

“And it’s not for the coffee,” Phil laughed. “He says it’s the best weed he’s ever had, so we may not get him out of there!” Trish chuckled along with the rest of the group, then laid her head down on Steve’s shoulder. The conversation went on around them as she drifted off to sleep against him.

“I told you we’d find him here!” Phil nearly yelled as Steve woke Trish gently. She looked around sleepily and saw Talia straddling Sav’s lap, kissing him hard. Joe and Natasha were wound up in each other as well, while it was obvious that Trish had missed quite a show from Phil and Therese by the way Phil was fidgeting with his jeans. She saw Steve smiling down at her indulgently and whispered, “Sorry, baby, guess you didn’t quite the action the others did on the way here, huh?”

“That’s okay, luv,” he said softly. “I’m sure we’ll have our own ’action’ later.” Then he kissed her forehead as she looked out the window and saw a coffee shop just off the sidewalk in front of them. Rick and Miriam were at a table by the window, which is why Phil was laughing so hard. Everyone else let out a chuckle as they climbed out and went into the coffee shop. Rick had obviously already been indulging in the place’s “specialties” from the look on his face. Miriam was pretty well out of it too.

Steve pulled Trish down onto his lap as they sat down at the table and said, “So, you up for a bit of this, luv?”

“Definitely,” she giggled. Within a few minutes, the entire group was passing around a specially blended cigarette and laughing hysterically at the smallest things. Sav, Joe, Talia and Natasha were the only ones not completely blasted by the time they left for the nearest bar. Steve and Trish leaned heavily on each other, while Therese was almost carrying Phil. Sav just shook his head as Steve helped Trish down into the booth at the bar. Alcohol was next and everyone indulged themselves in it before the evening’s real entertainment began.

As the daylight waned, the group headed out into the streets, hooting and raising a ruckus with the prostitutes in their windows. Phil even went so far as to start sweet talking one of them before Therese pulled him away.

When they reached their final destination, a club on the street reputed to have “The best live sex show in Amsterdam”, Joe walked in like he was going home. He went straight to the manager and asked for one of the private viewing rooms in the back. They were shown into a large dark room with several big chairs and a couple of beds lining the walls.

Joe pulled Natasha down on to his lap as he settled down to watch the show. Therese sat down next to Phil and Talia pushed Sav down into a chair before nearly jumping into his lap. Steve fell into another seat and tugged at Trish’s arm, pulling her down with him to sit on the arm of it. Rick looked around and suddenly changed his mind about sticking around, saying he was taking Miriam back to the coffee shop for a bit. They said a quick goodnight, then Joe busted out laughing when he saw them sit down in the audience. Apparently, Rick had decided he just wanted to keep Miriam all to himself.

They sat back and watched as several exotic dancers made their way across the floor, flirting with customers as they headed for the stage. Trish didn’t find them terribly interesting, but all four men were enthralled by the rhythmic movement of their bodies. She gave Steve a soft smile and moved in close to him, sliding down into his lap. Her head rested on his shoulder as he watched the women wiggling and moving across the stage. Glancing around the room, she looked at Sav and saw Talia trying desperately to get his attention away from the dancers and on to her. It wasn’t working. But Sav did look at Trish for just a moment and she saw him push Talia away from him just a bit. Turning back to Steve, she kissed him on the cheek and put her arms around him, letting him watch the show undisturbed.

As the dancers finished up their set, Trish saw Joe look at her uncertainly. Natasha was certainly getting very friendly on his lap, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted Trish to see what Natasha was whispering in his ear. He shook his head and pushed her back away from him, trying not to offend her. But she gave him a black look and got up off his lap in a huff. She glanced at Therese, who was totally engrossed in Phil’s neck, then looked at Talia and found the girl staring at Sav in frustration. Natasha pulled on Talia’s arm and said, “We’re off to the ladies room, be back in a few.”

Sav and Joe both nodded while everyone else just kept at what they were doing. The two women slipped out of the room, leaving the others to continue watching the show on the stage. They were gone for several minutes before returning with a tray full of shot glasses.

“Here, guys, have a drink on us,” Talia said with a smile. She handed a glass to Sav, then passed the tray around and let everyone else grab one for themselves. Joe looked at Natasha and said, “You didn’t get one for yourselves?”

“Oh, we already drank ours on the way back,” Natasha said with a sweet smile. They watched as everyone belted back their drinks, then settled back into the laps of their respective dates. Trish and Steve drank theirs quickly and moved back into their seats to go back to the show.

For a long while, no one said anything as the performer’s onstage started to disrobe. The couple started to touch each other with carefully choreographed movements. Trish felt an usual stirring in her body, like heat passing down from her head and coming to center on her groin. She turned and kissed Steve harder than she’d ever kissed him before, leaving him breathless in her arms. Before she could do anything else, she heard Therese say accusingly, “What exactly was in those drinks, ‘tasha?”

“Um, Vodka and a bit of Lover’s Speed,” Natasha said with a wicked grin.

“You laced them with Lover’s Speed?” Therese said with a near shriek. “Why?”

“Cuz we needed a bit of attention,” Talia spoke up suddenly. “This way, we know we’ll get it no matter who’s in the room.”

Joe leaned up and pushed Natasha away from him, eyeing her suspiciously as he asked, “What’s Lover’s Speed?”

They could see Trish and Therese both struggling to keep their hands off the men they were with as Natasha said, “Oh, just a fun little drug that makes you crave sex like air. Don’t worry, lover, just roll with it!”

His eyes narrowed as he said, “Did you put in it all those shots?”

“Of course,” Natasha said with a smile. “I had to make sure you got some of it and that was the only way.”

Joe’s eyes fell on Trish as he grabbed Natasha by the arm and said, “Get the fuck out of here.”

“WHAT?” she said in confusion. “Come on, Joe, just have a little fun!”

“You gave that shit to my cousin?” Joe yelled as Talia and Natasha nodded. Dragging her to the door by her arm, he pushed her out and said, “I don’t ever want to see your fucking face again.” A second later, Sav threw Talia out as well and the two men shared a disgusted glance at each other. But Therese looked up at them and said, “You’re probably going to regret that. This drug is some powerful stuff. You’ll be begging for sex in just a little bit here.”

Joe grabbed Trish and pulled her off Steve, saying, “I’m getting you out of here now.”

“I’ll be okay,” she whispered, though her body felt on fire. She wanted to crawl back into Steve’s arms, but Joe wouldn’t release her. So she moved up against him, rubbing her body against his as he said roughly, “Knock it off, Trish.”

“She can’t help it,” Therese said as she pulled back from Phil’s waiting mouth for just a second. “And in a few minutes, you won’t stop her either.”

“FUCK!” Joe said angrily as Trish’s hands started to wonder over him. He looked down at Steve and saw his friend’s white knuckled grip on the chair as the drug started to hit the thinner man as well. Steve’s chest was rising and falling quickly as he fought to control himself.

Looking to Sav, Joe said quietly, “What the hell do we do now?” Then he let out a squeak as Trish’s hand went down to his crotch, tugging at his jeans.

“YOU need to stay the hell away from Trish, that’s one thing,” Sav said as he looked at her hand. He glanced at Phil and saw Therese’s top come off over her head, oblivious to the others in the room with them.

Steve got up and went to Trish’s side, pulling her away from Joe as he said, “I’ll take care of Trish, Joe. Don’t worry, I’ll do what I can to keep her out of trouble.” Catching both her hands, Steve whispered, “Not like this, luv.” Then he pulled Trish into his arms and held her tight against him, fighting his own battle with the drug racing through him. Picking her up carefully, Steve took her over to one of the beds and wrapped her in his arms, not wanting to give in to the desires running wild through his body.

Phil and Therese were having no such second thoughts, letting their bodies do exactly what they wanted to each other. Tugging Phil over to the other bed, Therese helped him out of the remainder of his clothing before they fell down on to the bed in a mass of writhing arms and legs. Their moans reverberated through Sav’s mind as the drug started to affect him as well. He tried to watch the show on stage, but the woman there was just taking the man’s member into her mouth. All that did was make it that much harder for Sav to fight his own desire. He tossed his mane of dark curls back from his face and held on to the chair for dear life.

Joe sat down with his head in his hands and wanted to cry for letting this happen to Trish. But with the feelings starting to emerge in his own body and his close emotional ties to Trish, he knew that there was no way he could be alone with her at that moment. If they were, he knew they’d both regret it in the morning.

Trish’s body shifted on top of Steve as she straddled him, hanging on to him like a life raft. But, too late, she discovered that his hard cock strained up against her throbbing mound through their clothing. The slight pressure of her shifting weight was enough to send her spiraling into a blinding orgasm. “STEVE! Oh, God, Steve, I’m cumming!” she wailed into his shoulder.

Sav’s head snapped around as he heard her moaning cry. Steve was running his hand over her hair, whispering, “Shh, luv, ride it out. It’ll pass.”

“I don’t want it to,” she gasped, then leaned down and kissed him roughly. It was more than Steve could take in his present state and his hips bucked up against her body, sending another orgasmic wave running through her body as she trembled against him.

Joe could feel the tension building in his body as he heard Trish’s cry. He looked over at Therese and Phil and found the woman staring at him. She motioned him over to her with a wave of her hand and Joe simply couldn’t fight the need any longer. He walked slowly over to the couple on the bed and watched as Therese reached for the buttons of his jeans, opening them with nimble fingers. A moment later, his cock was buried in Therese’s hot throat as Phil thrust wildly into her body. Giving in to the wild abandon his body wanted, Joe shut Trish out of his mind and concentrated on the sensations Therese gave him.

Sav watched the stage, desperate to keep his mind off Trish. But as the male performer mounted his female partner, Sav glanced over and found Trish still shivering in Steve’s arms. He just couldn’t resist any longer, he had to at least touch her. Praying Steve would understand, he moved over and knelt beside the bed, his hand running gently over Trish’s back. His touch sent new shockwaves through her as she turned her head towards him.

Steve followed her eyes and found himself staring at Sav, who was watching him uncertainly. The two men stared at each other for a long moment before Steve closed his eyes in silent defeat. He pulled Trish further over on the bed, making room for Sav to lay down with them. But in moving her over, his hips came up into her groin again, sending a climactic wave crashing through her. She whimpered into Steve’s shoulder as her body gave in once again to an orgasm. Then her lips found Sav’s and she was lost. His kiss was hot and hard as he gripped the back of her shirt.

Steve’s hands grabbed her ass roughly as he pushed his hips back up into her. She felt hands all over her as Steve turned his face towards them. His lips were only a hair’s breadth away from the kissing couple above him as he kissed Trish’s cheek softly. His lips met theirs as Trish threw her head back, leaving him kissing Sav instead. For a brief second, the two of them nearly pulled away. But the influence of the drug was strong enough that Sav kissed Steve hard instead, his tongue working it’s way between the other man’s lips quickly. Their hands never left Trish as they eventually pulled away from each other and lay there stunned for a moment.

Trish had watched the kiss with fevered, fascinated eyes. All it did was turn her on even more as she leaned back and ground her hips down onto Steve. For her, there was no question of stopping any longer. As another orgasm passed over her body, she pulled back up off Steve and slid down his thighs, her hands finding his belt buckle quickly. Tugging it open, she undid the buttons of his jeans and freed his throbbing cock as he and Sav watched her intently.

Sav leaned down and helped her slip out of her panties, then sat back as she lowered herself down on to Steve’s member. Her head snapped back at the sensation of his body inside hers and she gasped for breath. The feelings were so intense! A dam broke inside her as wave after harsh wave of orgasm swept her away.

Sav’s rational mind cried out that he needed to get away from Trish and Steve before it was too late. But his cock ground into her thigh as she lay atop Steve and he needed some kind of release. As he started to roll away from them, her hand ran lightly over his crotch and Sav let out a frustrated groan. He opened his jeans and let her touch him, her fingers moving over his hard shaft. His breath came in pants as he looked over and found Joe getting behind Therese, entering her from behind. He saw her bite her lip as both men pounded into her body. Then he looked up and realized Trish was watching them as well.

Their eyes met and he saw Trish nod slightly, letting him know it was okay with her. Try as he might, he couldn’t shake the image of the three on the other bed from his mind. Giving up, he moved up behind Trish and slipped her shirt off over her head, freeing her breast to Steve’s hands and mouth. She laid down on him as Sav ran his hands over her naked ass. She stopped moving as she felt his cock probing for her second opening. Clinging to Steve, she kissed him again as Sav started to enter her.

The feeling of the two men inside her was too much for Trish. She let out a scream as her body shuddered with another violent climax, then collapsed down on to Steve. Whimpering against his chest, she lay there as Sav and Steve took what the both needed from her body. Sav let himself go, pounding into her without thought or emotion as his basic need took over. He didn’t even know what he was doing as his release poured into her. He came back to his senses a bit afterwards, then realized what had happened. Leaning over, he whispered softly into Trish’s ear, “I’m so sorry, luv!”

Fastening his jeans, Sav took off from the room and left Trish in Steve’s arms. Steve rolled over on top of her and ran his hand over her face, asking softly, “Are you okay, Trish?”

She nodded silently as Steve moved more gently into her. The most desperate feelings from the drug were finally passing off him, so he could take things more easily now. But it didn’t take long for his body to give in once he was in control of the situation. As his seed poured into her, he nuzzled softly at her neck and let out a sigh of relief. The desire was still there, even after he’d cum, but he could control himself again. He pulled her exhausted form into his arms, letting her fall asleep against him as he stared up at the ceiling.

Wrestling with his emotions was a difficult thing for Steve. He was angry, yet he knew none of them could have controlled what had just happened. Being reduced to his most basic animal instincts was an uncomfortable feeling, he realized. He wanted to kill Talia and Natasha for doing that to all of them. Looking over, he saw Joe, Phil and Therese still going at it and wondered what had happened to Sav.

Sav looked around the club and saw Talia and Natasha sitting at a table in the back. Anger was a powerful motivator as the drug continued to course through his veins. He made his way to their table and put a rough hand on Talia’s shoulder. Looking up at him in surprise, she laughed, “So, is everyone enjoying themselves?”

“Not quite, Talia,” he growled.

“Oh,” she said, obviously disappointed. “Your precious Trish didn’t put out for you after all, huh?”

“You fucking bitch,” Sav hissed. “How could you do that to her? To all of us?”

“I just wanted a little fun,” she protested. Sav leaned down next to her ear and rasped, “You still want that ‘fun’? I’ll give it to you right here and now!”

“Let’s go,” she laughed. Standing up in the darkness, she shimmied out of her panties and said, “I’m so ready for it! Here’s a little something to pick you up before we start though.” She handed him a small inhaler and said, “Just a bit of snow to make things go a little better!”

Taking the drug, Sav took two quick hits of the inhaler and felt the cocaine start to run through him with a surge of power. Grabbing Talia by the arm, he drug her out of the club and nearly threw her into the waiting limousine. Talia looked up at him in surprise at his rough handling of her. Before she knew what hit her, Sav bent her over the seat and entered her with a harsh thrust. She cried out in pain and screamed, “Take it easy, luv! That hurts!”

“Oh, sorry bout that, luv,” Sav whispered with an evil grin. But he didn’t stop, just continued to pound into her body. She whimpered against the seat, trying in vain to move away from him. But he took hold of her hips and held her steady against him.

“Fuck you, Sav,” she hissed. “Just because little Miss Trish didn’t do anything for you...”

“Oh, you want to know what happened with Trish?” Sav growled. He pulled out of her and ran his cock over the opening of her anal canal. Talia tried to pull away from him, but his arm pinned her to the seat as he entered her ass. With a painfilled cry, Talia screamed, “Please, Sav, not so fucking rough! You’re hurting me!”

His hips bucked into her one final time as he cried out in orgasm, then slumped away from her. Talia looked at him with hate filled eyes and hissed, “You sorry bastard, what was that for?”

“Next time you decide to play, make sure you’re ready to handle the consequences,” he said with a sweet smile.

“And just what did I do that was so wrong?” Talia countered, straightening her skirt as she turned to face him.

“Don’t ever mess with Trish again!” Sav growled. “And get out of the fucking car. I never want to see you again.”

“What?” she said as her eyes narrowed. “Do you realize how bad I could fuck your life up, Mr. Rock Star? A charge of rape could destroy your career!”

Sav tapped on the window and it came down, revealing a driver sitting behind the wheel. “Marcus?” Sav asked quietly. “Did she sound like this was rape over the speaker?”

“Um, well, to be honest, ma’am, just sounded like some good old fashion rough sex to me,” the driver answered softly. “Sorry, but I didn’t hear you tell him ‘no’ or ‘stop it’ once.”

Frustrated, Talia stared daggers at the man until Sav threw the door open and said, “I would advise you get out of here before the others come out. Your roommate was none to happy with you last I saw.”

Talia huffed out of the vehicle and Sav leaned back, closing his eyes. The glass partition went back up, giving him privacy to ponder his scattered thoughts. Now that things were over and done, how the hell was he going to be able to make up what had happened to Trish? Or Steve? Very likely, neither of them would forgive him for what he’d done. By tomorrow, Sav could just see Steve quitting the band over this. And there was just no way to fix his uncontrolled mistake now. He stared at the ceiling of the limo for a long while trying to think of a way out of the situation.

The others finally made their way down to the car about forty five minutes later. Steve pulled Trish into the car first and looked over at Sav uncertainly. He was still angry, but how could he blame Sav for what Talia and Natasha had done? Finally, he gave Sav a small smile before settling Trish in against his body to sleep again. Wrapping her in his arms, he put his head down on top of hers and closed his eyes, not wanting to think about things any longer. Everyone else piled into the car and snuggled together on the opposite side from Trish and Steve, forcing Sav to move over beside Trish. Steve let out a long sigh and tried not to hang on to her too tightly. Sav leaned away from her and closed his eyes, trying to sleep away the tension in the car.

When they made it back to the apartment complex they were staying at, Trish was too groggy to walk back to her flat. With Sav and Steve on either side of her, they practically carried the sleepy brunette back to her place and managed to get her into bed. Then they sat and stared at each other for a long while, neither of them sure what to say to the other. Finally, Sav looked down at the floor and said, “I’m sorry for what happened, mate.”

Letting out the breath he was sure he’d been holding, Steve said quietly, “It’s not your fault, Sav. You didn’t put that shit in our drinks.”

“I know, but I should have been able to control...” Sav said anxiously, but Steve interrupted him.

“I couldn’t control it. She couldn’t. How could I expect you to?” Steve asked. “But I’ll be honest. I never want to see Talia or Natasha around again.”

Sav chuckled and said, “Well, I don’t know about Natasha, but I don’t think we’ll ever see Talia again. We, um, had a run in after I left you guys alone. I don’t think she liked what happened.”

Curious, Steve asked, “What did you do?”

“Let’s just say she got more action than she wanted,” Sav laughed. “Then I threw her out.”

Nodding, Steve said, “Sounds like she got what she deserved after what she did to Trish, huh?”

“I think so,” Sav smiled.

“Thanks,” Steve answered quietly. “You mind if I stay here with her tonight?”

Sav turned away and said, “That’s fine. Not my place to tell you what to do, huh?”

“Thanks, Sav,” he whispered. “I’m worried about her right now.”

“You want me to stick around? I can go sleep on the couch,” Sav offered. Steve looked down at Trish and wondered if she was going to need them through the night. Then he shook his head and said, “I’ll call you if there’s any problems, okay?”

“All right,” Sav sighed. “You heading back to Sheffield for Christmas day after tomorrow with the rest of us?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there,” Steve said with a small smile.

“Okay, well, I’ll let you get some sleep then,” Sav sighed. “See you later.”

“Night, mate,” Steve said quietly as Sav left the flat and headed home. Steve checked on Trish one last time before crawling into the bed behind her and wrapping her in his arms.

They woke several hours later when Trish bolted from the bed and ran to the bathroom, barely getting there in time to empty the contents of her stomach into the toilet. Steve held her hair back, trying to keep it from getting into anything as she vomited. When she was done, she lay weakly against the cool bathtub and put her head down as he ran his hand soothingly over her back.

“Feel better now, luv?” he whispered.

“No,” she murmured. “I feel like shit. My stomach’s churning and my head is ready to bust open. And I’m so cold!”

Putting a gentle hand to her forehead, he checked for fever but found none. “Whatever that shit was in our drinks, it must not have agreed with you, luv,” Steve sighed.

“I’ll be fine, I guess,” she whispered. “But I’m definitely heading back to bed!”

“I’ll join for a while longer, if you don’t mind,” he asked softly.

“God, yes, please!” she sighed, finally making it to her feet with his help. They climbed back into bed as Trish looked over at the clock and saw it read five am. With a long slow breath, she laid her head down on his chest. Very soon after, Steve could hear her breathing slow as she fell back to sleep.

At ten, Steve climbed out of bed and left Trish sleeping as he headed back to the studio. He got there just as Sav and Joe arrived, neither of them looking terribly thrilled to be alive at that moment. But Sav headed straight for Steve and asked quickly, “How’s Trish?”

“Not feeling to great this morning,” Steve answered. “Whatever that shit was, it didn’t set very well with her.”

“Think it was okay to leave her alone today?” Sav asked quietly.

“She was sleeping it off, so I think she’ll be fine,” Steve replied. “Besides, this is our last day in the studio, so I really couldn’t beg off, could I? Joe probably woulda gotten pissed about that.”

Joe walked up slowly behind him and said, “Nah, if she needs someone to take care of her, you can go. How’s she dealing with what happened last night?”

“We haven’t talked about it yet,” Steve sighed. “But I’d love to kill those two bitches for it!”

“You’re not the only one,” Joe muttered. “You know, maybe we should just scrap today and head home early? Last night really put a damper on my enthusiasm to be in the studio right now.”

“I’ll call Rick and Phil and let them know,” Sav said quickly.

When Sav returned, he looked at Steve and said quietly, “Mind if I come over to her place with you? I’d really like to make sure she’s okay...”

“Yeah, that’s fine, Sav,” Steve mumbled. “She could probably use a visit right now, to make sure she doesn’t blame herself for last night.” Sav nodded, then climbed into Steve’s car.

“Is she going back to Sheffield with us?” Sav asked quietly as Steve drove.

“I don’t know. I assume she’ll be spending the holidays with her family at Joe’s house,” Steve answered thoughtfully.

“Um, this is kinda awkward, but I’d like to see her Christmas Eve, if that’s okay with you,” Sav said softly.

“Oh?” Steve said. “I was going to ask you something to. I’m going to Paris right after Christmas and I was going to ask her to go with me.”

“Well, that’s up to her,” Sav said as he looked out the window. “I really don’t have anything to say about it.” The tension in the air between them was thick enough to cut with a knife as they pulled into the complex’s parking lot. They walked quietly up to the door and Steve knocked softly. Then they could only wait for her to answer. Neither of them could look at the other as the door opened and a sick looking Trish said in surprise, “Oh, hi!”

“Hi luv,” Steve said softly.

“Hi baby,” Sav answered. “Mind if we come in?”

“Oh, um, ah, sure, come on in,” She stuttered. She backed into the room and the two men walked in as she sat down in the chair. “I didn’t think either of you would be out of the studio this early.”

“Well, we decided that nobody was really in the mood to record after what happened last night,” Steve sighed as he took a seat on the couch.

“Are you okay, Trish?” Sav asked quietly.

“Yeah, sleep helped me get over whatever the hell the stuff was,” she said, smiling at him briefly.

“That’s not what I meant, luv,” Sav continued. “About what happened last night. I mean, we kinda took advantage of you...”

“I don’t seem to remember it that way, Sav,” she replied. “I remember being a willing participant in what happened and wanting to beg you both for sex.”

“But we should have be able to stop it, to see what was happening,” Sav said quietly.

“If I couldn’t stop, how could you?” she asked quietly. “Are you stronger than me? Less given to lust? I don’t think so. I know both of you too well!” She laughed softly at that as Steve stared at her. Sav gave her a small smile.

“Guys, I hate to do this, but I’m really exhausted still,” she finally said. “That shit really knocked me back a bit, so I’m gonna head back to bed.”

Steve and Sav looked at each other, both wanting to be the one who spent the day in bed with her. But neither of them could ask for it. She gave them both a gentle smile, then Steve finally asked, “Trish, are you coming home with us for Christmas?”

“Yeah, I promised Aunt Cindy I’d be at her house for the holiday,” she sighed. “I’m just not looking forward to the ferry ride home!”

“We’re going to leave either tonight or early tomorrow,” Sav offered. “Want to go back with us?”

“That’d be great!” she said with a broad grin. “Maybe I should stay up and just get packed, huh?”

“Yeah, actually we both need to do that too,” Steve answered.

“You’re right, Steve,” Sav said quietly, knowing there was just no way he was going to get Trish alone at that moment. “We’ll call you when we’re ready to leave, okay?”

“Who’s driving?” she asked.

“Um, I’ll prolly ride with Joe,” Sav answered.

“I might too, depends on what Phil wants to do,” Steve answered.

“Okay, I guess I’ll hitch with Joe too,” she said. “Call me when you’re ready to leave then.”

“Yeah, we will,” Sav answered. They left shortly after and Trish made herself get her things together for the trip home. Riding with Sav and Steve could be very tense, but she really didn’t want to drive home by herself. Joe called a couple of hours later and said they were all packed and ready to go, for her to meet them out at his car. Lugging her suitcase, Trish went out to the car and waited as the three men came down.

“Who’s riding shotgun?” Joe asked quickly.

Steve and Sav just looked at each other, neither of them wanting to give up the chance to sit in back with Trish. Then they turned to her in surprise when she said, “I will!”

“Okay, pile in then!” Joe smiled, knowing she’d just come up with the best possible solution to their difficulty. They stowed their gear in the boot of the car, then piled in. Trish took the passenger seat, leaving Steve and Sav in the back. Then she leaned her seat back a bit and drifted off to sleep as the guys listened to tapes of what they’d worked on in the studio.

Trish felt the car lurch as the ferry took off from its launch. She looked around in the car and realized the Sav and Joe had gotten out and were up on the top deck with Rick and Phil. Steve slept in the back seat. She got out of the car and slipped into the back seat, laying her head on Steve’s shoulder as she fell back to sleep.

They woke up half way across the English Channel. Steve took her by the hand and led her up to the top deck, where they stared out over the water in silence for a long time. Then he turned to Trish and said, “I’m going to Paris right after Christmas, Trish. I’d like you to go with me.”

“Sounds like it could be fun,” she said softly. “When are you leaving?”

“The day after Christmas,” he answered.

Smiling up at him, she said quietly, “I’d love to go to Paris with you, Steve.” He kissed her gently, then smiled out over the water as she watched him. The others found them a few minutes later and the rest of the trip was spent discussing ideas for the new album while Trish wandered around the ferry alone.

Sav walked up behind her just before the ferry docked and slipped his arms around her waist. “Trish?” he said softly. “Will you spend Christmas Eve with me?”

She nodded silently, not sure if she should mention Paris to him yet. But he surprised her by asking, “Has Steve asked you to go with him after Christmas yet?”

“He told you about that?” she said, totally astonished.

“Yeah, when I asked him about wanting to see you Christmas Eve, he said he wanted you to go to Paris with him afterwards,” Sav answered.

“So you two have this all worked out, huh?” she said suspiciously.

“Well, no, we were just talking and it came up,” he said defensively. “I mean, if you don’t want to be with me Christmas Eve, that’s fine...”

“I do,” she whispered. “I’m just not to sure I like the idea of being a topic of conversation when I’m not around.”

“I’m sorry, luv,” he whispered. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything to him about it. I just figured it would keep us from getting into any misunderstandings when the time got here.”

Leaning her head back onto his shoulder, she said quietly, “I guess I can understand...The whole situation is just really awkward.”

“I know, luv,” he whispered as he kissed her neck. “It’ll get straightened out someday though. Til then, we’ll just all have to live the life we’ve got, huh?”

“Yeah,” she answered softly. “I can’t complain about the life I’m living, that’s for sure!”

“Good,” he murmured. She nearly turned into his arms when she saw Steve watching them from several yards away. He looked so hurt, Trish wanted to cry. Backing away from Sav quickly, she took off running for the lower deck and got into Joe’s car. Then she just let her tears wash over her as the ferry docked on the England side of the Channel.

Nobody spoke as they got into the car. Joe saw Trish’s tears and wondered what had happened, but he couldn’t ask with the others in the car. Sav stared out the window, knowing that Steve’s appearance on the deck had brought on this sudden outburst of tears. He wanted to be angry, needed to be angry, that Steve hadn’t let them be alone. But he knew deep inside that Steve had some very deep feelings for Trish. For the briefest of moments, he considered just backing out. Let Steve have Trish. But his own heart was mired in this too deeply. He cared too much about Trish to just let her walk away from him like that.

Steve stared out the window, afraid to look at anyone in the car. Seeing Trish in Sav’s arms had hurt so badly! He’d wanted to deck Sav for even touching her, but he knew that wasn’t right. Trish had told him in the beginning, she was free to do what she wanted. He just needed her to want him and not Sav. But how could he say that? The situation really was still hopeless, as far as Steve could see. He heard Trish sniffle and wondered what she was thinking at that moment. Those tears, they were being shed because of him. But what did they mean to Steve?

Trish stayed curled up in a ball for the whole hour and a half it took to get from Hull to Sheffield. Joe took Sav home first, then headed for Steve’s parents’ house. He got out, then opened Trish’s door and pulled her up into his arms. “I’m sorry, luv,” he whispered softly. “I didn’t mean to cause you so much pain.”

“I know,” she answered quietly as tears bloomed again in her eyes. “Guess it’s just bound to happen, huh?”

“I hope not,” he sighed. “I hate seeing you cry! You be good and I’ll see you the day after Christmas to drive down to Paris, okay?” She nodded silently, then let Steve kiss her a brief goodbye. Getting back in the car, she tried to ignore Joe. But he wasn’t an easy person to ignore.

“Trish, what happened back there on the boat?” he asked finally.

“Steve saw me and Sav together,” she whispered.

“That’s bound to happen, isn’t it, Trish?” he said softly.

“He looked so fucking hurt, Zeff,” she managed to get out before her tears came again.

“Maybe he can’t handle this situation, luv. It could be that you need to let him go...”

“I don’t want to lose him, Zeff,” she murmured.

“Well, then maybe it’s time to end it with Sav...”

“I can’t lose him either!” she cried.

“One of these days, you’re going to have to make a decision or someone else will make it for you!” Joe said in a knowing tone. “Neither of them will hang on to this forever, luv.”

“I know and I almost wish one of them would so I didn’t have to,” she sighed. “I just can’t chose between them, you know? They’re both so sweet and caring and fun! What am I supposed to do?”

“I guess just take it one day at a time and hope things solve themselves,” Joe answered honestly. “But if you don’t make a decision, don’t complain about which one of them does. You may not like the outcome of it.”

Nodding, she laid her forehead against the cool glass of her window and sat quietly until they reached the Elliott house. After hugs all around, Trish asked to be excused and went up to her room. She collapsed on the bed and stared up at the ceiling for a long while before finally giving in to an emotionally exhausted sleep.

In the three remaining days before Christmas Eve, Trish and Joe went out doing some last minute shopping and Trish picked up gifts for Steve and Sav. She’d already finished the rest of what she was buying, so she mostly just tagged along with Joe like she’d done when she was younger. Joe shooed her away so he could buy her gift, so she headed to a local cafe and struck up a conversation with a young brunette who was also alone there.

When Joe returned, he smiled at Trish then caught sight of the girl she was sitting with. He looked her over appreciatively and said, “Trish, don’t be rude! Introduce me to your friend!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Zeff,” she laughed. “Zeff, this is Karla...Oh, god, I don’t even know your last name!”

“Karla Rhamdanie,” she said to Joe with a smile. “Zeff, is it? You look very familiar!”

“No, Trish is probably the only person on the planet other than my mother who can get away with calling me Zeff,” Joe grimaced, wanting to kick Trish for using that nickname. “My name’s Joe Elliott.”

“Care to join us, Joe?” Karla smiled.

“Certainly!” he laughed, taking a seat right next to her.

“You know, Karla, it’s been very nice meeting you, but I’ve got to be heading home,” Trish said with a grin. “Don’t worry, Zeff, I’ll catch a lift in a taxi and see you at home, okay?”

“Sounds fine with me,” Joe said absently, not wanting to take his eyes from the raven haired beauty in front of him. “See ya later!” Trish gave Joe a knowing smile, then headed off to find a cab home.

Joe didn’t make it home until after Trish had gone to bed that night. The next morning, she saw the cockeyed grin on his face and said, “So, have a good time with Karla last night?”

“God yeah,” he laughed. “Walked around the shopping center for the longest time, just talking. Then we went to her hotel room and well, I didn’t get home until five this morning, put it that way.”

“Get it, Zeff!” Trish laughed. “So, are you going to see her again?”

“Yeah, we’re gonna get together after Christmas,” he smiled. “She’s great, Trish!”

“I hope things work out for you,” she said seriously. “I know Natasha really kinda burned you...”

“Well, it’s just as well I found out what Natasha was like before things started to get serious,” he answered slowly. “So, it’s Christmas Eve, got any plans tonight?”

“Yeah, I guess Sav wants to see me,” she said cautiously.

“Is it true Steve asked you to go to Paris?”

“God, does everyone know about that?” she said crossly. “Why is my love life so interesting?”

“Cuz it’s turning into a soap opera better than ‘East Enders’,” Joe chuckled. “As the Leppard Spots Turn, I guess.”

Trish sighed as she slumped down into a kitchen chair. “God, why do things have to be so complicated! Yes, I’m going with Steve after the holiday! AND I’m going with Sav tonight. Happy now?”

“Are you?” Joe asked softly.

“God help me, yes I am!” she murmured. “And I know it just can’t last forever, so I’m gonna take all the happiness I can get for the moment.”

“Then that’s all that matters, isn’t it?” Joe smiled.

“I guess so,” she said quietly. “Well, Sav will be here soon, so I guess I’d better get ready to go, huh?”

“Yeah, scoot! I’ll see you tomorrow, right?” Joe asked.

“If not later tonight,” she answered. “I don’t know what he’s got planned...”

“If I know Sav at all, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Joe chuckled, still not believing he was dealing so well with Trish dating not one, but two of his band mates. At first, he’d been furious at the very thought. But now, after seeing how both men were with her, he’d settled into a grudging acceptance of the situation. He watched his cousin head up the stairs to her room with a small smile and wondered just who she’d end up with when this was all said and done.

Sav hadn’t given Trish any idea of his plans, so she slipped into a mini-skirt and a dressy white blouse, then put on a pair of conservative flat shoes. She pulled her hair up in a knot and put on minimum makeup, then headed back down the stairs.

She heard a knock on the door and Joe let Sav in. Sav looked her over with an appreciative whistle and said, “You look wonderful, Trish.”

Her own eyes traveled up and down him, taking in his black jacket, black jeans and white shirt with a broad smile. “I suddenly feel under dressed!” she laughed.

“Well, I think you look fine,” he whispered as he kissed her cheek gently. “Um, would you mind not coming home til around noon tomorrow? We’ve got a long drive ahead of us...”

“Oh, that’s fine, just let me grab a few things okay?” she said, then made a mad dash for her room. Skinning off her mini skirt and blouse, she threw on a demure navy blue jersey dress. A strand of her mother’s pearls went on next. Then she tossed the mini skirt outfit into an over night bag, along with a pair of jeans, a pair of tennis shoes, a robe and a short nightgown. She was back in the living room ten minutes later. Joe’s eyes almost popped when he saw the change in her clothes. She looked, well, so classy and so much older in that blue dress. More a woman of the world and less the kid he’d grown up with.

“WOW!” Sav gasped as soon as he saw her. “Now I’m feeling under dressed!”

“You look wonderful, luv,” she murmured, letting him take her bag from her.

“Well, let’s head out or we’re not going to make it where we’re going!” he said with a smile.

“And where would that be?” she asked with a laugh.

“Yeah, where are you taking her, mate?” Joe asked curiously.

“London and that’s all I’m going to tell you!” Sav laughed. “Now let’s go or we’re going to be late!”

“Yes, sir!” she giggled, shaking her head at the tone of his voice. He sounded like her father when they’d been running late during her childhood. It was a comforting feeling rather than a sad one and she knew she was finally getting over the tragedy of her parents’ death.

“Rick, why all the secrecy?” she finally asked as the car made its way out of Sheffield.

“Because, I’m hoping you’ll like my surprise and I guess I’m a little nervous about it,” he sighed. “It’s not the kind of date a “Rock Star” would normally take a girl on.”

“Well, since I’m not a groupie or anything, I’m sure I’ll like it,” she said quietly.

“I know you’re not,” he said, reaching for her hand. “I, well, I’m a little nervous and let’s leave it at that, okay?”

“Okay,” she said, giving him a reassuring smile as she twined her fingers through his on the gear shift of the car. The trip to London took nearly three hours, but for Trish they seemed to fly by as she talked to Sav. Then, early in the afternoon, he pulled up in front of an luxurious hotel called the Tower Thistle Hotel. Smiling up at him almost giddily, she let him check them into the hotel and get their room key. Then they took their bags up to the room and she said, “Gee, is this my surprise? It’s lovely, Rick.”

“Oh, no!” he laughed. “This, well, I didn’t want you to think I was being a scrooge tonight of all nights! After all, it’s Christmas Eve and a beautiful woman deserves beautiful surroundings!”

“God,” she blushed. “Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Savage!”

“Hmm, interesting thought, but we don’t have time for that if we’re going to eat before my surprise!” he chuckled. They went down to the hotel’s restaurant, where Sav treated her to a royal dinner and drinks before saying, “Okay, it’s time to head off, luv.”

“Where to now?” she asked, thinking nothing could probably top what he’d already given her so far that evening.

“Um, well, the Barbican Theater,” he said anxiously.

“The Barbican?” she asked in astonishment. “Really?”

“Yeah, they’re doing a special show just for Christmas,” he said with a shy smile.

“Isn’t the Barbican where the Royal Shakespeare Company plays at?” She asked in a quiet voice.

Afraid she was disappointed, he just nodded his head. He was shocked when she threw her arms around him and said, “Oh my God, I’ve always wanted to see them! What are they doing?”

“A Christmas Carol,” he said slowly.

“Oh my God,” she gasped. He could hear the excitement building in her voice and whispered, “You like the idea?”

“Yeah!” she laughed. “But how on Earth did you manage to get tickets?”

“Perks of rock stardom,” he said with a smile. “I just made a few phone calls and voila, someone got them for me.”

“Thanks, luv,” she whispered as she kissed him gently. “It’s such a thoughtful gift!”

“Let’s go then,” he answered, tugging her to her feet and pulling her out into the December night. The wind was cold as they walked, but Trish never noticed as her mind spun with his surprise. Sav put a warm arm over her shoulder, protecting her somewhat against the biting wind as they made their way into the theater. After he handed over their tickets, they were shown into one of the upper seating boxes and Trish asked, “Now how did you manage to get such good seats?”

“Rock star, remember,” he chuckled. The lights started to go down, so he whispered, “Quiet, luv, it’s starting.” The theater got quiet as a church as the voice of the first actor rang out. Trish sat spellbound by the whole play, mesmerized by the skill of the actors who were bringing such familiar characters to life. During the intermission, Sav led her down to a smoking area where they both lit up. Then she turned to him and said enthusiastically, “My God, Rick, this play is being done so wonderfully! How can I ever thank you for tonight?”

“Just enjoy yourself,” he said with a kiss on the cheek. “That’s all I ever wanted for this evening, luv.”

“Thank you, Rick,” she whispered. They heard the call to go back into the theater and Sav took her hand with a soft smile, loving the smile that still played across her beautiful features. He wasn’t sure he could just let her take off with Steve for several days without telling her how he felt, but he knew the time just wasn’t right yet. Telling her too soon might just scare her away from him. So he settled back into his seat and pushed the thought from his mind as he watched the actors pick up the play.

Trish watched the actors in fascination, sure she’d never see this play done so well again. Laying her head down on Sav’s shoulder, she let him put his arm around her without a thought. They were snuggled down together as Trish whispered, “That little boy playing Tiny Tim, he’s so adorable!”

“You’re right, he is!” Sav chuckled softly. “His hair kinda curls like yours!”

“Oh, I wish my hair had that much body to it!” she giggled.

“I bet if you had a son, he’d look just like that,” he whispered thoughtfully.

She turned in her seat, studying his face in the dim light. Why on Earth had he suddenly started talking about her future children? Then she caught his smile and let the thought pass. She went back to watching the players on the stage and let herself get lost in the last acts of the performance.

When the play ended, Trish let Sav lead her through the throngs of people that were leaving the theater without a word. She’d been so totally amazed by the show, she was speechless. The walk back to the hotel was quiet as Trish absorbed the sights and sounds her mind had just experienced. They walked into the quiet hotel lobby and up to their room, then Sav asked, “Are you hungry, luv?”

“God, I haven’t even thought about food!” she laughed. “But I’m starved!”

“How about room service? The restaurant is already closed because of the holiday,” he answered thoughtfully.

“That’d be fine,” she sighed as she sat down in a chair with a sigh. He turned to the phone and ordered them a light meal and bottle of wine, then went over to stand in front of Trish. “It’ll be here in a few minutes.”

“I’d best get changed then,” she whispered softly, letting Sav help her out of the chair. He pulled Trish into his arms and kissed her gently before letting her take her bag into the bathroom. She came out just as the tray full of their dinner was being wheeled into the room. Sav tipped the man generously, saying, “Since you had to work Christmas Eve, try to enjoy yourself next chance you get.”

Staring down at the hundred dollar bill, the young man gasped, “Thank you, Mr. Savage!”

“Your welcome,” Sav smiled as the man walked stunned out of the room. Sav pushed the cart over to a small table and said, “Care to join me or am I going to have to feed you from there?”

“Hmm, that sounds interesting,” she laughed, about to get up and head for the table.

“Okay,” he smiled, pushing the cart over next to her. Then he knelt in from of her and picked up a cracker, putting cheese on it with careful fingers. He held it out to her and Trish took a bite, then Sav finished what remained. He poured them a glass of the wine and shared it with her before uncovering a tray filled with fruit, chocolate and whipped cream. Picking up a strawberry, he dipped it in the chocolate sauce and then into the whipped cream before offering it to her. She bit it carefully, then let him finish the rest again. His hand rested on her thigh as he let her drink from the wine glass again. With the next piece of fruit, he gave it to her, then lowered his lips to hers to receive the other half of it. Their lips met and she felt an electric tingle as he bit the fruit away from her mouth.

His hand moved higher on her leg as he repeated the offering with a piece of cheese, taking part of it from her with his own mouth. Her hand wrapped into his long dark locks, letting him move away just enough to swallow the food before pulling him back to her mouth. His fingers undid the tie of her robe quickly, then set to work on the series of smaller ties that held the front of her nightgown closed. Reaching around him, she picked up another piece of fruit and presented it to him with her lips. He kissed her around the piece of melon, then took it into his mouth as he opened her nightdress and pushed it away from her breasts.

With a wicked laugh, Trish picked up another strawberry and dipped it in the whipped cream, then ran it over her nipple. He lowered his head to her breast, his tongue flicking out to lick away the smear of cream that remained there. She shivered as he brushed softly over the hard peak of her nipple. Smiling up at her, his finger dipped into the chocolate then ran over her other nipple. She let out a moan as his mouth closed on it, licking the sauce from her with long slow swipes of his tongue. Leaning back, he picked up another melon piece and held it in his mouth, inviting her to take it from him. She moved forward, taking it from him with a long slow kiss. Her hands slid the jacket from his shoulders, moving it slowly down his arms as the kiss got deeper. Her fingers worked quickly down the front of his shirt, unbuttoning it and slipping it from his shoulders as well. Then she picked up a grape and ran it through the cream, moving slowly to his nipple. She rubbed it over his skin, then ate the grape quickly before lowering her head to his chest. He trembled between her legs as she cleaned him gently. Fumbling with the buttons of his jeans, she opened them and laid back in the chair as they fell from his hips.

Picking up the wine glass, Sav let the cool liquid drip down onto Trish’s chest. His tongue followed it’s trail, cleaning her quickly as she shivered under his touch. His fingers went to the waistband of her panties, lowering them as she moved her hips up to help him. He moved back between her thighs, probing for entrance into her body with desperate need. Sinking into her, he moaned as her body closed over him.

“Trish, oh God!” he whispered. “I love you, Trish!”

Stunned, she held on to him as he poured himself into every movement. Part of her was caught up in the sensation of what they were doing. But in the back of her mind, his words rang over and over again. “I love you, Trish.” How could she possibly react to that news? The thought pushed to the back of her mind as she felt her body give in to the feelings he gave her, an orgasm washing over her as she closed her eyes. He was only a moment behind her, clinging to her body as he came. He laid his head on her breast and wondered if he’d just made a horrible mistake. He’d never intended to tell her how he felt and he could sense the tension in her from his admission.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, pulling away from her and tugging his jeans back up around his hips. “I didn’t mean to tell you that, Trish.”

“What does it mean, Rick?” she asked quietly. “I mean, you know the situation...”

“Yeah, I do,” he answered without looking at her. “I’m not asking you to do anything. I just wanted you to know how I feel. It doesn’t change anything, does it?” He looked at her desperately, hoping she wouldn’t run from him now. “I don’t want to lose you, Trish.”

“What about Steve?” she whispered.

“I can’t say anything about him, can I?” Sav answered. “All I can say is how I feel. What’s between you and Steve is just that, between you and him. If there ever comes a time when you and Steve break off, I’ll still be here waiting for you. But I can’t tell you what to do.”

“Thank you, Rick,” she whispered. She looked down at the floor and said, “I do love you too, Rick. But I love him as well, so I can’t make any decisions right now.” Looking back up at him, she asked softly, “Do you understand that?”

He looked deep into her eyes for the first time since those fateful words had crossed his lips and saw that she spoke the truth. So all he could do was nod as he whispered, “I understand, Trish. Thanks for not running away screaming on me.”

“I couldn’t do that, Rick,” she whispered. “I love you too. Life is just, well, very complicated right now, so I’m glad you know what’s going on.”

“I told you before, you’ve always been honest with me, luv,” he said as he pulled her up into his arms. “So I’ll try to return that. Ready to go to sleep now?”

Nodding wearily, she said, “Yeah, it’s been a pretty full day, hasn’t it?”

“Did you enjoy yourself?” he asked nervously.

“Of course I did, silly,” she laughed as she tweaked his nose.

“I know it’s not Paris, but it was the best I could do,” he sighed.

“I don’t have to have Paris, Rick,” she whispered. “It’s who I’m with, not where I am that makes me happy.” His lips found hers, kissing her as he picked her up and lay her gently on the bed. He stood up and shed his jeans before climbing on to the bed and covering her body with his own. Reaching over, he clicked off the light, then wrapped Trish in his arms. His hips slid between her thighs and he entered her body slowly, relishing every second he was with her. His mind spun out of control as he thought, “She loves us both, but where does that leave us? I don’t want to lose her, ever!” His lips barely left hers as he thrust into her, his body needing the completion of what they were doing. He felt her cum, then let himself go as well, whispering softly, “I love you, baby!”

“I love you too,” she answered, pulling him down onto her body. He lay there for a long while, just holding her as he heard her breathing slow into sleep. Then he shifted off her and held her close as he let himself fall asleep as well.

Trish woke him the next morning with a soft kiss on the jaw, her lips nibbling up to his ear. Groaning, he took her in his arms then looked over at the clock by the bed. “Oh, shit!” he gasped. “I promised Joe I’d have you home by noon!”

“So, it’s barely after nine now?” she said with a smile.

“Honey, it’s a three hour drive back to Sheffield!” he said as he let go of her and got out of bed. “As much as I’d love to stay in bed with you, I really don’t care to piss Joe off just when he’s been getting pretty good about the situation!”

With a sigh, Trish swung out of bed and said, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Let’s go.” Jumping out of bed, they both grabbed clothes to put on, then threw their things in bags. Within fifteen minutes, Sav had her down at the front desk checking out. A few minutes later, they put their things in the boot of the car and Sav grabbed her for one long lingering kiss before they got in for the drive home.

Trish fell asleep on Sav’s shoulder during the ride home and he didn’t have the heart to wake her until they reached Sheffield. He dropped her off just after noon and went back to spend the rest of the holiday with his family.

Trish spent a quiet day at home with Joe and his parents. They exchanged gifts and ate dinner, then pretty much lazed around the house for most of the day. She packed for the trip to Paris and took a call from Steve just before she was ready for bed.

“Still going with me tomorrow?” he asked uncertainly.

“Yeah, wouldn’t miss it for all the world,” she laughed. “What time are we leaving?”

“Fairly early, probably around eleven,” he said quickly. “Will you be ready by then?”

“I’m already packed, luv,” she said with a smile in her voice. “I was just heading for bed, actually.”

“Mmm, wish I could be there,” he whispered softly. “Or you could be here, in my bed.”

“Well, that’s up to you, luv,” she laughed. “But I’ll be honest, all I’m up for is sleeping before this trip!”

“That’s fine, baby,” he sighed. “I just want to be able to hold you all night! I’ll be there to pick you up in twenty minutes, luv.”

“Um, okay,” she stammered, surprised by his desire for her. “I’ll see you then!” They rang off and Trish sat the phone down, wondering what was going through Steve’s mind at that moment. But she simply slipped into her jeans again, leaving on the t-shirt she’d planned to sleep in. Putting on her tennis shoes, she lugged her cases down to the door and sat down with next to Joe, who was on the phone now.

“Yeah, Karla, that sounds wonderful,” he said softly. Trish wanted to laugh, hearing that lovey tone in her cousin’s voice. He winked at her as there was a knock at the door. Leaping up, she let Steve in with a smile and a kiss.

“Ready to go, luv?” he whispered softly.

“Sure,” she laughed. He picked up her bags and threw them in the car, then opened the door for her gallantly. Laughing, she slid into the seat and let him close the door for her as well.

“Hope you don’t mind staying at my parents’ house,” he asked nervously.

“I don’t, but are they going to be upset by you having a girl there?” she answered quietly.

“Nah, Mum loves it when I bring people home for her to meet,” he smiled. Then he looked away and muttered softly, “Hopefully, Dad won’t be home.”

As they walked into the house, Steve’s mother Beryl greeted Trish with a warm hello and offered her a cup of tea before they headed to bed. Nodding, Steve led her into the kitchen while his mother heated the water. She’d just set the cups in front of both of them when Barrie Clark, Steve’s father, walked into the room.

“Out here drinking tea with the womenfolk, huh son?” Barrie said quickly. “Next thing I know, you’ll be letting them put ribbons in that long hair of yours! Much longer and your girlfriend will be putting you in dresses!”

“Barrie, please, not in front of...”

“Hush woman!” he laughed. “I’ve not said anything to embarrass you, now have I, lad?”

“No, Dad,” Steve said as he stared down at the table. Trish could see the tears he refused to shed as his father said, “The boy needs a good hair cut and a proper job, no more of this rock star nonsense! That kind of rubbish would never support a family proper like! Go to work in a factory or try driving a cab! Earn your bloody money instead of playing around and waiting to get paid for music!”

“He’s done quite well with his music,” Trish murmured.

“Oh, lovely, now you’re letting your woman defend you, son?” Barrie chuckled. “What kind of a man are you?”

Trish bit her tongue, not wanting to bring any more of this nonsense down on Steve. Looking at him, she could see the strain on his face and his hands were folded in his lap, trying not to bring any further comment from his father.

“Never catch one of your brothers behaving that way,” Barrie muttered as he headed out of the room. Beryl looked at him and said, “I’m sorry...”

“Not your fault, Mum,” Steve answered softly. “We all know he doesn’t approve of me much.”

“Mrs. Clark, thank you so much for the tea, but I think we need to get to bed,” Trish said with false cheer. “Early morning tomorrow if we’re going to pick Phil up on time.” Running her hand over Steve’s weary shoulder, she leaned down and said, “Come on, luv. Show me to your room so we can get some sleep.”

Steve stood slowly and took her hand with a quiet ‘goodnight’ to his mother. He was silent as they made their way up to his bedroom. When they got inside, he closed the door then sat down on the bed with his head in his hands. Seeing his shoulders shake in mute tears, Trish came over beside him and pulled him into her arms, running her hand over his long blond hair to try to comfort him. She didn’t know what to say to him. How could his father have been so mean to him, she wondered. And the man didn’t even realize what he was doing to Steve. He’d laughed like he was telling some joke Steve was in on. Trish wanted to scream at Barrie, “Can’t you see what you’ve done to him?” But she couldn’t without making things even worse for Steve.

“Steve, baby, let’s just try to get some sleep and get the hell out of here in the morning, okay?” she whispered softly.

“Why are you even here, Trish?” he murmured, looking up at her with tear filled blue eyes. “I’m not worth your time, you know that.”

“What?” she said angrily. “What the hell are you talking about, Steve?”

“Dad’s right, I’m not worth much, am I?” he whispered. Trish pulled away from him and stormed across the room, wanting to scream at him for listening to his father. Then she turned back to him and saw him lay down on the bed, still crying softly. She lay down in front of him and said quietly, “Your dad’s wrong, Steve. You mean the world to me! Don’t buy his bullshit, luv. You’re one of the sweetest, gentlest, friendliest men I’ve ever met. I care a lot about you, Steve. Please, don’t do this to yourself.” She pulled him back into her arms and felt his head settle down on her chest. Within a few minutes, emotional exhaustion took its toll and Steve was snoring softly against her breast. She woke him long enough to get them settled onto the bed, then curled up in his arms and let sleep take her as well.

The next morning, Trish woke to find Steve just staring down at her. She gave him a warm smile, hoping that last night’s tears were behind them. Returning her smile, he asked softly, “Ready to get up and moving?”

“Sure, I’m dying to actually see Paris,” she laughed.

“You’ve never been there before?” he asked with a chuckle.

“Nope and I’m dying to see so much of it!” she said enthusiastically. “The Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, L’arc d’ Triumph, the....”

“Whoa, babe!” Steve laughed. “Slow down! We’ll see whatever you want, but let’s try to keep the list down a little, okay? I do have a flat there, so it’s not like this will be our only visit to the city!”

With a sigh, Trish said, “Yeah, you’re right. But I am going to...”

“We’ll decide when we get there, okay?” he said with a smile. “For now, we just need to pick Phil up and head out, okay?”

“Sure,” she said as she jumped out of bed. “My stuff is still in the car, right?”

“Yeah, we just need to get my bags over there and we’re ready to go,” Steve answered. Trish slipped her tennis shoes back on and kissed him quickly, then said, “Let’s go then!”

“Slow down, luv,” he laughed. Pulling her into his body, he kissed her softly and said, “Don’t I even get a proper ‘good morning’?”

“No time for that!” she giggled. “We’ll do all that when we get to Paris!”

“Okay, okay!” he chuckled. “Let’s go then!” They grabbed Steve’s bags and headed down to the car, but his mother stopped them and said, “Do you want breakfast before you go, son?”

Steve glanced into the kitchen and saw his father sitting at the table, so he said quietly, “No, Mum, we’ll get something on the road. Trish is really excited to get moving.”

She sighed, then kissed Steve on the cheek. “I’ll miss you, sweetheart. We’ll see you soon, though, okay?”

“Sure, Mum,” he said, giving her a bright smile.

They loaded Steve’s things into the car and hopped in, then Steve pointed the car towards Phil’s parents’ house in London. The drive went quickly as Trish talked about the different things she wanted to see while she was in Paris and Steve tried to calm her down. She was practically floating by the time they pulled into Phil’s driveway.

“Hi luv,” Phil said with a broad grin as he walked to the car. Steve had already told him how excited she was before they’d come out of the house, so all Phil could do was laugh. Maybe they’d actually go see the sites this trip! So far, they hadn’t gotten around to much of that while they were in Paris.

“Hi, Phil!” she smiled. “Ready for this drive?”

He just smiled at her, then stored his luggage in the boot of the car. When he slid into the back seat, he laughed and tapped a hard metallic object in the front pocket of his jacket. “I’m always ready for these trips!”

“OOOO, gotta share, Phillip!” Trish giggled.

“Of course, my lady,” he smiled, pulling the flask from his pocket. He twisted off the cap, took a long drink, then passed it up to Trish. She took a grateful swallow, then handed back to Phil.

“Hey, what about me?” Steve pouted.

“Eh, you’re driving, luv,” she smiled. “I want to make it to Paris in one piece, okay?”

“Oh, all right,” Steve sighed. He pointed the car towards the ferry at Portsmouth and they were off.

By the time they reached the boat, Trish and Phil had polished off the flask of whiskey and were getting quite giggly. Steve just watched them, wondering if he looked that foolish when he’d been drinking. Probably, he laughed as he put his arm over Trish’s shoulder. They were almost across the channel, leaning against the rail and watching the water, when Phil suddenly tried to sit on the rail. His narrow backside wasn’t near small enough to fit on the thin rail bar, so he immediately ended up in trouble.

“Oh my God, Phil!” Trish shrieked as he started to slip off the rail. She made a grab for him and nearly went over herself. Steve’s hip pinned Trish to the rail as he grabbed Phil’s arm and pulled his giggling friend back to safety. Once Phil was on his feet and swearing he’d never try that again, Steve took Trish in his arms and got her steady again as well.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Steve said angrily.

“He was gonna fall!” she cried.

“Damn it, Trish, YOU almost went overboard, you twit!” he yelled. “I’ll not have you risking your bloody neck like that!” He turned on Phil and said, “You bloody wanker! What the hell were you doing up on the god damn rail? You almost pulled her over with you!”

“I’m sho sorry, mate!” Phil slurred. “Um, I’m gonna go to the car, if ya don’t mind. I’m not feeling so well all the sudden.” He stumbled away before Steve could say another word to him. So Steve turned back to Trish and looked her over, asking, “Are you okay, luv?”

“I’m not sure,” she answered softly. “Me back ‘urts like ‘ell!”

“Let me see,” he said quietly, spinning her around slowly. He pulled up her shirt and saw a nasty bruise coming in on her lower back where his body had slammed hers against the rail. “I’m so sorry, luv,” he whispered as his hand ran over her back.

“Thans for stopping me from falling,” she said quietly, her hand going to his arm as she turned around.

He looked away and whispered, “I could never let you get hurt, Trish. I l..care too much about you to let that happen.”

“Thanks, baby,” she answered as her head came to rest on his shoulder. Wrapping her in his arms, Steve wondered why he was so afraid to tell her how he felt. His head came to rest on hers as the boat started into its dock. He whispered softly, “Guess we’d better head down to the car.”

“Yeah, guess sho,” she replied quietly. He took her hand and led her below the deck to the car. They found Phil sleeping off the drink in the back seat, so they slid into the car quietly and waited for their turn to disembark from the ferry. Steve had so much to say to her, but he just couldn’t. So he let her fall asleep while he tormented himself with feelings he couldn’t voice. He drove silently into Paris and finally woke them up when they reached his apartment in the city.

“Damn,” Phil said in disappointment. “Seem to have lost my buzz back here.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll take care of that in no time,” Trish said as she put a hand to her own throbbing head. “But it’s definitely no fair to wake up hung over when we barely got drunk!”

Steve slipped his arm around her as they went back to the car’s trunk and whispered, “Sure you want to spend your first night here drunk?”

“I’m too damn tired from the drive to do much else,” she laughed softly.

“You staying here, mate?” Steve asked Phil as he pulled Trish’s bags from the boot.

“Don’t have any other plans, for the moment,” Phil said with a wink. “Mind if I stick around?”

“Nah, come on in,” Steve said as he passed Phil Trish’s stuff and got his own out. They made they’re way into the house and Trish headed straight for the bar, grabbing a bottle of whiskey and taking a long drink before passing it over to Phil. Steve came out from putting their bags in his room and said, “What, leaving me out again?”

“No, luv!” Trish laughed, taking the bottle back from Phil and passing it over to Steve. The whiskey was handed around til it was empty, only to be followed by another bottle filled with Scotch. By eleven o’clock, all three of them were sleeping soundly on the living room floor, the exhaustion of the drive and the alcohol working together to knock them out.

Trish woke up first the next morning, nestled against Steve’s shoulder. Starting to get up, she froze as the throbbing in her head took over. But that slight movement woke Steve up as well.

“Morning, luv,” he whispered, but Trish just groaned, “Shhhh, not so loud!”

“You still haven’t learned not to try and keep up with us, have you?” he smiled. As he kissed her on the forehead, she said quietly, “I distinctly remember you being out first, Mr. Clark!”

“Yeah, well, I drove the whole way, now didn’t I?” he laughed. “Sorry if I was a bit tired, but I didn’t get to nap along the way.”

“Would you two fight a bit more quietly?” Phil groused. “A man can’t even die of his hangover properly here!”

“Sod off,” Trish said crossly.

“Now, now,” Steve laughed. “The two of you are just pathetic this morning, aren’t you?” Getting up from the floor, he caught Trish’s evil stare and said defensively, “Well, you are! Pissing and moaning our morning away when Trish here wanted to see the city!”

“All right, already,” Trish groaned as she sat up. “Let’s get a shower and get on the move then. But first, do you have any aspirin?”

An hour later, after showers and several aspirin, the three of them headed for the car. Trish insisted on this first day in Paris that she see as much as she could, so Steve pointed the car towards the Louvre to start their sightseeing. Her headache forgotten, Trish practically bounced out of her seat as he drove. Phil, on the other hand, was still holding his head and wondering when it would fall of his shoulders.

As they got out of the car, Trish looked over to an area that was sectioned off and asked, “What’s going on over there?”

“Um, there was some write up in the paper,” Steve said, searching his memory. “They’re adding this huge glass pyramid, for a reception area, I think.”

“Oh wow!” Trish gasped. “I’d love to see that when it’s done!”

“Then we’ll just have to come back here in a few years, huh?” Steve said with a smile.

“Guess so,” she sighed. Grabbing his hand, she pulled him into the building itself and let out a squeak. “My God, it’s even more beautiful than I’d imagined!”

“Not more beautiful than you,” Steve whispered softly, pulling her into his arms for a brief kiss before Phil laughed, “Um, mate, you’re not alone here!”

“Hmm?” Steve murmured. “Oh, thanks, Phil!” He let Trish go and she pulled him into one of the galleries, then stopped cold in amazement.

“Look at that!” she cried as she studied a large statue in front of her. They were in one of the Oriental galleries, one containing art from Ancient Iran and she was just in shock at the item in front of her. The huge column extended from floor to ceiling and was topped by two carved goat heads in intricate detail. She walked slowly up to the rail in front of her and said, “Isn’t it gorgeous, Steve?”

Nodding, Steve could only smile at her enthusiasm for the sculpture. He took her hand and pulled her along, saying, “If we stare at every piece, we’ll be here til closing and still not have seen everything!”

“Okay, I’m going,” she sighed. They went through room after room of sculptures, losing Phil to a pretty brunette they found in the Michelangelo galleries. With a smile and a wink, Phil told them they’d see him again later in the week, then he was gone.

“Think we’ll see him again before New Year’s?” Trish giggled.

“Not if he can help it,” Steve chuckled. “Let’s go see some of those paintings I keep hearing about, eh?”

Heading for the second floor, Trish gawked at the paintings in gallery after gallery, finally stopping in front of the Mona Lisa. “My God, Steve, LOOK at her!” she said suddenly. “Isn’t she amazing?”

“Yeah, she is,” Steve sighed. But he wasn’t truly interested in the painting. He wanted time alone with Trish, which he couldn’t get here in the museum.

“Did you know she was stolen once?” Trish asked, oblivious to Steve’s problem.

“Yeah, I heard about that,” he answered quietly.

“Okay, where to next?” she asked quickly. “How bout the moats? In the lower level?”

“Sure, whatever you want,” Steve sighed. She took him down to the lower level of the palace, into the medieval parts of the castle. They walked along the cordoned off path through the moats as Trish just shook her head. “Sorry, this is not how I imagined this area.”

“What did you expect?” Steve asked curiously.

“Not all this cleaned up, well lit stuff we’re seeing down here,” she sighed.

“I’m sorry it’s so disappointing,” he said quietly. “Want to go back upstairs?”

“Not yet,” she said as she led him further on. Holding his hand, she stopped at the end of one of the walkways in front of a model of a castle. Looking around, she realized they were alone in this deserted part of the building. At least for the moment. Steve didn’t catch the mischievous grin on her face as she led him behind the model. He was looking over the replica until Trish grabbed him by the waist and pulled him back against the hard, cold brick of the wall. As soon as his back hit the wall, Trish planted herself in front of him and laughed at his stunned expression. Then she kissed him and Steve forgot all about where he was. He pulled her into his body as his tongue probed between her lips. Wrapping her fingers through his hair, she pulled back and said, “Thank you for today, luv.”

“I’ve enjoyed myself,” Steve said slowly as he felt her body grind against his. “It’s been wonderful just seeing how much you love seeing this stuff. Like a kid in a candy store, all innocent eyes, greedy for more.”

“Well, there’s something else I want to see more of,” she whispered as her hand ran over his crotch. She kissed him again and he felt her tugging at his belt, unfastening it quickly.

“God, Trish! Not here!” he gasped.

“Why not?” she said with a wicked laugh. He felt her open his jeans, then slide down his body. Closing his eyes, he could feel her warm mouth closing over him and sighed in contentment. She moved up and down the length of him slowly as he leaned back and enjoyed himself. Her hands curled around his upper thigh, pulling him deeper into her throat. He let out a groan as he hit the back of her throat, then moaned, “Oh God, Trish, I’m gonna cum!”

She moved quicker over his flesh, wanting to give him this more than anything. A moment later, she felt the hot spray of his release and took it all before moving back up into his arms. He kissed her gently before whispering, “You truly are wicked, aren’t you?”

“And you love every minute of it,” she laughed. Then they heard the giggle of school children and Steve hurried to fasten his pants before they stepped back out from behind the model. Trish gave a soft laugh as one of the teachers’ eyes went wide at their sudden appearance, but Steve just blushed crimson as Trish led him back out of the museum.

“So, where are we off to next?” she whispered.

“Well, we spent most of the day in there, so let’s head for dinner, how’s that sound?” he said with a smile.

“Where at?” she asked curiously.

“Oh, I got us reservations someplace, so let’s go,” Steve said mysteriously.

“Where?” she insisted.

“You’ll see,” he laughed as he led her to the car. But instead of opening her door, he took her back to the boot of the car and popped the lid. Pulling out a large box that Trish had been curious about since the day before, he handed it to her and said, “You’ll need this, though.”

“What on Earth...?” she whispered as she lifted the lid off the box. Then she gasped as she pulled out a gorgeous white lace gown. Holding it up, she sighed, “I hope this fits...”

“It should,” he laughed. “I checked your size while you were sleeping one night, so I could get it right. Same for the shoes.” She took out a pair of white high heels and smiled up at him, then said, “Steve, I don’t think heels are a good idea...”

“Why not?” he asked slowly, disappointed she didn’t like all of his surprise.

“Because, I don’t feel like being taller than you!” she laughed.

“Oh bloody hell!” he chuckled. “Like I’d worry about that? I just want to see what you look like in them for once.”

“Okay, I’ll wear them then, just for you,” she smiled. “But where am I going to change?”

“We’ll make a stop before we get to the restaurant, don’t worry,” he laughed. “Hop in and we’re off!”

True to his word, Steve stopped by a friend’s house and let Trish change clothes quickly. In the box with the dress, she found not only the shoes, but also two barrettes decorated with white silk roses. She pulled her hair back with them after she slipped the dress on. The dress fit surprisingly well, as did the shoes he’d bought for her. When she came out, Steve let out a long, low whistle and said, “My God, Trish, you’re gorgeous!”

“Thank you, luv,” she whispered as she kissed his cheek.

“I mean it, baby,” he said softly. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen!” He leaned down and kissed her full on the mouth before moving away and putting on a tie with his white dress shirt. She ran her hands over the collar of the leather jacket he put on and said, “You’re lookin’ mighty fine yourself, you know?”

“Thanks,” he answered softly.

“So I’m assuming this is a fancy place we’re going?” she asked curiously.

“Oh, no, you’re not sweet talking this one out of me,” he chuckled. “Let’s go and you’ll see when we get there!”

“Oh, all right,” she pouted. Letting him take her by the hand, she followed him out to the car and slipped carefully into the seat, making sure not to get anything on the gorgeous dress he’d just given her. Steve got in beside her and just stared at her for a moment before starting the car. She slipped her hand into his and let him drive in silence to his surprise restaurant.

“Oh my God, Steve, LOOK!” she squealed as they drove through Paris. “That’s the Eiffel Tower up ahead!” Steve just nodded with a smile and kept right on driving. “Can we go see it tomorrow?” she asked excitedly.

“Um, I don’t think so,” he said with a secret smile.

“Why not?” she asked in disappointment.

“Patience, luv,” he smiled. “You’ll get to see it, I promise!” He gave her hand a squeeze as she sighed and sat back in the seat. The tower was getting closer and Trish longed to just hop out of the car and see the view of Paris from its heights. But she closed her eyes and let Steve drive where ever he wanted to go. This was obviously something he really wanted to do and she didn’t want to let him down.

Steve parked the car in a spot near the tower and said, “Okay, luv, we’re here.”

Opening her eyes, she looked around and said, “Oh, you found a restaurant near the Eiffel Tower? How wonderful!”

“Well, almost,” he laughed. “Come on, I’ve got something to show you before we eat and it’s just the right time of day for it.” She looked at the horizon and saw a sun near setting, then wondered just what Steve had up his sleeve. Taking her hand gently in his, he said, “This way, luv.”

They walked straight towards the tower and Trish nearly cried when he got her up to the elevator inside the enormous leg. “We’re going up here first?” she asked in shock.

“This is where we’re having dinner, Trish,” he smiled. She threw her arms around his neck and whispered into his hair, “Thank you, luv!”

“You’re very welcome,” he said as they boarded the elevator car. When it came to a stop, he led her over to a second car that carried them all the way to the highest observation deck. Spellbound, Trish walked slowly to the rail and whispered, “Steve, look at that city out there! And the sunset! My God, it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen!”

Steve looked at her in the amber light of the setting sun, its rays bringing out the highlights of her dark hair and turning the white of her skirt to a fiery liquid reflection of the sun. Walking slowly up behind her, he put his arms around her waist and whispered into her ear, “No, Trish, it’s the second most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen. You’re the first.” He kissed her softly on the neck and said quietly, “I love you, Trish.”

Leaning back into his arms, Trish let out a sigh and whispered, “I love you too, Steve.”

“Really, Trish?” he asked softly.

Turning in his arms, she answered quietly, “Yes, Steve, I mean it.” Then she kissed him tenderly and said, “Well, ready to head in for dinner, luv?”

“Yeah, baby, let’s go,” he said quickly. “It’s a bit cold up here, isn’t it?”

“Really?” she said with a smile. “I hadn’t noticed.” With one final kiss, she took him by the hand and they got back on the elevator just as the sun finally dipped below the horizon.

“Clark?” Steve said quietly to the hostess when they entered the restaurant Le Jules Verne on the second level of the tower.

“Ah, Monsieur Clark! Bienvenue a le Jules Verne!” she said cheerfully.

“Um, je suis Englais,” Steve said quickly.

“Welcome, a le Jules Verne, Monsieur et Madame Clark,” she said with a smile. “I’ll show you to your table. If you’ll follow me?”

“You speak French?” Trish said in astonishment.

“Just enough to get my face slapped most of the time,” Steve chuckled. “Didn’t you have to take it in school?”

“Oh, I did, but then I forgot it as soon as class was over,” she laughed as they sat at the table and started to look over the menu. Steve ordered for them both, then sat back and watched as Trish looked around the elegant surroundings. When the food arrived, Steve barely tasted it as his mind when back to what she’d said up on the observation deck. She loved him. He couldn’t believe it! If she meant that, then she had to be ready to leave Sav and stay with him.

After the meal, Steve looked at Trish and saw how tired she was, so he decided it was time to head home. The drive home was quiet as Trish absorbed the things she’d just experienced and Steve anticipated what the next few days could hold for them. Entering the flat, Steve watched her to see if she was ready to head for bed or if she had anything else she wanted to do. She slipped out of her coat and sat down hard on the couch, leaning back and smiling up at him.

“Thank you so much for everything that you did today,” she said with a soft smile. Patting the sofa next to her, she motioned for him to sit down with her as she said, “I’ve really enjoyed myself, luv.”

He looked her over and pulled her to her feet, saying, “I’ve seen that look on your face before, my love, and you were sleeping ten minutes later! Stay right here and I’ll be back, okay?”

“Sure,” she said quietly as she stifled a yawn.

Steve went into the bedroom and came out changed into a pair of sweats and nothing else. He laid her nightgown across the chair and said, “Come here, luv. Let’s get you ready for bed, okay?”

“Sure,” she said with a slow smile. Coming closer to Steve, she watched as his fingers curled through the laces at the front of the gown and tugged carefully at the string. The dress opened slowly as Steve stared down into her eyes. He slipped the dress off her shoulders and slid it off her body, then laid it across the chair next to her nightgown. Turning her gently, he undid the back fasteners of her bra and took it off her as well. For a moment, she thought he would try to pull her into his arms, but he didn’t. Instead, he leaned down and picked up the night dress and slipped the silky material over her head. Then he bent down and picked her up, settling down on the couch with a sigh. Trish laid her head down on his shoulder as he picked up the remote for the television and flipped through the channels. She wrapped her arms around his slender body and was sleeping against him in only minutes. Settling her back into the couch, Steve laid down with her until he was dreaming as well.

Trish woke up late in the night when the television went to nothing but snow. Shaking Steve gently, she said, “Baby, let’s go to bed, okay? It’s really late.”

“Hmm? Oh, okay,” he mumbled. Without waiting for her to get up, Steve picked Trish up and carried her back to the bedroom, laying her carefully on the bed. He laid down beside her and pulled the blanket up over them to go back to sleep. Trish snuggled up against his side and Steve felt her lips graze lightly over the flesh of his throat. He moaned as he pulled her into his arms and whispered, “Not sleepy anymore, my love?”

“Mmm, does it matter?” she answered softly. Her hand moved up his chest, rubbing his skin lightly as her tongue flicked out and teased his earlobe.

“Oh, God, Trish!” he moaned as he rolled over into her body. Her fingers wrapped through Steve’s hair, bringing his mouth down to hers for a long, slow, deep kiss. One of his arms went under her, pulling her up to him as he supported them with his other arm. His body pressed hers into the mattress, wanting to be inside her at that moment. She could feel his need against her thigh as they kissed. Her hands went into his sweats, gripping his ass when her thighs parted to let his hips in.

He moved the strap of her nightgown off her shoulder, baring her breast to his touch. His fingers teased her nipple, pinching it lightly while she started to squirm underneath him. She pulled his hips down into her as her back arched up to him. His lips closed over her nipple, his tongue teasing the hard peak as his teeth raked over her flesh.

“Oh Steve, I need you so bad,” she whimpered.

“You’ve got me,” he whispered as his hand went under the filmy material of her gown. He pulled her up and took the nightgown off over her head, then slid her panties down her legs. Peeling off his sweats, he returned to her and felt the heat of her against his groin as he kissed her lips hard. She tried to pull him into her, but he moved back and grabbed her hands, pinning them above her head.

Trying to roll him over, she felt Steve push her back down on the bed as he whispered, “What do you want, Trish?”

“YOU!” she sobbed in frustration. “I want you, Steve!”

His lips burned into her as he kissed her again, his tongue probing into her mouth. He could feel her hips grinding up against him, until he finally pinned them down with his body. His kiss seemed to last forever as she moaned under him.

“Please, Steve!” she begged.

He finally allowed himself to enter her as he whispered heatedly against her throat, “I love you, Trish!”

“God, I love you too, Steve,” she cried as he sank into her. He held her down as his body moved into her, each thrust giving them both the ultimate pleasure. Seeing her tears of frustration, he leaned down and kissed them away as he whispered, “I need you, my love! You know that, don’t you.”

“I do, God help me,” she whimpered. She could feel her body tense as an intense orgasm washed over her. When he felt that, Steve let her hands go and felt her fingernails bite into his back as she said, “Steve, please, I want to feel you cum for me!”

“I am, baby,” he whispered as he pulled her tightly into his arms. He closed his eyes as his body shuddered with his climax. Then he laid down gently beside her and held her in his arms, kissing her face tenderly as they both finally drifted off to sleep.

Steve woke up alone in the bed the next morning and threw on his pants, then stumbled out into the living room to find Trish. She was sitting in a chair by the window, staying out over the city. Walking up quietly beside her, he saw tears in her eyes and whispered, “What’s the matter, luv?”

“Oh, nothing,” she said, smiling to try and cover up her raging emotions.

“Please, Trish, tell me what’s going on?” Steve whispered. “I don’t like seeing you cry.”

“Really, Steve, I just think it’s hormonal, that’s all,” she said quietly. “Don’t worry about it.”

He sat down on the arm of the chair and said, “Did you call and talk to Sav?”

“About what?” she asked cautiously.

“Aren’t you going to tell him it’s over between you two?” he asked softly.

“Oh God,” she whispered. Looking out the window, she answered softly, “No, Steve, I’m not.”

“Why not?” Steve asked in confusion. “I thought you said you loved ME?”

“I do, Steve,” she said as tears sprang into her eyes. “But I love him too. Know what I mean?”

“No I don’t,” he said, anger creeping into his voice. “Trish, you can’t have us both. Don’t you understand that?”

“God, I know,” she said softly. “I’m just not ready to make any decisions yet.”

“Well, you have to!” he hissed. Turning away from her, he yelled, “I can’t live like this anymore! You’ve got to tell Sav it’s over!”

“Steve, please, don’t do this,” she cried. “Don’t force this on me now. If you really love me, you’ll be patient with me.”

“And if you really love me, you’ll leave Sav,” he screamed. Throwing himself down at her feet, he took both her hands in his and said, “Trish, please, baby! Let him go and stay with me!”

“I can’t do that yet, Steve,” she whimpered.

“You know, maybe Sav doesn’t mind his girlfriend acting like a whore, but I do!” he said angrily as he pulled away from her.

“What’d you just say?” she hissed angrily.

“You heard me!” he yelled. “You can’t do this anymore, Trish! Only a slut would keep up with two guys like this.”

“Whore?” she screamed. “SLUT? Is that what you think of me, Steve?”

“No, I really don’t think that’s what you are,” he whispered as he realized how badly he’d upset her. “But that’s what you’re acting like.”

“You know, Steve,” she said quietly. “If that’s what you think of this, then maybe I was wrong about you. It’s pretty bad that Sav understands this and you don’t. HE didn’t tell me I had to get things over with you. HE didn’t try to force me into this. What was it that Joe said? That if I didn’t make a choice, someone else would make it for me? Well, I guess you just did!” She stormed off into the bedroom and started throwing her things into her suitcase. Steve walked in slowly and said, “Trish, please, don’t leave me.”

“I didn’t do this, you did, Steve,” she answered quietly.

“Baby, please!” he begged. She could hear the tears he was trying desperately not to shed in his voice, but her anger wouldn’t let her respond to him. After she finished packing, she threw on her clothes and yanked a brush through her hair. When she looked back at Steve, she found him sitting on the floor, crying into his hands. She picked up her bag and walked over to him. Setting the suitcase on the floor, she leaned over to him and said softly, “Steve, if this hadn’t happened, you might have gotten exactly what you want. Maybe I would have told Sav it was over eventually. I do love you, Steve, but you can’t push me like this and get what you want. I’m sorry.”

Picking up her case, she walked away and left him sitting there. A moment later, Steve heard the door slam as she walked out of the apartment. Getting up, he ran out after her and saw her getting into a cab she’d hailed.

“TRISH!” he screamed as the taxi pulled away. He fell to his knees on the icy pavement and let the sobs take him without even noticing the cold. Eventually, he got up and went into the flat, heading straight for the alcohol. Then he pulled out a bottle and started drinking until he didn’t feel anything anymore.