Michelle sighed sleepily and stretched her arms above her head. There was something familiar about waking up like this. Her eyes stayed closed and she rolled over, reaching for Tony but he wasn't there. She smirked a little as she heard it, the music. He was doing it again; playing his guitar while letting her sleep. No wonder she felt deja vu. She sat up and pulled the white sheet around her torso. Wrapping it around her, she made her way into the living room where she found him sitting on the floor with papers strewn around him, guitar in his lap. The shuffling of her inpromptu robe caught his attention and he stopped, looking up at her as she approached. His eyes raked down her form and a smug smile lit up his face.

"You do wear anything well, ya know that?"

She snorted and dropped to the floor alongside him. "Don't stop on my account. I'm getting used to waking this way."

Tony leaned over and kissed her, his tongue tapping at her lips. She gave a small groan and opened to him, deepening the kiss. "Trust me sweetheart, I wanted to wake you up in a different way."

Michelle shivered at his words and grinned. "So what're you writing?"

He went back to strumming lightly, her eyes getting lost watching his muscles flex and move. "It's not ready yet."

She poked at a page near her leg. "Well that's suspiciously sneaky."

Tony reached out and scooped up the papers, shuffling them together into a neat stack and tossing them onto one of the couch's side tables. "I'm not sneaky. You're'a snoop."

She hmph'd at him and fiddled with the edge of her sheet. Tony shifted his guitar back into playing position and and picked a few chords. "Why don't I play something for you?"

Michelle blushed. Sure, he'd been playing things for her every chance he could get, but that was on stage. He was sitting right in front of her. "Oh, that's ok..."

"I think I know the perfect song for our situation." He grinned widely at her and she couldn't say no when he did that.

She brushed a few curls behind her ear. "Alright then."

He grinned again and then started strumming lightly. She knew the song once he was a few lines in and she blushed again deeper. He could be such an ass sometimes and she loved it.

Shed a tear 'cause I'm missin' you

I'm still alright to smile

Girl, I think about you every day now

Was a time when I wasn't sure

But you set my mind at ease

There is no doubt

You're in my heart now

Said, woman, take it slow

It'll work itself out fine

All we need is just a little patience

Said, sugar, make it slow

And we come together fine

All we need is just a little patience

Michelle giggled as he tried to do his best Axl Rose impression. Her throat got tight for a minute as she thought of how he was trying to make light of a very bad situation. They may love each other but it wouldn't stop the pain they were about to inflict on others. Well, on one person in particular.

I sit here on the stairs

'Cause I'd rather be alone

If I can't have you right now

I'll wait, dear

Sometimes I get so tense

But I can't speed up the time

But you know, love

There's one more thing to consider

Michelle loosened her grip on the sheet and let it fall to her waist. Tony's rhythm slowed and finally came to a complete stop. She could feel her skin tingle as his eyes roamed up from the sheet, over her breasts and he finally met her eyes. He carefully set his guitar down on the floor and reached one hand out to her, running a finger up her side and then down her arm. He leaned over and kissed her softly, nudging her head to the side so he could run his lips down her neck.

His breath was warm against the valley of her breasts. "God you are perfect."

She ran one hand through his hair as she leaned back to rest against her other hand. Tony leaned over her, holding himself up with an arm on each side of her waist. His lips trailed to one nipple and he latched on, suckling lightly.

"Tony..." It came out in a whimper and he broke away from her to push towards the carpet.

"Lay back baby."


Michelle popped another carrot into her mouth. She was sitting on the kitchen counter, swinging her legs back and forth watching him cook. A man who could cook was sexy. But Tony cooking in nothing but sweatpants was even sexier. Michelle smiled to herself and felt her cheeks warm as she thought of the completely lazy, yet very exercising afternoon they'd had. She was wearing nothing but his dress shirt from the night before and her panties and she'd had to fight to even get those.

"You keep eating those and we won't have enough for dinner." He kept his eyes on their steaks.

"You'll think of something." She popped another carrot just as he set the spatula down and wrapped his arms around her middle, pulling her to the edge of the counter. She squealed as he lifted the shirt and blew hard on her stomach.

"Tony! Stop it!" He chuckled with her but changed tactics and ran his lips around the top of her panties, causing her to suck in a quick breath.

Michelle laid back on the counter, her fists tight in his hair. Tony looked over at the steaks to check then focused back on her. "You're insatiable, you know that?" The annoyance in her voice barely came through her heavy breathing.

"Well if you didn't taste so good..." He moved her panties to the side and ran his tongue through her folds, blowing slightly on her hot skin. She shivered and he wiggled his fingers under the edge of the cloth on each side, pulling them down her legs.

"What about the food?" She moaned and arched against the counter as he gently spread her legs, hooking his hands behind her knees. Tony kissed her stomach gently and started unbuttoning her shirt. "The food can wait. I'm in the mood for something else right now." He pulled the two sides apart and ran one palm up her stomach to her chest. She arched into him and he bent down to kiss her inside thigh. He breathed in deep and groaned, lapping his tongue against her.

Michelle moaned. He was so good at this and he seemed to never get enough of her. She pulled his hair slightly when he switched from her opening to her clit. Tony hummed and she gasped. "You're so wet baby. Taste so good." Her back came off the counter when he slid two fingers inside her, pumping slowly. "I could eat you all night."

"Tony....inside me..." Michelle tugged upwards, bringing him away from her center and back to her lips, tasting herself. Tony broke the kiss and licked his lips, pushing the front of his sweats down and taking himself in hand. She watched as he made a few lazy strokes, lining up with her and sliding in slowly. He leaned forward on his hands by her head and started movingly leisurely. She wrapped her arms around his middle, running her hands along his back, feeling his muscles move as he loved her.

"More Tony."

He growled and changed his pace, his hips slapping against hers wetly. "Yes baby." She dug her nails into his backside and he groaned. "Christ Michelle."

"So close..." Goosebumps raised on her arms as her climax approached. He bit his lip and watched the way her breasts moved as he pushed, watched her jaw go slack as she started to come. She tightened up on him and he ground into her roughly, resting his head on her chest as he filled her with his warmth. She pulled him up to her, still panting and kissed him. Tony ran his nose along her skin to her shoulder, burying his face in her hair. "I love you."

Michelle sighed happily, a grin coming to her face before she blurted out "I'm nervous."

Tony raised his head from her shoulder, one eyebrow arching in confusion. "I say 'I love you' and you say 'I'm nervous.'"

She blushed and bumped her head into his chest. "I can't help it. I'm worried about going on stage tomorrow night." Tony chuckled. "You're worried about that? How many times I gotta tell ya, you'll be fine." He slid out of her and they both groaned. He wet a dish towel for her and helped to clean her and himself up.

Michelle was back sitting up on the edge of the counter, buttoning up the shirt once again. "I'm going to talk to Carlos after the concert tomorrow night."

Tony stopped plating their food and just stared straight ahead, waiting for her to continue. "I love you and I can't keep doing this. I need to tell him and I need to stop putting it off."

He turned to look at her and she bit her lip. He set down the plate he was holding and stepped back over to her, sliding in between her legs. Michelle wrapped her arms around his shoulders, sliding her fingers through his hair as he rested against her.

"Thank you."


"Hey, you're Michelle right?"

Michelle looked up from the music sheets she was studying. They were in the auditorium where the band would play their next two concerts. Rehearsal had started and the sound checks were, so far, going smoothly. Kim's band was opening for them and Tony thought it would be fun to join her for a few songs as a surprise to the fans. She'd seen the guy standing before her working in the "sound pit" as they called it. He was tall, with a thin face and dark hair. He had a goatee that made Michelle think of a three musketeer.

"Yeah, that's me." She smiled and reached out her hand. He grinned and took it, shaking smoothly.

"I'm Milo. I do all the sound and light work. Tony told me I should come and make sure your piano and violin are hooked up to your specifications. Said something about you being "the expert."" Milo made air quotes and she blushed slightly.

"Well, I'm not sure about the expert part but yeah, I need to make sure the violin is at least on it's own channel. Otherwise, it won't come through correctly with the other instruments." He nodded and turned, making his way back to the pit. "I'll switch you over to your own panel and we can test it from there, how's that?"

"That works. Thank you."

The day was exhausting. She knew it was wrong of her to think so, but she honestly felt like this type of music couldn't possibly take that much work. She had been wrong. Dead wrong. The amount of sound checks and stage light adjustments alone were crazy. It was way more work than setting up for the symphony and she found a whole new respect for the people who made sure everything went off without a hitch. Bill was obviously good at his job because not one person could be found lounging around. They all took their tasks very seriously. She was enjoying sitting back in one of the stadium chairs watching Kim's band play through the few numbers they'd picked for Tony. She smiled and laughed as they played with each other. Kim ran her finger down Tony's chest during one song and it was just sickeningly sweet the way they flirted. Michelle knew it was all an act, but she couldn't help the way her stomach tightened at another woman looking at him that way. They knew what they were doing though. The few songs they practiced were perfectly chosen for that kind of thing and she had to admit, it was entertaining.

Michelle noticed movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to her left. Carlos was standing there, looking timidly at the floor. She straightened up in her seat.

"You mind if I join you?" She shook her head and he pushed the base of the seat down, shifting until he was comfortable. There was something about the way he was acting. He seemed nervous and it was throwing her off.

"I'm glad you're here actually. I, I wanted to talk to you about a few things." She twisted her fingers, trying to find anything to keep her from looking into his eyes.

"Yeah, I needed to talk to you too. I know about you and Tony, Michelle." Her head snapped up and she looked at him warily. "It's ok, I'm not mad. Well, I am but I mean, it's not like this hasn't happened to me before. My brother, well, let's just say he enjoys taking away things that make me happy."

Michelle narrowed her eyes in confusion. "I don't, what are you talking about?"

It was Carlos's turn to look confused. "You mean he hasn't told you?"

"Told me what?"

He glanced up at the stage where Tony was in a discussion with Kim, not having any idea he and Michelle were talking. Carlos smirked for a split second then slid back into his act. "He hasn't told you about Rachel?"

Michelle sucked in a quick breath at the mention of the woman. With everything that happened the past few days she'd forgotten all about her and the wedding ring she'd seen on Tony's finger in that music video.

"I won't get into it here. But tonight, after the show I'll tell you everything."

Michelle left his eyes and focused on Tony, laughing on the stage with Kim.

"I'll tell you everything you need to know about Rachel."