The rest of the party went by in a blur for Reed. Duncan kept her close, anchoring her to him with an arm around her waist. There could be no doubt to anyone with eyes what their relationship was.

Duncan, too, felt amazing, happy and relaxed like he hadn't been in weeks. To know that Reed was near him, that he could touch her again, that she welcomed it, made him want to shout from the rooftops. He found himself leaning into her body from time to time, just to sniff her hair, or feel her against him. He couldn't wait for the party to be over so they could have an encore, but in bed this time.

Reed felt Nancy watching them, and honestly felt bad for her. She wanted Duncan, but couldn't have him; how awful to feel that way.

And Reed didn't let herself think about what would happen in September, or of Sam, or Oklahoma.

"Dunc? Could we step into your office for a mo'?" It was a friend of his, a fellow songwriter. "I want to play something for you, get your opinion."

Duncan looked down at Reed. "You mind, darling?"

Reed shook her head. "Of course not, go do your thing."

Duncan dropped a kiss on her nose as he released her. "Won't be long."

Reed went out to the deck to enjoy the evening, knowing Duncan would come and find her when he was finished. She walked to the very edge, where there weren't many people, and was pleased to find she had a little privacy.

"How long have you and Duncan been seeing each other?"

Reed turned around to see Nancy, drink in hand, regarding her quizzically, head tilted.

Reed shrugged. "Not long."

"I would think not, since you just met him a few months ago." There was a little bite in her words. "However did you manage to snag him?" And Reed could hear the slight, sarcastic emphasis on the word "you," the implication behind the question.

Again, Reed shrugged. "We spend a lot of time together, we have a lot in common—"

"Oh, but you don't," Nancy interrupted. "You're nothing like the women he usually dates, you know nothing of the music business, you're from—where? Florida?"

"Yes, that's right."

"And you just happened to wash up here in Malibu and land in Duncan's lap." Now the hostility was apparent, out in the open.

"Well, he dashed out in front of my car on his bike, you know that," Reed countered. "There was no planning involved, if that's what you're insinuating."

"Oh, I'm not 'insinuating' anything, just trying to get a read on you, dear Reed." Nancy's voice was oily, prying. "Where in Florida did you say?"

"I didn't, but I'm from Orlando."

"Orlando, right. No family to speak of, just showed up here, fresh and clean, to worm yourself into Dunc's life."

"I didn't worm my way into anything," Reed retorted, turning back to face the ocean. "It just happened, it was totally organic."

"Believe me, there's nothing organic about what's going on here," Nancy countered, stepping up next to Reed. "You might have him fooled, but I'm paid to take care of him, and I'm not just going to stand idly by and watch you make a fool of him."

"It seems to me you're paid to do a whole lot of nothing." Reed finished her drink and turned to face the blonde woman. "One of us is definitely taking advantage of Duncan, and it isn't me, I know that."

Nancy gasped. "You bitch!"

"Whoa, what's going on here?" Duncan was crossing the deck quickly, having heard Nancy's last words. "Nancy, you've no call to be speaking to Reed that way."

Nancy whirled to Duncan, blonde hair flying, sloshing a little of her drink on her hand, and Reed wondered in passing how many she'd had.

"Please, Dunc, she shows up out of literally nowhere to run you down, and the next thing we know she's screwing you?"

Reed looked around to see if anyone was paying attention, but this part of the deck was deserted except for the three of them.

"Oh my god, Nancy, will you kindly watch your mouth?" Duncan was livid.

"No, Duncan, it's okay, she can say whatever she wants," Reed interjected. "At least she's trying to earn her money by looking after you, right?"

Nancy threw her drink over the edge of the deck, and Duncan made a mental note to have the caterers do a sweep of the beach before they left.

"That's right," Nancy agreed, biting her lip. "I'm just looking after you, Dunc, whether you want me to or not." She took a step closer to her boss. "Don't you think it's a little strange how she just popped up out of nowhere and wormed her way into your life?"

"Please, listen to yourself," Duncan replied with a smile. "I jumped out in front of her, she didn't do anything, it's not like she was looking for me!" He shook his head. "If anything, she should be suspicious of me, don't you think?"

But Nancy was shaking her head, chin quivering. "I'm telling you, Duncan, there's something weird about this whole situation, something wrong. With her." She gestured viciously in Reed's direction. "And I'm going to find out what it is." And with those words, she turned on her heel and walked back toward the house.

Duncan put his arm around Reed and pressed a kiss to her temple. "You okay, darling?"
Reed nodded. "I'm fine. She just had a little too much to drink, I think, don't you?"

Duncan nodded, looking out at the surf. "Probably. And she's more than a little jealous."

Reed looked at him, and he nodded again. "We had a thing, barely lasted a minute, but I think she still has feelings for me."

Reed sighed.

Wonderful.

She wondered how much Nancy would be able to find out about her. She'd never had any social media accounts, so that was good, but surely Nancy would and could go through the DMV or something, maybe even hire a private investigator? It wasn't as though Reed had been particularly careful about covering up her past; it had never occurred to her that she'd need to.

God, what if Nancy found out about Sam? Or worse, what if she went to Sam and told him about Duncan?

Reed closed her eyes and leaned against the railing of the deck.

"You sure you're okay?" Duncan was leaning closer to see her in the semidarkness, concern in his eyes.

"I'm fine, just wishing the party were over so we could go to bed," she said without thinking.

"Me too," Duncan confessed, grinning. "Glad to know you're thinking the same thing." He squeezed her waist. "I've really missed you these past days," he confessed.

"But you know nothing's changed," Reed said, leaning her head on his chest. "I'm still leaving in September?"

Duncan sighed. "I know, I know. I'm not going to pretend to understand, and I won't bother you about it, but I'm not going to stop trying to change your mind."

"How are you going to do that?"

"By making sure you're so happy to be with me that you never want to leave," Duncan answered. He pulled her closer and kissed her, searching with his mouth, moaning when he found it.

"I am happy, please don't think I'm not," Reed said breathlessly when they finally broke the kiss. "It's not something I can explain, can we please leave it at that?"

Duncan nodded, kissing her again, deeper this time. "Okay. Okay."

They turned back to where the guests were congregating, the heart of the party.

"Hey, what happened to Nancy?" Robby asked. "She just blew through here like she was on fire, wouldn't say a word to anyone, and drove off in her car like a bat out of hell."

"Nothing, just a little misunderstanding," Duncan answered. "Don't worry about it."

"Something about this, right?" Robby gestured between Reed and Duncan. "I could tell something was up with you two, and I knew Miss Nancy wouldn't be happy about it." Robby grinned. "That girl gets around, but god forbid you should move on, right?"

"Pretty much," Duncan answered, keeping his arm around Reed.

"Well, I'd watch out for her, Reed," Robby admonished. "She can really hold a grudge, and if she can hurt you, she will."

Reed nodded. "It must be hard for her, though, to be so close to Duncan, to be around him all the time and see him with other women."

The two men looked at her in surprise.

"Are you saying you feel sorry? For her?" Duncan couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice.

Reed shrugged. "Yeah, a little. I mean, I'd rather be me than her." She thought about these words with surprise as Robby and Duncan continued to talk, and realized how true they were. Anyone who saw the two women from the outside would definitely choose to be the lovely and lithe Nancy, surely? Who would choose to be her, ungainly, unconfident Reed, not good looking, shy, no money? But Reed was definitely happier to be in her position, in the circle of Duncan's love, than Nancy's, on the outside looking in.

People started leaving soon after that, and finally they were alone, with no one but the clean up crew.

"Alone at last," Duncan sighed as they finally shut the door to his bedroom. "Now, let's get you out of these clothes and do it again, properly this time."

"What was wrong with how we did it earlier?" Reed teased. "I thought it was loads of fun."

"Well, me too," Duncan admitted as he pulled her shirt over her head. "I just meant that we could take our time, maybe actually get a condom on me and have a proper shag."

"Sounds fun," Reed agreed, turning her body back and forth, brushing her breasts against his chest.

Duncan closed his eyes at the sensation before simply enveloping her in a hug and pulling both of them down on the bed.

"A proper shag," Reed repeated with a little laugh. "Here we go."