...
"Hey, before you go, can we talk?"
You turn to see Brooke's hand reaching for your shoulder, pulling back once she realized she had your attention.
"Yeah, sure... about what?"
She looks around at the rest of the girls slowly filing out of the door, and you pick up on her signal.
You casually wait around, waving goodbyes to those who left, until it was just you, Brooke, and Kyedae left inside.
"Kyedae... are you going to go soon?" Brooke starts.
"No."
"Oh! Um..."
"I need to have the same conversation with him," Kyedae slowly lets out, barely managing to look you in the eyes.
"How do you even know what we're-"
"You're the only other girl here with a boyfriend, Brooke."
"...right."
"Yeah, I... I needed to talk to you both about that too," you add.
Brooke gives you a knowing nod as she recollects the few instances you tried to bring it up to her, now realizing your intention.
"So?" You ask, sitting down on her bed again, taking in the combined scent of the 6 girls who slept there with you.
"So...?"
"So what are we gonna do?"
"..."
"..."
The girls are silent, continuing to mull over the thoughts that have consumed their minds for the past few days.
"I can't lie," Brooke starts, "I like you. Like, more than in bed. I know we haven't hung out that much besides that, but I feel a strong urge to be around you..."
"Me too," Kyedae cuts in, blurting out what was on her mind before she could stop herself. "I like you a lot. When we kissed, I... I wasn't just shocked at what I did. I was shocked at how much I liked it."
"I mean... if you had taken me into your arms right then and kissed me again, I... wouldn't have stopped you."
She immediately stares at the floor, clenching her fist in response to her growing stress.
You put your hand on her shoulder, and she silently places her hand on yours, holding it in place.
"I remember when I walked in on you and Tina for the first time," Brooke says with a chuckle. "I'd seen Tina with a couple other guys over the years, and sometimes I joined in, but I never enjoyed it that much."
"But seeing your caring face... and how you treated me... you completely listened to me when I set a boundary, and that's not something most guys naturally do."
"I... I wanted you. I wanted you in my arms. Sometimes I wanted you to fuck me... and other times I wanted you to hold me. I just wanted to be with you, no matter what."
Their heartfelt confessions make you blush, and you realize that the feelings you had toward them, the forbidden thoughts you had tried to lock away, were just as real as theirs.
In response to her last words, you hold out your other hand, and Brooke embraces you, sighing contently as she lays her head on your chest and wraps her arms around you.
The three of you stay like this for a minute, one hand wrapped around Brooke, the other on Kyedae.
"I like both of you... a lot. At first, I didn't want to feel this way, since it would make things messy... but I can't deny it anymore."
"Kyedae, I... you have no idea how hard it was to keep myself from holding you when you looked terrified and ashamed."
"And Brooke, though our relationship has been more... casual, I still want you too. I want to get to know you better, to learn everything about you. Both of you," you let out, seeing Kyedae's face light up at your final words.
"But... I have to let one of you go," Brooke says, thinking of her boyfriend. "I'm not willing to continue cheating. That never works out."
All three of you take a moment to think, as your conversation had finally reached the tough decision they would have to make.
"I agree. Brooke... I know it's a hard choice, but..."
You take a deep breath, and finish, understanding that not everything would go your way.
"I want you and your boyfriend to be happy, so don't feel too bad about letting me go."
"Wait, what?" Her face twists into a confused expression.
"Huh?"
"You think I'm breaking up with you?"
"I... uh..." you say. Your eyes widen as you realize her implication. "Wait, you mean you're-"
"I meant it when I said I wanted to be with you."
"But Brooke, I'm not exactly... um... single? I have... well..."
"Other girls? What, do you think I forgot about last night?"
"...oh, right..."
"I know - maybe I'm crazy for wanting this. But every moment I spend with you feels a thousand times better than with anyone else. I'll take it. I don't care how many girlfriends you have."
"Brooke, I..." You struggle to find words.
Instead, you slide your hand up to the back of her neck and pull her in, seeing her gasp in anticipation as you both close your eyes.
Your lips meet with a soft, gentle touch, a stark contrast to your usual fiery kisses. An explosion of emotions rushes through both of you as your tongues meet.
You gently caress her face, her cheek leaning into your warmth as she hums in delight, her hand moving to the back of your head and entangling itself in your hair.
You gently bite her bottom lip, eliciting a hiss of desire from her as she pushes herself further into your mouth, pushing her tongue past yours.
"Uhh..."
You snap away as you're reminded of who else was in the room.
"Sorry, Kyedae," you apologize as you wipe a strand of saliva from your lips.
You sit down next to her, now turning to give her your full attention while Brooke continues beaming a bright smile.
She takes your hand from her lap and holds it between hers, absentmindedly running her thumb along your skin.
"I wish I could be as certain as Brooke... but I'm not."
"It's alright. Take your time, ok? Just do what feels right," you assure her.
"Can I test something?"
"...yeah, what were you think-"
Her hands move to your shoulders as her lips softly smooch yours, your hands moving to her waist as you kiss her back.
She gasps as she feels an almost-electric sense coursing through her body with each touch you give her.
She pulls away sharply, looking at you in disbelief. For the first time, you notice the depth and clarity in her eyes, their twinkling nature drawing you back in.
You both lean in again, her hands moving to cup your cheek as you let her pull you in even closer, your lips grazing and sucking on each other.
You finally let go, her hands still holding your face close to hers.
"...Kyedae..." You let out, breathlessly. You look down at her lips again, their soft pink color enticing you.
"I want you... fuck it, I need you," she lets out, her previous aversion to eye contact completely disappearing.
She smashes her lips into yours for the third time. The exhilaration of finally making a choice, one that she didn't expect herself to make, drives her to kiss you even more passionately. She puts all of her pent-up energy into you, her hands running down your shoulders and squeezing your muscles one at a time.
Not wanting to let you go, she leans back, pulling you further onto her as you continue making out for another minute.
"Yeah. I... I definitely want this too," you say, grinning as you finally pull away. You take her hand in yours and bring her knuckles up to your lips, the unexpected act making her blush.
"So... I guess this is it," Brooke says, realizing that a whole new world had been opened up to her.
"Yeah..."
"Now all that's left is for us to settle things with our boyfriends."
"Ex-boyfriends," Kyedae corrects.
"But first..." Brooke says, wrapping her arms around your neck. "One last kiss. I've needed this for so long."
You oblige, letting her pull you in. You stay there for a minute, both of you stealing each other's oxygen as your hands roam each other's bodies.
You gasp as you hear the sound of the door swinging open.
You try to pull away and open your eyes, but Brooke keeps you in place for a few more seconds, her excitement making her oblivious to the sound.
When she finally lets you go, you both turn to the door, seeing a wide-eyed, jaw-dropped figure.
"Mason?" Brooke lets out, clearly surprised to see her boyfriend here at this hour.
"...Brooke?!?" He says, his rage evident out in his voice.
He turns to look at you, his posture becoming aggressive as he clenches his fists.
Oh boy.
Well, I guess that conversation's gonna happen sooner than I expected.
I just hope I'll be alive to hear it.
...
You settle back into your chair at home, thinking back on the morning's events. You silently thank Brooke in your head for the hundredth time, forever grateful that she deescalated the situation before it got too tense. You flip open your laptop and open Youtube.
Oh shit. What time is it?
You open Rae's stream, seeing her giddily waiting for more of her friends to arrive to start baking. You scramble around in your pocket for your phone.
Happy birthday Rae!
Will be a little late to the stream, sorry!
dw about it
i'm just so glad youre coming!!!!
wouldn't want to spend it with anyone else :)
You grin to yourself as you shut your phone and open your closet.
You wear some nicer clothes and get in your car, plugging the address into your GPS.
...
"Hey!" Imane lights up as she opens the door, quickly moving to give you a big hug. Janet quickly follows, holding on to you and giving you a quick peck on the cheek when no one was looking.
Rae is the last to see you, squealing in excitement and running over to leap into your arms, almost making you stumble backward from the force.
Finally getting off of you, she says, "Aria's a little late, but she'll be here soon. We can't start without her, she's our master chef."
Your blood turns cold at the mention of a name you hadn't heard in a while.
Aria. The last time we met, we...
You gulp nervously as you recall the alcohol-induced session you had in a public bathroom.
And we never even talked about it. I wouldn't be surprised if she hates me. Maybe I should go-
Ding dong!
Rae goes to open the door, and you knew exactly who it was.
Shit. Too late.
Aria steps inside, wearing a tight-fit grey top and black leggings, looking as pretty as you remember.
She freezes as she sees you, a million thoughts instantly flooding her mind.
She quickly recovers, but not fast enough for you to see the hesitation in her step.
She hugs Janet and Imane, then moves to you, giving you a brief, cold hug to keep up appearances before swiftly moving into the kitchen, her eyes never meeting yours.
You silently watch as she quickly gets acquainted with the area.
...
Kimi sits in bed, texting away as a web of gears turns in her mind.
Yes! She's set for Sunday. I can't believe I convinced her to do this.
But it's a good thing I did. Because clearly, I'm not enough for him...
She rolls her eyes, shaking her head at the thought.
...but the hottest girl in the scene? He won't be able to keep his eyes off of her.
She giggles once more, the exhilaration of her plan making her giddy.
...
You make casual banter with the rest of the girls, all of you wishing you could help more but knowing that you would just be in the way.
You help out from time to time, finding an ingredient or cup and handing it to Aria, hoping she would even look in your direction.
But she doesn't, and her disdain for your presence would be obvious to everyone else if it wasn't for her clever attempts at breaking into conversation with someone at just the right moments, giving her a reason to ignore you.
You decide to stop trying, letting her focus on her work for now. You nervously check the chat, relaxing after seeing that no one had picked up on it.
Aria continues with the cake while you stand nearby, trying not to let out your swirling thoughts on camera.
"Hey, let's move the camera over here. The sun is setting now, so we should get better lighting," Rae says.
"Oh, ok," Aria says, momentarily pausing her work.
The mic is muted as the setup is moved to a different counter, and you take advantage of the opportunity to do the one thing you knew you couldn't put off forever.
"Aria?"
"Hmm?"
"Can I talk to you for a moment?" You whisper.
"No."
"..."
"Later."
Her curt responses give you little hope, so you slink back to your corner of the room, silently watching as she resumed her cake icing once more.
...
With the celebration finished, most of the girls leave, and Rae heads upstairs for a moment.
Looking around, you see no one left but Aria, grabbing her purse and walking towards the door.
"Aria!"
She starts walking faster, almost running for the door, still not looking in your direction.
But you beat her to it, putting one hand on her shoulder and the other hand on the door.
"Aria, please... I just want to apologize..."
She purses her lips and stares at the floor, gauging her options.
"Listen," she whispers, "I don't owe you my time. If you want to tell me something so badly, call me while I'm driving."
"...ok," is all you can muster out, her unusually icy tone affecting you more than you expected.
The door slams shut behind her.
...
Brrring! Brrring! Brrring! Brrring! Brrring! Brrring!
Just as you're about to give up, the call is accepted.
Besides the gentle hum of her car, a sigh is the first and only sound you hear from the other end.
"Aria?"
"..."
"Aria, thanks for giving me a chance. I just... I realized that we never talked about what we did, and I never apologized for it."
"..."
"So... I'm sorry. Really sorry. We were really tipsy... and I know that's not an excuse, but I shouldn't have done that-"
"You fucking idiot."
Her sharp language shuts you up immediately.
"..."
"..."
"...what?"
"I said... you ... fucking ... idiot."
"I... but... why?" Your brain scrambles for an explanation for her cutting words.
"..."
"Aria? Please tell me..."
She exhales another long sigh, her shaky breathing audible over the phone.
"You're apologizing for fucking me in a bathroom stall."
Still taken aback by her bluntness, you meekly respond.
"...yes?"
"I consented to that. I was tipsy, but not drunk. I knew what we were doing, and I liked it."
"...ok. So why-"
"When Lily caught us... it was terrible. I felt exposed."
"..."
"But it was bearable... because I knew that we would talk about it. All of us. Like mature adults ."
"..."
"I guess that was my mistake. Assuming you were one."
Her harsh words bounce around in your mind, making you hesitate before speaking again.
"Aria... I... I thought you wouldn't want to talk to me. I thought you were ashamed of what we did..."
"You thought wrong. A conversation was all I wanted. But even when I texted you, you didn't respond."
She texted me and I didn't respond? Oh... Because Lily got to me first.
"Is it too late to-"
"Yes. It is."
"...I'm really sorry, Aria. I wish I could make this up to you."
"I'm over it. Let's just move on with our lives," she says, trying to sound as casual and uninterested as she could.
"It didn't seem like you were over it today. You wouldn't even look at me."
She grimaces and purses her lips before speaking through gritted teeth.
"You really know how to piss me off, don't you?"
"You know I don't mean to."
"Well, you are. I don't want to talk to you anymore."
You pull away from the phone, expecting her to hang up. After a few seconds, you put it back up to your ear, confused.
"So... you aren't hanging up," you awkwardly point out.
"..."
She rolls her eyes as she parks her car and gets out, bringing her phone with her.
"So, do you want to talk about it?" You ask.
"Can you leave me alone?!?" She finally bursts out, making you jump back and nearly drop the phone. "Just hang up on me, please!"
"...why... why can't you do it?" You ask, genuinely confused.
"Because... because... I can't..."
"Is it because you're driving?"
You internally facepalm as soon as you speak, knowing from the tone in her voice that it was something much bigger than the fact that her hands were occupied.
"I just... oh, screw me... I wanted you, ok?!?"
"Huh?"
"I wanted to do it again! I wanted to wake up next to you! I wanted to do everything with you! After what you did to me, I knew it was stupid! But that's all I could think about back then! I started romanticizing, and I couldn't stop!"
You listen carefully, soaking in every word.
"But... something about you... why did it have to be you? I hated myself for so long because of how I felt about you. I tried everything I could to stop it."
"It was just stupid drunk sex between us. Nothing special. But every single fucking guy I had stupid drunk sex with after you... wasn't you. And that's all I could think about."
"...And when did you stop feeling that way?" You slowly ask after her breathing slows.
"..."
"Aria?"
"..."
"..."
"...did i say i stopped feeling that way?" She whispers, almost hoping you wouldn't hear.
"Aria... you still..."
"..."
She couldn't tell from the other side of the phone, but you had already climbed into your car, quickly beginning the short drive to her place. The silence on the other end was killing you, and you needed to see her.
"Aria? Aria!"
You hear sniffles from the other end, making you push the gas pedal down harder. She disconnects the call, but only a minute later you're at her door.
You rush out of your car, running to her door and ringing the doorbell.
After an excruciatingly long minute, she approaches the door, wearing an oversized sweater with the hood pulled up to hide her face, and slowly opens the door a crack.
She gasps as she sees you, immediately moving to shut the door. But you push against it, forcing yourself inside.
She looks terrified, and you can see the makeup running down from the corner of her eye. She tries to run, but she doesn't move in time. You catch her and wrap your arms around her.
She tenses up, burying her face into her sweater sleeves and trying to break from your grip.
You stay there, your arms holding her to your chest. Eventually, she lets herself go limp, falling into your chest and releasing a torrent of tears.
"...why are you here?" She finally croaks out between sniffles.
"Because you're hurting," you whisper out.
She starts crying even harder, her face contorting as her shoulders tremble in your grip.
"...fuck you..." She wraps her arms around you, finally accepting your hug. "...i've been waiting for so long..."
"I'll make it up to you, I promise," you say, squeezing her a little tighter and placing one hand on the back of her head, keeping her close.
"You better," she whispers into your chest again.
"Do you want me to stay? We can talk about it if you want. Or not. Your choice."
Before you even finish your question, you feel her head nodding up and down, her nose brushing the fabric of your shirt.
She finally pulls away, turning around to wipe the tears from her face.
"I'll order some dinner. I'm not in the mood to cook anymore," she says, still facing away from you.
"Sounds good."
Turning to face you again, she gently reaches for your hand, taking it in hers and guiding you into a room.
She sits down, pulling her knees up to her chest and patting the couch beside her.
You sit, thinking about what you wanted to say.
"I-"
"Why didn't you reply?" Aria cuts you off.
"Huh? Oh, um... what do you mean?"
"Did you just choose not to reply to my text that day, after... everything happened?" She hides her eyes from you, still embarrassed.
"No, Aria, I... Well, Lily texted me soon after I got back to my room. She was furious, rightfully so. I guess I was so caught up in that conversation that I must not have realized you texted."
"Oh. That... makes sense. She texted me too, asking if you took advantage of me or something. She cared a lot and wanted to know if I was ok. That's why I love her."
You nod in understanding.
"So how did your conversation end?" She asks. "Did she beat you up?" She jokes, letting out a hint of her gorgeous smile.
"No, we..."
You gulp as you remember what you did with her on the rooftop.
I can't tell her that. No way. Lily is still in a relationship, I can't reveal this. Fuck, I don't want to lie either.
"Hm. So you did fuck her."
"WHAT?!?" You yelp, louder than you expected. "How... I mean, um, what? Why would you think that?"
She shakes her head, slightly amused at your terrible attempt to lie.
"I talked to her again afterward. She's a worse liar than you, if you can believe it."
You slowly nod your head, taking in this new information.
"Can I ask a more personal question?" She asks, looking hesitant.
"Of course. I owe you at least that much," you earnestly reply.
"How do you feel about me?"
"Oh... Well, all I could think about earlier today was how scared I was of you and of what you thought of me. But now that we've cleared that up... I don't know. I..."
You take a closer look at her, seeing her soft eyes peeking out from behind her arms, crossed over her knees.
She sees you looking, and picks her head up, getting a better look at you. She tilts her head slightly as she looks, an action that almost resembled that of a cute puppy, and you can't look away.
"You're staring."
"Sorry, sorry!" You snap back to reality, blinking your eyes a few times and staring at the floor.
When you look back up, she's walking toward you. With each purposeful step she takes, you feel your heart flutter, and your eyes lock onto hers.
She stops a few inches in front of you, your head craning upward to see her.
She holds your face in one hand and lowers her head. She tilts your chin up a little more, her delicate touch soothing you as she gently places her lips on yours.
You stay there for a minute, your lips slowly pulsing with warmth as you taste each other. Her perfume, still lingering from when she put it on a few hours ago, reaches your nose, its vanilla scent relaxing and calming.
You both pull away and silently search each other's eyes.
"Me too," she says, after a while. "Well, I guess I already told you that. But... now I don't feel bad about it."
You smile, letting her sit down next to you and wrapping an arm around her. You kiss the top of her head, making her smile and nuzzle her head into your neck.
You both sit silently in each other's presence, your mind finally quieting and letting you enjoy the company.
"Do you want a tour of my place? I just realized you haven't seen it. My bedroom has a nice view," she says, standing up.
"I think the best view is right in front of me."
She rolls her eyes and audibly slaps her forehead as she tries to hide her smile.
"Come on!" She says as she offers you her hand, all remnants of her earlier anger completely faded.
You take it, grinning as she pulls you along.