"...hey... wake up, baby..."
Your eyes softly flutter open, and a drowsy smile grows on your face as Imane tilts your chin up for a kiss.
"Good morning..." You groan out.
"Good morning."
"I love waking up to you..." You rub your eyes, yawning and stretching your arms and legs out with a deep sigh.
"Me too. We should do it more often," Imane giggles, giving you another kiss.
You sit up in bed, seeing Imane change into her new outfit for the second day of Coachella.
"You're changing already?" You ask.
"Yeah! We don't have much time to waste! It's COACHELLA!"
"Ugh..." You groan, not wanting to drag yourself out of bed so soon. Your eyes gently fall shut, your body still fatigued from yesterday.
A ring from your phone snaps you awake, and it takes a second for you to locate the sound from the bedside table.
You stretch your body to grab it, then hold the device up to your ear.
"Hello?"
"Heyyyy!"
"Janet! What's up?"
Imane turns her head in interest, wondering why Janet was calling you so early in the morning.
"So, I was wondering... since we didn't get to hang out yesterday, could we spend some time together today?" She hopefully inquires.
"Yeah, of course!"
"YAY!! Are you already changed? Because I'm about to head down for breakfast."
"Oh... I'm not right now, but I'll change ASAP!"
After a quick goodbye, you set down your phone and leap off the bed, moving to your suitcase to find some fresh clothes.
"You seemed so tired a minute ago - what's got you up and about so quickly?" Imane asks.
"Oh, Janet asked me to come down for breakfast with her. We're gonna spend some time together today."
"Oh, ok... Have fun!" Imane says.
You detect a subtle hint of disappointment in her tone, and you turn around, catching her gaze and silently questioning her.
"What?" She replies.
"Is that ok with you?" You earnestly ask.
"Of course it is! I... I just..."
"What is it, hun?"
"...you seemed pretty excited to hang out with her..." She says, trying to pass it off as a nonchalant observation.
You stand up, taking a few steps until you ended up behind her, and wrap your arms around her.
"I'm ok, I'm ok," she says, gently trying to push you away.
"Are you sure? You're not feeling a little... jealous, are you?" You resist her push.
She sighs, letting you keep her in your embrace.
"It's such a tiny thing... I shouldn't be bothered by it."
"It doesn't matter if it's a tiny thing. Your feelings matter to me."
"I know, and you're... you're amazing for caring. But I really feel like this is just something I should get over. You're dating other girls too, and I have to get used to that."
You spin her around to face you and squeeze her, making her release a soft smile as you clutch her to your chest.
"I love you. If you ever feel like I'm not spending enough time with you, or that I'm taking you for granted... let me know."
The rest of your sentence doesn't reach her ears, as her brain fixates on your magical first three words.
"You... you..." She lets out, almost choking up at the unexpected admission.
"Of course I do. Have you seen yourself?" You quip.
"I... I love you too... " She lets out, grateful to finally be able to say those words without feeling anxious about how you might react to them.
...
You grin as Janet hugs you tightly, her familiar scent washing over you as her soft mounds push up against your body.
"I missed you," you say, reading her mind.
"Me too. We're gonna spend the day together, and NO ONE WILL STOP US!" She cheers, pumping her fist high in the air.
Her voice carries through the entire breakfast hall, and half of the guests turn to look at her.
"Janet!" You whisper. "Keep it down!"
"Sorry!" She whispers back, giggling with her hand over her mouth. "I'm excited!"
Her positivity was as infectious as always, and you find your mood lifting even more throughout your buffet breakfast.
"Alright, let's go! We can't spend all day inside!" Janet beckons to you. You stuff down the last quarter of your final pancake and wipe your lips, standing up and getting ready to leave.
...
"WHOOO!"
You crunch your face as you try to hold your head away from her shrieking voice, the energy of the song making her throw her hands up without a care in the world.
She grabs your hands and starts dancing, letting her outfit blow around in the wind as she smiles widely. You can't help but smile back, her pure happiness leaving you no choice.
She gets you to start dancing with her, and you dance for the rest of the song, letting her energy carry you through despite your muscles begging for a break.
"Janet... I think I need a breather..."
"Ok! Come back soon!" She waves.
You walk over to your group's tarp and sit down, catching your breath and grabbing a water bottle from your cooler.
Oh, Celine's here too. I didn't get to talk to her much yesterday.
"Celine!" You call out to the girl sitting a few feet away from you.
"Oh! You're here!" She exclaims, surprised.
"...where else would I be?" You ask, chuckling.
"I mean... I was just thinking about you."
"Oh? About what?"
"I... actually wanted to talk to you about something..." She slowly says. Her expression grows a little darker, but her dark sunglasses disguise it.
You tilt your head, waiting for her to go on.
"Um... so..." She bites her lip and looks down, unsure of herself. "Maybe this is dumb..."
You scoot closer, letting your warm gaze comfort her.
"I'm sure it's not," you confidently reply.
She nervously adjusts herself, shaking her shoulders loose as she takes a shaky breath.
"Alright... I guess I was just... I was wondering if you could help me-"
"HEY! THIS IS MY FAVORITE SONG! WE HAAAAVE TO DANCE TO THIS ONE!" Janet yells, running over and grabbing your arms, pulling you up.
"Wait, but-" You try to stay back, sensing that what Celine had to say was important.
But your words don't reach Janet's ears, and she whisks you away.
"I'll tell you later," Celine manages to whisper out before Janet pulls you out of her line of sight.
...
"Hooneeeeey?" Janet groggily slurs out.
"Yeeeees?" You jokingly say back to the girl laying on her bed, wrapped up in blankets as the air conditioning blasted in the room.
"Can you get me a gwass ow wawwterrrrr?" She cutely asks.
"A what?" You ask, struggling to stifle a laugh.
"A gwass ow wawter!" She continues in her childish tone.
"You mean... a glass of water?"
"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!" She yells, before laughing along with you. After all the dancing had ceased earlier in the day, she practically collapsed in your arms from exhaustion, and you carried her back to her room, where you stayed to tend to her.
You pour her a glass and carry it to her, where she gratefully accepts it and tilts her head back to drink it.
"Can I get something else?" She says.
"Of course."
She puckers her lips. "A kiss?"
You smile and sit down next to her, leaning in to peck her on the lips.
"Again?"
Your lips meet again, and you gently hold her cheek in place as you stay with her for longer.
"Again!" She giggles.
"Janet..."
"Fine, fine... I'll stop," she dejectedly lets out, her eyes turning downcast as she pouts.
"Hey, don't pout..." You say, feeling your heartstrings tense as you see her seem so disappointed. You capture her lips in yours once more, and you feel her hum in pleasure as you kiss her deeply, gently getting on top of her as she wraps both hands around your neck to keep you close.
You two make out for minutes, and Janet's hands run over your body, sliding under your shirt and up to your chest. Her cold skin makes you shiver, and you decide to return the favor, kissing along her neck and jaw until you reach her sensitive spot.
"Oh, fuck, I love when you do that..."
You continue, as her hands clutch you close and encourage you to continue. Her breathing becomes ragged as your hands start edging lower along her skin.
She shoves you away and stares at you with a fire in her eyes.
"Janet? What's wrong?" You ask, worried.
"If you keep doing that, it won't be long until I need you inside me... but I don't think my body can handle that right now," she reluctantly says, calming herself.
"Oh, I see. Sorry..." You let out, slowly getting off of her.
"Don't worry. As soon as I feel better, I'm gonna jump your bones."
You stare at her, failing to see a hint of humor anywhere on her face.
"You're not joking?" You ask. "I mean, I'm kinda tired too..."
"Nope," she says, crossing her arms.
"Wow. Well, I better save up some energy, then..." You say, snuggling up to Janet and wrapping your arms around her.
She relaxes into your grip, turning into you and holding you to her chest as she rests her chin on your head.
Her body heat warms you up, and your eyes start to droop, your tiredness slowly starting to get to you. She gently strokes your arm, and the repetitive motion nearly puts you to sleep.
"Hey..." she whispers, her lips inches from your ear.
"Hmm?"
"Do you know when I fell in love with you?"
You blink a few times, not expecting such a deep question.
"No..." You answer, looking up into her large, sparkling eyes.
"That day in the hospital. When Imane and I were fighting over you. We said... we said such awful things..."
You feel her close off as she recalls that day, and you kiss her on the forehead and squeeze her.
"I was so stupid... I wanted you for myself so badly. And when you said you didn't want either of us... that shocked me. I didn't see it at the time, but when I thought back on it later... I realized just how unique you are."
You blush as you lose yourself in her brilliantly vulnerable eyes, now swirling with love.
"Most guys would've loved something like that. A chance to choose between two girls. But you... you chose neither of us. And I could tell you meant it, too. You cared more about our friendship than dating either of us. And that... made me realize that you're the kind of person I never want to lose."
You sit in silence, letting her words bounce around your head as you hold her close.
"JanJan... where is this coming from?" You genuinely ask.
"I don't know. I just... you're been through a lot lately. It seems like there's always some new set of problems you have to face - problems that most people couldn't imagine. And you always find a way through, no matter how hard it gets. So I just want you to know that... I see you. I truly see you, and I know just how precious you are."
You nearly start to tear up as she cups your chin in her hands.
"And I don't want you to ever forget that. You're a good egg. A really good one. And I'm always here for you if need any-MMPH!"
You can't let her finish, as your desire to wrap her in another kiss overwhelms you. She sighs as your sweet taste returns to her once more, and she lets herself get swept up in your soft touch.
"...sorry I didn't let you finish..." You let out, breathlessly, after you pull away.
"It's ok. I think I prefer kissing over talking, anyway," she grins.
"...do you really mean what you said?"
"Of course I do! Every last word of it."
"...thanks. I know we don't get to spend that much time together, but you mean a lot to me too. Maybe I don't tell you that enough..." You sigh.
"You don't need to. I can see it in your eyes, sweetie."
Ding dong!
You reluctantly stand up, not wanting to leave your girlfriend's warm embrace.
As you walk toward the door, you feel a strange sensation of deja vu.
Huh. This is... almost exactly what happened yesterday, except with Janet instead of Imane. Even the timing is similar.
Wait... that couldn't mean that the person at the door is... could it?
Your muscles tense as you reach for the door, praying that it was anyone else at the door other than... that girl.
You swing open the door, and your blood freezes as you watch your fear turn into reality.
She stares back, equally surprised to see you in a different room than your own.
"Oh..." Is all she lets out, unsure of what to say. She regains herself, remembering why she was there. "I'm here for... room service..."
"...oh!" You exclaim, looking back in the room toward Janet. "Did you order something?"
"Oh, yeah! Just some snacks for us," she calls back.
You sigh in relief and get the cart from the girl, quickly rolling it inside.
As you begin to close the door, you feel a weight pushing back against it. You look around to see the girl's hand planted against it, holding it open with an expectant, curious look on her face.
"What do you want?" You say, making your tone aggressive to try and scare her off.
"...are you... also dating...?" She whispers out.
"Back off. Don't get in my business," you whisper with as much force as you can muster before slamming the door in her face.
"What happened? You sounded like you were mad," Janet manages to notice.
"Oh, it's nothing. Just... it's nothing."
She quickly gets distracted by the platter of snacks you bring to her, and you sigh, trying to cool your anxiety. You let yourself delve into some of the sweets.
Eh. I probably burned more than enough calories to justify this.
"You know, I feel like I burned enough calories to make up for this..." Janet says, with her mouth half-full.
"Hmm, you don't say?"
Ding dong!
What? Not again?!?
You move to the door, no longer having the patience to be scared.
"Oh!" You exclaim, relaxing as you swing the door open to someone else, but you quickly tighten up as you see her face.
"Jodi? What's wro-"
"Check your phone. Now."
Her voice startles you into action, and you scramble for your phone, a harrowing feeling washing over you as you see hundreds of notifications.
"I'm trending on Twitter again? What the fuck..." You mutter.
Your eyes widen as you see the reason why, and you look at Jodi, finally understanding why she was panicking.
"What... what do we do?" You ask, knowing that she had no better idea than you.
The posted videos made a very clear implication about your relationship with Jodi and Imane, and the public seemed to have eaten up the narrative of an illicit cheating scandal.
Talk about deja vu... Fuck, this is a complete repeat of my last public 'scandal'!
Janet yelps and you jolt your head backward, realizing that she had just pulled out her phone and seen what had happened.
Your knees threaten to buckle, and you grab a chair, sitting down before you fell.
"It's ok, right? I mean, the last time this happened, it was a misunderstanding, and everyone got over it once the truth came out," Jodi says, trying to calm herself.
"Yeah, but the truth is different this time. Last time, I had a reason for what I did. This time... it's true that I'm not cheating, but the fact that I'm with both of you is controversial in itself. And l don't know if after this, I'll be able to keep the rest of my relationships secret. I might have to expose all of them... and I have no idea how people will react. This is... bad."
Janet hops out of bed, the adrenaline of the scare making her body move on its own despite her state.
But to your surprise, she doesn't pace the room or freak out. Instead, she comes up behind you and squeezes you, then rests her chin on your shoulder and whispers softly.
"Don't forget what I said. You always find a way through. No matter what."
Her words bolster you, and the dripping nervousness resting in your heart seems to lift a little.
You slow your breathing, letting Janet's hands on your shoulders relax you.
You finally stop letting your emotions swirl about in your mind, and start thinking instead.
"I'll do something about it," you confidently decide after a minute's thought. "I'll tell them the truth. The public might not like it, but it's my truth - our truth - and it's the only thing we can say. We don't control their reaction. All we can do is be honest with ourselves."
You look to Jodi, whose cheeks started to return to a normal color after hearing you speak. Her breathing slows, and she swallows the nervous lump in her throat.
"Ok... ok."
She tries to hide the shakiness of her voice, but it still comes through.
"It's alright, Jodi. We'll get through this." You beckon to her, and she comes and sits down on your lap, hanging both of her legs off the side of the chair.
She clutches you, burying her head in the crook of your neck as she holds back a few tears. You gently stroke the back of her neck, muttering quiet reassurances as she nuzzles into you.
She finally pulls away, calmer and with a determined expression written on her face.
"Ok! We can do this. We can do this! Screw the people!" Jodi encourages herself.
"YEAH! Fuck them!" Janet adds on.
"YEEEAHH!"
"YEEAHHHHH!!"
They both burst out in giggles, letting the tension in the room dissipate as they laugh it away.
The doorbell rings once more, and the quick, fast-paced knocking lets you know what it was probably about.
Jodi goes to open it, and Celine bursts through, looking extremely worried.
"GUYS, I just saw that-"
"Celine, we know," Janet cuts her off before she gets too worked up.
"-there's a video of - wait, what? You saw?" She asks, bewildered,
"Yup..." Jodi lets out.
"Then... why are you all smiling?"
"Better question: Why aren't you smiling?" Janet asks, running to Celine and pinching her cheeks.
"Wha-? But this is serious! All of our relationships are gonna be exposed!"
"And... so what? Did you think we could hide this from the world forever?"
"Well... no, but-"
"So who cares!?! Let the world know! Let them judge! As long as we're happy... they can't stop us. And as long as he's happy..." Jodi looks at you. "Then we're happy."
You gaze back at the three women, not even trying to hold back the smile that grows on your face as you see the way they look at you.
You stand up and reach around all three of them, pulling them in for a group hug.
"You're right..." Celine says as she rests her head on your shoulder. "As long as we're ok..."
Her voice trails off, but you all silently agree with her unspoken words.
You all hear shuffling outside, and the door bursts open again, and you look up to see Sydney running in, utterly confused as she eyes the four of you hugging.
"Sydney, we know," Jodi blurts out before Sydney starts speaking.
"Maybe we should tell everyone before they all start rushing over here..." Janet suggests.
...
"Celine..."
She looks up at you.
"You said you wanted to talk to me about something, right? What was it?"
"Oh..." She looks around the room, seeing Janet and Jodi both on their phones. "It can wait until we're alone."
"Are you sure? We can find a private place right now and-"
"Oh, no! I just... I promise I'll tell you later. There's no rush."
You nod, your curiosity still getting the better of you.
"I think I'll head back to my room now," Celine says, content.
"Me too. I need to stop checking my phone... So many people are messaging me, and I'm so tempted to just spill the truth," Jodi sighs. "But I don't want people to misunderstand..."
"I'll post something tomorrow, once things have calmed down a little," you decide. "I'm too tired to come up with exactly what I want to say right now."
The girls nod in agreement, and Celine and Jodi give you a quick hug before returning to their rooms.
...
"Do not tell me you're checking your emails right now," Janet says from beside you.
"Uh..."
"There's literally a hot girl laying next to you waiting to snuggle, and you're checking your emails?!?" She sighs in exasperation.
"It's been a while! I just need to make sure there's nothing important I'm missing..."
She grumbles under her breath and turns away from you.
Your brows furrow as you see an email from a name you vaguely recognized.
Hi!
I'm Leena Xu. We've briefly met a few times through OTV meetings, so I probably don't need to introduce myself much. I'm writing you because there's something important I'd like to discuss with you about your position in OfflineTV and streaming in general. Once you get back from Coachella (I hope you're having fun there!), message me, and we'll meet up and talk.
Hoping to hear back soon,
Leena
Hmm. Something important? Wait... am I being fired?
You think it through, deciding that the odds of you being fired were exceedingly low.
I mean, I've had some controversies... and, of course, I still have to address the public about those videos... but I doubt that's grounds for kicking me out of OTV. And besides, her tone sounds pretty positive.
I wonder what it could be, then. Maybe a business proposition?
"Are you done now?!?" Janet asks, still turned away from you.
You shut your laptop and turn off the bedside lamp, then quickly pull the blankets over you and cuddle up to Janet in the darkness.
"Nope. You missed your chance. My cuddles have officially expired." Janet says, her cute annoyance coming through as she pulls away.
"Janet... I'm sorry I took so long with the emails," you say, trying to soothe her.
"..."
"I promise, I'm all yours now. If you want to cuddle, have sex, or just sleep... whatever you want to do, I'll do it with you."
"..."
"I love you, darling... sweetie..." You run your hand along her shoulder, and you feel her loosening up as you softly call her the endearing terms you know she loved.
She turns around to face you and sighs dramatically.
"Why is it so hard to stay mad at you?" She asks.
You grin. "So can we cuddle now?"
"...no."
"Oh."
"Do you remember what I said earlier?" She asks, as the gentle look in her eyes slowly begins to harden.
"...uh..."
She throws the blanket off of her and immediately jumps on you, straddling you and beginning to unbutton her pajama top.
"I meant it. But don't worry, I know you're tired. I'll do all the work. You just get to lay back... and enjoy me..."
Your breath hitches in your throat as she starts to grind on you while her lips reach for your neck.
"Janet..."
"Hmm?"
"What did I do to deserve you?"
She giggles and kisses you on the nose, before scooting down and leaving a trail of kisses down your chest. "I ask myself the same thing every day..."
...
You open your eyes, and immediately shut them again as the ray of morning sun shining through the crack in the curtains happens to fall right on them.
You sit up to get out of that unfortunate placement, and you relax as you see Janet's nude form lying next to you. Her face looked angelic and peaceful, and you felt like you could gaze at her for hours.
I guess we should start packing. We have to leave pretty soon.
You lean over and gently kiss Janet on the cheek. She stirs but doesn't wake up, and you slowly crawl out of bed.
Throwing on your shoes, you walk down the hall to your room and quietly unlock it, hoping you wouldn't wake Imane.
But as soon as you open the door, her exhausted face looks away from her half-filled suitcase and up at you.
"Good morning," she whispers.
As you step inside, you jolt backward as you see another figure laying underneath her blankets. You silently question Imane as you point to the sleeping body.
"Oh..." She giggles. "Jodi was still a little nervous about everything that happened yesterday, so I helped put her to sleep."
You step closer to Jodi.
"Why is she naked? And her clothes are all over the floor..."
"...I helped put her to sleep..."She cryptically says, trying to hold back a snicker.
You stare at her incredulously. "Wow. You can get with anyone, can't you?"
"Well, I did it for her sake. The poor girl was stressed."
You nod, understanding where she was coming from.
"And about that... are you gonna address the public now? Do you want me or Jodi to make a statement too?"
"Yeah, I'll make a statement soon. You two don't need to say anything if you don't want to, but it would help clear things up further."
She nods.
"I'm sorry things like this keep happening to me. I feel like I've put you through so much shit," you say, as you bring out your suitcase and begin packing.
"It's alright. I've had my fair share of controversies, and I'm used to them by now."
"Yeah, don't worry about that," Jodi speaks up from the bed, startling both you and Poki, as neither of you noticed her waking up. "It may not be easy, but it's worth it. And besides, we get to go through everything together." She sits up.
You all sit in silence for a few minutes as you finish packing, and Jodi slowly gets out of bed.
"You ready to head home?"
"Yeah. I can't believe it's already over. I guess it's time to return back to real life."
"Yeah... I feel like so much has happened over the past few days."
You help Imane carry her suitcase down to the waiting car, where you joined the others and eventually began to drive back home, ending your dramatic and exhilarating weekend with a smooth car ride home.