April meets Margot and Hikaru

You were humming to yourself as you worked in the kitchen. Music would have been nice to cook to, but you were trying out a new recipe and had the YouTube video up on your tablet instead. ‘Mashed Cauliflower’ sounded like a poor replacement for mashed potatoes, but this recipe had cream cheese and a bunch of other stuff in it - all of it low or no carb, just like Hannah had ordered.

Carbs, it turned out, were pretty much everything delicious except for meat. Your options had become very limited.

Your body still ached from your second workout earlier that day. Hannah hadn’t been trying to ‘find your limits’ this time, so in some ways, it had been easier. She’d been demanding though, pushing you to reach your limits again, and right at the end she’d pushed you to get another couple of minutes in on the stationary bike. The bike was actually nice - you hadn’t ridden a bike since you were a kid - except that the fucking tiny little seat felt like it was going to either sodomize you or cut off your balls if you shifted the wrong way. You were already considering if they would let you bring in your own bike seat.

The door to the apartment opened and Hikaru came home from her afternoon shift.

“Hey!” you said from the kitchen. “How was work?”

“Really good,” Hikaru said, coming through to you. She was wearing a casual t-shirt and jean shorts, the unofficial uniform of the coffee shop, and you could see where her apron had been pressing into the shoulder of her shirt all afternoon based on the crease in the fabric. “I’m, like, tired, but I made some good tips and Paula said I’m ready to start taking morning rush shifts.”

“Is she treating you well?” you asked.

“She’s amazing,” Hikaru smiled as she hugged you hello. “Best boss I’ve ever had.”

“She’s the only boss you’ve ever had,” you chuckled.

“Well, officially,” she said. “I’ve had managers at volunteer events and stuff. And she beats them all hands-down.”

“That’s good,” you said.

“When is April supposed to get here?”

“About an hour,” you replied. “Maybe a little less. Margot is bringing dessert so don’t you dare think about coming back into this kitchen.”

She gave you a look but then sighed. “OK,” she agreed. “I’m going to go take a shower and primp myself a bit. Gotta make a good impression on your girlfriend.” Then she kissed you on the cheek and gave you a cheeky grin before heading towards her bedroom.

You were left silently stammering, unsure whether to correct her or not. You and April hadn’t really put a label on your relationship yet. You’d both been pretty blunt about things, but neither of you had used the girlfriend/boyfriend words yet. Was it too soon? Two dates together, plus one outing with Hannah. Maybe it was too soon? You definitely didn’t want to seem clingy or scare her off.

Hikaru left the kitchen and you went back to your tablet, playing the next part of the recipe, but your eyes were distracted as, across the apartment living area, Hikaru pulled off her t-shirt as she was about five feet from her bedroom door. She was wearing a bra and facing away from you, so it wasn’t like you saw anything untoward, it was just…

She must be feeling a lot more at home now, you told yourself. She’d never done that before, and you doubted she’d do it facing you or anything. It was just surprising.

You’d already buzzed April up, but Margot was the first one up when she knocked on the door. “I’ll get it,” the southern blonde said confidently. Part of you wanted to argue, wanted to meet April at the door so you could kiss her hello in semi-privacy, but you also didn’t want to seem weird and defensive by going ‘No, me!’

Margot was wearing a version of her usual style - a button-down, short-sleeve ‘western’ shirt that hugged her fit torso and a pair of tight jeans, except these seemed to be her ‘dressy’ version because the jeans had a low-rise waist and the shirt was freshly ironed and had pearl coloured snap buttons. She’d also done her hair up a little more particularly in a neat bun at the back of her head that left her bands and two long, wavy strands framing her face.

Hikaru had dressed up a little as well, wearing a summer dress that suited her tall frame. You could have seen her out on a date in a park or something in the dress.

You stood up by the time Margot was already opening the door and headed in that direction.

“Hi,” Margot said. “It’s nice to meet you April, I’m Margot.”

“Hi, Margot,” April said. “I’ve heard so much about you, I don’t think I could have mistaken you for anyone else. And it’s all been good! Ollie sings your praises.”

The two women were briefly hugging as you approached, and when they pulled away from each other April saw you and her smile brightened even more.

“Hey, Ollie,” she said, sliding past Margot and coming to you with a couple of hopping steps before throwing her arms up around your shoulders. You couldn’t help yourself and held her hips, kissing her firmly as you bent to meet her even though you were also a little embarrassed to have a big Hello like that in front of Margot and Hikaru. April didn’t seem to mind, though, and while she didn’t slip you any tongue the kiss was deep and lingered.

“Now that’s a Hello,” Margot chuckled, shutting the door.

“Um, Hi,” you chuckled when the kiss finally ended. “Ah, you already met Margot. This is my cousin and roommate, Hikaru.”

“Hi,” the half-Japanese woman said sweetly, giving a little wave. “Technically it’s just roommate now; we were cousins by marriage and my Dad-”

“Oh, please,” April said, leaving your arms and going to her and wrapping Hikaru up in a hug. “You can’t just lose a bond like you and Ollie have.”

Hikaru, looking a little surprised by the hug, patted April’s back as she smiled nervously. “Thanks,” she said.

The meal was all ready to go and the table was set, so after handing out drinks to everyone - cider for you and April, a beer for Margot and water for Hikaru - you pulled the covered serving dishes out of the oven where they’d been staying warm. The girls gave you some polite ooh’s and aw’s as you revealed your hard work. Joining the mashed cauliflower for the sides were roasted carrots and parsnips and a cheese bun for each of the ladies since you couldn’t have one. The main was a Greek-style chicken thigh marinated in a herb and garlic marinade and then roasted in the oven until they were crispy.

The conversation was fast and light - the girls had a dozen questions for April, and she had just as many for them. April wanted to know more about them and me, and was fascinated by Margot’s history with rodeos and hearing what living in Japan off and on was like for Hikaru when she was a kid. The girls in turn wanted to know about April’s current lifestyle and asked some of the more ‘fangirl’ questions that you’d held back on so far not wanting to overwhelm her. It came out that Hikaru was pretty much as big a fan as you were for some of April’s voice acting work, and April promised to sit down and watch a couple of the older anime films she’d worked on with us and give us some ‘behind the curtain’ commentary of what it was like working on them.

With all the talking the meal lingered longer, but eventually everyone was done and you got up to start clearing plates only to practically get shoved back into your chair as Hikaru said she would handle it. April insisted on helping, and Margot slipped out to head back to her place to grab the dessert she’d prepared. Five minutes later all the ladies were back at the table with you, and Margot revealed that she’d prepared a bowl of freshly cut strawberries and whipped cream. You managed to suppress your groan, but not the flash of disappointment on your face as you realised you weren’t going to be able to partake.

“It’s OK, Ollie,” Margot said with a grin. “I texted with Hannah and she pointed me to a no-sugar sweetener for the whipped cream, and she said you can have a small bowl of berries and a heap of the cream as long as I used it.”

Your sigh of happiness got giggles out of all three of them.

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