Girls night out (Part 2).

“Okay, but going back a bit,” Ruth continued, looking at Anna. “Is there really nothing you’d like to aim for, Anna? Like, maybe opening your own business one day? You’re majoring in business administration, right?”

“Not particularly, but it’s still something I’ve considered. I don’t really care what job I’m doing. Honestly, I just want to make good money.”

“Saving for something special?” Reina asked.

Anna shook her head. She stirred her drink with her straw with a small smile. “No. I just… want to live a good, relaxed life.”

“Will money give you a good life?” Nanami asked.

“Not on its own. I’m not that materialistic.” She laughed. “I want to work hard, play hard, be rewarded for my efforts, give my family the luxuries they deserve but never got. I want to be able to buy the clothes I like, send my parents on a luxury cruise, maybe have a hot tub in my bathroom in which to soak on a Friday night after a hard day’s work. I want to feel like I’m doing a good job, that things work because of me. Working at Ladies Magazine makes me feel like that at times, and I like it.”

Ruth groaned. “Ugh, you’re so cool!”

“Yes,” Nanami agreed, giggling. “That does sound like a good life.”

“Glad one of us seems to have things figured out and is not just stumbling their way through life,” Reina said, toasting to it.

“You’re exaggerating,” Anna told her.

“I’m not. I’m happy that you know what you want. I mean, I know what I want, too, but I’ve never had a plan for how to get there.” She sighed and looked at her hand. She saw the faintest hint of a purple aura around it, and knew the others could see it as well. “I was given something to take advantage of, but unlike Ruth, I don’t know the best way to use it. Makes me feel stupid.”

“You’re already one of the top models at the company, Reina,” Anna told her. “You’re getting double the photo shoots than the model behind you. You’re doing great.”

“Yeah,” Ruth agreed. “I just did well at a small, amateur show we put on. You’re a full-fledged pro at what you do.”

“Opportunities come to those who have prepared,” Nanami said with a shy grin. “A saying my aunt likes. You may have awakened to new powers thanks to Will, but those wouldn’t have helped you in any way if you hadn’t been ready to make use of them. The effort you put on your work before getting your powers was the groundwork to help you get where you are now, and it’ll even help you get to where you want to be.”

Reina blinked. She was just venting a bit of frustration. She didn’t expect this sudden wave of support. She smiled. It felt nice. “Geez, you didn’t have to take me so seriously…”

The girls laughed together and drank. The topic shifted to less important things, anecdotes about work or college life. One thing led to another, and suddenly they were talking about exes.

“Okay, cough it up, Reina. How many guys have you been with?” Ruth asked.

“Why is that important?” Reina asked back.

“It’s not.” Ruth grinned, cheeks tinted red from the drinks. “I just want to know, and I don’t want to ask in front of Will.”

“Fine. I’ve been with seven guys. Will makes eight. My shortest relationship lasted about five months.”

“Huh. My shortest relationship didn’t last one,” Ruth said.

“And how many guys have you been with?” Anna asked her.

“Hmm… Five. I only had one boyfriend in high school because all the other guys were assholes. You know, the type to brag that they made out with X many girls at a single party. Well, there were those and the extremely shy nerds.”

Nanami pouted and crossed her arms. “Any problems with extremely shy nerds?”

“Oops.” Ruth laughed. “Sorry, didn’t mean it like that.”

“How about you, Nanami?” Reina asked.

“Um… I’ve only ever dated that friend I told you about, so her and Will.”

Reina nodded. “That only leaves Anna? So? Spill it. How many girls?”

“I’ve dated three girls,” Anna answered easily. “All in college, since high school was a difficult time for that. Do we know how many girls Will has been with?”

Reina saw Ruth wincing at the same time as her, which caused Anna and Nanami to raise their eyebrows.

“Okay? What caused that reaction?” Anna asked.

“We already know he’s been with many, don’t we?”

“It’s… not the number of girls that’s the issue,” Ruth said.

Reina rubbed the bridge of her nose. “He probably won’t like us telling you, but… I kind of want you to know.”

“What happened?”

“One thing happened,” Ruth said. “The problem is that it happened like four times in a row.”

“Ishtar once made us watch some really vivid dreams. Will’s dreams,” Reina started. “We watched as he caught his first four girlfriends cheating on him.”

Anna and Nanami gasped.

“Ugh, it was disgusting,” Ruth spat. “I felt it hurting like it was happening to me. It’s no wonder Will wanted sex and nothing else at first. Personally, I would hate all men if that had happened to me.”

Reina told them everything, recounted with details everything that she saw, every event that tore open their boyfriend’s heart each time anew.

“Ishtar possessed him soon after that last one,” she finished. “That was when he started to not care about who or how many girls he did it with.”

Nanami swallowed. “I knew spirits like her took advantage of moments of emotional weakness, but… I never stopped to think about what could have made Will a target for Ishtar.”

“I remember I once asked him if he was looking for a girlfriend,” Anna said, grimacing. “He looked hurt when I did. No wonder.”

“It’d be understandable if he had been some sort of asshole to these girls,” Reina said. “But he wasn’t. He was just a normal guy. It pisses me off.”

“I admit I felt pity for him when we found out,” Ruth said. “It was part of the reason I said yes to sharing him. Only part of it, mind. By now, that’s no longer the reason.”

“We’re telling you this so that, if you ever get tired of Will for whatever reason, you’ll talk to him first. Please, just be honest and tell him.” Reina pursed her lips. “Don’t go behind his back. I get the feeling it could break him for good.”

The four girls at that table swore to that.