Gwen found Addie's number.

I survived Covid and am recovering. Yay! Now I can get back to writing.

Spookity

As sad as it made Addie to return to a more involved work schedule, she couldn't say the past week had been without company. Gwen had gotten Addie's number after their day together, and... never before had Addie needed to set her phone to vibrate due to message traffic. Gwen was talkative. It wasn't overbearing or smothering, but Addie wasn't at all used to having full-blown conversations via text. She didn't even talk on the phone that often! Gwen seemed determined to learn all sorts of things about Addie as fast as she could while generously sprinkling in plenty of tidbits about herself.

The initial tidal wave of messages was a little staggering, but over the following days, Gwen got it out of her system and slowed to a slightly more manageable pace. Clara teased Addie constantly about how popular she'd suddenly gotten, but she had gotten decently versed in ignoring Clara's ribbing remarks. The two were sitting down for lunch at the store's cafe, even if Addie was the only one actually off the clock.

"It's that Charlie guy, isn't it?" Clara chuckled under her breath, wiggling curiously on her side of the table. "And here I thought you weren't interested in him. He sure seems taken with you! Won't let you put the phone down, will he?"

Addie barely registered that Clara was even speaking, brow knit in a puzzled expression as she read yet another text. "It's not Charlie..."

"Mmmm, then who is it?" Clara leaned forward slowly, taking advantage of Addie's oblivious distraction. "Another boy? A girl?"

"I would imagine it's one of the two by default, Clara..." Oof, not even a blink in her direction. Addie knew how to be cold, if only to the irksome blonde. This worked against her as her phone mysteriously vanished from her grip, finally drawing her attention upward. Clara plucked the device right out of Addie's little fingers, shamelessly thumbing through the long exchange. She calmly put a hand out to Addie's forehead, barring her from getting too close and reclaiming her device, making her whine and huff.

"Clara, give that back! That's private, you can't just...!"

"Wow, this girl is into you, babydoll!" Addie didn't know what messages Clara was able to translate through Gwen's onslaught of emojis and shortcut speech. "But she texts like a girl in the 2000's, what the hell..."

Addie whined and pressed against Clara's hand, fruitlessly reaching out for her phone. "Mmph, she is not! Gwen is straight, she said so herself!"

Clara rolled her eyes, setting the phone back down on the table for Addie to snatch up and clutch to her chest. "Can't be that straight, then." Something clicked into place, Clara's eyes lighting up. "Oh my god, this is his sister, isn't it? The one you met last week??"

Addie's beet red face was the only answer Clara needed. She shooed the insufferable woman away and back to her post, flipping through her messages and trying to figure out what Clara was seeing that she wasn't. She and Gwen were just friends, right? Gwen's just friendly and energetic. Sure, there were lots of questions about her nonexistent love life as well as reassurances that Addie would find someone someday, but... that's not interest, is it?

It can't be, Addie finally reasoned. Gwen has done nothing but fawn over boys and her various conquests across her college campus. Gwen is straight. Very openly so, at that... Addie hadn't ever heard someone so brazenly proclaim their approval of some good dick.

...Hm. Truth be told, it had been only a week. Talkative as Gwen was, Addie only knew a little about her. She knew Gwen's college major, her utter inability to cook, her large collection of "men worth bedding," and her not-so-lowkey bragging about her recently passed gymnastics days. Not really much about Gwen's history or personality, beyond being bombastic. Maybe her brother would be a better source of information.

Nibbling on her sandwich, she decided to contact the far more sane of the siblings.

'Hey Charlie, do you have a moment?'

'...Is it about Gwen?' Well, that was a quick response. And on the nose, how did he know??

'Yes, it is. Is everything okay?'

'Oh yeah, it's fine. She just will NOT shut up about you, lol.' Thank god for acronyms and emojis, else Addie would've quickly assumed Charlie was mad.

'She's been quite chatty, yes. Not that I mind, but I just wanted to ask, is this normal? I went from texting with purpose to... this! I was a boy in high school, I didn't just -chat- on the phone endlessly!'

'For Gwen, yes, this is pretty normal.' Addie sighed, finding relief. 'Once she finds a friend, she's all over them until she knows every little thing about you. What ISN'T normal is that she's asking ME what all she should and shouldn't ask before texting you, so trust me when I say my phone is buzzing just as much as yours. XD'

'Whatever for? I don't mind to answer her questions, really. We're friends now, so she doesn't have to use you as a filter to talk to me.' Goodness, if Gwen is running all her inquiries through her brother first, he must be exhausted! How in the world does Gwen find the time to send so many messages twice??

'Better yet, I think you two should meet up some time.'

'Of course! You're both welcome anytime I don't have to work.'

'I mean just the two of you. Y'know, like a date.'

A WHAT? 'Charlie, that doesn't make sense. Gwen likes boys.' Addie used to be a boy... does that count? There wasn't a single thing about her that was manly in the slightest, and that wasn't a huge change from before her TTP experience. Well, all but one huge thing that she tried desperately to ignore.

'LOL, I guess more like a playdate? Just out for lunch or maybe some shopping.'

'YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO MENTION SHOPPING.' Not after that fiasco at the mall! How could he spend so much money on her like that and play it off like nothing? Charlie just sent a gif of some man dying laughing. Huff. How dare he not take her tiny fury seriously?

'Seriously though. I think you guys need to have a chat, or Gwen's never gonna chill out.'

'If she wants to go get lunch sometime, she only needs to ask. I'd be happy to go.'

Not a minute later, Addie's phone buzzed with yet another text from Gwen. Ha... Gwen and Charlie must be talking between each other as well.

'Hay, u wanna get lunch? Thurs? When u off nxt?'

'Lunch' apparently became grabbing something through a fast food joint and eating it in the car. Addie didn't mind, but Gwen was an entirely different person when it was just the two of them. Her words and thoughts were scattered and distant, the girl willing to look and focus on just about anything that wasn't Addie. Who was this shy, twitchy young woman and what happened to the peppy, brazen bundle of energy from the day before? She was using food as an excuse to minimize the conversation, but wasn't the whole point of their meeting up to talk about things?

"So... what's up, Gwen?" Might as well get it all out in the open. "Charlie says you've been acting funny, and... well, now I'm inclined to agree with him." The older girl paused her chowing down, only giving Addie a brief sidelong glance. "If there's something you want to say or ask or... or anything like that, I'll listen. I have to admit, you've been spinning me in circles over the phone. If I've done something strange—"

"No! No, Addie, it's fine, it's toootally fine." Finally, she had Gwen's proper attention. A little pouting worked wonders. The brunette combed her fingers through her hair, huffing and grumbling at herself. "You're right, I'm being dumb."

"I didn't say that."

"No, but it's what I'm doin'. I've got no... whew, no reason to be such a spaz in front of you." Clearly she did, but Addie could be patient enough to let her get it out on her own. Putting her burger down, Gwen shifted to face Addie properly, doing her best to keep eye contact. Goodness, she'd gotten so red! "Look. Um... we're friends, right?"

"I certainly hope so." Addie tried to ease the tension on Gwen with a small smile and giggle, but Gwen's feeble chuckle didn't imply success.

"Right... and I like being friends with you. I don't wanna do anything that's going to jeopardize that. No matter what, I wanna stay friends, okay?"

Okay, now Gwen was making Addie nervous. Still, she firmly nodded, staring intently at Gwen with her mouth pressed into a line.

The older girl continued. "Okay, well... Addie, I've been thinking. A lot. About uh... y'know."

"I do not know, Gwen."

"Right-right-right, the ah... the day we met last week, at the mall." Addie nodded, urging her to continue. "The mall and... y'know... I mean, the part at the end..."

"Do you mean... the dressing room?" Of all things for Gwen to bring up, that painful instance was the last one she wanted to dredge back into recent memory. Still, Gwen nodded fiercely, face red as a beet.

"Y-Yeah, the dressing room! But not, like, the part with the crying and hugs and all the sad stuff."

...Wasn't that the entire thing? Certainly all that Addie could recall. "What else was there?"

"I mean, just the... the part where I saw it."

It quickly became Addie's turn to glow red. "Saw it?"

Gwen nodded, shoulders bunched by her ears. "It was so... big." Addie flinched a little. Did she really need to talk about it? Maybe that's why they were eating in the car and not inside the restaurant. Had she planned this?? "Like, pornstar big, Addie. I've never seen one that big before."

Addie sighed, averting her gaze to the windshield. "I know it's big, Gwen... It's big and awkward and really inconvenient."

"You mean awesome, right?"

"Huh??" When Addie looked back over Gwen was just a few inches from her nose, making the girl reel back reflexively and bump her head against the window.

"Fuck, sorry! You okay?" Addie just nodded, rubbing her noggin. "But yeah! You got that from TTP, right?"

Oh. Oh, no. That's right, only Charlie knows that Addie didn't give herself a dick on purpose. Gwen has no idea. Not only that, but Addie can't correct her because of the NDA! Swallowing, she just nodded to Gwen's words, hoping she wasn't going to ask anything probing.

"Man... I wouldn't have thought of it if I didn't see it myself, but... wow, that is a look. Such an adorable, petite young lady, sporting a fatter package than most men? That's sooo cool."

"It is?"

"Yeah! Don't you think so? I mean, I know you're trying to keep it under wraps, but it's just amazing! You were afraid you'd lose friends over it, but no way. Charlie and I don't roll that way."

"I know you don't, Gwen, and I really appreciate it. But...um... as much as I appreciate the praise," as horrendously awkward as it was becoming, "is there a purpose in bringing it up?"

The girl nodded, rubbing a hand up her arm. "Yeah! Sorry, talkin' in circles. Guess you'd like me to just come out with it."

"Gwen. I used to be a boy. I'm still pretty dumb, I don't get subtlety well."

Gwen giggled, trying to rub some of the heat off her cheeks. "Right, well... Do you wanna, like... go do stuff?"

"What kind of st—"

"I want your dick, Addie!"

...

...

...Oh.