Intermission - Diana and the girls (Part 2)

If only there was some sort of self-help book titled ‘How to meet your boyfriend’s girlfriends for the first time’ or something like that Diana could’ve read before coming here.

The moment the girls saw her, two of them immediately flinched. One was the one with silver hair, the other the small redhead. No doubt it was because Diana’s face was locked in a scowl.

She stood up from her seat with eyes closed and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry to call you out here out of nowhere. Thank you very much for agreeing to see me so suddenly.” She tried her best to soften her own expression, but it was difficult. Her hands felt numb as well. All familiar yet always unwelcomed sensations.

“It’s no trouble. We were glad that you called us,” said the only brunette of the group. She met Diana’s eyes unflinchingly and spoke with a faint but distant welcoming tone. Diana suddenly felt at a job interview. It was odd to see a girl so young carry herself with such poise and confidence, but it was something to respect.

“We wanted to meet you as soon as we could as well. Thank you for making time for us,” said the blonde with shorter hair. Her vibe was similar to the brunette’s, only more… approachable? Those two almost painted an image of bad cop and good cop in Diana’s mind.

“It was a stroke of luck,” Diana said. “I happened to have this afternoon free and thought it couldn’t hurt to ask. I’d rather not put this off any longer than needed.”

“And we appreciate it,” said the silver haired girl. “But let’s sit down already! It’s awkward to talk standing!” she said with a little giggle. It seemed a bit ****, but it helped clear the air. Diana was immediately thankful.

As they sat down, Diana took note of all of them. She’d seen them before and began to recall Oliver’s stories, putting names to the faces. Still, introductions were important.

“I’m sure you know already, but my name’s Diana. Diana Black.”

The girls introduced themselves as well. The silver haired girl was Milana, the brunette was Grace and the blonde girl with shoulder-length hair was Alice. The other two who had yet to speak much were the petite redhead Noelle and the athletic blonde Sarah.

“I know it’s propper to introduce ourselves, but I bet you already know plenty about us, don’t you?” Grace said with a small smile. “We’ve unknowingly been customers of yours plenty of times by now.”

“Right,” Diana nodded, trying to mirror that smile. “And though we’ve only met face to face once before, I’m sure you know a decent amount about me, too.”

“Not enough,” Alice said with a chuckle. “Which is why we’re here.”

“Right…” Diana said again. She let out a sigh and decided to stop beating around the bush. “I’d just like to clear something up. It IS true that you all accept and… even encourage what’s going on between me and Oliver, correct?”

“Yes, it is.” Milana said. She shook her head with a smile. “It’s weird, right?”

“Unusual, more like, but… I understand where you’re coming from.”

Maria appeared from behind the folding screen, carrying a tray with all the girls’ orders and placing them on the table. She didn’t say a word and made her exit quickly but unhurriedly so as to not interrupt. Regardless of her efforts, though, a silence settled between them, growing more awkward by the second.

Diana expected it to happen. Even if they encouraged Oliver to go out with her, meeting her would still be weird. She was an outsider, after all, not a close friend or even a schoolmate or acquaintance. There was a near 10-year age gap, too. How would they even start talking about this? How should they approach it? Maybe Oliver should’ve been here with them to bridge that gap. That would’ve put him in an even more awkward position, though.

No, it was better that Oliver wasn’t here. However, that didn’t mean he couldn’t still help. After all, despite their distance and their differences, the one thing they for sure had in common was him.

What Diana was about to do was… bold, risky and possibly inappropriate, but it had to do with a thought that wouldn’t leave her mind since that Friday night and only became stronger during that Sunday. And normally, whenever you think ‘am I the only one?’ the answer is ‘no, you’re not’. So with that in mind…

“Then, if you really are okay with me also dating Oliver, I’d like to ask you for some advice.” That raised eyebrows, some more curious than others. Still, Diana continued. “How do I deal with him being so much better in bed than me?”

There was a loud, collective groan. The girls held their heads, hid their faces in their hands and even hit their foreheads on the table.

“You don’t!” Sarah said, her first direct words to her. “It’s impossible! It’s been bugging me since I started dating him, too!”

“He’s simply a monster,” Grace added. “He says he’s satisfied, but he never truly is. It works wonders for us, but still…”

“...It felt like I wasn’t doing enough,” Diana said. “Like he was giving me more than I could give him.”

“Exactly!” Sarah said. “We can’t match him, so we try in other ways.”

Diana smiled, mostly in relief. Her gamble paid off. These girls felt exactly like Diana did. The sense of unfairness that came with sleeping with Oliver, that sensation that they felt better than he did. Diana wasn’t alone in feeling like that.

The redhead, Noelle, began to giggle. “Don’t worry about it too much. When Oliver spoke about you, his eyes were sparkling. We could tell he really likes you.”

Diana felt her heart skip a beat and her cheeks heat up. She coughed once to clear her throat and mask the embarrassment. “He… He spoke a lot about you girls, too. It was easy to tell how important you are to him. I don’t want to get in the way of that, but…”

Milana grinned, rested her chin on her hand and stared at Diana. “But you completely fell for him already, didn’t you?”

“...Yes.”

Alice smiled and chuckled. “I might be getting ahead of myself, but I think we’ll be just fine.”

Diana was beginning to feel the same way.

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