Minor Updates

“How far along is she?” Becca repeats her question, and your still confused look conveys enough that Becca takes the opportunity to clarify what she means. “In the app, I mean. What are Dana’s feelings towards you?” Becca asks more clearly.

“Oh! Uh~ I haven’t checked.” You reply a little embarrassed, being reminded of your talk with Becca regarding taking advantage of the app more.

“Of course you haven’t. It’s not like you don’t have an incredibly powerful tool akin to magic in your pocket.” Becca sarcastically replies with a playful smile.

“I know, I know. It’s just… the last few times I’ve looked at it’s just been to update me about farming points, or seeing if I have enough points to deal with your dad, or that stuff that happened with Courtney…” You start trying to explain before taking a pause to find the best way to describe your explanation.

“You’re a bit disenchanted by the app?” Becca asks after you take your pause.

“No, not disenchanted. I’m still grateful for everything it’s given me, and I definitely want to work on getting more points so I can buy you girls traits too.” You answer.

“~But…?” Becca follows up.

“I guess, I reveled in the fact that the last couple of nights didn’t have to involve any of that. I just got to enjoy the time I spent with the people the app helped connect me with… without worrying what their scores were.” You admit, and Becca smiles at your honest response.

…

“Those who desire power often don’t deserve it, and those who do don’t want it.” Becca quotes.

“What?” You ask her, surprised by the depth of her response.

“Nothing.” Becca says with a chuckle. “If not for Courtney’s surprise acquisition of the app herself, I’d have theorized the app was gifted to you for the sole reason you’re the one man who’d least use it.” Becca adds, still chuckling and you can’t help but join her.

“I don’t think that’s a bad thing.” You comment, still unsure of what she’s trying to say.

“I never said it was.” Becca replies, before placing a hand on your cheek. “In fact, forgive me for expecting anything different.” Becca adds with a sweet smile this time, that makes you place your hand over hers that’s on your cheek.

“You don’t need to apologize for that.” You assure her.

“No. I do.” Becca says confidently. “I apologize because I may be encouraging you to possibly stray away from who you are… and who you are is a good man. It’s why I feel the way I feel when I’m with you.” She adds.

“I hope you don’t think that. At least about the part that’s encouraging me to stray from who I am. Our talk before was sound advice, Becca. I could be a little more like you too. Assertive, confident, logical… but still remain just as sweet.” You say, before squeezing her hand still resting on your cheek.

“All I really meant to say was that I wasn’t compelled to check the app as much the last couple of days since I was mostly around people that already love me. I don’t need to see numbers to tell me how you and the others feel for me. I only have to feel it.” You reply sweetly and honestly, and Becca looks away embarrassed, and even tries to remove her hand from your cheek but you keep it in place.

“What’s wrong?” You ask her, and she takes a deep breath through her nose to compose herself before looking back at you.

“Nothing.” She answers with the same sweet smile she had on before. Becca then moves forward and gives you a kiss on the lips. Slow and tender, as if she’s savoring your lips as much as you’re savoring hers; entirely different from any kiss you’ve ever shared with her.

As she breaks away from you, her hand remains on your cheek, and not just because you’re keeping it there with yours. She smiles at you differently too, although you can’t place the emotion behind it. When she finally motions to lower her hand away from your cheek, you hold onto it, and hold her hand like a boyfriend would.

“Not that you can’t do that to me anytime you’d like, but what was that for?” You ask with a curious and amused smile. Becca was about to answer “Nothing” again, but you immediately cut her off.

“If you answer ‘nothing’ again, you’re going to regret it.” You playfully threaten her. You can see her tongue between her teeth, already sounding out a long ‘nnn~’, obviously building up to answer another “Nothing” to tease you, so you use your free hand and try to tickle her sides with it. It does stop Becca from continuing her answer, but she doesn’t exactly laugh from your action. Becca just raises her eyebrow in confusion as to what you’re doing.

“What are you doing?” Becca asks, as you continue tickling her to make her giggle unsuccessfully.

“I’m making you regret giving unresponsive answers.” You answer jokingly.

“Right~.” She reacts unconvinced.

“You’re not ticklish?” You ask her, and she rolls her eyes at your attempt at playfulness. “No funny bone whatsoever? Maybe you are a—” You add, trying to tease her with her weakness to being called a robot, but she cuts you off before you can.

“If you call me a robot, I’ll make you regret it.” Becca threatens more successfully, but her threatening facade cracks immediately and you finally get a demure laugh out of her, that also makes you laugh too.

“Made you laugh.” You tease her, and she smiles in amusement.

“You’re a strange one, Jay Craig.” She says, as she stares deeply into your eyes.

“I hope that’s a good thing.” You comment with a chuckle.

“~No.” She answers jokingly, stretching the ‘n sound’ as much as she could to tease you, and you both share a laugh together at this moment of playfulness.

…

“Come. The others are waiting.”

A few minutes later…

“When you said the others were waiting, I didn’t think we’d have to drive there.” You tell her, as you buckle your seat inside your car.

“I invited the others to my apartment last night while you were with Maddy.” Becca informs you as she buckles her seatbelt too.

“Let me guess, it was more like Stella not so subtly invited herself to your place, wasn’t it?” You jokingly reply, and Becca just smirks in reaction, confirming that her silence means ‘yes’.

“To be fair to Stella, Brooke and the others were very keen on going as well. She came up with the idea after learning I had my own private gym, and thought we could work out there instead of Brooke’s gym tonight.” Becca clarifies, which also explains why she asked you to bring some workout clothes before leaving the apartment.

“So what else did you guys talk about last night? Other than Viv’s plan, I mean.” You then ask, and you immediately hear a sigh from Becca upon asking that makes you chuckle.

“That was, thankfully, the last topic we had discussed; as I tuned out as soon as Viv and the others jumped on the idea about dressing up as fictional characters.” Becca comments as you start to drive towards her place.

“I have to admit, you got one of the cooler superheroes to dress up as.” You tell Becca, and Becca rolls her eyes again in reaction; then adding a ‘tsk’ afterwards, clearly not amused by your comment.

“I am not a fan of this line of teasing, and it is bordering on unjust vexation.” Becca replies, her annoyance apparent.

“Woah. I wasn’t teasing, Becca. I genuinely love the idea of you dressing up as Batman.” You clarify. “All black ensemble? Maybe tight spandex with leather accessories like for the gloves and the boots? I thought it was perfect for you.” You say encouragingly, and you notice her look of surprise in your periphery.

“Oh. I see.” Becca says, her demeanor immediately calmer. “I forgot that they reassigned something else to me. Like I said, I tuned out most parts of the discussion. I thought you were referring to their suggestion of me dressing up as the human-robot hybrid.” Becca admits.

“You mean a— OW!” You try to say Cyborg’s name but Becca pokes you in between your ribs.

“I told you I’d make you regret it.” Becca reminds you, which makes you look away from the mostly empty road in offense of her poke, and you see her with a proud smirk on her face.

“It’s his name!” You shout defensively, making Becca chuckle, and you can’t help but laugh too. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have shouted.” You finally apologize.

“I apologize for poking you. I don’t know why it irks me to this degree when I’m compared to such a thing.” Becca also apologizes, showing a moment of weakness that even she doesn’t quite understand her pet peeve with being called a robot.

“Would you say it’s even your… kryptonite?” You jokingly ask her, and you look towards her again; this time, with a look that says you’re stupidly amused at your own sense of humor. Becca just raises an eyebrow again. “Oh, come on! You’ve gotta have heard that term at some point!” You say in disbelief, and Becca cracks a smile that she was just teasing.

“Yes, that word has entered my lexicon.” Becca verbally admits, and you’re the one who teasingly rolls their eyes this time.

“Why are you so sensitive about being called… that, if you don’t mind me asking?” You ask her.

“A tough question I’ve never been asked before. People just assume that it irks me because they think I’m in denial of it being true.” Becca comments.

“I hope you know that we’re just poking fun at the one thing that gets you to break, right? We don’t actually think you’re like that.” You try to assure her.

“I’m aware of yours and the others’ intent. Don’t worry.” Becca assures you, placing a hand on your lap to drive home her sentiment.

“I can’t think of a proper answer to the question either. If I have to think of one, without giving it too much thought, I can only surmise it’s because I don’t want people to think that I’m someone incapable of empathy. It’s true that I care very little outside of my own self-interests, but…” Becca answers, before starting to trail off when she starts thinking of a reason to counter her admission of selfishness.

“But when you do care, you care a lot.” You finish for her, and place your hand on top of hers on your lap, before the two of you shift to just holding hands… and Becca doesn’t let your hand go for the rest of the drive to her place.