Nia POV: Friends of my friends

…I wasn’t wrong, per se, but this isn’t exactly what I’d had in mind…

After the initial culture shock of Lucy’s overpowering and loud aura settled, her and Rina began to really hit it off. I mean, they were really hitting it off. You’d think they were the ones who were friends since middle school, not me and Lucy…

Rina: Hahaha, no way! That’s so perfect for Nia!

Lucy: I know, right!? You shoulda seen her piercings, they looked so good on her! We even had matching sets! Gawd Nia, you bitch, I wish you didn’t make me delete all your pics back then! Should’ve kept some in a USB or something!

I was positive that if I dunked my head under the water right now it would burst into steam; my face was absolutely smoldering at this point. Meanwhile, they were both red in the face from laughing about the styles I tried out back in high school.

Nia: I’ll be right back…

My incredibly loud and loose lipped friend patted me on the back as her giggling finally died down.

Lucy: Do your thing hun, we’ll be by the comics. I have something I wanna show Rina.

Rina: Oh, right on! Is it the basketball manga you were talking about earlier?

Lucy: Yeah, I think you’d really like it! Like I said, it’s about this delinquent guy who -

Their conversation faded in the distance as we split up…

We had taken a quick detour to the mall’s chain bookseller on our way to the food court; I’d spaced on a few things for the reading list at the start of the first week, and if I didn’t pick them up soon I was going to be up shit creek. Despite that, I found myself staring at them while rifling through the educational shelves. I tried to focus on finding my reading material so we could move on, but my eyes just kept wandering over…

What was it that had them jelling so well? Why was I so curious? I didn’t know the answer to either question, and something about it left a weird, almost unsatisfied — but somehow familiar — feeling in my belly… Was it the way Lucy’s go with the flow attitude and can-do outgoingness meshed with Rina’s more careful, calculated socializing? Was it their strong personalities? Gah! Whatever, stop creeping on them and get your crap done Nia! Why they were meshing didn’t matter to me! I should just be happy they were getting along as well as they are.

I hurried along with my shopping and tried not to think about it any further. Once I was finished, we continued to the cafeteria.

This time it was Rina who split with us once we found a table. She had wanted one of those massive sub sandwiches they had plastered in ads all along the mall, while Lucy and I were keen to get some shitty mall Chinese food. The mall wasn’t very busy, and it seemed like the server had stepped into the back for a minute, so we waited around at the counter just the two of us.

Lucy put her arm around my shoulder and pulled me into a side hug.

Lucy: You good now?

Nia: Hmm? What’dya mean?

She gave me a condescending smirk and snickered.

Lucy: Really girl? You gonna pretend like you weren’t staring daggers at us for the last thirty minutes?

A breath I didn’t know I was holding suddenly slipped out. Ah fuck, I knew I was being too obvious. I really needed to be more mindful.

Lucy: C’mon, spill it. What’s up?

Nia: It’s nothing Luce, I’m just being silly.

Lucy: C’moooon, what’s the deal?

Nia: …Promise you won’t laugh at me?

Lucy: I make no promises, but I’ll do my best.

Nia: Good enough, I guess. I’d deserve it anyways.

Lucy: And why’s that?

I dragged my hands down my face.

Nia: Cause I was expecting Rina to get all flustered today…

Lucy: Oh? Were you using me for your teasing fetish again?

Nia: …Yeaahh, but, in the end, I’m the one on the receiving end. Guess I played myself.

Lucy seemed genuinely intrigued by my admission.

Lucy: I could definitely see her being fun to tease, she’s got a lot more of a “shy girl had a glow up after high school” vibe than the rumors suggested, hahaha.

Lucy: …I wouldn’t have expected that from you, though. You are a little playful, sure, but you’re…usually more gentle. Em’s really the only one I ever see you tease that way…

Nia: What can I say? Hehe, I think she’s fun to mess around with sometimes.

Lucy: Yeah, I picked up on that. You two are pretty damn close. Even closer than you made it sound…

Uh oh, Lucy took her rare serious tone. She paused; then, after just enough time for things to get stiff, she gave me a stern look and continued to broach the topic.

Lucy: …I know you said you two can be a little physical, and obvs I’m not a stranger to that myself, but…that thing you guys had going outside looked more than just a little friendly. My bad if I’m overthinking this, it just seemed kinda…lovey dovey…

She pursed her lips and gave me a side eye.

Lucy: …You guys aren’t doing anything sus, right?

Ahhh crap, I was too optimistic earlier… Why did I think that was a good idea…? My chest tightened and my head went totally blank, I couldn’t say anything.

Lucy: Nia…I’m not gonna have to defend you from an angry boyfriend, or get a call with you sobbing at 4am in the near future, right?

I flinched at her examples and the sharpness of their delivery. They sure were…awfully specific to me… Was she still…?

She sighed at my silence and kept going.

Lucy: …Sorry, I didn’t mean that. I went way too far just now… Look I’m not doubting what you told me, and I know for a fact you don’t fuck with that kinda thing, I just need to make sure. Rina seems really nice, and sorta quirky, but the girl has those rumors floating around her twenty-four seven, and…well, anybody can make a mistake, Nia…

The idea of Lucy assuming I was fooling around behind Em’s back, or that I was even seriously considering it, really hurt to hear. It hurt…but if I were in her shoes, I bet I’d think the same thing. I probably wouldn’t be so nice about it, either…

I wanted to give her the lowdown and clear up the misunderstanding. I owed her that much at least…augh, but I couldn’t! At least not all the details, if I could avoid it. This wasn’t like sharing the stuff Em and I normally got up to, this was Rina’s secret too. I felt so stupid. Why didn’t we talk about what to do if this comes up? We should’ve had our group rehearsal earlier in the week instead of fucking around!

I took a deep breath and resolved to find some kind of middle ground answer. I wasn’t going to straight up lie to her — we’d known each other way too long for me to get off scot-free, and that might really blow up in my face — I just also couldn’t tell her everything.

Nia: So, you know how Em and I have been doing some…kinky roleplay in the bedroom since a while back?

Her eyebrows shot up as she drew her own conclusions. Funny enough, I’d bet they were closer to the truth than what I was gonna tell her, but I couldn’t leave it to an implication like that for my own convenience.

Lucy: Wait, so…aight hold up, I’ll let you finish. You mean the stuff you’re vague about here and there, yeah? With the ways to talk dirty, the dildos, how to sound sexy, and all that?

Nia: Yeah, that stuff. So about that… Em and I wanted to try out some things…related to that, and it turns out Rina is very familiar. We already knew her well, and she and Em were already tight, so we decided to ask her. She said she’d be happy to help… Sooo, kinda like how I ask you for advice sometimes, we’ve been getting some pointers from Rina on how to…approach things. Since that topic is pretty intimate, y’know, she’s even more touchy with me and Em than she is with her other friends.

Though she was still obviously curious, I could visibly see her relax as I explained the gist of things.

Lucy: Okay, so it’s like…more or less kosher? You’re all in on it?

Nia: Basically.

Lucy: …Aight cool, I’ll leave it there then. But feel free to call me up if there are ever any problems, kay? I don’t want anyone pushing you to do stuff you’re not okay with anymore…

She gave me a supportive squeeze as she dropped the topic. She’d definitely left something she wanted to say on the cutting room floor, but I kept that to myself. I guess Em was right; it can be hard to let go of past impressions if you’ve been with somebody a long time, even in a friendship…

Suddenly, Lucy’s expression brightened and she totally lost it. She accidentally brought me down with her as she doubled over, howling with laughter. I was totally thrown off, the shift in tone and orientation shaking my balance.

Nia: W-what? What’s so funny?

Lucy: So you were jealous I was getting along with your new girlfriend better than you, huh? Or is she Em’s, and you’re mad she’s stealing both of us?

I gaped at her. Once again, my face was burning. I reached for a pithy way to clapback at her.

Nia: I…!!!

…Augh, nothing… I let out a groan as she continued her raucous outburst, catching the attention of the lone server in the back. I covered my face and sighed. All this blushing couldn’t be good for me…at this rate I was gonna bust a damn vein! Why was I the one getting teased so much today? It wasn’t fair! One way or the other, I was gonna get even for this later!