Girls night out (Part 1).

No matter how crazy things became, Reina found solace in the one thing that remained consistent: Weekends were still something to look forward to, and that Friday night was no exception.

Sure, Will had to attend to something important, and that was the reason she had organized this little outing in advance. Finally, after way too many scheduling issues, Nanami found the time to go out with them.

The three girls waited at a booth in Anna’s bar of choice, which had quickly become a favorite of Reina’s, too. They’d gotten there just a little early, and Nanami was there perfectly on time.

Reina whistled teasingly at her. Nanami was dressed in a denim skirt and a black, shoulderless loose top. “Looking good, girl.”

Nanami giggled and fidgeted nervously. “Is it too much?”

“Nah. You pull it off incredibly,” Ruth praised.

Next to Reina, Anna chuckled. “Are you SURE you don’t want to be a model?” she asked for what must have been the third time by now.

Nanami sat down next to Ruth and across from Reina. She giggled. “I always freeze up when Will tries to take pictures of me.”

“Speaking of,” Reina started. “This is a girls night, okay? No bringing up our boyfriend anymore than necessary.”

“Right,” Ruth agreed, crossing her arms and scoffing. “If he’d rather go fight and get himself hurt over spending time with us, let him.”

“...He had this scheduled a week in advance though,” Nanami said carefully. “D-Did he not tell you?”

“He did,” Anna said, laughing and smirking teasingly at Ruth. “She’s just worried and is trying to look tough.”

“Ah. Don’t worry, Ruth! I’m sure he’ll be fine. Will is strong!” Nanami earnestly reassured her and pumping her fists. Cute.

“...I know,” Ruth sighed. “And your aunt is with him. I’ll just never stop worrying.”

“Enough.” Reina pouted. “It always ends up like this. I love that man to bits, but we somehow always end up talking about him.”

“I don’t really mind,” Ruth shrugged. “But I see your point.”

The girls ordered and were quickly served their drinks. All of them decided to ignore the look the waiter gave them.

Anna stirred her piña colada with her straw and turned to Nanami. “So, tell us, how’s your new job at the convenience store?”

Nanami smiled excitedly mid sip of her own drink. “Doing well. Being a cashier is fun.”

“Fun?” Reina asked, raising an eyebrow. “In all my time doing it, I would never call it fun.”

“Well, it’s just… I enjoy how normal it is.”

“What do you mean?” Anna asked.

“...All my life has had to do with the supernatural. Training to see it, feel it, use it. I’m not a fighter like my aunt, but I can do things most people can’t. Alchemy, barriers, aetheric sense, even a bit of divination… My family is one of the few that still studies aether, and they made me train in these areas because there are so few mages who find any success in these fields. I was homeschooled, my only friends were members of other families like mine, and my job was supposed to be as a supernatural investigator.” She smiled. “Having a job as simple as being a cashier is really refreshing.”

“Well, now I feel bad for scoffing at my job,” Reina said.

Nanami’s eyes widened in panic. “I didn’t mean to…!”

Reina laughed. “Relax, I get it. I think I know what it’s like. My own family doesn’t exactly approve of me being a model.” She stared into her glass and slowly traced her finger around the edges. “I have this younger cousin they like to compare me to. Already engaged to a guy they all approve of, studying at the most elite schools, getting ready to work in her dad’s huge hotel business and eventually inherit all of it. Meanwhile, I dropped out of university to try to make a career of getting pictures taken. I’m basically on my own.”

Anna swallowed. “Is that… why you said yes to Mrs. Evan’s proposal?”

“What proposal?” Nanami asked cautiously.

“She told me that if I slept with the photographer, my career would skyrocket.” Reina smiled fondly. “Crazy to think that’s how I met Will, and it’s already going back to him.” She shook her head with a resigned grin. “Anyway, yes, Anna. That’s why I accepted. I was ****. Didn’t hurt that the photographer was the hottest guy I’d ever met and a demigod of sex.”

“Crap, you girls are gonna make me feel guilty,” Ruth said, frowning and crossing her arms. “I’ve got all my folks behind me. They all want me to make it big as a dancer, maybe even get into acting and get in a few movies.”

Nanami smiled. “That’s great! I really hope you’ll make it.”

“And things are looking up now. I suppose I’ve gotten really lucky.” Ruth turned to Anna. “What about you? What’s your dream, Anna?”

Anna sighed and looked up to the ceiling. “A dream? I couldn’t say. I was raised under the philosophy of ‘If you’re gonna do something, do it right’, so I’ve been doing just that. School, work… I try to do everything as best I can, because I believe there’s value in a job well done.” She let out a self-conscious giggle. “Up until recently, my biggest concern was finding myself a hot girlfriend.”

“Ended up finding yourself a hot boyfriend willing to share his girls with you.” Reina leaned closer to kiss Anna’s neck. “How lucky, right?”

Anna giggled and turned to share a few short, sweet kisses with Reina. The secretary’s hand went under the table and caressed Reina’s leg as they kissed.

“Unbelievably lucky,” Anna admitted with the biggest grin.

“Girls, you’re gonna make Nanami uncomfortable,” Ruth warned.

“Oh.” The two girls pulled away immediately.

“N-No, don’t mind me,” Nanami assured. “But… Will is okay with it, right?”

“Very okay with it,” Ruth said, grinning. “Even turns him on. You ever considered kissing a girl, Nanami?”

“Um…” Nanami’s cheeks caught fire as she looked down at her own knees. “A-Actually…”

Anna and Reina both leaned in. “Actually…?”

“T-There was a time, during my rebellious phase, that… My way of getting back at my family, sort of, was to… secretly start dating one of my best friends. A girl.”

“Oh wow.”

“Oh my God!”

“You don’t say?”

“We didn’t go anywhere past making out, but… I liked it,” the Asian girl admitted shyly.

“Very nice,” Ruth said, chuckling and patting Nanami on the back. “Thanks for telling us. And hey, if you ever feel like you want to try it out again…”

Anna frowned. “Ruth, don’t push her.”

Ruth raised her hands. “I’m just saying!”

Nanami swallowed. “I’ll… keep that in mind.”