I'm tasting my own medicine, I'm swallowing my pride

Serenity had given Dani a lot to think about. Or more accurately, she had helped Dani clarify some of the thoughts that had already been rolling around in her head. She let out a sigh as she trudged down the hall, still mulling over what she wanted to be for Nick.

“Ah! There you are! I’ve been looking for you!”

Dani perked up, and then her eyes widened in surprise when she saw who was standing in front of her.

“Oh, you… Vivian, right?” Dani hadn’t spent that much time getting to know the heiress. The brunette in front of her seemed like the flighty sort of girl that she always had trouble with. Like Rose, she was a bit of a schemer, and Dani preferred honesty from her friends.

But she didn’t have a problem with her, either, which is why she approached her with curiosity instead of caution.

“That’s me, Vivian Carrington, at your service,” Vivian said, bowing with an exaggerated flourish. “And I’ve been looking for you all morning!”

Dani blinked. “…For me? Why?”

“Because you’re a unique member of Nick’s little harem, Dani, that’s why,” Vivian explained. “Out of all the girls, you’re the only one who doesn’t want to be a part of it! …And considering that includes a woman who refers to him as ‘Daddy’ and his own stepmother, that’s saying quite a bit!”

She laughed and Dani felt her cheeks redden.

“Listen, Vivian, I don’t know what this is about, but if you just came here to make fun of me…”

“I wouldn’t do that!” Vivian’s eyes widened and she stepped in front of Dani again before the tomboy could walk around her. “I’m being serious! I want to get to know you better, Dani. Since you seem like an alright sort of gal.”

Dani raised her eyebrow. “…Really.”

Vivian scrunched up her face into a frown. “Yes, really. Why? You see so suspicious of me!”

Dani let out a long sigh. “Because I am. From where I’m standing, it seems pretty clear that you’re trying to use me to get to Nick. You know I’m not a threat to you, because I don’t like him that way, so you’re trying to turn me into an ally so you can get on his good side and weasel your way into becoming the head of his harem. Now, I have no idea why you want that, but that’s definitely the vibe I’m getting.”

Vivian’s mouth fell open.

“…Wow. And everybody was saying you were the dumb one.”

In a flash, Dani’s wariness turned into outrage. “Hey!”

“Whoa, look, I didn’t believe ‘em!” Vivian said, holding up her hands. “There’s a lot more to life than being book smart, believe me, I know that better than anyone!”

“Doesn’t mean you have to be rude,” Dani grunted, crossing her arms over her chest.

Vivian shrugged warily. “Okay… fair enough. I’m sorry about the crack. But look, Dani, this is a great opportunity for you!”

“How?” Dani asked.

“Well, the way I see it, you’re tied to Nick, and you’re going to stay that way, assuming I’ve got the rules of this little show down the way I think I do,” Vivian explained. Dani nodded, and she continued. “So either way, you’re going to be spending the rest of your life with him. Don’t you think you should be working to make that as beneficial to you as possible? I mean, you’re gay- being connected to a guy can’t be all sunshine and roses.”

Dani shifted a little and took a step back. She didn’t like the way Vivian was staring at her, like she already knew everything about her. The two of them had barely spoken two words to each other since the heiress joined the show, and already she seemed like she knew everything about Dani?

No… she definitely didn’t like that at all.

“Where are you getting all this from?” Dani demanded, narrowing her eyes. “You’re a bit of a snoop.”

Vivian laughed off her concerns and shrugged. “Well… I’ve been hanging out with your girlfriend all morning, and she’s a bit of a gossip, so…”

Dani’s jaw dropped. “Carly!? You used Carly to get to me?!”

She held herself back, even though she really wanted to wring Vivian’s neck. The heiress must have seen that on her face because she held up her hands quickly and shook her head.

“Whoa there, I think we’ve got another misunderstanding on our hands,” she said. “I didn’t try to get to you through your girl, gotcha? I went to her first! But she had so much nice stuff to say about you, and I just thought that maybe we could get to know each other a little better. Work towards a common goal, you know?”

Dani calmed down slightly after hearing Vivian’s explanation. “…What kind of nice stuff?” She asked, unable to help herself.

Vivian doubled over laughing. “Oh, wow, that’s just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!” She cackled. “You look like a happy puppy! Aww!”

Dani felt her face heat up. “It-it’s not a big deal or anything!” She sputtered.

Vivian wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes and shook her head. “No, for real… Dani, you’re so cute! And your girl’s a precious one, too. It’s clear you’re both over the moon for each other. But this kind of stuff is best said face to face, at least, that’s what I’ve always thought.

Dani raised her eyebrow. “Well… I suppose…” She relented. “Wait, you and Carly are still hanging out together?”

A tinge of jealousy flared up in her chest even though she knew that was ridiculous. She could have gone with Carly to spend the day with her, but had postponed that because she wanted to work through her own concerns. So really, she shouldn’t be upset if Carly chose to spend her morning with another girl.

But while that rationalization was enough to calm her down, she still felt that familiar twinge.

“Carly’s helping me out with something in my room,” Vivian explained. “Or, well… I’m helping her out… there’s been a lot of mutual helping each other!”

“In your room?” Dani raised her eyebrow as she remembered which suite Vivian was assigned to. “You know Marley’s the one with the green thumb, right? What’s Carly helping you out with? I thought you were the social media whiz.”

Not that there was any way to get onto the internet like that. Connectivity was a one-way street, and the only thing the girls could download from the web was internet porn- Dani had already tried.

Vivian smirked. “Oh, it’s not anything so serious,” she assured the tomboy, her voice just suspicious enough to set Dani on edge. “Rather… it’s a bit of a surprise. You want to come and take a look for yourself?”

Cautious, but nevertheless intrigued, Dani nodded, and doubled back for the elevators. She wondered what Carly and Vivian could have as a “surprise” for her.

They rode the elevator in silence, mostly. Vivian was humming along with the music, and Dani guessed that, talkative girl she was, Dani might be able to weasel some more details out of her. But she held her tongue. If Carly wanted to keep this a surprise, then that was what she would do.

“Here we are!” Vivian sang, sauntering into the common area. Dani was surprised to see it was empty- she figured that more girls would be using it to relax, rather than wander through the hotel.

But she didn’t have time to think about the others- not with Vivian leading her into the Garden Suite, after all.

Dani’s jaw dropped.

“Huh!?”

“Dani?!” Carly whirled around and covered her chest in surprise. Her face was bright red. “Vivian?! What- This isn’t what I agreed to!”

“Sorry, sorry!” Vivian cackled, leaning against one of the trees growing beside the doorway. “I couldn’t help myself! You looked so nice, I was just dying to see what your girlfriend had to say when she laid her eyes on you!”

That morning, Carly had been wearing a costume that had gotten Dani worked up in all manner of ways. It had been the perfect fit for her curvaceous figure- but she’d definitely noticed a change.

Compared to the cosplay outfits she ordinarily wore, these clothes were almost normal.

“Carly, what…” Dani’s mouth flopped open and closed as she tried to get her mouth to work. The style Carly was wearing was something she’d never seen from her before.

Her hair had turned a deep midnight shade, with streaks of white highlighting it. Carly had styled it short, and gave it a tussled, windswept design. But the real marvel could be found in the clothes themselves. She wore a leather jacket over a black shirt that clung to her curvaceous figure. A large tear ripped down the center, highlighting her large breasts and giving the appearance that her boobs were so big they tore through the shirt. For bottoms, she wore a frayed denim skirt that looked like someone had taken scissors to a much longer and more modest piece of clothing; they ended practically right beneath her crotch, hinting at a panty shot should the cosplay bend too far forward. To make up for the lack of coverage, she wore a pair of fishnet stockings, and studded leather boots. The whole outfit screamed sex and danger, and it got Dani so worked-up she could barely think straight.

“C-C-Carly, wow…” She stammered, trying to express her feelings. “You look… wow…”

“It-it’s not what you think,” Carly mumbled, her face turning crimson. “Vivian! You said no one would see me like this!”

Vivian rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on, don’t pretend to be modest now! I’m sure you’ve worn much skimpier things.”

“Yeah! But…” Carly glanced at Dani and shifted awkwardly. “I just… this is different, okay?”

Dani didn’t really see how. But Vivian was right- Carly wasn’t the kind of person to feel shameful about her choice of clothing. She wasn’t some modest, blushing flower- that was far more her sister’s deal. So to see her caught off-guard and embarrassed like this was really something special.

At the same time, though, she was still Dani’s girlfriend, and if Vivian had upset her, then Dani needed to stick up for her.

“Hey!” Dani turned on Vivian, her face burning. “Don’t make fun of my girl! Okay? That’s not right! I don’t know why you’ve got her dressed up like this, but if you said you wouldn’t show anyone, then you definitely should have left me out of…”

Her voice trailed off because she heard a squeak from behind her. She turned around to see Carly with her lips pressed tightly together and her cheeks puffed up. She was trembling, and more squeaks and peeps were escaping out of the tiny hole in her mouth.

Finally, she couldn’t hold it back anymore, and burst out laughing. Vivian was in hysterics as well.

It only took Dani a couple seconds to figure out what the pair of hyenas were up to.

“Oh, I see,” she muttered, rolling her eyes. “The joke’s on me, got it.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Carly rushed over to her, taking Dani’s hands in hers. Dani could see amusement flashing in her partner’s eyes, but there was genuine remorse there as well. “We just wanted to have a bit of fun, that’s all.”

“Carly was talking about how bold and brave you are, and I just had to see it for myself,” Vivian sniggered. “The gallant figure of Dani coming to protect her girlfriend’s honor… and you didn’t disappoint!”

She clapped Dani on the shoulder, and then started laughing again.

Dani sighed and rolled her eyes.

“You’re not mad, are you?” Carly asked hopefully, batting her eyelashes at her girlfriend.

“Come on, that’s not playing fair and you know it!” Dani groaned. She couldn’t stand up to Carly when she pulled the puppy-dog eyes.

Carly increased the firepower of her salvo by biting her bottom lip, and shifted on her feet slightly to give her chest a little shake.

“I’m sorry,” she said again, though her face carried a lot less remorse than it did a couple seconds ago. “When Vivian said she wanted to see how you’d react to me getting flustered and acting chaste and modest, I just thought… well, maybe it would be cute.”

“I’ll show you cute,” Dani muttered, glaring at Vivian, who returned the glare with an amused smirk.

“Yes, you really did.”

There wasn’t much she could say in response. While Dani liked to think she had a quick wit about her, Vivian was obviously far more skilled in that department.

“Again, you’re not mad?” Carly asked hopefully.

“No, I’m not mad,” Dani relented with a sigh and shook her head. “It’s kind of hard to get mad at you when you dress up like that for my sake.”

“Mild correction there,” Vivian interjected, clearing her throat. “She’s actually dressed up for my sake.”

Dani frowned. “What do you mean?” She looked between the two girls.

Carly stood up straight and brushed off her clothes. “Well, Vivian came to me earlier, and asked me for a favor,” she explained. “She wanted me to model some clothes for her.”

“I’m trying out some new styles,” the fashionista explained. “I know you’ve already got a punk girl in the harem- ran into her earlier, in fact- but let’s just say… I got inspired. I wanted to see if this cute little cosplayer could pull off the punk look!”

She reached up and lightly tapped Carly’s cheek with her palm a few times. “And she really did a great job of it, too!”

Carly beamed at the heiress and shifted awkwardly again, while Dani tried not to be jealous.

“You see girls,” Vivian said, parting from the two of them and pacing around the room, “I’ve been thinking about this harem. I know, I’m the new girl, so I haven’t fully gotten all the dynamics down. I’ve had a few unforced errors, I totally get that.”

Dani raised her eyebrow. “Errors like what?” She asked.

Vivian dismissed the question with a wave of her hand. “Don’t worry about it. Not anything you need to concern yourself with. But the reason I wanted to talk to you two, is because I think that we can all help each other.”

Dani and Carly shared a look, then turned back to her.

“Help each other how?” Carly pressed. “I mean, thank you for the costume, really, getting to wear something original is a lot of fun. But you can’t keep me in clothes like this the whole time, right?”

“True, I can’t,” Vivian nodded. “But I was thinking more along the lines of getting you girls on the same page as Nick.”

Dani stiffened, remembering her conversation from earlier that morning with Serenity. “What do you mean by that?” She asked suspiciously.

Vivian shrugged. “Well, take a look at the two of you. You’re both with each other, and that’s just precious if you ask me. Two gals who like each other, but are caught in a complicated relationship with a boy.”

“It’s… okay, yeah, it’s complicated,” Carly sighed, scratching her head. “Nick and I, we have a great physical connection, but when it comes to emotional love…”

She glanced longingly at Dani and smiled like a fool. Dani smiled back at her.

Vivian fought back rivaling urges to squee and throw up.

“Ahem.” She cleared her throat to break up the lovefest going on in front of her. “Back to my point! Now, Dani, you’re the mystery here. Carly, you said that you weren’t sure about where you stood in regard to Nick now, isn’t that right?”

Carly winced. Dani looked at her in wonder.

“Wait, you too?” She asked without thinking.

“It’s just, well… I like Nick, I really do… And that night we were all together, that was one of the hottest things I’ve ever done…” Carly squirmed, rubbing her legs together as she remembered how sexy she felt fucking Nick with Dani watching her. “But is that really enough for a relationship? You and me together, and then you also share me with Nick… it feels like I’m getting everything I want, but that you and Nick are put in an awkward position.”

Dani nodded. She could understand that. “Well… I’d be lying if I said it wouldn’t be nice to have you all to myself,” she admitted. “But I also understand that’s not fair to you, either. I mean… if I can’t fulfill all your urges… then maybe it’s for the best if you two…”

“Really?” Vivian leaned forward and steepled her fingers together. “You’re really just… okay with your girlfriend, who you claim to love, by the way, sleeping around with a guy?”

Dani’s face burned. “It’s not just any guy!” She exclaimed. “It’s Nick! He’s like my closest friend! I trust him!”

“Really… and you’re sure that’s all it is?” She pressed. “You trust them together, so you watched the two of them have sex?”

Carly turned red. She hadn’t told that to Vivian before… so she’d just revealed that whole night right now! What a misstep.

“L-look,” she stammered, shaking her head quickly. “It’s not what you think, okay? Dani did that for me, for my sake!”

“Maybe… or maybe there’s more to it than that…” Vivian mused, stroking her chin.

“What, you think I’m like Holly or something?!” Dani exclaimed, turning red. “I’m some kind of cuck who gets off from watching someone I love sleep with someone else?”

Vivian shrugged. “Well… there’s one way to test that theory, don’t you think?” She suggested, standing up from her bed and approaching Carly.

Dani realized that her hips had a far more seductive sway to them than usual.

“I didn’t just change you into that outfit to serve as a model,” the heiress breathed, running her fingers down Carly’s collar. “I also think it’s rather… appealing.”

“H-hey! Cut it out!” Carly slapped her hands away, and blushed. She glanced over at Dani, who was looking at her with an expression filled with uncertainty. “Dani! I swear, I changed in the bathroom! It wasn’t, like, a peepshow or anything!”

“And you’d have a problem if it was?” Vivian asked curiously. “You show off your body to people on the internet.”

“That… that’s different,” Carly mumbled. “I’m… Dani and I, we’re together right now, so doing something like that with someone else… directly in the room with them, that’s…”

“Cheating?”

“Yes!” Carly exclaimed. “I’m not going to cheat on the woman I love!”

“But you were with Nick?” Vivian pointed out.

“Only because Dani said I could!”

“So if Dani took that permission back… you’d stop sleeping with him, then?” Vivian pressed.

Carly’s mouth opened into an “O” and her eyes widened. She turned and looked at Dani, who looked back at her. Neither one had anything to say in that moment.

Vivian smirked.

“It seems… we have a lot to talk about, in fact,” the heiress mused.