Not before midnight

The upload bar creeped to 100%, then disappeared. Assignment Submitted. I closed the laptop and fished my phone from the couch cushions.

Jamie: ez
Dakota: 11:57 lol
Jamie: yeah, two whole minutes to spare
Dakota: so did you actually solve the problems, or just keysmash into latex until the pdf was long enough?
Jamie: the fact you think I'd ever keysmash shows how little you understand me, girl genius

The "Typing..." indicator popped up, then disappeared after a few seconds. Point, Jamie.

I'd spent pretty much the whole night camped in the living room, powering out the topology assignment before the 11:59 deadline. At some point, I vaguely remembered heating up a frozen meal. Now that the homework was in, I suddenly felt how tired I'd gotten. I grabbed my laptop and started back to my room for the night.

+15 BS. 62 remaining.

By my phone's clock, midnight exactly. Good to know when the daily BS comes in.

In the hallway, the faint sounds of breathy moans and rhythmic creaking drifted down the stairs to Moira and Clem's room. At least someone had fun tonight. For a moment, I felt a reflexive awkwardness at overhearing, but the feeling gave way to sheer absurdity as I remembered my afternoon. That particular instinct probably wouldn't stick around for much longer.

In our room, Ari sat in bed in an oversized t-shirt, playing on her phone. I remembered now that I'd missed her post-shower nudity entirely, thanks to my cram session. I'd just have to take matters into my own hands, then.

I tossed my laptop onto my own bed, and my blue dress joined it a moment later.

"Oh hey, babe," Ari said. She looked up me, showing no reaction as I modeled my light pink bra and panty set. Perfectly normal, between besties. "Finish your assignment?"

"Right under the wire," I said, reaching to unclasp my bra. The accidental pun made me groan inwardly as the illusory A-cups fell away from my flat chest with little fanfare. "What did you get up to tonight?"

"Nothing too exciting," Ari said. "Did some reading for o-chem, messed around online."

I nodded, fidgeting with my panties' waistband. Stripping still made me feel surprisingly nervous and ****, an odd experience after the control of using the app. Toplessness was one thing, and it wasn't like I had much to show up top anyway. Below the waist, different story entirely. Finally, I committed, pushing the pink underwear down to my ankles in one quick motion.

Ari's eyes were caught by the sudden move, then slid back up my body casually. I thought I saw them linger for a split second on my cock, semi-hard from putting on this little show. But then she was making eye contact and smiling warmly.

"I'm glad we had our talk earlier, Jay. I feel closer than ever."

"Me too," I said, perching on the corner of her bed, trying to act casual. "Actually, I wanted to ask: normally I sleep naked, is it good with you if I go back to it here? I've only been wearing PJs for your sake."

"Oh yeah, go for it! I've been doing it too, normally I just wear panties. All this shyness with each other feels kind of silly now."

I thought of seeing her tits again, and smiled. "Good thing we're past that. I'm going to start getting ready for bed now, actually."

The suitcase under my own bed where I stored extra clothes produced a fluffy lavender bathrobe. I slipped it over my bare skin, knotted the belt loosely, and headed to the bathroom.

+3 BS. 65 remaining.

Huh. I was in the middle of washing my face when the notification came. The interaction I'd just had with Ari? It didn't feel worth 3 BS to me, especially since I was the only one showing skin. But what else, then? I puzzled over it while I dried my face and brushed my teeth.

As soon as I was back in the bedroom, I got my answer. Two sets of footsteps down the stairs, giggles, then the shower. Clem and Moira, finished with their late night encounter. So then, the app had given me credit for that? Partial credit, I assumed — 3 BS wasn't much, not that I was complaining. But which belief was responsible? How were the house dynamics already shifting? I'd have to keep an eye out going forward.

I was so distracted by the situation outside the bedroom, I hadn't even noticed the one inside. Ari had joined me in rejecting pajamas, the nightshirt slung over the back of her desk chair. She now sat topless in bed, eyes glued to her phone again. Her light brown areolas crinkled slightly as she read, and her teeth played with her bottom lip. Where her free hand disappeared beneath the cover, I could see movement.

My best friend was touching herself, openly, in front of me.

"Whatcha reading?" I asked casually, stepping deeper into the room. I slipped off the robe, revealing my body again, my cock fully hard now.

"Just some fanfic." She didn't jump or anything, but it was clear my question had interrupted her. Her hand slid out from under the covers as she looked back to me, no shame or embarrassment on her face. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, it just looked like you were, uh, getting into it."

"Yeah..." she said with a chuckle, still nonchalant. "Just got to a spicy part, and I guess it's been a while since I rubbed one out."

Her eyes dropped down to my hard cock for the first time, widening slightly. "But then, maybe you can relate."

"Yeah, not much privacy around here lately." Not that that was a problem now, of course. I let my hand slide across my thigh to grip the base of my shaft. "Mind if I follow your example?"

"Go for it, babe," she said, eyes tracking the path of my hand. "Nothing to hide between best friends."

"Exactly." I gave myself a firm squeeze. Ari watched for a moment before returning to her fanfic, hand venturing beneath the covers again.

I gave a few dry strokes while I watched her, savoring the experience with no real intent to get off yet. Ari's nipples were very hard now, and a blush was forming on her face. Either the fanfic had gotten steamier, or I'd had an effect on her. A shiver of pleasure went through me, and I realized I should get off my feet. But as I sat again on the corner Ari's bed, I saw her tense up.

"Hey, maybe you should go to your own bed?" she said, uncomfortable. "It feels like you're jerking off to me right now."

She had me there, but I could work around it.

"I thought we were on the same page, Ari? That we don't need to hide our masturbation from each other."

"Not hiding it is one thing. But when you're over here watching me, I feel involved in what you've got going on. And I'm not that kind of close with any of my friends, not even you." Excellent points, of course, but inconvenient ones.

"Let me put it this way, Ari. It's just masturbation, and it's no big deal to masturbate around your best friend, right?"

Her eyelids fluttered as the Sophistry Generator went to work. "Sure, but—"

"Well, masturbation is really personal, isn't it? I could be looking at, or thinking about, a lot of things. But what I jerk off to is my own business."

"I... guess so..." Fully glazed over now.

"So then, what's wrong with me looking at you? Or you at me, for that matter? We're still just each taking care of our own needs, and the other is nearby."

"But... I feel watched... Changes the dynamic..."

It was the first time I'd seen this kind of resistance while using the app. Maybe I needed to change my approach.

"Fair enough. But maybe that's a benefit of having a close friendship like ours. We get a free show, and to share these moments together. That's better than doing it alone."

"...Is it?"

"Of course. We can appreciate each other's pleasure, and we get to feel the deep intimacy of sharing our sexuality, of being **** with each other. Intimacy feels nice, doesn't it?"

"Mmm-hmmm..."

"So really, jerking off to each other is fine. Better than doing it alone, because it's something we can share. It just makes sense."

There was a long pause before Ari's faint reply came. "Just... makes... sense."

I felt the BS draining away like a gut punch.