It’s five o’clock somewhere in the world. *CHUGS GLUTEN FREE VODKA*

“I’ll be right back, okay?” Bella winked as she and her bodyguards left the limo.

After closing the door, it just occurred to me that we were going to some sort of dance club bar in the middle of the afternoon.

Turning to Stacy, I asked, “Hey, what time is it? Don’t clubs usually only open up during the evenings? Aren’t we a bit too early to be here?”

Stacy raised an eyebrow, “Too early?” She thought about it some more, before snapping her fingers in realization, “Oh right, I forgot! Anti-Hangovers weren't a thing yet for you back then!”

“Anti-hangovers?” I repeated.

“See, around three years ago, my mentor was researching a way to permanently cure headaches.” She went on to explain with an excited grin. The excitement most likely stems from having another opportunity to talk more about how great her mentor was. She continued on, “After forming a hypothesis that, with enough hydration, the brain could stave off headaches before they could even be afflicted, my mentor came up with this cooling formula that you could take as a pill that would prevent you from having headaches for the rest of the day. It would be an amazing alternative to painkillers, as it wouldn’t have the damaging effect to livers if you use too much of it accidentally.”

Holy crap, a pill that could cure a headache before it could even happen? Imagine how productive I would be if I never got headaches from doing jobs or chores.

“Sadly, he never managed to make an effective batch that could prevent headaches from forming. Repeated tests seemed to suggest that even with decent hydration conditions, headaches tend to happen anyway whether the pill was used or not.” She shrugged disappointedly, “Headaches seemed to be more closely linked to stress rather than the amount of water you consume on a daily basis.” Stacy didn’t have her frown for long though, as she perked up and said, “Buuut, it was accidentally discovered that test subjects who took the pill and drank copious amounts of **** would wake up completely fine with no hangovers! It was as if they just woke up completely refreshed and rejuvenated rather than feel the sluggish dry pain that came with getting drunk on ****.”

“Oh, I get it.” I nodded, “So then once you discovered this fact, you kept on refining the formula towards this new direction instead, and decided to advertise it as a cure for hangovers. Thus the name ‘Anti-Hangover.’”

“Exactly!” She nodded with a cheerful smile, “It’s been amazingly effective, and extremely popular. It pretty much changed the drinking culture overnight, making it a fun pastime for anyone without having to worry about the risks of a huge unbearable headache when waking up!”

I tilted my head curiously, “Does it prevent the **** from making you drunk then?”

Stacy looked at me like I was being silly, raising an eyebrow as she asked, “What’s the point of drinking if you can’t get drunk? That takes the fun out of it, doesn’t it?”

Ah, I see how it is now.

“Neat, I guess.” I scratched my neck awkwardly, before asking, “So basically, because of this pill, it’s now socially acceptable to get drunk any hour of the day then. Including mornings and afternoons.”

“Yep! It’s a drinker’s paradise!” She giggled proudly.

Right. I’m sure it was.

Shaking my head dismissively, I decided to ask, “So what about the original plan of trying to cure headaches? Is that still getting focus?”

“Oh, well,” Stacy seemed caught off guard when I decided to shift the conversation back to the other topic, but smiled anyway, “We haven’t made a breakthrough just yet, but my mentor had a feeling that we’re getting close to cracking the formula. We predict that the cure will be discovered within the next five years or so if we keep up the pace.”

Ah, alright, that was at least great to hear. Nice to know they haven’t given up on that just to drink and party hard from an unintended side-discovery.

“Do you drink a lot then, Stacy?”

She shook her head, “Nah, only on my days off. I need a clear mind when it comes to focusing on my work.”

Hm.

I guess I could work around that if I was going to be Stacy’s boyfriend. Dunno how I could keep up with it though...

Eh, I’ll worry about that when I get to it.

Seeing that Bella had left us (relatively) alone, I decided to get flirty a bit and switched seats to sit right next to her.

Seeing me getting closer, Stacy’s smile turned mischievous as she asked, “And what exactly do you plan on doing, getting closer all of a sudden?”

“I can’t spend some time getting to cuddle with my girlfriend?” I asked rhetorically, sliding my hand over her shoulder.

Just like last time, she shuddered in her seat with a grin when she heard me call her my girlfriend. Latching on closer to me, she practically ate up the attention I was giving her as she wrapped her arms around my waist and placed her head over my chest.

Hope Bella takes her time while she was gone. Being surrounded by hot girls all the time was driving me crazy, and I’d really want to vent it out on Stacy while we were alone.

I leaned down to kiss Stacy, which she enthusiastically returned in full ****.

It was at this point that I was reminded about my relationship with Bella for some reason. Or rather, my past relationship with her.

I couldn’t help but feel... kind of awkward and guilty, making out with Stacy with what I’ve learned now.

In the end, I awkwardly pulled away and decided to hug Stacy instead.

Stacy cherished the hug but seemed to notice my discomfort. “What’s wrong? Suddenly feeling chivalrous again all of a sudden?” She teased.

Is that what it might be? Some sort of chivalrous tendency I might have when it comes to women?

Hm...

“Hey Stacy,” I began, “Is it really okay for us to be doing this, do you think?”

Stacy gave a concerned frown, “Are... Are you having second thoughts about us?”

“Nonono! Nothing like that!” I reassured her, “It’s just... Now that I’ve learned what your relationship with Bella is and what my relationship with her used to be like... I can’t help but get a weird feeling about this, is all.”

“Weird in what sense?” She asked.

“Weird as in... I guess...” I thought about it, before asking, “Did she really mean it when she said that she doesn’t mind the two of us dating together? Because before we began dating, you two had your own weird relationship together. And then before that, she was dating me.” I sighed, “I dunno. I can’t help but imagine myself in her shoes and think how I would feel if I was in that position. At the very least, it seems kind of awkward, doesn’t it?”

Stacy’s frown turned back into a smile again, as she lovingly caressed my cheek in her palm, “Bella would definitely be happy to know how considerate you’ve been towards her feelings. But there’s seriously nothing to worry about.” She said comfortingly, “Like I said, my relationship with Bella is purely platonic (to a certain degree) and she already told you herself that she fully supports you and me being romantic with each other. If anything, she’d probably wolf-whistle and encourage us when she sees how close we are.” She paused for a bit, then added, “And then probably ask if she could join in on the fun.”

I guffawed at that, “Yeah, right. Totally.”

“She would! Seriously!” Stacy insisted, “She’d sit on the other side and sandwich you between us, and then start making out with the both of us.”

“And you’d just let that happen?” I asked incredulously.

“Well... I definitely wouldn’t try to stop her if she tried to.” Stacy blushed, before asking me, “Would you?”

I was speechless for a bit, finding it hard to come up with a response.

Finding my voice again, I stammered out, “B-B-But she and I aren’t in a relationship anymore... You and I are together now...”

Stacy shrugged, “It’d still be pretty hot if you ask me. I mean, you’ve seen her body and face, right? Wouldn’t you want some of that as well?”

“If I did, then I’d be cheating on you.” I responded.

“Not unless I was the one encouraging it in the first place.” She smiled innocently.

...

“I don’t know how to respond to that.” I muttered.

“That should be your catchphrase, I think. You’ve been repeating that a lot lately.” Stacy casually pointed out.

“I... I... don’t know if I...”

My brain feels fried up as we continued to discuss this strange possibility between us and Bella together. It went against everything I believed in when it came to relationships. Me, sharing myself with two girls at once? I never imagined the possibility. I never imagined I’d ever even considered allowing it to happen.

I mean, sure, I already know that they both find each other attractive enough to have occasional sex with, but...

Christ, I don’t even know if Bella felt the same way towards me anymore. Sure, she teased me a lot, but are those really surefire signs that she’d be okay with a three-way relationship?

Stacy noticed me struggling to come to terms with this conundrum, so she pulled me back to reality, “I can see you’re having trouble thinking about it. You don’t have to take anything I say too seriously if you don’t want to. I’m just throwing this around to tease you, that’s all.”

I sighed in relief, being given an out to not think about it any further.

Just being teased. That’s all. Nothing more.

“I’m sorry, John.” Stacy leaned in close, whispering apologetically to me, “Here, let me make it up to you before Bella comes back...”

Stacy pulled me closer we began to make out again, clearing my mind of any moral dilemma. She even initiated things first by taking my hand and **** it against her breasts.

At that point, I just went with the flow and fooled around with my girlfriend.

Bella confidently walked into the bar with stride, allowing her guards to flank her as they entered and gained attention from all the other people in the room.

Seeing the woman in fancy clothes, expensive scarf, and surrounded by bodyguards, most of the patrons of the club immediately recognized her and stopped what they were doing out of fascination and curiosity.

Bella smiled on as she heard the patrons whisper amongst themselves, raking in the attention like a cat being bombarded with head pats and tummy rubs.

The piano player in the club while in mid-song heard the commotion and looked at the entrance out of curiosity. Seeing the woman immediately made him stop in shock, as he gave an audible gasp that was noticeable enough to get even more people's attention.

By the time she made it to the bartender's counter, Bella had effectively grabbed the attention of every single patron. Well, bar the few that were too drunk to really notice.

The bartender on shift stood in attention, standing up straight and tried his best to look as professional as possible. Bella could easily tell that the poor guy was frightened by her presence on the inside though. He was doing his damndest to stop his left arm from shaking.

"W-What can I do for you, Milady Empress?" The guy managed to speak out coherently.

With a gentle smile, she politely waved and asked, "Is Pierre in today? I need to ask him a favor."

"You'd like to speak with the m-manager?"

"Yeppers." Bella nodded cheerfully.

"Right away!" The guy gracefully bowed and hurriedly went to the back in the employee's area.

Bella waited patiently for him to come back, noticing a nearby patron staring at her while sitting on one of the counter seats.

It only took a silent upward gesture from her finger directed at him to make the customer nervously stand up, wipe the seat clean, and presented it to her with a bow.

"Thank you." She told the man, taking the seat for herself.

"I-It's an honor!" The man bowed in return, quickly moving away while keeping his head down in respect.

It was only a brief moment of silence before Bella could hear the voice of a loud man screaming in French in the back of the bar. Sitting patiently, she held her head in her palm as she methodically tapped her finger on the counter.

Before too long, a bald man with a fantastically stylish goatee came out in the back. The moment Bella and him set eyes on each other, there was an explosion of excitement and nostalgia rising up in both of them.

"Ma chérie!" The man gleefully cried out, bringing his arms up for a hug.

"Boss!" Bella happily greeted back, allowing the man to come up and hug her.

There was a small brief moment with the guards as they flinched when seeing someone hug the individual they were supposed to protect. It took a large amount of willpower for them to fight back the protective instinct to grab the man and double-deck him in the throat.

When the moment passed, they let go of each other as the man happily said, "It has been a very long time since you've come to visit, Débutante! I have missed you!"

"I know, I'm sorry Boss." Bella said apologetically, "I've been busy helping out forming peaceful relationships for the country. Being a diplomat makes it very hard to find free time to just come home and relax. I wish I could come more often, you know?"

"Ah, it is no problem! You always are welcome in The Lost Lamb, no matter what." Pierre gave a flourishing bow in respect, before standing up to ask, "But what is the occasion? What brings you to visit?"

Bella chuckled embarrassingly, "Okay, so... Um... Before we get into that, I need to ask for a serious request. It's about Lord John..."

Hearing the name of the gracious lord, Pierre became dead serious as he leaned down and said, "Whatever it is, consider it done. Anything you need at all, I will do without hesitation."

Feeling reassured, she sighed, "Thanks, Boss."

"If it weren't for him, I would never have become the successful man that I am today. You know that already. I owe him my soul and spirit!" He reminded her, "Speak the word, and I'll get on it right away!"

"Well," Bella began, "first things first, I really need you to clear the place for me so that it's reserved for only me, John, a friend, and a few guards-"

Before she could even say another word, Pierre had already begun screaming, "OUT! EVERYBODY OUT RIGHT THIS INSTANT! WE'RE CLOSED FOR TODAY!"

Nice to see him so quick to action, Bella thought to herself humorously.

She sat by patiently as she watched Pierre wave his hand around like madman as he forcefully convinced his customers to leave. There were still the few stubborn patrons that refused to stand up from their seats, complaining that their drinks weren't done yet or that they weren't ready to leave yet.

Seeing the few customers becoming disgruntled and annoyed, he shouted out, "WHAT ARE YOU FOOLS STILL DOING HERE?! THIS IS UNDER DIRECT ORDER FROM LORD JOHN HIMSELF! LEEEEAAAAVE!!!"

At the mention of Lord John, all the patrons that haven't already left became wide-eyed before they all frantically hurried out of their seats to exit the building. Few of them downed their drinks as fast as they could as they rushed out the door, some never even bothered as they sobered up immediately and ran out in a panic as they left their drinks behind. Friends even had to roughly carry out friends who were already passed out or too **** to even comprehend the situation.

It wasn't long before the entire area was completely devoid of any customers. The only ones left were her, her guards, Pierre, and the employees of the bar.

Pierre returned, looking a bit worse for wear as he wiped his forehead of sweat. "What else needs to be done, Milady?"

Bella gave him a sad smile, "We should probably go to the back where it's private. I'll bring you up to speed about what's going on there."