Take it slow...

"Oh, so you want the epic story where I ask you two about a threesome and get chucked off the Golden Gate bridge for asking? Learned that one the HARD way thanks. Maybe I should just make a bet with you instead."

The two sisters in the front seat of the bus high fived each other with a laugh. Carla pointed at Kaila with a grin afterwords, while Kaila simply rolled her eyes and concentrated on maneuvering the van through the concrete onramp surrounded by perfectly manicured trees and totally disheveled tents with boxes around them.

"Told you he wouldn't ask," Carla grinned at her sister. "I TOLD you."

"Yep, you win. Ugh. Brent, you're sleeping in her room tonight."

"Maybe I want you to let me out right here and I'll head back to Helen's apartment. It's only a couple miles, and I could use the walk." I quipped.

"You want to be robbed, propositioned or preached at first?" Carla asked, her eyes on several cop cars with flashing lights and armor clad enforcers surrounding a person that I couldn't see.

"It's gotten bad down here, hasn't it?" I commented, my eyes noting a certain pattern. If you just glanced, didn't really look, you didn't see it. "I don't... I don't come out this way much."

"You don't see it if you don't look." Kaila commented dryly. "If you're that annoyed by it, I'm sure there's some committee you can sit on. This fucking city has about a million of them."

"Nope, don't you DARE go trying to change the mood. You know your husband proposed to me." Carla grinned at her sister, before shooting me that same winning smile.

"Brent, you fucking didn't... ugh... you and... You didn't propose to Helen too, did you?" Kaila groaned. "No more fucking proposals until you finish the ones you have, mister!"

"I didn't really propose. I mean, I guess that's what I want you in my life means..." I shrugged, thinking about Helen and how that last kiss had felt. Damn I wanted to see her again. We hadn't had enough time... we needed more dammit. I felt like there was a conversation we should have had that we didn't. Well, no matter, there was plenty of time. Plenty of time to figure out what all this meant, where it was going.

"And I swear if you start telling people at the office about this... Brent, just don't turn into a fucking GUY tomorrow, ok?" Carla shook her head angrily. "This is one of those times you really need to just be quiet and smile."

"What is this, anyway?" I asked calmly. "You kept saying Harem last night but..."

"You DIDN'T!" Kaila suddenly shouted as we rolled to a stop behind a line of cars. "I swear I'm not...ack... Ok, there's this movie we used to watch when we were kids..."

"I didn't tell him any details! I just was telling him about the rules we came up with."

The thought rattled around my head that the rules Carla had been talking to me about... were ones she was actually serious about.