More Calls

“Love you,” I told Ami. “And I miss you already. I can’t believe last night was only last night.”

“I know,” she replied. Her Midwest accent had me grinning a little because it was so her in my mind. “And, Robbie, I’m still falling for you.”

“Love is a bottomless pit you can fall down forever if you want,” I said. “And I’ll fall with you, holding your hand the whole way.”

“Cornball,” she laughed. Then she sighed. “I should go, I want to get a good start in the morning.”

“OK, Cutie,” I said. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. And I want to hear about whatever neat place you stop at.”

“I’ll send you pictures, Tiger,” she said. “Good night.”

“Good night.”

We hung up and I felt a flutter of sadness because I knew it was going to be the longest of all my girls that I would see Ami. She was road-tripping it back up to where she lived with her ageing parents outside of Minneapolis, a three-day drive without pushing too hard, and she planned to make a few more stops at random ‘Biggest Ever’ sorts of spots since she’d hit the more major tourist landmarks on the way down. Honestly, it sounded like a trip I would have loved to take with her, but that wasn’t how life worked.

With my calls to my girls done, at least for now until Leia and Zenya landed (I had to do a mental checklist to double-check that I was accounting for everyone, which made me feel weird), I went looking for Cattie and Cass again. They’d swapped to Cass’s laptop and were on a group FaceTime call with Terra and Becca as they sat on the bed - which had new sheets on it, I noted.

“Ami’s good for the night,” I said as I climbed up on the bed as well.

“We know, Tiger,” Cass grinned at me. “She told us on our group chat. Honestly, you don’t need to relay stuff to us unless one of us asks you to, OK?”

I sighed and shook my head. “Fine, I’ll keep my lips sealed unless specifically asked.”

“For some reason, I feel like this is going to backfire on us in the future,” Becca smirked. Then she blew a kiss at her camera - she looked like she was at her desktop in a room with a carefully curated background of nerdy stuff and lights that screamed ‘streamer set up.’ I’d only been aware of Becca before we’d met as a cosplayer contemporary of Cass, so now I knew I was going to need to check out some past recordings of her streams.

Hell, I needed to make sure I was following all of my girls' social media; the only two I had right now were Cass and Cattie.

Terra, meanwhile, was bundled up in my sweater that she’d stolen/borrowed/disappeared into her luggage and looked like she was using a tablet in her lap. The hood on the sweater was up and her dainty, elf-like features were slightly obscured by the shadows caused by it. Her background looked like she was sitting on a couch with a wall behind her.

“I promise not to use this agreement like a malicious genie,” I told them. “How are you feeling now, honey?”

“Thhhhbbppp,” Terra blew a raspberry, her shoulders shrugging.

“Mostly still the same,” Cattie translated for me as I settled in next to her. She leaned into me and I raised my arm to scoop behind her, which also let me trace my fingers across the back of Cassidy’s neck as she leaned into Cattie from the other side.

“We’ve got a plan, though,” Cass said. “Thanks to Becca.”

“You guys just needed a prompt to jump from idea to planning,” she said.

“As long as you’re OK with it, Tiger,” Cass said. “Cattie is gonna stay with us until Thursday, and we’ll do our therapy stuff on Wednesday. Then she’ll fly home and I’ll fly out to Terra to help her get all of her stuff packed up. We’ll rent a Uhaul, get it loaded up, and drive it across the country.”

“By yourself?” I asked. “Shouldn’t I come with you?”

“You, dear boyfriend,” Becca said. “Need to save your vacation days at work until you need to use them. You’re the only one of us who answers to an actual employer. Plus, you need to stay available in case Wanda needs you. I’m in the city so I’m Responder Numero Uno when it comes to her needing someone as the shit hits the fan, but once it’s done she’s going to need you.”

“I’m sorry I’m not-” Terra started, but all three girls shushed her.

“You need what you need, babe,” Cassidy said. “Don’t apologise for it.”

“Terra,” I said, trying to project warmth through my voice. “I love you, you don’t need to worry one iota how I feel about you needing to work through stuff. I don’t take it personally, and I’m here whether you want to emotionally vent or you want to have a distraction or anything in between. Or if you need space.”

Terra took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she closed her eyes and looked up into her hood before her shoulders slumped. “Thanks, Robbie,” she said. “I’m… going to love getting used to that. Not needing to worry about you. But I have a question.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“How much is an iota?” she asked, then snorted.

“Honestly? I’ve got no fucking idea,” I chuckled. “Really small.”

“I think it literally means ‘really small amount,’” Cattie said.

“Nerd,” Cass chuckled as she nudged her.

“Geek,” Cattie teased back.

“Sluts,” Becca said.

“Takes one to know one,” Cass laughed and stuck out her tongue.

“My God, I’m dating ladies with the attitudes of children,” I groaned, though I couldn’t keep the smirk from my lips. Their laughter was an absolute delight.

Breakthebar erotica is powered by Patreon, where AMA chapters are releasing 5+ chapters ahead. PM if interested in making a Commission.