Moving on.

That awkward exchange still nagged me in the back of my mind, but I wasn’t lying when I told Fern I felt better. Part of it was that she had a strong point when she said she genuinely liked my music. I mean, Mila, Grace and the others encourage me and support me, but they aren’t exactly fans of my stuff, nor do they have to be. I don’t subscribe to the ideology that all my friends should listen to and love what I do as if it was some obligation. Fern, though, IS actually a fan, and it’s hard to get too depressed that two strangers happen to dislike what I do when a cherished friend, instead, loves it.

“Um… Not to be a downer, but… What do you want to do now?” Fern asked me. “If you’d rather go home, I’d totally understand.”

I chuckled. “You want me to go home?”

“Uh… no?” she said with a sheepish smile.

“Then I’m staying. I don’t want to be in this mall anymore, though.”

“Me neither. So… What do we do?” she asked with an expectant grin.

“I… know a place. A couple of places, actually, but one of them I can’t go to anymore.”

“Ah? Why?”

“Because I work there and it’d be awkward. And it sucks because I like that place.”

Fern and I began walking back to the parking lot, hand in hand.

“Yeah, I get that. Maria’s Coffee Shop used to be my go-to place but now that I work there it’s weird to be a customer. I get a discount on pastries to take home, though.”

“Crap, I miss that discount. And now I don’t even live with Isabelle, so I can’t ask her to buy stuff for me…”

“Speaking of… Have you talked to her since leaving the house?”

“I mean, it’s only been a day. I was planning to call later tonight.”

We took the elevator down to the underground parking lot and walked to my van… only to see those two girls again as we approached, leaving their equipment in the car right next to mine.

“Oh, for the love of…!” Fern muttered, taking the words right out of my mouth.

“They’re just leaving. Let’s just ignore them.”

I was hoping they’d get in their car and leave by the time we reached the van, but no. They had yet to load an amp when they saw us getting close.

“Holy shit, no way you’re following us,” the brunette said.

I said nothing, took out my key and jumped on the driver seat. Fern followed my lead, completely ignoring the two women as we drove off before them.

“I… don’t get it,” Fern said. “You got mad when those older ladies… interrupted us and also when my old classmate started badmouthing me, but you don’t get mad when they badmouth you?”

“People can say whatever they want about me. It hurts, yeah, but years of silence have taught me that you avoid a lot of trouble by saying nothing. Talking shit about my friends, though? I can’t stomach it.”

I can almost picture the scene if Grace or Sarah had been with us here. Neither of those two would’ve let it slide, even if I wished they did. Mila would’ve been more vocal in her disapproval, but I doubt she would’ve started a fight.

Fern giggled. “Wait, are you friendzoning me now?”

I chuckled. “Is it weird that I think of my girlfriends also as my friends?”

“Of course I’m joking. But I did use to hear people say that a man and a woman can’t be friends,” Fern said.

“I’ve heard that, too, and I get what they’re saying. A man and a woman can’t interact without there being feelings for either one. I disagree, but I don’t think I’m in a good position to argue.”

“Why?”

“Because… Well… So far I’ve slept with every girl I consider a close friend, weird as that sounds.”

Fern snickered. “Except for Maria, right?”

“Ah, right.” I chuckled.

“And… me?”

“And you.”

“I’m… feeling left out now,” she said, trying to sound sultry but failed because she started laughing. “Hahaha! I’m sorry, I can’t! I don’t know how to flirt!”

“And that’s another thing we have in common.”

“Shut up. It’s like you can turn the charm on and off at will.”

I decided not to tell her how close to being right she was. The only thing wrong there was that Frey was the one holding the switch.

“No, I promise you that whenever you think I’m being charming, it’s entirely by accident.”

“I prefer to think it’s natural.”

“And it’s the same for you. I told you already I love how expressive you are. I love seeing you laugh. Makes me wish I was funnier.”

“I mean… You’re silly, and that makes me laugh, too.”

“Screw it, I’ll take it.”

In response, Fern laughed more.

After a while we made it to our destination, Hotel Intimacy.

“So… You’ve been here before?” Fern asked.

I blinked. “Funny story, actually,” I said as we got out. “This became our go-to hotel. It’s clean, has a few fancy rooms, and the front desk has a dark screen to keep customers from seeing the receptionist.”

“Oh, that’s… actually pretty neat.”

“Right? Well, I… came here several times. Sometimes with Mila, sometimes with Grace, sometimes with Sarah, sometimes with the three of them, once with both Noelle and Alice…” I sighed. “Guess who turned out to be the receptionist behind the black screen?”

It didn’t take too long for Fern to put two and two together. “Oh my God. No way!” she said, grinning from ear to ear. “Diana?”

“Yep…”

“Is that how you met?”

“It’s how she met ME. I didn’t meet her until we tried another hotel and she just coincidentally started working there.”

Fern smirked. “So… You have a reputation of bringing different girls here?”

“Likely. And I’d bet good money I’m not the only one.”

“Probably the only one who has consent from everyone, though.”

“Who knows? People are very… open minded these days.”

And speaking of, it was a little surprising how open Fern was to talking about me having sex with the others. Maybe it was her trying to fully get used to how normal it was, or maybe watching those videos made her throw away all reservations. It was hard to tell. What was easier to tell, however, were her growing excitement and jitters. She wanted this but didn’t know what to expect, or how to act.

Better take it slow.

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