Now what?

We made out as Fern lay on top of me, her full weight on me already making me feel hot and bothered, not to mention the softness of her chest flattening against mine.

Fern ran her hands through my hair while I respectfully kept mine on her waist. She pushed her tongue inside my mouth with pent up passion which made things fun but still a bit awkward. At one point she hit her nose against mine and pulled away with a cute yelp.

“Ouch… S-Sorry…” she said, setting up. “I… got too excited.”

I chuckled and licked my lips. “Believe me, I love the enthusiasm.”

“Um… Sorry to be so blunt, but… What happens now? I mean, how exactly do we… well… have a relationship?” she asked shyly.

I chuckled again, sat up and leaned back with my hands on the grass. “Good question. Well, the issue between us is that we haven’t hung out a lot.”

“Oh.”

Realizing something, I laughed louder. “Actually, you’ve been hanging out more with Grace than with me, haven’t you?”

Fern giggled. “I have, haven’t I?”

“I’m not taking it back, but maybe we did rush a bit into an ‘official relationship,’ at least in the sense that we only just started to feel comfortable around each other.”

Fern smiled shyly and fidgeted in place. “Yeah, I get what you mean. It feels like longer because I was paying attention to you back when I was only a customer at the coffee shop. Then I started watching your videos and listening to your music. We… haven’t actually spent a lot of time together, huh? Then…”

“We fix that,” I told her, standing up, dusting myself off and offering her my hand. “Shall we go on a date?”

If her smile and her giggle weren’t enough, I could feel her heart begin to race from excitement and giddiness as she took my hand. Once I helped her up, though, I didn’t let go, instead interlocking fingers with her.

Seriously, maybe I should dial it back because I was starting to fear Fern might explode.

“A date? Like, right now?” she asked, grinning from ear to ear.

“I’m free now, so unless you have other plans…”

“Yeah, because my social life is so active…”

We chuckled. “Do you have anything in mind you’d like to do?”

“Um… Wanna have some ice cream?” she suggested shyly.

“Oh, that sounds really good, actually.”

“There’s this shop in the mall that has really good artisanal ice cream. We tried them on a whim with my dad two weeks ago and I’m still thinking about them.”

“Alright then. My van is parked nearby. Let’s go.”

We walked hand in hand, and though I tried to keep myself cool to sort of… keep us from becoming a nervous mess, I couldn’t stop my heart from beating every bit as fast as Fern’s.

Holding her hand felt surreal. I almost felt like I was the socially anxious kid who was feeling liked for the very first time again. Even having six other girlfriends, my excitement wasn’t diluted. It really was strange that, after months of being vaguely aware of Fernanda, we were now officially going out.

I had to remind myself, though, that the label of ‘official’ didn’t exactly mean much. It didn’t ‘lock us in’ as a couple. Getting together wasn’t the end goal, but barely just the start. Fern and I would have to learn to be together, much like we had to learn and are still learning with the others.

The mall was fairly close to the park. Only five minutes by car. Those five minutes, though, were still crucial for us because, again, we had an awkward silence between us for the first minute. That said, it wasn’t the type of awkward silence where we felt uncomfortable with each other. No, it was more like… we wanted to talk more, but we didn’t know about what. Really, just a consequence of two socially anxious introverts with poor social skills being alone together.

“Um…!” Fern began, and I was noticing that starting with an exclamation was a bit of a habit for her. “I wanted to ask. Did the others find my request… weird.”

“There are times where those girls are bigger perverts than I am,” I told her. “Noelle was the only one who really hesitated, but only because she doesn’t know you very well. I think you two would get along great, actually. She’s really into anime, too, though I guess that means there’s an equal chance you’ll hate each other for your tastes.” That was only half a joke.

“I hope to get along with everyone. Actually, I’m… kind of excited about it. Diana, Sarah and Grace have been very nice to me and very understanding, but I don’t want to be the girl they just reached out to out of pity. I… I hope I can be friends with everyone.”

“Take it slow but be yourself,” I told her. “We’re all weirdos one way or another. Mila is a little too obsessed with social media. Grace has the secret obsession of collecting stuffed animals. Sarah actually loves junk food like hamburgers and fries. Alice is a huge car nerd who’ll talk your ear off if you let her, and Diana is in the same boat regarding cocktails. And worst of all, Noelle is a V-Tuber.” I chuckled. “I should note that I say this with the utmost love for these girls”

“Wait, Noelle is a V-Tuber? Would I know her?”

“Do you know Yuria?”

“Yuria… Wait, is that the girl that shot down a simp going crazy in her chat?”

“Likely. That clip went viral, apparently.”

“Ooooh. Then you’re the boyfriend she talks about!”

“So you watch her?”

“Ah, no, not exactly. I watch shorts of her whenever they pop up. I liked the design of her avatar. It’s simple and tasteful, unlike most others that are too busy.”

I smiled. “Be sure to tell her just that. She’ll appreciate it.”

Yeah, I wasn’t worried about whether or not Fern would get along with the others. I had trusted my instinct when it came to Diana and that had turned out fine. I had already decided to trust it when it came to Fern, too.

I wanted to take Fern home soon, but not today. Today would be just the two of us. It was the least I could do.

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