"So what's the story?"Asked Feliks, leaning back in his chair casually.
Elizabeta shifted uncomfortably, ruffling her simple white blouse. Sometimes she hated Feliks' blunt manner of speaking.
"What are you talking about?" She snapped sipping her drink territorially. The sweet pink liquid slid easily down her throat.
"With you and Gilbert. You've been 'just friends' for a while now."
Elizabeta laughed an elegant and beautiful laugh.
"I always just assumed he was gay, he never talks about women."
Feliks glared at her knowingly.
"How naïve can you be? He never talks about women around you because the only women he wishes to speak of would not find it pleasing."
Elizabeta choked on her drink. This couldn't be happening. How could this be happening? Not again. Suddenly she recovered herself, her emotional windshield wiping away any traces of unpleasant emotions.
She chuckled again, though this time a few decibels too high, and waved her hand dismissively at the supposedly outrageous claim but made no reply.
The lunch continued in stiff silence and ended with an awkward farewell followed by a half-hearted promise to "do this again sometime".
(The next day)
"Elizabeta, you need to come over, the Tigers are on tonight." Gilbert yelled over the phone. He was still under the impression that one needed to yell into technology in order to make it work.
"It makes no sense that we care about the Tigers, we're not even American." Laughed Elizabeta, happy for the familiarity of sports events with Gilbert.
"Don't question it." Gilbert replied, "Just come over."
"Whatever dude, I'll be there in five." Elizabeta replied, falling into her old boyish dialect which she adopted around Gilbert or Feliks.
Standing outside Gilbert's door, Feliks words came back to her. They had seemed ridiculous in the moment but were they really? I mean they did hang out a lot. But then again Gilbert had never made a move on her in the long time they had been friends.
"Hey Lzzy."Gilbert said casually opening the door and motioning to the couch. "The game's already started; we're losing, of course."
Elizabeta looked Gilbert up and down for the first time. He was wearing black converse shoes (the real deal of course), nice jeans and a band t-shirt. Elizabeta found herself noticing he smelled good. No, snap out of it. She thought to herself as she sat on his couch, she wasn't going to ruin another friendship with love.
"Want anything from the kitchen?" Called Gilbert.
"Beer." Said Elizabeta succinctly. Liquid courage, her mind supplied involuntarily. No, not liquid courage, I don't need liquid courage, WE'RE JUST FRIENDS!
Elizabeta examined her outfit, the low-cut blue t-shirt and designer jeans she had picked seemed appropriate for a sports game.
Suddenly, Elizabeta panicked. She couldn't be alone with a guy who loved her this much. She frantically pulled out her phone, searching through her contacts for anyone who could be called for moral support.
America? No, he was such a bro.
Canada. Who?
England? Why was he even on here?
Liechtenstein? Yes! She would do.
"Hello?" Asked a sleepy voice.
"Yeah, Switzerland? Can you put Lilly on?"
"Yeah, whatever." Replied the voice grudgingly. In a few moments, a sweet high pitched voice graced the line.
"Lzzy?"Asked the girl.
"Hey Lilly, can you come over to Gilbert's house? Like now?"
"Well I don't know if big brother will let-"
"Shut up, you're obviously spineless, put him on the line, I'll distract him, you get over here. Wear your most molestable dress."
Gilbert was very nervous when he opened the door. Tonight he planned to tell Elizabeta he loved her. It was all he could to sound casual on the phone. He had dressed in the best outfit he could find without looking like he was trying too hard. He tried to calm himself as he stood hyperventilating in the kitchen with two glasses in his hand. Quickly, before he could talk himself out of it, he speed-walked into the living room to find a surprising sight.
"Lilly?" Asked Gilbert as he saw his best friends little sister curled up on the couch next to Elizabeta. Why was she wearing that dress? She looked like a Japanese prostitute.
"Yeah. Lilly was watching The Tigers over at her place so I invited her over to watch it with us. I hope you don't mind." Elizabeta quickly invented an excuse for Lilly being there, if a flimsy one.
Forgetting the powerful alcohol he had put in his own glass, he handed Lilly his glass and went to get himself another glass.
"Girls." He muttered, shaking his head.
When he returned, he found a very agreeable sight, to him at least.
Elizabeta had somehow procured several more beers and was giggling hysterically at an empty T.V. screen.
Lilly was nearly passed out on the couch next to her.
"well this is as good a time as any." Gilbert said, ambling over to Elizabeta. He grabbed Elizabeta's perfect white hands. He noticed how her shirt perfectly framed her breasts. Nice touch chuckled Gilbert pervertedly.
He maintained uncomfortable eye contact with Lzzy's piercing green eyes.
"I love you." Gilbert said frankly. Oh damn, I meant to lead up to that, he thought to himself.
"Cool." Giggled Elizabeta, shying away from his piercing gaze. She pulled him close and kissed him. She scampered across the corner and huddled in the corner, still giggling like a madwoman.
At this point, Gilbert was about as drunk as his conquests. He turned to the other side of the couch and saw Lilly. What a dress!
"Might I get the same treatment from you?" He asked hopefully.
Lilly kissed Gilbert skillfully with tongue. Gilbert fell back, amazed. She was a better kisser than Lzzy.
Lilly smiled at Gilbert, biting her lip. "I get around." She said in response to Gilbert's unasked question.
With that, there was no need for explanation, just three people on a mission. Together they trekked to Gilbert's bedroom and fell, in a three-way hug, on the bed.
(Several Weeks Later)
The first thing Gilbert heard the next morning was the screeching sound of his phone ringing.
"Go away." He whispered weakly. As his answering machine picked up, he heard an angry female voice.
"You got us pregnant, you jerk, the least you could do it answer the fucking phone."
Gilbert shot over to the phone.
"What?" he said simply.
"That's right! How could you do this?" Lilly screamed.
At a corner café, Gilbert put his head in his hands.
"What are we going to do?" He asked, addressing both women equally.
"Well we have to keep it." They said simultaneously, this seemed to be the only thing they agreed on.
And so it was decided.
"How are we going to create a home-life? There are three of us."
"We'll make it work."
NINE MONTHS LATER…
It wasn't easy. Gilbert had to take care of two pregnant ladies for nine whole months and keep them in his house (which was surprisingly his idea).
When the day came and Gilbert held the two children in his arms, he decided he couldn't have devised a better way for them to come into the world. He realized that no matter what his feelings had been before for the two women they had changed to ones of love and devotion.
In the years that followed the trio lived in a kind of ménage a trois raising the babies, one named Lilly (jokingly referred to as Daisy to differentiate from her mother), and the other named Gilbert Jr. after his father.
And they lived happily ever after.