Britta's eyes flutter open. She stretches out on her back, groggily processing what today held in store. Right. The dean's stupid Fall Formal. Which she has to get ready for. With Annie. Oh… Shit. Annie. Where did she go? And what is that noise coming from the kitchen.
"Britta! You're up. I made paaaancakes." Annie's singsong voice and bright eyes reveal that she is much more of a morning person than Britta is.
"Oh, thanks, Annie. You didn't have to do that."
"Well I've been up for a while, but I didn't want to wake you, and I needed something to do." Annie was already showered and dressed. In yesterday's clothes, of course.
"Look. I think we need to talk about what happened last night."
"Don't worry about it, Britta. I was just experimenting. I liked it, though. If you'd like to do it again, I would love to. But if you want it to just be a one-time thing, that's perfectly fine, too."
"Okay. Well, I just don't want this to become a sticky situation emotionally."
"Britta. I'm not a child. I can handle this."
"Where did love-struck little girl Annie go? Weren't you fawning all over Jeff after you guys just made out?"
"I learned my lesson. I'm mature enough to handle this, Britta. Promise."
Britta's a bit taken aback… And disappointed? No. Not disappointed. Grateful. Grateful that Annie is taking everything in stride and being level-headed about it. This is all turning out much better than she expected. Right?
It's still mid-morning, and the dance isn't 'til 8. The study group is meeting for dinner at a semi-fancy restaurant at 6. So until then, Britta has to watch Annie bustle about cheerily as she cleans her apartment. Apparently, the state of Britta's place is shameful for a 29 year old woman. 29. How old is Annie again? 19. Well, it doesn't seem to bother Annie, so it must be okay.
"Can I take you to lunch?"
"We can go to lunch, but you're not taking me, silly."
"Annie. You had sex with me last night; the least you can do is let me buy you a lunch."
"You made me dinner."
"But it doesn't count, because you made me breakfast."
"Oh, fine. But only because I spent almost all my allowance on that dress I bought yesterday."
They go to a little café and it feels really nice. Just the two of them chatting and giggling over coffee and sandwiches. Britta feels like this is something she could do on a regular basis. Annie's telling a story about something that happened in her biology class on Wednesday. Her eyes are animated and her arms are wildly gesturing. Britta's not really listening to the story. She's just watching. Just as Annie reaches the end of her story, the café door opens and who should walk in but Shirley Bennett herself.
"Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit. What do we do?" Britta's frantically whispering.
"Hide! Under the table!"
"What? That's ridiculous. Why-" Britta is cut off when Annie drags her under the table just as Shirley walks by.
"That was close! She would have been so mad that we didn't invite her."
"Um. Annie. We're not out of the woods, yet. We're stuck under a table while Shirley sits right behind us."
"Right. I'll go up and distract her. I'll tell her I'm here alone while you sneak out, and then I'll join you."
"Annie, this is crazy talk."
"Oh, well, then. I'd like to hear your oh-so-perfect idea," Annie hissed.
"Fine, fine."
Annie struggles to gracefully emerge from her hiding spot. Thankfully, Shirley is engrossed in her menu and doesn't notice where Annie came from.
"Shirley! How are you this morning? Where are your boys?"
"Annie! So nice to see you, girl! Elijah and Jordan are visiting their father this weekend."
"Oh. House to yourself while you get ready, then? How fun!"
"You bet. I was just going to get a makeover after I finish my lunch. Would you like to come with me?"
"Well, um. I- I would love to. But I'm… busy."
"You better not be doing anything with Britta without inviting me."
"What? No! I would never! I have to go! Bye!"
"No need to shout. See you tonight, Pumpkin."
Annie runs outside and joins Britta in her car. Both agree that they should probably lay low for the rest of the afternoon. They return to Britta's house and watch a bit of television before getting ready for the dance. Of course Annie wants to watch Gossip Girl reruns. Of course Britta wants to watch the news. They bicker a little. Annie gets her way, of course.
Annie's watching the way Britta puts on her lipstick. She's up on the ball of one foot, leaning into her mirror. She paints her lips with the precision of a woman who's spent over a decade wearing makeup. She could be a regular femme fatale, Annie thinks. Like the women with fur coats and cigarette holders in the old movies. Only, Britta would never wear a fur coat.
Britta can feel Annie staring. She doesn't look back. She doesn't want to jinx this moment. She keeps applying her makeup just as she would usually. Only her movements are more stylized, and she's much more focused on avoiding Annie's gaze. She just wants Annie to feel the same unrecognized longing that she does when she watches Annie tell stories over lunch.
It's 4:30. They have to leave in an hour in order to get to dinner on time. It's enough time, Annie decides. She watches as Britta undresses, pretending not to realize Annie's icy eyes are glued to her body. Britta reaches for her dress, but Annie steps up and gently takes it from her and sets it aside. Britta has a quizzical look on her face that fades into a smirk when she realizes what's going on.
Before you can say "macaroni with pepper jack", Annie's clothes are in a wrinkled pile in the corner. She's a little nervous because she's never been completely naked in the daylight before. But Britta's there, and she's not thinking about that hideous birthmark on Annie's hip or the fact that her left breast is slightly larger. She's just exploring everything with the fervor of a 14 year old boy. And this gives Annie the sexual confidence she needs.
Before you can say "streets ahead", Britta finds herself on her back, straddled by a determined-looking Annie.
"You don't have to do anything to me, Annie. I'm fine just working my magic on you."
"Not a chance. Last night, I didn't know how to do anything, so I let you run the show. But now I have an idea how it works. And I'll be darned if I'm not going to practice."
"Okay. If you really want to."
Instead of dignifying that with a response, Annie begins to leave a trail of firm, slightly hesitant kisses down the length of Britta's body. The further she goes, the surer of herself she becomes. A few minutes later, Britta's arching, gasping and fisting the sheets, and Annie's beaming with pride.
They get dressed quickly, and scramble to get to Britta's car by 5:30. They make it just in time, though Annie's still finishing her makeup, and Britta keeps checking her hair in the rearview mirror. They pull into the restaurant parking lot. Britta draws a sharp breath in. Annie gulps visibly.
"This isn't a big deal, right? I mean, it won't be awkward, will it?"
"Of course not, Annie. We'll just say that I picked you up on the way if anyone asks."
"I don't like feeling like I'm hiding something from my friends."
"Tell that to the Annie that organized the sabotage of our space simulator launch."
Annie lets out one of her signature indignant gasps. Britta reassures her that it will all be okay. And coming from Britta, she believes it. It's not that Annie doesn't trust many people, because she does. But she just feels extra secure when it's Britta telling her that she'll be fine. Maybe it's her penchant for brutal honesty that makes her trustworthy. Maybe it's the way her usually severe expressions soften when she says it. Whatever it is, it ensures that Annie can walk inside and greet the others without feeling worried.
Britta is sitting on one end of the table with Jeff and Troy. Annie is next to Shirley as always. They're not sitting in their usual study group order. This bothers Annie a little because whenever she looks up from her salad, she's expecting to see Britta sitting across from her. Britta keeps stealing diagonal glances at Annie which Annie refuses to acknowledge. It's not that she doesn't want to. It's just that she feels significantly more self-aware with Shirley, and she doesn't want to slip up.
"What are you looking at, Britta?" Troy asks.
"Oh, nothing. Just that- that painting on the wall over there."
"Yeah. That painting's so cool. If you kinda blur up your vision when you look at it, it looks like a robot on fire."
"What? That's ridic- Whoa. You're right."
The dinner goes along just as you'd expect. Pierce makes a toast that starts out heartwarming and winds up being offensive. Troy tears up. A slightly drunk Jeff tells him to man up. Abed makes a movie reference. Shirley says "That's nice!" Britta looks at Annie. Annie looks at the wall.