After I write a chapter that I'm happy with, I always find it incredibly difficult to pick up things to write the next installment. This chapter was literally the hangover to my drunken glee that was writing that party chapter.

Also, I haven't had a life for 3 months because of my fully loaded schedule, so I'm sorry about the even further delay.

I haven't given up on this story... the party's just begun! Stick around for more drunkenness, romance, and lessons on life...

I finally awoke when the sun coming through the window became too much to bear for my sensitive headache. My eyelids lifted slowly, heavily, and after my vision cleared I scanned the bedroom.

I hoped that my surroundings would give me a few clues as to how things played out. It should go without saying that trying to recall the last hour or so of the party was a little bit of a struggle. Not that I blacked out, necessarily, but I had an idea of what happened in my mind and I desperately wanted to prove my theory wrong.

I had this crazy, vivid memory of something happening between Maya and I. Something like a gratuitously long session of making out. Saying that I wished that memory was just part of a dream would be a gross understatement.

The first thing I noticed, looking around, was that I wasn't wearing a shirt.

That's normal, though, for sleeping... right?

My shorts, soaking wet for some reason, were crumpled next to the bed on the floor.

Not normal.

I shifted in bed a little, and noticed the sand rubbing off of my legs every time I moved an inch.

The moment of truth would be when I gathered the courage to look to my left to see who was sleeping next to me. It had to be one of two people: Iris, or Maya.

I prayed to God that Maya would be sleeping next to me fully-clothed, not covered in sand. I didn't even want to consider the idea that it was Iris next to me. That would mean that Maya had to find some random couch (or worse, someone else's bed) to occupy all night, and I'd feel equally terrible about that. Possibly worse than if something had happened between us.

I gulped, and looked to my left.

It was Maya, sleeping soundly.

It wasn't a dream.

Her hair was damp, and though she had the sheets wrapped around her shoulders, I could tell that she was only wearing a bra. Well, at least she was wearing that much... although I didn't want to find out what sort of bottoms she was wearing just yet.

So, I could no longer pretend it was just a dream: I had dragged Maya out of the party and taken her to the beach. We fell into the water, and somehow ended up kissing.

It gets a little foggy around the point when we stopped kissing. Or maybe we never stopped, and just kissed all the way back to our room? No, that would be ridiculous.

I do remember the stripping, though. That mental picture became completely vivid as soon as the sight of Maya in bed next to me jogged my memory.

...

I was falling (quite literally) into bed, when Maya shouted, "You can't just sleep in your wet clothes, Nick!"

"Shh! You'll wake up the whole family!"

"They're still at the party that you dragged me away from!"

"S-Sorry!"

"It's fine!"

"W-Well, we're not sleeping in a bed together naked... and I'm too drunk to find pajamas."

Maya had already started taking off her clothes. Well, her one article of clothing: that dress. It was so soaking wet that it was less of a "dress" and more of a clinging piece of fabric that revealed every curve of her body in graphic detail. She couldn't get the dress to come off, it was clinging to her legs so desperately.

Realizing that I shouldn't be looking at her as she undressed, I turned around and shoved my shorts down my legs, leaving them a crumpled pile on the floor. As for my shirt, I threw it off as I fell into bed face down.

I closed my eyes before I could see Maya, but I heard her plop down next to me. The sheets rumpled as she crawled under them.

She didn't talk for a bit. I thought she might've passed out.

"This night was fun, wasn't it, Nick?" Maya broke the silence wistfully.

"Yes... Yes, it was."

"Kind of weird, though?"

"How so?"

"Us..." I could tell she was starting to drift off.

"I don't know, Maya. People always think there's something going on with us. Is it really that weird?" Well, that was direct. Drinking tends to make me bravely honest.

"Maybe not. Who knows?" She let out a muffled, exhausted giggle.

Gaining more liquid courage, I said, "I mean... I don't know how weird it really is. Was it inevitable, do you think? Eventually, we had to have known that this would happen... right?"

No response.

"I don't regret it. What do you think?"

Maya was already starting to breathe heavily... she was sleeping.

...

What I had done was pretty reckless. I doubted that Maya had ever even kissed a guy before, and there I was, ruining that monumental moment with an alcoholic lapse of judgement. I hoped that Maya had kissed someone before me, to lessen my guilt.

I looked over to my best friend again. I hoped she would forgive me for being so thoughtless.

What was it I said the night before? Did I tell you that you look beautiful tonight? Something along those lines... and, unfortunately, it was still true. Yes, she was disheveled from the night's events, but her skin almost glowed in the sunlight seeping in through the window.

She was practically smiling in her sleep. I smiled, too, until I self-consciously realized that I shouldn't be staring, in case she woke up. I realized just how early in the morning it was as I saw the sun's position on the horizon; it had barely come up.

I closed my eyes again and feigned sleep for a bit, hoping that Maya wasn't conscious for any of my creepy staring.

...

"Nick?"

I awoke for the second time that morning, my eyelids feeling even heavier than they originally had.

"Wake up, sleepyhead!"

Maya spoke in a whisper inches away from my face.

"I'm awake."

"No, you're just conscious. There's a difference."

"I'm existing."

"Yes! At the most basic level."

"How are you so awake right now?" I rolled over onto my side, now even closer to her. She broke her intense gaze, noticing that I was, indeed, shirtless. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I asked, "I mean, how are you feeling?"

No talk about the nakedness... yet. Maybe she put on a shirt while I fell back asleep? I couldn't tell; she was under the sheets.

"You know... I feel a little less like death than I had expected!" She laughed, and it was infectious. "I do have a headache, though."

"If that's all you have, you're lucky."

"What about you?"

"Same thing."

Almost simultaneously, we sighed. As Maya sighed, she fell onto her back, revealing the straps of her bra on her shoulders. Indeed, she was also still shirtless. I looked away.

"Well," I said, hoping that once I spoke, a sentence would form... but I suddenly lost the ability to start a conversation.

"Nick, are you wearing pants?" Maya finally asked, barely stifling a giggle.

I pretended to look under the sheets for the first time, and saw my boxer-briefs. "Sort of."

"Well, that's better than 'no'!"

"Sort of. I-I mean, I guess so," I stammered. "I'll put something on in a minute...Think you'll be dancing on tables again any time soon?"

"Hah! Was that too much?"

"Depends on which crowd you want to fit in with. The younger cousins loved you. Theo George was a little disappointed that I wasn't watching over you more carefully."

"Ooh. Sorry about that."

"It's okay... He just hasn't gotten to know the real, innocent you yet."

"Hey," Maya protested, "I wasn't that bad!"

I couldn't stop myself from grinning; "Okay, Maya."

"I wasn't!"

All I could do was laugh, trying to keep up the small talk and banter so that we wouldn't have to discuss what actually happened. "You tried to lead a Greek dance."

"Okay. But Edgeworth sang an entire Greatest Hits collection of standards!"

"True. I wonder if he's okay?" I shuddered to think how his night ended.

"Yeah..." Maya drifted off. I could tell she wanted to say something more specific, but she simply sighed, "Last night was a lot of fun."

"Couldn't agree more."

"And it ended on a great note!"

I twitched, and turned to face Maya directly, waiting for her to clarify what she meant by that.

"You think so?"

"... Yes? Why, am I forgetting something?"

When she said nothing after a while, I had to ask, "You remember what happened on the beach... Right?"

And suddenly, Maya recognized what I was referring to, and her eyes widened. She made eye contact with me for a split second, broke it, and took a deep breath. "Yes, I remember..."

I could tell she was embarrassed, or at least a little self-conscious about it. To stall before she actually had to say anything, she reached over to get something on the ground... her pajama shirt (which is actually just one of my old shirts that she somehow found and stole). She put it on, hurriedly.

"Maya?" I scooted a little closer to her, sitting up so that I would be on eye level with her. She glanced down at my bare chest and instantly seemed even more horrified.

"Nick?"

"Y-Yes?"

"I just... uh." She struggled to find words. "Well, this is awkward!"

"I feel like since we both feel awkward, that negates any awkwardness."

"Okay," she smiled, "then let's just go back to being not-awkward. Remember when Edgeworth dedicated a song to us?"

"Wait," I smiled back, "If you're embarrassed, then I just want to say... I'm sorry."

"...Why are you sorry?"

"I don't know, I just... I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable about anything."

"Don't worry, Nick, that's not possible!"

"Well, I just don't want any sort of barrier between us, you know?"

"Is there a barrier?" Maya laughed. "We slept in the same bed without any clothes on!"

"You know what I mean."

"...People kiss their best friends all the time, right?" Maya asked candidly.

"Sure."

"And now that we have that out of the way, we can go back to being our normal selves?"

"Sure."

"It was a heat-of-the-moment type thing. I don't blame anybody, it just sort of happened. Who knows how I'd even feel if I were to kiss you now? Maybe it wouldn't be so fun."

"Who knows?" I sighed. A tiny part of me was disappointed that she had suddenly become so nonchalant about the whole situation.

"...Wanna find out?" Maya asked devilishly, out of absolutely nowhere.

"U-Uh..."

Finally, Maya burst out laughing, "I'm kidding! Don't look so disgusted by the idea, Nick!"

"N-Not disgusted at all," I admitted, "I actually just got a little nervous that I might not meet your expectations."

She stopped laughing, but gave me a shy grin back.

"You're ridiculous," I said, smiling widely. She fell onto her back, giggling.

There are times when I find Maya beautiful. When I can see beyond her spastic tendencies and Ivy University shirt-stealing. That morning, I saw a girl that I had kissed passionately on a beach in Greece. A sensitive, good-humored girl that I found genuinely attractive.

When she smiled back at me, with a hint of bashfulness and femininity that she normally would never show, I softened a little.

I imagined what Larry would say if I told him that. The smile on my face must have disappeared at the thought, because Maya looked away, ending the moment.

I turned to see what she was staring at.

Larry was standing in the doorway, creepily watching us talking.

"Continue!" Larry coaxed us, in a hoarse, hungover-morning kind of voice. He moseyed into the room and shut the door behind himself. "I just thought I'd stop by. Don't let me interrupt anything."

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked as my headache suddenly seemed a little bit worse.

"Just wanted to see if you guys were alive," he groaned back. "Good show last night."

"What are you referring to, exactly?"

"Can we just talk about you and Iris for a second, Nick? I mean, wow."

Maya's eyes shot open, looking to me for some sort of explanation. "Iris is here?"

"Didn't you talk to her...?" Larry cut in.

"Y-Yes, Maya, she's here," I said quickly, hoping to never speak of the matter in Maya's presence again. To Larry, with pleading eyes, I offered, "So Edgeworth really had a good time, huh? Have you checked up on him?"

"I mean, there's dancing, and then there's... well, I won't talk about it in front of the lady," Larry smiled, shaking his head as if he was lost in the memory of Iris's hips. "But it's nice. To think about."

"L-Larry!" I said, half humiliated, half furious.

"Wait, Nick," a tiny frown was spreading across Maya's face now, "What's he talking about?"

"Yeah, Larry, what the hell are you talking about?" I asked through clenched teeth.

"Come on, Nick! I thought I would come into your room and see an entirely different scene, actually! One with different players, if you know what I mean. Now that you mention it... let's see what we have here. Any incriminating evidence?"

He scanned around a little, and finally, Larry understood. He spotted Maya's dress on the floor, pointed to it, then pointed to my bare chest.

"Oh," he said, giving me a knowing smile. "I see."

"Maya, will you be okay if I go get some fresh air?" I blurted, jumping out of bed. On cue, the sheet fell away from me, revealing my bare legs. Larry's jaw dropped. Maya's face was beet red. I timidly put my pajama pants on and muttered, "Y-Yep. Okay. I'll be back in a bit."

I raced out of the room, yanking Larry by the arm on my way out and slamming the door.

Immediately, we both started arguing at the same time.

"What the hell are you thinking!"

"You and Maya!"

"Are you trying to ruin my friendship?"

"You and MAYA!... Wait, are you serious? And you told me you were just friends!"

"We are!"

"Waking up next to a naked girl is not friendship, Nick!"

"W-Well, I mean, we kissed last night, but it was nothing!"

"... You WHAT?"

"Y-Yes," I said after a moment, quietly so as not to wake anyone up (and so that Maya couldn't hear us from the other side of the door), "On the beach. It happened when I dragged her out of the party to get some fresh air."

"... Wow."

"Yep."

"Niiiiiiiiiiick, what were you thinking?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"I have Iris all ready and waiting to see you, because you told her to go to the wrong room last night! What happened to our plan? Making lady-friends?"

"... Damn it, Larry..."

"She was standing in front of my room. Do you know how awkward it was when I had to push her aside while trying to sneak Niki back into my room for the night?"

"You have to sneak your own fiancee into your room? This place is like a friggin' summer camp. Everybody sneaking off from the planned enrichment activities to hook up..."

"So you ditched Iris for Maya, huh?"

"It's... It's not like that. It just sort of happened."

Larry grinned sinisterly, "That sort of thing never 'just sort of happens'."

"Well, it did. And it was fine, but now you've probably gotten Maya upset..."

"Sorry, man!"

"I'm gonna go apologize, if you don't mind, after I get some coffee..."

"Wait! Just apologize to Iris first, if you don't mind! And I deserve an apology toooooo! You wasted all of the effort I made to make sure you would get action this week! You wasted it on your assistant!"

"Larry, shut up."

I shuffled away, too conflicted to bother raising my voice. What I needed more than anything was some coffee and a little fresh air.

...

On the back patio, I didn't think there was any chance of anyone bothering me. Most of the family had gathered in the kitchen, discussing the events of the previous night in gross (and thickly-accented) detail. I shuffled meekly through the people around the coffeemaker, grabbed a cup, and headed outside.

The fact that I felt the need to be alone was worrisome enough. Had I not done anything wrong, I would be in the kitchen with Larry, excitedly recounting the evening. Instead, I was brooding behind a steaming cup of coffee (feeling much like a certain masked prosecutor I knew once). Not even the view of the water could lift my spirits. My heart was feeling heavy, and it was a strange, unwelcome feeling.

Poor Maya. How embarrassing. And to think that it was my fault.

I never thought that I would actually follow Larry's advice and fool around with some girl in Greece. Of all people, did it have to be Maya? The girl who made a fool of herself dancing on tables?

... I mean, the girl who I considered my platonic best friend?

Not only that, but I became the type of person that I hate: the Guy On The Dancefloor With His Girl. I'm sure Iris was pretty mortified, as well. I shuddered to even think about the fact that she was waiting in front of Larry's bedroom door for God knows how long.

My actions were unjustifiable. I had to go apologize to both girls immediately.

But first, this quiet cup of coffee.

"Mind if I join you?" I heard a timid voice sneak up behind me.

I jumped, practically spilling my entire mug's contents into my lap, and turned around. It was Iris. "Oh... um..."

"I just wanted to apologize," she said before letting me finish my stuttering. She sat down and looked demurely into her lap.

"You want to apologize?"

"Y-Yes?" She said this as a question, as if she thought all of a sudden that maybe she should just walk away after slapping me firmly across the face. I didn't blame her.

"I mean... I wanted to apologize."

She pushed her hair timidly behind her ear, "It was so unlike me to act the way I did. You probably have the wrong impression..."

"Oh, I wanted to say the same thing."

"Really? I just felt so stupid after last night..."

"Oh, you were fine! I was the embarrassing one... I'm so sorry about sending you to... uh, to Larry's room."

Iris's eye twitched, presumably as she remembered the horrifying moment when Larry and Niki stumbled into what was supposed to be my room. "It's okay. It wasn't really that big of a deal..."

"I-I feel terrible about it, either way."

"We should just... start fresh. Forget what happened. We weren't ourselves, right?"

That's not the first time I've heard that this morning...

"Right..."

"So, on that note, I guess I'll go get some breakfast... do you want anything... Phoenix?" She was desperately trying to pretend like the conversation had not just happened. I felt awkward.

"No thank you," I said politely, my gaze returning to the coffee cup as she stood up.

"Okay," she said, still hesitantly. I almost looked back up to see what she was waiting around for, because I could feel her shadow behind me. Finally, she spoke up, "There was something else I wanted to give you."

"...Give me?"

"Yes. This."

When I looked up, Iris was directly in front of me. She bent down to my eye level, and I knew exactly what was coming.

She kissed me. It wasn't just a peck, either; she had clearly deliberated over the length of this kiss and had settled on a modest, yet clearly-romantic kiss that lasted for a few seconds.

I was shocked. So shocked that I got up out of my chair a little. I wasn't sure if that was instinctively to get closer to her or to push her away...

Once she noticed this, she kissed me again, lightly, then simply got up and walked away with a shy smile on her face.

"Um... Iris?" I called out as she made her way to the door to go back inside. Her only response was a quick glance back at me and a bashful grin.

I watched her leave. She passed by some shadowy figure as she slid through the doorway.

Who is that, anyway?

I squinted, and saw Larry, watching through the glass door.

"Dammit!" I threw my coffee aside and stormed over.

I whipped open the door, and stood there for a moment. Larry's face remained the same: his jaw was almost to the floor.

"Are you done here?" I muttered. "Seriously, Larry?"

"Well, well, well," Larry said quietly, so as not to stir any of the family in the next room and disturb their conversation. "Mr. Phoenix Wright, getting more action than anyone on this island!"

"Can you shut up?"

"... Whoa. What's your problem? Nick, I was kidding!"

I pushed Larry away, trudging past him. "This is all your fault..."

"Niiiiiick! Don't just walk away, talk to me! What did I do?"

I turned around. "Just let me handle my own business, okay?"

"What business is there to handle? You kissed a couple girls."

"It's... more complicated than that."

Larry almost dropped his coffee mug. "Is it, now?"

"Y-Yes, it is. And why is that such a big deal?"

"That means you have feelings, Nick!"

"Of course I do! I kissed my best friend and my ex-girlfriend in a period of less than twenty-four hours! I feel bad about it! Any normal person would!"

"Any normal person would realize that hookups happen... and they mean nothing unless you actually care about the person. Not just as a friend."

"Oh, right. Like you know everything about this..."

"...You like Maya, don't you?"

"W-What?"

"You don't regret what happened, do you?... You just regret that you're also involved with Iris now, and seemingly have no way out!"

"That is completely untrue..."

"Oh, don't even try to deny it! That's why you practically got up out of your chair to avoid kissing Iris back!"

So that's what that was all about. Silence for a moment as I thought about that.

"I'm right, aren't I?" A stupidly cocky grin splayed across Larry's face.

"I-I don't know, Larry."

"Well, I do. It's totally fine. It's great! You just have to switch your focus to the little lady waiting in your bedroom and avoid Miss Spontaneous at all costs."

"That's going to be impossible."

"Is it...? It could be very easy if you really care to follow through with it."

I could not believe I was actually entertaining some idea that Larry had. Again.

"Whatever," I whimpered, completely defeated.

"Hey, wait a minute! Don't be sad, Nick! We have a full day of festivities planned! And you know what tonight is?"

"Another party, I know, but I can't handle it..."

"Well, get ready to handle it, because it's my bachelor party! Can you even imagine what it's going to be like? Ladies. Everywhere."

"No."

"Niiiiick! You're no fun!"

"I'm actually a lot of fun. Sensible fun."

"You'll see, Nick. Give it a couple drinks and you'll be feeling pretty lucky you're my best man. I think there's some rule about buying the best man a dance- or did I just make that up? I don't know..."

"Wait... you're taking us to a club?"

"Uh, duh! It's what all men do!"

"That's disgusting."

"Yeah, yeah, Nick. You'll thank me later. The girls we're going to see don't kiss, so you have nothing to worry about."

Larry cracked himself up with that one. He winked and held up his coffee mug to toast with me.

"I don't have a mug. I threw it when I saw you lurking," I said, deadpan.

"Oh. Well, have some of this," Larry offered, handing over his coffee. "Let's enjoy the sunlight, shall we?"

I took a sip as we walked back outside. There was clearly some alcoholic substance mixed in with this morning brew.

Larry saw the look of disgust I must have given as I wiped my mouth. He winked again and put his arm around me as we strolled on; "When in Greece, Nick. When in Greece."