Danny squinted at the brunette, hair wild. Did she look familiar?
He took a few steps closer, "Oh—Phoebe, right? From Green Grove High. Weren't you the drama teacher?"
"I was a temp. What are you doing here?"
Danny handed Phoebe the coffee and stepped further into the corner of the bedroom.
"Well, Whitney kind of rescued me, she's my friend—"
"Oh, YOU'RE her Danny? Wow."
Phoebe smirked and took a sip of the coffee, eyes traveling up and down his body. He felt very uncomfortable. What the hell did Whitney say about him?
Danny tried to read her but her expression was completely neutral. She taught acting after all, he assumed she was hiding however she was really feeling.
"Hey Danny I forgot to show you—" Whitney stumbled out of the bathroom to find the apartment empty, "Danny?"
"I'm over here."
Whitney skipped over to the bedroom and hopped up on the bed, "Morning babe." She leaned in for a kiss, Phoebe only gave her a quick peck, "You met Danny!"
"Your ex."
"Yeah, this is Danny."
"I know Phoebe, actually." Danny tried to help things, "We worked together on a project during my probation."
"Wait, really?!"
"Danny was my best performer, wrote his own material and everything." Phoebe gave credit where credit was due, "Excuse us Danny, do you mind if Whitney and I talk alone for a minute?"
"Of course! I'll be—" Danny stood and pointed around the corner, "I'll be in the kitchen." He gave a solid grin and walked away.
"What is he doing here?"
"I wanted to talk to you about that actually—"
"Whitney, he's got a criminal record, like drugs or something."
"No, no—he doesn't. It's a long story but he's not a criminal at all."
"Well he was on probation—"
"Right, but it's not what you think. You never told me you used to work in Green Grove?"
"We've known each other for a week."
"Alright, well, he's got nowhere to go so I wanted to set him up by the bathroom—"
"Wait wait wait, you want to move your ex boyfriend in here? What kind of games are you playing?"
"Phoebs he's my friend and he has nowhere else to go. I'm going to take him out to find some clothes and stuff and then he's going to find a job."
Phoebe rolled out of bed and threw on more clothing.
"So is he paying rent or what's going on here exactly? Are you over him?"
"We're doing this?"
"Hey I'm just asking. You're the one who described him as—a ten, right? Yeah, that's what you said."
"Phoebe." Whitney pulled the shirt away from her before she could throw it on, "We're friends."
"Are you going to get a job too or am I just a foster parent now?" Phoebe yanked her shirt back and tossed it over her head, "I knew I shouldn't have—"
"Wow, shouldn't have what?"
"Look, I like you, but you and now Danny, you're all just—"
"What? Young? Jesus, I'm eighteen and you're twenty one, get over yourself. I had you screaming the other night." Whitney smiled and reminded her how good she was with her mouth.
"Which, if I'm not forgetting, you credited to studying Danny's expert oral game." Phoebe recited back with air quotes.
Having an actor girlfriend that remembers every line you say was tricky.
"Don't be like this."
"Like what?"
"All jealous and pissed."
"Whitney your perfect ten ex is standing in our kitchen, how am I supposed to feel?!"
"I'm not into guys." Whitney pulled her girlfriend against her and kissed her, "I'm into you. Give him a chance, get to know him. Please?"
Phoebe sighed, defeated.
"I wouldn't mind splitting the rent three ways—"
"Yay!" Whitney hugged her tighter.
"But that means you have to get a job too!"
"I will, I will. Thanks Phoebe."
They went to a couple thrift stores and found Danny new clothes for next to nothing. Next stop was a local variety store in search of stuff to make him a bedroom.
Portable partitions were a common thing to buy in the city, they grabbed three. They didn't find the futon Whitney was thinking of and settled for an air mattress and new bedding in a horrible pattern on clearance. Danny grabbed some toiletries and a towel.
They stopped at the laundromat and washed everything before their final stop at the grocery store to help stock the fridge and pantry with lots of water, ramen and mac and cheese.
"I forgot about the elevator." Whitney could have cried when they made it back to the apartment.
"You used to like to work out with me." Danny grabbed as many bags as he could.
"That was back when I felt I had to impress you."
Phoebe left for work by the time they had returned. Danny and Whitney got everything set up and then Danny took a well earned shower.
"I made dinner!" Whitney declared proudly when Danny finally re-emerged from the bathroom, his wet hair tousled to perfection.
"Breakfast and dinner? You're like a trophy wife."
"It's a little al dente, but it's fine."
"I always find I prefer to chew my food more than necessary so this works." Danny continued to poke fun at her.
They broke in Danny's air mattress watching shit using Phoebe's Netflix account on Danny's new phone. They only made it until 9 pm before they both passed out.
Phoebe came home around 2 am to find her bed empty. She peeked into Danny's makeshift room and saw the pair passed out. Whitney had all of the blankets and the pillow per usual and poor Danny had his lower half on the floor and his upper half still trying to stay on the mattress.
"Hey—"
Phoebe tried nudging her girlfriend, but the air mattress was loyal to no one and jiggled them both. Danny's top half slid further off of the inflatable nightmare and sent him thumping fully onto the floor.
"Ugh, okay, I'm up." Danny winced as he sat up and looked around.
"Sorry Danny, I just came to get this." Phoebe pointed to Whitney before she pulled off the blanket.
At least they were both still fully clothed Danny and Phoebe both thought to themselves. Whitney whined and reached around for the blanket that Phoebe was now holding above her head.
"Nnnph!"
"Whitney, you're in the wrong bed. We're not doing this—"
Phoebe stuffed the blanket into Danny's arms as he remained seated and half awake on the ground.
"Get UP!" Phoebe yelled as she tried to scrape Whitney off the bed.
"Hi, baby!" Whitney cheered as she finally realized who was trying to get her attention.
"You're not sleeping here."
"Where?"
"In Danny's bed. Get up, you're coming with me."
"Yes, ma'am." Whitney giggled and staggered up, "I've been claimed!"
"Night." Danny grunted, thankful that he could finally slide fully onto his bed.
Danny woke up around 10 am to the sound of his roommates getting at it. Shit. He had no headphones, no fan, nothing to block out the sucking and smacking going on five feet away. Why hadn't they planned for this?
"Oh my—" One of them tried to say something but had the words knocked right out of her mouth.
He couldn't help it, his dick had a mind of its own. Danny knew he should quietly head into the shower to give them some privacy, but pretending to be asleep sounded okay too.
Danny tried to stay perfectly still, his stupid mattress ready to betray him the moment he tried to move. He slid his hand into his shorts and worked himself quietly. Was he really doing this? Was he that guy?
Danny was searching for control over his world and this definitely seemed like part of the process right now. It was the morning after the biggest change of his life and he was looking for a release of his own. Some sort of comfort, confidence, dominance.
This had nothing to do with the girls and everything to do with him.
"Whitney—" Phoebe whimpered, "Just like that."
Okay, maybe it was a little bit about his new roommates fucking with him in the room. Danny stroked faster, imagining what they were doing. Was someone on top? Where was Whitney's mouth? What did Phoebe taste like?
"I'm—" Phoebe cried out when she climaxed, Whitney saying something low and filthy that Danny couldn't hear.
Danny had to bite his lip to stop himself from making a sound. He could hear them kissing and repositioning themselves as the creepiness he felt over this situation seeped back into his thoughts.
He quickly switched to thinking about Lacey. He wondered how her first night alone went and if she was doing the same thing he was right now. Lacey knew Danny's body, what it liked and what it didn't. He wished she was here.
Danny was close. Thinking of Lacey had definitely helped move the finish line up for him, but the sounds of Phoebe taking over and treating Whitney right were unavoidable and Danny let his mind blend the two together.
It was strange to hear Whitney's sex sounds again, she was definitely not Lacey. He wasn't cheating, but all of this felt so wrong.
He came, his hand holding his dick inside his shorts to hide the enormous mess he made. As his orgasm faded, Danny felt like a loser. Beating it to the sounds of his ex while thinking of Lacey, the common denominator being him without either of them. He needed a new focus in his life.
Danny stilled his breathing further when he heard one of them head for the bathroom. Great, now he'd have to lie there in his own jizz for god knows how long.
"You like that?" Whitney asked playfully from her bed knowing Phoebe couldn't hear her over the fan in the bathroom.
Danny didn't say anything, not sure how to answer that. There was no way Whitney knew he was awake, he had been so careful not to make a sound.
"I told you, I still know you. Did you finish?"
"Yep." Danny sighed with a fair amount of embarrassment.
Whitney giggled in her signature way, "Glad I could help."
"I'm such a loser, Whit. What am I even doing?"
"Oh stop it. Have you texted her yet?"
"No. I'm trying to give her space."
"At least reach out. You're going to need someone—"
"Not true."
"D, fucking you is a full time job—"
"What are you talking about?"
"I don't mean it in a bad way."
She was right, there's no way he would be able to just wait for her forever, his body was ridiculous. Danny knew Lacey's body was too, when they were apart they craved each other.
He didn't have a sex addiction, just an incredible sex drive. Whitney always enjoyed sex, so did Lacey but Lacey also required the same level of frequency that Danny preferred. Lacey was a perfect match for him.
Would she be looking for sexual help from other guys at school? Would she call him instead? Whitney had a point, he should reach out and maybe when the time came for her she'd pick the latter and reach out to him first.
Danny: Good morning 3
Danny: It's Danny, I got a new phone number
Lacey: Hey! Yeah, Jo gave it to me
Danny: It was weird not seeing you yesterday
Lacey: It's been one day
Danny: I know
Lacey: How's your new place?
Danny: Awkward. Hunting for jobs today so hopefully I can change that soon
Lacey: Good luck!
Danny: Thank you!
Danny had hoped for more of a conversation. Navigating his romantic feelings and his sex drive while trying to transition into be a good friend was more difficult than he had expected. Lucky for him, Lacey knew him even better than Whitney.
Lacey: I miss you too, D. I need more time
Danny: Okay
He was thankful that she at least acknowledged that she missed him too. Danny would just have to get used to his right hand for a while.
Danny ran around the city applying for any and all jobs. He began with places within a two block radius and circled out from there. By the time he was at his walking limit, his phone rang and one of the bars asked him to come back to meet with the manager.
The bar was only a block from the girls' apartment, a perfect local hangout. Danny wasn't old enough to bartend, but he could do everything else. His stellar reference from Johnny was proving useful. The bar hired him on the spot, five nights per week at $10 per hour plus tips. He would start the next day.
"I got a job." Danny said triumphantly after bursting through the door and catching Whitney dancing around the apartment by herself.
"How did you just do that? I've been looking for weeks."
"Have you?" Danny looked at her skeptically.
"Yeah, okay I'm lying."
"Where does Phoebe work?"
"She performs in a few recurring plays near Broadway, she's the art director at the Montessori a few blocks from here, she teaches youth theatre classes and she's a bartender."
"Good lord, you need to get a job, Whit."
"Please, not you too."
"Am I here to pay half the rent, is that why you invited me?"
"No, but I do feel guilty not having a job yet so you being here and finding work right away definitely makes me feel like less of a pile of shit."
"Oh then you're welcome. Which bar does she work at?"
"The Back Room."
"No shit. That's where I'll be working."
"Great, she's been telling me to apply forever." Whitney groaned.
"I've gotten a few other call backs, there's jobs. I know what you were used to, but we're on our own now. You need to make money."
"I'm still pissed that I can't keep my family and love women at the same time. What year is it?! How can they just stop loving me like that?!"
"Fuck them! It wasn't your choice, it was theirs. How you respond to their judgement is up to you and right now you're letting them win. Live and thrive, Whit. Just like always."
"I'm so happy you're here."