Phoebe returned just as Danny had tucked Lacey into her bed. She was out cold.
"Jesus, what'd you do to her?"
Danny grinned, "I put her to bed."
"I see that. You two better now?"
"God I hope so. My life is so much better with Lacey in it." Danny held his chest.
"Aww, Danny. You're so sweet. You stealing that?" Phoebe pointed to Lacey's painting.
"Lacey gave it to me, I swear. It's lovely, reminds me of her, sunny and bright."
"Lacey reminds you of sunshine? She's the darkest person I know. Dark, cynical, sad."
"But she makes me feel like my life's brighter. She gives me sunshine. I hope she knows that, I hope I do the same for her."
"Who the hell are you? Seriously, is there like a class other guys can take?" Phoebe giggled, "She likes you so much. Don't fuck this up."
"I'm pretty unconventional, Phoebe. I'm honestly scared I will hurt her."
"Unconventional? How so?"
"She—hasn't told you?"
"Oh god, am I about to get pissed at you?"
Danny held his hands up, "Maybe Lacey should be the one—"
"What is it? Are you secretly gay? In a cult? A gang? Are you a girl? Is it STDs?" Phoebe rattled off whatever her brain came up with.
"What? No—listen, I'm pretty open, I have a lot of friends. Some of those friends I also sleep with pretty regularly."
"Oh Jesus. Lacey knows?" Phoebe glanced over at her sleeping form, half waiting for her to sit up and object to this.
"She knows. She's been okay with it all so far. She's not used to someone being as blunt as I am, but she's trying to understand."
"I'm pretty sure she really likes you, Danny—" Phoebe's face hatched a million worry lines as she thought about Lacey getting her heart crushed.
"I really like her too."
"So why not be with just her?"
"My lifestyle makes me happy. Lacey makes me happy. Right now, I can have both. Lacey's not ready for more, her words not mine, and neither am I."
Phoebe looked at him skeptically, "Do the other girls know?"
"About me? Yes. I'm honest with everyone. I don't discuss them with other people. They're safe confiding in me, in return I help them with what they're looking for."
"What they're looking for?" Phoebe raised her eyebrows.
"Yeah, everyone needs different things, it's not always about sex. Actually, most of the time it's not."
"So what are people missing?"
"Real connections, real friends. That's me, I love intimacy."
"Okay, well. Lacey is going to get hurt, I can already tell. Maybe you're not a playboy, but it sure sounds like you are. Lacey's way more traditional—"
"I think you'd be surprised, she's got a pretty open mind."
Phoebe crossed her arms across her chest. "Really? Has she asked you about the other girls yet?"
Danny nodded.
"She's paying attention. The moment she knows you've been with someone else, you'll see it. She'll be hurt."
"I've been honest with her. She knows about it all. I can't help that even after knowing everything, she still wants to be my friend. I want to be hers too."
Phoebe sighed, "Then I'll be waiting. When something goes south, make sure you find me, got it? I'll have her back, I'll be the one who puts her back together." Phoebe poked her own chest.
"You think I should stop now?"
"Yes! Yes I think you should stop now. Grab her and never let her go, moron!"
Danny smirked at her, patting the outside of Phoebe's arm playfully. "You're a great friend, Phoebe. Lacey's lucky to have you."
Phoebe shook her head in disappointment, "You should go now. Bye-bye." Phoebe shoved him lovingly toward the door.
"I'm not trying to hurt her, I promise."
Phoebe rolled her eyes, "Got it. See ya tomorrow, douche bag." She shut the door in his face.
Phoebe opened the window to air out their sex-hazed room. She sat at her desk and searched through Danny's social media accounts. All of his pictures were of him with tons of other girls. He labeled them all as friends.
On Instagram she found his most recent posts featuring Lacey. He didn't use words to caption her, opting for emojis like the sun, a yellow heart, the crown and the paint pallet.
Lacey certainly seemed different to Danny than the rest. Maybe he really was just biding his time until Lacey's schedule and obligations changed. Still, Phoebe would now forever be on guard around Danny.
A couple hours later Lacey began tossing and turning, jolting up in a daze, "Oh my god, I fell asleep! What time is it?!" She asked to no one.
"Relax, toots. It's only nine."
"I slept for two hours?!" Lacey rubbed her face, she still had homework.
Lacey suddenly became aware she was not wearing pants, or underwear for that matter. Danny.
"Oh shit, what time did Danny leave?
"At seven, when I shoved him out the door. He stole a painting by the way." Phoebe muttered.
"I gave it to him."
"I can see that."
Lacey pulled the blankets up higher.
"You're okay with what he's about?" Phoebe asked carefully as she closed her laptop.
"He told you."
"He convinced you somehow that this is normal?"
"Well, it is normal. It's Danny's normal."
"Okay, but from what I know about you, it's not your normal! You're going to fall so hard, I'm scared for you."
"Phoebe—"
"He's fucking other people. He's—He's fucking other people!" Phoebe threw her hands up.
"I know."
"I'll be there, okay? He claims to want to be your friend, but when he breaks you, I'll be there for you."