Danny was sitting on the top of the picnic tables that lined the pathway back to the dorms. His head hung low, bow tie and top button of his shirt undone. He was scrolling through his phone.

"Danny."

Danny lifted his head to meet her gaze. He settled on staring at her, mapping out her face while he seemed to be lost in deep thought.

"Hey, I didn't mean to make it sound like I wasn't interested." Lacey said softly as she approached him.

"I understood you the first time, there's no need to explain yourself."

Lacey climbed up and sat next to Danny.

"I'm not going to always be available when you need me, and sometimes plans change when my impulsivity is replaced by rational thought."

"So I'm an irrational impulse. Got it."

Lacey grabbed Danny's chin and turned his face toward her, "No, but our time together can be. I would describe you more as decadent."

Danny looked at her fondly, "Decadent."

"Yeah, like you're such a good thing, you must be bad for me, right?" Lacey giggled and released his face.

"For the last two years everyone has needed something from me. This time, it's me that needs something, and that's you."

Lacey began playing with the necklace again, how had she survived without it before now? She was honestly surprised at Danny's easily hurt feelings. He had always seemed so confident and easy going.

Sure she knew he had feelings, but running away after she told him she wasn't sleeping over? Lacey suspected he had fallen for her a lot harder and a lot faster than she realized. She had questions though and now it was time to get real.

"Regina and I just had an interesting conversation."

"I can imagine." Danny took a deep breath for this.

He looked around to see who was within earshot of whatever was about to come out of Lacey's mouth.

"Did you—" Lacey looked at him as if he were out of focus for a moment, "Did you do some, like, role playing with her recently?" She tried to be compassionate and not assume Danny was an absolute psychopath.

Danny exhaled, "I may have been trying to uphold my friendship agreement with her earlier today—"

"You're telling me it was her idea?"

"Listen, my mind was still on last night, us on the roof. There was no way either of us were going to finish without your help." He explained, trying not to sound like a total creep.

"So, she was telling me the truth."

"She was."

"Okay, and the sock?"

"You're not usually, loud."

"Yeah, that's a problem." Lacey was freaked out.

"I like a lot of weird shit, Lacey, I'm not going to lie. But I've never pretended someone was you before and I never will again. It was a mistake and I apologized to Regina."

"Maybe we should have talked a little more about what you're into? I'm—"

"It doesn't work that way, I'm just an open person, you know? I've tried a lot of stuff, but none of if matters if my partner's not into it. I have no expectations if that's what you're worried about. We'll agree on our own stuff and it'll stay between us."

They sat in silence until they heard the DJ announce that the voting for the homecoming king and queen was complete.

"I need to go back in." Danny said as he hopped off the picnic table, "Coming?" He held his hand out and helped her down.

"You're seriously in the running for king? That's a bit antiquated, don't you think?" Lacey raised her eyebrows.

"It's just a formality really." Danny smiled back at her. He took her hand and pulled her back in step with him, "You're shorter."

Lacey held up her heels.

"You're never ready when I need you."

Danny was right, it was just a formality, he won the crown as homecoming king. Regina, however did not win queen, their fellow classmates voting in a senior from the girls lacrosse team instead.

"Hey, Lace!" Phoebe giggled uncontrollably as Cole danced their bodies past her.

Lacey smiled at her drunk-ass roommate and her obviously inebriated partner in crime.

"Take care of her!" She shouted to Cole who nodded and then stumbled, sending them both in their asses, "Oh shit—" Lacey said to herself, moving fast to go and help them up.

Archie had been watching the pair as they danced in circles around the outside of the dance floor. He too was en route to assist when their asses headed south. They smiled at each other as each of them reached for their respective friend.

"I think I peed—" Phoebe giggled, looking at Lacey wide-eyed, her voice so loud that it wasn't a secret now, no matter how much Phoebe wanted it to be.

Lacey and Archie righted their friends and the two took off again to continue their dance.

"Hi." Archie smiled, his eyes all over Lacey in admiration.

"They are so drunk." Lacey giggled.

"Cole's a good guy, she'll be okay." He nodded toward them, trying to ease Lacey's mind, "You're—you look stunning." Archie admitted sweetly.

"Thanks, you look nice too! Dance?" She held her arms out.

Archie and Danny had gotten ready for the dance together tonight. Danny revealed his new situation and Lacey's deal-breaker request to free Danny's friends from his stupid freshman pact. Now was the test.

"Okay." Archie smiled, stepping forward to wrap his arms around Lacey's back.

Lacey and Archie swayed softly to the rhythm of the slow song. He pulled her closer, their fit comfortable, natural. There was a bit of heat there, from both of them. Lacey could see herself easily falling into another boring, comfortable relationship with Archie.

"Thanks for talking to Danny." Archie's voice was reserved, he was holding back.

"Of course, I said I would—"

Archie nodded, "You did, I just, I thought it would mean I'd be able to ask you on a date sometime."

"You can ask me on a date—" Lacey looked up at him in confusion.

"Can I?" He looked at her skeptically, "The way Danny sounded tonight, it seems like you two are, involved."

"We are involved, I guess—but he's not my boyfriend, we're not in a relationship."

"So what are you then?"

It wasn't supposed to be complicated. This arrangement was meant to quench their need for some of the best sex ever. She wanted this for herself, that hadn't changed. Lacey had just wanted to make sure the others had the same opportunity to connect that her and Danny did.

Maybe Danny had been right to dumb it down to other people. If they didn't understand, it was their problem, not hers.

"Look, Archie, I'm not off limits. Neither are any of the other people that maybe were off limits before, okay? Danny and I, we are different, that's all I'm going to say."

As safe as it felt to be in his arms, every ounce of her wanted more. She had felt alive with Danny, renewed. She wanted to pursue whatever was bubbling at the surface with him. They definitely had amazing sex the few times they had been together, but Lacey knew there was more and she was ready for it.

Lacey realized that Danny's mini tantrum earlier was the same frustration she was having. They were both trying to balance their friend's expectations and acceptance for what was "normal" compared to the fold they had fallen into together.

The bottom line was, they were grown-ass adults with the same needs. This year their stars aligned and they had found each other. Now it was time to go for it, fuck everyone else. Lacey was all in.

As the song ended, Lacey smiled up at Archie, "Thank you for the dance. I've gotta go—"

She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and made a bee line for where she knew Danny had been dancing. Danny had also just pulled away to thank his partner for the dance when he caught sight of Lacey moving toward him at an accelerated pace.

"Hey, everything okay?"

He could barely get the words out in time before Lacey's mouth was on his. She grabbed ahold of the split in Danny's slightly unbuttoned dress shirt and pulled him closer as she sucked their soft lips together. Danny was right there with her, giving no fucks and kissing her back.

"L is for Lacey's." She whispered in his face, "Ready to go?"

"We're fucking out of here." Danny didn't hesitate.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the exit faster than her legs could go. She stumbled a few times trying to keep up, smiling from ear to ear.

They slowed down a little bit while en route to Danny's condo, only because Lacey was walking in bare feet.

"How was your dance with Archie?" Danny finally asked as they approached his door.

"I don't want to settle for flowers again, Danny. I want you."