In Love With A Good Man

Chapter 22: Comfortable

After just a few more days, having Ivy around the house became ordinary for Casey and Harley. Harley loved having her 'gal pal' around to hang out and talk with. And now that Casey and Ivy were more comfortable talking to each other, they would occasionally had interesting conversations too.

"Hey, Casey. Anything interesting on TV tonight?" Ivy asked, walking around and sitting across from him on the couch with her legs curled up on the seat.

"Eh, not really. I was gonna put on a musical though if you're into that sort of thing." He brought up.

"Really? You? You're into musicals?" Ivy asked with a little chuckle.

"No, not at all," He answered with a laugh. "They're overdramatic and obnoxious...with a few exceptions."

"Yeah? What's this one about?"

"The American financial system and how it was made."

"...you're kidding."

"Nope!" Casey laughed. "I'm exaggerating, obviously, but not by much. But it's got good music, clever wordplay, a great story, and a killer depressing ending." He listed.

"Tch, why does the sad ending make it better?" She asked with a raised eyebrow and a sideways smile.

"I dunno, more realistic I guess." He answered humorously with a shrug.

"Did someone say musical?!" Harley called out, coming to the couch and hopping over the back of it. She landed with a plop in the center of the couch, "I love musicals!"

"Of course you do," Casey commented with a laugh. "I'll pop it on then. I only got like 30 minutes for it though. I'm waiting on Mac to come by." He informed them.

"Mac? Isn't that your buddy?" Harley asked.

"Yep. We're gonna work on some tracks tonight...hopefully."

"Tracks?" Ivy asked.

"Yep! Casey makes music! Isn't that cool?!" Harley giggled.

"Wow, didn't know that. I'll have to hear some. What kind of music do you make?" She asked.

"I just make beats. Nothing too special. I'm not out here trying to sing or anything like that." He answered humorously.

"Aww you have a nice voice though. You should serenade me, baby." Harley said playfully.

"Ugh. Just put the musical on." Ivy rolled her eyes. This made Casey snicker more before doing so...

By the time Mac arrived at Casey's house, everyone was sucked into the program. The doorbell rang, reminding Casey that he had been expecting company this whole time. He sprang to his feet and opened up the door.

"Hey, man! About time you let me into the new place!" Mac said with a laugh as the two shared a quick bro-hug.

"Sorry about that. It took some time to get everything unpacked, you know?"

"I could've helped out, you know." Mac pointed out.

"Nah, that's okay, man. Come on in. Shoes at the door, please. You want something to drink?" He offered.

"Got any beer?" Mac asked as he removed his shoes.

"For you? Always." Casey answered jokingly, making his way into the kitchen to pour Mac his drink.

Meanwhile, Mac followed Casey inside and was blindsided by the sight of Harley and Ivy sitting on the couch. His eyes went wide.

"Whoaaa."

"Heya! You must be Mac! Nice to meet ya!" Harley waved to him.

"Yeah yeah, nice to meet you too, lovely." He said in reply.

"Mac, this is my girlfriend Harley and her best friend who's staying with us for a few days. We call her Red." Casey introduced them.

"Hey there. Nice to meet you." Ivy waved and greeted him politely.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too," Mac said to her before making his way over to Casey and taking his drink from him. "Bro, your hot girlfriend has a hot best friend." He said quietly to him. This made Casey snort and start giggling.

"You're an idiot, man. I mean you're not wrong, but shut up." Casey shook his head and laughed again.

"Betcha they think we can't hear 'em." Ivy said aside to Harley.

"Probably," Harley snickered then turned around, leaning over the side of the couch. "Whatcha laughin' about, babe?" She asked them.

"Oh, you know, just the weather, baby," Casey answered with a mischievous giggle. "We're gonna head into the other room. Just knock if you need anything, okay?" He said as they made their way into Casey's office room.

"Oh, I already moved all of my stuff aside." Ivy said.

"Thanks! I'll put the bed back down when we're done!" Casey called back to him.

"Nice meeting you two, ladies!" Mac waved to them before they went into the room and shut the door. Ivy waited until the door was shut for a few seconds before speaking again.

"He really said they were laughing about the weather," Ivy shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I hope you're aware that your boyfriend's an idiot." She said to Harley.

"Aww, yes, but he's my idiot and I love him." Harley replied with a laugh.

"Heheh, I will admit, I've gotten used to being around him now. I don't think I've ever been around a man who expresses himself so genuinely." She said.

"Yeah, I like that a lot about him. Maybe it's our fault for spending too much time around other criminals, but I like the way he thinks about things, y'know? He's so smart."

"Too smart for you." Ivy teased with a sideways smile.

"Ouch!" Harley laughed.

"Heheh, sorry. That was low-hanging fruit. But I get what you're saying. Living here has been a new experience for me. It gets a little boring, but it has given me a new perspective."

"Really? A new perspective on what, hun?" Harley asked curiously. Ivy just shook her head again and shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess I'm still figuring that out."

Unsatisfied with this answer, Harley was about to pester Ivy on the matter further, but then she received a text from Casey. She immediately unlocked her phone and read it over:

"Hey babe, Mac just let me know we've got a gig tomorrow night – some big pool party upstate. Sounds like a big thing. You wanna come with? Ask Ivy if she would like to come too."

"Ooh, hey, Red. Casey says they're going to DJ for a big pool party tomorrow night! That sounds like fun!" She brought up.

"That does sound like fun. I haven't been to a pool party since college." Ivy thought out loud.

"Haha, you sound like an old lady when you say that." Harley teased her.

"Shut up."

"Heheh, you wanna go?" Harley offered.

"Mmm, that's alright. No thanks." Ivy rejected the offer.

"Huh? Why not?" Harley pouted.

"I just don't think it would be a good idea." She answered.

"Oh come on, Red. Have a little fun. You really wanna be cooped up in the house by yourself all night?" She asked, crawling over to Ivy and poking her cheek with her finger.

"I happen to like the peace and quiet, Quinzel." Ivy pointed out, swatting Harley's hand aside after a few pokes.

"But you can relive the glory days." Harley sang, referencing back to her 'old lady' joke. Ivy scoffed at this and shook her head.

"Stop. Alright alright, okay, I will think about it." She finally relented to Harley's request.

"Yes! I'll let Casey know." Harley said, grabbing her phone and texting Casey back.

"Is Casey asking or is Mac asking?" Ivy asked with a little chuckle.

"I mean either way, at least you know someone will be happy to see you there." Harley pointed out.

"Right." Ivy scoffed again, relaxing again now that Harley had returned to her side of the couch.

"So hey, now that the guys are busy, whattaya wanna do now?" Harley asked.

"Eh I don't know...I'm kinda curious to see what happens next in this musical." She brought up.

"Alright! I'll pop some popcorn!" Harley volunteered, getting up and making her way over to the kitchen.

Ivy shook her head and smiled a little bit. She had to admit, while she did miss the peace and quiet with her babies, having Harley and Casey roommates was nice in its own little way. She still wasn't sure about the party though – that would take some more mulling over.

In the meantime, she and Harley got to see that sad ending Casey was talking about, and they were both very disappointed. She would make sure to tell Casey about that later...