"Oh damn you," Trent whispered. "Now I gotta do it."

He hesitated for a few seconds longer, weighing the pros and cons, and then clicked ADD TO CART. Someone was selling a Like New Xbox 360 Elite for a hundred and eighty bucks. How could he say no to that? He hesitated for a moment longer, considering if he should go hunting for games, and decided against it. He knew for a fact that he had seen at least a couple of 360 games up at the Video Outpost Too, and Germ might have some, and he'd rather money go to them than some anonymous seller from Amazon.

He went to the checkout and hit BUY.

After waking up in the morning, (actually the afternoon, sex with Jen and Bea had taken it out of him in more ways than one), he'd found Jen gone with a text apologizing, saying she had plans with Gregg and thanking him for the fun. He'd taken a shower and then gone right to his office, remembering to buy those vibrators, and since he always checked up on consoles nowadays, given he had more reasons to buy them, he'd noticed the new one for sale. Eventually, Mae was going to work her way up to it.

He already knew for a fact she was going to have to play F.E.A.R. and Condemned.

He'd gone back and forth for a bit on whether or not to ask the girls for more details on the vibrators, but had ended up just deciding to surprise them. After some research, he'd found a surprisingly large vibrator that kind of looked like a microphone that a lot of women swore by and raved about.

They were expensive though, around a hundred bucks apiece, but he figured fuck it. If you're gonna get your girlfriends a sex toy, get the best. So he'd bought three and hoped for the best. Behind him, he sensed movement.

Turning around, he saw Bea standing in the doorway. She looked a little startled. "How did you know?" she asked. "I was seriously trying to be quiet."

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "I just kinda...knew."

"Creepy."

"How you doing?" he asked. As far as he knew, Mae and Ann were still passed out, Ann down on the couch.

"I'm good," she replied.

"You sure?" he asked, looking at her more closely. Last night was a little unprecedented, and he'd been able to tell she was...frustrated? Angry? Extra horny? Something when she'd fucked him after Jen had finished having her way with him. And he couldn't quite get a read on her now.

She opened her mouth, then closed it, not quite looking at him. "Can we take a walk?"

"Where?" he asked.

"Anywhere. I just want to talk with you. Maybe we could go for breakfast somewhere."

"Okay," he replied. "Sure." He shut down his laptop and got up, then walked with her downstairs. He was already washed and dressed and ready for the day, though he was still a little fried from last night. He'd been sorely tempted to check his sales, but he wanted to give it more time. He also wanted to put off the inevitable disappointment because his chances of making any serious money from this were pretty abysmal.

Ann rolled over, blinking sleepily at them as they got their shoes on. "Hey," she murmured, "what's up?"

"We're taking some us time," Bea replied.

"Oh. Cool. Have fun."

"Hope to," Trent replied. "Oh, also, I just put in for your vibes."

For a moment, Ann looked utterly blank, then she smiled. "Oh really? What'd you get us?"

"It's a surprise, but let's just say it's supposed to be really good," he replied.

"Oh man, if you bought what I think you bought...dude, too much money."

"Not for you three."

"How much did you spend?" Bea asked.

"That's a secret."

She sighed. "Well, thanks."

"You're welcome."

They headed out the front door and Bea stopped suddenly, turning and looking back at the house, frowning.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

She sighed. "Actually, can we drive somewhere, get something, then come back here and then walk?" she asked.

"Sure," he replied.

She laughed awkwardly. "Thanks. I just want pierogi and I don't want to walk all the way to the tunnel and back, and there's a place I want to sit and eat."

"That's fine, Bea," he replied.

They got in the Jeep.

Despite some attempts to draw her out, Bea remained mostly silent on their way to the tunnel and then back again. They got pierogi and sodas, then drove back. He was really beginning to worry as they got back home and then walked across his backyard and then Mae's parent's, hit their street, and started heading for the edge of town.

"Can I at least know if I fucked up?" he asked finally.

"Oh, shit," Bea replied, sounding startled. They'd been walking in silence again for almost ten minutes by this point. "I just realized it might seem-no, Trent. You didn't fuck up. I'm not mad at you. This isn't that. I'm sorry, I'm just sorting some shit out in my head."

"Can I help?"

"This is helping, but I get what you mean," she replied. She was silent again for another minute or so. Up ahead, he caught sight of a bridge. "I feel weird," she said finally. "And yeah, about last night. I'm having emotions."

"Tell them to me," he replied. They got onto the bridge. He followed her lead and, with some hesitation, climbed onto the side and sat down. Below was a good twenty foot drop into a trash-strewn ravine. He could see a big drainage pipe.

"They found a body there last year," Bea murmured, looking at it.

"Gruesome. Bea," he said.

She sighed. "Right, sorry. I don't really know if I'm jealous, exactly? I mean, part of me is. But more of Jen's...freedom. The fact that she's actually going to college and is doing what she wants to do with her life. I feel like I pissed away the last two years. But also she's, like, so hot. I know I'm not ugly, but I'm not hot like her. But also that isn't really it?" She sighed again, frustrated, and took a bite of pierogi, then took a drink. "Also, babe, like...I fully realize that you must feel like you're walking through a minefield right now, so I'll just give you this out: don't lie to me or feel like you have to stroke my ego just because I seem emotionally fragile right now. I'm not fishing for compliments, I'm just...trying to figure this out."

"Okay. Can I say something, for the record, that isn't stroking your ego?" he replied.

"Yes," she said, giving him a sidelong glance.

"I think you're hotter than Jen."

She kept looking at him, like she was studying him, then finally shook her head. "I want to argue with you but I'm not going to because I've honestly, really learned that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And I can't deny you aren't just...so fucking into me. I can just see it sometimes. It's so weird, because I've never had a boyfriend before. Like, not for real. I had one in, like, middle school but you know how bullshit that is. We didn't even kiss. I lost my virginity to some guy I never saw again. Most of the guys interested in me are like Chris for fuck's sake. I guess, just, this is new to me. All this. And it's confusing." She laughed suddenly. "I had an inclination to think you were as into me as you were because that's how boys get sometimes when they get a girlfriend after a long time, but like...you already have Mae and Ann, so it's not like you're starved for attention. Shit, I don't even know how you keep up sometimes."

"It's difficult," he replied. "So...do you regret last night at all?"

"No," she said after a moment, "I don't. I can't really say that I regret it. It was fun, and it was hot, and you obviously had a great time, and so did Mae and Ann. And I enjoyed it too. Just...I dunno. She hit a nerve. When you told me what she said. And I don't even know why. Like, I genuinely believe that you aren't going to leave me for her. In my heart, I believe it. So I'm not worried, just...I don't even know! I don't know what the problem is. Because I don't feel like this when I watch you have sex with Mae or Ann. Shit, the thought of you banging Claire doesn't even bother me."

"Maybe…" he hesitated.

"Maybe what?" she asked. He remained silent, not looking at her. "Ugh, come on, man, don't pull your punches. Can we just establish that now? Like, I understand not being cruel or an asshole. Like, I appreciate that. I can even appreciate sparing my feelings sometimes. But for stuff like this, when I'm trying to figure things out, it's important that you don't spare my feelings. If you have a thought, just tell me. Please?"

"Okay, okay," he said. "Maybe you feel like she doesn't deserve to have awesome sex."

Bea opened her mouth, her expression saying she was going to refute it, but then she stopped, closed her mouth, looked away. "Dammit," she whispered. "I'm being a bitch."

"No you aren't, Bea," he said. "You're having emotions. Did you yell at Jen? Did you treat her like shit? I mean you got a little confrontational, but whatever, it's fine, it obviously didn't get weird. Having angry or shitty thoughts doesn't make you a bitch. Everyone feels bitchy sometimes."

She laughed. "I guess you're right. I guess I'm just mad because she has the life I want, on top of being super fit and hot and obviously so confident about everything."

"You're super fit and hot, and you seem pretty confident," he replied.

"I'm pretty fit and kinda hot, as for confidence? I don't know, I feel like I'm bullshitting most the time. Shit, I don't even feel kinda hot most the time, but I also try not to think about it too much. It's the college thing, really. She's at college and doing what she wants. She got out. And I'm sorry, I don't want it to sound like I regret being here because that makes it sound like I regret meeting you and what we have together-"

"I get it, Bea," he said. "And I'm sorry you're feeling shitty."

She sighed and finished off her pierogi, then stuffed the wrapper in her pocket and drank some soda. "Yeah, me too. I dunno, I've been looking into therapy stuff online and you come across a lot of things and I think...these bad feelings are kind of like chronic pain. My mom dying, and Mae leaving me, and being basically forced into indentured servitude, like...it did damage. And I can heal from it, but I'll never be at one hundred percent again. I can't make it go away, but I can learn to live with it and manage it."

"That sounds right, but...if it helps, I think no one ever stays at a hundred percent. Everyone has damage. And yeah, there's degrees of it. But...I think that's just life. And I'm not trying to shut you down or anything." He took her hand. "I'll be here for you as long as you want to date me."

She began to respond, and then suddenly her eyes went wide.

"What?" he asked.

"I just-it just occurred to me that you can only marry one of us."

"I...uh, oh wow," he muttered. "That's...uh…"

She laughed. "Oh I'm sorry, Trent. The look on your face...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to drop that precision nuclear warhead on you in the middle of all this emotional carpet bombing. Just-I just now thought of that…"

"How do you feel about that?" he asked.

"I...don't know," she admitted. "I mean, okay yeah, I'll admit to it, as embarrassing as it is: I've totally fantasized about having a beautiful wedding and wearing a white dress and exchanging vows. But, like...I'm not-" she paused, laughed, rolled her eyes, "I'm not married to the idea. It'll be something we'll have to all discuss, and fuck, maybe we'll all decide that marriage is fucking bullshit anyway. But it's far down the line. We're all in our early twenties for fuck's sake...I mean, most of us. Hmm. Now I'm curious if Ann even wants to go through the whole song and dance again and oh my God can you imagine Mae's wedding?"

Now he laughed. "Wow...yeah. It'd be-uh. She'd probably ask for the most psychotic things. It'd be Witchdagger themed and she'd probably want to wear like...I don't know, a purple-green dress, or maybe just a robe. Shit. It'd be a shitshow. But probably a lot of fun."

"Probably," she agreed. Bea looked around suddenly, then scooted closer to him and kissed him, then leaned her head on his shoulder. "I love you. Like I so love you. Because you take such good care of me."

"I love you too, Bea," he replied. "And you do the same for me."

"I try."

"You succeed."

"Do I?" she asked.

"Yeah, you do...why do you doubt that?"

She sighed. "I don't know. I guess I still feel bad about not being able to openly date you. I'm still wrestling with that."

"You have reasonable concerns, and regardless, you still take really good care of me. You're an excellent friend, and an excellent girlfriend."

She smiled awkwardly and blushed, looking away, then brushed him with her tail. "Thanks," she murmured.

"Feel better?"

"I do, actually." She got up off the side of the bridge. "Come on, let's go back home."

"Okay."

"Also, just to save you the trouble of having to wrestle with wondering when's the appropriate time to ask this question for the sake of my feelings, yeah, I'm still okay with you doing stuff with Claire."

"I really appreciate that," he said.

"I know. As confusing as my emotions might be right now about Jen...I just feel bad for Claire. I talked with her for a bit at the party, and I know some of her history based on what Ann has told me, and just...she's not happy. And for good reason, but also because she's suffering from depression, and no one really understands it. But I think you will, and regardless, you'll be good for her. Shit, even if things don't get, you know, serious, you'll still be good for her."

"I guess we'll find out," he replied.