After eating at the Clik Clak, Trent and the others, Bea included, went back to his place.

They celebrated a little longer, and then he disappeared upstairs to get some work done. Tabby had already sent him a list of edits for the first novel. Apparently she'd been taking them as she'd been reading, even before deciding to ask him. Trent checked them over, wondering exactly what needed to be edited. About half of them were technical corrections, with the rest being minor corrections to lore that he'd either gotten wrong, or it hadn't been nailed down, so he'd made it up, and it had gone against what Tabby thought made the most sense in her universe.

She said he was free to dispute these last ones, as she was open to a different take.

As he looked them over and began implementing them, he relaxed. There really wasn't anything in here he wasn't cool with changing. After spending two hours going over his book and making the changes, he eventually settled on debating the point of one of the pieces of lore he'd interpreted. He wasn't exactly married to it, but he thought he'd had a good point and, more significantly, he didn't want Tabby to think that he'd just do whatever she said. Not because he thought she'd take advantage of that, but because if he were in her position, he wouldn't want the other person to just follow orders, he'd want them to speak up if they felt it was necessary.

After making the corrections and note, he fired it off to Tabby via email. She was eager to get the document off to a professional freelance editor.

When he went downstairs, he noticed that the atmosphere was a bit off. And he couldn't find Bea. Ann and Mae were sitting on the couch, playing Mario Kart.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

They paused the game. "Yeah...mostly. Maybe you should talk to Bea. She's out back. She's freaking out a little."

"Over what?" he asked.

"I'm actually not sure," Mae said.

"It's something to do with the move, but I don't really think that's it. Something's bothering her. We got in a little argument and she apologized and stepped out back about ten minutes ago," Ann added.

"I'll talk to her," he replied.

"Good luck," Mae said.

Trent grabbed his hoodie and shoes and stepped out back. It was getting cold again. The day had become gray and clouds covered the sky from horizon to horizon, threatening more rain. He found her sitting on one of the deck chairs, frowning and staring at the yard.

"Did they go get you?" she asked without looking at him.

"No, I just finished up my work...what's wrong?" he asked, sitting down beside her.

For a moment, she didn't speak, and he was worried he'd pissed her off somehow, and maybe that was why they couldn't figure out why she was upset.

"I feel stuck," she said finally. "About us." She paused. "I mean, not about, like, us us, I know how I feel about you. But about us, like, publicly. We were talking about me moving in again, the specifics of it, and like...I was really debating about whether or not to bring my bed over. It'd be nice to have a spare, but it'd also probably be good to leave it as a spare in my dad's apartment, but then he probably might get weird about it if I didn't bring my bed...but I said I don't care if he knows. But I do kind of care. I mean, I don't want to just outright say it. But this is all just part of the problem, dust that the problem kicked up, not the root. And the problem is I'm scared of people judging me for being in this relationship. But I also feel like anyone who would can just fuck off. And honestly I really do feel that way, but I also worry that if it gets out in the open, it'll somehow come back on my dad, like people might stop shopping at the Pickaxe, or shunning him, and he's finally back in the game, like he's finally living his fucking life again…"

She sighed heavily and reached into her hoodie pocket. Pulling out a pipe, she lit it up and took a puff. "I need this or I'm gonna have a panic attack or something."

"Take a moment to calm down," Trent replied. "You're working yourself up."

"I am worked up...this sounds so stupid and whiny, doesn't it?"

"No, not at all. These are legit and valid concerns, and honestly it's admirable that you give a shit about your dad, and it's also completely reasonable that you'd worry about what people think of you. I know there's this big movement of 'stop giving a fuck what people think of you', but the reality is that we live in society and we need society. So...I get it."

She looked at him suddenly. "How the fuck do you put up with this stupid shit so calmly? Another thing that's been bothering me is if our roles were reversed, I'm not so sure I'd take it this well if my significant other was all 'hey I know we're dating and I love you but you can't tell anyone'. Not for months and months. Especially with the other shit going on…"

"I do think the fact that I'm actually really confident in the relationship helps. The fact that I'm confident in all my relationships, in that I don't think there's much chance any of you are lying to me about how you feel. And also the whole paid to write fan fiction thing is a massive boost to my happiness. And all the shit that went down...helped put things into perspective, I guess. But...I think I can help," he replied.

"I am all ears, man," she replied.

"Everyone knew about Ann. The divorce, the drugs, the arrest, the prison time, all of it. All over town, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, basically."

"Did anything bad ever happen to her mom? Even after her mom took her in after she got out of prison?" he asked.

She stared at him for a long moment. "I don't think so," she murmured.

"It's not a perfect point, and not a one-to-one comparison, but it's something to think about. And also, I mean, you are best friends, publicly, with Angus and Gregg, who are both openly gay, Jackie, who is aggressively...herself, and Mae, who has an obvious mental illness, based on what happened when she was in high school. And yet, people still respect you. And your dad. People like you. That reception was huge," he said. "And I'm not saying any of this to try and push you into making a decision or telling you you're just overreacting, I'll support whatever decision you make, but this is clearly bothering you, and I do think that maybe you might be worried it'll be worse than it actually will be," he replied.

She groaned suddenly and leaned back in the chair, staring up at the gray skies. "I don't deserve someone this fucking patient and kind," she muttered.

"You totally do. If anything I'm the one who doesn't deserve the three of you. I just...try not to think about it, and appreciate what's happening as it's happening," he replied. "And you really do deserve to be happy, Bea. You think I'm patient? I would've flipped my shit or snapped or something if I was in your position after two fucking years. Like...you're amazing."

She laughed and took another pull on the pipe. "Sometimes I do feel pretty fucking girl-boss. Especially on stage. That's a rush." She fell silent for a few seconds, then sat up. "I'm leaving my bed at my place. I'll leave most of my stuff at my place. I just want my clothes, my books, my computer. That's it. I want to start fresh, or as fresh as I can. I don't want to fucking live like how I lived before ever again. I don't want to live in perpetual stress, and I don't want to live in fear...I know we've been talking about this, and I kinda already came to this conclusion, but...I feel better about it now. More sure. I don't fucking care if people know I'm dating you, or that I'm in a poly relationship. I don't want to care, and I don't have to care. I'm fucking tired of catering to other people. I'm fucking tired of worrying about what other people think. I'm not looking to just turn into a mega-bitch and get in people's faces or anything, but...fuck hiding this shit. I'm done."

She stood up suddenly and looked at Trent. "Come on, let's go get my shit. I wanna move in. Now. Right now."

"Okay," he said, standing up as well.

"I fucking love how one of us will just decide to do something, abruptly, and you're just down for it," Bea said as they headed inside.

"I like supporting my amazing girlfriends and making them happy if I can, and I know what it feels like, when you just suddenly want to do a thing," he replied.

"Hey, is everything okay now?" Mae asked as they walked back inside.

"Everything's cool. I've come to a decision," Bea replied as she passed Mae the pipe.

"What's that?" Ann asked.

"Fuck hiding. I'm done hiding my relationship. I don't care who knows. If they've got a problem with poly they can fuck off, it's none of their business anyway," Bea said.

"Good for you," Ann said.

"Yay! Awesome! You're so fucking kickass, Bea!" Mae declared, grinning broadly.

"Trent and I are gonna go grab my shit."

"You want some help?" Ann asked.

"It's cool. It's not much. No furniture, just stuff. I want a fresh start," Bea replied.

"I get that. We'll be here."

"We'll be back later."

Then they were out the door and heading for the Jeep.

Despite his bravado, Trent was nervous about potentially facing her dad again.

"It'll be okay, he's probably at the Pickaxe right now," Bea said.

"You can read my mind, too?" Trent replied as they walked up to the apartment building.

She laughed. "No. I can just read you real well. It's what good girlfriends can do." She offered him her hand and he took it, lacing their fingers together.

"I just wanna be clear...you don't have to do this for me," he murmured.

"Trent, oh my God, I know you're a fan of making absolutely sure about things, especially when it comes to our feelings and consent, and that is very appreciated, but I am for sure about this. It's all me. You can relax," she replied, laughing softly.

"Okay."

They took the elevator up to Bea's apartment and she tried the door. It was locked. "Good sign," she murmured, unlocking it. She opened it up and they came into a darkened interior. "Also a good sign." She shut and locked the door behind them, then flicked on the living room light and hurried over to where the bedroom doors were. Her dad's door was open. She reached in and hit the light, then looked around. Then she went to the bathroom and found it equally empty. "Thank God, he's not here. I love my dad, but having him here would just make it weird...why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.

Trent was having really specific thoughts as she took off her hoodie and tossed it on the couch. She was wearing a thin, tight t-shirt and that fucking choker collar of hers…

"Before we moved Mae's stuff over, we fucked in her room," Trent replied. "And I don't know if we'll ever get the opportunity, realistically, again…"

"No," Bea replied, then bit her lower lip. "...fuck. Now I'm super horny, you bastard."

"Just a quick fuck. So that we can say that we did it. In your bedroom."

"...I would like to be able to say I fucked my boyfriend in my bed. God knows I've laid there awake fantasizing about it, and then later specifically you, just railing me in that bed." She remained frozen for a moment longer, then abruptly marched past him and walked back over to the door, where she engaged the chain-lock.

"Come on," she said, grabbing his wrist and pulling him back to her bedroom. Once they were within, she took off her shirt, exposing her beautiful, firm breasts, and pushed him onto his back. "I am going to fucking ride your dick until it explodes."

"I love what a fucking whore you are around me," he replied, taking off his shirt.

She laughed and rolled her eyes. "Big surprise."

Bea quickly got out of her pants and shoes, getting completely naked save for the choker, which she tended to leave on during sex because she knew he liked it so much, and climbed onto the bed before he could get his pants undone.

She held herself over him for a moment, then leaned in and kissed him. He ran his hand down her back, and she shuddered as one hand went down her tail and the other settled on her fit ass. She shoved her tongue into his mouth, making out with him for a good, long minute. And then, abruptly, she got off of him and instead got down onto her knees at the foot of her bed.

"There is a part of me that hates how submissive I want to be," she muttered as she hastily undid his pants.

"You should embrace this part of yourself," Trent replied.

She scoffed. "Of course you'd say that."

"Is it really so wrong to want a super hot, totally badass woman to submit to me sexually? I get how expecting that would cause problems, but wanting it?"

"Shut the fuck up with your reasonable logic," she replied as she got his pants off. "And let me be irritated. It makes the sex hotter."

"Okay then," Trent replied, and put his hands behind his head as he laid back. "Suck me, you little goth whore."

She let out a huff of annoyance that he couldn't tell was real or fake, then her tongue ran up the length of his shaft and he stopped thinking about anything else. She licked him for a long moment, sending hot pleasure burning into him, and then he groaned as she took it into her mouth and started bobbing her head, her lips slipping over his head repeatedly.

"You have gotten a lot better at that," he managed.

She spit a gob of saliva out onto the head and wrapped her fist around it, then began massaging it. "So what, you're saying I sucked dick at sucking dick when I first started?"

"Let's just say there was a lot of room for improvement."

"You absolute dick," she growled.

"Shut the fuck up and get back to work." She muttered something. "What was that?"

"Make me," she replied, not meeting his eyes.

Trent reached down and put his hands on either side of her head. "Open," he said. "Now," he added, firmly, when she hesitated.

Bea opened her mouth. He put his dick in there, gripped her head more tightly, then started forcefully fucking her mouth. She groaned, then gagged as he pushed it down her throat. "Talk back to me again," he said, then pushed it hard halfway down her throat. She groaned and gagged again, though didn't tap him on the wrist like they'd agreed.

This aspect of their relationship had been growing slowly over the past few months, and he only got to do it with her when they were alone, for the most part. It was a side of herself she didn't really like Mae or Ann to see.

He had to admit, he really fucking liked it.

He fucked her mouth for a moment longer, then let go. She fell back into a sitting position, coughing. He got up further on the bed and then snapped his fingers. "Come on, ride it."

"Yes, sir," she replied, panting.

She climbed up onto him and took him into her slick, tight depths, and the pleasure that immediately began hitting him from their sex was overwhelming. He grabbed her hips and stared up at her tight, fit body as she began riding him. She moaned loudly, then closed her mouth firmly. There were probably people around in other apartments, and the walls probably weren't all that thick. And that kind of made him want to make her make noise.

He reached down after a moment of her vigorously riding him and began rubbing her clit with his thumb.

"No! Please!" she gasped, then moaned and let out a little squeal of pleasure. "Oh fuck! Please!" she begged, putting her hands over her mouth.

"Come on, cum for me," he replied, thrusting up into her, bouncing her on his cock.

She was orgasming barely fifteen seconds later, and it looked like she had to dig deep to find the strength not to cry out.

When she was done, she growled at him, grabbed his hands and brought them up to her perky tits, and then rode him hard and fast until she forced him to cum. Trent groaned loudly, his back arching, hips jerking as he emptied himself into her.

He pumped her hot pussy full of his cum until he was empty, then fell back, slack and panting, on her bed.

"Oh, you absolute fucking disgusting pervert," she whispered harshly as she got off of him and cupped a hand over her pussy. "Pervert!"

"You're the fucking slutty pervert," he replied.

"How do you cum this much!?" she growled, hurrying off to the bathroom. "Seriously, like, fuck dude!"

"Stop complaining. You literally pulled it out of me like an absolute whore," he replied. She muttered something that he couldn't quite hear. "What was that, Bea?"

"Nothing," she replied. He heard the toilet flush and she came back into the room. She came to stand at the foot of the bed, hands on her hips, studying him. "I don't know how you pull that out of me. I really don't. I swore to myself I'd never be that submissive girl who's all 'yes master' and 'fuck me harder daddy'."

"To be fair, you've never called me that. But I get what you mean. I don't know either."

"But you're all too happy to capitalize on it, huh?"

"If you want to stop-"

"No I don't want to stop! Seriously, the sex where I'm submissive to you and you fucking wreck me while calling me a slut and getting rough with me, like…" she shuddered. "It makes my orgasms go extra hard. And I just...like it. I just don't want to admit it."

"And it's our little secret," he replied.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure-"

They both froze up, eyes going wide, as they heard a key to the lock, then the door opening up and then banging as it hit the chain. "What the fuck?"

"Shit! Get dressed!" Bea hissed sharply, grabbing her own shirt and pulling it on.

"Bea?! You in there? You locked the chain," her dad called.

"Oh did I? Sorry! Hold on! Be right there."

They got their clothes on in record time, and Bea stabbed her finger at her window and while he got it open, she sprayed some deodorant around her room.

"Come on, what's taking so long?" her dad called.

"Coming!" Bea said, and hurried out of the room.

Trent sat down in her computer chair, waiting, heart hammering in his chest, as she unlocked the door. Fuck, that had been close. Way too close.

"Hey, sorry, I didn't even realize I'd done it," she said.

"It happens sometimes...what're you doing home? I thought you were hanging out with your friends." He paused. "Is someone else here?"

"Yeah, Trent is. He's helping me grab my stuff. I wanted to get it done and out of the way."

"Oh...you need some help? It'll be a pain getting your bed down the stairs…"

"I'm not taking any furniture. Just my clothes and books and stuff."

"They got a bed for you?" he asked.

"...I have a place to sleep in Trent's house," Bea replied.

Trent heard her dad sigh and a moment of uncomfortable silence passed. Finally, he cleared his throat. "Trent, would you come out here, please? I need to talk with both of you."

Great. Trent got to his feet and tried to keep calm. He had to go out there and pretend like he hadn't just fucked the shit out of this guy's daughter while calling her a whore and jamming his dick down her throat.

As he joined Bea in the living room, he was somewhat surprised by how her dad looked. He seemed...better. Healthier. He was standing up straighter, his clothes looked like they'd actually been washed recently, and he seemed to have dropped some weight. He seemed like a different person almost.

"All right, uh, I was planning on doing this later, but I didn't realize you were going to move out this quickly. Or that you were going to try and do it while I was at work," he said.

"I'm sorry," Bea replied quietly. "I just…"

"Didn't want to deal with the drama. I understand," he said. "And I'm sorry that you felt this way. I've done a shitty job the last two years. And...I can't control you, Bea. And I shouldn't try to. You're an adult now, and you're a smart girl, a hardworking one. And...I know you two are dating. That's pretty obvious by now. But I think, as your father, I'm owed at least one real conversation about it...but I also recognize that just because I think I'm owed it, doesn't necessarily mean that you agree. So I'm asking for it."

Bea looked at Trent. He looked back at her, gave her a small nod. He was onboard with this if she was, because despite how awkward things were, he had something of a point.

"All right, dad," Bea said, "you've done a lot for me, and I think it's a fair ask. Yes. I'm dating Trent. He is my boyfriend, and I am moving in with him. And yes, he is dating Mae and Ann, who I am also living with. And no, I am not dating either of them. I'm straight. And I didn't plan for this to happen, it just sort of...did. We fell in love. I know how much you've talked of young love and how stupid it is, but I trust him with my life, and I don't see this as a fling or a temporary thing. I'm not marrying him, but I don't see myself leaving anytime soon, maybe never. Because I also respect him, and he respects me. He has always asked for permission for important things, and he is always willing to be there for me, and listen to me, and take care of me. So are Ann and Mae. They're my best friends. And I know you don't really get it, but...I'm sick of hiding it. So now I've chosen to refuse to hide it. I'm not ashamed."

"You got anything to add?" her dad asked, looking at Trent.

"Pretty much what she said. I love Bea. I respect her. I intend to watch our for her, and help her go after her dreams however I can, and make sure she lives in a home where she feels loved and safe and respected. And I'd never do anything to hurt her," he replied.

He pursed his lips, looking at the two of them with his arms crossed, then heaved a long, tired sigh. "I'm glad you aren't hiding it," he said.

"Really?"

"Yes. I mean, what more could a father ask from his daughter? You have guts. You have nerves of steel, Bea. You're so tough, but you aren't a hardass. You aren't mean. You're...so much like your mother. She wouldn't put up with it when I was being shitty. She taught me a lot. And you're better than having to hide who you love, Bea. That ain't right. You're better than this town, to be honest. You're so smart, and capable...but the thing I really do want the most is that you're happy. I was hot shit back in the day. I've had that. And then I've had success as a businessman, people respecting me, looking up to me. And I had happiness as a husband and a father. And after everything, that's the thing I want the most. I miss the most. Being happy. And he obviously makes you happy. So I'm not going to give you shit for this. I don't want to be one of those parents who winds up asking themselves 'why don't my kid call or visit anymore?' when the answer is obvious. I guess that's all I really ask: that you call or visit every once in awhile."

"I will, dad," Bea said. She crossed the room and hugged him. "Thank you. This is...having this conversation just...it's like a huge weight has been lifted. I love you."

"I love you too, Bea. And if you ever do end up getting actually married, make sure you invite me," he replied.

She laughed and shook her head. "Dad."

"I'm just saying."

"I promise, if that ever actually happens, you can walk me down the aisle."

"That's good to hear...well, I really only intended to drop by because I forgot something when I went in today. So, let me know if you want any help moving anything, but if not, that's fine too."

"All right, dad."

He went into his room for a moment, then said goodbye and left them alone in the apartment again.

"That went, like, way better than I thought it would," Trent muttered.

"Yeah," Bea replied. She let out a deep sigh of relief. "That's...that was good. And…" She looked back at her room. "Now that I'm actually here and not having to worry about avoiding my dad, would you mind giving me a few hours to go through my room and my stuff?"

"Not at all," he said.

"Thank you."

She kissed him and then headed into her room, and he followed her.