They rolled into Bright Harbor at half past eight.

Between getting a little lost and frequent stops along the way, the drive ended up taking them some five or so hours. By the time they parked in their spot outside of a ten story Hilton hotel, it was dark and Ann was tired. As Trent got them and their stuff through the process of getting checked in and then on up to the rooms themselves, it became obvious that they were all existing on a tiredness spectrum.

Ann had already been awake and doing some editing work by the time he woke up the next day somewhere around noon. Bea and Mae, on the other hand, admitted they'd woken back up somewhere in the darkness and had a long talk about nothing in particular, while smoking some more. Consequently, they were still groggy and slow by the time it was time to go. Trent made sure to help them pack, and they slept on and off throughout the trip.

And so Ann was ready to settle in for the night, while Mae and Bea were both practically bouncing off the walls. Gregg and especially Angus found themselves more towards Ann's side of the tiredness spectrum, as neither had slept much the night before because anxiety about the trip had kept them up. And, near the end of the drive out, he caught some kind of shift in Bea's demeanor. She began settling quickly into a mood.

A specific mood that he didn't know quite how to read. It became obvious to him that she had something on her mind, and she wanted to do something, but that was it. So far, she hadn't tipped her hand, but as soon as they got everything up to the room, she finally did.

"Trent," she said, and then paused for a long moment, biting her lower lip and staring at him intently.

"Yeah?" he replied finally, when she wasn't forthcoming.

"I want...to do something," she said.

"Okay. What?"

"Yeah, you've got something on your mind but I can't tell what," Mae said.

Bea made an awkward face, like she was trying to determine how to say something delicate and potentially mean or embarrassing or something.

"It's a Trent and me thing," she said.

"Oh. Well, I can hang out here. I do have some things I was supposed to be doing on my laptop for my channel," Mae replied.

"And I'm ready to just...be a cave troll for the night. I just wanna watch TV and noodle around with my website," Ann said.

"Cool. But, it is a thing that I need-we need your permissions for," Bea said.

"Okay, spill it, now I'm interested," Mae said.

"Yeah, me too," Ann agreed.

"Me three, because I have no idea what this is about," Trent replied.

She sighed. "I'm in the mood to like...well, I've always kinda wondered, in a sort of weird way, like...fuck, how do I put this? Okay, whatever, I'll just say it: I want to go out with Trent and try to pick up a chick so I can watch him fuck her...is that a thing you'd be interested in?"

"Uh...well." He paused, then turned to Mae and Ann. "What do you two think?"

"As long as you're safe, that's fine," Ann replied.

"Yeah, pretty much," Mae said. "I really get wanting to watch. Although...is there, like, a reason you want it to be just you two? Not that I'm complaining, just curious."

Bea shrugged, a little helplessly. "I don't know," she admitted. "I'm, like...this whole relationship has taken me in directions I never assumed I'd go. Directions I didn't even consider. And it really, really kicked up the dust, and the dust has been settling in my head. Like...a comet hit the landscape of my brain and my personality, and kicked up all the dust, and now that it's settling, I'm discovering that the landscape looks different. Both in that new things were created, but also old things I didn't even realize were buried have been exposed."

"The comet being the relationship?" Mae asked.

"More or less, yeah. I heard what you were saying about me last night, how surprised you are that I'm such a slut, but...you're right, honestly. I'm surprised, too. And...I like it." She shrugged, seemingly unsure of how to end.

"Well, I'm down for it provided everyone else is cool and, you know, it's someone I'm attracted to," Trent said.

"Awesome! Let's go!" Bea cried.

"All right. Uh. Lemme take a leak, then we can go...cruising," he replied.

"All right, it's time for honesty," Bea said.

"...I really don't like the sound of that," he replied, glancing at her from the driver's seat of his jeep.

She sighed. "It's not anything bad. I'm...using a cheat code, for the cruising."

"A cheat code? Are we picking up a hooker?"

"No!" She paused. "Would you be down for that?"

"...are you serious?"

"Yeah! I want to know."

"Yes, I would be down for safe sex with a hooker," he replied. "I'm kind of surprised you sound down for it."

"It's...a thing...I've considered wanting to watch," she murmured, shifting awkwardly in her seat.

"Interesting. So, what's the cheat code?"

"Oh right! Um. So, believe it or not, Jackie's network reaches all the way out to Bright Harbor."

"Holy shit, that woman has, like, so many friends."

"She prefers the term contacts, or allies. Acquaintance, if she's feeling giving. I have asked her about this, if maybe she could help me out, and, after textually abusing me about my sexual choices, she pointed me towards Count Zero."

"And that is…"

"A cafe. That is a known...hunting ground. For people looking to hookup safely. It's a friendly place. We just have to let them know we're...friendly."

"How do we do that?" he asked.

"Turn left here. Jackie told me what to order. Trust me, this'll be good."

"I trust you," he replied.

They arrived at a sleepy little cafe that was actually very packed with people some ten minutes later. It was bigger than most of the other cafes he'd seen. Though whether that was a function of it being a big city cafe or because of its unique nature, he couldn't tell.

They found a spot and parked.

"Oh uh...any requests?" Bea asked, looking over at him.

He looked back at her, thinking about it, then smiled. "Yeah. Noticeably older," he replied.

"Really? Tabby give you a taste for that? Although she really doesn't seem much older than us, to be honest…"

"I've always had a thing for older women. I think most guys do. But most posers tend to think, like, thirty five means cougar or something. But I want older."

"How much older?" she asked.

"Old enough to be my mother and above," he replied.

"Wow. You got guts. Do not think I could hookup with a guy old enough to be my dad," she said as she got out.

"I'm hoping it's as good as I've been imagining."

They walked into the cafe and he noticed two things. The first was that the atmosphere was very quiet, but not uncomfortably so. It felt...calm. And cozy. He thought the barely audible lo-fi that was playing somewhere overhead helped. The second thing was that everyone turned to look at them. Most of them looked away, but some didn't, their gaze linger. No doubt on Bea. Even dressed casually, she looked really good tonight.

They walked up to the counter.

"Hi, what can I get for you?" the barista behind the counter asked.

She also looked really fucking good. A cute, gothed out black-furred cat, like him.

"We," Bea said with significance, "would like the Number Seven Special."

"Oh." She had a small smile on her face then. Reaching out, she hit a bell next to her three times in rapid succession. Now he felt a lot of eyes on them. "Anything else?"

"Yes. We would also like two vanilla coffees."

"Eight fifty eight," she said after punching it into her register.

Bea paid and they began walking slowly towards a booth near the back of the establishment. Trent tried not to be too obvious about scanning the crowd for...potentials, but some of them were being pretty obvious about it.

And there were actually some really hot chicks here.

Then he paused, briefly, as he saw an older woman sitting alone at a table. She was a pretty hot fox with deep orange fur and some nice curves. She was fucking sexy, and probably at least as old as Mae's mom. They locked eyes briefly, and he smiled intentionally at her. She smiled back and then looked away. So she was shy, hmm.

It was hard to imagine a shy person that'd knowingly come to a place like this. Unless she was here without realizing. Although, on the other hand, he was here and he was sure shy. He and Bea finish their stroll back to the booth and sat down.

"She's perfect," Bea whispered. "I saw you making eyes with that fox. She's gotta be a cougar."

"Here's hoping," Trent replied.

They didn't have to wait hardly any time before someone approached their booth. Trent found himself hoping greatly that it was the fox lady, but instead it turned out to be one of the guys they'd seen on the way back. He was tall, thin, and a little gothed out.

"Hi," he said.

Bea looked up, then made an awkward little frown. "Sorry, dude. I hate to bust your bubble, but we're looking for ladies only."

"Shit," he whispered, then chuckled ruefully. "That sucks, you're so fucking hot, but totally get it."

"Thank you. Would you tell the other guys?"

"Yes."

"Thank you again."

He left them then, and Trent heard quiet, disappointed murmuring.

"Someone's got a lot of admirers," he said. "Not that I'm surprised."

"Makes me wish I'd come here last year...sorta. Maybe not really. I mean, I'm not here to sleep with someone, you are, so I guess it wouldn't do much for me," she murmured. "Also, don't worry, I saw lots of heads turn your way."

"Super weird to think about," he replied.

Bea was about to reply when they heard footsteps getting closer again. They both looked over, and this time it was the fox.

"Hi," she said.

"Hello," Bea replied warmly. "Would you like to have a seat?"

"Yes, thank you."

She slid into the booth across from them both and sat there for a moment. Up close, Trent thought she was even more attractive. She looked like she wasn't sure how to begin. If anything, she looked anxious.

"Can I just...dive right in and lay my cards on the table?" she asked suddenly.

"Yes," Trent replied.

"I just want to be completely sure, so I'm not embarrassing myself, you-uh...you're both here looking for...sex. Right?" she asked.

"That is correct," Bea replied. "And we are very happy that you've come back to talk with us about that."

"Oh thank God," she whispered and seemed to sink into her seat, relaxing greatly. "That's such a load off my mind. I got pointed towards this place by my friend, and it seemed...too good to be true?"

"I know what you mean. Same, actually. It's our first time here," Bea replied.

She stared at them for a moment. "Seriously?"

"Yeah," Trent said.

"It's just...you're both so...comfortable here. You look so natural. Huh. Have you been to places like this?"

"No. First time," Bea replied.

"Huh. Well, uh, I guess we should...talk. And see if we're, um, compatible."

"Sounds fine to me. For the record, I am Bea."

"I'm Trent."

"Oh, right. My mind is really frazzled right now. I'm Ellen. It's nice to meet you, Bea and Trent."

"You too, Ellen," Trent replied.

A moment of silence passed between them. Ellen cleared her throat. "I guess I should get on with this. I am looking for...a hookup, with Trent. You are very beautiful, Bea, but I'm, ah, not into women," she said.

"That's actually perfect. Neither am I!"

"Oh. Well...that's good." She laughed awkwardly.

Trent found himself in a very strange place. None of this seemed to be real. He was actually negotiating hooking up with a really hot older woman. In a cafe. With his girlfriend helping out. This really didn't seem real.

"You look a little...lost now," Ellen murmured, studying him. "Am I...not what you're looking for?'

"No, no, you are," he replied quickly. "Sorry, I am...kind of out of it. This is a weird experience. In a good way, obviously. Just to be clear about that: I would be very happy to go somewhere with you."

"Okay," she said, relaxing again. "Glad to get that sorted."

Another moment of awkward silence passed. The barista took the opportunity to bring over their coffees.

"Maybe we should start by talking about ourselves," Bea said.

"Yes, that would be great. Uh...what brings you here?" she asked.

"Well, we're actually visiting from a small town about four hours from here. We met about six months ago," Trent said.

"Yep. He moved to town and hooked up with my best friend first night. And by the time he strolled into my life, he was already dating her and another girl," Bea said.

"I...wow. You two seem like a couple," Ellen murmured.

"Oh we are," Bea said, "it's just that he's also dating two other girls. We all live together. They're in town now, at a hotel. Also yes, they know we're doing this."

"Wow. This is really fascinating to me...why are you visiting?"

"Some friends of ours got an interview out here. They've been trying to escape our crappy little town for a few years now, and it might actually happen, and we came out with them to support them and hang out."

"That's also fascinating. Your lives...are so different from mine. Even when I was your age. Um...how old are you, by the way?"

"I'm twenty two going on twenty three," Trent said.

"Twenty going on twenty one...God, I forgot our birthdays are so close to each other," she said, laughing.

"Good lord," she whispered. "Twenty two and twenty. I have never even come close to such an age gap before. Which makes sense given my history, I guess. But, uh...I'm forty sixty."

"That is so awesome," Trent murmured.

"He's into cougars," Bea said.

"Oh. Well...I guess I would be a cougar," Ellen said, regaining her smile slowly, like she liked the idea. "And that's always been a fun sort of idea...all right. So, why are you here then?"

"The truth? Meeting him opened my eyes to a lot of my sexual desires that I never knew I had, or wanted to admit to myself, and one of those desires is: watching my boyfriend fuck another woman. And in this case he wants an older woman, so." She shrugged.

"I...cannot understand that desire," Ellen said. "Not that I'm giving you crap for it!"

"Don't worry, I don't understand it either. Also, it's not indiscriminate. I'm not cool with him fucking just anyone. Plus it's kind of a prerequisite to being in a relationship like this."

"I guess it would be. So...if we were to, uh, connect...in the bedroom, then you'd be there?"

"Yes. In this scenario, I would be in the room, watching. Also, I know how to shut up and watch, because I genuinely do really want to watch. So you won't have to worry about me interfering," Bea replied.

"All right...I guess I should talk about myself. In short, I'm an accountant and I'm semi-recently divorced. I...my husband and I fell out of love with each other after twenty five years. It just wasn't working anymore, we were miserable, so I finally suggested divorce, and he agreed. That was four months ago. I moved out, rented a place, and kept going with my life. After getting through the worst of the emotional turmoil, I realized I was...amorous. And, obviously, I started wrestling with the whole thing of 'has my beauty left me? Are my best years behind me?' problem, which is stupid, but I couldn't seem to shake it…"

"Ellen, for the record, you are so beautiful," Bea said.

She smiled awkwardly, looking down at the table for a moment. "I...uh...thank you," she murmured, then cleared her throat. "I was drinking with my friend, lamenting my current situation, and she pointed me towards here. Told me I could absolutely find some young, hot, and above all safe guys who would be very happy to hop in bed with me."

"She was so right," Trent murmured.

"I almost thought she wasn't. No one had come up to me. I've been here for twenty minutes. I was beginning to wonder if I'd done it wrong, or something."

"I know why no one approached you," Bea murmured.

"Why?" she asked, suddenly interested.

"They're intimidated by you."

"...you really think so?"

"Oh yes. Twenty something boys talk a mean game about older woman, but I think they're too intimidated to actually do anything once they have the real possibility of getting their hands on one. A lot of them, anyway," Bea said.

"I suppose that makes sense. But, I must say, you are quite cute. Exactly the kind of boy I would have gone for when I was your age." She smiled suddenly. "I broke in my share of awkward nerds in college, twenty something years and fifty something pounds ago."

"Oh stop, you look really good," Bea said.

"I hope so. It gets fucking brutal trying to keep the weight off. It was like as soon as I hit forty, someone pushed a button in my body that just made it so hard." She paused. "Ugh, I'm so bad at this. I'm trying to seduce you and I'm complaining about my weight."

"It's okay," Trent said. "Like, fifty percent of the seduction was taken care of with that look you gave me."

She giggled suddenly, smiling awkwardly and looking down at the table. "Oh, I-um. I see."

"Wow, you're getting good at this, sweetie," Bea murmured with a sly smile.

"You really haven't done this before?" Ellen asked.

"Well...we've picked up a woman or two in the past," Trent replied.

"Yeah, but those were more...incidental."

"One of them was your fucking fault. Acting like such a bitch-"

"Oh don't even pretend like you're complaining about that. That sex was fucking amazing," Bea replied, rolling her eyes.

"You two are so...interesting," Ellen murmured, chewing on her lower lip. "Um...well," she shifted in her seat. "You wanna follow me back to my place and...do this?"

"Babe?" Bea asked, looking at him. "I'm down if you are."

"Yeah, let's go," he replied.

"Okay. Nice. Uh...should we exchange numbers? In case we get separated? It's like ten minutes from here."

"Sounds like a good idea," Trent said, pulling out his phone. They exchanged numbers while Bea texted Mae and Ann on the situation. They all finished off their drinks and headed outside. He noticed pretty much everyone was looking at him now.

The sense of unreality strengthened.

They walked outside and split up, heading to their vehicles. He followed Ellen out of the lot and onto the road.

"So...how nervous are you?" Bea asked.

"Extremely," he replied. "She is really hot and a lot older than me," he muttered.

"Yep. Exactly what you wanted."

"Oh don't even give me the fucking smirk."

"The smirk? The smirk? What fucking smirk?"

"Yes, the fucking smirk. That 'I'm superior to you' smirk."

"I am not-I'm not saying that!"

"Oh bullshit, love of my life. That's precisely what that smirk says. It says 'I'm so amused by the plebs and their problems'."

"Oh whatever!" She heaved a sigh. "My point is, you prick, I'm here for you."

"I know. And I appreciate it. I just...hope this goes well. She seems nervous."

"I think it'd help if we talk a little more with her. We can just chill at her place once we get there, maybe give her a little weed."

"I hope she trusts us. This has to be a scary situation for her."

"Yeah...I think having me around helps, but yeah, we'll do what we can for her."

They drove on into the dark city.