Trent opened his eyes.

The world seemed to come to him through a mental haze. He could hear rain, soft rain. And breathing. Steady breathing in the room with him. For a long time he just laid there. He had definitely gotten high, he remembered that. And he remembered...most of yesterday. Probably. He remembered watching Adventure Time, and then...Taco Buck had shown up. A lot of it. Had he talked to Molly somewhere in there?

Yes. Yes he had. Trent chuckled as he remembered that.

"What are you laughing about over there?" Bea murmured.

He blinked a few times and looked over. Bea was laying beside him to his left. Melody was passed out in between them, partially on Bea. She was looking at her phone. He glanced in the other direction and saw Mae on her back with her mouth open, still dead asleep. Ann wasn't anywhere around.

"I just remembered my conversation with Molly," he murmured, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "She admitted that she masturbated to me because she thought I wouldn't remember."

"That's awesome," Bea replied.

"Yeah…" He looked over again, specifically at Melody, asleep and nude and half on Bea. "That doesn't weird you out?"

"Honestly? No. Being around naked women is a lot less weird than I thought it was going to be. I mean I've always thought women were beautiful. But also, like, her fur is so soft. It feels amazing. Probably in a way you can't really appreciate, given I have scales and you have fur," she replied.

"Huh. Okay." He sat there for a moment longer. "Um, I'm still a little buzzed."

She laughed. "Yeah, I figured. Ann is too. Gregg is still passed the fuck out. Angus is up, though. I was downstairs for a bit like an hour ago and then came and got back into bed, and Melody decided to use me as a cuddle toy."

Melody shifted and came awake at the sound of her name. She blinked several times, then focused on Bea. "Oh...Bea...shit, I'm sorry," she muttered, rolling away from her and towards Trent.

"It's fine," Bea replied, "if I minded I would've moved you."

"Oh...yeah that tracks." She yawned heavily. "Oh my God...I'm still stoned. Like not as much but my head is still kinda cloudy."

"It'll clear up with a shower and a meal," Trent said. "But yeah, me too. Like...fuck, Candy seriously fucked that batch up."

"Or maybe not?" Bea asked. "I mean yeah she put too much in but it seemed to turn out fine. If anything it went really well. Also Trent, you fucking maniac."

"What?" he replied.

"You fucked me and Melody for like...two hours last night! You came like five times!"

"...are you fucking serious?" he asked.

"Yes!"

"She is," Melody murmured. "Like, oh my God dude, if I wasn't birth control I'd be extremely pregnant right now, I think."

"Fuck's sake...I remember a lot of that, but a lot of it also kind of runs together...I guess that explains why, for the first time in a long time, I don't have morning wood."

"I'm pretty sure you fucked Mae, too," Bea said.

"Wait, what?...oh...um...I kinda remember that?" he muttered. He had vague memories of Mae waking him and getting on top of him and riding him. He laughed. "You all were just using me like a fucking sex toy because I was stoned off my ass."

"Oh give me a break," Bea replied, rolling her eyes.

"I wasn't complaining," he said.

"Maybe we need to get you super stoned again because that was great," Melody said, stretching. "I mean, not that it isn't great when you aren't stoned, just…"

"I think part of it was because you were stoned too," Bea said.

"Yeah...I need to pee."

"Me too," Trent said.

"Wanna do it at the same time?"

"...what?" he asked.

Bea laughed. "Yeah, what?"

"No is fine," Melody murmured awkwardly. "I just...I don't know, it's like a thing I read about online one time. Some girl talking about doing this with her boyfriend, and like I wanted to try it ever since, even though I don't really know why?"

"How the fuck would it even work?" Trent asked. "Also, I'm just gonna be up front, I'm not into bathroom plus sex anything."

"It's not a sex thing," Melody said. "Or, at least, not for me. It's more like, um, an intimacy thing? Like a trust thing? I don't really know. Forget I said anything, I'm still high."

"I mean I'd give it a shot," he replied after a moment.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Would that weird you out, Bea? I know that like you're all cool with sex stuff, but there's a difference between physical gratification and emotional intimacy…"

"I don't mind sharing Trent's heart, so long as he remembers which queen bees he gets his honey from," Bea replied.

"Never gonna forget that," he said.

"Okay, cool, let's do it," Melody said, carefully extracting herself from between them.

"Someone's excited," Bea replied as Trent got up.

"I mean kinda, but I really actually gotta pee."

He followed Melody into the bathroom and then hesitated as she sat down on the toilet.

"Um...so what are we doing?"

She spread her legs. "Go there," she replied.

"Um...okay. You know I might get some on you, right?"

"Well we are about to get in the shower, and while I'm also not into bathroom stuff, I mean, you came in me like...three times last night? And you've cummed on me before. So…?" She shrugged.

"Okay."

They did it, both of them going at the same time, and Trent had to admit that she had a point. There was something weirdly intimate about it. And, despite being still kind of stoned, he managed not to get any on her or the seat. After he finished, he started up the shower and then grabbed his toothbrush and the toothpaste and stepped in. As he brushed his teeth, Melody joined him. He finished brushing, cleaned it, and then offered it to her. She took it and began brushing her own teeth.

For a while, they just took turns standing there in the hot water. Trent's head felt like it was wrapped in a cloud, but in a good way. Everything was a little slow and felt...better. Just a lot better. It took a moment for him to realize why: the stress was finally gone. The stress that had come down on them like a rockslide when the house situation had sprung up was at last gone.

"Hey, uh, you hungry?" he asked finally.

"Yeah. I'm fucking starving actually," Melody replied.

"I can take you to a place to get peirogi and pretzels with really good liquid cheese," he said.

"Yes please. Also lemme pay. Let me pay for all the things while I'm here."

"Why? Also, like, you already gave us thousands of dollars, Melody, and helped out in other ways…"

"Trent, I appreciate the appreciation, but I'm rich. I mean, compared to a lot of people, at least. It'd be different if we were considering, like, a vacation or buying something huge, but we're talking about some meals. Like, please? It'll make me feel good."

"All right," he replied with a shrug, "I won't fight you on this."

"Thank you."

They took probably longer than they needed to in the shower, and by the time they were actually finished, Trent pulled the curtain back and realized with a start that Bea was waiting for them.

"Holy shit, how long have you been there?" he asked.

"Like a few minutes? You didn't hear me brushing my teeth?" she asked.

"I guess not. Or maybe I'm used to it by now?"

"Well whatever, just finish up, I want my shower. You seriously came in me like three times last night."

"Sounds like you got what you deserved," he replied, stepping out and grabbing a towel.

"Fuck you, fuckboy," she growled.

"Hey," he smacked her ass hard and fast, "watch it."

"You two are something else," Melody murmured as she grabbed her own towel and stepped out.

"Yeah, yeah," Bea replied, stepping into the shower and pulling the curtain shut. "Oh, also, babe, I'm going to be, like, not around as much for the next two weeks."

"Oh. Um...okay. Why?" he asked.

"Angus and Gregg are moving away. Angus is my friend. I mean, Gregg is too, but I'm closer to Angus. My relationship with him is sort of like Mae's with Gregg. Which also means Mae is going to be out a lot over the next two weeks, too. Is that going to be a problem for any reason?" she asked.

"No," Trent replied after considering it.

"Good. Like...we love you, truly, but we want to hang out with our friends one on one," Bea said.

"You don't have to justify it, babe," Trent replied. "Our lives are entwined hopelessly together now, but they are still our lives."

"God I love that about you," Bea muttered after a moment. "No jealousy, no 'we have to do everything together', no 'I don't want you talking to other guys'."

"That seems rare," Melody murmured.

"Well...it doesn't come from nowhere," Trent replied after a moment. "I mean, I feel safe in our relationships, but I also haven't really been cheated on." He paused. "I mean, as far as I know. I happen to know several very awesome women whom I can trust, but just like there's a lot of shitty dudes out there, there are absolutely a lot of shitty women out there who will gladly cheat on their boyfriends and use them for money and convenience without giving a single fuck about how they might actually feel."

"Yeah that's fair," Bea said after a moment.

"Maybe it's rare because so many people are just...shitty people," Melody said.

"It could be, but...fuck, I don't even know if it's that simple. I'm not trying to defend or justify cheating at all, but on top of us being a very 'right now' species, we've built a society that rewards physical beauty and having sex above all else. I think it's harder than most people think it is to stop yourself from giving into temptation, and I think women are better at it partially because their brains aren't quite so hardwired to be 'right now' and think more long-term, but mostly because they have so much experience learning how to say no to guys trying to fuck them. So that when they come across a guy trying to fuck them that they actually really want to fuck, but they're already in a relationship, they have a lot more practice. Again, not trying to defend dudes cheating or cheating in general."

"That actually makes a lot of sense," Bea said. She sighed. "Fuck reality and how it's shaped us by rewarding shitty behavior. Anyway. I imagine you two are going to have fun?"

"Is that okay?" Trent replied.

Bea snorted. "Yes, babe, that's okay. Melody is wonderful and you're fucking amazing with women. Even if you aren't dating, even if it'll never work, Melody deserves to enjoy your company and being treated to at least a few dates and a few good days. I mean I basically cosplayed being your girlfriend in the beginning when I wasn't sure if it was going to work out and it felt amazing."

"Why wouldn't it work out?" Melody asked. "Sorry, that was probably a rude question."

"No, it's fine. I was worried my dad would flip his shit and also the town would shun us because he was already very publicly in a relationship with Mae. It was a problem for, like, months, actually. But whatever, I don't give a fuck now. So go on, play house and pretend to be dating and enjoy it." Bea paused. "Sorry, that came out a little sarcastic but I genuinely didn't mean it to. Trent pushes my 'bitch' button too easily."

"Oh whatever," Trent replied, hanging up his towel as he finished drying off. "If there's so much as a breeze your fucking bitch mode gets activated in an instant. It's got a fucking hair trigger."

"Keep taking and I will fucking yank you back into this shower and make you eat my pussy," Bea growled.

"It's tempting, but I need to dress and eat. Love you."

She snorted. "Love you too, babe. Have fun, you two."

"Thanks for letting me borrow him," Melody said as she followed him out.

"Yep," Bea replied.

They walked back into the bedroom and began dressing. Trent looked at Mae as he pulled his boxers on. She was still passed out. As he finished with his socks and pants, he walked over to the nightstand and checked his phone.

"Holy fuck," he muttered.

"What?" Melody asked.

"It's, like, four PM."

"Are you shitting me?!"

"No. We were asleep for like fifteen hours? Sixteen? I can't remember when we went to sleep."

"Well, Bea was right, you woke up and fucked us like at least once apiece I think," Melody said. "That probably helped add to the sleepiness. And we went for, like...awhile dude. You have stamina. Also my pussy is sore now."

"I'd say I'm sorry but I'd be lying," he replied.

She laughed. "That's fine, worth it. You made me come like...ten times last night."

"Good. Come on," he said as he pocketed his phone, made sure everything else he needed was in his pockets, then pulled on his shirt, "let's check on the others."

They headed downstairs and found Ann and Angus sitting together at the end of the folded out couch bed. They were talking quietly and happily to each other as they played Perfect Dark.

"Ah nice, you guys are doing co-op campaign," Trent said as he came into the room. It looked like they were at the Area 51 part.

"Hey sleepy heads. Yeah, I've never played but I always meant to," Ann said.

"So very nice," Trent replied. "I fucking love this game."

"I wasn't sure if you wanted to be the one to go through it with her, but she said you wouldn't mind," Angus said.

"No, it's totally cool, this can be a you guys bonding experience," Trent replied. He glanced at Gregg. "Wow, he's still out cold, huh?"

Angus chuckled. "Yeah. He woke up one time a few hours ago and had to go to the bathroom real bad apparently. Did it, came back here, passed back out immediately. I figured we should probably stay until he's at least able to walk on his own. I'd be more worried but he wakes up if you poke him. It just doesn't last."

"He had a whole brownie, right?" Trent asked.

"Yep," Angus replied.

"Oh my God. I had half and it knocked my ass the fuck on the floor. He's like pretty small and he had an entire one. I think he's gonna be stoned for a few days," Trent replied.

"Well, there are worse ways to be, although he's getting a talking to once he's sobered up," Angus replied, then paused. "Well...not a stern one. He's been having a bit of trouble adjusting to the idea that we're actually going to move, and he's been kind of freaking out about leaving everyone behind, especially Mae. Which reminds me, did Bea talk to you about us hanging out?"

"Yeah, she said you and her are gonna hang a ton over the next few weeks, and so are Gregg and Mae."

"Cool. I hope that won't interfere with anything…"

"Well...I mean we've got Bea's birthday in like two days, and then my birthday is coming up like a week or so after that…"

"Oh yeah, don't worry, Bea specified that that day was yours. And we're gonna party here for her birthday."

"Sweet. Shouldn't interfere with anything then. I hope you guys have fun. Uh, we're gonna head up to the peirogi place and chill there. Anyone want anything?"

"I'd be real happy if you brought me back some peirogi," Ann replied. "But don't, like, change your plans around that. I'll not be sad if you don't do it."

"I'll see what I can do to make it happen, babe," he replied, leaning down and giving her a kiss. "Angus?"

"I'm good, thanks."

"Perfect. Well, Melody, you ready?"

"Yep," she replied.

"Let's get a move on then."