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VIP-BTC2: Chapter 26
🕑 Added 2022-12-12 20:01:00 +0000 UTC-- CHAPTER 26: Permission --
****
I stood in the open doorway of Naimh’s bedroom with my jaw on the floor in surprise. The most gorgeous thing I’d ever seen was currently pinned to her own bed, flat on her back with her legs apart and her arms flopped limply behind her.
Having grown up in a chilly climate like Ireland, Naimh could handle wearing skirts to school without feeling cold, and today was clad in a casual burgundy pleated skirt that I’d seen her wear many times before. She was fully dressed, but what drew my attention to the skirt was the fact that a beautiful brunette with wavy dark hair loomed over her with one hand beneath that burgundy skirt, her forearm wriggling in obvious pumping motions. Naimh and Isabela’s lips were also locked together, the aggressive Latina babe quite hungrily ravishing my Head Girlfriend’s mouth as they both moaned in the throes of Sapphic eroticism.
I didn’t say anything, too stunned to speak, but Luna noticed my appearance in the doorway and squeaked in surprise, exclaiming, “Matty!” before clapping both hands over the lower half of her face.
The sound of her boyfriend’s name seemed to jerk Naimh from her delirium, and her hands abruptly snapped up to grab Isabela’s shoulders and then roll the brunette off of her.
“Matty!” Naimh gasped as she bolted upright and twisted to face me with a crimson blush that made her freckles disappear. “I… uh… Isabela and I… we… uh… It’s not what… Well I mean obviously it was what--”
“Hey, hey, relax,” I said soothingly as I entered the room with both hands up, gesturing for her to calm down. Nobody was naked and I felt bad for intruding. “It’s cool. Nothing to apologize for. Well, actually, I’m sorry for the interruption.”
“¡Hola, Matty!” Isabela greeted me coyly, her dark eyes afire as she twisted some of her luscious locks around her left index finger (the dry hand) and flashed me a pearly white smile. Her expression was just as carnally hungry as before, and she seemed perfectly inclined to pick up with me right where she’d left off with my Head Girlfriend.
“Hola, Isabela,” I greeted politely, adjusting my hands from gesturing for Naimh to calm down into a somewhat more defensive posture with Isabela to make sure she didn’t just launch herself at me or anything. I noted that the Hispanic hottie was dressed to impress in a crisp blouse beneath a form-fitting Argyle sweater vest and a cute miniskirt over black leggings. And then I turned my attention to the fourth person in the room, adding in a similarly polite tone, “Hello, Luna. Good to see you again.”
It was the first time I’d seen Isabela’s friend since the Halloween party, and her first time seeing me since then as well. The somewhat mousey, bespectacled brunette blushed and scrutinized the wood grain texture of the hardwood floor, clearly embarrassed by the situation. Instead of wearing a skintight, handmade catsuit that showed off her slender figure, she was dressed in black leggings under a dark blue skirt, just like Isabela, and wore a white button-down dress shirt under a gray, somewhat baggy, long-sleeved sweater. And still keeping her gaze downcast, Luna hesitantly replied, “H-Hi.”
“You’re probably wondering why we’re here,” Isabela began brightly. “Neevie invited us over to come check that out.”
The Hispanic hottie pointed both fingers (one still glistening with dew), and my gaze shifted to join hers in following the line of her digits to the mannequin in the corner of the bedroom, upon which was draped Naimh’s latest work-in-progress: the cowgirl rag doll Jessie from Toy Story 2. She’d started it after Halloween, less than a week ago, but the characterization was already obvious. A white, long-sleeved button-down shirt had already been adorned with a yellow chest panel and yellow wrist-cuffs stitched with red swirls and loops. A flat-brimmed, red cowboy hat adorned the mannequin’s head. And she’d found cheap cowboy spats from the thrift store downtown that hadn’t yet been painted into Jessie’s white and black cow motif.
“I ran inta Luna ‘round lunchtime,” Naimh explained to me, still clearly a bit embarrassed. “We got to talkin’ about cosplay, an’ I asked what she was workin’ on now that Halloween’s over, an’ she asked what I was workin’ on, an’ so I invited her to come ‘round the house and have a look-see.”
“Okayyy…” I replied while nodding slowly, but my expression remained probingly inquisitive.
Isabela giggled and nudged Naimh in the side. “He’s waiting for someone to explain how we got from ‘having a look-see’ at your costume to you and me making out on your bed with my fingers under your skirt.”
Naimh’s freckles disappeared again, and I smirked while tapping the tip of my nose.
“Anyways, good luck with that!” Isabela said to my girlfriend brightly. “We know better than to stick around and make an awkward situation even worse, so, uh, we’re just gonna get outta your hair.”
“Wait, what?” Naimh exclaimed in surprise as Isabela leaned in to peck her cheek and then grabbed Luna’s hand.
Isabela was already tugging Luna towards the door. She waved to Naimh, adding, “Thanks for letting us come see your work. And, uh, thanks for letting me get my fingers wet! You’re delicious.” She popped the fingers of her free hand into her mouth and gave the redhead a saucy eyebrow wiggle as well.
Meanwhile, I was still in the doorway, so Isabela and Luna came straight towards me. I wasn’t going to try and block her exit or anything, so I pivoted to step out of the way.
But rather than pass straight by me, the vivacious vixen stopped, grinned, and leaned over to peck my cheek as well. “Bye, Matty!” Turning to my girlfriend, she added, “I’ll call you, Neevie!”
And then before either Naimh or I had fully wrapped our minds around what was going on, both Isabela and Luna were gone.
I started chuckling almost immediately after the front door closed behind them and then turned to smirk at my girlfriend.
Naimh gawked at me with a bewildered expression. “What just happened?”
****
“… an’ th’next thing I knew, she was kissin’ me.”
I chuckled and rubbed Naimh’s knee. “And kissing you and kissing you and you were kissing her back.”
With wide emerald-green eyes and a bewildered expression, my girlfriend blushed again, still feeling quite embarrassed after finishing her little tale.
It had seemed straightforward enough, starting with Naimh and Luna bumping into each other during lunchtime, talking about cosplay, and then Naimh inviting Luna to come over to the house after class. Naimh had only been mildly surprised when Isabela showed up along with Luna, invited the girls in, and then started talking about fabrics and stitching and such.
Speaking of “straightforward”, while Luna had complimented Naimh’s technical skills and suggested my girlfriend seriously consider joining the larger cosplay community, Isabela had complimented Naimh’s incredibly sexy figure and surpassingly beautiful looks. Admiring stares had turned into gentle caresses of the redhead’s supple curves. Isabela had flat out asked, ‘Can I kiss you?’ And I already knew how things turned out from there.
And now I was all caught up.
Naimh shook her head slowly before biting her lip and giving me a helpless shrug. “It all happened so fast; I didn’t know what got into me.”
“Seemed like her fingers got into you,” I quipped.
“Matty, I’m serious.”
I wiped the smirk off my face and took a deep breath. “Well let’s take this one step at a time. Did you feel at any time that Isabela took advantage of you? Like, did she not have your consent?”
“Well… no… I wouldna say that.”
“Do you regret letting her kiss you?” I asked carefully. “Or fingerbang you?”
Naimh’s blush made her freckles disappear again, but the silly little smile on her face seemed answer enough that she thought positively about the whole thing, without regret. “She was a really good kisser.”
“Cool.”
“You really don’t mind?”
I shrugged. “Why would I mind?”
“I dunno. Because I’m suppose’t’be yours?” Naimh winced, took a deep breath, and seemed to calm herself. Her voice was clearer as she continued, “We’ve talked about permission and stuff like that. We girls all gave you the green light to hook up with Lily and Eva if the opportunity ever presented itself because they’d been hanging out with us and were becoming part of The BTC. But you already know you don’t have the same permission to fuck any girls outside of The BTC.”
“I do know that.”
“So someone like Isabela--”
“I would never do anything with Isabela,” I interrupted.
Naimh waggled her head. “Well, not without permission. But if we girls gave you permission, then--”
“Is that it?” I interrupted. “You’re asking for my permission to continue what you’d started with Isabela the next chance you get?”
“I’m asking for forgiveness for making out with Isabela without prior permission.”
“There’s nothing to forgive. Isabela’s aggressive; I know that.” I shrugged. “I mean, if you ever wanted to make out with a guy, I would totally understand you stopping to ask me for permission. But another girl? Uh… can I just say you’ve got carte blanche permission whenever you want?”
Naimh blinked. “Really?”
I shrugged. “When it comes to other girls, I won’t get jealous. Like the whole thing with Isabela and Belle at the Halloween party. She started rubbing Belle’s crotch, and then she leaned in and just started making out with her. Belle didn’t need to ask me for permission and I never felt a twinge of jealousy. And you just leaned over and started making out with me at the same time. No big deal.”
Naimh pursed her lips. “But it still feels like I’m not being fair to you. I mean, if -I- can hook up with a girl, then you should be able to hook up with her, too.”
“Ehhh, I think I’ve got my hands plenty full enough already.”
“It would just be sex, Matty. Isabela’s made plain she has no interest in becoming another girlfriend. She just wants to fuck your brains out… and my brains out… and Belle’s brains out, and… you get the picture.” Naimh blushed and then shivered with bright eyes, her accent thickening again as she continued to speak. “Some of the shit that girl whispered into me ear? I mean… even now I c’n still picture th’fantasies she spun about me gettin’ sandwiched between you an’her, about m’big, strong boyfriend holdin’ me from behind, cuppin’ m’big boobies, and presentin’em upward so she could swirl her tongue around m’nipples. She said she wanted me to sit up on your stomach while she held your big dick in hand, gettin’it super-wet with her mouth ‘fore anglin’it into me pussy and then helpin’ma slowly sit down on your monster while she leaned in to lick me clit.”
“Damn…” I muttered, feeling myself thicken within my shorts. Naimh and I were sitting up against her headboard, her back to my chest with my left arm wrapped around her midsection.
“Does that idea turn you on?” my Irish redhead asked in a husky voice.
“Of course.”
“Mmm… I can feel that it does,” she murmured while reaching back with her right hand to rub my package, testing the growing bulge. But rather than escalate the situation, she exhaled slowly with a mournful sigh. “I still feel bad though, for givin’in and lettin’er kiss me before you an’ I discussed this stuff.”
“Don’t feel bad,” I reassured her. “And if it makes you feel better, let’s make clear that yes, I’m giving you carte blanche permission to hook up with any girl you ever want. Just promise you’ll tell me about it afterwards.”
“You’re really okay that I started making out with Isabela?” she asked, still a bit anxious.
I caressed her shoulder and leaned in to kiss her neck. “I’m only sorry I interrupted you,” I murmured in a low voice. And then I leaned in to nibble on her neck again, increasing the passion of my kiss while stroking her upper arm and moaning in obvious arousal. “Would’ve been so hot to see her going down on you.”
“You really mean that?” she whimpered, as usual my perpetually horny redhead rapidly getting into the mood. Her palm started rubbing my bulge again as she tilted her head to the side to give me a better angle at her neck. “Would you really like t’watch’er goin’ down on me?”
“I’d really like to see you enjoying yourself, period,” I whispered warmly right into her ear. “If that means getting tag-teamed by the girls of The BTC, great. And if that means feeling a luscious Latina you’ve never been with before peeling off your panties and then parking her face between your legs, then… great.”
“Mmm…” Naimh closed her eyes and shivered in my arms, clearly imagining Isabela doing just that. “Th’way she carries herself? With such confidence an’ fire an’… I just know she’d be amazin’ at cunnilingus.”
I chuckled and slid my left hand beneath my girlfriend’s waistband, my fingers going in search of my lover’s love button. “I think you’re probably right.”
My redhead quivered as my digits probed her quim. Her right arm came up and around the back of my head as she murmured, “I’ll bet she’d be amazin’ at givin’you a blowjob, too.”
My growing erection immediately twitched at the thought of the sultry Latina wrapping her lips around my knob, but I measured myself before replying seriously, “I told you I’ve already got my hands full as it is.”
“An’ I told you it would just be sex.” Naimh slipped her hand beneath my waistband, her fingers going in search of my rigid rod. “C’mon, Matty. You know that if I ever did hook up with Isabela, I’d want it to be a threesome with you, right?”
I exhaled in a gasping shudder as my Head Girlfriend encircled my shaft with her fingers and gave it a quick pump. My breathing was shallow as I asked, “Is that what you really want?”
“Imagine it, Matty. Me an’ Isabela sittin’at th’foot o’th’bed side-by-side, gently peelin’off each other’s clothes in-between seductive kisses. I’d caress her cheek an’ let me fingertips glide down her neck before takin’ hold of her shoulders an’ lockin’ her in place while I claimed possession of her mouth. She’d spar with me a bit for dominance - I get th’feelin’ she’s used to takin’ charge - and instead of fondlin’ me boobies th’way she’d been doing, she’d clutch th’back of me head an’ hold it there while plungin’ her tongue into th’back of me throat.”
“Holy fuck, Neevie…”
“We’d go back an’ forth like that a bit, an’ in the end I would surrender to her, leanin’ me head back and closin’ me eyes to let her kiss me wherever she wanted. She’d nibble her way along me jawline an’ down me neck, eventually plungin’ her face into me cleavage and cuppin’ me bare boobies against her cheeks.”
My right hand reached up beneath the hem of Naimh’s shirt to cup and palm my girlfriend’s beautiful breasts as I imagined what it would look like for Isabela’s pretty face to get sandwiched between my redhead’s marvelous melons. Meanwhile, the fingers of my left hand continued rubbing Naimh’s clit. Even though it was my “off” hand, frequent training with The BTC girls had gotten me close to ambidextrous when it came to pleasing pussy.
“Once we’d gotten our fill o’ each other, we’d turn t’face you instead. I’d take th’lead in pullin’ down your pants - doin’ a dramatic reveal for my newest friend t’show off me prized possession.” She suited the action to her words by similarly unzipping me and extracting my erection into the open air.
I leaned over to gently bite down on Naimh’s shoulder, closing my eyes to soak in the pleasure of my girlfriend’s pumping hand.
“You’d spring up rock hard an’ ready to go after watchin’ our little lesbian display,” she continued while steadily stroking me. “I’d circle me left hand around your base t’hold it steady so she could study your magnificent member in all its glory. But only for a moment. She’d still be tryin’ to memorize the details of your gorgeous dick when I’d abruptly bend over an’ make it disappear from view. I’d moan in erotic heat while you thickened inside me warm an’ wet mouth. And I’d bob me head up an’ down to th’top of me fist, gettin’ you nice an’ slick before pullin’ me head up and then holdin’ your dick steady while invitin’ Isabela t’take a turn.”
“Nnnggghhh…” I groaned, imagining first Naimh and then newcomer Isabela bending over my lap to take turns sucking my dick.
“I’d keep me left fist around th’base of your dick, though, continuin’ to claim ownership. She wouldna be able t’handle your entire length anyways, not without lots an’ LOTS of practice. I’d place me hand on top of her head, gently forcin’ her lower and lower ‘til her lips touched th’top of me hand. An’ only IF she seemed like she could handle that would I let go of your base an’ see if I could push her down any further.”
“FUCK, Neevie…” I groaned, and her pumping hand sped up in response.
“I’d hafta decide whether or not I wanted you t’cum in her mouth just yet. I mean, if you were close t’poppin’, I’d mutter into her ear about how such a sexy babe needed to swallow all of me man’s spunk. I’d hold her head while you pumped yourself up into her mouth over an’ over an’ over again ‘til you spilled your seed straight inta her stomach. An’ then we’d hafta see if she could take alla you without chokin’, or if she’d be unable t’take it all, pull off, and let some of your slimy spunk leak out around her lips for me to lick up.”
“Nnnggghhh…” I groaned again, feeling incredibly turned on by Neevie’s aural fantasy but nowhere near actually popping just yet.
“Either way, soon ‘twould be time t’finally mount you,” Naimh continued, sitting up straight, sliding off the bed, and spinning around to face me. She quickly wriggled out of her burgundy skirt and panties while I didn’t hesitate to yank down my pants and boxers. Neither of us bothered to remove our shirts yet, though, in too much of a hurry to get joined together. My horny redhead quickly climbed back onto the bed and straddled me in a reverse-cowgirl position, held my erection aloft, and then promptly sat herself down on it without further ado. And she moaned in deep-seated relief, “Ffffuuuucccckkkk…”
“Nnnggghhh…” I groaned once more in sympathetic harmony.
Naimh knelt with her legs bent in a W-shape, knees forward and feet next to her butt with her toes pointing out to the sides. She was facing away from me, but as her body went spineless with pleasure she collapsed back against my chest. I once again slipped my right hand beneath the hem of her shirt to cup her breasts while digging the fingers of my left hand into her crotch to resume rubbing her love button. And soon my girlfriend was rather animatedly humping herself up and down in my lap.
But she stopped before reaching a zenith, collapsing back against my chest and taking a break to breathe. Naimh turned her head to the left and started caressing her own breasts while saying, “I’d turn me head an’ pucker up t’meet her passionate kiss. She’d fondle me boobs an’ slap me ass while askin’ me if you felt just as big an’ as thick inside me as she’d always imagined. I’d tell her th’real thing was even better than her imagination, but that she’d need t’get me off first if she wanted t’find out.”
“Ohhh… Neevie…” I groaned, clamping my hand more tightly around her boob and bending forward to gnaw on her neck.
“That’s when she’d park her face between me thighs and start provin’ to me she’s as good at cunnilingus as she’d promised. I’d grab her hair with both hands an’ pinner head against me crotch, undulatin’ meself forward an’ back t’really mash me pussy against her face while feelin’ your big dick stretchin’ me out.” Naimh likewise undulated along with her story. Then she giggled while adding, “I’d throw her a bone every now an’ again. An’ I mean that li’traly, pullin’ meself up an’ letti’ner suck’yer fat monstra far a li’l bit ‘fore mashi’na’way ‘er head and claimin’ yar gor’jis dick far me’self agin.”
Neevie really got into playacting that bit as she elevated herself off my dick, held my erection forward between her legs and gyrated herself around in midair as if watching a phantom Isabela sucking my dick for a few seconds, only to forcibly shove the phantom Isabela’s head out of the way and then mount herself right back on me again.
I laughed and grabbed hold of my girlfriend’s hips, pinning her down against my pelvis and yanking her body around and around my upright prick for my pleasure and hers as well.
Naimh reached up to clamp her hands over her eyes while letting her head loll around with her wildly concentric gyrations. “Fuuuuck meeee Maaaattyyyy!!!”
I amplified my thrusts, planting my feet flat on the mattress for leverage to really drive my dick upwards over and over and over again.
My randy redhead rode me with one arm flailing like I was a bucking bull in a rodeo. She was rapidly losing herself to the delirium of orgasmic ecstasy, and I held tight to my cowgirl’s hips as I hammered myself harder and harder and harder until she suddenly started screaming in unholy release.
“FFFUUUCCCKKK!!! FFFUUUCCCKKK!!! FFFFFUUUUUCCCCCKKKKK!!!”
“Unnngggghhhh!” I grunted right along with her, my girlfriend’s inner tremors triggering my balls to ready their release as well. “Unnngggghhhh! Unnngggghhhh!”
“Ya wannis cum?!? Ha?!?” Naimh howled. “Ya wanna feel’im sprayin’ down yar cunt wit’all’is mighty sperm! Well yar gon’hav’ta suckit outta me cunt farst, honey! Yar gon’hav’ta drin’kit outta me cunt ‘cause me man’s sperm farst ba’long’sta MEEEEE!!!”
“UUUUNNNNGGGGHHHH!!!” I groaned as the dam burst, and I thrust upwards while geysering great gouts of scalding spunk straight up into my girlfriend’s sucking snatch.
“FILL ME!!!” Naimh screamed.
“UUUUNNNNGGGGHHHH!!!”
“FILL ME MATTY!!!” she screamed again.
“UUUUUUNNNNNNGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!”
“FFFFIIIILLLLLLLL MMMMEEEE!!!”
I’d wrapped both forearms around my Head Girlfriend’s midsection, clutching her close while I humped and twitched and blasted her full of creamy jism. Naimh went limp before I did, collapsing back against me. A moment later my strength left me as well, so that we wound up in a crumpled heap against the headboard with our sweaty, sodden bodies joined together in a single mass of flesh still oozing sexual fluids.
And then Belle’s voice rang clear in the air from over by the open doorway.
“What was that about drinking Matty’s sperm outta your cunt?”
****
“Okay first of all, I wanna make clear that we’re not doing a repeat of the Eva situation where they fuck around without us but we never get to watch or participate, alright? Matty’s totally allowed to hook up with Isabela - or even Luna - if the situation presents itself. But ONLY if he’s with at least one of us, got it?”
Belle leaned forward in her seat, quite deliberately staring first Naimh and then Lily in the eyes until both girls nodded their agreement with her declaration. And then she turned an expectant look towards me.
“I got it. Don’t touch Isabela unless at least one of you is present and approving. Easy enough,” I stated with raised hands and a conciliatory expression on my face.
“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Naimh pronounced. “Isabela’s made clear she swings both ways and would very much prefer doing a group thing over a one-on-one. The more the merrier for that girl.”
“Agreed,” Belle stated with a nod, her pale-green eyes twinkling. “Now it’s just a competition to see which one of us gets to her first.”
“Given what little I know of Isabela,” I drawled, “I’m pretty sure that’d just be whichever one of you she happens to see next.”
Everyone chuckled at that.
“But now that we’re on the subject,” Belle continued, “I think an amendment to your permission with Eva would also be appropriate, assuming she ever comes back.”
I blinked in surprise. “Eva?”
Belle checked with Naimh and Lily before returning her attention to me. “While we made clear from the beginning we were alright with you and Eva hooking up should the opportunity arise, it’s been… mildly annoying… that she keeps jumping you only when the rest of us aren’t around.”
“‘Mildly’ annoying?” Lily teased.
“Well maybe more than ‘mildly’ annoying,” Belle conceded with a smirk for Lily before again returning her attention to me. “We accepted Eva because we thought she was going to reintegrate herself with the group, not continue sneaking one-on-one hookups behind our back and then go hide out in her room rather than face the music.”
I frowned. “You were the one who said it was a completely understandable reaction for her to hole herself up like a hermit.”
“Understandable to hide out, yes,” Belle conceded. “But we’ve made clear she’s welcome to join us for the larger group stuff. Why does she continue to only seduce you when you’re alone?”
“I think there’s something psychological going on there,” Naimh mused aloud before pursing her lips. “Could be something as simple as Eva being totally straight and not wanting to be naked and vulnerable in front of the rest of us.”
“Could be something as simple as not wanting to be naked and vulnerable in front of the rest of us,” Lily posited, “regardless of her sexual orientation.”
Naimh nodded thoughtfully on that. “Or maybe because she still doesn’t feel comfortable around us yet - not to that level. She’s clearly found that comfort level with Matty, but only him so far. And I don’t think having Belle start demanding she strip down in front of us is gonna help with that.”
“It’s not that I’m not requiring Eva stick her tongue up my twat or anything,” Belle declared. “But I don’t like her draining my boyfriend’s balls behind my back, you know? And that doesn’t even mention how she’d torn up his back. Like, if you’re gonna borrow my toys, don’t damage them, huh?”
“Wait, ‘boyfriend’?” Naimh arched an eyebrow at Belle. “Are you calling Matty your boyfriend again now?”
“Yeah, you usually say, ‘my big brother’s’ balls or something like that,” Lily pointed out.
“Yes, yes. Matty’s my official boyfriend again,” Belle said rather dismissively. “And I’m an official girlfriend now.”
“Wow, really?” I asked.
“Matty, we talked about this,” Belle muttered wearily.
“Well I know we talked about it,” I admitted. “And I know I came away from that conversation thinking you wanted to take an official title again, but we never actually confirmed: Yes, Belle is an official girlfriend again.”
“Then let’s confirm it now. Yes, Belle is an official girlfriend again,” my little pixie stated firmly.
“Duly noted,” Naimh acknowledged with a nod while Lily rubbed Belle’s thigh encouragingly. Naimh then grinned as she added, “Just so I can mentally categorize correctly that it was me fellow girlfriend who just slurped me boyfriend’s sperm outta me sodden snatch and snowballed some of it back to me, rather than me boyfriend’s ‘little sister’ who did all that stuff.”
“Oh, I’m totally still his ‘little sister’,” Belle insisted. “I can be both if I want to.”
“Gotcha.” Naimh winked at the strawberry-blonde before raising her left hand as if it were a notepad. She then mimed writing with her finger while dictating, “Belle can flip-flop between ‘little sister’ and ‘official girlfriend’ or even ‘both’ at her slightest whim and will prolly change her mind a few more times before the end o--”
“Alright, alright, I get it,” my little pixie cut her off with a chuckle. “For now, though, I’m definitely flopped to ‘both’.”
“Fair ‘nuff. But back to Isabela and Luna now,” Naimh suggested.
“Back to Eva,” Belle corrected, looking sternly at the three of us. “We’re a forgiving group and I’m perfectly willing to accept her back, but if Eva truly wants to come back, she’ll have to play nice from now on.”
“Or what?” I asked, eyes narrowing.
“Or else she’s out.” Belle shrugged. “Revoke her permission. We’ve given her more than enough chances already, haven’t we? I know you don’t want us to appear like The BTC is full of jealous bitches, or that our continued friendship is ‘conditional’ on her good behavior, but just because we’re a forgiving bunch doesn’t mean we should accept toxic people just because.”
“She’s not toxic,” Lily insisted. “She’s… broken.”
“And you wanna fix her,” Belle sighed.
“I’d like to help her if I can, yes,” Lily stated seriously. “The rest of you don’t see her as often as I do. She was fine for the first few days, but then last night I heard her crying in bed late at night when she thought I was already asleep. I feel her angst when I tell her to come back to the house. And I see the longing in her eyes when I talk about you, Matty.”
I blinked. “Really?”
“Really,” Lily confirmed mournfully, giving me a sad look. “Which brings me back to why I’m here. I mean, I’d totally be here on a Tuesday afternoon anyways but specifically why I’m here now as opposed to… well, I suppose I’d specifically be here right now on a Tuesday afternoon too but--”
“Spit it out,” Belle interjected.
“Well…” Lily paused to collect herself. “While Matty and Naimh were apparently fucking each other’s brains out and fantasizing about Isabela at the same time, and then while Belle was slurpi--”
“Lily!” Belle exclaimed.
“I was in my room at Mrs. Morris’s house talking to Eva’s dad!” Lily hurriedly squeaked.
“You should’ve led with that!” Belle scolded.
Lily blushed bashfully and wrung her hands together, looking chagrined. But Belle quickly wrapped up her bestie in a warm hug and nuzzled the side of the Hawaiian girl’s head with her nose.
I was the first one to lean forward, giving Lily a serious look. “And what did he say?”
****
Taking a deep breath, I extended my hand towards the doorbell, only to chicken out at the last second and pull back.
It was ridiculous, really. The previous times I’d shown up at a girl’s house, mentally preparing myself to speak to said girl’s parental figure(s), I’d never felt quite as nervous as this. Even the first time I’d met Mari’s linebacker-built dad and immediately wondered if he was strong enough to squeeze my head as flat as a pancake had been less anxiety-inducing than this.
Perhaps it was because Mrs. Morris wasn’t actually Eva’s mom, but rather a crotchety old woman who cared more for the alyssum, viola, and poppies in her yard than for her human-being neighbors. We’d seen each other every now and again on the sidewalk, and in every instance, she’d given me the same kind of pressed-lipped, disapproving glare as Winston Churchill’s The Roaring Lion portrait.
Or perhaps I was anxious because I’d come to learn more about Eva’s life back on the islands, and because what I’d learned had been significant enough to make me come over here to Mrs. Morris’s house for the very first time. I mean, I could’ve just let the status quo remain, let introverted Eva sort things out in her head on her own, and simply wait for her to poke her head out of her turtle shell and venture back over to the house. It was basically what I’d already done with her before, and things had more or less worked out alright.
I mean, if you considered her cutting herself off from us and going completely radio-silent for six days straight to be “alright”.
But I didn’t consider it alright, not with what I knew now. So here I was, all alone, summoning up the courage to ring Mrs. Morris’s doorbell.
I rang the damn doorbell.
For thirty seconds, all was quiet. Thirty seconds may not seem a whole lot, but if you stop and count it out one second at a time, it can start to feel like an eternity.
One…
Two…
Three…
Four…
Five…
Six…
Seven…
Eight…
Nine…
Ten…
And so on and so on. I found myself tempted to ring the doorbell again, but just before I could do so, I heard the shuffling of footsteps on the other side of the door. A moment later, the light shining through the peephole went dark.
The jingling sounds of a chain lock being unclasped and then left to dangle against the wood came next, followed by the flip of a deadbolt being unlatched. I briefly wondered if Lily or Eva had to stand out on the doorstep waiting for Mrs. Morris to let them inside every day, given the chain lock and all, but before I could ponder that question any further, the door itself jerked inward.
“‘Bout time you showed up,” the old lady’s cranky, somewhat quavering voice declared before Mrs. Morris herself came into view. She was a small woman made smaller with age, slightly hunchbacked as she peered up at me through coke bottle glasses with orange marmalade plastic frames. She had a habit of patting her thin lips together between sentences, as if prepping herself to speak before actually doing so. And after three such pats, she gave me a withering look before scolding, “That poor girl’s been bawling her eyes out for days.”
For days? Lily had said she was fine up until yesterday.
“I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner,” I stated apologetically. “But I’m here now. May I please go up and see her?”
The old biddy started nodding as she backed up and opened the door a little further, but she stopped just before fully stepping out of the way and raised a bony finger to waggle it in my face. “No funny business in my house, young man.”
I blinked in surprise, a bit slow on the uptake. “‘Funny business’?”
“Do NOT have sex in my house,” she stated more plainly.
My eyes got big as I shook my head defensively. “Never even thought about it.”
“Hmph,” she muttered dubiously, rolling her eyes. Then she finally stepped out of the way and waved me towards the stairs. “Well go on then. Last door on the left. I’ll be right downstairs.”
That last sentence was more threat than reassurance, and I nodded my understanding before slipping off my shoes in the foyer and then heading up the steps. When I reached the top of the landing, I could tell based on the architecture of the building that the closed door immediately to my right would lead to the master bedroom overlooking the front yard. The open door to my left showed me an office packed to the gills with filing cabinets and boxes. And at the end of the hall were two rooms across from each other, to either side of a built-in linen cabinet.
The doorway to the right was open, clearly the bathroom.
The doorway to the left was closed, and it was this doorway I went to and then rapped my knuckles on the wood without hesitation, calling, “Eva?”
There was a pregnant pause before the hapa girl’s voice filtered through the door. “Matty?”
“Yeah, it’s me. Can I please come in?”
“Oh, shit!” I heard her mutter, just barely audible. The noises that followed sounded suspiciously like clutter being stacked onto desks and other flat surfaces, clothes being tossed into the hamper, and other last-second panicked tidying.
I took it as a good sign that she still gave a shit what I thought of her room’s appearance, unnecessary as that might be.
About a minute later, Eva popped the door open and gave me a bashful look. “Matty, hey… Uh, what are you doing here?” She stared downward for a moment, looking for all the world like a nervous teenager in her first year of college a million miles away from home, before flicking her eyes back up to me, expectantly awaiting my response.
“I came to see how you were doing. It’s been… Well… it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
She shrugged noncommittally. “It’s been a few days, sure. Does that really matter?”
“‘A few days’ passed a while ago,” I began, miming the air quotes. “By tomorrow, it would’ve been a week. I figured you wanted me to give you space and let you sort out things on your own, because that was what seemed to work for you before. But now it’s not that simple. I’m worried about you.”
“Pssht. There’s nothing to worry about.” She waved me off dismissively while walking back into her bedroom. And after she spun around and then flopped into a seated position atop a twin bed adorned with a black fitted sheet and a black and white tiger-print duvet, she shrugged and added, “I’m fine.”
I’d followed her into the room and closed the door behind me, moving to stand directly in front of her. “I hear you telling me that, but your dad’s not so sure.”
Eva blinked in surprise as she leaned back on both hands and frowned up at me. “My dad? What’s he got to do with this?”
I took a deep breath, held my hands up, and gave her a look of sincere concern. And then I slowly reached forward towards her left wrist, asking, “May I?”
Eva jerked her arm away from me protectively, squawking in alarm, “Hey, what the fuck do you think you’re doing!” She’d been wearing a simple Cal Bears cotton long-sleeved sweatshirt, and now yanked down on the sleeve so that her entire left arm was hidden from view, including the hand, before tucking that forearm against her belly and then shielding it with her right arm as well.
I sighed and held my hands up again, eyeing her midsection where she still cradled her arm and taking note of her damp jet-black hair. “You’re not wearing the leather wristband right now, are you? Lily said you’d already gone for a walk this afternoon, so I’m thinking you took a shower and took off all your accessories, figuring you were done for the day.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she muttered defensively.
“Lily spoke with your dad today while you were out,” I stated as calmly as I could, giving her time to process the words. And then I summoned up even more calm before adding matter-of-factly, “He told Lily about you slashing your wrist last year.”
Eva turned ghost white, her jaw dropping open, although no words or other sounds emerged.
“I don’t have all the details, nor did I stick around to try and capture the entire conversation,” I continued. “The girls are still grilling Lily back at the house to dredge up everything they can glean from her chat with your dad. But my first thought as soon as Lily told us that part was that I had to come over here immediately and make sure you were alright. That’s all I really want. I’d love to stay here and talk to you about this stuff more if you’ll let me. But if you’d rather I walk away and leave you alone, I’ll respect that and go.”
Still clutching her forearm to her belly, Eva nodded slowly, pursed her lips, and prepared to speak. I expected her to ask me to leave, but instead, she looked up at me with moist eyes and a haunted expression.
Before I even realized what I’d done, I found myself seated beside Eva on the bed with my arms fiercely wrapped around her. She shuddered and sobbed, burying her face into the crook of my neck as she bawled and wailed her poor little heart out. There was no buildup from small tremors to full-on quaking – she’d gone straight to the complete breakdown. Her nails dug into my back as she clutched me like her life depended on it. She moaned and whimpered and started blubbering, “Don’t leave me… Don’t leave me… Don’t leave me!”
I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, stroking Eva’s spine with one arm, clutching her against me with my other arm, and nuzzling my cheek against the side of her head as I repeated over and over and over again, “I’m right here… I got you… I’m right here… I got you.”
It took a long time… a long time… for Eva’s sobbing to subside and her flow of tears to recede. I held her as long as necessary and reassured her I’d never let her go. And in the end, she finally went quiet in my arms.
Her breathing became slow and steady while her arms relaxed around me. She went so still that I wondered if she’d fallen asleep on me, but when I tucked my chin to look down at her, she tilted her head back to look up at me.
And then she sighed, gave me a sad look, and mumbled, “I miss him. I miss Kai.”
