The Dramatic Spiel of Arthur and Chardonnay~ (7,133 views)

Susan’s Dress || Adelaide, Adelaide’s Outfit

—x—

Susan grabbed Chardonnay’s cookbook off of her kitchen counter and smiled to herself, looking down at the picture of her former student. She only caught glimpses of her on the TV now, and rarely made the trek out to the city that she lived in, but boy did Susan love this cookbook! It was filled with recipies that were realitively easy to follow, and easy to understand. She used it to cook meals for herself and Adelaide most of the time and it made her feel better than having to call her brother over to cook for her. Susan wished she could actually go up to Chardonnay’s restaurant, but unfortunately, she was unable to.

She looked around her house with a smile on her face as she waited for her daughter to get dressed, and maneuvered herself to the bathroom to look at her reflection. She adjusted her earrings and flattened her dress. Lately, she’d noticed her brother acting aloof (well, moreso than usual) and it bothered her. She knew he had bought the theater a few weeks ago, and she had congratulated him but she hadn’t done something nice for him like she’d promised herself she would do. So, she was going to cook him some food before he went into work this morning! She knew Arthur liked omelets and she was sure he wouldn’t object! He never turned down free food after all. She wondered if he kept enough supplies in his fridge, remembered her brother, and then decided to pack up eggs and peppers and onions from her own fridge. She knew he didn’t like to cook much when she wasn’t there! Which made her mad, but also gave her an excuse to invite herself over more.

A month ago Arthur told her and Adelaide to call before they came over – he said he was doing some project in his bathroom that made the whole place a mess. She believed him and had kept away but he had to be nearly done by now! And even if it was messy, who cared! Her brother’s standards for ‘messy’ were her standards for ‘sort-of clean’. She heard footsteps in the kitchen and walked out onto the floor, her small heels clicking on the limnonym.

”Are you ready to go, Addy?” Susan asked. Adelaide smiled over at her mom with her headphones in her ear. She was in shorts and a light orange shirt, with her brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was already nearly Susan’s height, and she was only 12! Susan was dreading the day her daughter surpassed her by even an inch. Once Adelaide was ready, Susan led the way out of the door and locked it behind them. She gave Adelaide the cookbook to hold as she slipped into her car, took a deep breath, and started it up.

She knew how to get to her brother’s apartment by heart, and it only took her about 5 minutes. When she reached the lot, she pulled into the visitor parking lot and got out of her car. Adelaide got out, too, and popped one of her earbuds out. They ascended the stairs and Susan reached Arthur’s door. She put her key into the lock and opened it, smiling softly when she saw the living room the way she remembered it always being. It was quaint, a little barren, but there were still portraits of the family on the coffee table and his laptop was sitting beside them, off.

”Arthur! Are you home?” Susan asked, but she was preceded by Adelaide who marched into the place like she owned it and slammed the cookbook on the kitchen table.

”Uncle Artie! I’m hungry!” She said. Susan laughed, and followed her daughter to the kitchen, before she turned down the little hall and knocked on Arthur’s door.

”Are you decent?” She asked.

—x—

Arthur sighed, his breath moving against Chardonnay’s skin as he did so. When she didn’t relent and continued to hog the covers he shifted more against her, almost clinging to her for the warmth that she was radiating. He felt her foot nudge his and he groaned slightly, but continued to paw at her nightshirt as though doing so would give him a chance to get his covers. Either that, or he just wanted to paw at her nightshirt and tease the skin underneath it.

”If you weren’t a sheet hog, this wouldn’t be a problem.” He emphasized. He might have moved even closer to her and let his hands wander if he didn’t hear something that woke him up immediately. Someone was at his door, fiddling with the lock.

Arthur sat up in the bed, staring at his closed bedroom door in mild horror until he heard a familiar voice echo throughout his apartment. His sister. His sister was here. Fuck. ”shitshitshitshit,” he said, practically throwing himself out of his bed, ignoring the tangle of sheets that tried to trip him. He turned towards his bed, at Chardonnay’s sleeping form, before he moved to the side and shook her. ”Wake up, Princess!” he snapped, in a whisper, just as he heard a knock on his door and his sister asked a question.

”Uh – not – not yet let me get dressed,” he sputtered out. ”Why are you here? I told you my place was messy!”

”Why do you sound so frazzled? Did I interrupt you? And this place isn’t messy, Artie! You’re such a neat-freak sometimes. Unless you don’t want us here for some reason?” Susan asked, and there was something teasing in her voice that caused Arthur’s cheeks to flush.

”No! I’m just – in the middle of getting dressed!” He said. His sister giggled and Arthur groaned, rubbed his face, and then turned towards Chardonnay and spoke in a hushed whisper. ”you need to hide. I can try to get them to leave but unless you want to explain to my sister why you’re curled up in my bed, you need to fucking hide.”

This was not the way Arthur wanted this morning to go. For fuck’s sake, he wanted this to go so much better! He could be having sex right now, turning Chardonnay’s body over and sliding his hand into her panties, but instead here he was, hastily waking her up and telling her to hide. His sister meant well and he loved her to death but he told her to warn him. ”she never warned me! She just showed up,” Arthur hissed in response, but thankfully, Chardonnay did hide – in his closet. He felt bad about her having to be in there, but then again it... he couldn’t tell his sister he was sleeping with her. He just couldn’t. They weren’t anything. Susan would never know about the secret relationship he had with Chardonnay.

Once she was in the closet Arthur hastily threw on a red plaid shirt and zipped up a pair of jeans. He spritzed himself with cologne, obscuring Chardonnay’s scent on him. Once he was sure Chardonnay was in the closet, he approached the door and opened it, staring at his sister. Susan smiled at him, and reached over to pull him into a hug, one that Arthur hesitantly reciprocated. Susan pulled away, mussed her brother’s hair, and pressed a kiss to his forehead. She giggled at the face he made in response.

”We came over to make you some breakfast.”

”It’s fine.” Arthur said, looking beyond her into the kitchen. Adelaide was looking around the fridge and he prayed to fuck Chardonnay had used all her fancy ass food. ”Look, Susan, you don’t need to make me breakfast – “

”Tut tut! No! Yes I do! This is your congratulatory breakfast for buying the theater. I meant to do something the day you told me, but I haven’t had time! Not until now, anyway!” Susan insisted. She moved past her brother and entered his bedroom, looking at the messy bed. Arthur hastily tried to make it, praying that his sister left the room.

”Thanks, but you really don’t need – “ Arthur started, but was interrupted.

”I want. Now, I brought Chardonnay’s cookbook! She has a recipe for omelets in here that look really good! I think you’ll love them. I’ve cooked them a few times for Adelaide and I. I even brought over my own ingredients!” Susan said. ”In fact, I’m going to go and start that now!”

”Wait, Susan – can – can we go somewhere instead?” He said. Susan paused and turned towards her brother with a furrowed brow. ”I... uh, I...” as he thought of an excuse, his eyes travelled to the nightstand where he saw Chardonnay’s phone. Shit. Shit. Shit. He tried to act like nothing was wrong. ”I... I’m going a little stir crazy lately.”

He prayed that Susan didn’t notice her phone, because he couldn’t grab it without Susan noticing. Fuck, fuck, fuck...

”Arthur, is something – “ Susan was cut off by a yelp from the kitchen, as Adelaide happily squealed. ”Uncle Artie has fudge!”

”Fudge?!” Susan looked at her brother, who just shrugged it off.

”Yeah, I mean, I bought it on a whim?” Damn Chardonnay for having shit in his fridge! Fucking hell... this was a long morning already. Susan poked her head into the kitchen, and when she did so, Arthur glared in the general direction of his closet. ”You left your phone out here,” he hissed into the door, while Susan and Addy were distracted by the fudge.

Arthur groaned slightly at Chardonnay’s comments. She sounded angry – really angry – and while she had a right to be angry about being shoved in a closet this was just not necessary. He wasn’t happy about this. He was mad that the potential for morning sex was gone. God, if Susan hadn’t shown up, he could be having sex right now. Though he guessed he was glad they showed up when they did – had he been inside her in the middle of sex, which would have been embarrassing and difficult to hide. Having Chardonnay at his place for so long was more risky than he really wanted to think, and he was damn lucky this hadn’t happened earlier.

He grabbed the phone off the counter and kept an eye on his doorframe, beyond which he could hear Susan and Adelaide talking. ”well, I –“ he started, but was cut off by his sister appearing in the doorway. He shut up right away and moved away from the closet door, Chardonnay’s phone now kept in the rear pocket of his jeans. He begged the stupid thing didn’t go off.

Susan wasn’t eating any fudge, but Arthur knew Adelaide was in the kitchen. Well. He hoped Chardonnay didn’t want that back. Susan stepped into the room and took a seat on the bed. Arthur winced a little, knowing who’d been on the bed a few moments ago, but thankfully Susan didn’t flop backwards or anything. But, still. She sat. When all he wanted was for her and Adelaide to leave.

”There’s nothing different about your bathroom.” She said, in an uncharacteristically serious voice, and Arthur froze. No. Fuck no. No, no, she was getting suspicious, not here, not when Chardonnay was in his god damn closet...!

”I changed the way the closet was. One of the shelves was loose.” He made up a quick lie, one that made Susan hum but he knew she didn’t believe him. Susan felt the material of his bed.

”Your new mattress is really comfortable. When did you buy it again?” She asked.

”Beginning of the month. I wanted a better bed because I knew buying the business was going to be stressful.” He said. He prayed that Susan bought it but she just hummed, again, and stayed there for a few moments. The clock ticked on and Arthur wanted her to get up and sit in the kitchen, but she wasn’t going to. Adelaide could be heard in the kitchen, chewing on the fudge, but Susan just exhaled. When she did, Arthur felt his eyebrows twitch.

”You’re not as good an actor as you think you are. Especially when it comes to me. I practically raised you, after all.” She wagged her finger at him and Arthur looked away from her face. ”Does this new bed have anything to do with that night you came to my apartment last October?”

The pause that followed was painful, and Arthur folded his arms over his chest. He didn’t say anything, unable to lie to his sister but also not wanting to have this conversation where Chardonnay could hear. Susan waited, for 2 minutes, until she realized he wasn’t going to respond, and she sighed again. ”You won’t tell me anything. I tell you everything. I don’t get it.”

”Only because there’s not much to tell.” He said. Susan narrowed her eyes up at him.

”Are you in a relationship?” She asked.

”No.” He said.

”Do you have feelings for someone?” She asked.

”No.” He said.

”Do you want a relationship?” She asked. That made Arthur pause, only because of the look on her face. But then he sighed, and focused on her.

”No.” He said.

Nothing he said seemed to please Susan, so he walked to her side, and offered her his hand.

”If any of that changes I’ll tell you. I’m not lying to you. I just... I don’t have anyone on my mind.” But why, then, did he think of Chardonnay and the way he’d held her in his kitchen last Monday? He didn’t want anything with Chardonnay. They weren’t seeing each other. They were just fuckbuddies. That was it. ”Someday I’ll want a relationship. But right now, I’m focusing on the theater. Jason’s got big shoes to fill.”

”I guess you have a point.” Susan said. She finally seemed to buy something he said, so he continued.

”I’ve just been stressed out by the thought of taking over so I’ve been kind of distant. And I spoiled myself a little. But it’s not a frequent thing, and it’s not going to happen again. Could we go to Denny’s? I could use a pancake bigger than my entire face.” He smiled at Susan, and she smiled back, hopping to her feet.

”Okay. Just tell me if that changes, because I want to know! I love you, Artie!” She said. ”I’ll go get Adelaide and tell her to get ready! Oh! Can I just drop my food off in your fridge?”

”Sure, there should be room. I love you, too.” He said, but as Susan bounced out of his room to tell Adelaide to go easy on the fudge, he felt like the shittiest person alive. He didn’t know why. Technically he didn’t lie to her. But he just... didn’t know. He felt like shit. Did he lie? Did what he and Chardonnay do count as a ‘relationship’? Would she be mad if she found out? He didn’t know, and for some reason, hiding Chardonnay from her pissed him off. But at the same time, he didn't want to tell her about it.

He didn’t bother glaring at the closet before he opened up his nightstand drawer and put Chardonnay’s phone inside. He shut it.

”Your phone’s in my nightstand drawer. I’ll text you when we’re far enough away you can leave.” He said. ”I don’t know what time Susan will bring me back, so you should probably get out while we’re gone and drop your things off back at your condo.”

Arthur rolled his eyes and left the closet door, moving out through the archway of his door to see Susan putting the fudge, and her things, in his fridge. Adelaide was licking her fingers with chocolate smeared all over her face. She looked ridiculous, and Arthur grabbed a small towel and dabbed it with water, bringing it to her face to wash the smeared fudge off. She protested saying she could wipe her own face off but then Arthur said a retort about her always missing a spot and, once he was done, Adelaide’s face was void of fudge and she looked ready to go. She was hungry and as she demanded food, Arthur wondered where exactly this girl put it all. He reasoned it must all go to her legs – which were already long and approaching his in length.

It took about 5 minutes for Susan to finish getting herself ready to go, and the entire time Arthur was just wanting them all to go so Chardonnay could leave. He bit down on his lower lip as he waited and when Susan emerged from the bathroom, she glanced around the kitchen. She commented that it smelled really nice in here, and something seemed different, but before she could complete her thoughts, Arthur grabbed his wallet and his keys off of the counter. He told Susan that he wouldn’t mind driving them down to the restaurant, but Susan insisted that she drive so Arthur complied and he and Adelaide headed to the door. He was the last to leave and hesitated for a second before he locked the door. He wasn’t going to be seeing Chardonnay in his apartment for a long time after this.

He followed his niece down the stairs and to the car, getting in the passenger side door while Adelaide hopped in the back. Susan hummed to herself and asked Arthur all about his first week as a businessowner, before she pulled out of the spot and began the twenty minute drive to Denny’s. About five minutes into it, Arthur sent Chardonnay a text saying that she could leave. There was no response from her, no affirmative other than the fact she’d seen it. He didn’t know why he stayed holding his phone until Adelaide had to ask a question twice. It didn’t bother him at all. This was the usual and besides, she was mad about his sister and niece coming over, right?

But... that didn’t mean she would call this off. Right?

By the time they got to Denny’s, he’d put his phone away and was engrossed on the conversation at hand. No one texted him and distracted him. He talked to Susan about the business, about Jason’s going to the Bahamas, and about his plan to give some of his money to a charity. Susan smiled at that and asked him if he was willing to take any suggestions, and she pulled out a notepad from her purse and jotted down a name. She said that they had helped her when she needed it, and Arthur thanked her and slipped the paper into his wallet. The conversation then shifted to Adelaide and how excited she was for school, and how Annabelle was doing. She asked for the next time Annabelle could come over and Susan said that she could come over whenever. Adelaide got excited at that, as usual, and she was happy the whole way home. When they got to the apartment Susan bid her brother adieu and gave him another congratulations before she headed back home with Adelaide.

Arthur ascended the steps to his apartment and hesitated at the door. Has she left yet? Probably – it was passed the time she needed to go into work, now. He was glad she left the door locked, and slipped inside. Though there wasn’t anything about the apartment that was different something felt... off. He was all alone. He entered his apartment and shut the door behind him, putting his leftovers on his table. He glanced at the wall of his living room, the pictures on the coffee table, and the little path to his bathroom. There wasn’t even a trace of Chardonnay. That was how it should be. There shouldn’t be a trace of her or any sign that she and Arthur screwed one another. But it just looked so... empty. He never noticed the little things she’d left around the apartment. There was an occasional area in his place that looked wrong – a corner, a counter, a cushion – and he could never place why but there was something off. He tried to ignore this off feeling and spent the afternoon looking into the charity his sister recommended.

It was called The Tamsyn Foundation and it was started in lieu of a woman who escaped her battered husband. Founded by her friend back in 1960. Its key beneficiaries were single mothers, who were given money for food and rent if they needed it. The fact that Susan had once gotten help from the charity made Arthur want to pay it forward, so he prioritized seeing the founders of this charity to discuss in person what their goals were. He considered himself a good judge of character and hoped if they weren’t as generous as they seemed, he’d be able to tell. He exhaled and was about to shut his laptop closed when his phone started to ring. He picked up and, on the other end of line, was Jason. He called to tell Arthur all about how his vacation was going, and he also wanted to know what Arthur was doing with the theater. Arthur explained that things were going well but didn’t mention the charity yet – he didn’t want any influence other than his own (and, apparently, Susan’s) on which one he chose for personal reasons. Instead of closing the laptop he watched a show for a few hours. Once they was done Arthur closed the laptop and went to bed. He got ready in a few moments, but then he entered his room and saw how... empty it looked. Had it always looked this empty?

He curled up on his side of the bed and faced the side Chardonnay used to sleep on, exhaling. His phone vibrated and Arthur grabbed it, seeing that message from Chardonnay that she’d gotten home safe. He looked at the message for a second. Before, he’d liked getting these, and he still did, sort of, but he couldn’t deny that he liked it even better when she’d come here every night and he could see her, safe and sound, as she nestled her way into his bed. He replied with the usual emoji, and found sleep. Eventually.

The next morning, Arthur yawned and one of the first things he did was open his drawer to grab something when another something he hadn’t left there thunked against the side of the drawer. Hesitating, Arthur reached in and pulled out the cash, his eyes going wide as his brow twitched. Seriously? Chardonnay forgot this much money? He counted it out – it had to total to 1,000 dollars. Who the fuck left 1,000 dollars and didn’t notice? Only a spoiled Princess.

He called her that morning at 10, but she didn’t answer. He exhaled and called again, expecting her to be sleeping. But when she didn’t answer that time, too, he texted her, told her it was about the money, and then called again. Finally, there was an answer. He rolled his eyes. Fucking Princess. He told her she was ridiculous for leaving it there on accident, but he was caught off-guard, when she said it was for him, rendered completely speechless for a second. He stuttered out that it was too much. But she obviously wanted him out of her hair and she insisted, and so by the end of that phone call, Arthur was left with an excess of too much money. Since his rent was only 750 a month, half of that didn’t nearly total a thousand. With the excess money he paid for his other pills and then, still, there was about two hundred dollars just... existing. He didn’t like that. He figured he’d just use it for gas money in case he went up to her place.

His routine went back to normal... sort of. The businessowning thing was still a huge change, though. Arthur wound up having a lot more responsibility thrust onto his shoulders and now he could come in whenever he wanted, and leave whenever he wanted. But Arthur typically made it a point to always come in unless he was otherwise occupied. He even hated being at home when they were open only because he wanted to be there making sure everything went smoothly. So his ‘days off’ really turned into only not going in if he had plans. When it came to Chardonnay, he figured, he could always just go to work after she left. But... that was another thing. Were he and Chardonnay still fucking? He guessed. She still texted him every night she got off of work, she still had his number and didn’t ignore him. But did she even want him anymore? He wasn’t sure.

After two weeks had passed, Arthur had visited a few charities. He went to the one his sister had recommended first – they were nice but he didn’t have guarantees yet. He visited another one that just reeked of slime to him, and the third one he visited had horrible comments on the internet. He clicked his mouse absently through reviews and accusations, wishing that being charitable was as easy as everyone thought it was. “Just pick a charity”, sure. That made it sound so easy. But he didn’t want his money going to a corrupt agency. He needed a small one, one that could really use his donations, and one that he could trust. But for him and his money, trusting was difficult.

He texted Chardonnay when he got home that night expecting for her to say he could come over but when she said she was busy, he felt his throat get tight. She was busy? Doing what? He didn’t know and she didn’t tell him. He hated that he wanted to know and he hated that he missed her being in his bed. Not necessarily for sex, but just... in his bed, breathing beside him, and waking up with her in his arms. He remembered most clearly the shower they had taken together – the one that ended in disaster – and he squeezed his eyes shut in embarrassment at the memory. Fuck, something was wrong with him. He knew there was. He knew it when he was in middle school when he got pushed around and in high school when he couldn’t stomach looking in a mirror. He knew it in college when he shied away from opportunities and he knew it the first night he started to screw Chardonnay, when she’d gotten his shirt off of his body and he thought she would laugh at him. But for some reason it just stuck out the most in the shower, and he just didn’t know. Maybe it was for the best this ended. Maybe he should start focusing on long-term things instead of this fuckbuddy relationship that he and Chardonnay still maintained. He was almost 30. Time to move on... right? But anytime he pictured getting a girlfriend, getting serious about someone, there was only one person who popped into his head. And that, more than the horror at being rejected, made his palms grow sweaty and his breathing heavy.

No. They were fuckbuddies. That was it.

September rolled around and on the 8th, Erin invited him to her birthday party. It would be held at the local bar (classy) and the drinks were all free. Erin’s new boyfriend was the bartender there and he really liked to spoil his girlfriend. So, Arthur and a few of Erin’s friends wound up going, he got roped into drinking again. Three vodka shots later and he was completely drunk. He got the feeling Erin’s boyfriend didn’t like him but Arthur didn’t care. Because he was so drunk he couldn’t drive home and Arthur wound up giggily and slumped in the back of a taxi, squished between Erin and her boyfriend. Erin dropped him off at his apartment.

In his drunken state of mind, Arthur wanted to ask Chardonnay if she could come over. Then she’d be like she was when he was drunk before. She’d be comforting and, sort of, friendly, and more importantly, she’d be here. He was about to send a text when his phone was plucked from his hands and Erin shoot her head and told him not to text whoever it was. Drunk texting never went over well, especially not from his ass. Arthur snorted at that and tried to convince Erin to stay but she went back home with her boyfriend and that left Arthur alone in his apartment, drunk and bored. Sitting there on his couch, trying to sober up with his laptop, his drunken mind started taking turns for the worst and instead of being giggily the whole evening and finding amusement in the way anime physics worked, he just got depressed. No one was going to want him after he hit thirty, he was convinced, and the only person he seemed to want at the moment didn’t care. He didn’t care. He didn’t blame her, anyway, she liked being alone. But as he wrapped his arms around himself and nestled into the couch, he knew he hated being alone. He didn’t want to die alone.

He woke up the next morning with a hangover from hell, slumped across his couch in an awkward position, assaulted by the sun. He spent that day curled up in his bed and ignoring everyone, even his sister.

The next day he apologized to Susan and told her he hadn’t felt well. It was still so quiet in his apartment. There was no Chardonnay coming back and yelling at him, or making food in his kitchen, or just generally bothering him because she could. It was just him and his laptop and it was depressing. He hadn’t texted Chardonnay to ask if she was busy – he just replied with the typical emoji he always did when she got home safe – and grew used to this. They... would probably end soon. She’d stop texting him completely soon. And he would be okay with that.

His phone vibrated one evening and Arthur glanced at it, but when he saw it was from Chardonnay asking if he was busy he swallowed and suddenly felt nervous. She... was asking if he was busy now? He hesitated for a few seconds, before he typed out a ‘no. I can be there in an hour’. His place was kind of messy at the moment and he’d rather not have her over here. Just because it would be too hard to see her go in the morning.

The drive down to her place was longer than he remembered. He looked at the scenery he hadn’t seen in a month, took in the winding roads and the dusky twilight, before he turned into her city. He didn’t need to look at the map to get there and, once he reached her complex, he parked and got out.

It was still as damn luxurious as ever. He couldn’t believe she lived here. He took a deep breath. He was dressed in a nice dark blue button down and slacks, with his hair combed and his face shaven. He hated coming here sometimes because as he suspected when he walked inside he got a few stares. Most of the people here probably didn’t know who he was or where he lived, but that was fine as long as he didn’t look like a bum. It wasn’t for Chardonnay’s reputation – that could be damned as far as he cared – it was more about the sneers he didn’t want to get while waiting for the elevator.

Standing in the elevator made him think about what was about to happen, about the fact that he’d finally be able to sleep with her again, but more importantly, that he’d be able to wake up with her face beside him again. That was what he really wanted, and it confused him. It confused him a lot.

When he reached her floor he entered the code he still had memorized, and stepped into the hallway. He raised a fist and knocked on the door, taking a deep breath, hoping that she was just as eager as he was to start touching again.

Arthur waited for the door to open, wondering if she was right there waiting or if she was father back in her condo. He wondered what the damages looked like – if they were even visible – or if the plaid he’d hidden here was still somewhere present. He wondered how the month had treated her, if she’d settled back into her condo all right. He wondered if she missed seeing him every day, or if she was glad she no longer had to. He supposed she might not miss him, since she didn’t text him any more than she did for ensuring she was safe but, then, what did he know about her mind?

When the door was opened he got to see Chardonnay on the other side, and it made his breath catch in his throat for a second. He had almost forgotten what it looked like, seeing her on the other end of a door. She was staring at him and he stared back, wanting to touch her but firstly wanting to look at her, because it had... it had really been a month since he’d seen her. He hadn’t been around Susan’s cookbook, so he hadn’t seen that picture of Chardonnay. He didn’t even have a picture of her. He could probably google her name to see her face, if he really wanted to, but he didn’t want to be that desperate. Besides that wasn’t the same he just... he missed seeing her face as it reacted to him and everything he said. He missed the way that her face lit up with a smile, too, and the way her laughter sounded in his ears. It was smoother than the laughs he ever remembered coming out of her, breathy, and contagious. He wondered if he’d ever make her laugh like that again. He hoped he could, sometime.

When she reached out to grab him Arthur stepped into the condo, responding to her kisses with just enough fever as he slammed the door shut behind him. He could feel her hands on his skin, her fingers brushing against his nape, and he groaned into the kiss as he brought his own hands to her waist, holding her for a second until he allowed them to travel back to cup her ass and slowly slide them farther down towards her leg. He pushed her forwards towards the familiar way to her bedroom. He kept the kisses on her lips going as his hands wandered her body and found the zipper of her dress, fingering it, wanting to slide it down her body and leave it in a heap on the floor. But while his fingers slid the zipper of her dress down, he pulled away from her kisses. He pressed their foreheads together and looked down at her face, his eyes darkening as he felt... he didn’t know. He wanted her, in that moment, but he also didn’t want to rush. He wanted to look at her for a second before he trailed kisses across her cheeks and towards the skin of her neck, pressing his lower body against hers.

”It’s been a while,” He half-moaned against the skin of her neck, his body nudging her back towards her bed. Jesus Christ, he missed touching her like this. ”...your bed’s fixed, right?”

He didn’t pause to look around at the scenery like he had done the first time he’d come to this condo. He wasn’t distracted by the way things looked and he found himself, oddly enough, not looking around to see if everything looked the same like it did before. He didn’t care if her condo looked different – he didn’t mind it at all. All he was focused on was her and the way she moved, breathed, and spoke to him as she tugged him deeper into her bedroom and sat on the bed. He got her dress off before he crawled on top of her and was distracted by the way she thrust her chest up towards him, caught off-guard by her knee brushing his groin. That caused him to moan and move his hands to undo his belt and the fly of his pants while he let Chardonnay’s fingers handle his shirt.

At her suggestion, he smirked, and when she admitted that not only did she want this – she needed this – he felt something different than he’d felt before. It was almost like the first time they’d had sex, except less awkward and unsure. Back then the both of them had been hesitant about certain things, so they had to move a little slower and though it was satisfying it was only a taste of what would happen when the two of them slept together. But now they had experience but it was still... new.

He remembered that when they usually slept together, it was dark, and the curtains were all drawn. But here there was a sliver of curtain that was exposed, letting the light from the moon outside and the city below filter in. No one could see them – they were much too far away from the window anyway – but the moonlight gave their bodies more shadow and depth. With the moonlight filtering in, it formed a slit up Chardonnay’s leg and thigh that traveled up to her face and hair. It brought out the shine of sweat on her skin, and that made him want to kiss down the sliver, and he did until he got inside of her and then his focus was on her neck and face as he moaned against her skin with every thrust.

When they were done, he was satisfied, and there was something... different when he rolled off of her to catch his breath. He could see her naked body illuminated by the moonlight, glistening with sweat, her lips pulled into a sated smile that made him want to give them a peck. But he didn’t, and instead after she told him where his things were he nodded and went to go clean up in the bathroom and get his clothes on.

He hadn’t worn this pair of sweatpants in a month, and it was odd to be in them again, odd, but not unwelcome. This was a stable of sex with Chardonnay, he guessed. These were the same pants he’d changed into after their second night together. Jesus Christ... back then, he never thought he’d still be fucking her well into his twenties. But right now... he didn’t want to be doing anything else. He glanced at his face in the mirror, and caught his lips unconsciously twitching up into a smile. That was what happened after great sex, he supposed. He turned on the faucet and doused his neck and torso with water, paying no mind to any marks on his skin. He could deal with that in the morning.

He entered Chardonnay’s bedroom again and glanced at her figure in the bed. It was so much bigger than his... he wondered how she ever slept in this alone. Not wanting to dwell on that, Arthur lied down beside her and turned his body to face her, resting his cheek against his palm. He was able to see the sparkling lights of the city behind her head. The gold brought out flakes in her eyes.

”Your bed works fine.” he informed her, as his lips twitched back up into a grin. ”Rest of your pace seems fine too. Not that I got a change to look at much, though. Got kind of distracted.”

Arthur rose his eyebrows at Chardonnay as she spoke and said she would still be in his bed if this one didn’t work. That made him remember the last night they’d been together at his apartment, that morning when they woke up and bickered until his sister had shown up. As much as he loved his sister he wished she hadn’t have come that morning. He felt like Chardonnay leaving his apartment happened too quickly – she just never came back after she moved her shit out. They could have had sex that morning, or just shifted closer underneath the covers that morning. But either way, they would have had more time. Time was something he was becoming very conscious of lately.

”Well, you’re always welcome in my bed. Your spoiled ass bought the fucking thing.” He said, his voice thicker than usual with exhaustion. Despite the insult he wove into the comment he didn’t really mean it – he obviously got as much enjoyment out of his new bed as Chardonnay did. It was comfortable, it was a nice bed to just lose himself in at the end of the night. He was getting a little spoiled, he knew he was, but he could appreciate a few nice things. Like having a comfortable bed, or having a breathtaking view from the top floor of a condo building with a beautiful girl lying beside him in her bed, a girl who wanted him just as much as he wanted her. Her next comment made his eyes widen at the implication, before he snorted and his grin behind his hand for a second as he ran his fingers across his face. He drew the hand away and smirked at Chardonnay, examined her figure underneath the covers, before his eyes bounced back up to her face. He slid closer to one of her ears to whisper, ”judging by the shit that came from your mouth a few minutes ago, I think I work just fine,”

As she explained what had happened with the condo he glance dup at the ceiling, too. It didn’t look any different than the other nights he found comfort in her bed. He brought his gaze back down to her, and to the view of the moon outside. He lifted a hand underneath the sheets until he found the skin of her waist just underneath her top and started to draw small circles there, shrugging his shoulders. ”you’re an attention hog, too,” he added, though his tone was light and he sounded more amused than irritated by that. ”but now that we’re finished screwing, my eyes can wander around your condo all they want.”

It still amazed him how easily he could get her cheeks to flush in moments like this – and when he was feeling confident after a round of sex that left the both of them satisfied, he liked to tease her. Not necessarily to rile her up, but just to tease her and see how he could get her to react to him. It was different already than when she’d stayed at his place for a month. During that time he saw her every day but now this was the only time he was going to see her all week. When he went to work in the morning, he wouldn’t come back for another week. Maybe even later. It was September already, nearing October, and come December he knew he’d be busy for that week he had to go to New York with Susan and Adelaide since they hadn’t gone during August this year. It was what they were before. It was the normal, it was what they should be, but in that moment it made him feel... he didn’t know. Unhappy? And why did it make him feel unhappy? He should be glad the only times he’d be sleeping beside Chardonnay would be those times that they were finished with sex. He wouldn’t have to put up with her shit and go to bed angry at her, nor would he ever have to deal with hiding from her when she was on her period again. It was so empty in his apartment now, so lonely, and he felt stupid for thinking that when obviously Chardonnay wasn’t bothered.

She’d only stayed at his place for convenience. Just like how he only kept his things here for convenience.

”I never said I didn’t enjoy the shit you spewed. I just said that shit basically proves you like what I do to you when we have sex.” He countered, though when she suggested he had a fetish for shit he rolled his eyes. ”I don’t have a shit-fetish. There’s nothing sexy about shit.” Butts were cute, though. But the shit that came out of butts? Nope. He wasn’t interested in that at all.

When she insulted him he snorted again but didn’t really care. He was used to her calling him Jackass by now and, honestly, probably responded to that more often than he responded to his name when it came to her. He didn’t stop touching her until he felt her body stiffen underneath his hold and he pulled his hand away, slowly. He didn’t think that she was uncomfortable with the motion but instead he wondered if her discomfort was related to something else. He wondered if he’d hurt her at all with how desperate he’d been to get with her after that period of not having sex.

Normally he didn’t worry about that but with the way she cringed and seemed to force herself to relax he didn’t know. Sometimes he wondered if he was too rough, but he hadn’t actually thought he might have hurt her in... a long time. Like back when they first had sex, he’d apologized frequently when he moved and she made a noise that sounded different than a moan, but now that they were so accustomed to each other’s bodies he assumed he didn’t. But with that reaction, had he? He bit his lower lip. Would it be weird to ask? But, if she wasn’t completely satisfied after sex, he doubted she’d ever text him again.

When she said she couldn’t be her if she didn’t get attention he hummed in slight amusement. She really was so egotistical. How could someone love themselves as much as she did. He was tired, and his eyes didn’t want to stay open, but the thought that she might be in pain was enough to keep him away from a comforted sleep. She turned away from him then, and reminded him about work, and he rolled over to stare up at the ceiling he knew so well after years of being here.

”Do I ever hurt you?” He asked, a little awkwardly blunt, and even saying that just made him uncomfortable. He squirmed slightly, and pulled the covers up to his chin as though he could hide himself from her answer – whatever it might be. ”During sex, I mean. I – I – just – I never mean to.”

He wanted to groan at his own self for even asking her that, and he almost did, but instead pulled the covers up higher. They smelled like sex and her, and that probably didn’t help given the question he’d just posed. ”...getting to work won’t be too hard. I can just shower here.” and, on the plus side, he didn’t need to wear an official uniform anymore – just a nametag and something slightly professional looking. He had a nice shirt stowed away here, somewhere, he was sure. That would do. That, and a pair of his slacks rather than jeans.

The silence following his question was deafening to Arthur. He shouldn’t have asked. He should have just – just – rolled over and fallen asleep. For all he knew Chardonnay had already fallen asleep. She sounded tired, and she didn’t usually stay up late after they had sex. Sex had a way of tiring them both out, especially given how rough they could get with one another and how long that had started to go. They both lasted way longer than they used to, which made the experience more satisfying and pleasurable, but also tired them out way more after sex. So she was asleep. She hadn’t heard him, because she was asleep, she wasn’t just ignoring his question because he did hurt her but she didn’t want to admit it.

But then, she spoke.

Clearly, and seriously she answered him, and she rolled over too. Shyly, Arthur glanced over at her, his lips pressed together as she gave him that serious look that – despite her negative confirmation earlier – made his stomach churn. When she reached over and tried to tug the sheets down Arthur didn’t resist and let her pull them, hating the feeling of exposition that greeted his bare chest as she did so. He flinched at her anger. She didn’t have any right to get angry at him for posing such a serious question! Not when she’d acted that way!

If she wasn’t hurt then what – what the fuck was her cringe earlier about? He didn’t know and maybe, if that wasn’t it, she didn’t like something he’d done or said. He felt nervous – what if this was her being angry because of dissociation? It wasn’t really him bringing up this question but it was an excuse she had to get mad at him and then she could just cut this off, and she wouldn’t have to put up with him because she was obviously sick of him if that was the case. Though he was relieved that he’d never hurt her, that made him anxious for an entirely different reason.

”Don’t get mad at me for asking! I seriously – I seriously don’t want to hurt you! And you cringed earlier so excuse me for thinking maybe I did!” He snapped back, sitting up on the bed as he glanced over at her. It was rare that he could get angry this shortly after sex but in the moment he just... couldn’t feel anything other than anger. ”I don’t think you’re fragile! I know you’re not, and I don’t – you don’t hurt me but I – I don’t know, okay?! I don’t know why I thought of that or why it suddenly started to bother me but it just – it just did!”

He groaned and ran a hand over his face, before he turned to look over at Chardonnay. ”I don’t know. I’ve read shit online that sometimes it hurts women or something? I don’t know! I’m not a woman so I wouldn’t know how sex feels from your end!”

She wasn’t getting mad? Arthur found it difficult to believe that. And especially not when he mentioned her cringe and she cringed again! So if it wasn’t hurt, he must – h must be making her uncomfortable. But if that was the case then how was he doing that? Was he stepping over some uncrossed boundary or just saying all the wrong things? He tended to say the wrong thing all the time, and it got him in trouble sometimes, like now. Her excuse was not jumping his bones but, when she said that, he made a face at her that indicated he didn’t buy that.

”Thinking. Okay. Sure.” He said. He didn’t ask what about, he just – he didn’t even know if he wanted to know, by this point, if his thought were right.

No, if she was resisting arousal, her skin would have been warm. It would have unconsciously moved towards him and she would have bit her lip, maybe, when looking at him or pull away just then. But she didn’t. She cringed and he felt it. What if that was her seriously thinking about this, about them? What if now that she had her condo back, and they’d had sex one last time, she was considering ending this whole thing they had going? They had to end it sometime. They were late into their twenties now. They wouldn’t keep screwing if they reached thirty. She was considering ending this. One wrong move and all of this was just over – one more big fight between the two of them, and this was all over.

”I don’t know! Don’t ask me! I just – don’t know! I wanted to make sure, damn it!” He snapped. He glanced at her in her baggy tee shirt as she got just as angry as he did, and defensive, and why else would she get defensive if she was trying to end this soon? She was just trying to leave him hanging. It’d be just like the time she had that pregnancy scare and she ditched him completely. She’d just leave him hanging and she didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. He scoffed.

He braced himself for her refute when she closed her eyes and looked away from him, and when she looked at him and continued without shouting. He looked back into her eyes, too, and his anger started to fade at the softer tone she was using with him. Finally, she was taking him seriously, about this, about hurting her, or about hurting each other in general without each other’s’ consent. He didn’t want to hurt her, and as much as he’d ready about or even seen kinky scenarios on the internet or in books it just never appealed to him. He’d rather give her pleasure than pain and, while he didn’t mind being clawed at or having his own hair pulled, kinky just didn’t appeal beyond that.

Though when she told him she’d tell him if he ever did hurt her, he felt relieved. He felt a twinge of something he couldn’t describe when she said if he didn’t stop, she’d deal with him herself, a mix of fear and guilt, maybe, for something that hadn’t happened.

”I would stop. I could never hurt you that way.” He said, immediately after she was done her sentence and in a tone just as serious. He didn’t need to hesitate to know that he would and if he didn’t he could never live with himself after. He didn’t look away from her eyes, either, and he didn’t doubt her. She could definitely put him in his place if she wanted to – not that he’d ever say this out loud – but she could handle him the best out of probably anyone who knew him. She could call him out on his shit, she noticed when he wasn’t himself, and she just... knew him. Which he knew she’d deny, and he knew he’d never say, but she knew parts of him that no one else knew. And not just the physical ones. When she turned around and told him not to worry about her, he exhaled.

When she said crap like that, how could he not worry? How could he not worry she wasn’t going to get sick of him and leave him completely alone again?

”I just wanted to make sure. Just tell me if I do. Or if you get sick of me. Just tell me, don’t just stop texting me.” He was really tired. He shouldn’t talk when he was tired, especially not to Chardonnay. Not now. He smirked a little to himself when she made a comment about ‘those websites’. ”I don’t control what pops up in my facebook news feed. Seeing a buzzfeed article titled ’15 facts about sex’ kind of makes me curious.”

Despite the sense of unity they’d had when they were rolling around in the sheets earlier that evening, there seemed to be another distance forming between the two of them. The lines between what they were and weren’t were beginning to blur. They were... fuckbuddies. But that wasn’t it. He cared more about her than just for her body, he’d admitted as much. He told her she could always call him if she needed to, he let her live in his apartment for a month, he drove out an hour into a tornado warning to make sure she was safe. They were... friends, somewhat, at least he thought they were more.... friends-with-benefits than just fuckbuddies. She probably didn’t agree.

He was reminded again of the fact that any time there was something drastically out-of-the-way done in their relationship, it was always him doing it. She might be kind of him, sometimes, but she never went out of her way for him. He wondered what she thought about him when he said he’d never hurt her. She probably believed him – she had to, he was serious. And besides that, he’d proven that. He proved it when he took care of her after her first nightmare, after he took care of her drunk, got her home from that storm, and told her she could call him whenever she needed to. He’d proven it. He just didn’t get it. It seemed like she doubted him... all the time.

He felt better when she said she wasn’t going to vanish, but again, he wondered if he could really trust her on that. He could try, he wanted to try, but he just wasn’t sure. He glanced at the back of her head, at the way her hair fell over her shoulder before she turned to look over at him. He blinked.

”Hey. I wasn’t the one who got sick of your face. I texted you not that long after you left but you said you were busy. Obviously you just got sick of my face.” he half-joked, ”And sometimes I’ll look at stuff like that just... because I’m bored. And sometimes I learn new tricks.” Why did he admit that? He blushed after he did so.

When she mentioned it hurt the first time they had sex he was... he didn’t know. A little surprised, but not really. He felt a bit better when she said rather than pain, it was discomfort at having sex for the first time. He could still remember the first time they’d had sex. It had really been years ago. He remembered she had shoved him into his bedroom and onto his bed, stripping him on the way over there. He could remember the way she rolled her hips against his and the way she looked when he finally got all their clothes off and, the awkward few minutes he’d used to try to figure out how to properly secure the condom on (not wanting to mess up since it was his first time, too). As much as he hated to remember, he had actually tried to take advice from his more sexually-active friend Maxine in trying to make the experience as enjoyable for Chardonnay as he could with stretching and foreplay. He heard pain the first time was inevitable, but she had wanted more. They became a regular thing and, he took it hurting less as something to be proud of.

”At least you’re more comfortable with it now, right?” He stifled a yawn as he spoke and didn’t bother turning his head away from Chardonnay. He faced her as he closed his eyes, feeling more comfortable now that he knew he hadn’t hurt her. ”...it’s weird that after, what, 7 years, you’re still the only person I’ve slept with.”

After that conversation, Arthur hadn’t been worried any more about why Chardonnay might have cringed. She had her own reasons for doing things, he knew, and right now he was too tired to think about what those reasons might be. The knowledge that she was actually busy that weekend made him feel better, because she hadn’t been avoiding him, she’d been visiting her family. He knew their relationship had boundaries, he knew better than to ask her about it. As long as he just knew... minor details, he would be fine. Like the fact she was just visiting her parents.

The next morning, Arthur woke up before Chardonnay did and looked over at her. She was asleep to the best of his knowledge, still facing away from him. He kind of missed it when he would wake up with her in his arms, with her face shifted towards him, but this was normal. This was what he needed to get used to again. He took a shower and got dressed in the nicest shirt he kept at Chardonnay’s besides the one he’d worn over here in the first place, made sure his face was clean-shaven, and cleaned up after himself in her bathroom. He didn’t make any breakfast and he was out of her condo before she seemed to stir. Despite the fact that he could ‘go to work whenever he wanted’ now, he typically tried to get there as early as he could. It was 10 by the time he reached Salem and he pulled into a McDonalds to buy some cheap breakfast sandwich and a coffee before he finished the ride to the theater and entered, greeting the people who were already there and setting up as he did so. By the time 11 o’clock rolled around they were open, customers were flying in to make their 11:15 shows, and things were busy.

After a few weeks, Arthur officially gave Jasmin a promotion – after much consideration, she was given his former job of managing supervisor. When Arthur wasn’t present or when he was gone for whatever reason she was the one who would run the place. She was trusted with the only other key to the theater, the master key that could open not only the door but his office as well. The other key given to the manager in charge of setup – Christian – would only open the door to the theater itself, not Arthur’s office. Jasmin was excited to get the promotion and Arthur was glad to give it to her – out of anyone at the theater, she deserved it the most.

With the school year approaching again, Arthur found himself swamped with applications from students at Metric as well as phone calls from those seeking positions. He had a few openings so he had Jasmin pick out a few applications for interviews. By the time it was mid-September Arthur had finally settled on a charity: the same one his sister had recommended. That and another one had the best reputation and interviews he’d conducted and, he reasoned, this one had the endorsement of his sister. So around the theater he put adverts for the charity – not big ones, small ones to the side. There was a small text – not in everyone’s face, but there if one looked for it – that said some proceeds went to this charity. And that was true.

Rather than raising his salary, he kept it about the same as he had it when he was a supervising manager and instead put some of the extra money away to this charity. He felt a little better doing that but still – he felt nervous that this charity was a scam, deep down. He couldn’t help it. He knew that it was reputable. His sister was a success story! But... he didn’t know. Still, he felt better about that than keeping all the money for himself.

By the time it hit October, Arthur found himself more comfortable in the position of the owner of the theater. He made more lasting decisions, he changed bigger things, and he even had to change his staff. Unfortunately, with the new management coming in, there were older staff members who thought they could just skip out on work and still have their job because they’d gotten along with Arthur as coworkers. But he fired them without too much hesitation and while they didn’t seem to like him much afterwards, he explained he had a zero tolerance policy for slacking off. This slowly helped take care of the laziness problem that had been building up over the years. Jason rarely – if ever – fired someone, but unlike his former boss Arthur wasn’t afraid to make cuts when he needed to.

He spent Halloween night working at the theater because there was a new horror film that was opening that night. He felt bad for the employees who had to stick around and couldn’t go out and have fun. He would up buying the employees who stuck around some food – a big cake and some candy he picked up at the store that they all split in the break room – and allowed one of the newer part-time boys to take home the leftovers. He told them that he appreciated them all working that night. They seemed to appreciate the snacks. They didn’t get out until close to 3 AM that night because closing took forever, but thankfully, they didn’t open until 11 the next day and none of the part-timers he’d employed tonight had to work again the next day. Again, he thanked everyone for coming out, and told them he’d see them the next time they were all working.

Before he knew it, Arthur found himself looking at other apartments. It wasn’t even really for himself – he didn’t care much and liked his current one – but it was for his sister, Adelaide, and Maxine’s sake. He could easily afford a two-bedroom apartment with the money he made as a business owner. And he was looking around the two-bedrooms in the Salem area and found one only a street away from the theater. It was a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with more space than he really knew what to do with. But there was a third room, an extra living room that he could turn into a third bedroom if he wanted. That way, Susan and Adelaide could stay over together without having to share the couch. Adelaide was already so damn tall, she hogged the whole couch.

Over the course of those months Arthur had kept in contact with Chardonnay, getting her texts about getting home safe as well as meeting up with her about once a week, save for the occasional week one of them was busy. That November when he finally found a place he texted Chardonnay, telling her that he needed her to get her things out of his apartment the next time she came over because he was moving. Surprisingly, she hadn’t snapped something at him and had actually listened the next time she came over for sex. Afterwards she took all her things and left. It felt even emptier in his apartment, then. That week, as he prepared to move, he realized how many memories he had with this place. He realized how he knew the layout so well he could navigate it with his eyes closed. He remembered nights he’d stayed up till 3 AM playing video games with Maxine, and nights he’d comforted Adelaide when Susan teased her too much on his couch. He remembered the time Chardonnay stayed over his apartment and the time they’d had a food fight in the kitchen. He remembered this was the first place they’d ever had sex, and it held more sentimental value than he wanted to admit. He didn’t say anything to Chardonnay, because he knew she wouldn’t care, but it was something that just stuck out in his mind.

He moved on the morning of November 8th, with the assistance of Susan, Adelaide, Erin and her boyfriend, and Jasmin. He left the theater in the care of Christian that day, a decision he wasn't sure if he'd grow to regret.

Most of the heavy lifting went to both Arthur and Erin’s boyfriend (he kept forgetting the guy’s name) while the others generally brought in the smaller things and assisted them with navigation around the corners of Arthur’s apartment. Arthur put his bedroom in the room in the back of the house (in the picture, the bed with the green blanket). He allowed Susan and Adelaide to design the second bedroom however they wanted – because it was theirs after all – and the pullout couch was put into the living room. There were three balconies – two more than Arthur knew what to do with honestly – and the one attached to his bedroom quickly became his favorite. It faced the setting sun, and on days he was able to catch it, it was a better view than he used to have. Now, he was five stories high, not as high as Chardonnay’s condo, but not a measly two floors up, either.

This apartment, he thought, was better suited for a business owner. As much as he hated major change, this was a good one. It wasn’t too expensive given his salary, it was affordable and nice. He could afford to decorate a little more. He still kept his bedroom rather barren of pictures and posters for reasons he thought obvious, but in the living room he hung pictures of himself and his family. Jasmin and Erin spent most of the evening commenting on the pictures and telling Arthur which ones to put up while admiring the new couch he bought for the actual living room. He decided to make the living room attached to the dining room the main living room – the other room, the study, was a side living room and Maxine’s bedroom when she came over (because it contained the pull out couch).

By the time he was all moved in Arthur was exhausted. He crashed immediately and after he woke up he realized everyone was still in his living room playing his GameCube. He thanked them all for coming over and watched as Erin got her ass handed to her by an energized Jasmin. It was pretty entertaining.

The next time he had Chardonnay over was late that November, and he texted her the address, nervously. He didn’t know if she was going to make any remarks about his place. When she first came over he decided to just pull what she had when he first went to the condo – he pulled her into a kiss and tried to be as sexy as possible to just lead her to his bedroom and push her down onto his bed. He wasn’t entirely sure if it worked but she had gotten in bed with him, so, it was good for that much, at least. Even if it was a little embarrassing.

Since he now had two (and a half) bathrooms – one large one attached to his room and one attached to Susan and Adelaide’s – Chardonnay didn’t have to hide her things as detailed as she had previously. If she wanted to take a shower she had to use the half bath in the hall, but his bathroom had a bit more room for her to do things. He grew accustomed to seeing her things in his bathroom every morning, and when he had her over at his apartment, he couldn’t help but think that then, he felt better about having so much... space. Most of the time he just didn’t know what to do with all of this damn space!

By the time December rolled around Arthur told Chardonnay he was going to be busy about a week before Christmas for the next three weeks. Which, both fortunately and unfortunately, were true. Since it was going to be a long time, he told her that he was going to New York with his family. He didn’t go to detail, he just said where he’d be for the next few weeks. But, he told her, she could still text him when she got home safely if she wanted to (and he hoped she did). Jasmin was in charge of the theater for the next three weeks and Arthur made her call him once every day to give him an update of everything that went on while he was away. She made fun of him for it, but admired his dedication anyway. The time spent in the city was fun – Adelaide and Susan went on shopping sprees and Arthur wanted to go to a Broadway show. They took a few days to dedicate to visiting the graves of the late Mr. and Mrs. Summers, but the rest of the trip was fun. Arthur did get to see the show he wanted to see – and it was an amazing show, and Susan joked about him potentially opening a Broadway extension to his theater.

After the New Year Arthur returned to California and got back on track with his theater. He finally met up with Chardonnay after nearly a month of not having sex and realized again how much he missed her touch. No matter how much time passed between the two of them, he still wanted her. More than anyone he’d seen, he was just attracted to her in a way he had never wanted anyone else.

As time went on and the year went on, Arthur didn’t notice that Adelaide had taken to using his bathroom instead of hers and Susan’s. It was nicer, in her opinion. When Adelaide was trying to get some toilet paper to refill the role, she saw it – women’s soap. When she asked her uncle about it he quickly said that he bought it for her and Susan, since they always complained about his soap. He had to explain this to Chardonnay and apologized, saying he’d buy her new soap if she wanted it.

Arthur got a letter in the mail that May. He pulled it out and read it, seeing that it was a Metric College reunion that August. Shit, really? Had it been nearly 6 years since he graduated already? He was hesitant to go but Susan begged him to RSVP. So, he did, and he just hoped Chardonnay didn’t go. What would happen if she did?

They continued to fuck up until that August. Chardonnay left her makeup about his apartment and it wasn’t until she texted him one day, telling him to get her a more expensive pallet she’d left there when he came over next, that he realized he couldn’t find it. He looked in every bathroom, every bedroom, every nook and cranny but couldn’t find it anywhere! He didn’t know that Adelaide had the damn thing – and her suspicions about her uncle having a secret girlfriend she didn’t know about.

When the reunion happened, unfortunately, Arthur didn’t have the pallet with him. Chardonnay was going and of course the first thing his sister did was run over to her and exclaim how awesome her restaurant was. It was... unnerving for his sister to be conversing with his fuckbuddy when they weren’t dating. Adelaide was, of course, distracted by Annabelle and Arthur encouraged her crush as much as he could, oblivious to Adelaide’s intentions.

Adelaide planted the makeup pallet in Arthur’s bag, and when Arthur went to check it halfway through the reunion, he saw it and freaked out. How had it gotten into his bag? He didn’t put it there! But at that moment, Chardonnay must have seen him with it and came over and that was when they were fucked – Adelaide came out from behind the rack of coats and gave them a shit-eating grin that made Arthur’s blood run cold.

She knew they were sleeping together.

After that, Adelaide got more things she wanted from her uncle. He didn’t want her to tell her mother, so he bought her ice cream, gave her things, and begged her not to and that was when Adelaide got an idea! She hacked into her uncle’s phone (she actually just guessed his lock code, it was his birthday, really original) and saw ‘Spoiled Princess’, the only unfamiliar name on the list. She wrote the number down and closed the phone as though she’d done nothing, went to a payphone, and dialed the number.

When Chardonnay answered, Adelaide smirked to herself and introduced herself, saying that she got her number from her uncle’s phone. She said that she wanted something in exchange for keeping her mouth shut – her mom was very curious about any girlfriends’ of her uncle’s, after all – and she needed some incentive to keep their secret. She told Chardonnay what she wanted – an expensive Naked brand makeup pallet – and to meet her at the Salem mall Monday, August 23rd.

And so that was where Adelaide was now, at 12 PM on a Monday afternoon. School didn’t start for another few weeks and the last of students shopping for summer could be seen entering and exiting the building. Her uncle didn’t know what she’d done, or that she was here, meeting Chardonnay.

But, Adelaide thought, that didn’t matter. Because she wanted to meet this secret girlfriend of her uncle’s one on one. She wanted to see what this lady was all about!

Adelaide was in a loose outfit, with flats on her feet and her long brown hair pulled back into a braid. She glanced at her phone, waiting for Chardonnay to show up and give her that pretty pallet she wanted!

Adelaide stayed where she was, and noticed that Chardonnay was taking a lot more time than she wanted her to. She sat her butt down on a bench outside of the mall and pulled out her phone, sending Annabelle a selfie before she stared up at the big sign that bore the title of the Salem Mall. She grew up coming to this place – her mother and uncle always took her here to go shopping! Whether it was for Christmas gifts for friends, or for back-to-school shopping, she always loved to go to the mall! It was two floors of wonder, and sometimes when she was bored and feeling particularly sneaky, she’d sneak into Victoria’s Secret when her mother was chit-chatting with the security guard and her uncle was wandering into Newbury Comics. She would look at the pretty lace bras when she was bored and, as she got older, she found herself distracted by the models who wore the garments Victoria’s Secret advertised. They were so beautiful...

Adelaide opened the text log between her and her uncle, frowning at the last comment. It had been from him, telling her to get home safe after she informed him she was going to be walking home from school last Friday. He acted so concerned, but was he really? Lately, or ever since she found out about Chardonnay, she just doubted... everything he was doing and saying. He never mentioned a girlfriend. He never mentioned any friends named Chardonnay and, as far as Adelaide knew, they weren’t even friends! Before she’d interrupted them they were arguing. Chardonnay called her uncle a jackass. What kind of a friend called their other friend a jackass? Someone who didn’t deserve her uncle as a friend, that was who.

Adelaide had, of course, done her research on this mystery woman after she figured out she was sleeping with Arthur. A quick google search revealed that she was the owner of a fancy restaurant. Like, really fancy. The cheapest item on the menu cost more than a foot would cost on the black market, probably! Maybe that was what it was... a fried food disguised as a salad. But, among her research, Adelaide had discovered the scandals. She’d been involved with the Kardashians and, a few posts down, she saw her mother’s blog post mentioned that! Her mother, Adelaide found, really liked Chardonnay for some ungodly reason... all the more reason to tell her if neither of these two would cooperate! Adelaide discovered, too, that the cookbook her uncle had given her mother was Chardonnay’s.

Scandalous! She wondered how he got it! With more recent digging, Adelaide discovered the rumors about Chardonnay and her father’s money, about her body and attractiveness being the only reasons she was famous. Once again her mother had a blog post on the matter – less popular than the Kim Kardashian one, but still pretty well-commented on – and after that, Adelaide looked up information about Mr. Nicholas as well.

She learned that Chardonnay’s father also owned a restaurant, a sister restaurant out in Vegas. She looked up how much a five-star chef made and her jaw dropped. No way! She was totally, totally rich! How the heck had she ever even met her uncle? How long had they been seeing each other? Why were they keeping it a secret? Maybe her uncle was ashamed at having a rich mistress or something, but he was never the type to care about money. But, then, he always seemed to cringe at fancy-schmantsy people. But if that was the case why sleep with her?

She had asked him, before she got a free ice cream out of the deal. Sitting in the passenger seat of his Jeep on the way back from a friend’s house, she turned to him and asked him why he was sleeping with some girl but didn’t want her mother to know. That question had caused Arthur to flush, and his hands to tighten on the steering wheel. Talking about his sex life with Adelaide was never anything he expected to happen – save for the time he had mentioned he liked both women and men shortly after Adelaide had come out of the closet - he never thought he'd have to talk about this again until he got in a relationship. And, until now, this topic had never come up. Arthur was silent until they reached a red light, and then he finally sighed out ”I don’t know.”

The answer wasn’t enough for Adelaide, and she asked him all kinds of questions, ones that unbeknownst to her, forced him to think about where he wanted to take their... whatever they had. Why didn’t he just date her, why didn’t he introduce her to mom because obviously mom liked her, why did he not want a girlfriend?

The only answer she got was an ice cream. Adelaide appreciated it, but it also made her wonder. Why didn’t they just date if they were sleeping together? And besides that, weren’t people supposed to wait until they were in a serious relationship to start having sex (which in itself was gross anyway, Adelaide didn’t see the appeal) according to her mom’s ‘talk’? But they weren’t serious, they were... she’d looked up the term. Friends-with-benefits. Gross.

Adelaide stayed where she was, wondering what her uncle would say if she sent him a text like, ‘lol, guess who I’m meeting right now???’ but, then, he’d yell at her and she didn’t like it when her uncle was seriously mad at her. He hadn’t yelled at her in a long time and whenever he did, he always made her cry.

Adelaide heard heels clicking not too far away and looked up to see Chardonnay approaching her. She looked pretty, but fancy-pretty. Too fancy for her brother’s cheap tastes.

Adelaide expected to be handed the bag, but when Chardonnay tossed it at her without warning she nearly dropped it.

”Hey!” She protested, but went ignored as Chardonnay told her not to call her again and to stay out of her business. Adelaide saw a Ferrari parked not too far away, and as Chardonnay turned around, she grew annoyed.

”Oh, you think just this is enough to get me to keep the secret you’re sleeping with my uncle from mom? That’s kind of cute. Please, I know your net worth is like, a billion,” She said, loudly and completely on purpose. What did she care if anyone here knew who she was, who Chardonnay was? Adelaide stuck her hand into the bag and looked at the pallet. It was beautiful! She grinned like a fool at the array of colors. Yes! She’d wanted this for her birthday but hadn’t gotten it! She guessed she could count it as a gift from her uncle. Sort of. She cleared her throat and stood where she was, expecting Chardonnay not to continue walking away when she gave a threat like that. ”My mom’s really curious if my uncle has any girlfriends and if I keep this secret she’ll be really sad so, like, there’s gotta be more in it for me if I’m gonna keep it! I want you to drive me back to the plaza around the corner from my house, first of all, and I’ll call you whenever I want to – got it?!”

Adelaide expected for Chardonnay meet her demands with anger. That was good – that meant it was working! Adelaide put her hands on her hips and listened to Chardonnay cuss and hiss at her. But Adelaide didn’t feel threatened. Maybe if Chardonnay had rejected the blackmail in the first place, she would have backed off.

What was so wrong with her mother knowing, Adelaide thought? Why were both her uncle and Chardonnay making such a big deal about their affair being a secret? When she was called a little girl Adelaide’s eyebrows raised to her hairline. Again she denied dating her uncle and her comment that she never would infuriated Adelaide. Why! What was wrong with him? Was he not rich enough for this crazy lady’s standards?

”You would be lucky if my uncle ever wanted to date you! But fine, I’ll stop referring to you as his girlfriend! You’re not good enough to be his girlfriend! You’re just... rich lady! You’ll just be his ‘rich lady’ from now on.” She snapped in retaliation, puffing her cheeks. Fine. ”No, you get something straight, ‘rich lady’. I’m not a little girl. I am 13 years old and I suggest you be nice to me or I’ll start dropping hints to my mom about my uncle’s ‘rich lady’.”

Adelaide took a breath and frowned up at Chardonnay. She was almost the same height as the woman, she was definitely not a little girl anymore! ”Oh? If you have other things to do then I guess I’ll tell my momma that my uncle’s ‘rich lady’ is on the title of the cookbook she has in her kitchen. If that’s cool with you I mean, I’ll do it. But if it’s not cool with you, I’d like a ride and, maybe a hot fudge Sundae from Dairy Queen! With extra whipped cream!”