“True. But it also seems Like finding convenient pussies to get uncomplicated ejaculations is your priority nowadays. Squeaky wheel gets the grease? She who gives it up the most often gets the... grease... or something. Isn't that basically why you and Neevie are together now?"

I frowned.

“Are you jealous of my relationship with Neevie?"

“No, of course not," she replied automatically with a dismissive wave.

“You two make a good couple. I'm happy for you.”

“I smell a 'but' coming..."

Alice took a deep breath. "But I can't help wondering if things might've turned out differently had I been more willing to have sex with you back when this all started."

I sighed. "I never wanted you to feel pressured to have sex with me."

She gave me a skeptical look. "I already AM feeling pressured. This isn't a new phenomenon. I told you way back months ago that once somebody broke the barrier, I'd feel... obligated... to put out for you just to keep up."

“You know I'd never obligate you."

She shook her head. "Maybe not, but the pressure to ‘keep up’ is still there. Or are you saying the ones who fuck you the most don't get the bulk of your attention?"

I took a deep breath and sighed.

“Sex sells, I won't deny that. It's no secret that I Love tits. If you were to start wearing low-cut tops and bending over at the waist a little more often around me, I'd unavoidably stare a Little more often in response. And... well... I'LL admit that when I'm feeling fucking horny and really want to just drive my dick into a willing pussy, I'm going to look first for one of the girls who'll actually LET me drive my dick into them. I guess the question is: Is that who you really want to be?"

“No, of course not," she replied reflexively, but then sighed and made a face. "Well, maybe... I just... I mean I see how happy being in a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship with Neevie makes you. I see the way your relationship with Belle has grown ever since you got the ‘little sister’ thing out of the way and became intimate. For years, I was your best friend. But now? I mean... a relationship based on video games works fine when you're twelve, y'know? We're not twelve anymore,

Matty."

“And you think we need a relationship based on sex now instead?"

“Would that really be so bad?"

I frowned. There was actual longing in her voice, and now I started to wonder if Alice's feelings of being pressured to have sex with me weren't the issue, but rather her feelings of wanting to have sex with me that were the cause of her angst and the resulting personality conflict. I pushed myself up to a sitting position and crossed my legs.

“What are you saying?"

“We're not twelve anymore," she repeated, also sitting up and crossing her Legs opposite me. While her t-shirt had remained bunched up beneath her armpits, it now fell down, covering her nudity. She bent forward, planting her elbows on her knees, interlacing her fingers in front of her mouth, and setting her chin on both thumbs.

“And I think I'm having a bit of an identity crisis about that.”

"So it seems."

Alice furrowed her eyebrows and stared down at the empty space of bedspread between us. "You've been my best friend since seventh grade: we played games together, we played sports together, we read comic books together. That was our thing together. Doing all that stuff let me be with my best friend. When all the other girls around me, the BTC included, got into hair and makeup and clothes and all that shit, I was happy I didn't get caught up in it. Waste of time, waste of money, right? I mean, you never seemed to care that I didn't dress in revealing clothing or put on lipstick. I watched all those other boys turn into drooling dweebs when I started growing a pair of breasts, but you didn't. You told me my value to you wasn't based on my physical attributes."

"It didn't. It still doesn't."

She shook her head sadly. "We're not twelve anymore, Matty. You said it yourself: sex sells. There's a reason why you're Neevie's boyfriend now."