“The angst you were going through yesterday and the way you gasped her name when I started blowing you this morning prove that enough to me. But you're REALLY torn about this whole ‘girlfriend’ thing.”

My shoulders slumped. "Sam told me she's in love with me. I really DO love her and care about her a ton. She's truly special to me, and I can't let her down."

Alice frowned. "I'm far from an expert on romantic relationships, but even I know that ‘fear of letting someone down’ is NOT a good basis for one."

"I think you're blowing the fear bit out of proportion." I sat up straighter.

“I may not have gone to bed last night ever expecting Sam to walk up and ask to be my girlfriend, but that doesn't mean I'm opposed to the idea now that it's been presented. It's not like I'm flying blind into uncharted territory, either. I know what it's Like to have a girlfriend within the BTC. My relationship with Neevie set a precedent, one in which there isn't a whole lot that changes. I'll still spend quality time with each and every one of you. Sam will get some level of priority, the way Neevie did, but we all know she won't cut any of you off."

“She'd better not," Alice drawled. "I got PLANS for you this summer."

Belle and Mari Laughed. But Belle raised her eyebrows and asked, “Are you SURE Sam will follow Neevie's blueprint? What if she wants more than a relationship based on casual sex? What if she wants time and mindspace and half of your closet? What if she wants quality time and intimate conversations?"

I leveled her with a look.

“You mean: What if Sam wants everything

YOU'VE wanted from me for the past few months?"

Belle blushed and looked away.

“It's a fair question," Alice added.

“And what does having Sam as your official girlfriend mean to YOU? In the end, you weren't happy with the shallowness of your relationship with Neevie. Would YOU want quality time and mindspace from her? Would it bother you if Miss

Hundred-Miles-an-Hour-Multitasker doesn't dedicate a significant enough percentage of herself to you?"

I thought about that. "I don't know yet. Having Sam for an official girlfriend had never entered my head as an option before. Now yes, I'd like to spend a little more quality time together with Sam than I did with Neevie, having intimate conversations that in the past she would never make time to have. I mean, we did talk a Little about this stuff today. With school winding down and her statement that she's gonna let go of some of these extracurricular activities and other time-sucks in order to be a good girlfriend instead of always being absent, I think the two of us have a legitimate shot at finding happiness. Or are the three of you really such jealous selfish bitches that you don't want that for us?"

“Of course we do," Mari insisted. Belle and Alice nodded their agreement.

"And even if we realized that being ‘official’ isn't what we really want and we default back to being ‘just friends’, our feelings for each other are already out there. I love her. She loves me. Even among six equals, I'm going to naturally gravitate to her a Little more from now until we all leave for college. Functionally, there's really not a big difference between whether or not we're ‘official’. I'm not gonna turn into some clingy needy whiner begging her for attention, and neither is she. So really, what's the big deal whether we're official or not?

Might as well be official."

Belle frowned.

“Do you even hear yourself?"

“*Might as well be official'?" Mari quoted with obvious concern on her face. And in an unusually sarcastic voice she added, "How romantic."

“Functionally, nothing changed when you and Neevie became official,"

Belle pointed out.

“But emotionally, everything changed. You were already fucking each other's brains out. But once she got the girlfriend title, you both got SUPER excited and could barely contain yourselves for WEEKS. Sam's like that right now, too. But you?"

“Ehhh... mot so much," Alice drawled, answering Belle’s rhetorical question.