Date Nights Ch 02

"You're going where?"

Stacy's eldest brother, Elijah, shrugged his shoulders and repeated, "Japan, with my girlfriend."

"Spring would've been a better time to visit. Or a tropical country instead. I mean, you're escaping winter here for... winter?" Stacy couldn't wrap her head around the decision.

"I don't know either, I just bought the tickets. She said she wanted to see the Terracotta Warriors or some crap."

The twins walked in on the room. "That's in China, dipshit. Please don't tell me you actually bought a ticket to Japan to see the Mausoleum. We cannot have a brother

that

stupid," they said in unison. Stacy wondered how they could be so in sync sometimes. The only explanation she could think of was twin telepathy. Liam and Archie graduated co-valedictorians last summer and had unsurprisingly been doing well in first-year college. Judging by the rumors that went around, they were breezing through both studies

and

the ladies. It was a little gross to think about, but Stacy did have to admit her brothers were a catch. Tall, second-generation rich, handsome. Popular girls could do a lot worse.

"It was a joke, dumbasses."

"In poor taste," Stacy continued.

"Oh, here we go again, Ms. Social Justice Warrior," Elijah said in mock-irritation, rolling his eyes at her. The siblings chuckled.

"By the way, me and Liam are heading back to the dorm tonight."

"What, why?"

"We kind of made plans with this girl," said Liam, slightly evasive. Stacy gave her fidgety brother a suspicious glance.

Elijah seemed to have noticed too and raised his eyebrows in curiosity. "Wait....

Singular

girl?"

Archie gave the eldest brother a boyish grin and raised his hand in pride as he cut in, "Oh, yes. We've both had our eyes on her since last summer. Turns out she's hot

and

kinky!"

Elijah high-fived the immature older twin and cheered, "Nice!"

Liam's shoulders slumped before accepting the other enthusiastic high-five, clearly disappointed in the lack of maturity shown by his older brothers.

"You guys are gross," Stacy groaned with a similar look in her eyes, perhaps with even more disgust.

"Oh, that's mighty progressive of you, Stace! What's wrong with threesomes? We like her, she likes us! We could totally pull off a throuple if we wanted to," Archie argued with his arms crossed.

Elijah cut in, "You totally could."

"Okay. First of all, that's disturbing, you guys are brothers. Second, I don't even believe it could work legitimately. There's a reason sane people stick to one person — " she abruptly stopped talking.

It was beyond strange of her — of all people — to give her brothers a lecture about this, Stacy realized with irony, but she meant what she said. It couldn't possibly work for real; you'd have to hide it.

There's no way Stacy could say that out loud, however. Luckily, her brothers didn't seem to notice her strange pause.

"...Whatever you do, someone's going to get left out," she continued.

"Not if you actually cared about one another and didn't just settle for the other person."

"Yeah, just because you're stuck with that stick for a boyfriend doesn't mean we have to settle."

She argued back, albeit weakly, "For your information, Austin's been working out."

And she didn't

settle

with him either. Austin was a great guy, if a little timid. Stacy had been lucky enough to date him — a deeply trusting man — when she'd already found her match. She didn't think her relationship with Warren would've been possible with any other man less gullible than he.

With a chuckle, it suddenly occurred to her that despite her outward rejection towards the concept, no one in the room had more experience than her when it came to open relationships. Though, her boyfriend certainly isn't privy to that information.

Gosh, should

she

try making it an official throuple?

Archie scoffed, "A thicker stick is still a stick."

"Whatever," replied Stacy, her mind already consumed on what a polyamorous relationship between her and Austin would look like. She wouldn't mind him having sex with another woman. Though, it would be a different case if he had feelings for her.

It would certainly make things easier on her end with Warren, in that they wouldn't have to hide as much. They could fuck in front of him too, and as scary as it was to think about, she couldn't deny it had been one of her ultimate fantasies for the longest time. In a perfectly functional open relationship, they wouldn't have to hide and all the anxiety over getting caught would be over. All she had to do was pretend not to like it too much, if only to spare her boyfriend the worry. Though, Warren pointed out to her on multiple occasions that she got off on the anxiety. If it wasn't cheating, Stacy wondered, would she still feel as good?

In any case, she certainly couldn't deny the benefits it would bring. So many things would change. Of course, that meant she would actually have to officially date Warren — an amazingly terrible idea she wouldn't recommend to anyone, not that the guy ever dated. If these years had taught her anything about the man, then it was out of the question. A romantic relationship with Warren would probably resemble something like their current relationship. Just endless blur-filled sessions upon sessions of sex — day after day.

On second thought, not much would change after all.

"Okay, okay. Our point is, we'll only see each other after the holidays," Liam explained further, interrupting her train of thought. The youngest sister belatedly realized the implication. "...Which means I'll be home alone during the holidays. Our thing — "

When Stacy was a young girl, her entire family collectively dressed up as the same thing without coordinating at all. They laughed and yakked about the odds for the entirety of the day, popping up

Miracle on 4th Street

on the DVD while pointing out how their happy coincidence was the actual miracle. Since then, putting on a random costume and watching a holiday movie had become an unspoken tradition for them — an attempt to see if they'd ever repeat the occasion. They never missed a year. Stacy herself currently had an entire set ready under her bed — a hat, a cute robe, and red-white skirt.

However, with their parents away and now her brothers too, their tradition was all but certain to be canceled. Stacy will spend the family's beloved holiday alone for the first time in her life.

The three brothers turned quiet as they saw her less than explosive reaction, which was totally out of character for their youngest.

"We could cancel," the twins said after a while.

"Yeah. I can reschedule Japan too."

Stacy sported a smile. Despite all the jokes and the arguing, she knew her brothers cared for her. And she also knew they were genuinely considering canceling their plans just so she wouldn't be alone.

"No, no. You guys have fun. I'll probably just laze around and watch movies."

"Are you sure? 'Cause I can cancel right now," Elijah asked her again, his hand somehow already typing on the phone, likely regarding his plane tickets. Stacy grabbed his phone and threw it at the twins.

"Hey!"

"Nuh-uh. Stop, I really am fine. It'll give me a break from your nosy asses in the holidays this year."

The twins grinned, trying to keep Elijah's hands from taking back his phone, which turned out to be comically easy as they were much taller.

"We'll call, you know?" said Liam.

"Yeah, I know."

"You miss us already, don't you?" Elijah added, wearing a teasing smirk on his face as he wrapped his heavy arm around her shoulders.

"Sure."

The three brothers chuckled at her insincere reply. "You know, you could invite stick-thin on Christmas Eve," suggested Archie after a while.

Stacy grunted, "Are we really going to call him that from now on?"

Liam and Archie bumped fists. "Totally."

Stacy thought of her boyfriend's calendar and quickly realized it was a plausible option. "You know, that actually sounds kind of nice. I'll let you both off the hook for that horrendous nickname."

It would be fun to finally spend her first-ever holiday with Austin. She had hoped it would be Valentine's Day, but even that wasn't very far along now.

As if remembering something, Archie turned to his younger twin and exclaimed, "Oh, we should get Warren something when we get back, as thanks."

The mention of the man immediately broke what brittle thoughts filled Stacy's head. "Thanks?"

"Yeah, his parents are in Australia for the holiday, so he was just gonna stay in the dorms. When he heard about our plans with the girl, he promised to leave."

"I see. How is he... by the way?" Stacy asked, her fake casual tone surprising even her. She always made sure never to appear too eager about Warren in front of her brothers, but she really did occasionally miss the man, despite how much of an asshole he can be. While she always had a reason to visit — considering he was roommates with her twin brothers — they hadn't seen each other for almost an entire month. Warren seemed busy lately.

"Same-old. We told you about the screaming girl, right? God, the entire floor could hear her."

Stacy fidgeted in her jacket at the sudden mention, unnoticed, despite her brothers' keen senses. They had told the story in excitement a few months ago and she struggled to keep her head up for the following weeks. Whenever they had the chance, she and Warren banged it out inside his dorm room, blasting rock music in his speaker to cancel out her screaming. Apparently, that hadn't been enough and her brothers were present to hear them. Of course, that didn't stop her from visiting still and taking it delightfully rough from her hot collegiate lover. Though, she now made sure her brothers were out of the flat every time she screwed him. Especially after Archie, being the mischievous friend he was, recorded the entire thing, unknowingly keeping a memento of his little sister's debauchery.

"I mean, she sounds hot, but I cannot imagine getting it on with her. I feel like I'd need a good pair of headphones first," Archie added all of a sudden, much to Stacy's mortification.

Little did the older twin know he was talking about his very own sister.

"Oh, but he's got a girlfriend lately, and I don't think she's the same girl. Latina, most likely, if her dirty talk in Spanish is any indication."

That brought a sudden pause to her embarrassment, and with it an emotion she failed to identify. He got himself a girlfriend — that centennial playboy? What would that even look like?

Elijah seemed to think just like her. "An

actual

girlfriend? You're kidding."

Liam nodded in agreement. "Yeah, for the past month, we've been hearing about the same girl. We've known him for so many years and I don't think that's ever happened before."

He looked to Archie for confirmation, who shook his head. "Not in the years we've known him."

A pause visited the room at the thought. All four of them knew Warren's dating habits, in that he had none. To think he'd get himself a girlfriend.... they wondered if hell had actually frozen over.

Detached from her brothers' confusion and curiosity, an odd sense of...

betrayal

swirled around Stacy's chest. She didn't know why; they weren't dating or anything. The woman herself made it perfectly clear that their relationship was all about sex, so in truth, she should support the newfound development. The separation between all the hot sex and the more emotional parts of their relationship would've been much easier if it weren't so one-sided in the first place. She had a boyfriend for a while now, but Warren only ever screwed around. For the first time ever, he finally had something to lose.

But why did this bitter taste in her tongue remain, even with that sound logic? Was this "girlfriend" the reason why she hadn't seen him in about a month?

"Oh, since he's free and all, maybe he could stay here?"

Stacy's eyes briefly shone at the thought before scowling. Why would she care? He'd probably rather spend the holidays with his new girlfriend.

"Nah, I might just invite Austin on Christmas. Warren can visit whenever, though."

"We'll tell him that," Liam replied before moving on from the topic. Her mind, however, didn't leave Warren.

It wasn't until her brothers had left home and Stacy had taken a shower that she allowed herself to think of the implications. Warren got himself a girlfriend. She knew the twins — they would not have called this girl anything if it weren't the case. Maybe he wanted something from her. Stacy initially thought of sex, but who in their right mind would honestly deny him that? She had met plenty of his fuck-buddies; not a single one of them would have passed the opportunity to get together with the man-slut, especially since Warren never put anyone in a roster.

Except

her

, that is — and apparently whoever this girlfriend bitch is.

Without answers to the million questions she had, Stacy knew her thoughts would go nowhere. And so she gave up and climbed to bed, anxious and confused, knowing damn well that it would take the loudest rock music to cancel out the noise inside her brain.

After miserably counting hundreds of sheep, her ringing phone granted her reprieve. It was a text from

Pickle Prick

— a nickname she had given

him

after he made fun of her for crying in a Rick and Morty episode.

"They got back safely," she read the update, which could only be about the twins. After a few minutes of debating whether or not she should reply, Stacy groaned and sat up from the bed.

"Thanks," she typed out. "We heard you got a girlfriend by the way. You should've seen the look on Elijah's face."

"I can imagine. Although I have to say it's kind of weird to hear people calling her that. Never called someone my girlfriend before."

"So it's not true?" Stacy chatted and anxiously waited for his reply. A few minutes later, he texted back.

"I guess it is. Pretty accurate to what we are right now anyway."

Stacy's grip on the phone tightened as she read further. "We go on dates, do everything couples do, so why not? Brooke's been really great. We hit it off a few weeks ago and I asked her out. Texting her right now, actually."

"That's nice," she lied through her teeth. Or in this case, her keypad. God, this was such a disaster.

As much as she missed the man these past few weeks, for the first time, Stacy was glad he wasn't here right now. Warren would immediately spot the green look in her eye. If she didn't poke his eyes out first, that is.

Stacy wasn't even sure why she felt this way, but she knew she wanted to kill him. And her.

Mostly him. Or her.

"Why are you up? It's pretty late. I didn't expect you to reply until tomorrow."

She texted him back, "Couldn't sleep."

"I see," he replied, with no signs of continuing any further. Part of her had hope, of course, that he would somehow prioritize talking to her instead of his new girlfriend — considering they haven't done so in a while.

But she waited in silence to no avail, and every second that passed felt like forever. Dread settled in the pit of her stomach as she realized what she was feeling; Stacy was jealous, bitter, and

insecure

— a feeling she hasn't felt in a long time. She didn't wait for him to end the conversation, "Well, goodnight."

"Night."

She didn't know why she thought she'd feel better after talking to him, but she was wrong.

Stacy felt so much worse.

_____________________________________

That bad mood continued for an entire week, and even Austin, as thick headed as he was, could notice. Finally, Stacy decided to adopt the 'I-don't-care' attitude. Warren got himself a girlfriend — who cares? She certainly didn't.

Ignorant to her relentless denial, being invited to his girlfriend's house for their first holiday certainly brought out the Christmas energy in Austin's routine. The loving boyfriend practically spent every waking moment planning for the entire thing; what movies to watch, what to eat, what to give her as a present.

He wanted to pull out all the stops and end the year on a hopeful note — for any successes he or she may have in the future. Though, if he was being honest, he struggled to imagine how he would ever top dating

the

Stacy Johnson. For most men, it couldn't get better than that — and boy, he needed to let her know it.

So he worked double shifts and bought her a necklace. Nothing fancy or anything, though it was durable; he knew Stacy valued practicality over aesthetics. Then for food, aside from the usual, he planned to get a few ingredients they could make into a banana split. Of course, he kept all of it a secret from Stacy, which turned out to be a little harder than he initially thought. Knowing they were going to be alone, he wanted Christmas to be a day full of surprises. He was staying the night after all.

It wasn't long until snow was gently falling from the sky and the Eve of Christmas was finally upon them.

"Merry Christmas!" Austin greeted his smiling girlfriend by the door, dressed in three layers yet still freezing.

"Wow, you came so early!" Stacy exclaimed, visibly surprised by the amount of things he was carrying as she let him in. She grabbed some of the bags to help out and pieced what he was trying to make.

"God, you know me so well," she sighed before giving him a peck on the lips. Banana-splits had always been a favorite of theirs.

After the couple settled down on the couch with the sun setting upon them, Austin took out a box and gave it to her to open.

"I can't wait 'till midnight to give you this."

Stacy smiled, a natural flush appearing on her cheeks. "Aww, you didn't have to, Tin. This was a last-minute plan."

"Well, I wanted to," her boyfriend replied as he excitedly watched her open the jewelry box. He worked tirelessly the entire week at the gas station, but the look on her face made it all worth it.

"Oh, my god! It's beautiful," she exclaimed, holding out a beautiful silver necklace in her hand. Stacy thanked and hugged Austin before he offered to put it on. It gleamed perfectly on her slim neck, just like he thought it would.

"I love you," he said. She said it back with a smile, placing her forehead on his. The next few hours were a comfortable blur for the couple. It just felt so natural to be with each other on this special day. By the time they relaxed on the couch, Austin couldn't even remember why he was so nervous.

"What movie do you want to watch?" Stacy asked.

"Since it's Christmas, maybe a holiday movie. What about Home Alone?"

She chuckled, "Maybe something we haven't watched before. And something a little less silly. Have you watched this?"

"The new Scrooge movie? Nope. You?"

"Me neither. Scrooge it is."

The movie started and Stacy closed the lights, unable to contain her smile. Though, she didn't feel she had to. She felt so comfortable with him; she always did. While her friends described love as this fiery entity, Stacy always found it rather calm and secure — a sentiment she often shared with Austin. He was her safe space. The antithesis of Warren, who had always enjoyed placing her on the edge of the cliff — never letting her fall, but never taking her in his embrace either.

If Warren was a drug, then maybe Austin was her rehab.

Stacy's lips curled into a soft smile, and for the first time, she thought maybe it was for the best that she and Warren had been pulling away from each other. Settled under the comforters, feeling her boyfriend's gentle warmth, she just couldn't imagine being anywhere else.

Then she saw

him

, and found out that she could, in fact, imagine.

Immediately, her mind unraveled — much like a junkie — at the sight of him. He was standing in the front door, as tall as ever; she couldn't see his face, but that athletic body had become more familiar to her than anything else. And the feelings she had unknowingly suppressed seemed to burst out all at once again.