June 1982
"Gus?"
"Hmm?" He murmured as he drove, not looking over.
She took a breath. "I wanted to ask you something."
He quickly glanced over at her. After a moment, he asked, "Yeah?"
"You remember that night?"
"That night?"
"Yeah," she paused, her hands clasping together in her lap. "It keeps coming back to me."
"Oh?"
"I can't get it out of my mind!" She said in a torrent of words. He looked over at her, his brows raised. "I did that, okay? I feel terrible! Like I cheated on you!"
"Hey! We've been over this, you didn't..."
She cut him off. "I know that!" She took a breath. "Sorry," she continued in a calmer voice, "I know I didn't actually cheat. But there's still a feeling, deep down inside me I can't shake.
"Look. Jake and I did it. I don't remember, and he says he doesn't either. All I do remember is the last bit, and that's really hazy. I told you about it."
Gus nodded. "Yeah, you did," he said quietly.
She looked over at him, and he turned. He saw the start of tears in her eyes, and he put his hand over hers.
"Gus, I need something. Something to get over what's been eating at me inside."
"What's that?" He asked in a guarded tone.
"I think Jake and I need to do it," she said softly, watching him. He drove on in silence, and after a few moments, she went on. "I think if we did, when we were aware and willing, then it would fill in this missing part of my memory, or something.
"I think it would make what keeps bothering me go away." She looked at his face, but he still drove on. "Does that make sense?"
At least he's not mad. I think.
"I feel cheated. And... I feel raped."
He turned quickly to her, his brows furrowed, the pain evident in his eyes. "Oh, baby," he said, his voice hitching as his hand squeezed hers.
"I mean raped by that damn drug someone slipped us. Not Jake," she hurried on. "He was just as messed up as the rest of us. All of us.
"And I've been thinking a lot about this. If I can get some sort of closure, then... it'll all go away. It won't eat at me anymore."
She sighed deeply, then looked forward and waited.
After longer than she liked, Gus slowly started to nod. His hand never left hers.
He took a deep breath, then let it out. "I get it," he said slowly. Looking over at her, she saw his love for her in his eyes. "I'm so damn sorry that stuff happened."
"Me too. But we didn't know."
Nodding, he said, "Yeah, we didn't. None of us." They drove on for a while, then he asked, "You really think this'll help?"
"I do," she said softly, looking down at their hands.
He pursed his lips, then said quietly, "Okay."
She looked over at him. "Really? You won't be mad at me?"
"No. I hear you. And in a way, I understand." He looked over at her again, then back at the road.
"Look, I know it wasn't anything even remotely close to what happened to you, but in a small way, what Jenny tried to do to me... well, that was a form of violation, too."
Lois nodded. "Yeah, it was," she said softly.
"I want you to know I've never gone after her. I've never... initiated anything."
"I know, Gus."
"Good."
"You know," she said, her voice lifting a little with a hint of teasing. "This means you and Jenny will have to find something to do, too."
He looked over at her, his brows high.
"You didn't think of that?" she laughed.
"Um." His cheeks turned pink.
She laughed. "I thought so!"
"What if they don't want to?"
Lois chuckled, a low sound. "Do you really think they'll say no?"
Gus smiled, his head tilted to the side slightly. "Yeah..." His smile left his face. "What about Stacy?"
"I talked to her right before we left, told her basically what I just said to you. She understands, and agrees with me."
"Oh... good." Gus nodded as he drove.
"Let's see where tonight goes, okay?" she asked.
Gus nodded. "You know something?"
"What?"
"Life's never boring around you!" he laughed.
---***---
"Hi, guys!" Jenny exclaimed, grinning broadly as she ushered them inside. She hugged Lois tightly for a few moments, then released her. Jake was a step behind his girlfriend and wrapped her up in a brief hug.
Gus followed Lois in, getting a warm, but chaste, embrace from Jenny, and a handshake from Jake.
"Come in, guys, so glad you're here!" Jake told them as they walked into the living room.
Jenny and Jake quickly showed them around the small apartment. There was a kitchen off to the right. Directly before them was a living room with a sliding glass door leading out onto their ground floor patio.