All characters are at least 18 years old.
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My eyes opened slowly. How long had I been asleep? I bunched the blankets up and pulled them close to my chin.
Had I pulled the blankets over myself?
I turned my head and peered at my nightstand to check the time, and saw my bullet vibrator sitting there, clean as a whistle. Bolting upright, I broke into a cold sweat. I hadn't ended the evening like this. Somebody had put me to bed. I jumped to my feet and almost exited my room when I heard multiple voices laughing. As quickly as I could, I changed into a silk robe and steeled myself before stepping out. The voices were coming from Drew's room, and I knocked softly.
"Yeah," called Drew, and I cracked the door open to stick my head in. Drew was sitting on his bed with Stefan, while Sabrina was leaned back in his desk chair. They all seemed at ease, as if the events of the past Thursday had never happened.
"Morning, mom," Drew said, giving me a gentle smile. The twins each also greeted me, though with just a bit less confidence than Drew.
"Good morning, kids," I replied. My gaze lingered ever so slightly on Stefan and Sabrina, trying to gauge my own feelings. Was I still angry at them for keeping Drew from me? Angry felt too strong an emotion. Upset would have to do. What should have been foremost in my thoughts was the fact that Drew had found me this morning in a most undignified position. He now knew his mother used sex toys at night, even if he hadn't caught me in the act.
"Sorry, did we wake you up?" Drew asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. I could *feel* how hot my face was; I could hardly bear the image of how much I was blushing.
"Not at all. Thank you for letting me sleep in. Yesterday was... surprisingly tiring." Drew's face betrayed nothing, but he had to know the obvious part of what I was alluding to. "You three gonna be hanging out today?"
"Yeah," Sabrina chimed in. "It's too bad Lexi couldn't make it."
A slight frown crossed my face. If I didn't know better, I'd think she was being insensitive, given that Drew and Stefan would have undoubtedly briefed her on how things stood. But I did know better. All three of them were too smart for that, so was she... trying to provoke me? It wasn't going to work. Not because I refused to let her get a rise out of me, but because--
"That's too bad," I lamented. "I was kind of looking forward to finally meeting her. Putting a face to the name." And seeing how she interacted with my Drew. "Maybe next time." Frankly, I was curious to see what kind of girl she was. I knew next to nothing about her, though I wasn't about to stoop to asking them. "You kids want some brunch?"
I was met with varying expressions of enthusiasm, and I told them I would get started as soon as I finished my morning routine. After washing up and getting dressed, I stowed the vibrator and went to the kitchen to begin cooking. A few minutes later, Stefan came out and began helping me slice potatoes for hash browns without a word. I had to presume he was waiting for me to lay into him about Thursday, and I sighed. They were just kids doing what they thought was right, and in the end they might have actually made a good call.
"I expect by now you have at least some idea of what happened that day," I said quietly, keeping my eyes on the food. He grunted an affirmative, at least doing me the courtesy of not being obtuse. "I hope it goes without saying that you absolutely must keep this to yourself." Another grunt. "Who else knows?"
"Just us," he answered. "Me and Brie."
"And Lexi?" I prompted.
"...Yes. But let me just say, she is the most discreet person I know. She won't tell a soul." This girl I'd never met was keeping our secret. It didn't sit well with me, no matter who she was.
"Does she have feelings for my Drew?" I whispered.
Stefan looked at me, hesitating for a good while before answering, "I wouldn't know anything about that."
Damn it all, why did he have to answer like that? It seemed like such a calculated response. Because for some reason, despite everything, my intuition was telling me that it didn't *seem* like a yes. So why hadn't he said no? A lie and a truth, rolled into one.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you that night," I sighed, deciding to press on with the rest of the conversation. "But I hope you understand my mental state at the time. Emotions were running high, naturally."
"Drew's my best friend, and you've been good to us. Practically watched us grow up. You have nothing to apologize for." He watched me cook, leaning back against the counter. "There's nothing I wouldn't do to help him with this."
I smiled gratefully before bringing the food to the dining table. Stefan went to fetch everybody, and we ate together as if nothing had changed. Well, except for the glances they exchanged every now and then, which I could understand given the circumstances.
"Are you three going to be okay by yourselves?" I asked as we were finishing up.
"You're going out?" Drew inquired.
"Yes. I'm meeting a friend for coffee."
He nodded as the twins took the dishes to the sink to rinse off. "Yeah, we should be fine. Um, mom," he added when I turned to go to my room. "I was thinking you and I could... catch a movie tonight?"
Alarm bells went off in my head. Was he going to try something? "Netflix and chill," as Jazz called it? I had to lead him away from any ideas like that.
"Sounds good," I replied, trying to inject some geniality into my voice. "We haven't gone out to a movie in forever!"
"That's because of the grossly inflated prices," he grumbled. "Bunch of rip-off artists. They always blame online piracy for the industry losing money, but seriously! Why are they paying these A-listers so much money?!"
His rant made me smile. I'd missed this. Before, he would go off on long-winded trains of thought like this on whatever topic that held his fancy at the time. Seeing this slight return to form was heartening.
"Sure, some people might say that the money they get needs to tide them over until their next role," he went on, "but they're buying *mansions*! What do they need to gouge us for? Get a two-bedroom like the rest of us!"
