Chapter 346: Phone Talk
True regret was us not having a shared breakfast together, as Irene so vehemently, morosely lamented. But Father Time was not on our side, sadly,
Alone, somewhere on one of the many tables that filled the vastness of the living room hall, I ate my plate in silence, as Irene waved and closed the door goodbye after assuring her I can make it home on my own.
In truth, I would have much preferred we could talk more about things, about us – what were we, exactly? Lovers would be the most accurate term to call ourselves... but to what extent is what I munched on the last of my bacon, wondering.
She said to just continue loving her and she’ll be perfectly content with just that, and I do fully intend on doing just that, the question was – just how exactly do I do just that?
Where do we draw the line? What’s okay to do and what isn’t?
Should I now be expecting more dinner dates like these? Am I now obliged to check up on her periodically throughout the day? Buy flowers? Plan movie nights? Or do we simply continue going about our business as is?
I don’t know how a relationship with a woman works precisely, let alone a relationship with an actual Succubus, and the only person that might have a clue is still sadly slumbering away for the foreseeable future – add to the fact, that I’m not even allowed to breathe a single syllable of the situation to her, and I’m pretty much stumped for any ideas.
.....
Then there’s the whole other thing with Amanda, and that little quiet moment I had with Ash. That makes three girls I just got myself romantically involved with – and it hasn’t even been a full twenty-four hours yet.
Oh yeah, speaking of Ash, I suppose I better go and let her know that the evening was a sound success... exactly as she hoped for it to be. I’m sure she’ll be absolutely elated seeing me come to the front door alive, breathing... and my tie hanging loose around my shoulders.
A little while after Irene’s departure, I walked through the hotel lobby’s revolving door onwards to a brave new day, taking in the musty damp air of the city and breathing free.
Now that I was no longer bound to any demonic pacts of licentious intents, and now far away from the threat of imminent death, it was like a heavy weight had just been lifted off my shoulders, and in its place, came this just as heavy throbbing deep in my chest... is this what they meant when they say absence makes the heart grow fonder?
In that case, then just who exactly am I throbbing for?
I pushed the thought far from my mind, instead, I went ahead and indulge myself in a little stroll around town... just to stretch my legs out for a bit before I take the bus to home.
At midday, city life never looked more peaceful and serene in its hustle and bustle. The people walked, the people talked, the cars whirred, and the bikes purred.
It’s so unsettling to think that barely even weeks ago these very same city streets were but mere days away from being a desolate blighted hole in the earth... and it’s even more unsettling to think that that might just happen again... and maybe soon.
Jay was still out there. A loose end still left untied. Lurking somewhere, scheming somewhere.
But then just right before my listless thoughts could take a turn for the worse, I was literally saved by the ring of a bell. My bell. My ringtone.
I answered my phone.
“What’s up? Why are you calling?” I asked right away, pressing the speaker to my ear.
Then from the buzz of static, I heard a faint amused chuckle, and Amanda’s voice began to sound aloud. “Is that any way to greet your girlfriend?”
“It’s how I greet mine,” I said, crossing the street and rounding the next block. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure of you calling me?”
“Do I need a reason?”
“You always have a reason.”
“I’m your girlfriend,” She responded, her voice lingering long and great on the ‘girlfriend’ part of her sentence as if wearing like it was a badge of honor or something. “Isn’t that reason enough for you? I mean it is what, we, me and you, couples do, after all, right? For dates, for plans. You know, the things you do with your boyfriend?”
Wasn’t I just thinking this exact same thing a while ago?
“In this case, I just wanted to wish my boyfriend a lovely good morning,” She finished.
And so she did. Accompanying me all the way to the bus stand, chatting, asking, skyrocketing her phone bill with pleasure.
Springy wasn’t the right word for it, boisterous didn’t sound right either – but the way she drifted from one topic to the other in record pace, it’s like if she could, she’d talk forever... or maybe it was the other way around, maybe it was me she could hear talk forever.
It’s a thought, and a likely one at that.
“By the way, how’s the situation with Ash?” She asked, an impish tone layered with her voice. “Did you talk to her yet?”
I knew this was bound to come up at some point. This girl likes her juicy gossip.
“Yeah, I did,” I answered, playing it cool. “We’re alright, we’re fine.”
“Did she kiss you?” She asked, and when I took too long to answer her question, I heard a little snigger on the other end of the line. “Ah, that’s so sweet. I bet you’re drifting in the clouds right now, aren’t you, you little Elf-fanatic?”
“Hey, for what it’s worth, you’re the better kisser.”
“Your attempt at flattery is kinda negated by your admission of infidelity right after,” She said, sounding utterly deadpanned. “Maybe I should go ahead and make out with a random boy as well, y’know, as payback?”
“Nice try,” I snorted, smiling. “No, you won’t.”
“You’re right. Shoot,” She clicked her tongue. “Maybe I shouldn’t have been too obvious with my feelings for you. I lost a trump card.”
“Hey, you’re the one that said you’re fine with joining my quote-unquote harem. You know the rules, and so do I.”
There was a begrudging grumble. “I suppose... fine, rules are rules. But don’t forget, I want my fair share too! Otherwise, I’ll complain! You don’t wanna hear your girlfriend moaning now, do you?”
“Only if it’s in the bedroom, I suppose.”
“Oh, wha – seriously, what the...!” I could practically hear her blushing through the phone. “Someone’s feeling frisky...”
“What?” I asked, feigning ignorance. “Isn’t dirty talk over the phone something couples do too, or am I getting this whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing wrong?”
“There’s a time and place for different things,” She said, her heavy breath blowing through the speakers. “And clearly it seems you’re utterly terrible with timing.”
“Oh, so enlighten me. When is a right time and place, might I ask?”
I heard her swallow. “Well, uh, you know... when, when we... when we feel like the mood is right.”
“And what if I think that the mood is right, right now?” I continued to ask, lowering my voice to a husky whisper. “Hey, Amanda, can I ask you what you’re wearing right now?”
“W-What, you mean like right... right now, right now?” There was a slight pause, a quiet shuffle. “Um, I’m... I’m in... my nightgown right now. I just... I just woke up.”
“Oh?” I made sure she could hear clear the interest heavy in my voice. “What color?”
“Yellow.”
“Is it see-through? Transparent?”
Another pause. “A little.”
“Now you got me curious,” At this point, my cheeks were straining from how wide my devilish smirk had gotten. “I hope you’re not just gonna leave it to my imagination to fill in the blanks.”
“Huh?”
“I’d like to see it for myself too. Y’know, just to make sure I got every detail of you just right in my head.”
She finally caught on. “You want... you want me to send you a photo?”
“Yup.”
“Of me?”
“Pretty please?”
“O-Oh, w-well, I suppose I...” but then, like a snap of a finger, she finally snapped out of it. “Wait, no! Are you nuts?! What are you – ?! Time and place! Timing, I told you!”
“Teasing, Amanda, I’m teasing,” I told her, trying, very nearly failing, to hold in my laughter. “I mean it is what we, me and you, couples do too, right?”
There was another pause.
“I’m hanging up.”
I could only sit and smile. “Good talk, girlfriend.”
“Not really, boyfriend,” then she abruptly did as she said and hung up, leaving the beep of dead air sounding through my phone speaker.
Y’know, actually, this phone-talk thing could be something I can get pleasantly used to. In fact, I daresay It’s also given me a solution to my little conundrum from before.
If absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder, then I guess all I have to do is to ensure there isn’t any absence to be felt... even when they aren’t with me physically.
The bus leading home finally roared to my stop, halting with a screech, and the door swinging open with a squeak – but when I stood up from my seat, I didn’t get on.
I walked away.
Taking a little detour, ruffling through my wallet, checking that my card was still tucked securely away at one of the sleeves between the coffee card and the never once used gym membership, and once I had that settled, I turned around to the next street corner... vaguely certain that I once saw a storefront that sells phones somewhere to the left.
It’s about high time Ash gets a little piece of the modern world of her own, and maybe one in green too... to match with her eyes.
I’m sure she’ll like that very much.
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