No Strings Attached

Chapter 21: What now?

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When Freen opened her eyes, she squinted at the rays of the sun streaming in through the window. Wait, the sun never came in through the windows. Nam liked to keep the blinds shut, mostly so that people don't constantly walk past and see... Well yes. She blinked again and rolled her head a little to look over at Nam, finding her sitting cross-legged on her bed, a smile splitting her face.

"Morning sunshine!" Nam gave a little wiggle and Freen knew she was in for something cringe-worthy. "The rumour mill has been spinning." Oh god, Freen thought, here it comes. "And I, for one, feel terribly slighted that you haven't told me squat!" Her smile slipped away briefly to add to her dramatic display of feeling wounded.

"And what have I not told you, pray tell?" Freen groaned into her pillow before pushing herself upright and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "You know exactly what I'm talking about! You and Becca!" Freen rubbed her hands over her face, realising she wasn't getting out of this one.

"Okay okay... We've kind of been hooking up, I guess? Well it only happened twice, so I don't know if that qualifies." Freen exhaled the weight from her chest and leaned back against the wall next to her bed. She gave herself a moment to let the memories all come flooding back. All the near kisses and tension and kisses and fighting and making out and uncertainty was suddenly a little overwhelming.

"Twice?" Nam echoed, a dubious look on her face. "You had sex twice and didn't fucking tell me?" Nam's voice was shrill and Freen had to wave her arms in a panicked reaction, hissing at Nam to turn down the volume. "NO! No... We just kissed the first time. The second time we kind of made out a little bit." Nam's jaw dropped to the floor as she fixed Freen with a disbelieving stare. "How do you 'make out a little'? Were you at least horizontal?" Nam continued to seem utterly flabbergasted at the details, or the lack thereof.

"No." Freen grinned then and left Nam in clear suspense, as if she was watching a soap opera in live action. "No? What then, Freen? Were you hanging from the fucking ceiling? Stop being so damn coy and just give me the details!" Freen couldn't help but laugh at her friend's consistantly hilarious reactions.

Then Freen's lips grew into a naturally more sensuous curve, as if remembering Becca's flesh against them. Her gaze got lost in the sunlight and her breath hitched as she allowed the memory from what happened the previous day wash over her. "We just got caught up in the moment... I was in her lap, straddling her..." If Freen ever had a devilish grin, she was flashing it at Nam and the latter looked like she was about to have a heart attack.

"Sarocha! You dirty..."

"Nam! Just. Aaargh... She drives me beyond crazy! I swear she makes me burn a fever just when she's near." Freen sighed and collapsed onto her bed, seemingly defeated. "So what's the problem?" Freen breathed into her comforter as she considered the problem. There were so many and none at all.

"I don't really know what it means, or what I'm supposed to do or how to act now. We just kind of agreed to let it be what it is and see what happens." Freen breathed out in a long whine.

Nam tapped her chin and thought about Freen's dilemma for a second. "Well that depends... What do you want, Freen?" She thought for a moment about how she truly felt about the question. "I want... I want what Becca wants." She shrugged her shoulders a little heavily as she realised what the next question would be. "And no... I don't really know what that is. I know she feels strongly about me, I know she's attracted to me. Yet she just keeps me at arm's length."

She rolled out of bed and started making it quickly, planning on a shower. There was still practice in the afternoon, though she had school to worry about first. "I don't know, Nam. I don't want to keep on wracking my brain about it. Let's just go with the flow."

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"Okay, so I've got to tell you guys something." The band sat around the garage, sharing a cold beer after about an hour of practice. They had been jamming random bangers just to stay in practice, as well as a warm up to practicing their Bandslam songs.

"A semi-suit approached me after the gig the other night. I've been scouted, got a gig this Friday night." Becca said it softly and shyly, feeling almost ashamed, as well as afraid. As she had told Freen, she feared how her bandmates might feel about the solo opportunity. It had been unneeded, though, as both Richie and Heng jumped up in cheering for Becca, each one leaning over to give her a congratulatory hug.

Becca's grin radiated happiness. Her 'family' never ceased to amaze her. She should have known she needn't worry. Freen gazed softly at Becca as she laughed with the guys, attuned to every crease around her eyes as they pulled into slits and yet shone so brightly. Becca flicked her eyes over at Freen and Freen felt a jolt to her tummy, then blushed at getting caught staring. She felt like she could ride this exciting rollercoaster over and over again.

"So, what are you playing though?" Heng's question distracted them both as Becca felt jerked back to reality. She shook her head. "I have no fucking clue. I have to include 3 originals in my set and writing hasn't been going well. I feel pretty screwed." Becca lowered her head, feeling a little defeated. "Well, we can all help out, right?" Heng opened his hands and asked one face after the other, but Becca was quick to speak up.

"No, if I want to be able to survive alone, then I need to produce my own shit. And fuck, who knows. Maybe the solo life is not even for me." She swigged from her bottle as she leaned back into the couch. "You want to know what I think?" Freen spoke up as she quirked a brow at Becca sitting opposite her. Becca raised her own brows questioningly. "I think that whatever will be, will be." She spoke in a tone that soothed Becca, then sent a wink her way.

Becca stared at Freen, now unabashedly, as Freen was doing the same. Seconds seemed to tick backwards as they both revisited their agreement the previous night. Becca felt hot. She was stressed. She was excited. She was still pumped from the jam session and she was feeling the endorphins rushing through her veins, then it turned to liquid fire. Her eyes dipped to Freen's lips, then continued going. Freen watched her with static jumping around her stomach.

Maybe they were just fooling themselves, thinking that they could take it slow. And maybe they could, but at the rate Becca was raking her eyes over every perfect inch of Freen, it didn't seem lightly. Apparently, however, they weren't being as low-key as they thought they were. Heng loudly cleared his throat and Richie coughed some, both rising from their seats at the same time. "Keen on some FIFA?" Richie invited Heng in to go play videogames and leave the tension to the ladies.

"You know this is going to be difficult?" Freen's tone was low as she leaned forward and rested her arms on her knees. Becca mimicked her position opposite her. "What is that, exactly?" Becca grinned and canted her head slightly. "You know what..." Freen shook her head, then watched Becca as she chewed her bottom lip. Becca knew, and god knew she felt it too. She stood and stepped around the coffee table, then held out her hand to Freen. "Come on..."