I Get Off

Aria slowly turned over in bed, pulling the luxurious silk sheets to her chest and letting the comfort wrap her up. Just five more minutes, she swore, then she would get out of bed. Something about her sheets and her bed felt especially comfortable, and she didn’t particularly want to leave its confines. The silk and satin, the calming music from the next room, the scent of lavender and lilac, it was all so luxurious. Too luxurious.

Her eyes went open, and she shot upright in a bed that she suddenly realized was not hers. If the expensive nature of the bedding wasn’t a dead giveaway, the floor length windows that made up the wall opposite of the bed was. Aria rolled out of bed, topless save for her bra yet still in her jeans from the night before, and approached the windows. A beautiful view, looking down at the entire city and watching the sun slowly rise over the concrete jungle.

“The fuck?” Aria scratched her head at the situation, trying to piece things together. She didn’t think she’d ever see a penthouse apartment like this from the inside unless she decided to pick up a celebrity magazine, yet, here she was. She had her suspicions as to how she had got there, and so she followed the sound of music out of the room and down the hall to the kitchen and living area.

The living room split into a small kitchenette, where a coffee machine was running, had everything from a large fridge to a fully stocked bar. The living room housed a luxurious couch that Aria wagered cost as much as three months of her rent, a massive flatscreen television and entertainment system, the stereos of which were playing the music Aria had been hearing.

Most interestingly was the small stage area in the corner, where a sleek metal pole ran from the ceiling to the floor. The curvy, sensual, nude form of Adagio was slowly swinging around that pole, sashaying her hips and showing off her tattoos and the small beauty mark under her breast. The most of the dancer's body Aria had ever seen. It was then, as Aria stared at Adagio's perfect body swaying around the pole for her own private striptease, did she remember exactly what went down the previous night.

"Nice place," noted Aria, hoping to get Adagio's attention. While it was obvious that Adagio heard her, she kept dancing as if she had not. "How'd we end up here?"

"You were so out of it last night, I had Mr. Tie carry you up here for me," said Adagio, not pausing her routine for even a second. "Didn't want to drop you on your doorstep for Sonata to find, and it would be terribly rude to leave you in the backseat of my car, so… Welcome to my little bachelorette pad."

"Thanks for having me." Aria crossed her arms over her chest, unable to tear her eyes from Adagio for even a second. "Do you always poledance to start your day or is this a treat for me?"

"Bit of both. I have to stay in practice somehow, and it's great exercise." Adagio held onto the pole for support, bringing her right leg straight up into a vertical split against the pole and leaning back to smirk at Aria. "I normally wear clothes though."

"Heh. Listen, about last night…"

"Hm? What happened last night?"

"You, uh… Rocked my world, a little bit," said Aria with a blush. Adagio turned herself upside down, holding onto the pole with a leg and gesturing for more. "You… Geez, are you really gonna make me go into detail?"

"You mean when I owned your pussy and made you mine?" said Adagio with a grin.

"Y-yeah… What I was trying to get at is… Sorry."

"Hm?" Adagio paused, mid-spin, and flipped upright and to the floor. In a rare twist of fate, now she was the one confused and concerned. "What do you have to be sorry for?"

"I passed out before I could, y'know. Reciprocate." Aria blushed at the way Adagio giggled at her. "I just… I'm not normally like that. If I'm getting off, I feel like whoever I'm with should get off too."

"Just because you didn't finger-fuck my soul from my body like I did to you doesn't mean I didn't 'get off', sugar," laughed Adagio. "If I wanted you to make me cum last night, I would have let you know, but that's not what that was about. That was about finally breaking that dry spell of yours."

"Consider it broken. Still… I wanna make you feel good, too."

"Oh, aren't you just precious? Trust and believe, sugar, hearing you moan my name last night definitely made me feel good. Better than you can imagine." Adagio stepped down from the stage, wrapping her arms around Aria's waist and pulling her in for a kiss. "But, if you're hellbent on paying me back… Well, I have some shopping planned today that I think will help us out there."

"We talking shoes or like…?"

"Sugar, we both know I'm too much of a perv to be talking about shoes right now." Adagio gave Aria a gentle swat to the ass, smirking at the tiny moan that escaped her. "Mr. Tie will be here in an hour, coffee is almost ready, and I have a fresh outfit for you in the bathroom. So why don't you hit the shower, we get some breakfast, and then we find some fun little toys for us to play with?"

"Right… Where's your bathroom, exactly?"

"Back in the bedroom, door on the right."

"Alright, then. Thanks," said Aria. She turned to go back the way she came, pausing after a few steps. She turned back to face Adagio, nervously chuckling as she did. "You wanna maybe, I dunno… Join me?"

"I've already showered, sugar," said Adagio, giving the most innocent, and blatantly fabricated, smile Aria had ever seen. The smile slipped into something a touch more sinister. "Oh, and don't do something silly like try to rub one out in the shower. You save that for me." She blew Aria a kiss, stopping her heart in her chest. "I'll know if you did…"

Aria really, truly, genuinely believed that, by this point in their relationship, she would have discovered some sort of defense against Adagio’s sensual charm. Yet, somehow, a few choice words still managed to make Aria’s knees weak.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Even after a hot shower and some coffee to wake her up, Aria still found it incredibly difficult to focus on breakfast with Adagio across the table from her.

To her credit, Adagio was mostly innocent, sipping her coffee and munching on her avocado toast without much fanfare. The fact that her blouse was so incredibly low-cut that she threatened to pop out of it if she sneezed too hard was entirely coincidental. Even if Adagio was covered from head to toe like a nun (the very thought of which, in and of itself, was giving Aria some incredibly vivid fantasies and flashbacks to Catholic school), Aria would be hard-pressed to think about anything except the coming shopping spree.

“Siren’s Call, hm?” hummed Adagio, looking out at the sex shop as Mr. Tie parked them before it. “Any particular reason you chose this place?”

“I, uh… I already have a membership here,” admitted Aria. “They’ve got a good selection.”

"I hope so. Let's go, sugar."

Aria and Adagio slid out of the car, approaching the vibrant pink shop. A bit embarrassingly, the cashier called out to Aria by name, displaying just how well-known she was at this shop. Adagio just chuckled, nudging Aria as they strolled past row after row of various dildos, vibrators, pocket pussies, and more.

"So, what kind of toys do you like?" asked Aria. Adagio shrugged. "Okay… So how did you get off with your last… partner?"

"His dick," said Adagio with a snicker. "And I put his tongue to work, too."

"Wait… Am I the first chick you've ever been with?"

"Yep."

"How is that possible? How did you…" Aria paused, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Do that last night?"

"I'm a natural," laughed Adagio. "Mainly did what I would like. Aside from that… I googled some tips on my phone before my cop routine."

"Shit, that reminds me…" Aria pulled out her phone, turning it off of Do Not Disturb. Over a dozen missed calls and texts from the night before came cascading in. "Yeah, figured… Sonata called a bunch, she's probably worried. I better call back." After a nod from Adagio, Aria dialed the number and put the phone to her ear once the line connected. "Hey, don't freak out."

"Too late!" said Sonata. "You just totally vanished last night, you said you'd be back before me, but after my 'date' with Devin, you weren't home and…" Sonata gasped in surprise, some pieces falling into place all of a sudden. "Oh my God!"

"Oh no…"

"You totally fucked Adagio last night, didn't you?!"

"I can hear her," noted Adagio. She grinned. "Tell her it was me who fucked you."

"Nata, I'm in public, I'm not gonna talk about this right now," said Aria firmly. Naturally, Sonata proceeded to ignore this declaration.

"You gotta tell me everything! How was it? What did you guys do? Where? What did she say, what did you say, what—"

"Sonata, I promise I'll tell you all about it in graphic detail when I get home, but right now I'm not—"

"I thought I heard someone familiar!"

A chill ran down Aria's spine, her heart stopping in her chest in a way very different than how Adagio could make her feel. This was dread, true fear and disbelief and a million other things that Aria couldn't quite place. She slowly turned in the direction of the voice, her eyes falling on its source. Some part of Aria prayed beyond reason that she was wrong, but there was no mistaking it once she saw her.

She seemed taller than Aria remembered, almost matching Adagio's height. Her hair was shorter than before, only about ear-length, the fiery red and yellow locks shaved down at the back and sides in a sort of pixie cut. Her lip was pierced by a single, small, silver ring, a remnant of the punk rock style that she had poorly attempted to rid herself of as she got older. She smiled at Aria, oozing confidence, as she approached, stopping a few paces from the couple. Aria swallowed in an attempt to keep her heart in her body, while Adagio simply watched with an arched brow.

"Wait…" Aria had temporarily forgotten that she was on the phone until Sonata piped up. "That sounds like…"

"I'll call you back, Nata," said Aria, nervously ending her call. She took in a breath and waited a beat before continuing. "Hey, Sunset. Been a while."

"Ages, it feels like. What are the odds that I come here and bump into you, of all people?" Sunset Shimmer laughed and, as if under some form of duress, Aria soon joined her. After a spell, Sunset's eyes met those of Adagio's, and her grin only grew. "Who's this hottie?"

"Oh, this is my, uh… My friend. Adagio." Aria flashed a look to Adagio that was equal parts apologetic and screaming for help. "Adagio, this is Sunset. We used to date."

"Used to do a lot more than that."

"Nice to meet you, Sunset." Adagio offered her hand with a polite smile, and Sunset shook it just as politely. "Aria's told me all about you."

"Damn, I sure hope not," said Sunset. Aria chuckled nervously, clearing her throat in an attempt to steady herself.

"Uh… What are you doing here?" asked Aria.

"Buying a new vibrator, what's it look like?"

"I meant in this country. Weren't you supposed to be moving to Sweden?" Aria blushed, sweating profusely and averting her eyes. "With, uh… Twilight?"

"Oh, yeah, things didn't work out with me and her. Ironic, huh?" Sunset laughed, but the frown on Aria's face made it very clear that she was not in on the joke. "We split a few months back, I decided to come back here to look for work, maybe reconnect with some old friends. I called you last night, by the way, but you didn't pick up."

"Oh. Yeah, well… I lost your number after we split up, and I didn't recognize it when—"

As casually as can be, Sunset swiped Aria's phone from her hand. She maneuvered through her call log, whistling as Aria was powerless to stop her. After a minute, she passed the phone back to Aria, who fought to hide her frown. Now, she had a new contact. "Sunny <3" was now saved to her phone, making it impossible to miss when she was calling.

"There, now you'll remember. We gotta get together sometime, catch up on old times," said Sunset. She looked back at Adagio, as if only then remembering she was there. "Maybe the three of us can grab dinner? Aria doesn't make friends with just anybody, so you're bound to be interesting. As for me, well, I can be a little all over the place." She nudged Aria playfully. "What was it you said to me when we broke up? There's two Sunsets?"

"Yep. Two Sunsets," sighed Aria. "And no way to be sure which girl you'll get tonight."

"Well, trust me. I'm the good one, I swear," laughed Sunset. She glanced down at her watch, whistling at the time. "Shit, I gotta go. I'll call you later to make dinner plans! Maybe get Sony over, too. Just like old times."

Sunset leaned in and kissed Aria on the forehead before waving goodbye and going on her merry way. For a few moments, Aria didn't move, afraid to see what Adagio thought of things. When she finally did turn to see her, she was thoroughly surprised that Adagio was smiling.

"So that was Sunset?" asked Adagio, a light bit of laughter in her voice.

"Y-yeah. Don't stress over the kiss thing, she does that to everyone," said Aria, wiping any potential lipstick from her forehead. She waited nervously, getting herself in order before continuing. "What do you think of her?"

"I've known her for approximately 90 seconds and yet there is no combination of 26 letters to come together to make a word that accurately captures how much I hate this bitch."

"Oh. Well…" Aria was now even more concerned than before. "Then why are you smiling?"

"Because she doesn't get to have you anymore. I do." Adagio pulled Aria in close, grabbing her crotch through her jeans. "And seeing my competition got me fired up. So let's grab some stuff and get out of here before I drop your jeans and fuck you right in the middle of this aisle."

Aria gulped, her mind currently distracted from Sunset entirely.

"Do you have any idea how hot you are?"

"Why don't we sneak off to a dressing room so you can show me?"

"Um… Maybe some other time." Aria pulled away from Adagio, which clearly wasn't what the dancer had expected. "Seeing Sunny again is bringing back some memories."

"Memories about fucking in a dressing room?" asked Adagio.

"Yeah, actually. Like I said, can we talk more about it another time?" Aria went stiff, turning away from Adagio to hide her face. "It's still tough. You know?"

"You don't have to tell me anything before you're ready." Adagio grabbed her gently by the hand, pulling Aria close. "You still up for dildo shopping? Because if you'd rather go home, we can do this another time."

"You sure? You sounded excited to get new toys."

"I've got the only toy I'm worried about right here, sugar." She pinched Aria's cheek, successfully earning her a smirk. "Call Sonata, we can all meet up at your place. I'm hindsight, I didn't give you a whole lot of time to recover from last night. Maybe a day in with friends is what we need."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Aria stood a little more confidently, pulling her phone out to redial Sonata's number. "Thanks, babe."

"Don't mention it, sugar," said Adagio. She pulled Aria forward, leading her confidently to the front of the store. "Tell Sonata to make more of that hot cocoa. Something tells me we're going to want to get cozy for storytime."

"So she's just back now?" asked Sonata.

Aria sighed, throwing her head back against the couch. Her hot cocoa sat on the coffee table, mostly untouched, while Sonata sat across from her with a mug in her hand and a concerned frown on her face. It wasn't until Adagio returned from the kitchen with a fresh mug of cocoa, sliding into the couch and curling up against Aria, did the latter look forward at her long-time friend.

"It's like she never left," sighed Aria. "She's not bitter or spiteful or anything. She even laughed at an old fight we had. If you didn't know the story, you'd think the two of us were just old friends."

"That's totally nuts." Sonata glanced to Adagio, who maintained a cool, controlled aura to her. "And what do you think of her, Ada?"

"I don't like to make a habit of flexing my wealth, but I would happily pay a large sum of money to make her disappear." Adagio sipped her cocoa, not realizing the concern on the others' faces until the silence hung in the air for a few beats. "What?"

"Are you saying you're gonna put a hit out on her?" asked Sonata.

"Of course not. I'm saying I could, and it's very, very tempting," said Adagio. Again, there were a few awkward beats of silence before she rolled her eyes. "I'm joking. About the hit, not about disliking Sunset. I can't stand her."

"Just cause she's my ex?" asked Aria.

"Have you ever grabbed a Coke from the fridge and realize after you take a sip that you grabbed a Diet Coke by mistake?" Adagio watched the two nod. "It's like that. That girl is phony, and she's not here to just be friends."

"You think she might be trying to get back with me?" snorted Aria. Adagio just shrugged. "Yeah, not a chance. You clearly don't know how we split."

"Only because you haven't told me."

"You never asked."

"My mistake, should I have asked about your messy breakup after your second or third orgasm?"

"Damn, three times?" laughed Sonata from the loveseat. "Looks like you've got a girl who knows what she's doing!"

"Once you get Aria around your finger like I do, she melts like ice cream on the sidewalk," said Adagio, grinning devilishly. "I would've gotten more than just three if she hadn't passed out."

"Can we not do this?" Aria's face was simply radiating heat, enough to cook an egg by this point. "It was the outfit, I—"

"Outfit?" asked Sonata. Adagio pulled out her phone and flipped through a few screens.

"Sexy cop." Adagio turned her phone to Sonata, showing off one of the selfies she took before Aria arrived at the hotel.

"Wow, you look good!" Sonata leaned forward a bit. "Uh… I can see your booby. Left nipple is showing."

"Hm?" After glancing back at the screen, Adagio shrugged and put the phone in her pocket. "Oh well. Nothing you two haven't seen before. I showed Aria my tits before I knew her name."

There was the ringing of a phone, but it wasn't Adagio's. It was Aria's, and everyone in the room was fairly sure they knew who it was on the other end. After a second, Aria pulled out the phone just to confirm what they all knew; Sunset. She looked first to Sonata, then to Adagio, before finally answering the phone.

"Hey, Sunny. Uh, you're on speaker." Thinking quickly, Aria put the phone on speaker, so as to ensure she had backup if she needed it. "Adagio and Sonata are here."

"Hey, girls! Look, can't talk much, in the middle of an errand," said Sunset. "But we were talking about lunch earlier, and I wanted to know if you guys would be down for tomorrow? Just passed Romeo's on my way to my apartment, got hit with this wave of nostalgia. Their eggplant parm was to die for."

"Uh… I don't know, Sunset. Adagio?" Aria glanced to Adagio, begging and pleading with her to help. "What do you think? Are you, uh, free?"

"How does 1 PM sound?" said Adagio suddenly. Both Sonata and Aria's eyes went wide in shock, so surprised that they couldn't even argue. "I'd love to get to know you better."

"Sounds perfect. Meet you there?"

"It's a date."

"Okay, awesome. I gotta let you go now. Bye Nata, Ada. And Aria?" Sunset paused for a half beat before quite audibly blowing a kiss through the phone. "That's for you. For old time's sake."

Just as quickly as it started, it was over. Aria turned to Adagio, tilting her head and examining the dancer as if she had suddenly sprouted a second head.

"I thought you hated her," said Aria.

"Oh, I do, sugar. But I'm also not stupid. I know how to play this game," said Adagio with a snort. "She doesn't want to have lunch with us. She wants to know if we're an item, by seeing if I'd let you go."

"So… you're letting me go to do what exactly?"

"To see why she wants to know so badly. And, once I do, I'll know what she's playing at. Then, she'll know not to touch what's mine." Adagio coiled up against Aria, nuzzling against her chest. "You have to wake up pretty early in the morning if you're going to pull one over on me. I'm not letting her fuck with either of us, and that's a promise."

"I guess you thought it out more than me. I'm still kinda shook that she's even here. After she left, I thought I'd never see her again." Aria sighed, tossing her phone into the coffee table. "Before I met you, I hoped I would, and now that she's back… my brain just freezes."

"I'm going to ask you a question, and it's very important that you understand that this isn't a trap. It's not a trick or a test. I want you to be honest." Adagio sat up and turned to face Aria, looking her straight in the eyes not with any of her usual teasing or pageantry or sultry allure. This look was nothing but compassion, connection, and understanding, and it made Aria's knees go weak all the same. "Be honest. Do you still have feelings for Sunset?"

Aria opened her mouth to say the obvious answer, but she stopped. She stopped because, the longer she thought about it, the less obvious the answer appeared. After lying to herself for so long, convincing herself that she was over it when she wasn't, Aria wasn't entirely sure what she felt. What was real, and what was just a manner of coping with the heartbreak? She couldn't say no, give the answer she desperately wanted to give, because the simple fact was that Aria didn't know.

"I was going to marry her. I had a ring, I had the date all planned out, everything," said Aria, a slight tinge of pain in her voice. It was like she had stubbed her toe, but rather than treat it, she just walked through the pain. "Even when our relationship was melting, I thought it would all be fixed when I asked her to marry me. We were gonna buy a house, and adopt a kid, and get old together and… in a ten minute argument, that all went up in smoke."

"I know you said you don't want to talk about it, but I want to know how I can help you," said Adagio. "Please. Tell me what happened."

"Not even I really know," admitted Sonata. Aria glanced up at her, as if surprised to know she was still there. "You two need some alone time to talk? Cause I can go."

"No. You kept me together this whole time, you deserve to hear it too," said Aria. She almost begrudgingly grabbed her cocoa and took a healthy sip. "So, uh… I guess this is kinda important to mention. I didn't lose my virginity until I hooked up with Sunset."

"Why would that be important?" asked Adagio.

"Cause I was still figuring myself out, and Sunset was, like… Experienced, I guess."

"She was a slut. Since, like, high school," said Sonata, rolling her eyes. Now, it was her attracting stares. "What? She ran through the entire basketball team and half the cheerleaders before prom. And I know, glass house or whatever, but it takes one to know one!"

"The point is, she knew what she liked and I had no fucking clue. So, she 'helped' me. Or, I guess, she helped herself. She had a dominant personality, is a way to say it. She wanted to be able to have her way with me?"

"Like me?" asked Adagio with a frown. Aria shook her head.

"She would call me names and stuff. Slut, bitch, whatever." Aria blushed a bit at the memories, still finding herself embarrassed by how much a bit of name-calling had bothered her. "I wasn't really into it, but I never said anything, because I just thought that was what you did. Relationships are about compromise, right?"

"That's not compromise."

"Well, I was dumb and in love, so I just went with it. When the name-calling wasn't enough, she started trying to get me off in public. First it was the bathroom, then a dressing room. One time, even at dinner." Aria shrunk down, shaking her head at Sunset, at herself, and at her past. "With my parents… Well, I really didn't like that. I wasn't ready, I was scared, and uncomfortable, but Sunset didn't care. She got her rocks off from watching me squirm in public, and I always got to cum at the end, so what do I have to complain about?"

"That sounds… Wrong," noted Sonata.

"Understatement of the year," agreed Adagio. She patted Aria gently, urging her to continue. "Go on, sugar."

"Eventually, I just couldn't keep going. So I told her. We argued about it for a while. She said I was being judgmental and kinkshaming her." Though long ago, Aria could still remember how she felt when Sunset had finally pushed her to a point where she couldn't keep going. It was this queasy, greasy feeling, deep in her gut. "And I guess I was, in hindsight. But after that, we made up, and we came to a deal, this unspoken agreement. Since I wasn't willing to humor her anymore, then that meant I should have to focus extra hard on… pleasing her… in bed. It sounded reasonable at the time, but… Dumb and in love, I guess.

"She wouldn't touch me for the longest time at that point. And I don't just mean sexually. She stopped kissing me, stopped holding my hand, stopped cuddling. Whenever we had sex, which wasn't super often anymore, it was always me getting her off. And I'll be honest, I started to get a little bitter. It felt so shitty, to have a long day at work, come back home to the woman that's supposed to be my soulmate, and she just rides my face and goes to bed after. I felt kinda… Entitled, I guess. Like she owed me, somehow."

"I don't think it's unreasonable to expect human contact and compassion in a relationship, sugar." Adagio tried to hide her frown, but she was quite unsuccessful in that regard. "I think you're allowed to feel entitled to the sensation that your girlfriend loves you."

"Sunset didn't see it like that. The way she saw it, I had belittled her sexuality, and this is what happens after. I tried to tell her that I just couldn't take another night of being called a useless bitch while I damn near worshipped her, and she told me to learn the difference between reality and fantasy. Said I was making a big deal out of nothing. We fought about that a lot. Coincidentally, around this time, a chick named Twilight showed up. An old friend, she told me. Best friend. So close that, whenever me and Sunny got into it with each other, it was Twilight who came to calm Sunny down. She'd sometimes sleep at Twilight's when we had a really bad fight. And, you know, funnily enough, she ended up asking me to go down on her a lot less after they reconnected."

"Ah. I think I see where this is going…" sighed Adagio. "You poor thing…"

"Here's what an idiot I am, though. I'm so head over heels that I still think us getting married would fix it. And our anniversary was coming up, so I said 'yeah, this is it. This is how I solve all of our problems'. I make dinner, her favorites, get some champagne, and…" Aria looked as if she was tearing up at this point. "Nothing. Skips the whole thing. She shows up at like midnight, smelling like weed, cheap whiskey and perfume that definitely isn't hers. So I snapped. I called her out for the way she treated me, how she tried to guilt trip me, and finally I said what I had been thinking for months but just didn't have the balls to say. I accused her of cheating on me."

"And?" Aria rubbed her eyes, at which point Adagio pulled her closer, patting her shoulder and embracing her. "It's okay, sugar. Take your time."

"Nothing wrong with crying, if that's what you want to do," said Sonata. "You've always been such a certified tough guy, but no one is gonna think less of you if you just need to let it out."

"She said she never slept with Twilight while we were together. She said I was petty, jealous, pathetic. And she said…" Aria's voice cracked a bit and, despite the encouragement, she still found herself fighting back tears. "She said she never cheated on me, but she wished she did. She said she wished she would've fucked Twilight right in our bed, and she wished I would've caught them. Just so she could see my face. Then she slammed the door in my face and ran off to Twilight." Finally, Aria felt the tears go free as she tried to combat the memories. She could still feel the venom in Sunset's words, stabbing her through the heart and bringing her to her knees. "So yeah. That was the last time I saw Sunset before today. I drove her off, right into another girl's arms. And it was all my fault."

"No way!"

"Bullshit."

"It's true. If I would've just grit my teeth and dealt with her better, or if I had just had an open mind, maybe things would've been different."

"What you just described to us is called gaslighting, sugar. There is no possible way anyone could look at this and say it was 'all your fault'," said Adagio. She grabbed Aria's phone and quickly found Sunset's number, putting it into her own phone. "I'm cancelling lunch. If I see her the way I'm feeling right now, I'll end up arrested."

"What happened to wanting to figure out what she wanted?"

"That was before I realized how she treated you. This whole time, I thought it was as simple as a horny pig juggling two girls."

"Seriously, Ari, that is majorly messed up," said Sonata. "I had no idea it was that serious back then."

"I never said anything. If I said it out loud, then it became real, you know?" Aria let out a sigh, pushing herself to her feet. "I'm gonna get a drink. A stiff one. Anyone want anything?"

"Well, I suppose that depends," said Adagio. "Will you be sending me home tonight?"

"Huh?"

"Mr. Tie doesn't like to see me drunk, so if we're doing heavy drinking, I'd rather not call for a ride." It went quiet for a spell, with Aria clearly trying to figure Adagio out. "I'm asking if I could stay the night, sugar."

"Oh. Oh! Yeah, totally! That sounds really cool," said Aria. "Uh… You mean, like… With me?"

"Well, I'll take the couch, but what you said seems more romantic."

"Right. Duh. Why would you be asking to sleep… on my couch…" Aria felt like the world's biggest idiot, a common sensation when around Adagio. "You know what, I'm gonna go get the tequila before I put my mouth in my foot again." Aria slapped her forehead as she heard the words she had just said. "Son of a bitch… I'm going."

"How in the world did a dork like Aria manage to lock down a hottie like you?" giggled Sonata, watching as a blushing Aria essentially ran to the kitchen. Adagio cracked a grin, shaking her head.

"Aria doesn't act like some big tough guy. She doesn't try to make me think that she's above being interested in me," said Adagio. "She's quite open about how I make her feel like an absolute idiot, and I think there's a certain strength to that honesty. She's always just Aria, flaws and all, and I respect that." Adagio thought about it and then laughed. "Her moans are adorable, too, which definitely helps."

"Almost forgot! You have to tell me everything!"

"Don't worry, sugar. Mama remembers every last detail…"