She Needs Inspiration

"I'm not going to mess around here. I'll always love her. You've met her, and you've actually been intimate with her, which I never have, so, you get it, right?" answered Tom.

"Yeah, man, I get it. But, you think she's a fucking hooker, and I don't." said Lucius.

"So?" answered Tom.

"So, you would never actually be able to be with her, and I can!" exclaimed Lucius, trying to keep the emotion out of his voice.

"Dude, bro, you convinced me she's not a hooker, though," said Tom.

Lucius walked over, and sat on an arm chair that faced Tom on the couch. He hung his head in his hands, and rubbed his face for a moment. "So, you're telling me," he began, his voice muffled by his fingers. His voice became clear again, as he lifted his head up, and continued talking, "you would have never considered trying to be with her again, but I convinced you otherwise?"

"Well, yeah," replied Tom.

"Jesus fucking Christ," said Lucius. "Well, that complicates things."

"Yeah, no shit. You love her, don't you?" asked Tom, sullenly.

"Yeah, as much as I don't want to admit it to myself, and as crazy as that is, I do. She's different."

"Tell me about it."

Lucius stood up and said, "Man, you've been there for me through thick and thin. I love you like a brother. What the fuck are we going to do?" Tom just shook his head, and then looked away. Lucius remembered him looking away exactly like this each time he'd convinced him on points about Lana previously. Now the look made sense. Lucius waited, but Tom didn't look up, so he left.

Chapter 6

Lucius's mind was on fire. His life went from simple, to very complicated, very quickly. He was driving around to cool off after his confrontation with Tom. He smiled for a moment, as he considered that maybe it would be better to be one of those savage jackasses who punch another guy in the face if they find out they have feelings for their woman. Too bad, he thought, he was so civilized. He actually laughed for a moment. They were the opposite of this, which made everything a lot more difficult. Instead of the guy with the strongest punch winning, it had to be the one with the strongest mind, and the strongest ability to win Lana's heart.

For a fleeting moment, though, he thought about just turning around, driving back to Tom's house, and punching him out. Now that he considered it further though, images of the time Tom had punched a hole in the wall to prove he could, and win a bet, and the time he himself had kicked out a car window when he'd locked himself out popped into his mind. He imagined what those amounts of force would do to a human head. He shivered, and decided he'd rather not kill what was the closest thing he'd ever had to a brother, nor be killed by him. It was better off this way. If they fought, and neither died, though, they'd just be heartbroken over having hurt each other, and Lana might be disgusted at the fact and want nothing to do with either of them. He pushed these absurd musings out of his head, and decided to drive to Lana's, instead.

Once he arrived, he saw her sitting on her porch, reading a book. He walked up, and sat down on a chair next to hers. "Fancy seeing you again." she said.

"We have a problem." said Lucius.

"He still wants me," she said. It was a statement, rather than a question. She knew.

"Did he tell you?"

"No, I just know him," she clarified.

"Okay, so, now what?"

"Do you trust me?" she implored.

"I do," answered Lucius, surprising himself that he actually felt he truly did.

"Okay, well, I promised Tom that I would always be here for him if he ever changed his mind. That has now happened. So, I cannot break that promise."

Lucius's heart sank. "So, we're done?" he asked.

"You said you trust me, so, trust me," she said.

Chapter 7

Lucius sat at home the next day after work reading, and trying to keep his mind off of Lana. She'd sent him away the day before, and he'd decided to just let it go. Now the day wore on, and felt long. Work had dragged, now being at home was dragging. He kept accidentally mentally drifting back to her, but he'd promised to leave her alone until she contacted him again.

Eventually, blessedly, he looked up, and the clock said it was near midnight, and he felt sleepy. He went to bed, and slept a deep, dreamless sleep.

The next morning, he woke up to a text from Tom. It said, "You win. She's yours. Don't worry, we're good. See you for drinks Friday as usual. Bring her if you want, she and I are cool, too."

Lucius was elated. He could actually have this darling woman, and it wouldn't destroy his friendship with his closest friend. But, he'd promised not to contact her, so he had to hold it in, and wait. He went to work, buzzing with excitement. The day flew by and he came back home. As he got out of his car, he heard a car door open up across the street, and looked over. It was Lana's car. She stood up, shut the door, and walked up to the porch along with him.

"You got a minute to talk?" she asked.

"Do you have to ask?" he replied. She flashed him her amazing smile, and they walked into the house together. Once inside, and sitting at the kitchen counter with drinks, Lucius said, "Well?"

"I know Tom, probably even better than you do. I also know I lo-" she stopped herself, and then continued, "I really like you." Lucius tried not to smile, but she'd just made his day, though she didn't know he felt the same way. "I want to be with you, but I didn't want to betray Tom, nor did I want to ruin your relationship with him." She paused.

Lucius looked baffled, he couldn't believe she was letting the suspense hang like this. "Yeah?" he urged.

"So, I just fast forwarded the beginning, middle, and inevitable end of our relationship."

Lucius was on the edge of his seat, now. He waved his hands in a reeling motion in frustration and said, "And?"

"Well, I've no intention of quitting what I do. It's fun, and it makes me feel like a sex goddess," Lucius smiled at her using the same phrase he'd thought of about her. "Tom knows that, and I knew he wasn't really over it. It wasn't just the idea of prostitution, it went deeper than that. He was jealous, and couldn't let this kind of thing go. So, I invited him over, and had him do what you did." she stopped again.

Lucius nearly spit out his beer as he hurried to reply. He was waiting for a conclusion as he drank his beer, but she was being vague again, and he suddenly needed to speak. He swallowed, and said, "Lana, you're killing me, what happened?" he asked.

"This is why I wanted to make sure you trusted me. I knew without a doubt that I didn't want to be unfaithful to you, and that this wouldn't lead to that. But, I also knew that if I told you what I planned, you might object, because it certainly would sound like it would lead to us fucking. So, I let it play out naturally. Tom did exactly what I knew he would: he freaked out. He watched me fingering myself, getting buzzed by guys online, flirting with them, and so on, and he got up and stormed out." she concluded.

Lucius was impressed. She was a brilliant tactician apparently. "So, what? Now Tom is fine with everything?"

"I truly think he is, yes," she said. "We spoke on the phone for an hour later on that night. He said he deeply understands that what I do is wholly incompatible with who he is as a person. He said he will always be there for me as a friend, but that he could never see me as a lover again."

Lucius leaned in, and they kissed. Then, he kissed her along her cheek, and worked back towards her soft, beautiful black hair. "I caught you earlier," he whispered in her ear.

She stiffened, sat up straight, and leaned back, disturbed for a moment, thinking he was going to be as jealous, or more so than even Tom, and said, "What?!"

Lucius realized he'd accidentally freaked her out, so he smiled, and said, "Calm down, I mean I caught what you almost said earlier." She raised her eyebrows, and eyed him suspiciously. "I love you, too," he concluded. A beautiful smile spread across her face, and she leaned in and wrapped her arms around him, and kissed his neck.