Why Did You Put Me with Steven?

He moves his right hand to the side of her face, and it's warm like last night. Gentle. His thumb brushes over her cheekbone. His face lowers to her, and their lips meet- 'STOP. That's not even physically possible.'

"Bathroom break," she inhaled sharply and swung her feet off the bed. Her heart pounded.

She pushed down her shorts and panties as she lowered to sit, and then stared at the wet spot in the crotch as she peed.

"Get your shit together, girl," she whispered.

She cleaned up and left, which prompted him to take his turn. She fell back across the foot edge of her bed, let her arms splay out, and stared at the ceiling.

There was suddenly the muffled sound of his stream hitting water. Her eyes lost focus, but her ears were now trained on him peeing, and when she realized this, she thought to herself, 'And I don't even care.'

When he came out, she sat up after he passed, and she debated whether it would be more awkward to continue sitting next to him or to sit on her bed.

He had returned to his previous position, apparently expecting her to do the same.

And she was already walking back to his bed, so that debate was resolved quickly and efficiently.

She glanced at the clock to get a rough idea of how much longer it might be until lunch, then they continued watching.

Fortunately, she was able to keep her attention on the show, and they refrained from further discussion.

After that series, they decided to go ahead and eat.

"I'll see if Katherine wants to join us," Rebecca said heading for the door.

Outside Katherine's door, she listened again, and this time did hear some activity, so she knocked.

"Hey, Katherine. It's Becca."

"Hey. One sec," Rebecca heard, muffled by the door.

There was the sound of a drawer opening and then closing, and then the door opened.

At first, Katherine looked confused, and then her mouth fell open.

"Holy shit. I didn't even recognize you, at first. Look at you."

Rebecca was also initially confused, but then remembered that she wasn't wearing her usual wig and makeup. She took a second to acknowledge the fact that she had forgotten, then continued.

"Yeah. I didn't feel like it, today."

Katherine pulled her into the room and hugged her as the door swung shut.

"I'm so happy for you."

Rebecca was caught off-guard by the statement. It made her feel like she'd overcome some great challenge, instead of just deciding to not put some stuff on. Then the realization hit her that she kinda did overcome something significant.

"Thanks," she said, half-heartedly.

"What happened?"

It didn't seem like the right time for that discussion.

"I'm just here to see if you want to come to eat lunch with me and Steven. We can talk later."

Katherine's smile diminished to little more than a façade. The unbridled joy left her eyes. And there was a pause.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'd love to. Just let me use the bathroom real quick."

"Sure."

Rebecca scanned the room while waiting. She noticed the glass from the bar now sitting by the TV. Katherine must have had a rough night.

She stepped over, picked it up, and smelled inside. Still just a clean glass. Good. She returned the glass to its spot and returned herself to her own.

Once Katherine was done, they stopped back by Rebecca's room to collect Steven.

"You two getting along well," Katherine asked him. Rebecca detected a faint discomfort in her tone.

"Yeah. No problems," he answered. He wasn't a very emotive person, to begin with, so his tone was harder to judge. His discomfort would have to be pretty significant to be noticed, so he was either not bothered, or just not significantly bothered.

At the table, they perused menus while waiting for their beverages.

"Your treat, boss," Rebecca asked, jokingly.

"Pff. Fuck you, I'm already paying for this whole trip," Katherine replied, half-jokingly.

They both laughed, then Rebecca fell out of the mood.

"Shit. My money was in my backpack."

There was a weird silence, then Steven spoke up.

"I can cover it. No big deal."

"No. No," Katherine interjected. "I was only kidding. I'll pay for Rebecca.

"I don't mind," Steven appealed.

"No, I'm the boss. I'll take responsibility."

"Okay," he acquiesced.

Two things about that exchange stood out to Rebecca.

One was Katherine's claim to responsibility based on her being the boss. She was big on personal responsibility, so, as the one who lost the backpack, Rebecca would normally be the one held responsible.

Another was Steven's quick willingness to cover her bill. It somehow both surprised her and didn't surprise her, but she felt a warmth wash over from it.

The waiter eventually brought their drinks and took their orders. In only forever minutes, the food arrived, and they conversed lightly as they ate. Granted it was only Katherine and Rebecca doing all the conversing. Steven only listened in quietly, as was his nature.

When they were down to just their remaining drinks, the sound of a fart drew their attention to one Beatrice meandering by.

"Hey, Bea," Rebecca called out at a normal volume that they all knew was not loud enough. They all just watched as she passed. "Shouldn't she be retired or something?"

"She may be a deaf, half-senile fart factory with no sense of smell, but her data retention is god-tier. She wants to keep working, and she's worth any three of the rest of you guys."

Rebecca sucked in an exaggerated gasp, feigning offense taken. "She's worth more to you than I am?"

"You bet your sweet cheeks, princess."

"Surely she's not worth more than Steven, here, who've I yet to hear fart even once."

That got a soft giggle out of him. Rebecca felt quite accomplished.

"Y- Yeah," Katherine said, attempting to maintain the mood, but Rebecca sensed the change.

"Well, good for Bea, then," Rebecca added to mask the awkwardness.

Rebecca's observational skills must have leveled up, somehow, because she'd been noticing a lot more things about people than she used to. At that moment, she noticed that Katherine had sat down last and across from Steven, but hadn't looked directly at him the entire time.

Sure, it could be a coincidence. Her chosen seat was closest to her. Steven hasn't contributed to any conversation, apart from the one about covering Rebecca's bill, but when they collected Steven, Katherine never looked directly at him. All of which may have gone unnoticed if not for the apparent uneasiness she felt speaking to or about him.

Rebecca wished she had something better than a hunch to go by. She'd continue to let it slide, for now.

Drinks finished, and money on the table, they headed back up. Upon reaching her door, Rebecca informed Steven that she was going to hang out with Katherine for a while, so he went in on his own.

There was still a conversation to be had that Katherine didn't know involved Steven, so that would present ample opportunity to feel her out more.

In Katherine's room, they took turns in the bathroom and ended up both collapsed on the nearest bed. They were still and quiet for a minute, then Katherine turned her head and played with the end of a lock of Rebecca's hair.

"So, what's going on here," she asked.

Rebecca was quiet a short while more, contemplating how to best answer the question.

"I asked Steven why he never looked at me." On some level, her choice of the sentence was meant to be a challenge and an omen to Katherine, but she still treated it as two friends talking.

"Wow. I'm shocked. ... You actually took my advice," she teased.

"Shut up," Rebecca laughed.

A moment passed, and Katherine continued.

"So, what'd he say?"

"He said I have amazingly beautiful eyes, and if looks into them, he can't help but stare."

"Holy shit," Katherine casually replied.

"Yeah." A pause. "He thinks I'm beautiful and doesn't know why I would want to hide it."

"He's right." Katherine turned her head.

Rebecca recognized the action by the movement of the bed, and so turned her head to meet Katherine's eyes.

"You are very beautiful," Katherine continued. "And I hate that you always wanted to hide it."

Rebecca smiled and felt incredibly grateful and blessed.

"And then, later, he said he prefers proportionate girls with small breasts."

The look of shock on Katherine's face was priceless. Rebecca giggled, quietly.

"The fuck...?"

Rebecca laughed. "Calm down." She returned her face upward. "I kinda tortured it out of him."

"You're a menace," Katherine said, turning her face upward as well.

"You warned me he was honest."

"The man is honest."

"I think he might wanna titty fuck me."

Katherine started choking on her saliva, so she had to sit up.

Rebecca looked over and enjoyed the spectacle.

"And I kinda want to let him," she added.

Still choking, Katherine walked over to the chest of drawers, grabbed the empty bar glass, and headed straight to the bathroom to fill it with water. She walked back out, sipping it slowly, to see Rebecca smiling at her.

"You alright," Rebecca asked, teasing her.

Katherine gave her the middle finger, which made Rebecca giggle again.

As Katherine continued to recover, Rebecca took note of the fact that, apart from this excusable display, Katherine had not behaved uncomfortably while talking about Steven. It seemed to be primarily his physical presence that affected her. It may be prudent to test Steven. Somehow.

Katherine set the glass down in its place and then crawled onto the bed.

"Com'ere," she wave the girl over to lay next to her, then guided her into a spooning position. She hugged Rebecca close and kissed the top of her head.

Rebecca closed her eyes and relished it. Katherine was more herself around Rebecca than around the other employees. Probably none of the others have heard her swear like a sailor. Well... apart from Steven, at lunch. Katherine did try to maintain casual professionalism at work, but she could relax with Rebecca.

It was little more than a passing thought, but the sensation of Katherine's breasts, pressing against her back, inspired another realization. 'Katherine is a B-cup, isn't she? Hmm. No matter.' Rebecca was feeling way too cozy, wrapped up in Katherine's affections, to want to make anything of that apparent coincidence.

"I need more of this," Rebecca said, softly.

"We all need more of this," Katherine replied, in kind.

Neither of them realized that they had both drifted off to sleep until Rebecca adjusted her position. The movement jostled Katherine awake, but having to move brought Rebecca a little out of her sleep, while the curious sensation of being bound brought her the rest of the way, then she remembered that they were spooning. She would have preferred to stay that way, but her body demanded movement.

Katherine released her and rolled onto her back in acceptance that the moment was over, while Rebecca did the same and stretched. Katherine just watched with a hint of a smile.

After a yawn and gathering up enough resolve to get off of the bed, Rebecca made a quick trip to the bathroom.

"I'm gonna head back to my room," she said, stretching one more time.

"Alright."

Rebecca left. Katherine took a deep breath and went to the bathroom.

"Hey," she greeted Steven upon entering.

"Hey," he greeted back and then moved aside to allow her to sit next to him.

Rebecca quietly appreciated it and took her spot. They continued watching, and after a few minutes, perhaps still high on Katherine's affections, Rebecca absent-mindedly leaned to rest her head against Steven's shoulder.

This action did not go unnoticed by Steven, however. His mind froze for just a moment but then thawed soon enough, thankfully, all without so much as a flinch. It was now his turn to feel blessed.

Later on, when their respective thoughts were focused more on the show that they had both been enjoying, and sometime after Rebecca had absent-mindedly removed her head from Steven's shoulder, the curious trope of the main male and female characters managing to never actually confess their feeling for each other, spurred Rebecca to ask Steven a particular question.

"Have you ever had a girlfriend?" Almost instantly after the words left her mouth, she realized that asking that of an adult carried with it certain implications that could be taken as unflattering, to say the least. She considered back-stepping, to modify the question, but she felt that would probably be worse, so she let it slide. Then again, he probably would not have taken offense anyway.

"Not really," he answered.

That was a curious answer. It was neither a yes nor a no. So, he's been in a relationship with some level of intimacy, but not to the level of being someone's boyfriend.

"Did you have sex?"

"No," he replied after a few seconds. She began matching his pauses to set a safe pace.

"Did you kiss?" A slow rhythm was established

"No."

"Did you hold hands?"

"You could say that."

Another curious answer.

"Can you tell me about her?"

His pause was longer, that time.

"No."

"Are you over her?"

"It couldn't go anywhere. I accepted that. I don't dwell on it."

It was sounding a whole lot more like he and Katherine might have had some kind of failed relationship. Her being his boss definitely would have made it qualify as unable to go anywhere. That and the fact that she and Katherine were best friends could certainly make him not want to talk about it.

She felt a desperate urge to return to Katherine's room and interrogate her, but she couldn't just immediately run over there so soon. He would suspect. But what excuse could she make? They spent all their time in the room watching anime. Apart from eating, neither of them even wanted to leave for anything. And she didn't want to lie to him.

Even if she did go, and he knew exactly why, would he even say anything about it upon her return? Probably not, as far as she could estimate. She started feeling antsy.

'Fuck it.'

"Excuse me," she said, swinging her legs over the edge of the mattress. He remained silent as she left the room.

She hurried up the hall and rapidly knocked on the door.

"Kathy," she said urgently.

Katherine opened the door, smiling, and almost managed to speak the entirety of the word, "Hey", before she was cut off by the in-rush of Rebecca.

"What did you do with Steven?" Katherine's smile vanished.

"Fuck...."

"You fucked him," Rebecca asked, wide-eyed with shock.

"No," she quickly corrected. "I'm just saying 'fuck'. I didn't fuck him, exactly."

"You didn't fuck him, EXACTLY? What DID you him, exactly?"

"Alright. Jeez. Calm down," Katherine implored, holding her hands up almost defensively. "Sit down before you completely lose your sense of grammar. I'll tell you.

Rebecca sat near the foot of the bed, and Katherine took a deep breath to ready herself before sitting next to her.

Rebecca endured the pause that Katherine understandably needed since this was sprung on her so suddenly. At the moment, Rebecca reflected on her emotional state and wasn't entirely sure why she was so bothered to begin with.

"Remember last December, when I told everyone they could leave early that day before the Christmas weekend?"

"Yeah?"

"I was going through a rough time, that week, and I just needed to be alone. At the time, I was still keeping a bottle on the desk, and I was wanting it."

Rebecca looked at her with sympathetic eyes and felt sorry for her previous accusatory tone, but she decided to keep quiet.

"All the lights were out, except mine, so I thought everyone was gone. I put the bottle on the desk in front of me and just stared at it, fighting the urge. Whoever turned the lights off didn't realize Steven hadn't left yet. Suddenly I hear him ask, 'What's on your mind?'"

"The way he was looking at me... I couldn't tell him to leave. I didn't want him to. He was sincerely wanting me to unload, and I did. Soon, we were hugging. Nothing serious. I just needed it, but then I suddenly needed more. I don't know how much was him, and how much was me being desperate for human companionship, but I started wanting him."

"I practically threw myself at him, but, well, he's not the kind of guy to take advantage like that, so it didn't go as far as I'd wanted it to, but he... did... help."

"What did he do," Rebecca asked, apprehensively.

"To be blunt? He fingered me."

Rebecca's face froze.

"I was so grateful for it, that I gave him a hand job in return. I was feeling like worthless shit that no one wanted to touch, and he showed me I wasn't."

Rebecca's gaze dropped and she leaned into Katherine, wrapping her arms around her waist.

"Why didn't you talk to me," Rebecca inquired as a tear rolled down.

"I didn't want anyone to know about how I was feeling. Especially you. I didn't want to do that to you. Steven was... close to not anyone. And he was there. Of course, him being an employee, I shouldn't have tried to go any further, but I went to his place a couple of days later. But all we ended up doing was hanging out."

"You still have feelings for him, don't you?" Rebecca felt a slight twinge of guilt.

"I do. I admit it, but I'm holding no claim to him." She tilted Rebecca's face up and wiped the wet trail away. "He's good for you. And I want you to be happy. And happy with yourself."

She held the side of her face and kissed her forehead. Lowered to kiss the opposite cheek. Closed her eyes as she pressed their foreheads together and took a deep breath.

"Now, get out of here," Katherine ordered, gently, as she parted from her. "You've got someplace else to be."

Rebecca had nothing to say. She just gave Katherine one last hug before leaving.

Once the door was shut, Katherine let out a sigh of relief.

She avoided looking into the bathroom mirror as she turned on the shower and undressed. The water fell onto her head and she broke down crying.

Steven was where she left him. She went straight to the bathroom to pee and wash her face before returning to his side. He said nothing. Only tapped the space bar that continued the show.

She felt heavy. One hand fell limp in her lap. The other along the crevasse where her thigh sided Steven's. Her head lolled over to rest on his shoulder, and she somberly watched the amusement play out before her.

Then Steven's hand moved. His fingers pushed in between hers, and then they were both still.

She managed to refrain from crying.

The mood gradually lightened as their viewing progressed. They broke for a shared meal at the restaurant, then returned to the room for continued viewing. Eventually, they agreed to stop for the night, readied themselves for bed, and were both, once again, in the darkness cut only by the thin blade of light from the bathroom.

She lay awake, despite her exhaustion, and she found herself repeatedly looking over to try to make out the form of Steven. Katherine's words whispered like a ghost in her head. 'You've got someplace else to be.'

She slipped out of bed and quietly shuffled around to the more familiar place. Closer, she could see him on his side, facing her direction. She waited a moment to see if he might have been still awake and noticed her, but he didn't move. She pushed the front of his shoulder twice, rocking him about an inch.

"Hey," she said, softly, and then she saw his head shift.

"Yeah," he asked.

"Scootch."

He moved himself over, and she crawled under the covers, taking over his position. The mattress was warm. His scent was faint from the pillow. She wasn't entirely sure why she had chosen to face away from him, but then she felt his chest press against her back, his hand curl around the front of her shoulder, and the feather touch of his breath on her hair.

God, it all felt good. She didn't even want to fall asleep, anymore, but she drifted off in her newfound relaxation.