her last night, and it kinda kills me inside. Like, everything in my brain says my girl just cheated on me, but she didn't, and I can't make this feeling line up with the facts."
"Kinda feel like I messed around with a taken girl," Psyc admitted. "We were discussing condoms, and - "
"You used one, right?" Braden asked.
Psyc just sighed. "This is fucking weird."
"I'm just saying that she's clean," Braden insisted. "I was tested, so I am too, and I just don't want her having fun to be something she regrets later. That's it."
Psyc got up from his chair and went to the bar. There, he grabbed a pair of glasses and some rum. Carrying that back, he poured a liberal splash in both, then used his bottle of soda to fill his the rest of the way up.
"I was honestly going to try this without the crutch," Psyc explained, "but I kinda need it. Look, the first girl I slept with wasn't a virgin. I was like eighteen. I've been tested since, and the rest were all first timers. It's also been a long-ass while, so I'm not sure I'm clean, but I'm like in the ninety percent. And I explained that to her, and she said you two aren't using condoms, so I kind of made a deal." He lifted the glass and sucked back half of it, honestly looking nervous. "Braden, I said that if the three of us are just the three of us, then I think we're ok. No other lovers for you or me. She gets both of us. That cool?"
"So you're not going to be banging other babes when you go home next week?" Braden asked.
Psyc turned his glass on the table, twisting it slowly one way, then the other. "I haven't in a long-ass time. Don't want anyone but her." Another spin of the glass. "I went down on her. Pretty sure she liked it. Real big clit, right? Just like you said."
Braden snorted out a laugh. "Bro, we're a fucking mess."
"We're men," Psyc countered. "This is weird because all our lives, we're only considered manly if we're pissed off or horny. It's like, those are the only emotions men are supposed to have, but I kinda think we're both more than that. Brae, I'm nervous as shit right now. Only part of that is because I'm waiting for you to put a fist in my face. I also hate the idea that I've hurt you."
That made Braden's head snap up. "Really?"
Psyc nodded. "Call me sensitive, or a pussy, or whatever you want. I honestly give a shit about my friends and how they feel. You're one of those people, and I don't want to be a dick about this. I also..." He paused for another big drink. "I can't do this. I can't just make it a convention hookup. If I'm going to be with her, then I want to actually be with her. I want to come visit her sometimes, take her on dates, and be a couple. I get that you're going to be doing the same. I can even live with that. I mean, I kinda hate it, but at the same time, I kinda don't. I think I'm supposed to hate it, and that's what makes this so weird."
"Yes!" Braden breathed. "Fuck. That's exactly it! When you left the room with her last night, I was pissed - and happy. It's like half of me hated your ass, and the other half was so happy for her. And the weird fucking thing is that I don't care who she sleeps with. I honestly don't. My problem is that she's so into you. When you kissed her in the lobby, I realized this isn't just a fuck for either of you."
"It's not," Psyc admitted. "So, I'm putting this out there. Next week, when we all pack up and go home, this can go one of two ways. My choice is that we all call it good, I steal time with her when I can, and we work on a long-distance relationship. You accept that it's going to happen, and you're cool with it."
"Option two?" Braden asked.
Psyc's shoulders slumped. "I break up with her and this is done. No more wild conventions. No more long nights on TeamSpeak. I'll break up with her and back the fuck off."
Braden bobbed his head, thinking that over. The strangest thing was that he couldn't even make himself consider option two. For days