"Dude! Remember that time you poured pink dye in my shampoo. I had to go to Father's charity event looking like a fucking flamingo," Mateo said to Callan when we'd all finished up eating.

"That was after you'd spiked my water with a laxative before my class. I had a test that day!"

"No, he didn't!" I laughed, picturing myself a younger Callan trying to focus for a test, all the while having some...eh...stomach issues.

They'd talked about several of the pranks they'd done on each other throughout breakfast, and I was here for it.

"Oh, he sure did." Callan nodded, looking pissed. His expression made me laugh harder; tears were spilling down my face. Soon, the laughter turned to sobs, which in turn made the whole kitchen silent except for my ugly ass crying sounds.

"Baby girl, are you okay?" Gideon whispered. I couldn't see anything through the tears, but I knew they were all watching me. "Hi, talk to me," he said gently, cupping my cheek oh so sweetly; it only made me cry even more.

"I don't know why I'm crying." I tried to force out a laugh, but I failed miserably.

Gideon turned me to face him and dried my tears with his fingers. "It's probably sub-drop. You went through a lot yesterday."

"B-but why am I g-getting it now?" I hiccuped. He was right, though. I'd experienced sub-drop once before, and this was precisely what it had felt like. My emotions were all over the place like it usually was when I had my periods. My hormones were typically super unstable that time of the month, which wouldn't happen for several days still.

"Sub-drop doesn't always happen right after a scene. It can happen a few days after even," Mateo explained to me from the other side of the table.

"I'm going to pick you up now, okay?" Gideon informed me, and I nodded as another sob escaped me. His hands went under my armpits, and he lifted me up. I wound my arms around his neck and my legs around his hips. He held me close, and stroked my back in a calming manner.

"Come on, guys. Let's go to the living room," Gideon said to the others. I held on to him like a freaking monkey, grateful for the intimacy he offered.

We ended up watching the rest of The Witcher and had a relaxing time together. Mateo had caught up to where we had ended the series last time so he could watch the rest with us. It was cozy, being with them all like this, not really doing anything special, just enjoying each other's company.

It wasn't until the afternoon that they finally agreed that I was okay enough to go home. By then, I'd already felt great for several hours. Still, they wanted to be completely sure, and apparently they didn't trust my own judgment.

Callan drove me home, having some business he had to attend to in the city. It was hard for me to leave them this time; I hadn't wanted to go home yet. I had to, though. I was starting school tomorrow and needed time to prepare.

Not wanting to leave and knowing now that I had feelings for them only proved to me that we needed to talk. I wasn't ready to become a slave, and I didn't know if I ever would be, but I also didn't want this arrangement to end either. For my own sanity, we had to talk about it. I needed to know where their head was at and what they felt about it all. It would hurt if they were still searching for a slave, but it was still something I had to know. I was already in deep with them, but maybe I could avoid even more pain to find out now rather than later if that was the case.

After I'd packed my bag ready with all my school supplies for tomorrow, I called Kevin.

"Hi–achoo–girly!" Kevin sneezed as he answered.

"Bless you," I laughed. "How are you feeling?"

"Fevers down, so I'm doing great. Thomas is making me chicken soup right now, so I can't complain," he said in a heavily nasal voice from the cold he was having.

"I'm happy he's there taking care of you." It should've been me, though. It wasn't that long ago I'd been the one sick, and he'd brought over food and snacks.

"Don't you even think about it!" Kevin protested, knowing where my thoughts were at. "If Thomas weren't here, I know you would've been." True. If he hadn't had his boyfriend there, I would've made sure Kevin would have everything he needed.

"So, how was the night with the guys?" His tone was curious, and I knew he was dying to hear all about it.

"It was fine," I said, trying to keep the most intimate details to myself; he wouldn't let me.

"Spill it," he begged. "You have no idea how boring it is to lay on the couch all day. Pretty please?"

Shaking my head, I told him in rough details what had happened. I didn't get too into it; some things I wanted to keep to myself.

"Holy shit. Ten times?" Kevin screeched into the phone.

"Yup," I answered, popping the p with my mouth, my cheeks glowing red as I shared just a little of what the guys had done to me.

"I've only been able to come like maybe three or four times a day, but ten and without breaks? God damn," he whistled. "That's just insane. Are they treating you good?"

"The best," I assured him as I sighed happily, thinking about how good they were to me. "I really like them, Kevin," I admitted.

"Like them like them? Like falling for them like them?" Why the hell did he sound so eager?

I laughed at his enthusiasm but grew silent as I answered him honestly. "Yes." My heart was running wild, having just admitted it out loud to someone. It made my feelings feel real.

"You're full of surprises today, girly. I'm happy for you."

Smiling at his sincerity, I asked how it was all going with him and Thomas. I figured it was pretty serious, seeing as Thomas was there right now taking care of him while he was sick.

"It's going amazing, Emma." Now it was his turn to sigh happily. "I've never felt this way for someone before. He's just so damn good to me."

"I'm so happy for you too." I kind of liked the fact that we were sharing this experience together, falling for someone.

We caught up with each other as we talked, and only when his dinner was ready did we say our goodbyes.

"Thomas is saying hello. Good luck at school tomorrow, girly. Call me when you get back home."

"Say hello back to him and thank you. I'll call as soon as I can," I promised and hung up. Looking at the time on my phone, I saw that it was still early, and I was done with everything I'd meant to do. My stomach rumbled on cue, and I decided some dinner was in order.

I'd never really been interested in cooking. Still, Gideon had made me view what I'd once seen as a tedious task as something more...therapeutic almost. There was a calmness I felt as I cooked with Gideon, but I didn't know if I would feel the same if I was on my own. I guess it was time to find out.

Knowing I had only the bare minimum in my fridge, I figured I would find something I could make from the internet and go down to the store to buy what I needed. Googling "Easy dinner recipes for beginners," I found a chicken taco recipe I wanted to try out.

Writing down what I would need for the tacos, I collected my wallet and every other thing a woman might need walking the streets alone and walked out the door.

It was a short walk to the small grocery store down by my block, and I was glad to see Claudia behind the counter.

"Good evening, dear," she greeted me as soon as she saw me.

"Good evening, Claudia," I echoed with a smile. "How are you?"

"Oh, you know me, getting on my husband's nerves nagging about him taking his vitamins." She chuckled. "What about you? It's been a while since I've last seen you." Her warm eyes took in my figure and nodded to herself as if she could see that I was at least physically doing well.

"Just great. I've been busy."

"Busy with a man, perhaps?" Her eyes twinkled knowingly.

With several men, in fact, but I didn't say that. Instead, I asked, "How could you guess?"

"You're practically glowing with love. Even a blind man could see it." Her statement had my mouth gaping, ready to protest. Sure, I was falling for them, but love– "And don't you try to deny it. I've lived long enough to recognize the look of someone in love. I'll say, it didn't take you long, dear, but the heart knows no time."

Well then...I closed my mouth again, not sure what I was supposed to say to that. Luckily, she changed the subject, and I ended up talking to her for several minutes. I've always liked this store, primarily because of Claudia. She was such a warm person and easy to talk to.

She reminded me of my grandma.

When another customer came to the counter, I left her to work and went around the store picking up everything I needed. While I'd saved a lot of money by eating with the guys several times a week, I still picked out the cheapest options.

Checking out my items, I gave a bright smile to Claudia and began the short trek home.

As I walked down the block, my mind went over what Claudia had said. Could what she'd stated been true? Was I in love with my dominants? How could I really know when I'd never been in love before?

Lost in thought, I didn't see the man in front of me until I ran into him. My breath got knocked out of me as I crashed into his chest. He put a hand on my shoulder to steady me.

His touch made me withdraw from him quickly. While he might have good intentions, a woman never knew.

Fucking stupid, that was what I was. I could take with me every possible self-defense tool that existed, but it would never work if I wasn't aware of my surroundings.

"I'm so sor–" I started apologizing but froze as I looked up at the man in front of me. "David?"