"Charlie!" I exclaimed as I cleaned up the mail he'd knocked off the living room dresser. "Please, be careful."

He blinked up at me, acknowledging me for a second before going back to what he was doing. I sighed as I watched him claw at the posts of his cat tree. I've realized over the past few days that having a cat is a lot like having a child. You constantly have to clean up after them, feed them, watch them, nurture them, and it's exhausting.

But also fun.

Charlie is by far the clumsiest thing I've ever come in contact with. He's always bumping into things and slipping off furniture. And he's so cuddly. This morning I woke up to him laying on my chest, just staring at me. At first I thought he was going to kill me, but no, he just wanted me to scratch behind his ears. He loves when I do that.

With Nick here I don't have to worry about feeding him in the morning, by the time I've woken up he's already done it. Nick loves him and spoils him as much as I do. Granted, he's less protective than me. I'm constantly worried that he's going to jump off of something too high and hurt himself, but he's much more relaxed. Letting him play wherever and however he pleases.

Nick had slept over the past few nights, or mornings I should say, he doesn't go to sleep until the early morning hours. He has an awful sleep schedule, but recently so have I, so maybe I shouldn't judge him so hard. He's currently in my shower preparing to go hang out with Marcus and Sam.

I've gotten so used to being able to look out my window and see him working, or being able to go outside and talk to him while he worked, I forgot that he had a life outside of fixing my car.

Hell, I haven't hung out with anyone other than him in weeks. But that's going to change today. Tasha, Nia, and Lavender are coming over and I can't wait for them to meet Charlie. Also, I heard from Nia that Lavender and Sam are hooking up and I have to know what that's about.

I don't want to become so consumed with him that I forget to hang out with my friends. I never want to be one of those girls.

I was scooping food into Charlie's bowl when I heard a knock on my front door. That must be the girls. I moved around Charlie, who would usually follow me, but he was serious when it came to meal times. He wasn't going anywhere until his bowl was clean. Padding across the living room floor, I opened my front door.

"Hey, bitch, we're here," Tasha announced once I opened the door.

"She can obviously see that," Lavender commented from behind her.

"Well, now she can hear it too."

Nia pushed past the both of them and into my apartment. "I'm sorry they are such a mess," she hugged me. "Hi, I've missed you."

"No need to apologize," I laughed. "I'm used to it."

"Ugh, I've missed your face so much," Tasha said hugging me tightly. My face was directly in her big curly hair giving me a nose full of her many conditioners and butters. I don't see how she lives with so much hair, I get hot just thinking about it.

"I've missed you too, Tasha." And I have. I have missed hearing her non-stop talking, and watching her apply her many lipsticks. Today she wore red. Red lipstick to match her red skirt.

I hugged Lavender too. She wore a leather jacket that called to my spirit.

"Do you guys want anything to drink?" Nick and I went to the grocery store yesterday and I had stocked up on juice, soda, and lemonade.

"Sure," Nia replied. "I could use some water."

"Wow, it looks so nice in here," Lavender complimented as she followed me into the kitchen.

"Thank you." I still felt like it was missing some things. It wasn't exactly how I wanted it yet. "It's starting to come together."

"What the hell, Maya? You got a cat!" Tasha exclaimed when she spotted Charlie drinking from his bowl in the kitchen.

I smiled. "I did."

"When?" Nia asked shocked.

"Over the weekend. He wandered into my apartment, and I decided to adopt him," I explained. "His name is Charlie."

Lavender squatted down to pet him. Since finishing his food, he turned his attention onto the girls. He sniffed at Lavender's hands gadging if she was a threat or not, before rubbing his head against her. "What happened to his tail," she asked petting him.

"We're not sure," I said grabbing a few glasses from the cabinet for Tasha and Nia. "The vet thinks it might have been from an accident."

Tasha hummed, holding her glass so I could pour her some water. "I like his bowtie. Very chic."

"Thank you." I'm pretty sure that's a good thing. I grabbed a can of citrus flavored sparkling water for myself. In my attempt to have healthier options I had picked it up at the grocery store, Nick was not a fan, saying it tasted like carbonated soap. That meant little to me coming from someone who used to drink Red Bull on a daily basis. He was going to drink it and deal.

"Oh, can I have one," Lavender said as I pulled out the can. "I love those."

"Yeah." I handed her mine and picked up another one. "So what have you guys been up to lately?"

"Lavender's been hooking up with Sam," Nia blurted out.

Lavender scoffed. "Thanks for letting me tell them on my own time, Nia."

"I'm sorry," she said apologetically. "I couldn't hold it in. It's too exciting!"

"You and Sam?" Tasha said in disbelief. "I can see it, but I also can't see it. I didn't think he was your type."

"Me either," she admitted. "But he's so cute."

"How did this even happen?" I asked. "And how long has this been going on?"

"A few weeks," she explained. Charlie was now in her lap soaking up the affection. "He was tutoring me."

"Which she doesn't need," Nia interrupted.

Lavender said, "Nia."

"Sorry, I just thought that was an important part of the story, since you're basically a genius."

Lavender sighed, "Well, she's right, I don't need the help. But I like hanging out with him, so I asked for his help. And one day we were studying, and then the next thing I know we weren't studying anymore."

I was speechless.

"Wow, go off," Tasha said encouraging her. "I'm all for a post studying hook up."

"But this hasn't just been a one time thing, right? You guys are doing this regularly."

"Yes," she answered. "But he's not my boyfriend. We're just fooling around."

Nia grumbled something unintelligible under her breath.

"Are you okay with that?"

"I--" she began, stopping to find the right words. "I'm fine with it. It's a lot of fun. Besides his parents would freak if we were dating anyway. They're super conservative."

"Oh." I wasn't convinced that she was as satisfied with this situation as she let on, but I hope my intuition is wrong. "If you like it, I love it."

Nia drunk from her water silently.

Tasha put her half-empty glass of water on the counter. "God, I have to pee. I've been trying to drink more water, but I feel like all I do is piss all the time."

"Then go to the bathroom," I told her.

"That was the plan," she called behind her back as she left the kitchen.

Oh, wait, Nick's in the bathroom!

From the loud exclamation and door slam I figured she knew that now.

"Maya, why is Nick naked in your bathroom," Tasha asked, once she was back in the kitchen with all of us. She put her hands on her hands on her hips awaiting my answer.

"Uh..." I hesitated unable to find the right words, but ultimately deciding to tell the truth. "He spent the night last night and needed to shower."

"He spent the night!" she shrieked. "And you didn't think to call and tell me about it. What is going on around here? First Goth Princess and Sam, and now this! I feel completely out of the loop of my friends sex lives."

"Thank you for calling me a princess," Lavender said standing from the ground.

"And I'm still a virgin, by the way," Nia said raising her hand slightly.

"It wasn't like that. He slept on the couch."

She frowned disappointed. "Ah, that sucks. If you guys weren't getting busy what was the point of him spending the night."

I cringed at her use of the term, "getting busy." "He was working late last night, so he spent the night here instead of going home."

"How long did it take you to come up with that excuse?" said Lavender, Charlie pawed at her denim covered legs wanting her to continue petting him.

"It's not an excuse, it's what happened," I insisted. "We didn't have sex."

"Well,"Tasha said, "I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at what I saw. Let me tell you, you will not be disappointed."

"Oh my God, Tasha," Nia sighed exasperated. "You looked."

"It's not like I could just ignore it--it was right there." She held her hands out defensively.

"I'm just saying that if there weren't enough reasons for her to like him that that is one of them."

I placed a hand to my forehead. "You all give me a headache." I should warn him to lock the door next time.

"You should be thanking me for warning you," Tasha went on. "What type of friend would I be if I didn't tell you about what I saw? Don't believe stereotypes they are misleading."

Oh my God, will she ever stop talking. "Tasha, please, stop talking."

She giggled, and made a show of zipping her lips. Suddenly, Nia and Lavender went silent as well. I looked to see Nick coming into the kitchen.

"Hi," he said coming to stand beside me.

"Hi, Nick," they replied kindly.

Nia and Lavender smiled politely, trying to hide that we were just discussing what he had going on below the belt. But Tasha's too bright smile made it obvious that we were. I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to aleve the sudden headache that had bloomed behind my eyes.

Mess. My friends are a mess.

Nia asked him. "Are going to Marcus' house?"

"I am," he replied. "I'm going to pick up some lunch first."

"I hope you don't plan on buying any energy drinks," I said looking up at him. His hair was wet and the scent of my body wash came off him in waves. I liked that he smelled like me, but I like the smell of his cologne better.

Pulling me into his side, he said, "I won't, I promise." And if the hug wasn't enough PDA he kissed me on the cheek. "I'll call you later."

"Okay," I said moving out of his grasp. "See you later."

As if the public display of affection didn't make me uncomfortable enough, the girls staring at us like we'd suddenly grown two heads made me feel ten times worse.

"Bye, Nick."

"Bye, Ladies."

I took a long sip of my sparkling water hoping that the impending conversation wouldn't happen. No such luck.

"I knew it! I knew you liked him!" Tasha squealed once we were alone.

Don't get me wrong I do like Nick, more than I even thought possible, but I don't like talking about my feelings. And that's exactly what I'm about to do.

When I didn't deny Tasha's initial comment, Lavender asked, "So are you two a thing?"

"Yes," I admitted. "At least I think so."

Tasha let out another pig like squeal making me cringe. I wish she wouldn't do that.

"This is so exciting!"

"I can't believe you and Nick are dating," Nia said amazed.

"Well, we don't go on dates, really," I corrected her.

"Oh, so what do you do then, huh?" Tasha wiggled her eyebrows. "You guys fool around?"

"We haven't done that either," I told her. "We just hang out, and talk. We'll watch movies together, and we make out sometimes."

"So you're married?" Lavender said unexpectedly.

"What?"

Tasha and Nia thought that was hilarious because couldn't contain their laughter. "You are married," Tasha laughed. "And you have a kid too."she pointed at Charlie who had just trotted back into the kitchen.

"The only thing missing are your rings," Nia commented. "And a membership to Costco."

"You guys are ridiculous we don't act like that." But I would like to have a Costco membership. Do you know how much I could save on toilet paper? A whole lot.

"It's not a bad thing," Tasha said. "It's cute, actually. I've never been that comfortable with anyone I've dated. It's nice that you can just enjoy each other's company without all that extra stuff."

I looked at her. "We are," I struggled to find the right words to explain what we were doing. "We're just us."

I didn't have any other way to describe it. It seemed too broad to put a label on. I feel like we passed that dating stage and calling him my boyfriend didn't seem like the right word to use.

"And you are married," Tasha smiled poking me on my nose.

"You're this close to getting kicked out," I told her. I turned to Nia and Lavender. "And that goes for the you two also."

"Okay, Mrs. Ainsworth," Lavender said.

I glared at her. I scooped Charlie into my arms and went into the living room. We didn't have to take this nonsense. And besides even if we were married our names would totally be hyphenated. There's no way I'll ever give up my last name.

They snickered amongst themselves. Why did I invite them over again? Oh, right, because I'm a good friend and I can't just spend all my time with Nick.

Charlie left me to go climb his cat tree. He loves that thing.

Tasha bounced up to me and sat next to me on the couch. Nia and Lavender were still talking to one another in the kitchen.

"Are you still pissy?" She asked.

"Depends are you done making fun of me or not?"

She rolled her eyes. "We weren't making fun of you. I think you and Nick are very cute together, if you're together. Which I think you are, but that's besides the point. That's not what I came over here to talk about."

"What did you come over here to talk about?"

"Can you drive me home later?"

"Of course," I replied. "But why can't Nia drive you that's who you came here with."

"Her and Lavender have to go to a thing for school," she explained. "But I wanted to talk to you about Crystal," she whispered.

"Oh, okay," I said understanding. "But on second thought why don't you just stay here. I can drive you home in the morning."

"Really?" she asked. "Nick's not going to come over for some late night lovin."

"No, he's not."

She smiled, laying her head on my shoulder, she said, "I'm glad you've found someone. I was worried about you."

"Worried, about what?" I asked.

"You already hate being around people as it is. I thought getting your own apartment would be an excuse to isolate yourself even more. But now that you're with Nick I don't have to worry anymore."

"How thoughtful of you to worry about me."

"Oh, anytime," she said. Nia and Lavender decided to join us in the living room.

Lavender looked on top of the dresser where I kept the plants she gave me. "They're thriving. Have you been watering them?"

"Only once a week," I replied.

"Good," she nodded. "How about the masks did you like them?"

"I did and Nick liked them too."

She chuckled. "Nick used a face mask."

"Yes, we did them together."

Tasha sighed deeply on my shoulder. "I can't wait to be married."

I pushed her away. "Oh, shut up."

She giggled pulling herself upright.

****

Nia's phone kept dinging in her jean pocket. We'd spent the last few hours laughing and catching up, her phone has been going off every few minutes.

"Who keeps texting you?" I asked.

"Oh, it's just some of the other transfer students," she explained looking at her phone. "We're supposed to meet up for a movie night, it's a bonding thing. It looks like they're having trouble setting up." She turned to Lavender. "We have to go."

"Oh, already?" she asked disappointed.

"Yeah, Sandra doesn't know how to work the projector, and Troy and Lucas are fighting over what type of M&M's they should put out. Cassie is texting me all about it."

"Okay," Lavender said standing up with a sigh. "No one can do anything without Nia, the leader of the transfer students."

Nia rolled her eyes in response. "Thanks for inviting us over, Maya. It was fun catching up."

"Come over anytime."

She bent down to pet Charlie where he laid on the end of the couch. "It was nice to meet you."

"Yeah, Maya, I'm glad I got to meet you and Nick's fur baby," Lavender smiled, putting on her jacket.

"I'm going to ignore that," I said standing to walk them to the door.

After promising me that they would text me when they made it there safe, Nia and Lavender left for their school function leaving me with my overnight guest, Tasha.

"God, I thought they would never leave," Tasha sighed when I came back in the living room. She sat with her legs tucked underneath her. "I've been dying to tell you the updates on Crystal all day."

I sat next to her on the couch leaning my back against the rest. "We're alone now so tell me."

"Crystal and I went out on a date," she grinned.

"Tasha that's great!" At least I think it is, I don't know how great it is for her work situation. "So she's out of the closet then?"

"Well...no," she replied. "That's why I couldn't tell you in front of Nia or Lavender, because she hasn't come out yet."

"Then how do you go on dates?"

"Easy, we just act like we're two friends having dinner," she shrugged.

I nodded, saying, "But will her not being out be a problem for you?" Having to pretend must get exhausting, and not being able to tell all your friends must suck.

"No," she exhaled. "Well, sometimes. I just wish I could hold her hand in public, and do other cute couple stuff. I know what she's going through, but sometimes, I wish she was out already."

Tasha chewed on her lip anxiously. "Does that make me a bad person? For thinking like that."

"No. No, it doesn't make you a bad person," I assured her. "Just don't rush her, she'll come out in her own time."

She closed her eyes for a second. "I know she will. She's sweet, and we have fun together. She loves fashion as much as I do and I can talk to her for hours about it."

Praise God for that, because I don't understand half of that fashion shit.

"She sounds great, Tasha."

"She is," she smiled. "Oh, maybe when she's out we can go on a double date. You, Nick, her, and I."

"Maybe Nick and I should go on a real date first," I suggested. "Then we'll see."

"That sounds like a good idea," she laughed. She put a hand over her stomach. "I'm hungry."

"Do you want to order in? I have some take-out menus."

"Okay, I'm feeling Thai food or maybe Indian."

"The best I can do is Chinese."

She made a clicking noise with her tongue. "That works too."

"Okay, let me go get the menus."

Going into the kitchen, I began to rifle through the drawers looking for my collection of take out menus.

"Maya, do you have any make-up remover?" Tasha called from the living room.

"I have soap," I replied finding the menu that I was looking for.

She groaned, "I'll see what I can do with that."

I pulled my phone from my back pocket. I needed to tell Nick not to come over tonight.