Why're my characters always so freaking confused????? Probably cause I'm confused 😖

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"What do you mean they fired you?" Laura crossed her thin arms over her body, furrowing her eyebrows down at the younger girl who was sitting on their living room couch.

"They just, uh, fired me?" Ana scratched the back of her neck, her damp hair tickling her knuckles while she brushed it away.

"Why?" Laura paced somewhat in front of Ana, causing Ana to anxiously lick her lips.

"Because I slept in." Ana spoke in a timid tone throughout the conversation, across to touch Laura's harsh spot. "Are-are you mad?"

"At you?" Ana nodded- Laura shook her head. "At them! They can't just fire you because of one bad situation! That is completely gobsmacking!"

"Gobsmacking?" Ana glanced down to her lap as if it were a dictionary.

"Shocking Ana, it means shocking. Anyways," Laura laughed, which only diffused the situation lightly, "if you need to skip a few months of rent: it's fine. I have a better job now and I can take care of both payments. I-"

"Laura, no!" Ana protested, bringing herself off of her bottom. She grabbed Laura's forearms, causing Laura to look up from her feet. "You're gonna stress about that if it happens and that will not be good for either of us. I will find a job waitressing or cashiering somewhere until I find something suitable for what I went to college for. It's New York City. There's photography jobs happening all the time. There has to be one for me."

"Okay... okay, okay. That's good. Okay-"

"Go take a shower and go to bed. We'll talk about your day tomorrow," Ana laughed, pushing Laura towards the hallway.

Laura tossed her head back in laughter before retreating down the hallway. Ana sat back down on the couch, turning on the tv and relaxing.

When she had gotten home from her rendezvous, she showered. She scrubbed at her skin unconsciously, as if that would wipe the guilt away, but she still felt the heat of the night before.

It was exhilarating but stressful all at once.

Why?

How the hell was she supposed to know?

After she showered, Ana looked at her phone for the first time that morning. She wasn't one to be attracted to her device, simply because she had no reason to be. So, when she opened it to see dozens of texts and calls from Laura, she was surprised.

Laura came home from work a little while after with hundreds of eyebrow raised questions.

I got fired from my job for sleeping in once. Having felt upset, I went out for drinks and ended up sleeping with some stranger. It was stupid and I hope to never do it again.

Her story was set in stone, no more hunched clues or puzzles, and the situation was swept away.

She even though Jeremy had been bluffing when he asked her to come back. Hell, she was still baffled he slept with her in the first place.

But, when he messaged soon after she arrived back home, she was gobsmacked.

Last night had been nothing but cocktail stained lips that transferred sweet nothings from inch of skin to mile of leg. The hunting and gathering of foreign feelings that the former and latter had been deprived of like water for months. And, like the rabid beasts that humans are, they grasped as much fruit as they could carry in both hands.

And Ana felt warmth split her stomach at the very thought of the adventure.

But, in Laura's own creative word, she was shocked as to his message. Last night, they'd both been tipsy, and were both feeling some sort of way that into a sex drive could end. She, of course, wanted to see him again. But, why would a Broadway star who was more attractive than Aphrodite could morph herself to be want another sober night with her?

Nevertheless, she responded to the message that seemed to bleed with passionate want.

Hi. Im sorry if any part of this is awkward to you, but I thought we should talk about you coming back over. If you still want to.

Hello. No need to be sorry, you didn't do anything wrong. What's there to talk about? And of course I do.

I just didn't know if I was pressuring you or making you feel weird or something of the sorts. I'm glad you do. We need to talk about the entire ordeal.

Okay?

What do you mean? I'm only very lost lol.

Lol I'm sorry, again. What I mean is, I don't want to attach any strings between us. I don't wanna be a couple or anything like that. I just want last night. But again and again. Does that make sense?

So friends with benefits?

That's what you call it?

Yes.

Are you up to doing so?

Ana closed her eyes, worrying again what would happen when someone found out about it.

But, then she remembered his lips hitting the collarbone of her neck, and the deep brown bruise left on the tip of her left collarbone, and the hand that grasped her tip so gently in its fingers that she moaned out in pure bliss.

And, she said okay.

I'm up to it.