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The room is just a little too warm to be so close to another living being, but Rebecca doesn't want to move. There's a dull throbbing ache in her lower back and she knows if she tries to stand her thighs will protest, but it's good, so good. She's sweaty and sore, and there's a sex funk that is just this side of tolerable, and she's kind of amazingly happy. So happy, in fact, that she's a little scared.
Greg's face is buried in her hair and she can hear him breathing deep and steady; maybe he's sleeping, maybe he's just recovering. They've been in this bed for hours, and before that the couch, and in between there were some gymnastics in the shower that nearly killed them both.
It's been two weeks of this - eating and fucking, not necessarily in that order, and that's pretty much all. Understandably so - with their schedules, it's not like they've had a lot of time to do anything else. She just can't help the uneasy feeling that as fun as it is, there's something missing.
Rebecca knows she should just go to sleep, leave this for another time, when they aren't both naked and cozy, but it's not her way to let things just lie.
"You awake?" She whispers, her cheek against his chest. Greg doesn't respond right away and she's almost relieved that she can't mess it up yet.
"Kinda," he finally murmurs, and she rolls onto her back, finding his face in the dim light.
"So, what are we doing here, Serrano?"
"Here, in this bed? Or is this more of a existential thing? Because I'm way too tired to contemplate my role in the universe."
"You're right, we should sleep. Nevermind." She snuggles in a little closer, because you take advantage of a situation like that, but Greg pulls away.
"No, you've got me awake now. What do you mean?"
"I just... Is this just, this?"
"You're gonna need to combine some different words to make a more cohesive sentence."
Rebecca snorts. "We don't do anything that's not sex."
"There's plenty of time to not have sex later. Now is for the sex having." Greg leans down and bites her shoulder in a way that makes her rethink the entire conversation. "Not NOW, but you know what I mean."
"I know, and believe me, I'm not saying lets have less sex. But we've never been on an actual date."
"Technically we have and that didn't end with US having sex. Forgive me if I'm leery."
"Shut up about that. I'm talking about now. We just jumped right into the good stuff."
"Okay, but dates are for getting to know each other, and we already know each other. Intimately."
"Have you told anyone about us?"
"Have you?"
"You see my point? We're not following any sort of normal flow, we're just stuck in this... this... sex bubble."
Greg grunts and nestles in, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her back to him. "So what's wrong with that? A sex bubble sounds like the best invention known to man. You and me and endless..." He punctuates the word by pressing his lips to the bare skin of her clavicle. "Mindless..." Another kiss, this time in the hollow of her throat. "Pleasure."
"Mmmm, okay, when you put it like that..." Rebecca mutters, catching his lips as he lifts his head. She can't actually stop talking to save her life, though. "But is that all we have? Just really good sex?"
"Just?" His tone is mock offended.
"I'm being serious."
"Fine. Would you please accompany me on an actual date, then? Dinner and a movie, two things we've already done without an official label?"
"Yes I will."
"Speaking of things we've already done, would you..."
"No. Go to sleep."
"Can I ask again in the morning?"
"You don't have to ask."
---
"Okay, I wasn't expecting Buffalo Wild Wings on a first date. You're setting the bar awfully high." Rebecca bumps her shoulder against Greg's and smiles at him.
"Well, I wanted to take you somewhere as different from Home Base as possible."
"Oh yes, excellent job. You serve Coke, they serve Pepsi."
"They specialize in wings, Rebecca. It's right in the name." He reciprocates the shoulder bump as they walk toward the theater. His hand is wavering over the small of her back when she utters a squeak and moves away.
"Josh! Valencia! What are you two lovebirds doing here?"
Josh smiles while Valencia rolls her eyes and sighs. "Becks! And...Greg? Hey, man!"
"Hey, Josh." There's a touch of dismay in his voice as they do the standard handshake/bro hug. Rebecca reaches to hug Valencia, but she shrinks backs with a sneer.
"We just saw Batman V Superman."
"It was terrible. You'll probably like it."
"Hey, it wasn't terrible, babe! You kept leaving during the good parts."
Valencia shrugs. "There were no good parts. So are you two..." She points back and forth between Greg and Rebecca.
"Yes! We're going to see that too!" Rebecca interjects. "Just thought it would be a fun little outing, you know. Good to see you guys!" She tugs on Greg's arm and tries to pull him past the couple, but Valencia blocks their path.
"No, I meant, are you, like, a couple?"
"A couple of what's? I kid, I kid. Oops, we don't want to be late!"
She could hear Josh muttering in the background as they head through the theater doors. "Why would you ask that? They're just friends!"
It's weirdly awkward once they're inside. Rebecca is endlessly chattering, but Greg hasn't said a word, and this tension isn't the delicious sexual kind.
"Mmmm, popcorn! I hope you like lots of butter..." Her voice trials off as she finally glances at him. He looks like a stormfront has settled in his eyebrows.
"We should probably get separate orders. Wouldn't want anyone to think we're a couple." He finally growls, staring straight ahead.
"Don't be silly. That's crazy expensive, for one thing, and I just didn't want to give Valencia the satisfaction of having figured something out. You can tell Josh tomorrow or whatever."
"K," he mumbles, sulking.
"Knock it off, Serrano, or that thing I promised ain't happening." Rebecca waggles her eyebrows. "And I know you want it to happen."
Greg lets out a sigh and gives her a sideways glance. "I do."
---
It's been three days, three long, sexless days, as they caught up on things like work and studies, the sex bubble completely burst until now.
"He wouldn't do this, you know."
It's a little muffled, so Rebecca raises up from the swath of pillows and looks down. "What?"
"He wouldn't do this," Greg responds, lifting his head and gazing up. "Josh, I mean. He hates this. Hates it. And I'm a connoisseur."
"Why are you talking about Josh?" She wiggles into a sitting position, closing her knees on Greg's ears on the way. "You just ruined the mood."
He grabs at her thighs to pull her back down. "Hey, no, I'm sorry. Forget I said anything."
"Stop. Come here."
Greg reluctantly crawls to her side and flops down, disappointment on his face.
"I don't want you thinking I'm into Josh still. I told you - you're not a second choice. I kicked him out of my house and went to you. Doesn't that tell you anything?"
"I know, but..."
"Stop. Whatever this is, it's good. Don't mess it up." She kisses him and grins. "Now, get me back in the mood."
--
She doesn't tell Greg she's meeting Josh for boba. Not on purpose, really. It just didn't come up, she tells herself, not in a particularly convincing way.
Josh is sitting waiting, poking at his phone, and she doesn't feel that flutter in her chest. Not even when he looks up and smiles, shouting "Becks!" across the small patio. Not even when he hugs her hello.
It feels weird, even a little sad, but also a little exhilarating. She's free.
Josh hands her a drink and she listens to him talk. She's not even paying attention, lost in her thoughts, a quiet musical number running through her brain, when she hears Josh mention Greg and she snaps back to earth.
"What? I'm sorry, say that again?"
"I said, I couldn't believe Valencia thought you and Greg were dating. Talk about a nightmare couple!"
A knot settles in the pit of Rebecca's stomach.
"Why would you say that?" She asks with trepidation. Greg clearly hasn't said anything or Josh would never make that kind of remark, and it's setting off all kinds of alarms in her head.
"Well, you guys barely get along, and Greg just broke up with Heather, and you broke up with Trent, so you'd totally be a rebound thing. And Greg has commitment issues out the wazoo. You definitely don't deserve that...hey, what's wrong?" Josh reaches out to comfort her, his hand warm on her arm.
"Nothing. Nothing's wrong. You're absolutely right. Nightmare."
"You don't have feelings for him, do you? Shit. Are you guys dating?"
Good question.
"Well that would be crazy, like you said. Dating? As in going on dates, plural? Ha ha ha, nope." She stands up quickly, feeling the blood rush out of her head. "Look, I can't stay, gotta see a man about a dog. Dog bite case. It's a mess, blood and guts, stitches... Thanks for the boba. Bye!"
Rebecca throws up in a trash can the next block over and gets cursed at by a homeless who set up camp next to it. She hands him fifty dollars in apology money and calls out from work for the afternoon.
---
Rebecca doesn't respond to his texts. She just can't. It's taken everything out of her, the hours of analyzing just why he wouldn't tell Josh and what it meant and just what exactly she's feeling. The texts started out as generic greetings and then somewhere along the line the tone changed and suddenly now he’s pounding on her door.
She opens it, expecting to see him confused and worried on the other side, but he’s grim faced and his eyes are blazing with anger.
“What the hell, Rebecca?” Greg practically spits the syllables of her name. She's the confused one now, her mouth dropping open but no sound coming out. “Why did you tell Josh we weren't dating?”
Oh.
Ok, his anger makes sense, but wait.
“Why did you NOT tell Josh we're dating?” She throws back, a spark of her own anger catching.
“I don't know, I thought maybe you didn't really want anyone to know. And it looks like my suspicions were right.” He has his arms crossed and he's standing in her personal space, not in a good way. She wants to punch his lights out.
“I told people! I told Paula. I told Brody. I told Darryl and that's like putting up a freaking billboard, okay?”
Greg's brows knit and there's that confusion she was expecting.”Wait. Brody?”
“Yeah, the grocery clerk with half an eyelid.”
“Oh, him?”
Rebecca nods.
“But you didn't tell Josh.” Greg growls. “Admit it. You're not over him and you don't want him to know what dirty things his Becks has been doing behind his back.”
“That's not true, Greg! Not at all. I just…” She feels defeated. All they've managed to do for the last few weeks is work their way through the Kama sutra, and in that expanse of time, not learn a damn thing about each other. “I guess I just didn't think you wanted your friends to know you were with me. They all think I'm crazy.”
“You are crazy.” His voice turns a little softer and his body posture relaxes. “But I like your crazy. I seriously don't know why, but I do.”
“I'm a mess, Greg. The only possible reason to like me is if you're just as big of a mess.”
“And as luck would have it…” Greg grins and reaches out to take her hand. “I'm sorry you got the wrong idea. Look, I'm probably never gonna be that guy who’s so confident about things that he doesn't let stupid stuff get to him. I feel like maybe you won't either. But I am totally cool with everyone knowing about us if you are, and the other stuff we just need to figure out along the way.”
Rebecca smiles back. “And you're gonna forget about this thing with Josh and not throw it in my face, right?”
“What, that loser? Please!” He tugs her closer. “I won't. I promise.”
“Okay.”
Greg leans in to catch her lips, then backs away. “One more thing,” he says as he fumbles for his phone.
“Oh no, now what?”
“Shhh…” He takes her face in one hand and kisses her again before she notices he's aiming the phone camera at them. “There. Instagramming it right now. Hashtag getting some tonight. Happy?”
“Oh my god, Greg, you did not. You did! Jesus, how many friends do you even have on here? Tell me charterschoolchris is not who I think it is! He's too young to see this!”
Greg just laughs as he wraps his arms around her and drags her to the couch.