Chapter 38

The party proved a huge success for several people. Joe put on some quiet jazz. Mostly Coltrane and Miles. But that was changed to Eddie quietly playing his twelve string. Joe joined him in the living room, playing Nigella’s old acoustic/electric bass. Then Charlie tinkled the ivories with them.

A girl joined him at the piano bench. Another nervous and shy genius. The youngest of Essie’s precocious genius classmates. A pretty little brunette, especially when she relaxed, which she did after daringly approaching the gorgeous adolescent Charlie and finding it remarkably easy to talk to him. Amy had decided to focus her remarkable intelligence on biology and chemistry. Particularly how a prenatal mother affects her fetus by what she ingests. Her younger brother, an idiot savant, had given her her focus. But it wasn’t biology that broke her shyness, nor the sort of chemistry that could be analyzed. It was the aesthetic aspect of a human, and the sort of chemistry more proverbial than actual, that brought her to Charlie and kept her beside him.

“Remarkable,” she said in praise of Charlie’s piano playing. “You’re smart and you’re a skilled musician.”

“Not just a pretty face.”

“Not just pretty,” she murmured shyly. “What else are you remarkable at?” She blushed at the opening she gave him.

Which he entered. “I could show you later,” he chuckled.

“Uhm ... okay,” she barely whispered, just loud enough for Charlie to hear.

He glanced at her. Saw her blush. “You sure?”

“Unh-hunh.”

“You ever...”

“No. Not even a little.”

Charlie nodded. “Later. Let’s not worry about it for now.”

“Okay,” she swallowed.

“You play piano?” he asked to try to bring her out of her nervousness.

“Yes. Not nearly as well as you. Mom ... wanted me to learn music. Gave me lessons on piano and violin. I ... I sort of got caught up in the mathematics of it. The intervals, you know? Any nuance puzzled me.”

“You’re like my sister,” Charlie chuckled. “Essie. She can read music, probably quicker than I can, but to make an instrument sing is beyond her.”

“You two interest me. She’s obviously a certifiable genius. You think she’s smarter than you.”

“Of course.”

“I don’t think she is. I think you both have remarkable brains. She just uses the part of it that gets noticed. Like me.”

“The whole left brain right brain thing.”

“It’s more complicated than that.”

“Of course,” Charlie chuckled.

“The thing about the brain is that it is almost as unchartable as the cosmos. It’s like when Einstein died, they examined his brain in slices. But I think that’s like killing the goose laying golden eggs. It’s the activity and its location that reveals its nature. The way it’s used, not the gray matter itself.”

“I’ve seen documentaries where the subject wears electrodes like a hair net,” Charlie responded. “It seems technology is advancing enough to explore the brain’s function in real time. Locating neurons that become active. Although most of it seems focused on sleeping and dreaming.”

“And where would the hairnet be when a genius has one of his or her eureka moments?” Amy asked. “The connection of data that manifests genius?”

“Maybe if it gets specific enough to locate the exact place of neurons, and the quantity of activity, there can be a map,” Charlie speculated. “The subject could just read something that might create the eureka moment.”

“Or like someone like Eddie just playing and composing. Or you for that matter. Improvisation is composing.”

“I’d have to get used to wearing a hairnet,” Charlie laughed. “It would be distracting.”

Amy laughed too, which delighted Charlie. The sound of her relaxed and happy. Quiet yet unrestrained. Uninhibited. Natural. Like she had become with him, when nervousness had been replaced by the enjoyment of budding friendship. His attraction for her bloomed, unlike hers for him, which had been immediate. The developing bond shifting to sexual interest felt similar to the one he had with Victoria, although the sexy, older beauty had piqued his interest just as Charlie piqued Amy’s, instanteously. It just deepened, became less superficial. Like Amy’s was becoming with him.

The conversation ended. Charlie played. Amy enjoyed watching Charlie play, and hearing it, and sitting so close to him.

Not far away, something similar was happening. The shy Ben relaxing through conversation with the cute French girl. His attraction for her, which hadn’t helped his nerves at the beginning, became deeper with their bonding. And Eloise, coached by Essie previous to meeting the young man, found the experience unique and surprisingly fulfilling. Essie warned her not to jump into sex with him as she was wont to do. Sex being the usual transaction. Giving the man what he wants. And it was obvious he wanted it. But what would she get out of it? Essie told her it would probably scare him away. At best, it would be all he expected of her. Calling her, probably nervously, so they could meet and fuck and nothing else. His little whore without payment. Pleasure? Company? She very much doubted he’d be as good as Joe in bed. And she was definitely not wanting in the company department.

Except she was. Setting sex aside, at least for the time being, and getting to know the young man, or boy, since he was about the same age as her, and actually a little younger, had been a revelation. She’d never spent time together getting to know someone. At least not one on one and for such a long time. Especially with someone of the opposite gender. Even her last girlfriend, whom she ended up having sex with, and that hadn’t ended well, seemed much more superficial. The consequences of having sex with her former best friend made her almost rethink having sex with Ben. Except bonding with him made her horny. A sort of simmering horniness that she could restrain. For a time.

Things broke up when the several varieties of pizzas arrived. Joe put the prerecorded jazz back on. People passed through the dining room where the pizzas were displayed. Once each person filled a plate with a couple slices, they found various places to eat it.

“Would you like to come up to my room?” Charlie asked Amy.

“Yes,” Amy replied, less shyly than expected but with a tint of a blush on her face.

“Would it be okay if I invited someone with us?”

He saw disappointment in her nod, which he expected. However he had noticed her checking out the various beautiful women surrounding her at the party. It may have been because of comparison. Evaluating their beauty compared to hers, with her on the losing end. But he thought it had been more an appreciation. A sexual attraction. He’d soon find out if he was wrong.

“Vic?” he asked his beautiful and sexy blonde lover, “Want to come up to my room with us?”

“Are you sure?” Victoria asked, glancing at the shy girl beside him, and noticing changes in the girl’s emotions. Disappointment becoming surprise becoming a blushing, albeit shy, excitement.

Charlie looked to his new friend for the answer.

“Okay,” Amy responded quietly with a nod.

He guided them up to the top floor and into his huge bedroom. Wooden slats as flooring had a subtle give. Perfect for dancing. And the middle of the space had room for him to work out. For exercises and for rehearsing his steps. A queen sized bed on one side, with two bedside tables and a large chest of drawers and even a vanity with a large mirror. A small walk in closet had been built in opposite them. And opposite the basic bedroom area was his desk and a wall of shelves. He set up his component system on it, the cassette tape player he fed with a mix tape. “Mostly dub reggae,” he shrugged, keeping the volume fairly low. He had set down his plate and soda on a small table between his desk and the nook that held a mini refrigerator and a microwave. A cabinet for a pantry. On the other side of which was his half bath. Just a shower, toilet and sink. The young ladies settled onto seats at the table.

Charlie opened a drawer in his bedside table, pulling out an Altoids box and extracting a fat joint from it. He grabbed a small box of matches before closing the drawer. “Ever smoke pot?” Charlie asked Amy.

“Uhm. No.”

“Want to?”

“Okay.”

“Shouldn’t we eat first?” Victoria asked.

“How about a slice, and we save the other for munchies?” Charlie offered.

“Sounds like a plan,” Victoria chuckled.

He sat with them, setting the joint aside on the table.

“You’re pretty young to smoke pot,” Amy pointed out before biting into her slice.

Charlie finished chewing and swallowing his bite before telling her, “Special occasions. Mostly when I can settle back and celebrate. Not more than once a week and usually less. Uncle Eddie, who supplied this, is pretty chronic about. A joint for breakfast, lunch and dinner and every time in between. I’m definitely not interested in being a pothead like him, even if he functions just fine high. For one, it isn’t great for memory. Also it makes me less coordinated for dancing. It can aid creativity, and sometimes I’ll smoke with Uncle Eddie and Uncle Joe when they’re writing a song.”

“Why do you call them Uncles?”

“Because they were basically surrogate fathers when I grew up. Well mostly Joe, but Eddie more later when he realized I was a talented pianist.”

“Eddie Frank taught you?”

“Almost everything I know. At least as far as piano. He could have been a world class classical pianist if he chose that direction. Like me I guess, he was a child prodigy.”

They ate quietly, finishing their slices. “Ready?” Charlie asked, grabbing the joint.

“Okay,” Amy smiled.

“Fill your lungs slowly and carefully. Hold the smoke for as long as you can. You’ll probably cough the first and second time. That’s okay. In fact, why don’t I make us some tea? Ginger lemon?”

“Okay.”

He pulled out mugs and a box of teabags from the cabinet and a large bottle of water from the fridge. He poured water into the mug and microwaved it for a few minutes. After Amy coughed and drank her soda, Victoria brought Charlie the joint, whispering, “What’s going on?”

“I think she’s bi and she’s never had sex,” he whispered back.

She shrugged as he drew in the smoke, taking the joint from him and bringing it back to the table.

He dropped a teabag into the hot water when the microwave dinged and prepared another cup of water to heat. He brought the mug and a small plate to the table and sat.

Amy coughed some more, her eyes tearing.

“You okay?” he asked, taking the joint from her.

She nodded and smiled.

“Ready to go back to school, Vic?” Charlie asked, smoke issuing from his mouth.

She nodded as she toked. He waited for her answer. “A little nervous,” she said. “Me and Joe figured out the subway. Trev drove me before when I visited the campus. I know it’ll be a lot more challenging than high school in Barbados.”

“You’ll be brilliant.”

“I hope so. What about you?”

“Going to the Fame school?” Charlie chuckled. “Sounds fun.”

“All those drama queens and egos?”

“At least there’ll be a lot more people understanding where I’m coming from.”

“But how many are already starring in a Broadway musical?” Amy asked. “And ... I know my intelligence ostracized me, but...”

“Charlie being gorgeous,” Victoria filled in.

“Yeah.”

“It wasn’t really that much of an issue,” Charlie said. “A different, I suppose more acceptable odd ball. I was just too busy to make close friends. And I hope my early success, if of course the show actually is a success, won’t intimidate or make them envious. We’ll see. I’m sure being a shy genius wasn’t easy. The whole nerd thing.”

“Even the nerds didn’t know what to do with me,” Amy said.

“This genius school must have been a godsend,” Victoria said.

“Most definitely. Shared experience. But your sister surprised me the most.”

“Why?” Charlie asked.

“She was just so friendly and accepting. I mean not all of us are so socially awkward. And she’s the least awkward. Usually there’s types that form cliques. The popular types and the less popular types. But she pretty much bypassed those that would have been her group, a couple disappointed after unsuccessfully hitting on her, and went for us nerds.”

Charlie chuckled. “But you are her type. She was never the social butterfly, even if she acted the part. Her best friends were the nerds. Her first boyfriend certainly was. And you’d think you guys would be smart enough to get over that bullshit.”

“You’d think,” Amy agreed. “And the clique thing hasn’t really set. But I think it mostly had to do with your sister. The popular type realized they might actually have a chance to get into her pants if they made friends with me.”

“Or maybe they realized how pretty you are,” Charlie suggested.

“Maybe. Except it really didn’t work. They haven’t got any closer to Essie’s pants. Nor did I feel all that comfortable at their attempts to befriend me. And I am pretty damn young, so, unless they were thinking they could take advantage of a naïve kid, I doubt that was their intent.”

She sipped her tea. Charlie steeped Victoria’s and nuked his water. The joint had become a roach which Charlie finished and set aside. Amy had managed to keep from coughing during her last two hits.

“I’m going to ask you some things, Amy,” Charlie started carefully. “I guess you might think I’m being, in the old parlance, forward. I think it has more to do with being honest. It’s how I was brought up. Just speaking the truth and fuck the bullshit of talking around things. Something Minnesotans are all too good at, being polite and full of shit. New Yorkers tend to push on through.”

“I’m from Baltimore, but understand,” Amy grinned. “Go ahead.”

“Were you hoping my sister’s friendship might be more?”

“What do you mean?”

“That she might be interested in you sexually?”

“Oh. Uhm. Not really.”

“Oh. I thought you might be interested in girls.”

“Girls. Boys. Yes. I guess I’m a frustrated sensualist. Both types of bodies fascinate me.”

“You fantasize about both.”

“Yes.”

“Me too.”

“I actually thought you might be gay,” Amy confessed.

“Not an unusual assumption. Being pretty and being a triple threat, you know, dancing and singing and acting, tends to encourage that assumption.”

“Quadruple threat,” said Victoria. “You’re a brilliant musician.”

“Pentangular,” Amy added. “You’re smart.”

“Thanks,” Charlie chuckled. “I’m not sure where I lie on the Kinsey spectrum. Maybe at the middle. Probably towards the homosexual side, though I haven’t actually experienced being with a man, or probably a boy, because being with an older man would definitely place him in the pederast category. And it would definitely freak out my uncles. I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t freak me out, but I can’t help acknowledging some older guy would have to be perverse to satisfy his urges with someone as young as me. I’ve seen enough desire in them to know it’s a fantasy. Women too. Occasional, but maybe more pervasive in my line of work. A perversion that if made real would definitely be illegal.”

“So, like me with everything sexual, your imagination reveals your interest,” Amy asked.

“Yes. But I’ve also experienced what would happen.”

“How?”

“I’ve been anally penetrated. With a prop cock.”

“Oh my. And you liked it?”

“I loved it.”

“And the real thing? Have you been around cocks?”

“Besides my own? Yes. Never touched, let alone tasted it, but, aside from the one I saw being rather large and intimidating, and its owner would have been quite upset if I sampled his, it definitely didn’t put me off desiring it. And no, I’m not telling you who.”

“I’m the one who wielded the dildo, Amy,” Victoria admitted. “I guess I’m the pervert here.”

“You’re ... lovers?” Amy managed to say. Stumbling more on desire than shyness. She understood why Victoria had been invited up to Charlie’s room. It excited her.

“Yes,” they both said.

“But ... how?”

“ ... did I fuck this beautiful boy’s asshole?”

“Yes.”

“I can show you.”

“I’ll get it,” Charlie offered.

“I know where it’s stashed,” Victoria grinned. “Perhaps you two would like to retire to the bed.”

“Ok,” Amy managed to choke out.

“Why don’t you sit on my lap first,” Charlie suggested. “Just show it to her for now, Vic.”

Victoria nodded.

As soon as Amy settled onto his lap, they kissed. “Relax your mouth, Amy,” Charlie instructed.

“Sorry.”

“No one’s expert their first time. Just copy me, okay?”

“Okay.”

The kiss became instantly better. And more and more intense. Soon Charlie teased her mouth open with his tongue and the intensity tripled. Charlie began undoing her blouse blindly. She tugged at his t-shirt, but he didn’t remove it until he’d opened her blouse. She had a young femininity. Soft yet firm. Her breasts were enclosed in a white bra, lacy and pretty. “Let me,” said Victoria, removing the blouse and undoing the bra. Charlie used the moment to remove his shirt.

“God you’re beautiful,” Amy moaned, her hand tentatively touching his firm torso, obviously but not overly muscled.

“You are too,” Charlie smiled, and caressed her torso as well, with a lot more confidence. She followed his lead and explored more courageously.

While they kissed, his hands took hold of her breasts, caressing gently. She moaned when he brushed his thumbs across her small brown nipples, hardening them. When their lips separated, his mouth kissed down to them and sucked.

“Oh fuck,” she moaned.

“Maybe it’s time for bed,” Victoria suggested.

Amy shifted her attention to the blonde beauty. And saw the harness and the dildo she held. “Oh my,” she murmured. She reached out and touched the fake cock.

“The real thing feels much more interesting,” Victoria smirked.

Amy nodded and moaned, Charlie’s attention to her nipples overwhelming her. Her hand moved from fake to real. Charlie’s soft blond hair.

His head lifted from her breasts. His mouth once more met hers. Somehow he lifted her while still kissing her and brought them to his bed. The kiss ended when he slowly placed her on it. He settled beside her and began exploring her with lips and fingertips.

By the time his attention lowered to her soft, firm belly, and he tugged at her jeans, looking for her nod before undoing them, Victoria had joined them in bed. She had removed her shorts before, and only wore her blouse. “Would you like to touch me?” she asked Amy.

“Yes please.”

Victoria quickly removed her blouse, revealing her black bra. “Could I?” Amy asked, and Victoria brought her breasts close to Amy for her to undo the front clasp. Just as she lifted her hand to feel those lovely pale breasts, she felt a tug and held onto the bed while Charlie removed her jeans. “Oh fuck,” she moaned when his tongue swept across her slit, still covered in French cut white panties.

“Yum,” Charlie smiled, tasting the abundant secretions there.

But he moved on to her thighs, so Amy returned her attention to Victoria’s breasts. And the rest of her naked body. “You’re ... buff,” Amy murmured, her hand discovering Victoria’s muscled abdomen.

“She’s amazing, isn’t she Amy?” Charlie paused between kissing her inner thigh to comment.

“You both are,” Amy murmured. Her hand kept exploring. Tits and side and tummy. Until Victoria relaxed beside her and began kissing her, hand caressing Amy’s breasts.

“You’re different,” Amy remarked, breaking the kiss. “I mean, the way you kiss me.”

“Women tend to be softer,” Victoria explained before resuming the kiss.

Amy didn’t seem to mind the difference. But her covered moan had more to do with Charlie’s fingers sliding up her thigh and encountering her slit. A larger moan when a finger slipped inside and rubbed directly across her clit. Feeling the tug at the edges of her panties, she arched long enough for Charlie to pull them down and off. Lips soon touched where a fingertip had been. A gently suck at her tiny clit.

“Oh fuck!” she exclaimed, arching up for a different reason, breaking the kiss. Victoria lowered lips to her nipples.

Both mouths worked, Charlie’s most of all, to bring Amy to an ecstasy she had often fantasized about, but had never come close to. Not nearly at this level when masturbating.

Both her new lovers slid up beside her, letting her come down from her orgasm. Each kissed her. Amy tasted herself on Charlie’s lips, and not only didn’t mind, but brought her tongue out to get the full flavor.

“Could I see it?” she finally asked.

“Go ahead,” Charlie smiled and laid on his back.

Amy got onto her knees and unlatched his belt and undid his khaki shorts. He arched so she could pull them off, revealing underwear well expanded by his cock. She touched the lump. Fingers circumscribed.

“Oh,” she commented when his cock pulsed. And she giggled. And pulled the interfering cloth down, letting it bounce out. She watched the bouncing before taking it in hand. “Oh,” she said again. “It’s warm.” Her hand took hold of it, gently pulling on it. “It’s hard but soft.”

“An interesting thing, isn’t it?” Victoria said.

“Very.”

His cock had grown and thickened since Victoria first encountered it, just as the rest of him had grown. More of a man’s cock than a boy’s. Nearly six inches. With more to go.

And, as Victoria finished removing the underpants, Amy surprised her and Charlie by leaning over and dabbing her tongue on his cock. “Okay,” she said, and enclosed her lips around it.

“Oh fuck,” Charlie moaned, feeling her tongue lap at his glans.

“No teeth,” Victoria instructed.

Removing her mouth, Amy said, “I know. I’ve fantasized since my menses. Read what I could. It’s so much better.” Her mouth returned to her task.

Victoria lay on the other side of Charlie watching. Ready to coach. But, if Amy never read about kissing, she had obviously read about cocksucking. So Victoria left her to it. Got behind Amy. Starting sucking her quim.

Though Amy moaned her pleasure, adding to Charlie’s pleasure since it vibrated his cock, she managed to keep sucking. Enough for Charlie to warn her, “I’m going to cum.”

“It’s kind of nasty,” Victoria added her warning.

It might have been a nod or more rubs of lips on cock, but Amy continued. When Charlie arched, his cock bumped against her palate. A moment nearly causing a gag, but the flood of semen soon distracted her. She swallowed like a pro and continued swallowing. The slimy liquid was as bad as she read, but nevertheless she ignored the discomfort in order to experience giving her first lover all the pleasure she could give him. At least as much as her mouth could offer. And somehow managed to swallow most of the unpleasant semen. The rest lingered outside her lips, dripping down her chin.

When things got uncomfortable for Charlie, he gently steered her off and up to his mouth, where he kissed her hotly, appreciating her efforts, and minding his flavor less than she did.

She hadn’t expected that, but very much appreciated his appreciation, enthusiastically returning his kiss while straddling his softening cock.

The way she rubbed her pussy against his glans made Victoria worry about his seed getting inside her. So she swiftly moved down, pulling the dangerous seeping head away and licking any spend off Amy’s cunt. And continuing to lick, bringing fingers into the fray, finger fucking the virgin.

The horniness of the girl made her curious. She sent her fingers deep and touched the hymen. Obviously rubbing had been the girl’s method of masturbation. Or at least nothing too long had entered her.

When Charlie’s penis had recovered and began to harden, Victoria switched to sucking it harder. Her fingers continued pleasuring Amy. Until Amy seemed on the verge of cumming, and Victoria switched back, licking, sucking and finger fucking her into an even more intense orgasm than before.

By the time Amy had come down from her orgasm, Victoria had made Charlie fully hard. “Fuck me,” said Amy, turning over. “Please.”

“Condom?” Charlie asked her.

“Yes. Unfortunately.”

Victoria got the condom and rolled it on. “Take it slow, lover,” she told him. “She’s still intact.” After coating the rubber with KY, she steered him to Amy’s slim slit.

Charlie’s cock might not have been massive, but Amy’s pussy was young and small as well. His thickness opened new territory. “Oh fuck you’re tight,” he moaned.

“I feel it too,” Amy moaned. “Go slow.”

“I will.”

He crept in, thrusts slow, each one fractions deeper. Until he encountered her barrier. “Best to just plow through,” she said.

“Just a second,” Victoria said, bringing her head between their torsos to suck at Amy’s nipple. The other nipple handled by fingers. The clit by her other hand. Meanwhile Charlie eased back and continued stroking shallowly. Waiting.

Amy’s arching signaled him. In fact it almost pulled him through. But he took charge of removing her barrier with a hard thrust.

“Ow,” Amy said almost matter-of-factly.

“You okay?” Charlie asked her.

“Just ... give me a minute.”

“As long as you want, beautiful.”

Her face softened into a grin. “Move a second, Vic,” he said. Once Victoria’s head was out of the way, he kissed Amy. And his hands gently massaged her breasts, letting a finger and thumb press on her nipples. Amy moving against him restarted the fucking.

He kept it gentle while sliding the entirety of his cock in and out of her. Almost at his benefit as much as hers. Her tightness was taking its toll.

“Wait,” Amy said, pulling him deep. “Could you fuck him, Vic?”

“Whatever you wish, beautiful,” Vic grinned and gave her a kiss. “Give me a minute,” she said, strapping on the harness with dildo and slicking the fake cock with KY. Then fingers sending the lube as deep as possible into Charlie’s anus while widening it.

Amy knew when the cock entered him. “Oh fuck!” he exclaimed, and he began moving again. And his cock seemed even thicker. And not just that extra friction thrilled her. Or him moving quicker inside her just like she wanted. No, just the idea of it, of Charlie being fucked while fucking her. Seeing his expression of pleasure and pain. Seeing Victoria above him, her amazing tits dancing despite their firmness. All proof of this crazy event. Of the extremeness of it. Of the wildly sexual nature of it. Of the utter debauched sensuality. Just blew her away. And her orgasm erupted from his frantic thrusts inside her cunt. And the idea of it inside her mind. To send her into the stratosphere of ecstasy. Beyond her ability to cope. Into a blissful nowhere.

She awoke with Charlie still inside her. In fact she could sense his last throbs. And Victoria beside her. Kissing her cheek and saying her name.

“Wow!” she said.

And they laughed.

“What time is it?” she asked.

“Just past eight,” said Victoria.

“I should go,” Amy pouted.

“You can’t stay” Charlie asked, carefully extracting his loose penis.

“My roommate worries.”

“Call her.”

“And I have school.”

Charlie nodded and flopped onto his back. Amy crawled on top of him and Victoria slid beside them. After kissing both Charlie and Victoria, Amy asked, “Is this one time, or...”

“Amy,” Charlie said. “I would never...”

“This day has been amazing, Charlie. Meeting you has been amazing. It’s enough. More than enough. I don’t expect...”

“You don’t think it hasn’t been just as amazing for me?” Charlie said.

“Frankly no. This wasn’t your first time. And god did you make my first time unforgettable, but...”

“Do you want this to end? For us not to be friends anymore? And lovers? Because...”

“God no, Charlie. I just can’t expect someone as beautiful as you to...”

“To what, Amy? To appreciate what a wonderful person you are? To want you as a friend and a lover? To...”

“I just...”

“To love you?”

“You love me?”

“It sure feels like it. Maybe just the beginning of it, but then it needs developing doesn’t it?”

“To tell you the truth, I kind of feel the same way.”

“So?”

“So, I’m not the one to win the heart of a talented, brilliant hunk.”

“Why not? You’re obviously brilliant. Which makes your talent more than likely. And I happen to think you’re beautiful.”

“Me too,” said Victoria.

“But what about you two?”

“We’re lovers, Amy,” Victoria explained. “We definitely love each other. There was a moment when Charlie wanted me all to himself, but it didn’t work out that way. But what did work out, what will probably always work, is our friendship. And it looks a lot like the friendship you two have, or will have if you stop getting over your feeling of inadequacy. Because one thing you’re not is inadequate. And you have one thing I can never have, at least for a couple years or so.”