Chapter 24: Girlfriends

We took a shower together but didn’t start up another round of sex. I was plenty interested after playing with my hot girlfriend’s big titties, rubbing her reddened-ass, and making out beneath the shower spray, but Naimh told me to save it for Zofi.

I reminded her that Zofi and I would be double-dating with her parents and that Zofi had explicitly stated we wouldn’t need to save anything for her. But Naimh pecked my nose and murmured, “You never know.”

It took five minutes for her to get from the inside of my front door to the outside. I opened the door, she started walking out, and all of a sudden I couldn’t bear to let her go. So I held her hand, yanked her back into my arms, and we started making out like the world was going to end. She wound up pressing my back against the door to shut it, and for a little while time ceased to exist for us.

In the end, we still had to breathe, though, and she nuzzled my nose while panting, “I love you, boyfriend.”

“I love you too, girlfriend.”

She giggled. “I LOVE that I can call you ‘boyfriend’.”

I grinned. “I love that I can call you ‘girlfriend’. You’re my first-ever girlfriend.”

Naimh’s eyes sizzled at that. “You know how much I love being your ‘first’ anything.”

“The way you girls have been going, I’m running out of firsts.”

“Oh, I’m sure we can think of a few more. Sam’s never gonna catch me.”

I frowned. “Please tell me that’s not what this is about.”

She blinked and quickly looked apologetic. “No, no, please believe I love you and I want this relationship because I want this relationship. I’m not competitive about it like Sam.”

I snorted and muttered sarcastically, “Sure you’re not.”

She shook her head. “I get a thrill out of being your first anything, sure. But I’m not...”

I arched an eyebrow as her voice trailed off.

“Okay, I’m really not competitive about it. It’s not about topping Sam. But I might be a little greedy. I’m your girlfriend now. Don’t I get to be greedy about stuff like being your first anal? Your first minivan sex?”

I chuckled and kissed her again. “Sure. We’ll just have to think up more firsts.”

“You’re on.” She gave me another quick peck, stared at me for a long moment with an expression of utter adoration, and then gave me another fierce kiss. This time, when we finally separated, I let her walk out the door.

But I was still sad to see her go. If it were up to me, she’d never leave my side. People in movies always ask, “How do I know if it’s love?” The answer is always, “When you feel it, you’ll know.”

I felt it. For the first time in my life, I really FELT it. I mean, I’d been infatuated with Naimh before. I’d wanted to fuck her since the day I met her, and I’d often lain in bed jerking off to fantasies about her. But I’d never felt this all-consuming need to BE with her before. I’d never felt this kind of heartache at anyone’s absence before. Not even Belle.

I’d said I loved girls before.

I’d said “I love you” or variations thereof to girls before.

I’d even told girls I was “in love” with them before.

But I’d never had THIS kind of feeling, and I suddenly realized I must’ve been lying to everyone I’d ever said those words to before. It wasn’t a good feeling, and I tried to make myself feel better by telling myself I hadn’t actually lied to anyone; I just didn’t know what I was talking about. I didn’t know what “true love” really meant.

I felt it now.

I felt it for her.

And yet ... I now had to get dressed and drive out to go on a date with someone else. And that felt ... weird.

But I’d chosen this life. I’d chosen to dedicate myself to the BTC, and I wouldn’t let any of them down. Zofi needed me tonight, and I was going to do the best I could to support her. Was it really so bad that I was in love with Naimh and yet going on a date with Zofi? Was it really so bad I was about to go pretend to be another girl’s boyfriend when I actually belonged to someone else?

Not really. For one thing, Naimh had been clear about her devotion to sharing me with her friends. For another, it wasn’t even about Naimh’s relationship with Zofi. It was about MY relationship with Zofi. Now perhaps she and I had never felt romantic feelings for each other, and if I ever DID rank the girls (which I swore to Sam I never did), I would have to admit I was the “least close” to Zofi in comparison to the rest. But being ranked sixth out of a bazillion women in the world was nothing to sneeze at. Zofi was still very special to me, and I was doing this as a friend for her. Our relationship deserved that much.

One thing that might have been a challenge though, was Zofi’s request to me. Even though we were truly “just friends”, despite however much messing around we did with each other, tonight’s double-date was really important to her. This was her big chance to prove to her parents that she wasn’t gay, and to do that, she needed me to really “sell” that we were in love.

“Can you do that?” she’d asked me just last night when the whole BTC was at my house. “Can you pretend to be in love with me?”

Last night, I’d promised I’d do my best. Tonight? I found myself a little conflicted. How could I possibly pretend to be in love with a girl OTHER than the girl I was in love with?

Pretend she’s Naimh, I told myself. Take whatever feelings you’re feeling right now, and just ... feel them for Zofi. All the heartache, all the longing, all the angst that Naimh’s not around: dredge up the pain at not being with her right now and let it feed your relief to have Zofi by your side instead. Take all your desire to bend the busty redhead over at the waist, spank her cheeks, and ram your dick up her slutty asshole, and then imagine the busty brunette’s gonna let you do it to her as a reward at the end of the night.

Zofi would never let me do that.

Whatever. Use what you’ve got. It’s not that hard. Zofi’s fucking gorgeous too, isn’t she? Haven’t you always wanted to tap that ass? Imagine those dangling earrings. Maybe she’ll wear them for you tonight. Imagine the way they’ll tinkle while she’s bobbing her head up and down your cock.

Get your mind out of the gutter, dude.

Even beyond basic lust, isn’t she just the sweetest thing? Always a smile on her face. Always supportive, zero drama, and looking out for everyone’s happiness. And don’t forget how exquisitely beautiful she is. I mean, her face is a fucking work of art. Let’s get real: if she’d be willing to finally have sex with you, she’d make an awesome girlfriend, wouldn’t she?

Yeah, totally.

Use that. Imagine Zofi’s the love of your life. It’s just one night. And at the very least, NOW you know what love is.

I got it.

You got it.

Feeling pretty pumped up from the little pep talk I’d given myself, I turned to get suitably dressed for my date. Zofi told me to expect a fancy dinner, as her parents were a couple of high-maintenance types used to the finer things in life. I went into the bathroom to fix my hair and put on a little cologne saved for special occasions like this. I then went to my closet, and the first thing I saw was my one and only white button-down dress shirt, the same one both Sam and then Belle wore when greeting the other BTC girls into the house. I took it off its hanger and pressed the fabric to my nose. It still smelled like girl: fresh and sweet. The choice was clear.

Mother had helped pick out a nice slim-fit black suit for me a couple of months ago when I got dragged out to attend the funeral of some distant cousin’s uncle. She said she never liked the 90s boxy suit style and believed that form-fitting clothing would soon be “en vogue”. I had to admit, I looked pretty sharp in it, and with plenty of time to go, I drove out in the minivan to get to Zofi’s house.

She lived in a gated community about ten minutes away, and I rang the doorbell to her house a few minutes before seven. Still feeling the pangs of heartache over having to leave my girlfriend so soon after we’d made love, I imagined what Zofi might look like when I saw her. Flush with the recent memory of the way Naimh looked at me with an expression of utter adoration, I pictured Zofi’s exquisite face giving me the same kind of look, and butterflies danced in my stomach.

Sure enough, Zofi opened the door right after that, her expression matching my imagination almost perfectly. “Matty!” she greeted enthusiastically. And already riding the emotional high of my imagination, it felt completely natural for me to step forward, hoist her off her feet, and give her a fierce holy-crap-I-missed-you-so-much kiss.

“Ahem.” A male voice cleared his throat, and I immediately let go of Zofi. No, seriously, I didn’t set her back down on her feet; I dropped her. And I half started to raise my hands as if a cop had just pointed a loaded gun at my back and shouted, ‘FREEZE!’

But I stopped myself just as suddenly as I’d started, blushing sheepishly and futzing around with my hands for a moment before finally settling them against my sides and standing up straight. “Um, sorry, sir,” I apologized. “I forgot myself for a moment.”

Mr. Zelazowska exchanged a glance with his wife, the two of them standing less than ten feet away from us. Zofi blushed, drew her fine dark hair back behind both ears, and stood up straight. She nervously wiped moisture from my lips off of her lips with the back of her hand and struggled to meet her parents’ eyes. “Mom, Dad...” she began a little timidly. “This is my boyfriend, Matthew.”

I stepped forward with one hand extended for a shake, doing my best to look confident and masculine. “Pleased to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Zelazowska.”

Zofi’s dad chuckled as he shook my hand first, gently correcting, “Mr. Zelazowski. Polish surnames are gender-specific.”

“Ah, I didn’t know that. Thank you, Mr. Zelazowski,” I replied with a smile before turning to Zofi’s mom. “Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Zelawoska.”

Zofi’s mom merely held my hand before letting go. Her dad was a fairly ordinary-looking man, and I’d seen him around before, but I’d never seen Zofi’s mom and DAMN she was quite a stunner. Most likely in her early to mid-40s, she looked like she was in her early to mid-30s, and the horny teenager in me recognized her as quite the MILF. Actually, she was just an exquisitely beautiful woman, period. I could see where Zofi got her figure and facial structure from, and if Zofi were a few years older perhaps, they might be able to pass for twins.

I put those thoughts aside as soon as they flitted into my head, of course, and focused on what I was here to do: play the role of Zofi’s adoring boyfriend, convince her parents we were a genuine couple, and more importantly, reassure her super-conservative mother that Zofi wasn’t gay. I stepped back, wrapped my arm around Zofi’s waist, and hugged her close. She automatically leaned into me, and I found myself a little intoxicated at how good she smelled.

Zofi’s dad asked with a fairly thick Polish accent. “So ... Matthew ... or do you prefer Matt?”

“I do prefer Matt,” I replied with an easy smile. “My mother is the only one who calls me Matthew.”

“We have met before, in a manner of speaking, have we not?” he continued. “It was your mother who rented a cabin in Tahoe over winter break. I recognize the minivan parked outside.”

I blushed and nodded. “Uh, yes, sir. I was driving the van on that trip.”

His eyes narrowed. “Perhaps I should have come down to meet you then.”

I smiled. “I would have welcomed that. Still, I am pleased to finally make your acquaintance now.”

He gave me a look that suggested he wanted to ask more about what happened during that trip, perhaps even grill me about what I’d done with his daughter and watch me squirm trying to come up with an appropriate response. But instead he gestured, “We have dinner reservations. Please to follow?”

I nodded as Zofi’s parents led the way through the main hallway and opened the door to the garage. The four of us piled into a gleaming black Mercedes S-class sedan. In the back seat, Zofi took hold of my right hand with both of hers, and clasped it atop her left thigh.

“So, Matt?” Zofi’s dad began once we were on the road. “I assume you are friends with Zofia’s BTC club, yes?”

“Uh, yes, I am,” I confirmed, glancing at Zofi, wondering how much her parents knew about BTC. Heck, did they know what the acronym meant?

“Is that how you and Zofia met?”

“Uh, well,” I started, furrowing my eyebrows. I had no idea how much Zofi had told them and didn’t want to unwittingly contradict whatever story she’d come up with. I turned to look at her for a moment and asked, “What have you already told them about us?”

“Nothing,” her mom answered flatly, her accent just as thick as her husband’s. “She’s told us nothing. She’s kept YOU a secret for quite some time.” And clearly she wasn’t happy about it.

“Zuzanna...” her dad chided, rubbing his wife’s knee. She relaxed ... a little...

I decided to stick to the truth ... ish. “Well, I got to know Zofi through Sam. The summer before our sophomore year we all started hanging out in the same circle of friends. Zofi and I stayed pretty casual friends until the beginning of this year. And then, you could say, our relationship started to change.”

Zofi’s mom spoke up, looking into the back seat and asking roughly, “In exactly what way did your relationship start to change?”

“Matka!” Zofi exclaimed, a little scandalized.

Zofi’s mom looked chagrined, but just for a moment. She looked at me expectantly.

“With all due respect, ma’am,” I said politely. “I believe some things should be private. I will say that my feelings for your daughter are quite different now from when we first met. I very much like Zofi, that much is clear. I enjoy spending time with her and would like to spend a lot more time with her in the future.”

“Matt,” Zofi’s dad spoke up again. “Please tell us about yourself. About your family.”

“Well,” I started uncertainly. “My parents are both lawyers, but they divorced when I was in third grade. I live alone with my mother now. I am a very good student, and I work hard. I’ve turned in all of my college applications now, and I’d like to study Engineering as my major.”

“Ah. I am also an Engineer,” Zofi’s dad said proudly. “I am a computer engineer at Apple.”

“Yes, Zofi told me. But I think my focus will be more on mechanical engineering.”

“Which schools did you apply to?” Zofi’s mom asked.

“The usual around this area: Stanford, Cal, Davis, San Jose State, Santa Clara. Caltech, MIT as top Engineering schools. My mother went to both Cornell and Yale, and my father went to USC, so I’ve applied to those as well.”

“Good schools,” Zofi’s father commented. “You think you can get in?”

“I hope so.”

“And then what becomes of your relationship with Zofia if you get into Yale or one of those?” her mom asked.

I exchanged another glance with Zofi. She had told her parents that we were casual, and would likely not have even done the ‘Meet the Parents’ thing had they not insisted so vehemently. So with that in mind, I explained, “The reality is that none of us know what the future holds. A year from now, I could be in Connecticut, and Zofi could be here. All of our friends could be spreading across the country. But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the time that we have together. Zofi and I have taken our relationship one step at a time. I assure you I have the utmost respect for her and I would never push her to do anything she didn’t feel comfortable with.”

Zofi’s parents looked at each other. Her dad seemed pleased, while her mom looked skeptical. Her mother glanced at me, “So you have NOT had sex with her?”

“ZUZANNA!” Zofi’s dad exclaimed in surprise while Zofi squealed, “MATKA!”

I glanced at all three of them hesitantly. Zofi’s dad was shaking his head. Zofi had buried her face in her right hand while still squeezing my hand with her left. And Zofi’s mom still looked at me expectantly, not budging an inch.

I blinked and blushed, hoping the darkness of the interior of the car at night would cover me. And after taking a breath to steady myself, I stated evenly, “As I said: I believe some things should be private.”

Zofi’s mom’s eyes narrowed. Zofi’s dad sighed. The car went quiet, and no further questions were forthcoming. Once we got out of the car, though, Zofi pulled me aside and whispered in my ear, “We’re gonna have to convince her I’m straight.”

“How are we gonna do that?” I whispered back.

Zofi didn’t answer. She just squeezed my hand and led me around the car to join her parents as we headed into the restaurant.

After the rough start, I’d like to think the double-date went as well as could be hoped for. At least being in a public place meant that Zofi’s mom wouldn’t ask any more impolite questions, and although it took everyone a few minutes to settle down from the tension in the car, we eventually fell into a natural rhythm. Zofi got her Niners fandom from her dad, and once I started talking football, he certainly eased up.

Conscious of Zofi’s need for me to convince her parents that we were in love and that she was straight, I once again filled myself with that fresh sense of love and longing I felt for Naimh, and redirected that energy to Zofi. She was exquisitely beautiful, as always, in an elegantly strapless LBD (little black dress), her hair up in a neat and tight high bun, with no strays hanging loose. She also wore those dangling earrings I loved so much, and every time they tinkled I was reminded of the way she looked giving me a blowjob in Tahoe, which certainly put me in the right frame of mind for acting lustfully in love with her.

She went out of her way to touch my arm or shoulder throughout the evening. I rubbed her legs, brushed her arm with the back of my fingers a few times, and even gave her two pecks on the cheek. I made sure my body posture leaned into her, kept my focus on the girl I was pretending to be in love with, and didn’t let myself get overly sucked into the conversation, thus ignoring her.

After we drove back to her parents’ house, the four of us made polite small talk before I took my leave of them. Zofi walked me out to my van, and to my surprise, after I used the remote to unlock it, she opened the passenger door and hopped inside. I furrowed my eyebrows, not understanding, but she gave me a stern look and said, “Get in.”

I got in, and Zofi quickly swung her legs into the gap between the two front seats, held my head, and kissed me passionately. I figured she must be expecting her mom to be watching us from the house, so in the interest of selling my “boyfriendness”, I held her head and kissed her back with equal passion. Zofi moaned into my mouth in a tone that told me not everything was for show, and as I felt her arousal build, so did mine.

Two minutes into our impromptu makeout session, Zofi’s hand slid up my right thigh and over the bulge in my dress slacks. She giggled into my mouth, happy to find my boner there as if it were validation of her sexiness. And she broke our lip-lock to focus for a moment on unzipping me and extracting my dick through the flap.

I immediately grabbed her wrist to stop her. “Wait, what?” I exclaimed in a harsh whisper. “You can’t do that here!”

“Why not?”

“Your parents might be watching!” I hissed back.

“That’s the point.”

“Zofi, please tell me you’re not giving me a blowjob just to try and convince your mom that you’re straight.”

“Of course I am.”

“Do you not see the inherent wrongness in that?”

“What? You don’t want me to give you a blowjob?”

“Of course I want you to give me a blowjob. But I only want you to give me a blowjob if you want to give me a blowjob. Not as a show for your mom.”

“What? NOW you’re gonna get all moral on me about my ulterior motives? You’re already pretending to be my boyfriend, Matty. You’re already pretending to be in love with me when you’re not.” Zofi frowned, sat up straight, and gave me a funny look. “Wait, you’re not actually in love with me, are you?”

“No, of course not.”

“Good.” Zofi looked relieved, but a moment later, her eyes hardened. “Now will you please just shut up and let me put my mouth on you?”

Suiting action to her words, the beautiful brunette bent forward, took my thick cock in her mouth, and started bobbing her head up and down. Her dangling earrings tinkled, and I sagged a bit in my seat. Rather nervously, I glanced up at the house, only too aware that Zofi’s dad had said almost immediately after my arrival that he recognized the minivan. And in a panicked whisper, I asked, “What if your DAD is watching?”

“He won’t,” Zofi explained quickly between sucks. “He’s okay with you already. It’s my mom we have to convince.”

“I just ... I dunno...” The whole situation was unsettling. Part of me wanted to give in and just enjoy one of the rare occasions when Zofi (Zofi!) put her mouth on me. But the sense of wrongness didn’t go away. It wasn’t like she was prostituting herself for money, but it didn’t feel so very far off. And that thought wasn’t very arousing.

I even started to go soft. Zofi noticed almost immediately. “What’s happening?” she asked in confusion as my dick literally wilted in her left hand.

“I don’t think I can do this,” I muttered, giving her an apologetic look. “It’s not that I don’t want to ... Okay, it IS that I don’t really want to. This just feels wrong, doesn’t it? You don’t have any ‘urge’ to go down on me. You’re just doing it for show. It’s a fake thing for your MOM. And that’s like the least arousing thing I can think of right now.”

Zofi sat up straight, wiped her lips with two fingers, and took a deep breath. She furrowed her eyebrows, took a deep breath, and sighed. “Well you know what? Maybe that’s good enough. If she was watching, she saw me bend over in your lap. Maybe she’ll think you just came really, really fast.”

“Um, sure, maybe.” I sighed, although in my head I wasn’t so sure I liked the idea of Zofi’s mom thinking I was a premature ejaculator.

Zofi shook her head. “Or maybe the truth will be easier. That I wanted to, but you got nervous thinking my parents could see us. That’s true enough, right?”

“Right.”

She exhaled slowly, recognizing the tension on my face, and she reached up to caress my cheek. “I’m sorry for doing that to you, Matty. I realize now how unfair that must’ve been.”

I shook my head. “No need to apologize. I understand the pressure you’re under, and I really DO want to do what I can to help. I care a lot about you. I care a lot about all the girls. And I’ll do whatever you need me to do. Just ... maybe not let you give me a blowjob on cue for your mom.”

Zofi chuckled. “Fair enough. But if you really do mean that, I think I’m gonna need you to play my boyfriend a little longer.”

“Yeah, no problem.” I smiled at her and rubbed her knee. “I wasn’t lying when I said I enjoy spending time with you and that I’d like to spend even more time with you.”

“You mean that?”

I nodded. “Maybe we should go on a few dates. Real ones, without your parents. Bring your digital camera, get some photos of the two of us together. Help build a narrative your mom will believe.”

Zofi gave me a curious look. “Isn’t that the same thing as me giving you a blowjob as a show for my mom?”

I shook my head. “No, that’s me worming my way into spending more quality time with an exquisitely beautiful young woman I care a great deal about. Like I said: I’d really like to spend more time with you. If that means taking a few photos along the way that you can eventually show to your mom later, I can work with that.”

“I’d like that, too, boyfriend.”

“So I guess I’ll see you again soon, girlfriend?”

Zofi grinned and drew me to her for another kiss. She met my lips with fresh passion, and this time I could tell she really meant to kiss me for the sake of kissing me, not just for show.

And that really made all the difference in the world.

Don’t ask me how I forgot tonight was a Saturday night, and therefore forgot what that meant. I blame it on having such a long day: first the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk date with Naimh and then playing “boyfriend” for a second time in one day on the double-date with Zofi. I was still working out all the ramifications of actually being Naimh’s boyfriend while playing Zofi’s boyfriend. And to be honest, I’d completely forgotten that Mother had given her a key.

The whole house was quiet when I came home. Mother evidently was still out for the evening. I went into my room, went straight to my walk-in closet, flipped on the light switch inside, and took off my suit jacket to hang it up. I didn’t have many things that needed to be on hangers, so there had always been plenty of room on the rod. So you could understand why I was surprised to see that all of my clothes on hangers had been pushed to one side, and a half-dozen obviously female outfits now hung from the available hangers there. Looking down, there was also a new plastic 3-drawer storage cart in my closet, similarly filled with women’s underwear, pajamas, and casual clothes.

THAT’S when I remembered what day it was, and I quickly poked my head out of the closet, my attention zeroing in on the bed and the strawberry-blonde pixie sitting upright against my headboard wearing a cute nightie.

“Surprised to see me?” Belle asked brightly.

I blinked and stammered, “Forgot Mother gave you a key. Moving in?” I gestured to her stuff in my closet.

“I figured I might as well bring some stuff over if I’m going to be spending more time here,” she said with a shrug. “I’ve got some stuff in your bathroom, too. That’s okay, isn’t it?”

“Oh, it’s great. No problem. Makes sense.” I walked out of the closet, still wearing my shirt and tie. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”

Belle frowned. “Was the double-date with Zofi’s parents that bad?”

“What? No. I mean, it went ... okay ... I think. I’ve never had a ‘Meet the parents’ thing. I mean, other than that talk I had to have with your dad after he found out about us.”

“Then why did you just say you were so happy to see me?”

I grinned at her while sitting down on the side of the bed next to her. “Can’t I just be happy to see you?”

“Well if you’d walked in, noticed me sitting on your bed right away, and said, ‘Hey, happy to see you!’, I might’ve believed you. But you were lost in a zone with that furrowed-brow thing you do when you’re thinking about something that’s bothering you. And then you came out here and said, ‘You have no idea how happy I am to see you.’ There’s a difference.”

I waggled my head. “You may have a point.”

“So what’s wrong?”

“I’ll tell you later. Right now, would you terribly mind if I took your panties off and ate you out right now? Spending an evening with Zofi’s parents not being able to do anything ... and then having Zofi start a blowjob that we didn’t finish ... yeah, messed with my head a little bit.”

Belle frowned. “Zofi started a blowjob you two didn’t finish? What?”

“I’ll explain later. Panties please?”

Belle grinned and raised the hem of her nightie to reveal a completely bald pussy. “Not wearing any. Oh, and you’ll love this part even more.” She rolled over in my bed and flipped up the back of her nightgown.

Although I shouldn’t have been surprised, I was still quite surprised, and my jaw dropped open in shock to see a little disk of hot pink plastic sticking out of Belle’s teeny asshole. “You’re wearing a butt plug?”

She giggled and rolled back over to face me. “Just a thin one, a starter. Sam took me to this place downtown and helped me get a whole training set.”

Well sproing. My rock-hard erection was making quite a tent in my dress slacks.

Belle giggled and reached for my zipper. As she fished my dick out through the flap, she chirped quite happily, “I know you said you wanted to eat me out. But how about we skip that part and you let me finish the blowjob Zofi started, m’kay?”

Her mouth was already around my dick before I could verbally respond. Still, I rubbed my horny pixie’s strawberry-blonde head and muttered, “Uh ... works for me.”

In the morning, Belle went back to her house while Mother and I had brunch together. Mother then left, and I relaxed in the family room watching the NFL playoffs while waiting for my girlfriend’s arrival. Naimh had already told me she would come by the house around 12:30pm.

It was 12:28pm when the doorbell rang, and without even checking the peephole, I excitedly flung open the door and greeted, “Hello, girlfriend!”

Zofi stood immediately outside the door, absolutely beaming at me. “Well, hello, boyfriend!”

I blinked in confusion. “Zofi?”

Naimh suddenly popped into view, having been hiding just a few feet over to the side. “Hello, boyfriend! Surpriiiise!!!”