Bellflower Part 44 (Patreon)

In this installment, as Rachel starts to stress about her sister, her boss, changes at work, & life at the Bellflower, she & Camille get to spend some quality time with one another. But is it everything she hoped? Or is Cami hiding something? And even when effectively given the night off, what kind of insidious traps can Penny still deploy?

Holy hell! D'fuck is this?! Two chapters of Bellflower? In about a week of one another?!

This one is a long one. It was fun & intriguing to right, but it was also partially the reason there was such a hold up there for a bit. A lot of writing & rewriting to get it just right. And honestly, it still probably isn't, but things started clicking a little better for me a couple of weeks ago when I finally had the time to work again. It's fun to have these characters sort of play off one another & let their guard down around one another, if even just a bit. I hope you like it.

EDIT: I noticed a glaring mistake that's really going to make me beat myself up over for a while. With everything going on & having a long gap between some of the chapters, I sat down to reread the old notes I had from when I was first coming up with things. Try to get back in the original headspace. In them, throughout the character of Courtney was referred to as Shannon. In fact, I only changed it to Courtney at the last minute while writing that first Ladies' Night chapter. I don't know remember the full reasoning, but I think I just wanted to save the name Shannon for something else down the line. Anyway, in rereading the notes after the break, for whatever reason, Courtney's name reverted to Shannon for me. So I put it several times, referring explicitly to Courtney. And how important it is not to forget Courtney! So these are fixed in this chapter, & I know I'll have to go back & do it in the last couple. Sorry for any confusion!

|||||

44

|||||

Holly was gently phasing in & out of a pleasant Burger Palace food coma.

After such a rough morning, it was just what the doctor ordered! The combination of playing hooky, no phone keeping her blissfully incommunicado, greasy food, & a few hours’ solitude had done wonders for her mental health. And for the first time in quite a bit, she actually felt almost reasonably sated. Dare she say it, even a bit full. For more than just ten minutes too!

“You just received an email, Miss Holly.” Penny chimed softly, at a low volume, as not to startle her. “Your replacement phone should be here by tomorrow morning! At no cost, thanks to the insurance.”

“Wuh-wonderful.” She muttered with a feeble wave & pleased smile. Sure, the idea of being without a phone usually would’ve made her a little anxious. But right now? It was the absolute least of her worries. Though, she was glad it was all taken care of for her. With a satisfied moan, she groggily slumped a little further into her comfy couch. At this angle, her round, stuffed belly jutted forward just a wee bit more, straining the fabric of the t-shirt she put on to relax.

But even with her head clouded in content, burger-drunk thoughts, she still couldn’t shake that image of herself in that bathroom mirror. Part of her kept trying to consul herself that it was something with the dumb mirror itself, or the way it was manufactured. A defect. Some minute warping or something that gave off a weird funhouse-y effect. The polar opposite of the trick they pull in changing room mirrors! At the same time, it wasn’t like Holly never used the restroom at work. There had been other days where she used that mirror to do a quick makeup adjustment or something. And she was her usual cute, perhaps pleasant plump, self. Ok, well maybe more than just “pleasantly plump.” Especially considering how she had such a hard time finding things that fit. But definitely not the utter landwhale reflection she saw staring back at her in this instance!

Maybe it was just all the stress? Her mind playing tricks on her, bringing her worst fears to light. Making her see things that were a lot worse than they really were?

But then… none of that still explained her embarrassingly busted office chair.

No! Nope! She couldn’t pay that any mind. Not now! After coming home & a nice, long, filling, all-afternoon lunch, she was finally starting to feel like her usual, perky self again! She had to stop letting herself stress!

“Ah, Miss Rachel!” Penny announced, more to alert Holly than to show any respect towards Rachel. Holly’s face scrunched, as she felt her stress level immediately skyrocket again.
“Can the crap.” She exhaled with a gnash of tooth. “Is my sister home?” Holly heard from the doorway, as she did what she could to adjust & sit up straight. Napkins & crumbs fell to the sides. She even subconsciously sucked in her gut a little.

“Why, where else would she be, Miss Rachel?” Penny purred in soft retort. Holly blinked to focus, just to see the scowl on Rachel’s face as she entered the broader kitchen space. It softened on eye contact.

“Hey.” She greeted Holly. Plainly. It was overwhelmingly neutral. It sounded like she was attempting to be cautious.

“... Hey.” Holly repeated, contending with a minute yawn.

“Heard you had a bit of a rough day.”

“Oh, did my friend Camille tell you that?” The emphasis started out pointed, but Holly, instantly regretting the overstep, decided she was too tired to really engage. And luckily, it seemed like Rachel was being merciful enough to let the hostility lie. With a sigh, Holly crossed her thick arms & looked towards the window. “It… picked up a little. Once I got home.” As Penny’s ceramic arms dealt with the empty Burger Palace bags & wrappers.

“I see that.” Rachel skittishly smirked, over the sounds of whirring motors & crinkling paper. She took another step closer, letting her bag droop off her arm onto the table. “Um. Good. Glad to hear.” Again, neutral. Despite Rachel’s noted disdain for Holly’s eating habits, the older sister could tell the younger was treading very lightly. Even if it seemed to pain her a little. And feeling as though the shoe was usually on the other foot, Holly saw the opportunity to resume her prickliness.

“Yeah, well…” She muttered. “Congrats on the promotion? I guess?” Speaking of trying to stamp down disdain, Holly tried, sort of.

“How did you…?” Rachel seemed surprised.

“Penny told me Deidre got a call from Dawn, resigning.” Holly huffed.

“Did she?” Rachel said in a low-boil of a growl. Holly continued.

“And the scuttlebutt’s been Trudy’s not the best fit. Leaving you, next in line for department head. Even though you’ve hardly been there long. So… bravo.” She wiggled her head sarcastically, leading to slight, unintended jiggles elsewhere.

“Well, we’ll see…” Rachel sighed, trying to not heap any of her frustration towards the robot’s gossip onto Holly. She was point blank. “Deidre told me she wanted to actually talk with Dawn about things first. In person if possible. See what was going on before making anything officially official yet. Seems like Dawn might be going through a bit of like a Courtney situation right now, so-”

“Who…?” Holly squinted, shaking her puffy cheeks. “What’s a... “Courtney situation? What are you talking about?!”

“Like… her wei-” she stopped, tried to recalibrate. “Leaving sudde-” Rachel took a deep breath before presuming calmly. “Look. Don’t worry about it. If it happens? Thanks! Genuinely.” She nodded slowly.

“Yeah, well…” Holly muttered again, this time drenched in just a little more ire. “It’s all just pure dumb luck, okay? And remember who got you this job in the first, okay?” Rachel pursed her lips, inhaling deeply through her nose.

“Thank you, Holly.” Rachel chanted, as if forced. The amount of restraint going on! She was still attempting to play nice, but very quickly meeting her limit. “I  was trying to get a hold of you when I heard what had happened. But then I found out you lost your phone…?” There was a certain eagerness to the way she asked.

“It got… wet.” Holly sneered.

“But a replacement is already on its way.” Penny chimed perkily, seemingly happy to dash any of Rachel’s hopes. “No need for you to concern yourself.”

“Gets here tomorrow.” Holly fought one of the mechanical arms to scrape out one last strangler curly fry.

“Yeah. Should’ve guessed you’d work on replacement that fast.” Rachel sighed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Holly snapped. “Besides! I didn’t have to even lift a finger! It was all Penny!”

“That’s what I meant.” Rachel whispered between grit teeth.

“What was that, Miss Rachel?” The machine chimed pleasantly.

“Nothing.” Rachel growled.

“You know,” Holly drooped back to her more relaxed position again. “Penny really stepped up on my bad day. It’s really nice to know that at least someone around here has got my back!”

“More like back… fat.” Rachel snarked under her breath. Definitely not her best, but at least somewhat cathartic.

“What did you just call me?!” Holly gasped. “Fat?!”

“I didn’t say…” Rachel struggled.

“Have you looked in a mirror lately?” Holly cut her off. “You’re not quite the… Skinny Minnie yourself any more!”

“Skinny Minnie?” Rachel snickered, ignoring the context.

“You’re getting pretty pudgy yourself you know!” Holly continued full steam, not letting Rachel’s snark impede. “It’s the return of Jolly Ol’ Rachel!”

“Ech, whatever.” She waved off. “Means so very little coming from you these days.” Rachel scoffed, removing the kid gloves. “Anyway... your friend Cami invited me over anyway. So by all means, resume cramming your pie hole or whatever it was you were letting that stupid robot do to you. I’m out.” She snatched her phone out of her bag & turned before heading to the door.

“Have a wonderful evening.” She drenched it in sarcasm.

“The fucking nerve of her!” Holly scoffed, feeling her stress levels slowly start to drop the instant the door hissed shut behind her.

“My apologies, Miss Holly.” Penny attempted to consul. After a few silent seconds, Holly knew exactly what could lift her spirits.

“Actually,” she started, drawing out the syllables slowly. “Do we... have any pie?”

The door hissed open, with Camille standing right there. In a building with smart home doors, there was something adorably eager about that. But Rachel didn’t expect the expression her face sank towards.

“Your work clothes still?” Cami seemed a little taken back, having already dressed down into what was presumably a pretty expensive athleisure outfit. It looked like dark gray velour, with a fancy serif logo Rachel recognized as Marulla. She suddenly recognized it from the blurb she was tasked to write on it. Only the sample they showed her was smaller. And a robin’s egg blue. But even with Cami’s sort of rounder curves, it was a nice fit. “Now I feel so underdressed.” She snarked in that chiding way where you don’t know if she’s teasing you or being self-deprecating. Rachel didn’t care too much one way or the other.

“My sister is hogging up the living room.” Rachel sighed, trying to smooth out a wrinkle in her ill-fitting pencil skirt while, fighting off the very strong urge to add “Quite literally.” Just to get that little extra knife twist of spite out of her system. “Couldn’t change. I… just needed to get out of there. All I did was drop off my bag.”

“How’s she holding up?” Cami asked with sincerity. At least before clocking Rachel’s expression. Then she rolled her eyes to caveat & make a show of hating to have to play both sides. “Despite, you know, all the cantankerous BS between you two obviously?”

“Penny got her Burger Palace for lunch.” Rachel gritted her teeth. “A lot of Burger Palace.”

“Oh,” Cami responded. It was quick, & Rachel could swear she could detect the faintest whiff of envy in it. Like kneejerk reaction, even from a food snob such as Camille, the idea of wallowing in a bunch of fast food didn’t seem to sound all that bad. But her friend, remembering Rachel’s concern over Holly, & reminded of just how large Holly was getting these days, quickly followed up with a second, stern “Oh.”

“Yeah.” Rachel huffed, ready to not think about any of this. At least for just like… a little bit. “Can I…?” she gestured towards the inside of the condo.

“Oh. My god! I’m such a terrible hostess.” Cami squeakily realized, ushering her. “Come in! Come in!”

The shorter, darker skinned young woman turned at the edge of the hallway to hand Rachel a glass of red wine, pre-poured & apparently waiting there just for her.

“So,” Cami’s voice dropped an octave from its usual mousy timbre. As if to playact & add a bit of formality while she reached for another glass, further in on the counter. One that might’ve already been partially sipped. Come to think of it, Rachel thought she caught the faint whiff of pregaming on Cami’s breath back at the door. “What are we raising a glass to this evening, then?” Rachel chuckled to herself, closing her eyes & shaking her head.

“I just want to fuckin’ relax honestly.” She exhaled, with a little bit of relief. “And not have to think.” She had been looking forward to it since the text, & had already determined that this was to be the highlight of her entire day.

“Well to fuckin’ relaxing, then!” Cami dinged glasses. “And no thinking! About anything!” She followed it up with a deep sip. A slightly beleaguered Rachel was a few seconds behind, but took maybe a bit too healthy of a gulp for how little she had actually eaten today. Whether it was her own strict discipline, or Penny just messing with her, she was becoming increasingly aware of just how empty her belly was. But at the same time, given Cami’s apparent headstart, maybe it was just best to try & catch up.

“Mmm, Food’s on the way.” Cami seemed to almost mindread suddenly. Rachel would’ve been more shocked by the coincidence if not for the fact they were in the Bellflower. Everybody was always hungry. Or one thought away from eating. “My Penny was already on it before I even had to ask to order.”

“Of course…” Rachel tried to hide her seething.

“HAH!” Cami let out sharply. Rachel’s eyes went wide, startled & trying not to spit out the sip of wine she was taking. “I forget! You still don’t trust Pennies, do you?”

“What’s to trust?” Rachel sighed pretty blankly. Despite her stated goals of “fuckin’ relaxing” & “not thinking,” just hearing Penny’s name was a stark reminder that she couldn’t let her guard down. Ever. At least while she was in this fucking building.

“I mean,” Cami’s tone evened out, trying to put Rachel at ease. “I get it. She’s sketchy as fuck. And always prying or surprising you with stuff she shouldn’t even be able to know. It’s off putting. You’re probably right to not trust her, honestly.” She took another sip of wine. Rachel thought about earlier in the lobby at work. About the notion of possibly trying to tell Cami what was really up. But now? In the moment? Right in front of Penny? Probably not the best idea. Not to mention, whatever this was, between her & Camille? Why just lob that grenade of… crazy into the middle of everything? On top of all the Holly drama. For fuck’s sake, why couldn’t she, for just one night, relax? Neither her or Cami were in any immediate danger. Fat for sure, but not under any immediate threat.

That’s when her guilt reared its ugly head. Suddenly her subconscious made her worry about what was going on with Dawn. Rachel liked her boss. For the first time ever, over her entire working life, really. And she hoped things weren’t as bad as they seemed. But also…? Well... Deidre was already on it! And completely capable. So really, Rachel was still waiting to hear back on that front. Sure, maybe it might’ve been a little callous. But maybe too, she didn’t always have to be the one person losing her mind over this fucked up stuff happening all the time either! For just once. Tonight? Tonight was just one night. And while she wasn’t about to let all inhibitions fly & binge-eat or something, she just needed a tiny little bit of self-care, dammit!

Cami finished her gulp.

“Penny!” She hollered aimlessly toward the ceiling.

“Yes, Miss Camille?”

“Do you have like an “off?” Or a “sleep mode?”

“But Miss Camille, you have company. And I am programmed to b-”

“Or couldja just like… take the night off if you could?” She cut it off, her head tilted upwards while smiling in Rachel’s direction. Rachel, while knowing the ultimate futility of the ask, deeply appreciated the attempt. As it was being done in an attempt to simply put her at ease. It meant a lot, & she was trying to hide a bit of a blushing behind her wine.

“I will… try not to encroach too much this evening, Miss Camille.” Penny seemed dismayed, even at her blankest tone. “For you & your… guest.” Rachel picked up on its open disdain a lot more plainly than Cami seemed to. Funny how vindictive it sounded, even when simply asked to pretend like she wasn’t there.

“Look,” Cami purred. “No one’s asking you to trust Penny. But you know who you can trust?” A tired Rachel waved her wine glass for friend to continue. “Me, when I tell you just how absolutely fuckin’ phenomenal the satay is from Kulaya. I mean, you like Thai, right? Penny said she knew your order.”

“Mmm,” Rachel nodded, taking a sip. Doing her best to ignore Penny ordering for her. At the same time, she reasoned that amongst many of the other delivery options, chances were it ought to be at least on the healthier side. “I can go for some Thai.”

“Great! It should already be en route.” Cami twirled the cup of her glass in a tight orbit, letting a lull sink in with a happy little bounce of her eyebrows. Rachel, still feeling slightly exasperated, & overstimulated by the barrage of mismatched energy, appreciated the brief respite. “Um…” Cami realized, worried that she was again being a bad host, leaned forward & pointed to the cabinets. “Want a snack in the meantime?”

“You said wouldn’t be long.” Rachel displaying discipline. “I can wait.”

“Well frankly,” the shorter girl sighed dramatically, turning to dig. “I’m starving. Per U-ge.”

While not trying to be a rude guest, Rachel tried to avoid more food, & inched her way towards the living room as Cami readied a plate of snacks. Namely her weird bitter “biscuits,” & a dollop of what looked like some new sort of fancy soft cheese she’d have explained to her by the end of the night. Things that Rachel had long since deemed calorically safe to be around, on account of being just so utterly repulsive to her. Thank god for Cami’s snooty weird snobby tastes. “Have a seat! Take a load off, wouldja?” Cami’s initial mousiness was completely absent in her playful pushiness.

“Alright-” Rachel snipped back with a soft laugh. “Gonna be one of these nights, huh? So much for fuckin’ relaxing.” she muttered as a jab while navigating the gap between the couch & the coffee table. She set her glass down before smoothing out the seat of her skirt. She tried not to think about how incrementally wide her hands went tracing her curves before planting her ass onto the cushion. With the toe of the other foot, she kicked her shoes off, one after the other & set them to the side, before leaning back into the arm of the sofa with a big plop & contented sigh.
“See?” Cami stoped to smile as she took stock a few steps behind her. “There you g-”

“Miss Camille,” Penny very blankly chimed. “While I know you requested I not disturb you & your guest…”

“Yeah yeah yeah-” Cami hurried her along.

“Your delivery has arrived.”

“Of course!” Rachel rolled her eyes. “The second you’re about to sit down. Need a hand?”

“Of course!” Cami repeated, while waving off the offer, gesturing that Rachel stay seated. Realizing No Penny, meant she actually had to do the menial stuff Penny usually did, she took a deep breath. “So much for snacks.” She muttered. Setting her drink & plate of snacks on the far corner of the table, she spun on her heel towards the door, fixing the droop of her hoodie as it slid down her soft shoulder. Rachel looked up at the TV which was already cycling through different streaming options, carouselling intermittently. It was kind of a good thing she didn’t have much of an investment in whatever the actual pick was, when it came to what they actually “watched.” Though Cami’s last choice? That terrible big budget blockbuster from the previous night led to a fun, decent amount of riffing between the two. “Oh-” Rachel heard faintly from the door. Cami sounded surprised. She could vaguely hear her talking, but after a moment, the last bit she heard was “You’re sure?” followed by a “Thanks,” & “Have a nice night.” Then there was a crinkling of paper bag & the hiss of the door shutting. But from her vantage point, Rachel couldn’t see.

“Everything alright…?” Was what she let hang as the crinkling of the bags continued upon Cami’s approach.

“There was… some sort of... mix-up?” The chubby young woman in the gray velour tracksuit, having given her robot the night off perhaps just a few moments too earlier, seemed to be struggling to carry a large brown paper bag in either hand, each apparently packed to the brim. It’d been a while since she had to actually lug anything herself. And even back when she did, the rich girl probably never really had to do it all that often. She was having some difficulty, as the shoulders of her loose, comfy hoodie seemed to slip off the soft, round slopes of her shoulders again, bearing them.

“Jesus-” Rachel hissed, instinctually lunging to help her short friend handle the heavy load. She stamped down her initial question, an incredulous “How much did you order,” because she already knew it wasn’t Camille’s fault. But even with the “healthy option,” the damn AI just had to get its shot in somehow.

“Something on -ungh- their end,” She said, struggling to lift one of the bags up over the table to hand to Rachel. “Apparently they sent out two different deliveries of the... same order?!” She winced a bit, seeming to try & hide like she was out of breath. “So like… we got double?” With the bags on the table, Rachel lowered her rear back onto the couch & started combing the bags.

“Yeah,” She said, abundantly less thrilled about it than Cami. “Looks like it.”

“It’s ok,” Cami perkily sighed, making her way around the far side of the coffee table. “I’ll check later, but they told me I was only charged for one.” Which, fair. Rachel was glad, but at the same time, that wasn’t her chief concern. “No biggie either way.” Cami continued, looking on the brightside. “And this way... we each definitely have leftovers for lunch tomorrow!”

“Sure. Leftovers…” Rachel nodded doubtfully.

“What…?” Cami reacted, plopping down on the opposite end of the couch a bit like a stone. Finally catching her breath, now she seemed a little hurt.

“No, I mean… it’s a great spread! I really appreciate you getting us dinner.” Rachel sincerely smiled, trying to set her friend’s mind at ease. “And lunch, apparently.” She continued to unload the nearer bag.

“But…?” Cami pulled. Just like Rachel was starting to pick up on all of Penny’s weaselly little ploys a little too well, Camille seemed to be getting pretty good at reading Rachel’s tells. In reality, Rachel knew she was going to struggle with it. Do her best to fight the urge! But even fully aware of what was going on, with it just... sitting right there? On the far end of the table from her? She knew that either of their second orders probably weren’t going to last the night. Even from her “off” position, Penny would figure out some way to make sure of that. Or hell, maybe she didn’t even have to. Maybe her & Camil would just cave, all on their own.

“It’s… just a lot of food,” Rachel reached. “That’s all.” Cami’s eyes narrowed a little. As if she could tell that wasn’t really the reason, but was done prodding.

“Don’t you worry,” she squinted. “I’ll eat it all if you don’t. It’s not like it’ll go to waste!” Rachel thought to herself “Like I need that on my conscience,” before Cami slapped her knee. “So what are we watching? Your turn! You pick!” Leaning back with her sealed foil dish, “Better make it good!” she snarked. Rachel, trying to block out all the real negativity, sighed a soft, content sigh.

They started with a nature doc. A lot more straightforward of a watch, they didn’t have to provide their own commentary like the night before. Which was at least helpful while trying to eat anyway. Which Cami seemed to do with gusto. Rachel, fighting the same urge, paced herself with some restraint. She didn’t have the heart to tell Camille the place she used to go to in the city was just a wee bit better than Kulaya, but at the same time, in her book, they were a serious contender. The satay was pretty perfect. But then Camille explained that to her, the sticks paired with the wine in a nostalgic peanut butter & jelly sort of way. While Rachel sort of got hints of what she was getting at, she was shocked her hoity-toity friend had ever even experienced a proper PB & J. To which Camille immediately swore her to secrecy. That was until the nature doc cut from following some adorable obscure desert rodent, to a rather gnarly looking tarantula. Aghast, Camille shrieked, pulling a throw pillow up over her face & insisting Rachel “change it, change it, change it.” Not nearly as frightened, but still a little sketched out while trying to eat, Rachel was happy to oblige. Albeit after a minute or two of pretending she couldn’t hit the button, playful chiding, & mousily whelping.

“You’re safe! It can’t get you!” Rachel eventually relented, backing all the way out to the main menu. “Besides, it’s like... in the Serengeti.”

“It’s STILL not funny!” Cami squealed, slamming the throw pillow down to her side after checking to see if the coast was truly clear, & not another horrible trick by her supposed “friend.” “I had a Huntsman Spider crawl on me when I was little! Have you seen those things?!” She stretched out the chubby fingers of her dainty hand, & circled a wide circumference with her other index. “Bigger than this!!”

“Ok, well sorry, we didn’t all have the opportunity to globetrot as kids.” Rachel snarked. Spider averted, she turned her attention back to her noodles. She conceded. “But I’m sure that’s probably a very scarring thing to have happen. Did it bite you?” She asked before a large bite of her own.

“Well, no. That kind aren’t really all that aggressive.” She muttered, realizing she was losing a bit of steam. “Luckily!” She firmly punctuated, “But they ARE scary, dammit. Okay?!” She wiggled out of her seat, slowly attempting to get up.

“I’m sure they are.” Rachel muttered with a snicker after gulping.

“My god! They ARE!” Cami insisted with a soft, somewhat bratty stomp.

“I’m agreeing with you!” Rachel tried to ease, hands up.

“C’mon! Don’t make me call my robot on you!” She threatened.

“Yes, Miss Camille?” The AI chimed, at the ready, sucking all the fun out for Rachel. Cami, while joking, trying to get her back, saw how on edge it seemed to put her friend.

“Nope! Nevermind,” Cami mousily laughed, snapping her fingers at it. “You can go back to sleep or whatever.” She shot Rachel a look that seemed half playful, half serious. “Some of us around here are respectful of others’ anxieties.”

“Cami, I’m sorry.” Rachel guiltily murmured as she sank a little, leaning back from her half empty plate. Her friend gave a dismissive flap of her wrist.

“Uch. After all that, I need more wine.” Cami announced, as she scooted by the coffee table.

Rachel hadn’t even realized that while her eyes followed a perturbed Cami sashay toward the kitchen, her left hand mindlessly reached for another stick of the satay side order they had been sharing. In fact, as if operating on autopilot, she didn’t realize until she was taking an ample bite into the savory chicken. It was delicious, no disputing that! With a great deal of intention, she had to lower the skewer, continuing to chew the first bite. If she didn’t think about it & actively try & pace herself, her hunger would’ve driven her to pull the remaining hunk of meat off rapidly, all in one go. And after that, she had to stop herself from immediately yanking another. And the last one after that. And after that? Try & forget there was another order of satay lurking in that second bag. Fuck, why didn’t Cami put it immediately in the fridge?! If they had to get up, do any warming, it’d at least slow them down. Make them burn a few calories in the process.

“They’re sooo good, right?!” Cami returned, a full wine glass in one hand, presumably the last of the first bottle, & a new, unopened bottle of wine in the other, complete with fancy corkscrew.

“Mmmhmm,” Rachel nodded with a mouthful. “Amazing.” She bolstered after swallowing.

“Toldja so.” Cami mousily chirped, setting the new bottle down. She took a long sip from her glass before placing it next to her mostly empty foil plate. Almost as if she was forgetting her heft, plopping down a little too hard a little closer to Rachel. She sank deep into the soft cushion, & for a split second, their sides bumped into one another. With Rachel’s soft curves being pressed into Cami’s softer curves. And there was suddenly a certain warmth & proximity to another person that Rachel recognized right away. Just like when their hands met earlier in the day. Something she’d been missing in her time in this evil fucking building. “Oops.” Cami cooed. Her tone was hard for Rachel to place. She couldn’t quite tell if the bump was entirely intentional or just the wine starting to take hold & leading to happy accidents. She guessed some combination of the two. “... Clumsy.” Either way, Cami looked a bit flushed.

But Rachel smirked. Having finished her satay, she set her skewer on the table. But not before a bit of a scoot & lean toward the center, soft bumping her rear into Cami.

“Oops.” The maroon haired girl playfully mocked. “My bad.” Cami’s jaw dropped, playing up the indignity of it & seemingly pretending as if it weren’t some kind of retaliation.

“How dare you!” she scoffed, bouncing on her butt a few inches closer to bump Rachel back.

“No,” Rachel insisted, “You!” leaning back. Suddenly, in their playful butt-bumping conflict, both women were firmly pressed up against one another, side to side, not trying to concede an inch of couch cushion to the other. Giggles slowly overtook each’s demand that the other back down. While Cami might’ve been a bit heavier, either she was holding back, or Rachel’s extra couple inches of height seemed to keep them pretty evenly matched. But, still feeling a tad bit guilty over the whole spider thing, Rachel decided to let Cami win. Besides, it was her place anyway.

“Ok fine!” She relented, suddenly going partially limp. “You win.” Apparently, Cami had not anticipated this. The instant she was unimpeded, her rightward press had kept going.

“Ack!” She shrieked, effectively spilling over onto Rachel, kind of hard. Rachel let out something of a playful yelp in tandem. “Oh gawd!” Cami mousily squeaked at a forty-five degree angle, smooshed into her friend. “Are you ok?” she asked with some giggling trepidation, slow to look up.

“Oh. Fine. Just… knocked the wind out of me,” Rachel play-wheezed between bouts of succumbing to laughter. “That’s all.” Both girls continued laughing. “So much for fuckin’ relaxing.” Rachel finished with a sigh.

“You started it.” Cami accused with a squint, not getting up. If anything, it seemed like she was deciding to nestle in. Rachel was taken back a bit. Not so much about the accusation, but from what seemed like a cuddle.

“Me?” Rachel tried to act past the blushing to two levels. Both to sound cool & yet continue the angry tone of their banter. “You practically tried sitting on me!”

“Uch. Purely accidental.” Cami scoffed. Without getting up fully, she fidgeted to reach for her mostly empty plate. The first one anyway. “Besides, ancient history now.” She argued, suddenly deciding how time worked while curling her legs up onto the couch to the left behind her as she returned to her angled position laying into Rachel’s side, getting very comfortable. Not that Rachel found it all that terribly uncomfortable. There was something to be said about their combined… plushiness coming together. In fact, Rachel was surprised by just how much she actually kind of liked it. Cami slowly looked over to her with big, dark eyes. “So what are we watching next?” She purred, following quickly with a sharp, insistent edict of “No spiders!” Upon realizing her face had been stuck in this kind of dumb grin the last few minutes, Rachel rocked out of it by chortling.

“You tell me.” she said, feebly flopping her hands. It took Cami a second to realize that in her new spot, she prevented Rachel from reaching the remote on the coffee table. Or her food for that matter.

“My bad.” Cami blushed, slinking back upright with a kind of a forlorn expression. Rachel was having some issues sitting that far forward these days, what with her middle getting in the way. It took two rocks. But she eventually lunged forward with a chuckle, grabbing her plate first, then the remote in that order. Leaning back into her seat, she looked over to Cami, who seemed a little embarrassed, eyes to the side.

“Wait, come back.” Rachel softly pleaded, holding her plate & the remote up. Cami lit up at the offer & quickly obliged, resuming the position.

“For real though, I’m not... crushing you?” Cami worried, her voice just above a whisper, biting her plump lower lip just a little.

“Not at all.” Rachel assured her, getting comfortable again as both nestled. Lifting the control to scroll past the dumb carousel she was sick of staring at, she offered some assurance. “It’s… nice.” She understated.

The full runtime of a movie might’ve been just a bit too long at this point they decided. So the girls opted for an episode of a big network crime procedural, picked entirely just by how positively dorky the episode title sounded. After all, they were on the hunt for something cheesy enough for each to get their licks in. But for someone that talked such big game, & swore up & down that she hated it, Cami came off a bit suss. It seemed like she held a pretty suspicious amount of knowledge on the characters, the department, & their goings-on & back stories. Though Rachel, whether it be from the cuddles, or through her own sheer benevolence, mercifully let it go unspoken. And they had each polished off the rest of their plates & the split order of skewers well before the first act break. Even Rachel, who tried desperately to take it slow.

“Would it be… terrible if we…?” Cami inevitably winced. Rachel had been anticipating it, taking some solace in the fact she wasn’t the first to break. She gave a resigned sigh.

“Honestly? Kind of figured we would.” Rachel shamefully admitted as Cami hastily pulled the second bag closer to unload & divy. Like a good hostess, she even split the satay sticks half & half with the plates, before uncorking & reupping wine. All so they could get back to relaxing & snuggling comfortably. Well, comfortable beyond the whole angst of having caved anyway. But Rachel did have to hand it to her. Kulaya was good. Really good. Even the second time around.

Even while trying to slow her pace & take tiny bites, it didn’t seem to be lasting all that long. Even while trying to be mindful of her pace, it was going fast. And while delicious, & her second helping all around, Rachel could tell wasn’t getting full. Or to put it more succinctly, feeling satisfied. Like she felt stuffed, her belly bulging firmly underneath Cami, but she wasn’t all that sated. Peering down at her snuggle buddy, she noticed Cami mindlessly gnawing on one last satay stick. One she had to have set aside for last, having already cleared the rest of her plate. She ripped all of the meat off in one, ravenous bite, eyes glued to the screen, giggling a bit about some ham-fisted acting. Rachel winced, trying to hide it in a half-hearted giggle.

“That was so good,” Cami slowly murmured. But really, it looked as though she was scanning her side of the table for more. And a bit disappointed it was all gone. Just like when she noticed Rachel still had a third of a plate left. “Huh.” she let out as kind of a chuckle.

“What?” Rachel asked.

“Nothing.” Cami said, seeming to wiggle back to face the screen again. “You’re just kind of a slow-eater, aren’t you?” Rachel’s kneejerk reaction was to argue Cami had practically inhaled hers, through probably no fault of her own, but thought better of it. “Good for you! I’m just glad you’re enjoying it.” She reasoned, though not without a hint of catty subtext. More like she was envious of Rachel still having some rather than being concerned about pace in the slightest.

But Rachel’s remaining portion didn’t last all that much longer either. She was done before they cut to the obligatory courthouse scene that took place in every episode. The irony-prone ladies tried to bury themselves in jokes, but for Rachel, it was more her trying to distract herself from the fact that she still felt a bit hungry. When the spoofs & commentary didn’t work, she put her arm on Cami’s shoulder & gave a light little squeeze. It seemed reciprocated by something of an adorable little wiggle-in tighter. She didn’t miss what’s-his-face, not in the slightest. But she did miss this. A lot.

Before she realized it, credits had begun to appear, much sooner than she had anticipated.

“That’s it?” Rachel gasped, snapping out of the fuzzy warm thoughts she hadn’t realized she had slipped into for a few seconds, maybe minutes.

“Well,” Cami shrugged, almost earnestly. “That was a pretty incriminating gotcha they ended on.” Remembering her place, she added. “You know, if you’re a silly boomer who’s into that sort of thing. She reached for her glass as Rachel smirked.

“I… guess.” Rachel smirked. It still wasn’t all that late. Or, at least she was in no real hurry to go. And Cami didn’t seem in too much of a hurry to get rid of her, still pressing in. In fact, part of Rachel felt a bit numb. But a good numb!

“Uch,” Cami let out, after a sip of wine, sounding disgusted. “I had TWO whole dinners. With sides!” She sighed. “How am I still… peckish?” Rachel, actively having to stop herself from thinking about food, had a couple of theories, but left them unsaid. In lieu of them, Cami offered her own, softly moaning. “I am such a greedy hog!”

“You are not!” Rachel retorted insistently. “It’s jus-”

“Oooh!” Cami clearly wasn’t listening, but seemed to come to some sort of epiphany. “My snack! Score!” Abit tipsily, her hostess rocked herself off of Rachel’s shoulder. The absence made the air rushing in to meet Rachel’s side feel cold. Which only made her want to urge her back the more. “Forgot all about it!” sliding her thick butt to the edge of the couch, she reached across the coffee table with pudgy fingers extended.

“Is that cheese going to be alright?” Struggling to come up with reasons not to, while also not trying to upset her like Holly, Rachel  thought of leaning into her former service industry job training. “It’s been out this whole- What am I saying? It’s one of yours. Of course it is.”

“You’re learning!” Cami patronizingly cheered, struggling to reach to pull the small plate closer. Partly because she lazily didn’t want to stand all the way up, partly because she was a little drunk. “If anything, the biscuits might’ve gone a little soft. But the cheese?” She finally seemed to manage, straining a bit before rolling back onto the couch, & Rachel. “But the cheese only gets-”

“Riper.” winced Rachel, thinking she caught a whiff of something foul.

Oh hush.” Cami scowled in a whisper, pulling it onto her lap as she resituated. As she did, a lightbulb seemed to go off. “Wait. I have an idea…” she purred.

“Oh?” Rachel softly cooed, a bit eager to follow her lead. Cami scooted her ample butt further down the couch with a clumsy little wiggle, laying back. She kicked her feet up over the other arm, then rested her head in Rachel’s lap, setting the dish on her plate. “Ummm-” Rachel awkwardly hummed, her dumbstruck smile plastered on her own red cheeks.

“S’alright,” Cami continued to pur, perhaps a little bit more glassy-eyed than Rachel had even realized. “I just want you to…” Instead of continuing the thought with words, Cami opened wide, stuck out her pointy, little tongue, & vaguely gestured to it with her hands.

“... Wha-?” Rachel winced, the smile wavering a little.

“Mmm,” she purred again, wiggling a bit more to get comfortable. “Feed me, silly!”

“What?!” Rachel cackled with a laugh. “I’m not like… your servant. What’s next? You want me to peel some grapes too?” Cami’s mawonly gaped a bit wider, as she maintained something of a smile.

“Ahh,” she pointed into her mouth, not concerned with Rachel’s protests. “Ahh-uhh!” Rachel started to wonder if she was really serious.

“No,” she laughed, a slight bit more sternly. “If you want to keep eating, fine. But feed your own damn self.”

“Aw,” Cami’s mouth narrowed to speak. “I thought we were trying to make each other happy.”

“We were… or are…” stammered Rachel, starting to feel a bit whiny as her laughter started drying up. “But…”

“Well this pleases me.” Cami playfully asserted, opening wide again. “Ah!”

“Fine.” Rachel snapped, caving. She reached across a giddy Cami to pick up one of the rock hard brown cookies, run it through the soft, stinky cream-like “cheese” & held it just over Cami’s mouth. As Cami cooed & went to bite, Rachel was suddenly reminded of their encounter at the fancy grocery store. Cami biting the same kind of biscuit out of her fingers the very night she had introduced them to her. Just then, Cami let out a groan of delight. It wasn’t overly loud, but not expecting it, Rachel was a little startled as the tan girl happily munched away, laying in her lap.

“Another.” Cami insisted upon swallowing. Feeling pretty awkward, but not wanting to disappoint, Rachel grit her teeth & obliged. Smearing the cheese on, she let Cami bite off the cheesy half before going back to  double dip the other half. “Mmmmmmm-hmmm.” Cami seemed to giggle, gladly accepting it.

“You’re… a little… too into this.” Rachel murmured under her breath, feeling weird. Was this like… her thing?

Laying on her back, facing straight up at Rachel, Cami didn’t see the TV flicker. But Rachel did. And she swore, for a brief second, she could see the stylized Penny icon, the one usually on the center console, flash on the screen, sporting a devious looking smile.

“Uhh-” Rachel attempted.

“More,” Cami insisted, shutting her eyes. “More!” The second was more demanding, less playful. Rachel started to reach for another, but reluctance started to set in. For as much as she wanted to make Cami happy, things weren’t feeling… right. Just then, Rachel’s phone vibrated on the end table next to her wine. Eager for the distraction, she leaned a bit to paw for it. “Hey, what gives…?” Cami brattily sneered. She started to sit up, forgetting, but quickly grabbing the plate before losing it.

“Uh… I got a text.” Rachel explained.

“So…?” Cami huffed. “Can’t it wait?”

“It’s… Deidre.”

“Uch, what does she want?” Cami rolled her eyes. “Tell her not now. Feed me sum’more.” Unwittingly, she dabbed her pinky in the cheese for a quick taste to hold herself over. But Rachel’s eyes were finally adjusting to the brightness of her phone as she read the text.

“No Dawn. Neither her or P answered door. Sketched beyond belief. Be safe! Pls”

“What does she have to say?!” Cami whined again. “Is it a work thing? What could be so important…?”

“Um…” Rachel managed slowly. Looking as though she had seen a ghost, she was white as a sheet.

“What?” Cami asked sternly, sobering a little & becoming concerned upon seeing Rachel’s grave expression.

“I really ought to be going-” Rachel shifted towards the edge of the seat.

“Oh gawd-” Cami sat up, burying her face in her hands.

“No!” Rachel insisted, gently caressing her back. “No no no! It’s not like-”

“I didn’t mean tuh-” Cami winced, cutting her off.

“You’re fine!” Rachel tried to assure. “Really!” She looked to the side. “I just… something came up. Something serious. It’s definitely not you!” She threw her arms around her for a big hug. “It’s not ALWAYS about you, y’know.” she attempted to giggle. Cami seemed to appreciate her trying, but Rachel thought she probably would’ve processed it a bit better in a regular state of mind. “This was… a lot of fun. How about we do it again? Soon!”

“Tomorrow…?” Cami tried to push from behind glassy eyes.

“Um well-” Rachel honestly tried to manage expectations. In reality, she’d love to. But at the same time, she knew how important meeting up with Deidre was. Maybe the others might want to meet up.

“- I get it.” Cami mousily huffed.

“No!” Rachel insisted, hugging again. “Look, I-” Suddenly, Cami wiggled in her arms & something happened. It was a quick, sharp peck on the cheek. In a quick, frantic, sort of clumsy motion, Cami’s plump lips pressed into a small pout & planted themself on Rachel. And Rachel was speechless. But not the least bit upset. Letting out a weird, blushing giggle, she brushed a bit of hair out of Cami’s eyes & returned the favor, planting a soft, slightly longer peck on the tan girl’s cheek. “But I really… have to-”

“No. Go ahead-”

“Are we… Oka-?”

“If we weren’t, why’d you kiss me back?” Cami scoffed, sounding a bit closer to regular herself. Not the quiet version, the one Rachel got to see. “Ya dingus!”

“Ok, so- we’ll talk tomorrow?” Rachel smiled. Cami sighed.

“Yeah. Fer sure. I just…” she held her head again for a second. “I think I might’ve had a little too much to -urp- drink.”

“No, it’s fine!” Rachel insisted. “I can see myself out! Just relax.”

“Uh, I think you mean fuckin’ relax!” Cami corrected.

“Yeah. That.” Rachel smiled, slowly backing out. “Seriously though. Thanks.”

“Uh-huh.” Cami muttered before dizzily falling back deeper into the  couch. The door hissed behind Rachel. And when it did, Cami curled her hands up into fists & started banging her knuckles against her forehead, as if she already didn’t have a bit of a headache brewing. “Feed me!” she recounted, mocking her own insistence. “Goddammit, Camille! Why do you always have to ruin everything?”

“If you’re looking for someone to serve you, Miss Camille-” Penny seemed happy to reactivate.

“Ech no.” Cami muttered, rolling to her side listlessly. “Nowhere near as... hot.”