[Spirit of Lust 2] Chapters 406 & 407. (Patreon)

Chapter 406: Intermission - Diana and the girls (Part 1)

Diana parked her car about two blocks away from Maria’s shop, but her legs felt too heavy to get out yet. The adult woman groaned loudly and pressed her forehead against the steering wheel, anxious of what was to come and frustrated that she felt such anxiety in the first place.

She could’ve postponed it, yeah. She didn’t have to tell Oliver that she was free and could meet the other girls. But putting it off would only make the awkward, uncomfortable feelings continue. She knew this was something that needed to be done. And, if anything, she wasn’t coming into this without a plan. She didn’t know if it was a good plan, but she had one.

Finally, Diana forced herself out of her car and walked the two blocks over to Maria’s coffee shop. It was 4:15 pm, 15 minutes before the scheduled meeting time, but Diana wouldn’t be caught dead getting late to an appointment she scheduled herself. She walked into the shop with the sound of the little bell over the door, not exactly ready but willing to face this anyway.

“Welc- Oh, hey!” Maria greeted from behind the counter. She was in the middle of pouring a cup of coffee. “Let me finish up this order and I’ll be with you in a second.”

“Take your time,” Diana said with a nod and took the opportunity to look around.

She hadn’t been here since Maria first opened up the place. Admittedly, she wasn’t the biggest fan of coffee and sweets, but it was mostly due to how busy she had been. Still, it wasn’t an excuse. She should’ve dropped by more often.

…

If she had, she would’ve met Oliver earlier, right?

The place wasn’t bustling with activity at the moment. An old couple was at a table for two drinking coffee, a trio of girls in school uniforms were sharing a lively conversation over a big plate of cookies and the order Maria was finishing up was for a middle-aged man in a suit who was taking it to go.

“See? This is the reason I haven’t hired more help yet,” Maria told her after the man left with his coffee. “When Oliver isn’t here it’s not as lively and I can manage.”

“That’s another issue you need to address, don’t you think?” Diana told her. What would happen if and when Oliver decided to quit? “Relying on a single employee bringing customers in isn’t sustainable.”

“I’m… working on it, okay?” Maria said with a sigh. At least she seemed aware of the issue.

Diana let out a sigh of her own. Here she was, coming over to her friend’s shop since its opening and she was already nitpicking details. Diana didn’t even have grounds to speak of business sustainability since she didn’t have her own business yet. “Sorry, that was unnecessary. For a new business, you're doing really well. You’re working hard, that much I can tell.”

Maria chuckled. “It’s fine. When it comes to stuff like this, you need a cold eye like that.”

Diana looked around again and her eyes landed on a particular piece of furniture at the very back of the shop. “Alright then. So if I can make one more comment… That folding screen doesn’t match the aesthetics of the shop at all.”

It looked really out of place, which was surprising. Maria had a pretty good sense of aesthetics. It was made of dark wood and had white panels with elaborate drawings of trees and birds.

“I know that! I’m testing something with it,” Maria assured. “See, the shop doesn’t have all that much space, right? I found that folding screen in my attic and thought of an idea. I’m testing if it helps give a better sense of privacy here. You know, for groups that might not want to be eavesdropped on? Like one that has the table behind it reserved for a private conversation?”

Ah. That’s what she meant. “I’m… so sorry for the trouble.”

“Hah! Trouble? Diana, this is the kind of stuff I opened this shop for! Discussions both trivial and important over a nice cup of coffee… There’s something romantic about it, don’t you think?”

Diana smiled fondly. “Yeah, there is. Thanks.”

“No problem. The girls should be here soon, right? Want anything while you wait?”

“A medium coffee. Black.”

“Coming right up. Go sit down.”

Diana nodded. “Oh, and… When the girls get here, offer them something, too. My treat. And don’t worry, I’ll still pay you back what I owe at the end of the month.”

Maria laughed. “Relax, I know you will.”

Diana walked towards the back of the shop and behind the folding screen. Two square tables were pushed together with six chairs around them. Diana sat at the head of the table, not because she thought she would lead the conversation, but because sitting right beside any of the other girls would make her feel incredibly uncomfortable.

Maria brought her her cup of coffee and Diana waited patiently, taking very small sips. For a short moment, she wondered if these girls were the type to arrive late, but she didn’t have to worry about that, it seemed.

“Welcome, girls,” Diana heard Maria greet at the sound of the bell at the door.

“Hello, Maria,” one of the girls greeted back. Diana didn’t know which one, but she sounded composed, serious and a bit apologetic. “I hope we’re not troubling you again.”

“No, don’t worry about it! I even set you up with a bit more privacy.”

Diana felt her body tensing up and her face along with it. She held her forearm with one hand and gripped it hard. It was time. They were here and there was no going back.

“Diana’s already waiting back there. Want anything? She’s treating you.”

There seemed to be a moment of hesitation as the girls didn’t immediately answer. Diana’s chest tightened. They… didn’t think she was trying to butter them up with food, were they? Diana only wanted to treat them since it was her who asked them to come here!

“I’ll have some tea, then,” one of the girls finally said. It prompted the others to make orders of their own. A single drink each and some cookies to share. They could’ve easily made a bigger order, but they restrained themselves. That already said something, didn’t it?

Fuck, her heart seemed about to burst. Diana had come with a plan, but she was already having doubts that it was the right course of action. There was no more time to ponder, however. Only a few moments later, the five girls came behind the folding screen and met Diana face to face for the second time.

************

Chapter 407: Intermission - Diana and the girls (Part 2)

If only there was some sort of self-help book titled ‘How to meet your boyfriend’s girlfriends for the first time’ or something like that Diana could’ve read before coming here.

The moment the girls saw her, two of them immediately flinched. One was the one with silver hair, the other the small redhead. No doubt it was because Diana’s face was locked in a scowl.

She stood up from her seat with eyes closed and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry to call you out here out of nowhere. Thank you very much for agreeing to see me so suddenly.” She tried her best to soften her own expression, but it was difficult. Her hands felt numb as well. All familiar yet always unwelcomed sensations.

“It’s no trouble. We were glad that you called us,” said the only brunette of the group. She met Diana’s eyes unflinchingly and spoke with a faint but distant welcoming tone. Diana suddenly felt at a job interview. It was odd to see a girl so young carry herself with such poise and confidence, but it was something to respect.

“We wanted to meet you as soon as we could as well. Thank you for making time for us,” said the blonde with shorter hair. Her vibe was similar to the brunette’s, only more… approachable? Those two almost painted an image of bad cop and good cop in Diana’s mind.

“It was a stroke of luck,” Diana said. “I happened to have this afternoon free and thought it couldn’t hurt to ask. I’d rather not put this off any longer than needed.”

“And we appreciate it,” said the silver haired girl. “But let’s sit down already! It’s awkward to talk standing!” she said with a little giggle. It seemed a bit forced, but it helped clear the air. Diana was immediately thankful.

As they sat down, Diana took note of all of them. She’d seen them before and began to recall Oliver’s stories, putting names to the faces. Still, introductions were important.

“I’m sure you know already, but my name’s Diana. Diana Black.”

The girls introduced themselves as well. The silver haired girl was Milana, the brunette was Grace and the blonde girl with shoulder-length hair was Alice. The other two who had yet to speak much were the petite redhead Noelle and the athletic blonde Sarah.

“I know it’s propper to introduce ourselves, but I bet you already know plenty about us, don’t you?” Grace said with a small smile. “We’ve unknowingly been customers of yours plenty of times by now.”

“Right,” Diana nodded, trying to mirror that smile. “And though we’ve only met face to face once before, I’m sure you know a decent amount about me, too.”

“Not enough,” Alice said with a chuckle. “Which is why we’re here.”

“Right…” Diana said again. She let out a sigh and decided to stop beating around the bush. “I’d just like to clear something up. It IS true that you all accept and… even encourage what’s going on between me and Oliver, correct?”

“Yes, it is.” Milana said. She shook her head with a smile. “It’s weird, right?”

“Unusual, more like, but… I understand where you’re coming from.”

Maria appeared from behind the folding screen, carrying a tray with all the girls’ orders and placing them on the table. She didn’t say a word and made her exit quickly but unhurriedly so as to not interrupt. Regardless of her efforts, though, a silence settled between them, growing more awkward by the second.

Diana expected it to happen. Even if they encouraged Oliver to go out with her, meeting her would still be weird. She was an outsider, after all, not a close friend or even a schoolmate or acquaintance. There was a near 10-year age gap, too. How would they even start talking about this? How should they approach it? Maybe Oliver should’ve been here with them to bridge that gap. That would’ve put him in an even more awkward position, though.

No, it was better that Oliver wasn’t here. However, that didn’t mean he couldn’t still help. After all, despite their distance and their differences, the one thing they for sure had in common was him.

What Diana was about to do was… bold, risky and possibly inappropriate, but it had to do with a thought that wouldn’t leave her mind since that Friday night and only became stronger during that Sunday. And normally, whenever you think ‘am I the only one?’ the answer is ‘no, you’re not’. So with that in mind…

“Then, if you really are okay with me also dating Oliver, I’d like to ask you for some advice.” That raised eyebrows, some more curious than others. Still, Diana continued. “How do I deal with him being so much better in bed than me?”

There was a loud, collective groan. The girls held their heads, hid their faces in their hands and even hit their foreheads on the table.

“You don’t!” Sarah said, her first direct words to her. “It’s impossible! It’s been bugging me since I started dating him, too!”

“He’s simply a monster,” Grace added. “He says he’s satisfied, but he never truly is. It works wonders for us, but still…”

“...It felt like I wasn’t doing enough,” Diana said. “Like he was giving me more than I could give him.”

“Exactly!” Sarah said. “We can’t match him, so we try in other ways.”

Diana smiled, mostly in relief. Her gamble paid off. These girls felt exactly like Diana did. The sense of unfairness that came with sleeping with Oliver, that sensation that they felt better than he did. Diana wasn’t alone in feeling like that.

The redhead, Noelle, began to giggle. “Don’t worry about it too much. When Oliver spoke about you, his eyes were sparkling. We could tell he really likes you.”

Diana felt her heart skip a beat and her cheeks heat up. She coughed once to clear her throat and mask the embarrassment. “He… He spoke a lot about you girls, too. It was easy to tell how important you are to him. I don’t want to get in the way of that, but…”

Milana grinned, rested her chin on her hand and stared at Diana. “But you completely fell for him already, didn’t you?”

“...Yes.”

Alice smiled and chuckled. “I might be getting ahead of myself, but I think we’ll be just fine.”

Diana was beginning to feel the same way.