I loved waking up next to a passed-out Lucy. All sprawled out with her arm flopped over her face, covering her eyes from the sun spilling in through the blinds. I didn't know where last night would go but I was pretty happy with how it turned out. I feel we got to another level in our relationship, another level of comfort and intimacy. Although, hearing how lackluster Lucy's sexual experiences have been made me want to go all out for our first time. She mentioned getting a hotel in Tucson and I told her I would take care of it. I want all the bells and whistles. 

My phone buzzing forces me to roll over and snatch it off Lucy's nightstand. She doesn't even stir which shouldn't surprise me since she said she had planned to sleep in today. We have a habit of staying up until the middle of the night and I think it finally caught up to her. I see Fischer sent me a couple of texts, reminding me he comes home tomorrow. I remember a double date with Lucy and Stella being mentioned so I ask if he still wants to plan for that. He then reminds me of our lake day Thursday but now I am going on down to Tucson. To meet Lucy's parents and hopefully finally have sex with her. Her wanting to take things slow is only making me want her more and I think I am craving her at this point. 

Of course Fischer asks if we've slept together and I roll my eyes before I write back. 

Not yet. Laying that groundwork. 

I don't wait to see what smart-ass response he's going to write back before opening Instagram. I completely forgot that I had posted that picture of Lucy yesterday and am stunned to see fifty-nine messages waiting for me in my inbox. The majority of them are different reactions to the photo, but several of them are asking if the girl in the photo is my girlfriend. I noticed Stella and Fischer replied with a clapping emoji and Ariana sent one with heart eyes. Kylie wanted me to confirm I was dating Lucy and Ashleigh let me know she was happy for us. I'm scrolling through my messages when I see one from BAndrewsNY and I completely forgot that Blake and I follow each other. I had hidden all of his shit from my view, so I spaced that he'd see anything I posted. I open the message and all it says is, I see Lucy had to get under you to get over me. My eyes glare at his message and I wish I could punch his face through the phone. There are a million responses I want to say, all of them expletive-filled but I land on, Whatever makes you sleep at night bro. I am so agitated that I drop my phone next to me and prepare to go on a run.

******* 

I'm just about to hit my fourth mile when my watch starts buzzing. I see it's Fischer calling and I forgot to write him back after Blake irritated me. 

"What's up man," I ask while breathing heavily. 

"Dude, ASU tanked last night."

"I know, I expected nothing less. They sucked when we were there. Out round one." I say between pants. 

"Did I interrupt your sex sesh?" Fischer asks and I eye-roll him. 

"Yeah, I'd really answer if I was having sex with Lucy."

"You answered when you were hooking with that chick in Vegas."

"Because I thought you were dead and you finally fucking called me back," I tell him without breaking my stride. 

"Okay, so my guess is you're running?" 

"Makes more sense than me having sex right?"

"Ah, you're running because you haven't had sex yet. Releasing all that energy somehow."

"I think I am now doing six miles. Before Lucy left, I was doing three."

"Dude, how have you not hooked up with Lucy yet? This is the longest foreplay ever," he says and I let out a laugh. 

"We're getting there." I hesitate telling him about last night. We usually swap stories, so I think about telling him about Lucy's blowjob blunder, but if she ever found out I told him, she'd probably flee the country. Start a new life where no one knew her. 

"Well, I am hoping Stella doesn't move as slow as Lucy does."

"Ah speaking of Stella, Lucy mentioned a double date thing with us. What are your thoughts there?" 

"I talked to Stella, we are going to the Castaway tomorrow at seven."

"Oh? You've been talking to Stella huh?" 

"It's going down dude. We talked the entire time I was in Boston."

"Dude, don't fuck anything up there, please. I don't want Lucy and me in the middle of anything."

"I'll do my best."

"Not reassuring man," I say as I slow down. 

"Stella is like, elite. She's hot and smart and witty as hell. She keeps me on my toes, I'm obsessed."

"Obsessed?"

"I cannot wait to see her. It's going down tomorrow."

 "I think Lucy works tomorrow night. Did Stella talk to her?" 

"That's a question for Lucy and not me," he says as I start walking and I drop my hands onto my hips. It's already hot as fuck out. Today would have been a great lake day, but I had no desire to get my ass up early and get on the water. 

"Alright well, I'll figure it out. I'll be in Tuscon on Thursday and we're staying there until Friday."

"Ugh, you've had a girlfriend for ten minutes and you're already blowing off our lake day," he jokingly moans and I spin around to start jogging home. 

"To go meet Lucy's scary-ass parents. Trust me, I'd rather be on the water." The thought of meeting Lucy's uptight, born and raised on the upper east side mother is terrifying. Lucy only tells me how much pressure she's endured from her and her conceited sister, so I have no idea what I am in for. My parents are relaxed, supportive, and encouraging and my brother and sister do nothing but bust my balls in the best way. It will be an interesting dynamic. 

"Tell her you already made plans with me and you can't bail." He says in jest and I start picking up speed. 

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that would be a move for the shittest boyfriend in the world. I'm trying to prove to her that I am not a shit bag." 

"Good luck," he mutters and I scoff at him. 

"Oh yeah, speaking of shit bags, Blake messaged me. Some fucking obnoxious comment. I didn't know if I should tell Lucy or let it lie."

"I think Lucy is the kinda girl that likes to know everything. Good and bad. My guess is you should tell her, even if it was stupid."

"I fucking hate that guy so much. I hope he never finds himself in Phoenix."

"Well, that shit stain was loved by Lucy's mom. You're going to have to channel some of that douche bag energy."

"Oh I definitely have douchebag energy," I say and Fischer laughs. "And speaking of douchebag energy, how was Boston?"

"Draining. I was with family for five days. Maeve brought a girlfriend with her, so that was the hubbub this year," he says and it's been a well-known fact around these parts that Maeve dates girls for years. Her family is hardly conservative, so Fischer was wondering what all the secrecy was for. 

"How did it go?"

"I think my mom likes Rachel more than Maeve," Fisher answers with a light laugh. "She's much friendlier than my sister. But my aunt was a bitch about it. She told my mom she should have never let Maeve move to L.A and my mother responded with, why? She was a lesbian in Phoenix too." I let out a laugh as I shake my head. Marianna Fischer moved from the Philippines to Boston right after Fischer was born and has quite the unique accent now. Her Boston abrasiveness came with her to Phoenix, so I can just hear how she said that.

"Yeah, Maeve is going to be Maeve anywhere. Is she coming back to Phoenix with you?" 

"No, she and Rachel were going straight home. Which I am fine with. I had plenty of family time." I start to pick up speed again and it's getting harder to talk the faster I go. Fischer tells me to coordinate tomorrow with Lucy, and I am surprised he's this eager to go out with Stella. I knew he thought she was hot, but I am a little concerned with him saying he's obsessed. But that might be exactly how Stella wants him. 

When I push my front door open I hear Lucy talking loudly and excitedly about cutting the tips off piping bags for different techniques. I move through the living room and find Lucy holding up a plastic bag in front of Stella's camera on a tripod in the kitchen. She has all the blinds on the sides of her pulled open and she'd basking in the warm sunshine, which is perfect lighting for the camera. 

"Try to use the sharpest scissors you have to cut the tip to really get those precise cuts." Her eyes find me lingering out of the frame and then she says, "Oh hey, I am just wrapping up the wide shot." 

"Take your time," I tell her. "I just need to grab water" I shimmy behind her and see she has an assortment of plastic pastry bags laying on the counter with the tips cut at different angles. She also has a few bags that are already filled with different shades of pink frosting ready to be used for whatever project she is working on. 

"Your piping technique is not just about the angle of the tip, but about the pressure you apply." She says back towards the camera. "You want a good grip on both ends of the bag, but don't squeeze too hard. Light pressure and a gentle, consistent squeeze are all you need to get the right flow going. I realize how sexual that sounded, sorry, I'll do my best to not treat my piping bag like a penis. But hey, ladies, if that's what helps you get the right grip and pressure, pretend your bag is a penis. Too hard of a grip will just blow your frosting right out the back. Oh God, I am so glad this is pink buttercream frosting and not royal white frosting right now, or I could really be making this awkward." I let out a loud laugh and she looks over at me and grins. 

"I probably should cut all that out," she says holding the bag out in front of her.

"Don't you dare." 

"You think my audience is going to like seeing me treat my piping bag like it's a massive pink penis?" 

"I mean you have to grip mine with both hands like that, so it's an apt comparison." She giggles and throws her head back.

"You know I was going to ask you to be a guest for this next part, but not if it's just gonna be a segment on innuendos." She gently drops the bag on the counter and I pull her away from the island and over to me. She has this sexy glow about her that she gets when she does her baking videos and it's because her confidence finally comes out to play. 

"I can do some baking shit if you want me to. I am clearly good with my hands." 

"It would be me teaching you how to do a piping technique, to show that amateur bakers can pick this stuff up too." 

"Oh, I am no amateur when it comes to piping," I joke as I push my hips into her. She laughs as she pulls away from me and then says, "Okay, maybe you cannot be my guest." 

"No, I'm joking. I can do it. I'll do it," I reply quickly. "I just gotta shower first. I can't look like I got all sweaty while watching you handle that piping bag." I kiss her and she presses herself against me. She tastes like buttercream so she must have been sampling her cookies. My hands find her waist and I quickly slide my fingers under her shirt. I am just about to slip them under her bra when she shoots away from me like I just stung her with my hands. 

"Oh my god, the camera is still on!" She says, horrified at the realization. 

"Make sure I get a copy of that before you cut around it."