Shane closed her eyes. Thatd be hot.

Alice nudged her on the shoulder with her foot. Back to reality please. She already knows anyway. The only thing thats going to weird her out is if you keep avoiding it(upon Shanes glare) like I know you have been. Besides, were you honestly planning to keep Alexander locked up in a box forever?

Shane furrowed her brow dramatically. Thats Alexander, Conqueror of Nations, to you

Alice smirked. Id forgotten how anal you are about your phallus. Heyyyy speaking of something else you havent told me…

A waggle of the eyebrows told Shane all she needed to know.

She stood, took the tiny, barely burning joint from Alices hand, took a long drag, snuffed it in the nearby ashtray and gave her a trademark wink.

Im not that high, babe.

———————————————-

LAs latest heat wave meant many things to Carmen. Getting the air conditioner repaired. Dropping in on her family to find her brothers walking around in their boxer shorts.

But at 3 am, the heat wave meant Shane, tossing and turning before she finally rolled over on to her back and kicked the covers down to her waist before closing her eyes again. Then it meant listening to the girls breath begin to slow until her body sunk comfortably back into the mattress and she was still…so still that there was only the gentle rising and falling of her chest to keep Carmen from worrying.

In the first few weeks of their relationship, Carmen had fallen in love with Shanes bravado and the fact that she wore it as if she herself knew it was all an act. It took Shane a few hours to realize Carmen knew as well, and it washed over her in something not unlike an *****. A release. Shane began to relax so much around Carmen that she found it hard to switch gears again, to be withholding or stoic. The night that she, after weeks of procrastinating, finally introduced Carmen to the gang, she so carefully crafted her demeanor that Carmen was first fearful and then fascinated. She watched as Shane watched the others all night, and tried for a few brief hours to see Shane as countless others had seen her, as she was described and advertised.