Price Check On Monogamy

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, HE ASKED YOU OUT?"

Well. So much for diseases.

I sighed into the phone and adjusted it against my ear, repositioning myself. I was laying upside down on my bed-- my chosen position to lay when in times of deep stress.

Maybe the blood rushing to my damn head will make me think straight.

"Tawny, I don't know anymore. It started at that God damned party, and..."

"I still can't believe that Tyler just... left you," Lexy mused. "I mean, Jesus, this is ridiculous. You could have been hurt. Where the hell was he?"

"Apparently, running out of the house," I said drily. I didn't really want to talk, or think, about Tyler. More accurately, I didn't really want to have anymore to do with Tyler. "But, ANYWAY. What am I supposed to do about this?"

"Tiger..." Oh God. Tawny's voice had that... hitch in it. "Maybe you should give him a chance. I mean, sure, he can be a dick, but you need to look at it this way: all the guys who were openly nice turned out to be... less than that. Tyler left you when you needed help, and Milo... Tiger, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"No... no, you're right," I sighed and shook my head. Milo had meant it when he said he didn't want anything to do with me. Tawny was right-- when I had needed them the most, the two nice guys in my life had run away. Granted, it was my fault that Milo hadn't been able to deal with me, but... in all honesty, I'd been a total bitch to Tandem. Not just since this thing start; since I'd met him.

And he'd been the one who stayed.

"I agree," Lexy said quietly. "I mean... you remember me and Jason, right? I hated him. And, in the end, he was only fucking up so much because he was nervous around me. That's probably not exactly what's going on with Tandem, but still. It's worth a try. What do you have to lose?"

"We'll always be here for you, Tiger," Tawny added. "Any decision you make, we stand by. But, really... just think about it, okay?"

I bit my lip. Hard. "Thanks, guys. I think I have another phone call to make."

- - -

"Hey, Tiger," Tandem smiled widely as I opened the door, unnerving me even more. He was more in his element now; not as openly caring as he had been last night, maybe, but it was still there.

I did my best to smile back and sat down at the kitchen table. "Umm, Tandem--"

"Tiger, I'm really sorry," he cut me off by blurting out. I shut my mouth instantly and gaped at him.

"What?"

"I'm sorry that I sprung that on you," Tandem said, more slowly this time. "It really wasn't fair to you. But, in my defense, you did tell me to say it. So I guess you're pissed at me now, huh?"

I blinked once, twice. Had no idea what to say to that. "What makes you think I'm pissed?"

Tandem shrugged. "I don't know. Last night, you sounded... strung out, I guess. So I guess you wanted me to come here to call off the bet, huh?"

I opened my mouth to deny it, but shut it again and bit my lip.

So. That decided it.

"Tandem, I'd love to go out with you."

- - -

Tandem stared at her. It was all he could really do.

Did she just say she'd actually go out with me?

He opened his mouth to talk, but had to shut it again to think. For once, he was with a girl who he not only could fuck up with, he was with a girl who he always fucked up with. Licking his lips, he tried again, saying slowly, "Are... are you being serious?"

Tiger burst out laughing. Oh, great, he thought crossly. What the hell does laughing mean? Is it good or bad? Does it mean that she's NOT being serious? The hell?

Tiger got herself under control after a second of two, waving her hands in front of her. "I'm sorry," she said apologetically, still smiling broadly. "I didn't mean to laugh at you. It's just... you of all people don't believe me? Of course I'm being serious."

Tandem sat still for a second, shocked. When he'd asked her, he'd expected her to laugh in his face-- but not because she was saying yes. Instead, she'd just said goodnight and ran up to her room. Her door slammed shut before the house door had. When he'd gotten the call from her-- he hadn't even remembered giving her his number-- he thought that he'd seriously messed the bet up. That she wanted to call it off and have nothing to do with him.

Instead, this had happened.

"Tiger..." Tandem smiled broadly and stood, grabbing her and hugging her tight. "Thank you."

Tiger started laughing again, but still felt a little stiff in his arms. It edged at his happiness a bit, but he knew that she had a reason to feel uncomfortable. Hell, it drove him crazy that she was so damned paranoid.

But he liked that about her.

Tandem opened his mouth once again-- they had to go somewhere, anywhere. He wanted to take her out, wanted to prove to her that it was okay to trust him.

He clamped his mouth shut as the reality of what he'd just gotten himself-- gotten them both-- into crashed down on him.

"Tiger..." he backed up a step, letting her go. The curious look in her eyes killed him.

You're being pathetic. Cut it out.

"Tiger," he tried again, sitting back down. "Look... if we're going to date, I think we're going to need a new set of rules. For the bet."

Tiger nodded slowly. He could tell that she wasn't exactly thrilled; he hadn't really expected her to be, anyway. But he needed to make... a few things clear. "Shoot."

"First... you can't tell Caleb or Jeremy about the fact that we're actually dating. It... it would just mess with them too much, you know? I already know you're going to tell your friends, but that's different, I guess. They just can't tell anyone."

Tiger nodded again, more slowly still. He knew that she was trying to figure out why Tandem and Jeremy couldn't know; he didn't want her to think that he was ashamed of it.

He just couldn't tell her the truth.

"I promise, it's just a... political thing, almost," Tandem said hastily. "Think about it that way. Besides, nothing really changes, right? Everyone else thinks we're dating."

"Yeah... yeah, you're right," Tiger said slowly, regaining her composure. She smiled shakily. "Alright. I don't talk to either of them, anyway."

Tandem smiled and stood. Wrapping his arm around her, he picked her up and laughed at her sudden demands to be put back down. "C'mon, let's go to the beach."