“Thank you,” Nicole voiced her gratitude.

“You are welcome,” I responded.

I was driving the car back to my apartment, so my passenger could retrieve her own vehicle.

“Michael, can you answer a few of my questions?” I was expecting this.

“You know, I am feeling like it’s the only thing I've done recently.” I sighed. “But, sure, ask away.”

“Why?” Of course, she brought this nice and simple question, that wasn’t ambiguous at all.

“Why what?” And I, once again, needed her to be a little bit more concrete.

“Why did you help me?” I expected this question of hers as well.

What should I tell her, though?

“I have two answers for this question, and both of them are one hundred percent true and real. One is nice and simple, and the other one is complex and hyper rational. Which one would you like to hear?” I responded.

“Can I hear both?” Huh, this was an option as well.

“Sure, why not. Which one should I start with?” I asked back.

“Let’s keep the nice one for the end,” Nicole voiced her decision.

“Works for me. Well, I helped you for a myriad of interconnected reasons. Starting with the one you heard me tell, Kouzuki Miya. I needed a way to warn people against offending Long Tian, preferably before something irreversible happened,” I said.

I glanced in the rearview mirror to evaluate Nicole’s reaction, but she was absentmindedly looking into the passenger side window.

“The second layer to this is even more rational. You are a great asset to have in my debt, Nicole, especially now. With the Long clan as your backers, your career growth is bound to happen at an even more rapid pace.” I continued my explanation. “The third layer is simple, though. I needed to show my grandmother that I trust her enough to ask for her help when the time comes.”

“Oh.” Followed a noncommittal response. “And what about the nice one?”

“Eh, this one is extremely straightforward.” I shrugged. “I helped you because you asked for my help. And since it’s you, this was the only reason I needed to act.”

Nicole chuckled in response to my words.

“Yeah, this one was certainly much nicer to hear,” she agreed. “Hey, Michael, mind if I crash at your place tonight?”

“Sorry, my bed is rather overcrowded tonight,” I declined. “If you just want my company, though, I don’t mind crashing at yours. Sleep only, of course.”

She turned her head to look at me, and I noticed a small smile playing on her lips.

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“Are you certain about that?” Her tone turned to one of seduction, and I felt her putting a hand onto my leg.

“Nicole.” I took her hand from my leg. “Unless you change your stance on sharing me, I would rather not complicate my relationships even more than they already are.”

Her smile waned a bit.

“No, my answer is still the same,” she said.

I steered the car into the familiar parking spot nearby my apartment.

“See you in two weeks.” I nodded. “Though, you have my number, so call me if you need something. I won’t refuse my friend.”

My answer caught her off guard. A moment of thinking about my words later, she frowned.

“Did you just friend zone me?” Her dumbfounded expression was absolutely hilarious.

“I guess.” I replied, struggling not to laugh.

“Fucking hell, Michael. You can’t just do that to me!” Protested Nicole.

“Sure can. Already did.” I failed my struggle.

Nicole’s phone started ringing. The higher ups came to a decision. She looked at the screen, hesitating if she should answer the call.

“Just you wait. I will certainly pay back for this… humiliation.” Seems like her usual flair started coming back. Another improvement.

A moment later, she gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and left the car.

“As long as you remember my warning, Nicole.” I left the car as well, and waved my hand as farewell.

She waved back, already busy talking on the phone. I took another moment to watch her getting into her own car, and drove away.

***

I silently opened the door, took off my outerwear and shoes, and stealthily creeped into the bedroom. Both girls occupied two different sides of the bed, sleeping peacefully. Huh, this was a nice picture to see, much more so than I would have thought.

Using the vast experience of coming home at the crack of dawn, I rolled Olivia a bit to the side, so I would have a bit of the bed to sleep in.

This was one long night.

***

A second awakening… Yeah, fuck. The sound of Olivia’s alarm tried to cut my sleep short, but between the koala girl’s warmth and severe lack of sleep, I really didn’t want to wake up yet.

“Oh, honey.” I heard my girlfriend’s voice.

“Ugh. Sorry, I came back around seven, mind if I sleep in today?” I found it in myself to ask.

“Sure thing,” she easily agreed.

“Thanks,” I voiced my gratitude, and someone cut off the light again.

***

About an hour and a half later, my bladder demanded for me to wake up. I still felt a bit drowsy, but not as completely useless as I was around the time of Olivia’s alarm.

Hm, it was bound to happen at some point, with a lot of my work being nocturnal, but I hoped that my streak would hold up at least for the duration of our honeymoon phase. Eh, well, fate had a different opinion on this matter.

To my surprise and disappointment, Claire had already left her spot on top of me, so I dragged myself to the bathroom, noticing that the kitchen door was closed. Most likely, Counter Girl woke up earlier, duh, and left for the kitchen so as not to disturb me by chance and give me some extra rest time. How nice of her!

After taking a cold shower to shake off the rest of the drowsiness, I decided to join Claire. The girl in question was currently busy, reading one of Olivia's textbooks and writing something down in the notebook. Did Counter Girl decide to take on a full-time tutoring position? Should I offer to pay her for doing that?

This would make her schedule a lot less complicated, while keeping my chances to see her at the same level. My thoughts returned to the Akira’s goon in the convenience store yesterday. Can’t say I was entirely comfortable with her working night shifts.

The problem would be with the uncertainty of my love life… It wasn’t my place to offer anything long-term to anyone, at least not based on my current interest.