Prototype Ch. 10

The play turned out to be... interesting? Don't get me wrong, my lack of glowing enthusiasm was not just because I knew what to expect going in. I had taken the time to chop up the entire script, all three acts, into training puzzles- remember? Not that Maggie had used them all. In my defense, I did tell you I wasn't much of a connoisseur of modern theater. I mean, exploring the relationship between four neighborhood women in a small town fighting over the same man- the proverbial 'one that got away'? I was lucky to keep my eyes open the entire time.

Especially since, given recent events, the obvious solution would have just been for them all to share him. They all had fairly divergent views of who he had been, so as long as each of them had seen the side of him they cherished/coveted things would have been fine. Of course, I might have been more than a bit biased.

After the show, I found Maggie her still in her wardrobe and makeup waiting in the hall along with the rest of the performers. She had been talking to the other patrons as they had filed by, each softly granting their own sage anecdotes and expert advice. I smiled as I overheard one directly contradict comments from another who was likely still within ear shot. To her credit, she accepted both with an open and inviting smile and a perfectly sincere "Thank you so much!" She was an actress, after all. If you can't fake sincerity you can't make it in show business- or so they say.

Her eyes lit up when she saw me, her arms wrapping me in a tight hug that lasted considerably longer than appropriate for someone who may have been permanently downgraded to 'just a friend'. It could have been all the excitement and energy from the play, of course.

"So, what did you think?" She asked, finally releasing me.

"You were great!" I said honestly. Watching her had been the only thing that kept me from snoring. "Perhaps I should have gotten more sleep last night," I thought, as memories of what I had done with Anna after she had finished her full round of training began filtering to the surface.

"I meant of the show, not just me," She said with a chiding smile that still warmed my heart. She may have let me out of the bear hug, but I was pleased to note that one hand was still anchored to my chest. Almost like she was afraid to let me go- as if I could vanish into a puff of smoke or something else equally irrational.

"I thought it did an excellent job of highlighting the challenges of navigating modern relationships in a world that is trying to move past the rigorous limitations previous generations have forced upon us," I said, quoting an online review of the play.

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, but the smile never left her face. "That sounds like a surprisingly adept interpretation, Benjamin. Where did you get it from?"

I tried to look hurt. "Maggie, I would never-"

She punched me, gently- and without disturbing the hand that still prevented me from apparating to... some other fictional location. "I could google it, you know. I bet one shiny silver dollar that I'd-"

I raised my arms in surrender. "Alright, alright. You got me," I admitted, and then lied with the next breath. "It was interesting though." When it was clear her interrogation was over I brought my hands down, resting one gently on top of her own. I spoke my next words as softly as I could manage while still being confident she could hear me over the din of conversation- no sense in scaring the rabbit away so early in the evening. "I'm not going anywhere, Maggie," I said, gently squeezing her hand. "Not if you don't want me to."

Her eyes flitted around the room almost randomly before finally finding my own a few moments later. "I... I know. Its just-" She abandoned the rest of her comment as something just over my shoulder captured her attention. "Come over here you!" She said, pulling her hand free of mine to wave whoever it was over to join us. The empty space beneath my hand seemed to still glow with her warmth.

"I don't want to interrupt anything," Rachel said. Feelings of déjà vu washed over me- my temper flaring just enough to keep my footing without giving away any of my sudden weakness.

I turned to watch Maggie wrapping her arms over Rachel's shoulders in an affectionate hug. I couldn't help but compare the length of which to my own recently received embrace. The similarity did very little to improve my quickly souring mood.

To her credit, Rachel's did nothing to avoid my gaze- the look on her face saying something to the effect of 'sorry' or 'this wasn't my idea'. I couldn't be sure. Whatever it was she meant to say, it was washed away and replaced with a look of praise and congratulations as Maggie released her and held her at arm's length.

"I'm glad you came," Maggie said almost as warmly as she had greeted me.

"How could I say no," Rachel said with a smile, pointedly avoiding my eyes as she continued. "You were great up there. He was a fool for leaving you."

Maggie dipped into the smallest of courtesies at the compliment. "Why thank you. I was the one with the most unrealized potential." Turning her head just a bit and raising her voice to project to her intended audience she continued. "As the youngest, I was the only one who could have tempted him back. Those other ladies were just hidebound hasbins."

Her comment earned her a few knowing and appropriately glaring looks from some of her fellow performers, seamlessly integrating the breaks into whatever conversation they were holding in their own little corner of the hall.

"Empty little home-wrecker," One shouted back, broadening Maggie's grin even more until her whole face seemed to be alive with mirth.

"That was Joyce," Maggie said to both Rachel and I, drawing us all closer together against the wall. Other patrons took the hint and began filtering past us to grant their wisdom to other, more available members of the play. "She was Dorothy, in the play."

"The one with two girls who were both 'worth twice as much as you at half your age'?," Rachel asked without really meaning it as a question.

"The very same," Maggie said- turning her attention to me and taking in my sour face immediately. "Now don't get all mad at Rachel here. She's been doing a lot of your heavy lifting as of late and I thought it only right to have her here since she's obviously so important to, uhm... to you."

If I hadn't already been so defensive I would have noticed the complete lack of venom in her statement. But I was, so instead I took it as a challenge. "I don't see why she-"

Maggie's finger on my lips silenced me quite effectively. "No- tonight is about me. So you listen here." She had adopted a face halfway towards hands-on-hip serious, though the effect was ruined by all the amusement she had failed to hide behind it. It was also so far outside what I was expecting that it was enough to reset whatever switch had been fueling my sour mood and keeping it stuck in the permanently annoyed position.

I reached up and gently removed her finger from my face, leaving both of our hands entwined together as I lowered them to a more comfortable level. I smiled faintly as she made no effort to undo that recent development, even as she finished her supposedly dangerous rant.

"I made her promise not to tell you about it. Especially after she told me what you would say if you knew. Which would have been?" She paused long enough for me answer.

"That I wasn't interested in another repeat of Saturday and to stay the hell away?" I thought. Thankfully what I actually said was considerably more tactful. "I would have asked her to stay home."

"Yes..." Maggie said, drawing it out to show how little she appreciated my creative editing. "I'm sure you would have used exactly those words." She reached out and grabbed Rachel's hand with her free one. "Look, Benjamin. I've been doing a lot of thinking." She looked back and forth between Rachel and I, forcing me to do the same. Rachel met my searching gaze with a hopeful look.

"I'm sorry for overreacting. I haven't exactly been honest with myself lately, and I can't imagine how that must have been affecting you as well." She turned to face Rachel again, but this time I kept my eyes on Maggie. The look on her face was hard to read. She was being sincere, but there was... something else there as well. "I can't blame you for being attracted to Rachel. I mean, look at her. She's gorgeous. And without any of my inhibitions or hang-ups when it comes to relationships... or sex. Not to mention those breasts, good lord woman."

"I uhm... I thought tonight was supposed to be about you," Rachel said, looking anywhere but at me or Maggie and obviously uncomfortable with the sudden change of focus. It was the first time in recent memory that she seemed to be honestly off her game.

"Aah... Look at that," Maggie said, flashing a grin up at me before turning back to Rachel. "She's even more cute when she's embarrassed."

"Maggie, I'm... confused," I said, trying to sort out what was happening. "Why is Rachel here? Why is... why are- Look. I need to come clean with you about something."

Maggie and Rachel both turned to face me, leaving me suddenly very uncomfortable as the center of attention- even though that was exactly what I had requested. I could feel Rachel's hand on the small of my back- just the gentlest of pressure to let me know she supported me, and what I was about to do. I appreciated the gesture, but I wasn't sure how Maggie would interpret it if she saw. Thankfully, Maggie's attention was focused squarely on me.

"I'm sorry for how I've treated you over the years. You've always been a true friend to me, and I know it's pretty easy for me to be an asshole. I tried to be there for you, for all the new boyfriends, and the pain of the breakups. I just-" I guess I sort of choked. It was all there, but getting it out was turning out to be harder than I expected. I had even rehearsed a speech like this once or twice before, years earlier when I had thought I had a chance. It was funny how easily the words came rushing back to the surface. The words- along with a lot more of the pain than I had anticipated. I guess that's what honesty does to you. Stabs you right in the heart.

"Benjamin, I-" Maggie tried to break in, but this time I didn't let her run the show.

"No, it's my turn to talk. It doesn't break the rules, though- because it's still all about you." I wasn't sure that had stung, or if I had just plucked a cord, or what. The reason was important, but I had no way of telling why that particular moment was the one a single tear chose to leap from its watery brethren in Maggie's now misty eyes to start a slow trail down her cheek.

It was enough that she was going to let me finish. I opened my mouth, ready to let the words continue to escape. Ready to unload all of that pain from years of unrequited love. Even ready to give her credit for giving my ass a hard enough kick to get me back on my feet. It had all been her.

But nothing came out. I closed my mouth. Opened it to try again. Mentally, I was kicking myself for wasting the moment- wasting what might have been my one chance to get it right before I took all of it away. "Say something, you idiot! Anything!"

Rachel did her best to rescue me. "Maggie, I think... what he's trying to say..."

"It's okay, Rachel," Maggie said softly with only the smallest of nods in her direction. "I know." Then she kissed me. Gentle. Sweet. The lightest pressure against my lips with the bittersweet taste of our shared tears mixed in as our tongues tiptoed around each other. Then it stopped and she was looking up at me again with those glistening eyes. "I love you too. I'm sorry it took almost losing you to be willing to admit it."

She looked back and forth between Rachel and I, fighting to keep any more rogue droplets from further streaking her makeup. After a moment she turned her face away, avoiding us both. "We can't finish this conversation here. I- I'm supposed to go to the cast party tonight. Everyone is going to be there... You see that man?" She gestured towards a gentleman in khaki dress pants and a suede overcoat. "He's a society and style reviewer for the paper. He stopped by before you came through. Said he thought I had a bright future on stage."

"Suede, really? They still make them in suede?" Evidently my mouth had decided to start working and the first thing it thought to say was a flippant comment about someone else's fashion sense. I could have slapped myself.

Thankfully Rachel had it covered, figuratively at least. She rolled her eyes so obviously that both Maggie and I noticed. It broke the moment, leaving us all giggling enough to shake off the tension. I felt suitably chastised, if you'll forgive the pun.

Maggie turned back to us, doing her best to take in both Rachel and I in a single glance. "I don't know if I can do this. I wish I did. But- I'm willing to give it a try." She turned, looking only at me. "I owe you at least that much I think." She looked at Rachel then, cutting off the argument forming on her lips before it even had a chance. "No, I will not hear of you just going quietly into the night so prince charming here can kiss his princess and live happily ever after. You two have been together for over a year."

"And you've been friends for ten times that long," Rachel protested. "I told you, I'm not-"

"Girlfriend material? Yes, I know," Maggie said, not letting her off the hook. "But that doesn't mean you're not important to him." She was looking at me again. "And that means you're both important to me, too."

Rachel didn't seem to know what to say to that. Neither did I.

Maggie sighed wistfully. "I wish there was a way I could just wave a magic wand and be okay with this- with all of this," Maggie said. "I just don't want to screw this up, Benjamin." She smiled wanly at me then- pain and fear mixed in with the hopeful bend of her lips. "You know how bad I am at relationships."

We both laughed at that, though not so loud as to draw any more attention than our scene already was. An old inside joke between the two of us, except now I was the butt of it as much as she was.

"Maggie," I said, grabbing on to a spark of hope. "What if- hypothetically. What if I did have a sort of magic wand?"

"That could what," She asked, trying to hold on to the humor of the moment. "Make me open and uninhibited like Rachel, here? So self-confident I could share you with someone like her and not let the jealousy and insecurity eat me alive inside?"

"Rules, remember. All about you," Rachel reminded her. "Not me. At least not for tonight."

"Right. Sorry," She said, giving Rachel a thin smile.

It broke my heart to see the joy that had been so alive in her face before I had arrived so obviously absent now. I didn't like what I was doing to her. What I was doing to her whole evening. She was right, tonight was supposed to be about her. Her accomplishments. Her success. I needed to remove myself, and Rachel, from the equation. At least for a bit. I already had more than what I had hoped for when I first arrived. But you know me- I just had to keep pushing.

"Something like that, yeah," I said. "What would you say then?"

"Hypothetically?" She asked, wiping her face with her hands before realizing her mistake- her stage makeup streaking chaotically across her cheeks. "Shit, I- dammit. I just ruined my makeup. I need to go clean up. Screw the after party. I'm coming home with you. We have to finish this."

"No," I said- a bit more forcefully than I intended. It was enough to shock both Rachel and Maggie into an almost stunned silence. "Sorry," I continued, softer this time. "I mean no, you should go to the party. This is what you've always wanted. To be on stage! This was your night. Go. Have fun. Schmooze with the other actors. You deserve it."

"But... what about-" Maggie looked almost stunned, her confused glance shifting from me to Rachel, then back again.

Rachel seemed just as confused as Maggie, but she took her cue from me. "He's right. You should totally go. We can wait, right?"

I nodded. "I've waited this long. What's a few more hours. Just don't keep us waiting all night, yeah? We all have to get at least some sleep tonight." A chaotic mix of emotions were at play on Maggie's face as I gave her one final push. "Go. You know where to find me."

"Us." Rachel said, reaching to take my hand. I did nothing to stop her.

Maggie smiled, the pleasure blossoming on her face making her beautiful once more- despite the unkempt smear of tear streaked makeup spread across it.

"What about that hypothetical," I asked her one last time- unwilling to give up on that still glowing ember.

Maggie looked back and forth between us one last time before reaching up and kissing me once more. "Bippity boppity fucking boo." She said finally, a devilish grin on her face before she turned and gave Rachel a kiss as well. Shorter, not quite as passionate- but full of all sorts of promise. "I uhm- huh." She almost giggled afterwards, licking her lips as if to examine the taste. "I have to go clean up."

"Go. Enjoy. I love you," I said, finally getting the words out as if I had just dropped a two hundred pound weight off my chest.

Maggie smiled, on the edge of disappearing. "I know. I've always known." And then she was gone.

I could hear Rachel coming up behind me, her heels clicking on the broken pavement that led up to my apartment's front door. I'd say we rode the entire way back in silence, but we'd arrived at the theater in different cars so we didn't have much choice. To be fair, it had given me time to think without the immediate distraction of an especially willing and better-be-fucking-contrite sex slave sitting next to me.

I opened the door and held it for her, trying to keep my face as expressionless as possible as I motioning for her to enter. "After you."

She nodded her thanks as she slinked past me- dropping her purse on the table before rounding on me just as I closed the door behind us. "So, am I in trouble for playing along with Maggie's plan tonight, or am I a good girl for convincing her to come around?" She asked, cocking her hip opposite her neck to create quite a pleasant view. Her half challenge, half amused expression added to the performance quite effectively. All she was missing was a hand perched on her hip and it would have been a twin for Maggie's trademark pose- albeit with considerably more sex appeal.

She had worn an otherwise unadorned black dress with lace for shoulders and a plunging neckline to show off her impressive but still tastefully sized rack. I hadn't failed to notice her cleavage previously, but now that we were home it seemed as if it was even more prominently displayed. The waist was accented with a simple patterned belt that seemed to almost disappear in and out of the dress here or there but otherwise did a good job of pulling her waistline in to show off her semi hour-glass figure for the night. A single split ran rather high up the side of the otherwise ankle length skirt, not coincidentally on the same side as the bent leg she was currently sporting, peaking most of its length out from behind the soft fabric. The slight sheen off of the exposed leg told me she was wearing sheer pantyhose as well. Of course, the elastic band of the thigh high's was a big clue too. Her simple black pumps completed the look this evening with a rather conservative heel that couldn't have been more than three inches.

It was a very nice outfit for a night at the theater. On almost anyone else it would have been perfectly reasonable. But as usual, anything that Rachel wore seemed to hug her in ways that automatically pushed the bar a few points further into hot and fuckable than should be reasonably possible.