The World Is Mine For The Taking

I nearly choked on my own breath when she said it.

It was like she'd just tossed a grenade into the middle of the conversation... It was something so out-of-pocket that it didn't even feel real—and then had the nerve to just sit there, completely calm, like she hadn't just dropped the most absurd line imaginable.

What the hell was wrong with her?

"A-A threesome… what?" I stammered with my voice cracking in disbelief.

"What's wrong with it? I don't think it's really an issue." Her tone was maddeningly casual, like we were talking about the weather. "We've done it before, right? And it's not like you had any problem when you did it together with Rose."

My jaw tensed. "But you're—"

I looked at her protruding belly.

"It's really fine. I can still have sex in this kind of condition, you know?" she said, so matter-of-fact that it almost made me doubt my own common sense. "I mean, pregnancy sex isn't really that uncommon."

It was hard—really hard—to believe. But there was something in the way she said it… like she meant it. Like she genuinely believed it herself.

Even so, a part of me screamed that this was insane. Trying to reason with her about it would just be like hitting my head against a wall.

"B-But—"

"It's just something we have to do to understand each other," Gabrielle said, her voice smooth, almost persuasive. "You have to press your bodies together to truly understand one another. It's not like anything bad will happen if we do it. Just like what we did back then… and what you and Rose did."

Her words dug into me. As ridiculous as it sounded, there was a strange, undeniable logic behind them.

Sometimes, to understand someone, you needed more than just words—you needed closeness. Real closeness. Skin to skin. And if your feelings were buried so deep that no amount of casual conversation could unearth them, maybe the only way to reach them was to dig. Hard. Until someone—maybe even that person themselves—helped you pull them out.

Still, I wasn't convinced. I doubted I could understand Gabrielle just by doing… that.

And then, without warning, she reached out. Her fingertips brushed against my skin before her palm settled lightly over my hand.

"There's nothing wrong with trying, right?" she asked quietly.

That's when I noticed it—her hand was trembling.

Even she wasn't as unshaken as she wanted me to think.

That tiny, involuntary quiver said more than her words ever could. She was embarrassed too. Nervous or maybe even scared.

And truth be told, I wasn't much better. I was unsettled, with my stomach twisting, but… was I really going to just brush her off? Pretend I didn't notice?

I pushed my chair back and stood.

"I… I'm going to go home now."

I turned and walked out of the cake shop. Gabrielle didn't stop me and she just stayed there in silence, like she had nothing else left to say.

Sliding into my car, I started the engine. The quiet hum filled the space as I pulled out with me driving back toward home.

The moment I stepped inside, I headed straight for my bedroom, collapsing onto the bed without bothering to change.

My chest felt heavy. My stomach churned, and an ugly knot twisted tighter and tighter until I honestly thought I might puke.

Not because of Gabrielle's insane suggestion—something even she had to know was unrealistic—but because of myself.

Because of this festering, choking self-loathing.

Rose and Gabrielle had both moved on from that day... the graduation day. But me? Well, I was still stuck there.

It was like I was still in that moment with me and Gabrielle grabbing at each other's hair, nails scratching, with the both of us snarling like wild beasts that couldn't be tamed. Back then, there was no dignity. We had no restraint. And the worst part? I felt like that version of me never went away. Like I hadn't grown up at all.

"Honestly… I'm pathetic."

I knew that the only real way forward was to understand each other. But no matter how much I told myself that, I couldn't take a step. Something was holding me back, chaining me to the past.

I sighed, the sound escaping me heavier than I intended.

I should be doing something. Anything at all. But no matter how many times I tried to move forward, my feet wouldn't budge. They wouldn't move not even a bit.

I glanced at my phone lying beside me.

Maybe I was just… stubborn. I was too stubborn for my own good.

"This won't do, huh?" I muttered to myself.

I picked up the phone and dialed a number.

The call immediately rang.

The person that I had contacted didn't pick up right away.

It was almost like something was stopping her from answering.

Which… I could understand. It wasn't exactly a surprise. After all, the two of us had done something last night and it was something that was very, very, very embarrassing.

Then again, maybe she was just still asleep. We'd both been drunk, after all.

But finally, the line clicked.

"H-Hello."

"Rose. Can I meet up with you?"

"H-Huh? Why?"

She sounded a little off. She was a little annoyed, maybe.

"D-Do you want to talk about what happened last night? Huhahahaha! Well, I guess now that you're sober, you couldn't help but remember something really embarrassing, huh? But you don't have to worry. I'm over it. I think what happened can just be brushed off in due time. So you forget about it too, okay?"

She sounded like she was laughing it off, but there was something… strained about her tone. I could tell—even she was still a bit miffed about it.

"I want to talk to you about something," I said firmly. "And I don't mean what happened last night."

The weight in my voice must've hit her, because she went silent for a moment.

"Can you meet up with me? Anywhere is fine."