“Dating Advice, Drama, and Dance” (79.17) (Zeta)

I was talking a big game when I told Oka that us making out would be good promotion for our on-site prom dating advice business, but I didn't think anyone would actually interrupt us, so I just enjoyed making out with my girlfriend, forgetting we were doing anything else.

The love trio, Michi, and Tay sat back down as Oka and I were kissing maybe just a bit too intensely with people around,

"Ah, now where did we leave off?" Rain said as though Oka and I weren't passionately kissing.

"Eep!" I zipped away, sitting upright with the posture of a plank of wood, my tail completely poofed up.

"Right, um, advice," Oka said, wiping our spit from her mouth. She cleared her throat.

The group assembled before us either pretended not to notice or didn't care.

"You, as in you the love trio, were trying to get more practice with, um, intimate affairs," I said. "And...Michi entered your orbit, I think that's as far as we got before we, uh, got distracted."

"Anything else you'd like to add there?" Oka said. "And Tay, you still alright with being part of this session or would you rather your own after?"

"I'm fine with it," Tay said. "We all just had a great time dancing, so!"

"Tay is quite humorous," Rain said.

"And claims she's a better kisser than Amara," KJ said. "But it'd be hard to be a worse kisser than Amara."

Amara glared at KJ. "At least I'm better at it than you."

"They're merely teasing each other," Rain chuckled. "KJ and Amara have quite the contentious dynamic at first glance, but they care deeply for each other." Rain reached over between KJ and Amara under the table, pulling their hands upward to reveal they'd been firmly clasped together the whole time since they sat down, maybe even longer (I obviously did not know how long as I was too busy kissing Oka to notice).

I really hoped they weren't going to ask Oka and I for tips on how to kiss. I wouldn't really know what advice to give there, as I just let my instincts take over whenever we kissed. I guess I could just say that, but that wouldn't be giving my clients their money's worth. Well, we weren't getting paid for this, but hypothetically if we were, I'd want to give them the most bang for their buck.

"And Michi, you've been spending time with the love trio, and are curious about what to do next," Oka said.

"Right, yeah," Michi said. "OK, this might get a bit heavy, but I also don't know if I even am...like super romantic? Me and Kai have a group chat with a few others on campus who are like...not romantic. Would I be betraying them if I actually dated someone? Would I be going against my own word? Was I just...not understanding myself the whole time?"

A lot of heavy questions indeed, Oka pondered and gave me a look that said I would probably be better at handling them than her.

"If you don't have an answer, I won't be mad, I'm just thinking out loud," Michi said.

"Hm," I thought about what I'd learned about attraction and orientation and such from counselors and pamphlets and books and other resources. "If you think that you're not one for romance..."

"Like, maybe aromantic? Asexual? Like somewhere on that spectrum?" Michi took their glasses off and rubbed their eyes. "Everything is confusing all of a sudden."

The love trio and Tay each gave Michi a supportive back pat.

"Maybe you'll find that a different label fits you better," I said. "It's not a betrayal to find out that. Or you can try dating and see how you feel. Or maybe dating is just something different for you, it doesn't have to be romantic. It's confusing, but as long as you go you the way your heart tells you, I think you end up alright."

Michi fidgeted with their braids.

"But like, I feel a connection to Amara, right?" Michi said. "And that's extending to Rain and KJ, too, or starting to. Is that romance? Or friendship? And if it's not, they all want experience making out with someone, what could I do there if I'm not one for any of that?"

"We're not looking for more just to practice kissing," Amara said. "We value you for your companionship, too. Does what you feel for me feel different than what you feel for say, Zeta or Oka?"

Michi looked at the two of us. "Yeah, it does. But I don't know if it's like, love or affection or anything. Just like...a feeling that I want to be by you a lot. In a unique way? Ugh, I'm probably making no sense."

"You're making plenty of sense," Oka said. "And figuring out confusing, possibly romantic, possibly not feelings is what ZetOka Dating Inc. is all about!"

"I'd say maybe just keep spending time with the love trio and see how it feels," I said. "Just make sure you set your boundaries and junk so like. You're not doing anything you don't wanna, you know?" It sounded better in my head, but it came out all me-style actually saying it out loud. Michi didn't seem to mind, though.

"I mean, are you all OK with that?" Michi asked.

"Very much so!" Rain said. "You've been such a refreshing presence at our tea parties."

"And you've helped out my compositions on my shots," KJ patted her camera.

"And you're...just really sweet and kind," Amara said. "We're all quite fond of you already. We don't want to make you do anything that isn't you, or what you don't want to do, so don't worry there either."

"Huh..." Michi leaned back. "Huh. Alright."

"They may need to think on it for a moment," Amara said.

"Then, Tay, do you want to go next?" I asked.

Tay adjusted her glasses.

"Well, I kind of just don't want to feel so lonely anymore, so mine feels a bit silly after that," Tay said.

"Awww," Oka said. "Nothing silly about wanting to not feel lonely."

"Do you think you'd want to stick with the love trio?" I asked. "Or would you all want to? I guess that'd be five, so love...uh..."

"Love quintet?" Oka suggested.

"We can work on the name later," Rain said. "But I think Tay's a rather fun character to be around. And if it's true her kissing is good..."

"Maybe the solution to all your questions is all together?" I said. "Michi can find out more about their feelings to attraction and romance and whatnot, Tay can have plenty of folks around that would help with the loneliness, and then also uh, Tay and the love trio..."

"Can practice swapping spit like you two were doing when we got here, yeah!" KJ said.

I blushed and tried to say, "I wouldn't phrase it like that," but failed to do more than stammer and say "uh" and "yeah" and some gibberish.

"I can't guarantee it'll work, and a relationship no matter how many people are in it is gonna be a lot of work," Oka said. "But if you all put that work in, I think you have a good shot."

There was a brief moment of silence, right as one song ended over the speakers too. Oka looked like she thought she said something really stupid.

"I, er," Oka said.

Rain started clapping as KJ and Amara cheered. "Wonderful stuff! We will take all this advice to heart. Thank you both so much!"

"I, heh, yeah, welcome," I said, almost finishing a somewhat coherent sentence.

"I feel pretty good after that," Michi said.

"Me too," Tay said. She rose to her feet. "I must dance some more!"

This time, Tay left with her binders of notebooks, with Michi and the love trio along with them. I thought that'd be such a pain to carry those around on the dance floor, but Tay seemed fine with it.

Oka and I sat processing all that.

"Hey, were we actually kind of awesome there?" Oka said.

"Very awesome," I said.

Just as we were patting ourselves on the back, Lillia arrived, sitting with a heavy sigh.

"Everything good?" Oka asked.

"Mostly, yes, just some annoyances trying to reach you two," Lillia said. "But it did lead to good timing."

I was about to ask what she meant there when I noticed Kalei and Marmalade approaching.

"Finally," Oka said.

"Finally as in they're finally here, or finally as in they're finally here for dating advice from us?" I asked.

"The former, but I won't hesitate to help if they ask for the latter," Oka said.