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"Eggplant parm and pizza! Just order it." I laughed and shoved her away when she moved closer. "I'm trying to mack it over here with my girl."

Sali stared at me, then looked over to Maggie with her thumb jabbed in my direction. "Get a load of this one mackin' it."

Nora and Maggie shared equal bouts of laughter. Nora rolled from my lap, flopping on the floor in a dramatic sprawl that left her closer to her friend. Their red faces and belly laughs brought a grin to my face, and I booted Sali in the ass.

"Shut up and order."

"Fine!" Sali huffed and poked at the phone. "It's not working."

"Sal!" Maggie grabbed her roughly by the arm and dragged her down. "Gimme it."

"Mags! Fine. Two pizzas for this bullshit happening here today. Fuckin' eggplant." Sali continued to grumble.

Nora's eyes sparkled with delight. Her full-bodied amusement brought her laughter so deep her body bounced. Maggie caught her eye after finishing the order and grinned.

"Nightshades are amazing," said Maggie, her eyes on Nora. "Right?"

"Uh huh." Nora grinned, her gaze landing back on me. "Very amazing."

I winked at her, and that time it was me who bit their lip.

***

Sharing meals with Sali and Maggie became common place for us quickly. We never lacked for conversation, bouncing between lighthearted ventures in teasing or storytelling, to more serious topics. Sali's sister, Harper, joined in on many of these events along with Maggie's partner Moreno. Harper and Moreno snuck off often enough, however. Ben and Olivia frequented as always. With Ben sharing custody with Katie, coupled with his work schedule, they were in and out all the time.

That night, the four of us shared pizza and eggplant, while watching a terrible hetero Valentine's Day movie. Sali pretended to choke herself at least four times during the course of it until Maggie strapped her down in a restraining hug. She settled then, and forcibly watched with her.

I gazed down at Nora on the sofa where she lay on her back in front of me while I stretched out on my side. Her beautiful form, lithe and delicate in all the right places, softened me whenever I looked at her. With my head rested on my propped elbow, the glow of the television cast a sleek shadow along her slender jawline. Her hands lay at rest, one on her stomach and the other behind her head. I knew Nora to be generally relaxed, but after her kidnapping, she balled herself up so tightly at times. Today, however, she wasn't wrapping herself in four blankets or hiding under pillows. She was herself for the day, and I owed that to our new little community of friends.

Eventually, she noticed me looking at her and turned to meet my gaze with a smile. I returned it while tracing the outlines of her petite pink lips. She kissed my finger as always, and I placed a gentle kiss between her eyebrows.

"Hi," she whispered, her smile endless at that point.

"Hi, Kitten." I grinned when I felt her belly flutter against my palm. "You like when I call you that."

She nodded, biting her lip in my most favorite way. "I do. It's like a Pavlovian bell for my arousal."

"I have no idea what that means." I chuckled and her snicker accompanied it.

"Pavlov. Classical Conditioning. Training dogs to salivate to the sound of a bell. One stimulus triggers another and yadda yadda." She rolled her finger over in the air. "And psychology stuff."

I laughed harder then, admiring the surge of adorable that joined her sudden jump into the psychologist part of herself that I rarely saw save for at work.

"I think I get it," I said. "It was cute watching you explain it, though."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "All those times I explained things at work in front of our colleagues did you think I was cute?"

"Yup." I grinned. "Sure did."

"Good." She poked her finger against my cheek firmly. "You better have."

I dropped my face against her shoulder and tried to stifle my laughter from disturbing the other two. When I looked up again, both of them engaged in similar quiet conversation during the movie anyway.

Nora tugged at my hair, springing back curls on and off like she used to do. I propped my head on my hand, gazing down at her again. Her smile remained steadfast and I reveled in it.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked her, rubbing her stomach in gentle circles. Her shirt lifted, but I kept up the soothing connection that always relaxed her.

"About you. And about being your sub," she admitted. Her smile tilted to playful when she whispered, "I really want you to spank me again. And teach me things."