'Tis confusion!

Murr in the laundry room

Q and I wandered to the back, toward his bedroom. "If those two are doing what I think they're doing...I'll kill Murray, I swear." He pushed his bedroom door open. "Guys?" The room was silent. "There's nobody in here, Q" We stepped into the room and flipped the light switch anyway. Sure enough, nothing. "That's so weird," Q said..."I wonder where..." He snapped his fingers. "The laundry room." He turned and left the room. I followed. Q strode down the hallway, to the door next to the bathroom. He swung it open triumphantly. "Ah-hah!"

Sure enough, Murr and Emily were in there. They looked up like deer in headlights when Q and I entered the room. Emily's hair was messy, and her lip gloss was smudged..all over Murr's face. Murr was blushing a redder shade than I'd ever seen (and I thought Q was bad!) He got to his feet, and I could see that his button-down was buttoned crookedly. Q groaned "Murr, really? "

"I'm sorry," Murr squeaked. "I just..I couldn't help myself buddy...We've been drinking, and Emily is so nice, and so pretty..and she smells so good...I'm so sorry."

Q sighed. "Ah, well, at least it wasn't on my couch."

"Or in your bedroom, " I muttered. Q nodded. "Oh yeah. If you did...that in my bed, I think you'd lose all house privileges forever. Now put your clothes on correctly and come eat before Gatto clears out the box." Murr and Emily laughed. Q and I walked out to give them a little privacy and headed back to the living room. "Sorry, guys, to keep disappearing on you all tonight," Q said. "Have you been keeping yourselves occupied?" He glanced at Sal, who seemed to be wearing even more of Barbara's lipstick than before and cracked a smile. "Well, it looks like two of you are keeping yourselves amused." Sal and Barbara glanced at each other and grinned. Q looked over at Joe. He was on his phone, texting rapidly. "It's his wife." Sal said. "She's trying to get out of work early so she can stop by." "How's it looking, buddy?" Q asked Joe. Joe shrugged. "She's trying, but I'm gonna be honest, I've been drinking a bit, so either way, I may be here longer than planned..."

Q shrugged. "Like that's never happened before. You know I've got a spare bedroom and a pullout couch." I stared at him. "Hold up a second. You mean to tell me that heaven-sent couch is actually a pullout? God, does it vibrate, too? And shoot puppies out of the bottom?" Q frowned. "Don't be ridiculous...it shoots kittens out of it, you weirdo." He squeezed me around the waist and gave me a kiss on  top of my head, then turned his attention to the rest of the gang. "You guys are all welcome to crash over here if need be." Barbara frowned. "You have an extra room and a pullout, so it sounds like space enough for four. There's five of us here." "Murr can sleep in the laundry room." Q laughed. Problem solved."

"What's this about the laundry room?" Murr asked as he joined the rest of us,  Emily trailing behind him. "We're trying to figure out sleeping arrangements. " Joe told him.

"Why do I have to sleep in the laundry room?"

Sal shrugged. "You weren't out here to offer any other suggestions, so we just kind of went with it."

Murr rolled his eyes. "That's nice, guys. Why can't Emily and I have the spare room?"

"Because Barbara and I don't want to sleep in the laundry room." Sal told him.

"Well.." Murr glanced at the couch. "Does the pullout fit three?"

"Three children, maybe. I'm not sure about three grown adults." Q said. "But if that's how you guys want to sleep, by all means, go for it. Or, if you'd rather not sleep like sardines crammed together, I do have a ton of blankets in the hall closet. Make a nest on the floor for a night and deal with it. And let me just remind you all, this isn't even guaranteed. If Joe's wife comes by, she'll probably be willing to drive you all back. So please, don't go killing each other over one night's sleeping arrangements. Or I swear, I will lock all of you in the laundry room."

Everyone looked at each other, and we all burst out laughing, Q included. I grabbed Q's arm and pulled him over to the table. "More shots?" "Sure." He filled our glasses, and we downed them. I held mine up for a refill, then called, "Sal, Joe, everyone..come over here and do some shots!" They gathered around the table and Q went around filling shot glasses. We repeated this three more times, and Q left to use the bathroom. By this point, I was feeling extremely tipsy, moreso than the night before, even. I nibbled on a piece of celery, hoping to calm the violent feeling in my stomach. Joe looked at me. "You ok?" 

"Yeah, I'm good. I think I could do with some water is all."

"Hey, no problem, I got it." Joe went into the kitchen and returned with a bottle of water. "Here ya go."

I opened it and took a long drink. "Mmh. Thank you. Hey, where's Q?"

Joe gave me a funny look. "He went to the bathroom, remember?"

I giggled. "Oh. That's right. I...Sorry. I think I had a little too much to drink. I actually could do with a little fresh air though. I think I need to go outside for a few..." Joe grabbed my elbow. "I'll go with you." He walked me outside. We sat on the porch steps. "Thanks, Joe." "Don't mention it, Mara. We gotta make sure Q's girl is safe, don't  we?" I blushed. "Q really thinks of me as his girl? We've known each other for two days." Joe smiled. "Sweetie, I could show you the texts he's sent me that would erase any doubt. He's completely gaga. And speaking as someone who's known Q for most of his life, this doesn't happen often." I blushed even harder. "Wow. I...I don't even know what to say. I feel so...lucky. Never in a million years did I think I'd get to have an experience like this. You guys are all so awesome and funny in real life..you're literally just like what I've seen of you for years on Impractical Jokers. And Q is..." I sighed, and thought about how to say the next part, "Q is..wonderful. Perfect, even. I love how happy I feel when I'm with him..or thinking about him. He makes me feel safe, and it's like there's no anxiety or uncertainty when I'm with him. And I know you don't want to hear this, but he's sexy as hell." Joe laughed. "Again, Joe, I'm sorry. I can't seem to stop saying words..."I trailed off, then tried to get to my feet. "I think I need another shot." I turned around, to see Q standing in the doorway. He was holding two shot glasses, and the smile on his face told me he'd heard everything Joe and I had said. He looked at Joe. "Thanks for keeping an eye on her, buddy. I appreciate it."Joe nodded. "No problem, Q." He stood up as well. "Think it's time to head back inside, don't you?" I nodded. "Thanks again, Joe. " The three of us went inside, and Q immediately steered me towards the bedroom, not even bothering to be secretive.