《Malia's Confessions》 Chapter 1 I had my head on Alice¡¯s lap, watching her as she watched the TV. I couldn¡¯t help it; I wanted to kiss her, to feel those soft pump lips on my skin. I sat up and shifted in my spot, trying to find the words to say how I felt about her. I scanned her face. Her perfect blue eyes, that always shone when she smiled, her adorable button nose, her perfectly groomed blonde eyebrows, her- Alice leaned in and kissed me, her lips pressing against mine and staying there a few moments before she moved back. She tasted sweet, like the sweetest strawberry lipgloss. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to do that.¡± She spoke, our lips now mere inches apart. My heart raced, beating out of my chest. I moved forward, swopping in for another kiss. Our breaths wove together as we moved closer until our lips touched, sparking a connection between us that I¡¯ve always wanted. As our tongues touched, Alice¡¯s hand gently ran up my bare skin, her fingertips like electricity. ¡°Mali.¡± She whispered my name under her breath. ¡°I love you too.¡± Her eyes stared intently into mine as her perfectly manicured nails unbuttoned my pants before unzipping the zipper. ¡°Make love to me, Mali.¡± She leaned in for another kiss as her finger gently touched my pubic hair. ¡°Mali!! Malli!!¡± I was shaken awake, taken out of my dream by Alice, who was bouncing on my bed, barely missing any of my body parts with her jumps. ¡°What? What?!¡± I covered my eyes with my arm, trying to keep the sun from the widow out of them. ¡°It¡¯s time to wake up, sleepyhead.¡± Alice finally plopped down on the bed next to me. ¡°I regret inviting you over for a sleepover now.¡± I groaned, turning over on my side to face her better. ¡°No, you don¡¯t. You love me.¡± She smiled widely. ¡°Yeah, yeah. Guess I do. But I still don¡¯t understand why we had to have a sleepover if we¡¯re going to be dormmates tomorrow.¡± ¡°Cause I wanted to have one last sleepover before we¡¯re off to college.¡± Alice shrugged, her blond hair falling off her shoulder. ¡°I have a surprise for you, Mali. You just need to get up and dressed.¡± ¡°And shower. And eat.¡± I rolled over onto my back. ¡°Mom!¡± I called out, hoping she was still home. ¡°She¡¯s already gone.¡± Alice shook her head. ¡°I went down while you were asleep to see if she¡¯d make us some breakfast.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t surprise me.¡± I sighed, knowing damn well I was too lazy to make my own meal today. ¡°Well, I need a shower.¡± I got out of bed and walked into the hallway and then into the bathroom. As I began to shower, I couldn¡¯t help as my mind went to my dream. I wish that it could¡¯ve been real, or at the very least I would¡¯ve been able to finish it, to see where it had gone.
I leaned back in the seat and took a bite out of my rice cake breakfast. ¡°So, where¡¯re we going?¡± ¡°Firstly we¡¯re going to get some coffee.¡± Alice tapped on the steering wheel happily. ¡°Sure, but after that, what¡¯s this surprise you were telling me about?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t be a surprise if I told you, now would it?¡± I sighed dramatically, before moving on. ¡°You excited to start school?¡± ¡°I¡¯m excited to move out of my parents'' house, at least.¡± She smiled faintly. ¡°Agreed. I¡¯m excited to have my own space, well, sort of, since I¡¯m still sharing it with you.¡± ¡°But you wouldn¡¯t want it any other way, now would you, Mali?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± I laughed. ¡°It¡¯s some much needed space between my mom and me.¡± I turned to face her as we pulled into the drive-through. Alice made sure I wanted my usual black coffee before ordering her usual overly complicated one. After getting both drinks, she handed me mine and set hers in the cup holder. I placed my drink next to hers, as it was still much too hot to drink. We left the drive-through and got back on the road before resuming our conversation. ¡°Are you nervous at all, Mali?¡± ¡°Yes and no.¡± I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m less nervous about classes as I am about making friends and the other people. High school was bad enough, so I really don¡¯t need anyone else hating me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just because we went to such a small school that you were picked on so much. College will be better, I promise. Maybe you can even get yourself a boyfriend.¡± Or girlfriend. I wanted to say but kept it to myself. I was terrified to tell her that I¡¯m pan, in case that¡¯d make my crush on her more obvious. ¡°Don¡¯t start with this again.¡± I sighed, finally saying something. ¡°My girl has got to lose her virginity sooner or later.¡± ¡°I¡¯m in no rush.¡± I shrugged. ¡°If it happens, it happens; if not, it doesn¡¯t.¡± My eyes widened as we took a turn into a neighborhood. Josh¡¯s neighborhood. ¡°We better not be going to Josh¡¯s house, Alice.¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± She guiltily smiled. ¡°But trust me, it¡¯ll be worth it.¡± We finally arrived at his house. It was a small place, only big enough for two people, but it was perfect for him. Alice had spent plenty of time here, but I had only been a handful of times. I didn¡¯t exactly think he was a good influence on Alice, though Alice isn¡¯t exactly free of being a bad influence of her own. We got out of the car and walked up to the door. Alice rang the doorbell, and after a few moments, a shirtless Josh pulled the door open. He smirked and leaned against the doorframe after seeing us. He looked like he had just woken up. ¡°We¡¯re here to pick up the things we bought from your friend.¡± Alice spoke quietly, no doubt being vague on purpose. ¡°Come on in.¡± He moved out to the doorway and let us shuffle inside, while he disappeared to the back of his house. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°What¡¯d you get from one of his sketchy friends, Alice?¡± I looked over at her, questioning her motives of our trip. ¡°You¡¯ll see soon enough.¡± She smiled widely, looking in the direction Josh had disappeared in rather than looking at me. Josh appeared once more and handed Alice something, but I couldn¡¯t see what. ¡°You two are looking nice today.¡± He looked us both up and down, lingering on me for a few extra seconds. I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, wrapping my arm over my body to cover my stomach. ¡°We should hang out tonight before you girls head off to college.¡± ¡°We have plans, but we should hangout sometime.¡± Alice agreed, all smiles. I wasn¡¯t sure why she was being so chummy with her ex, but then again they mostly broke up so she could party at college to the fullest extent. Eventually, we left the fuckpad and headed back into the car, where I told Alice to tell me what she had gotten us. Alice opened her hand, showing off two, no doubt, fake IDs. ¡°Now we can go out partying and drink.¡± Alice smiled wickedly. ¡°That sounds like a terrible idea, Alice, but I don¡¯t want you to go by yourself, so I guess I¡¯ll go to babysit you.¡± I sighed deeply. Alice let out a happy shriek, moving over in the driver¡¯s seat to kiss my cheek. ¡°Thank you, thank you, thank you!¡± She moved back to fully face the wheel and turned her Mini on. ¡°In that case, I think it means it¡¯s time to go shopping.¡±
I stepped out of the dressing room to show my dress off to Alice, who was trying one of her own. ¡°You look amazing, Alice.¡± Alice smiled and did a little twirl before looking back at me and pouting at my choice. ¡°Will you ever wear anything other than black?¡± ¡°I like black.¡± I looked down at the dress. I felt fine in it, but nothing special. I had told her I could wear one of the lace slips I had thrifted, but she insisted I needed something new to stand out. Not that I really wanted to stand out, though. ¡°I know. You¡¯re just my little goth.¡± She tilted her head to the side with a smile. ¡°Malia the goth.¡± I rolled my eyes, a small smile on my own face. ¡°Okay, you have to try on the dress I picked now. You promised you would.¡± ¡°I will.¡± I nodded, looking at it, before walking back into the dressing room and closing the door behind me. I stripped down, watching myself in the mirror. I was more on the chubby side, especially compared to Alice¡¯s supermodel body, but at least I have a nice hourglass figure. I like my curves; I like my body even if I do sometimes feel inferior to Alice. I inspected myself in the mirror, not really feeling like myself with bleached blonde hair, feeling more like a bad clone of Alice than myself. Tonight, before we head off to college, Alice is going to dye my hair for me. We¡¯re going bright orange this time. That¡¯ll make me feel more like myself again. I pulled the lowcut silver sequin clubbing dress on, admiring myself in the mirror. It¡¯s definitely out of my normal comfort zone, but I can¡¯t deny it looks good. Then again, Alice is always right when it comes to fashion. I walked out, showing the new dress off to Alice. She shrieked, no doubt excited to see me in something different. ¡°It¡¯s perfect!¡± She clapped her hands together, looking me up and down. ¡°Mali, I love it!¡± I searched for the price tag before finally finding it. ¡°Alice, I can¡¯t afford it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just buy it.¡± She shrugged, the large smile still on her face. I walked back into the dressing room, changing into my normal clothes. It wasn¡¯t unusual for Alice to buy me things, in fact she almost buys everything for me whenever we¡¯re out together. She gets an allowance from her rich parents so it¡¯s no issue for her and she¡¯s been doing it as long as we¡¯ve been friends, but I still feel bad about it sometimes. I¡¯m excited to get a job and pay for my own things, even though I know I¡¯ll be swamped with classes, homework, and work. Finally dressed, I walked out and met up with Alice. We purchased the dressed before heading back out into the mall. ¡°I wanna get some new lingerie while we¡¯re here. Anything you need?¡± ¡°I want to get the two outer helix piercings and my piercer is near here.¡± I suggested, hoping she¡¯d be okay with it. ¡°If we have time to do it, that is.¡± ¡°Sure! I love watching you get pierced!¡± She smiled, hooking her arm in mine.
I flipped down the mirror and inspected myself in it. My ear still hurt, but nothing too bad. If anything, I had bled more than I expected, making that the main issue with it. Between my new dye job and the piercings, I felt like I could rule the world. I turned from side to side, inspecting my piercings. I had three lobe piercings on each side and my tragus pierced on my right ear, as well as the two new ones on my left ear. I wanted a new facial piercing but was waiting to be out of the house for that one, as I knew my mom would hate it. I looked over as we arrived at the club, Alice pulling into a parking spot. We both got out of the car and adjusted our new dressed. We didn¡¯t have to wait long in line, getting let in ahead of some other people who didn¡¯t seem all too happy with that. I just hoped we wouldn¡¯t get hurt by them because of something out of our control. Alice first made her way to the bar, me following after her. She bought us both a drink. I wasn''t much for drinking, but I didn¡¯t want to be rude, so I planned on just nursing it through the night. After a bit of time, Alice ended up ditching me for some guy who had asked her to dance, leaving me with her drink. I didn¡¯t mind too much, I was pretty use to it to be honest. I love Alice, both as a friend and more, admittedly, but she has a bad habit of devoting her life to men, both good and bad ones. Basically anyone who¡¯ll give her the time of day, which makes me sad to see. I sighed and started over to one of the tables, both our drinks in hand. I was hoping to find a dark corner and just scroll through Instagram the rest of the night. Everything was fine until I clipped my elbow on someone walking in the opposite direction. I looked over at them with wide eyes and sincere apologies before realizing it was Johnny. ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± He flashed me a sideways smile. ¡°You apologize until you realize it¡¯s me?¡± ¡°Sorry.¡± I chewed on my lip. ¡°Did I--did spill your drink on you?¡± I looked at his half-full drink. ¡°Yeah.¡± I quickly started patting down his chest and stomach with the napkins I was holding. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. I¡¯ll buy you another one.¡± ¡°You doing this is enough repayment.¡± He smirked, causing me to stop. ¡°I--I¡¯ll go get you a drink.¡± I waited for him to tell me what he wanted before returning to the bar, struggling to carry the third drink. I returned to Johnny, who had found a table, allowing me to set the drinks down. ¡°Sit.¡± He motioned towards one of the stools. I waited a moment before sitting down reluctantly. I had only talked to Johnny by myself once, and all he did was compliment my breasts. ¡°Uh¡­here you go.¡± I pushed the drink in his direction, looking away over to the rest of the club. ¡°I¡¯m surprised to see you at a place like this. Always took you for a good girl, Malia.¡± Johnny leaned in as he spoke. I could feel his breath against my neck. ¡°I¡¯m just here to babysit Alice.¡± I responded shortly. ¡°Doesn¡¯t surprise me.¡± Johnny laughed. ¡°You know, I like this new hair on you better. You look like your own person more than you did this morning.¡± ¡°I¡­agree.¡± I looked over at him, not helping myself from staring into his deep brown eyes. I quickly looked away again as my phone vibrated. It was Alice telling me she was going home with the bloke who had asked her to dance. I sighed before informing Johnny. ¡°How¡¯re you getting home since you don¡¯t drive?¡± I looked back over him to see him raise a pierced eyebrow. ¡°Even if I did, Alice took the keys.¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°Guess I¡¯ll just Uber back home. If I can find one.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not safe.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Why don¡¯t you let me drive you home?.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± I trailed off, thinking about the percentage of me getting murdered by Johnny compared to a stranger. At least if Johnny did it, it was more likely he¡¯d be caught since I knew him. Or so I assumed. ¡°Fine. I don¡¯t really like the idea of Ubering alone anyways.¡± ¡°Come on.¡± Johnny placed his drink down and stood up. I followed him out of the club and to where his matte black modded EVO was parked. I couldn¡¯t help the noise that came out of me. ¡°What was that?¡± He glanced back at me with a smile. ¡°I, uh. I just like your car. I always have.¡± ¡°I like a girl who fucks with cars.¡± His smile turned to a smirk before he unlocked it and got it. I did the same, rolling my eyes as I got in. He started driving after I gave him the address, and he plugged it into his phone. I looked over at him, admiring the tattoos on his arms and the dagger on his face. Though it was a bit¡­generic, it looked good on him. He glanced over at me, catching me staring and smiled. ¡°Like what you see, Mali?¡± ¡°I was just looking at your tattoos.¡± I held my hands up. ¡°I like them. I got a few when I turned eighteen, but want more.¡± ¡°Sounds like you want in my pants with all these compliments, girly.¡± His smile turned to a wolfish smirk. ¡°I¡¯d never sleep with my best friend¡¯s ex.¡± I crossed my arms over my chest. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t have to know.¡± He chuckled. After some time we arrived at my house. He let me get out and made sure I made it up to the door before whistling and driving off with his loud exhaust, no doubt waking up my parents. I sighed before unlocking the door, finding my younger brother still awake, playing Call of Duty on the living room TV. Mom wouldn¡¯t let him take his consoles in his room after one of the kids became a shut-in after she let them do that. That person being me. ¡°Mom¡¯s still awake. You know she can¡¯t sleep when you¡¯re out.¡± He called out to me, taking his headset off one ear. I shrugged at him before walking upstairs and into my room. Only the bare bones were left, due to the rest being backed in the moving truck along with Alice¡¯s stuff. I plopped down on the bed, not able to think about anything but Alice going home with a stranger. Feeling like Mr. Brightside. I wished she wouldn¡¯t go home with strangers, jealousy aside, for her own safety, but I knew she wouldn¡¯t change her mind without something terrible happening.
Chapter 2 ¡°How¡¯s your ear feeling?¡± Alice glanced over at me as she drove. Despite her late night, she was up bright and early, waking me up before we had to leave in the moving truck. ¡°Fine.¡± I shrugged. ¡°A little sore, but nothing too bad. Didn¡¯t bleed nearly as much as the tragus.¡± ¡°I remember how bloody your pillow was that night.¡± She laughed. ¡°How¡¯d you get home? Sorry about that, by the way.¡± ¡°Josh, actually.¡± I rubbed my arm, nervous about her reaction. ¡°Oh, cool. That was nice of him.¡± She smiled, not seeming to mind. ¡°He didn¡¯t try anything, right?¡± ¡°No. Just teased me the whole time. I spilled my drink on him too.¡± She laughed wholeheartedly. ¡°He probably deserved it.¡± We alternated between chatting and listening to music for the rest of the trip. Nerves were finally getting to me. I wasn¡¯t looking forward to starting classes again. Thankfully the meds were tempering the storm of anxiety. Eventually, we arrived at the dorm after some issues with direction and Alice not listening to them. We spent the next few hours moving things in and setting our shared room up before a couple of girls came in to greet us. ¡°Hey girls, I¡¯m the RA or, the resident assistant.¡± The tallest of the girls spoke, waving at us. ¡°I¡¯m a third year, so if you need anything, please feel free to come to me with whatever it is. I want to make a safe and healthy environment. This is my roommate, who will also be here if you need someone to talk to. My name is Rachael, and this is Karina.¡± She motioned toward the shorter girl to her left. ¡°Nice to meet you guys.¡± Alice smiled at them cheerily. She was always good with strangers, anyone and everyone. ¡°Thanks.¡± I slightly waved at them, wrapping my arm around my waist. ¡°You two should meet the other girls. Most of them are freshmen like you two are, so you¡¯ll have things in common, I¡¯m sure. We¡¯ll have plenty of events for you girls to join in on. We¡¯ll be giving out schedules soon, but not everything will be on the paper, as we love to do small things together like movies or dinner.¡± ¡°Sounds like a lot of fun.¡± Alice seemed like she was genuinely excited, not that it surprised me at all. ¡°Alright, we¡¯re off to the next room. See you two later!¡± Rachael smiled widely before backing out of our room and leaving. ¡°Mali, I¡¯ve got to go turn the truck in before it gets too late. Wanna come or finish setting the room up?¡± ¡°I wanna finish setting the room up if that¡¯s cool with you.¡± I looked back at my side of the room. I wanted to put the rest of my clothes away. ¡°No problem.¡± She left with a smile. I turned some music on and put on my headphones before getting to work. It didn¡¯t take long for me to finish up, making me regret not going with Alice to take the truck back. Luckily, it didn¡¯t take long for her to show back up. She began putting her own things away while I laying on my new bed for the year. We both looked over as there was another knock at the door. Alice walked over to open it up, revealing a pretty gothic-looking girl. She was beautiful. Point blank, period. From her dark skin contrasting her light-colored eyes, making me believe she might be wearing contact, as they seemed a bit too bright to be real, to her punk combat boots that I would totally kill for. The most stunning part of her, though, was the purple locs that looked amazing. All in all, she was cute as fuck. ¡°Hey.¡± She slightly smiled, looking at Alice, before glancing over at me. ¡°I¡¯m, uh, one of your new roommates.¡± I sat up in the bed, up off the pillows, and crossed my legs. ¡°My roommate wanted to write a letter to everyone and wanted my help to pass them out.¡± She handed an envelope to Alice, before walking over and holding one out to me. ¡°Thanks.¡± I smiled up at her as I took it, admiring her strong features. ¡°No problem.¡± Her smile grew as mine did. ¡°She¡¯ll be around eventually to say hi.¡± She looked back over at Alice for a moment, before looking back over at me. ¡°What¡¯re you listening to? I¡¯m curious.¡± ¡°Badflower.¡± I shrugged, not expecting her to know them. ¡°Oh, I love them!¡± Her eyes lit up. ¡°They¡¯re one of the guys who opened for MCR, right?¡± ¡°Right.¡± I smiled, surprised to find someone else who actually knew them. ¡°I was just listening to My Chemical Romance back in my dorm.¡± I glanced at Alice behind her, who was giving me the thumbs up. I rolled my eyes, causing the girl to look behind her. She looked back at me with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m Chani, by the way. I¡¯m two doors down.¡± She thumbed in one of the directions. ¡°Malia. And that¡¯s Alice.¡± I motioned behind her. ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you too, Malia.¡± She flashed me a beautiful smile. ¡°I¡¯ve got to get going. To hand out the rest of these, but¡­I¡¯ll talk to you later.¡± She paused for a second. ¡°Both of you two, I mean.¡± Though she corrected herself, her eyes still were stuck on me. ¡°Bye, Chani.¡± I smiled back at her, watching as she left the room. Alice closed the door behind her, before looking at me with a large smile. ¡°Did my little Mali find herself a new friend?¡± ¡°I--I hope¡­¡± I rubbed my arm nervously, not wanting her to suspect anything. ¡°Good.¡± She clasped her hands together excitedly. ¡°I told you it¡¯d be better here.¡±
I woke up, yawning and placing my arm over my eyes to keep the sun out. It took me a few moments to realize where I was, before remembering I was in our shared dorm room. I rolled over to my side to see Alice, but she seemed to already be gone. My eyes widened. We had gone to bed at the same time, yet she was nowhere to be seen in our room. I turned to find my phone before checking the time. I must have slept through my alarm! I threw my sheets aside and jumped out of the bed. Pulling on a pair of pants, I searched for my backpack, eventually finding it. Thankfully Alice and I had gone around with some of the other girls to tour the campus the best we could with our limited time. That, along with my memory of orientation, I at least knew which building I was headed to. I speed-walked across the campus, too occupied to look around or take in any of the sights of the beautiful campus. Eventually, I arrived at the building, and after asking a few people, I finally found the room I was supposed to be in. I took a deep breath before opening the door, knowing everyone was going to turn to look at me. I wasn¡¯t wrong, as they all did exactly that, turning to stare. Including the professor at the front of the room. ¡°You¡¯re late.¡± The professor spoke, causing me to jump and look in his direction. ¡°I--I¡¯m so sorry.¡± I squeaked out. ¡°Take a seat.¡± He motioned at a seat in the front row. I walked towards it, feeling all the eyes on me as I did. I could feel my cheeks burning up. ¡°Miss¡­?¡± The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Silva.¡± I set my bag down, slipping into the chair. ¡°Miss Silva, I¡¯m sorry to make an example of you, but it¡¯s vital for adults like you to learn the importance of being able to keep a schedule.¡± With that, he turned back to the board and continued the introduction lecture. Throughout, I could feel eyes on the back of my head, burning into me. I spent the rest of the lecture with a dark blush on my cheeks. Eventually, the class let out. I packed up and got ready to leave but was stopped by the professor by his desk. ¡°I apologize once again for making a spectacle out of you, Miss Silva.¡± He walked around from behind his desk and leaned against it next to me. ¡°It¡¯s--it¡¯s okay.¡± I shifted my weight onto my other hip. ¡°You should be more careful on the first day of classes, after all you are an adult now.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I looked at him apologetically. ¡°I really am sorry, sir. I must¡¯ve slept through my alarms, or forgot to set them in the first place. Total rookie mistake.¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t let it become a habit; I can¡¯t help you if you don¡¯t help yourself.¡± He smiled at me. ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± I nodded with a small smile. ¡°Promise. I should get going. I don¡¯t want to be late for another class.¡± ¡°Take care of yourself, Miss Silva.¡± He tilted his head up slightly.
¡°In this class, we will have an introduction to psychology, hence the name.¡± The female professor Stromwell cracked a smile as she spoke. ¡°This course will assist you with a foundation of basic knowledge in order to pressure further studies in specific areas of psychology. We will be going through introductory topics such as psychological disorders, research methods, behavior, stress and health, and more, including states of consciousness and psychotherapy. Relevant cases and learning activities will be used to help the study become practical and help you better understand yourselves and the world around you.¡± I jotted down notes in my notebook as she spoke. Of all my classes, I looked forward to psychology the most. It¡¯s truly what interested me and the main reason I was willing to go to college. I wanted to become a psychologist by the end of my schooling. The rest of the introductory lecture went by without much struggle and a handful of questions from other students. I had one last class before I could go back to the dorm room. Before I knew it, my least interesting class of statistics was done, and I was on my way through the college grounds back to my dorm room. ¡°Hey.¡± I smiled at Alice, who was already there. ¡°Hey.¡± She flashed a smile in my direction. She was sitting at her cramped desk and was working on something on her laptop. I followed suit and took my things out, and started on my homework for the day. Mostly online post-board introductions. Alice and I chatted while we worked. It really didn¡¯t feel so different from high school, other than a location change. Alice and I used to head to each other¡¯s houses every day after school and do our homework, or lack thereof, together before hanging out for the rest of the night. We often had sleepovers at each other houses, even during school days. Our parents always joked we were practically sisters. We worked diligently, well, as close to it as we could be while in each other''s vicinity until there was a knock at the door. Alice got up to answer it, revealing Rachael. ¡°Hey.¡± She spoke chipperly. We both responded with a greeting. ¡°I was wondering if you two want to join us and some of the other girls for dinner.¡± ¡°I am getting pretty hungry.¡± I nodded, looking over at Alice to see if she was on the same page. She nodded, before looking back at Rachael. ¡°We¡¯re game.¡± ¡°Awesome. We¡¯ll meet downstairs in ten.¡± Alice closed the door behind us, leaving us to clean up our things and get ready.
¡°Where¡¯re you guys taking us?¡± One of the girls at the front of the group chipperly asked. ¡°Tacos El Metate.¡± Rachael answered from the front. ¡°Everyone loves tacos, right?¡± We walked through the school grounds until we made it to a sidewalk along the street and followed that down to the taco shop. The building was pretty small, so if felt crowded with all of us, as well as the other customers, inside. I ended up at a table with a few girls I didn¡¯t know, but Chani walked over and convinced the girl next to me to switch spots with her. ¡°You looked pretty sad being alone.¡± She smiled over at me, her dark painted lips contrasting her white teeth. ¡°I was fine, but I don¡¯t mind the company.¡± I shrugged with a small smile. ¡°I¡¯m a vegetarian. You think they¡¯ve got a taco for me?¡± ¡°We can always hope.¡± I paused for a moment, considering what I was about to say. ¡°Or¡­if they don¡¯t, you and I could always find someplace else that does.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even need to look at the menu then.¡± The smile on her face grew. ¡°They definitely don¡¯t have what I¡¯m looking for.¡± ¡°You two are ditching us?¡± One of the girls at the table asked. ¡°Seems like it.¡± Chani laughed before standing up and grabbing her studded purse. Chani and I left the taco shop and started searching for where we were going next. Eventually, she found nearby restaurant that had some vegetarian dishes. Luckily it was just a few doors down and on the other side of the road. After getting settled and ordering our food, we began chatting. ¡°So, you from around here?¡± I asked, after handing our menu back to the waiter. ¡°Yeah. My parents live in Engelwood.¡± ¡°I¡­don¡¯t know where that is.¡± I admitted. ¡°I¡¯m not from around here. Well, at least this part of the state.¡± ¡°Where you from?¡± She cocked her head to the side. ¡°Trinidad. It¡¯s far South, nearly New Mexico. It¡¯s a small town, mostly farming and ranching. ¡®Least that¡¯s what my folks did.¡± ¡°You have some goats and pigs and sheep?¡± ¡°And a couple of horses.¡± I laughed. ¡°I¡¯d love to see it. I love animals. I have a bunch at home. My little brother¡¯s taking care of them until I move out. Nothing like farm animals though.¡± ¡°I have a handful back home too.¡± I smiled at the thought of my pets I couldn¡¯t bring. Especially the bigger animals. ¡°You¡¯ll have to show me sometime.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like that.¡± Admittedly, I really would. Having more friends is something I have always wanted. Alice was my best friend, but it always made me sort of jealous when she¡¯d hang out with her other friends, going out of town sometimes, too, while I was left at home. ¡°You okay, Malia? Your whole face kinda dropped.¡± ¡°Just¡­thinking¡­¡± I shook my head. ¡°About?¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°Just thinking about the downsides of living in a small town.¡± ¡°Yeah? And what are those?¡± ¡°When people don¡¯t like you, there¡¯s not a whole lot you can do.¡± I watched as the waiter brought our food and drinks out. ¡°I don¡¯t know why someone wouldn¡¯t like you.¡± Chani placed her hand on top of mine gently. ¡°Guess it¡¯s just hard for me to make friends.¡± I shrugged weakly. ¡°Well, I¡¯d say you¡¯ve already made a new one at college. And she¡¯s pretty cute.¡± I smiled slightly, looking back up at her. ¡°I hope so.¡±
¡°Where¡¯d you run off to?¡± Alice asked as she brushed her hair, sitting on her bed. ¡°Chani and I went to find something vegetarian for us.¡± ¡°I knew you two goths would become friends.¡± She smiled triumphantly. ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± I waved her off. ¡°She¡¯s nice, though. I like her.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad for you, Mali. You need some friends.¡± ¡°Thanks, Alice.¡± I rolled my eyes, before moving under the sheets of my own bed. ¡°I¡¯m off to sleep. Turn the light off when you¡¯re done.¡± ¡°Sure thing.¡±
Chapter 3 I set my bag down on the floor, tucking it under the table. The professor was already here, writing something on the board. Considering I was early, I had a bit of time to myself before class started. After being late on my first day, I made sure to be early for my classes from there on out. I was making a point of not doing it again. The last few days had gone fine, nothing too difficult, but I was admittedly looking forward to the weekend and going downtown for the first time. Rachael had organized some rides so we could walk the mall and spend some time down there together as a group. I looked forward to hanging out with Chani some more and getting to know her better after our dinner alone. She seemed to be pretty cool. I looked up from my notes as the professor spoke, welcoming the class and telling us he was going to start the lesson for the day. I was still sitting in the front row of his class, close enough to see him well. He was very attractive, but I shook the thought from my head just knowing how dangerous of an idea that was. Plus, why would someone like him ever want someone like me? I¡¯m just some kid in one of his classes. After the lecture and class let out, I headed to meet up with Chani for lunch. We had wanted to hang out a couple of times this week, but plans got canceled thanks to Alice¡¯s poor time management and needing me to save her day. Even just in the first week of school, I had to save her outfit twice. Once bringing a pair of sweats and the other time bringing a longer skirt. Despite what she thought, there does seem to be some sort of dress code at the college, not allowing her to show her ass off to everyone. ¡°Hey.¡± I pulled the chair out and sat down across from Chani. She had some books out on the table and a sandwich on top of that. I set my burrito down in front of me, feeling a bit less healthy compared to her. ¡°Hey.¡± She cheerily smiled at me. ¡°How was class?¡± ¡°Fine.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Can¡¯t complain too much.¡± ¡°What class was it?¡± She pulled a sketchbook and pencil out, turning her attention to that. ¡°Just a lab for my biology class.¡± ¡°What major are you taking again?¡± ¡°Psychology. I wanna become a psychologist.¡± ¡°Bet you¡¯ll have a lot of labs by the end of your schooling then.¡± She chuckled, glancing up at me. ¡°My older brother did the same thing.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± I nodded. ¡°How¡¯d he do?¡± ¡°Well, he¡¯s working on his doctorate now, so¡­¡± She shrugged. ¡°Well enough.¡± ¡°How many siblings do you have?¡± ¡°One older, two younger.¡± Chani smiled, seemingly at the thought of her siblings. ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°I have a younger brother and an older sister. Alice also has an older brother, so he was kinda like my brother, in a way. He looked out for both of us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s sweet. You and Alice seem really close.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been friends for as long as I can remember.¡± I nodded. ¡°I always wanted friends like that, but I don¡¯t have the best time making friends.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I titled my head to the side. ¡°You seem great.¡± ¡°Surprising, I know.¡± She laughed. ¡°I have the same issue, honestly. Other than Alice and a few people I¡¯m friends with online, I don¡¯t really make friends.¡± ¡°What do you do with these online friends, exactly?¡± Chani smiled, looking up from her sketchbook for a moment. ¡°Play games, mostly.¡± ¡°I play video games too. At least I¡¯m hoping that¡¯s what you¡¯re talking about. Maybe we should play some together. I¡¯m down to try whatever games.¡± ¡°We play a lot of Valorant and Apex: Legends, but we¡¯ve played a bit of basically every multiplayer game out there.¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to join sometime if you¡¯ll have me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll enjoy having another girl around.¡± I laughed. ¡°It¡¯s mostly guys, with the occasional inclusion of a girlfriend.¡± ¡°As long as I get to spend time with you¡­¡± She shrugged, that same smile on her face. She was no doubt flirting with me, but I had suspected she had been from the start. I smiled back at her. ¡°I¡¯m done if you wanna see what I was sketching.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± She pulled the sketchbook up from her lap and turned it around, showing me a drawing of myself. ¡°Oh wow, Chani. You¡¯re an amazing artist!¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°What major are you in?¡± ¡°Art History.¡± She shrugged again. ¡°So¡­¡± She tucked her sketchbook back away. ¡°Wanna set up a study date? Maybe tonight?¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Sure, sounds like a good idea. I¡¯ve got some homework I¡¯ve got to get done before the weekend. Before we have our fun.¡± ¡°Awesome.¡±
I knocked on the dorm room¡¯s door, moving back and shifting my weight on my leg as I waited for Chani to respond. It only took a few moments for me to hear movement from behind the door until it was pulled open to Chani¡¯s smiling face. ¡°Hey. Glad you came.¡± ¡°Glad you invited me.¡± I smiled back at her, moving the heavy bookbag on my shoulder. ¡°Come on in.¡± She moved back and motioned me in. I walked inside, looking around the room for a brief moment. It looked exactly like Alice and my room, setup wise, and even decoration wise. One side girly and luxe, while the other side dark and gothic. ¡°My roommate is off with her boyfriend for the night, so we¡¯ve got the place to ourselves.¡± She turned around, with her back now to me. ¡°You can take her desk for the night.¡± Chani motioned towards the desk next to her as she took a seat at the desk on her side of the room. I walked over and set my stuff down, before spreading it out, getting ready to study. We began studying, chatting while we did so. ¡°You mentioned you and Alice have been friends forever, but how long exactly is that?¡± Chani glanced over at me. ¡°Our parents were friends before they had kids,¡± I explained, ¡°so a long time.¡± ¡°Oh damn, that is a long time. Good thing you two became friends and not enemies.¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯re basically inseparable.¡± I looked down at my homework. ¡°Expect when she¡¯s got a boyfriend.¡± I added the last part quietly. ¡°She¡¯s one of those kinds of friends, huh? I¡¯ve had friends like that before.¡± I looked over at Chani to see her nodding sympathetically. ¡°Sorry to hear that, Mali.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°Right now, she¡¯s single, so I get her to myself.¡± Our conversation died out as we got back to work, occasionally talking about something or asking for help in an area of the homework. After some time, we both finished up and moved to sit on Chani¡¯s bed to talk some more. ¡°So, are you one to ditch your friends when you have a boyfriend?¡± ¡°Admittedly, I¡¯m kinda new to dating.¡± I rubbed my arm, nervous at the conversation topic. ¡°I¡¯ve never really had a boyfriend, not longer than a month in middle school, where all we did was hold hands.¡± I laughed quietly. ¡°Aww, so you¡¯re a real virgin.¡± She laughed, causing me to shrink down and blush. ¡°That¡¯s not a bad thing, Mali. Most guys are into that.¡± ¡°Gross guys.¡± I shook my head. Chani laughed again. ¡°Fair enough. But seriously, it¡¯s okay to be inexperienced. Nothing wrong with that.¡± She looked over at me more intently. I shifted under her gaze. ¡°Thanks, Chani.¡± I noticed how close we were sitting, increasingly worrying she was about to make a move on me. ¡°I--I should go.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to, Mali.¡± She purred my name. ¡°I--I¡­¡± I trailed off, swallowing roughly before finding my words. ¡°I don¡¯t want to do anything. You¡¯re great, and if I didn¡¯t think I was going to maybe have a chance with her, I¡¯d totally take you up on the offer, but I think I might, and I don¡¯t want to finally miss my chance.¡± I began rambling, pouring out all my thoughts without much regard. ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± She moved back slightly, putting her hands up in surrender. ¡°I find you really attractive and you seem to be really nice, so if you ever change your mind and give me a shot, please do, but that doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t be friends with you. Though¡­who? Who are you waiting for? Alice?¡± My eyes widened as she guessed correctly. ¡°Mali, I¡¯m not saying I know her very well, but I¡¯ve been gay long enough to have fallen for my fair share of straight girls. And it never works out well for us.¡± ¡°I¡­don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°If she¡¯s straight? You¡¯ve never talked about it with her?¡± ¡°No. I was always scared she¡¯d find out I¡¯m pan and then somehow find out about my crush.¡± ¡°Mali¡­¡± Chani tilted her head to the side sympathetically. ¡°I know.¡± I took a deep breath, shaking my head. ¡°I guess I should talk to her eventually about it if I ever want a chance of dating her.¡± ¡°You need to.¡± She corrected me. ¡°I will. Just¡­not right now.¡± Chani gave me a look. ¡°Fine, fine. I¡¯ll set up lunch or dinner or something with her next week.¡± ¡°Good.¡± She smiled slightly. ¡°Even if she rejects you, it¡¯s better to know and be able to move on.¡± ¡°With you, you mean?¡± I cracked a smile. Chani laughed and shrugged. ¡°Either way.¡±
I walked into the showers, not excited to have to use them again. The first time was the worst so far, as all the shower stalls were full, and I had to wait, in a towel, for one to free up. It was weird being around so many named women. Some of the girls compared it to after-gym showers they had in high school, but I had never done any sports that required me to shower at school. I slipped into one of the stalls, checking the floor to make sure it was clean before entering. There only seemed to be one girl in here. I had gotten up early to shower in peace, so maybe she had the same idea as me. Soft moans emanated from her side of the room over the water noise. She was no doubt doing something over there, but I did my best to ignore it as I started my own shower. Sure, I was a virgin, but that didn¡¯t stop me from being open about sex with Alice. Well, specifically masturbation. Though, she is the one who bought me the rabbit sex toy in the first place. She told me if I wasn¡¯t going to have sex, I might as well get some pleasure on my own. Though I was open about it with Alice, that didn¡¯t mean I had much to talk about. I had only masturbated a handful of times with no special ending. Sure, parts of it felt good, but never enough to get me off. I had grown up with conservative parents who neither wanted to have the sex talk with me, so I learned from friends or bullies instead. I was the laughingstock of my middle school for weeks when one of the guys asked me if I had a bush in my front yard, and I replied that I only had one in my backyard, thinking he was asking about actual bushes. I learned quickly after that that I knew nearly nothing about sex, and Alice took up the responsibility of bringing me to her house and showing me the depths of the internet. I finished my shower up and wrapped myself in a towel before heading out, nearly running into an already-naked Alice. My eyes widened as I stopped. I had often seen her naked, but it was still surprising to see her naked now. ¡°Oh hey, Mali.¡± She smiled at me, her hand proudly on her hip. ¡°Hi.¡± I held the towel tightly to my chest. ¡°Excited to go downtown today?¡± She spoke casually as if she wasn¡¯t naked in a public room. ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± I nodded nervously, not wanting her to stand out here any longer. ¡°I¡¯ll meet you back in our room after my shower.¡± I nodded again, ducking out of the conversation and quickly walking away.
I shifted in my bed, trying to get comfortable against the pillow. I couldn¡¯t get the thought of talking to Alice about my feelings out of my head. I knew in my heart that she¡¯d reject me and more than likely it wouldn¡¯t be letting me down easy or without affecting our relationship. I didn¡¯t want to lose her, as she¡¯s one of the few things I have left from my younger years and I¡¯ve always clung to her because of that, but I also didn¡¯t want to be bullied by her because of my queerness. As much as I love her, I¡®d be the first to admit she can be mean sometimes, overly so. And I didn¡¯t want to be on the receiving end of that again. I took a deep breath, rolling over onto my stomach, officially deciding to get some sleep and not let those thoughts fester anymore. I knew eventually, one of these days, I¡¯d have to tell her.
Chapter 4 I walked into the showers, not excited to have to use them again. The first time was the worst so far, as all the shower stalls were full, and I had to wait, in a towel, for one to free up. It was weird being around so many named women. Some of the girls compared it to after-gym showers they had in high school, but I had never done any sports that required me to shower at school. I slipped into one of the stalls, checking the floor to make sure it was clean before entering. There only seemed to be one girl in here. I had gotten up early to shower in peace, so maybe she had the same idea as me. Soft moans emanated from her side of the room over the water noise. She was no doubt doing something over there, but I did my best to ignore it as I started my own shower. Sure, I was a virgin, but that didn¡¯t stop me from being open about sex with Alice. Well, specifically masturbation. Though, she is the one who bought me the rabbit sex toy in the first place. She told me if I wasn¡¯t going to have sex, I might as well get some pleasure on my own. Though I was open about it with Alice, that didn¡¯t mean I had much to talk about. I had only masturbated a handful of times with no special ending. Sure, parts of it felt good, but never enough to get me off. I had grown up with conservative parents who neither wanted to have the sex talk with me, so I learned from friends or bullies instead. I was the laughingstock of my middle school for weeks when one of the guys asked me if I had a bush in my front yard, and I replied that I only had one in my backyard, thinking he was asking about actual bushes. I learned quickly after that I knew nearly nothing about sex, and Alice took up the responsibility of bringing me to her house and showing me the depths of the internet. I finished my shower up and wrapped myself in a towel before heading out, nearly running into an already-naked Alice. My eyes widened as I stopped. I had often seen her naked, but it was still surprising to see her naked now. ¡°Oh hey, Mali.¡± She smiled at me, her hand proudly on her hip. ¡°Hi.¡± I held the towel tightly to my chest. ¡°Excited to go downtown today?¡± She spoke casually as if she wasn¡¯t naked in a public room. ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± I nodded nervously, not wanting her to stand out here any longer. ¡°I¡¯ll meet you back in our room after my shower.¡± I nodded again, ducking out of the conversation and quickly walking away.
I sighed deeply as I took a seat, happy to finally be off my feet. Rachael had taken us on a walking tour through lower downtown, showing us many of her favorite places. My favorite was the Union Station, as I had previously seen it in Wasteland 3, so it was cool seeing it in real life now. Though to be fair, the real thing was much cooler than the in game version. Sure there weren¡¯t any bandits or talking cars in real life, but Union Station is gorgeous. More than I ever expected. I had been thinking it would just be some train station, but it was much more than that with shops and restaurants and even a hotel in the vast station. After a couple of hours of walking around, we were finally let go to find some food and meet back up in an hour and a half to get a ride home. Alice, Chani, and a few other girls Alice had made friends with, had come along with me to find somewhere to eat. ¡°Find anything that sounds good?¡± Chani leaned over in the booth to ask me. ¡°Yeah. I think I¡¯ll get one of the pastas. Obviously, without the meat.¡± I pointed to the pasta section of the laminated menu. Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Me too.¡± She smiled over at me. ¡°How¡¯d you like the tour?¡± ¡°I thought it was pretty cool.¡± I shrugged. ¡°My feet hurt now.¡± I looked over to see Alice pout. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t have worn heels then, Alice.¡± I laughed, shaking my head ¡°Girly wore heels?!¡± Chani asked in astonishment. ¡°She always does!¡± I exclaimed. ¡°Pretty bonkers.¡° Chani laughed. ¡°But at least I look good.¡± Alice shrugged, a proud smile on her face. ¡°You always do.¡± One of the girls agreed. ¡°I wish I had the ability to get up and put on makeup every day, but most days, all I do is put on yoga pants and a cami.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get how you two goths dress up every day.¡± Alice¡¯s other friend added. ¡°Gotta keep up the image.¡± I laughed quietly, looking over at Chani, who nodded in agreement. ¡°You two are so cute though.¡± The first girl smiled. ¡°I love your style.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°Stop sucking their dicks, Millie.¡± Alice laughed, nudging her. ¡°I¡¯m being honest!¡± We ate and chatted for a while. It was nice to see Alice had made some new friends too, though it never was hard for her. After paying, we got up and headed to the spot we were supposed to be meeting up to get rides back to campus. Chani and I talked as we walked. ¡°Since you lived near here, how often did you go downtown? It¡¯s pretty cool here.¡± I looked over at her. ¡°Not all that often, admittedly.¡± She shrugged. ¡°The only times I ever really went down here was with a friend and their mom. His mom did belly dancing, and they¡¯d go to this caf¨¦ on the outskirts of downtown, and I¡¯d go with them to help take tickets.¡± ¡°Sounds like fun.¡± I smiled. ¡°I enjoyed it.¡± She shrugged. ¡°What happened to your friend? Are you still friends?¡± ¡°Yeah. He moved out of state for college to Iowa, so we don¡¯t talk as much as we used to, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯d like him if you met him. He¡¯s cool.¡± ¡°Maybe we will at some point.¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± Chani smiled back at me.
I ran my brush through my hair before beginning to braid it. ¡°Here.¡± Alice stood up from her bed and walked over to sit on mine behind me. ¡°Let me do it for you.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± I shifted to face my back towards her better. Alice gently took my hair in her hand and began braiding, causing me to shiver. ¡°Hey, Alice¡­do you think we could have dinner together this coming week?¡± ¡°Sure, Mali!¡± I could hear the smile in her voice. ¡°I¡¯d love to. Any reason?¡± ¡°I just wanna talk about some things.¡± I shrugged weakly, not looking forward to the conversation. ¡°Done.¡± Alice dropped my hair onto my back. ¡°There you go.¡± She placed her hand on my shoulder and ran it down my arm before standing up and walking back over to her bed. ¡°Ready to get some sleep?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± I nodded weakly.
Chapter 5 I glanced up from my homework as the door opened. Alice walked in, flooding the room with her perfumed scent. ¡°Hello.¡± She spoke with a sing-songy voice. ¡°Hey, Alice.¡± I looked back down at my homework. I was currently doing before-the-lab work. ¡°So¡­¡± She sauntered to my side. I could feel her peering over my shoulder to look at my laptop. ¡°I have something I wanna bring up with you.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± I finished typing the part I was working on before turning my chair to face her. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°I have a favor to ask of you.¡± She gave me her best puppy-dog eyes, alerting me that she was going to ask something big. ¡°Oh no.¡± I ran my fingers through my hair. ¡°What is it, Alice?¡± ¡°So¡­¡± She swayed back and forth as she spoke. ¡°I wanna sign up for a website, but I want you to sign up with me. I think it¡¯ll be good for you too.¡± ¡°What exactly kind of site is this?¡± I chewed on my lip nervously. ¡°A sugar daddy site¡­¡± She batted her eyelashes, no doubt praying for my acceptance. ¡°Alice¡­¡± I sighed. ¡°Why do I have to sign up too?¡± ¡°Cause I think it¡¯ll be good for you. It¡¯ll be a good way for you to get some money and get out there, as well. You could even find your husband.¡± ¡°I doubt that much.¡± I scoffed. ¡°Come on, Mali.¡± She pouted once more. ¡°I promise it¡¯ll bring something good.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll bring a bunch of old guys trying to fuck me.¡± I corrected her. ¡°Rich old men who want to fuck you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to have sex for money, Alice.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to have sex, Mali. You can just go out on dates or message them or send nudes without ever having to sleep with them.¡± I sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t want to take some guy¡¯s money.¡± ¡°Why not? It¡¯s better than having to find a job.¡± I titled my head, proving she had a point. ¡°You really think I could get paid for dates without having sex with them?¡± ¡°Umhm.¡± She nodded. ¡°Even if I don¡¯t want to send nudes?¡± ¡°Stop being such a prude, Mali.¡± Alice grabbed my shoulder and shook it gently. I sighed. ¡°I¡¯m not a prude. I just don¡¯t feel great about my body. I doubt anyone would wanna see me naked anyways.¡± ¡°That¡¯s totally not true. Any guy would be lucky to have you.¡± ¡°What about a girl?¡± Alice laughed. ¡°Sure. So, are you on board?¡± I took a deep breath, pausing to think before finally answering. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll make an account, at the very least.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Alice threw her arms up into the air excitedly. ¡°Let¡¯s do it right now!¡± This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Now? I¡¯m doing homework.¡± ¡°It can wait.¡± Alice smiled widely, grabbing my phone off the desk and shuffling it into my hand. ¡°Fine, fine.¡± I sighed, letting her win again. I unlocked my phone and waited for instructions. She directed me to the app she decided she wanted to use, and after waiting for the download to finish, we began to make our profiles. It started with some basic information: our birthdays and email. Both of us used our student emails to get a premium account. I felt kinda weirded out by it but didn¡¯t mind the free upgrade. I just hoped that the reason someone wanted a college-aged person was because they wanted to help someone out, rather than wanting the youngest they could legally get. ¡°Alice¡­am I attractive?¡± I looked up from my phone at her. ¡°Since--since it¡¯s one of the questions.¡± ¡°Of course you are, Mali.¡± She smiled back at me, bouncing on her bed excitedly, no doubt still happy from convincing me to do it with her. ¡°Okay. Thanks.¡± I looked back down at the phone and clicked the ¡®attractive¡¯ option over the established option, as I am certainly not established. ¡°Men, women, or both?¡± I whispered to myself, glancing over at Alice. She clicked through the options, seemingly without a thought. I took a deep breath and clicked both, moving on to the next question and onto more basic stuff. Height: 5¡¯4¡±. Race: mixed, specifically half caucasian, half Hispanic. Body type: curvy. Education: high school. Relationship status: single. Children: none. Smoking or drinking: not often. I clicked through them reasonably quickly due to their simplicity, and before I knew it, Alice and I were done filling to form out and had nothing left to do but wait for our acceptance to the site.
I set my bag down and slid into my seat, checking on what my tablemate was doing. He was checking emails on his laptop. I made sure to look away as soon as I realized, not wanting to invade their privacy. I pulled my phone out to check it before class started, seeing a notification that I had been accepted to the app and already had a handful of messages. Making sure my phone was out of sight from my neighbor, I began checking the messages. There were a handful of them. One asking for more pictures, saying they¡¯d pay for my nudes. One telling me what they¡¯d be willing to do with me sexually in exchange for specific amounts of money. And one that didn¡¯t seem like a real person but a bot instead. I kinda just scrolled through them and moved on, not interested in any of them. ¡°Welcome, class.¡± I looked up as the professor spoke, locking my phone. I¡¯d have to check the messages more thoroughly later and ask Chani what she thought before I started selling my nudes.
I scanned the restaurant before seeing Alice and heading over to her. ¡°Hey.¡± I took a seat. ¡°Hey, cutie.¡± She smiled sweetly at me. ¡°How was class?¡± ¡°Fine. Long. Lots of homework to do.¡± I shrugged, shifting in the seat to get comfortable. ¡°Did you get accepted?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I nodded. ¡°Awesome! Did you get any messages yet? I already set up a couple dates and made a hundred from lewds.¡± ¡°Jeez, Alice.¡± I rubbed my arm. ¡°You¡¯re a hell of a businesswoman.¡± ¡°You know it!¡± Alice laughed. ¡°Have you talked to anyone yet?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯ve been in class.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Then do it now!¡± She bounced in her seat. ¡°I looked when I was in class, but nothing really interested me.¡± I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll keep checking the messages. There¡¯s something I wanted to talk to you about, though.¡± ¡°Oh, okay. What is it?¡± She tilted her head to the side slightly. ¡°Well¡­¡± I rubbed my arm nervously. ¡°I¡¯m pan¡­¡± ¡°You think I¡¯d care?¡± Alice laughed. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t worry about stuff like that so much. It¡¯s not that big of a deal.¡± ¡°Oh¡­okay.¡± I took a deep breath, disappointed by her lack of care. ¡°Anyways.¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s order some food.¡±
The rest of dinner was mostly just Alice telling me how to market myself better to men as if that¡¯s something I really want to do. Maybe it was because I came out to her that she didn¡¯t want me to come off as ¡®gay¡¯ to men who are interested in me, or something. Honestly, I don¡¯t know. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I listened to her as she explained how to use my pout against them, how to put perfume on certain spots to always smell delectable, and what men look for in a woman, but that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m about to actually go out of my way to do or be any of those things. I was walking home and had been so caught up in my thoughts that I didn¡¯t realize I was already home and standing in my parking lot for some time. I sadly looked up at my dorm room building. Honestly, I felt defeated and off by the whole situation with Alice. I hadn¡¯t expected things to go perfectly, but somehow her apathy towards my confession made it more painful than anything. I¡¯m glad by all means she isn¡¯t mad, but¡­why such a small, blas¨¦ reaction? I took a deep breath and started towards the building again and up to my room. It¡¯s best I don¡¯t let it bother me too much until I can bring it up with Chani and get another perceptive, in case I really am just overreacting. Even if I don¡¯t feel like I am.
Chapter 6 I tapped my fingers on my laptop¡¯s keys, waiting for information that needed to be written down. I wasn¡¯t exactly one for note-taking but figured in college it would become more important. I also wasn¡¯t one for studying but had been working on that as well. I had been working hard to keep up with my homework since I really hated doing it but wanted to keep my grades up. Somehow back in high school, I had passed my math classes without ever turning in the homework and by quizzes and tests alone. My phone buzzed with a notification, dragging my attention away from the lecture as I pulled it out of my pocket to check it. It was another message from the sugar daddy website. Skeptically, I opened the message, followed by the profile. The man was attractive, looking to be in his forties or fifties. He had dark hair and a peppered gray beard, and slightly tanned skin. I opened the message once again and read over it this time. ¡°Hello, Malia. My name is Arthur. I found your profile and thought you were exceedingly beautiful.¡± I smiled slightly at the compliment. ¡°So I had to message you. I hope you are doing well today.¡± I quickly wrote a message back without another thought. The other men I had chatted with seemed to have only one thing in mind, going as far as telling me how much they¡¯d pay for certain sex acts, but Arthur seemed to be taking it slower than that, at least. ¡°Hi, Arthur. My day has been fine so far! I¡¯m a college student, so I¡¯m in classes right now, but saw your message and had to respond. I find you really attractive too. :)¡± He responded almost immediately, scolding me for texting during class but saying he was flattered that I was doing it. We proceeded to chat through the rest of my classes, getting to know one another somewhat. I wasn¡¯t used to messaging people, but I admittedly enjoyed it with him. I still felt weird about going into a relationship with the only motives being money, but I suppose, if we were to go farther, he¡¯d know what he was getting into, and I wouldn¡¯t be doing it under a false pretense. Eventually, it was lunchtime, and I had to meet up with Chani. I told her that I had come out to Alice, and she wanted to talk about it, so we agreed to meet up. Not saying that we don¡¯t usually hang out most days anyway. I spotted Chani already sitting down at a table, her, currently red, hair standing out from most of the other students. ¡°Hey.¡± I smiled at her as I took a seat. ¡°Hey, girly. How are you doing?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Bit down about how Alice responded.¡± ¡°Tell me about it, Mal.¡± She tilted her head to the side sympathetically. ¡°Well, I told her, and she was really¡­blas¨¦ about it, I guess.¡± I shook my head, sighing. ¡°It¡¯s probably because she¡¯s straight and has no idea what it¡¯s like to be queer, Mali.¡± Chani pointed out what I had already felt. I nodded weakly. ¡°I know. She thinks it¡¯s just no big deal.¡± ¡°Even though it took a lot of courage to come out to her.¡± Chani finished my thought. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Well, what¡¯re you going to do now? She didn¡¯t tell you that she is too, right? So, do you think you still have a chance?¡± ¡°No, I guess not.¡± I slumped over. ¡°I think you should move on. Even if it¡¯s not with me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not going ot be easy. I¡¯ve had a crush on her since middle school.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Chani nodded knowingly. ¡°But I think it¡¯ll really help you.¡± ¡°Well¡­I have been messaging a guy from this website, as of today, that is.¡± ¡°Which website?¡± ¡°Alice¡­convinced me to join a sugar daddy website.¡± I spoke quietly. ¡°Good for you.¡± Chani shrugged with a smile. ¡°Might as well do that rather than get a job.¡± She laughed. ¡°If I liked dick, I¡¯d totally do it.¡± ¡°You can also meet women.¡± ¡°Might try it for myself then.¡± I smiled slightly at her comment. ¡°Anyways, if you¡¯re going with the moving on choice, want to go out on a date?¡± ¡°Can I¡­get back to you on it?¡± ¡°Course, Mal. No rush.¡± She smiled at me widely. She really was stunning. I just wasn¡¯t sure if I could move on from Alice so easily.
¡°You dressed yet?¡± Alice walked into our dorm room while putting in a hoop earring, both hands to her ear. She didn¡¯t even wait for my answer before coming in. ¡°Nearly¡± I bounced up and down, trying to get my fishnets pulled up all the way. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Your makeup¡¯s not even done.¡± She pouted. ¡°You¡¯re not ready at all.¡± ¡°Just toss on some thick eyeliner and black lipstick and I¡¯ll be fine.¡± I shrugged, walking over to my bed to pick up the skirt I intended to wear. ¡°Let me do it for you!¡± She smiled over at me widely. ¡°Sure.¡± I smiled back at her. I always loved it when she did my makeup. She would give me so much attention during that time, always trying to pick out what best compliments me, making sure to give me the best primers and setting sprays from her collection. Even if it¡¯d end up looking differently from how I¡¯d do it myself, I always thought it was fun. ¡°Yay!¡± She cheered as I slipped my shirt on. ¡°Sit down!¡±
I bounced my knee as Alice, and I drove around looking for a parking space. The street was packed with cars already, and we were early. I was nervous as hell. Parties surely aren¡¯t my thing, but Alice had wanted me to come with her to be her wingman. Thankfully Chani said she would go if I did, so I would have someone to hang out with when Alice inevitably ditched me for some quarterback. ¡°Finally.¡± Alice pulled into a parking spot and turned the car off before facing me. ¡°Ready?¡± ¡°As I¡¯ll ever be.¡± I nodded slowly, watching as she got out of the car before following suit. Alice grabbed the liquor out of the backseat before we started walking towards the party. I couldn¡¯t help as my eyes lingered on her. She looked amazing. Her slightly tanned skin glittered in the street lights, encased in her tight latex dress. She always looked good, but tonight she looked like a fucking treat. I just knew the treat was for someone else. We got into the party without trouble. The house was large and nice, nicer than any house I had been in before, though Alice¡¯s house was the nicest one I had been in and though she was rich, living out in the middle of nowhere meant they had a ranch instead of a mansion like this. It didn¡¯t take long for Alice to start socializing. I slipped away to grab us some beers but returned to find her nowhere to be seen. She had ditched me barely ten minutes into the party, not even texting me. I sighed and took a seat on one of the couches. I imagined this house was someone¡¯s parent¡¯s but had no idea who had hosted the party. I only even knew of the party because of Alice and all of her dubious contacts. I watched the room, watched people laugh, talk, dance. I felt out of place, more than usual. I didn¡¯t fit in and never really did. I always felt like Alice had taken pity on me when we were kids, which is why she let me stick around. Not that it made me feel any better. Sure, I¡¯m glad we¡¯re still friends, but I don¡¯t want to just feel like a convenience, like a friend only when she¡¯s not busy with some guy. I sighed, looking down at the drinks sadly. I shouldn¡¯t be here. ¡°Hey.¡± I looked up to see a smiling Chani. She was dressed in full black as usual but showing a bit more skin. She looked amazing. ¡°Hi.¡± I smiled slightly. ¡°Why¡¯re you still on the couch by yourself?¡± ¡°Alice ditched me.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Guess she found someone else to hang out with when I went to get the drinks.¡± I held them up slightly. ¡°I¡¯ll take one.¡± Chani smiled at me softly, taking a seat next to me. She took a drink out of my hand before taking a sip. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°No problem. Did you just get here?¡± ¡°Yeah. Took forever to find a place to park.¡± ¡°Us too.¡± I nodded. ¡°So¡­¡± She trailed off, seeming more nervous than her usual self. ¡°Did you think over the date?¡± ¡°Not really.¡± I admitted. ¡°What did you have in mind, though?¡± ¡°I thought we could do something fun. Like urban exploring. I know a few places I haven¡¯t been yet.¡± ¡°Sounds¡­like fun.¡± I smiled. ¡°Doesn¡¯t have the be a date, though.¡± ¡°True, but it could be.¡± She shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you, and we can decide if it was a date or not afterward.¡± ¡°Fair enough.¡± Chani smiled, before grabbing my arm and pulling me up. ¡°Let¡¯s go find something to do. Can¡¯t spend the whole party hiding away.¡± We walked through the party, looking for anyone we recognized. Eventually, we stumbled upon Chani¡¯s roommate and boyfriend hanging out with a handful of people. Chani¡¯s roommate, Nicole, instantly lit up as she saw Chani, getting up and hugging her. Chani awkwardly patted her back until she backed up. ¡°We¡¯re about to play truth or dare, you have to play!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Chani looked back at me. I shrugged, not really caring either way. ¡°Sure.¡± We found our spots around the circle and settled in. The first few guys did dares, which mostly consisted of chugging a beer or taking a shot, but when it came to Chani and she said dare, Nicole¡¯s boyfriend told her to kiss one of the guys. ¡°Dean¡­¡± Nicole nudged him and then lowered her voice. ¡°She¡¯s gay.¡± ¡°Oh. okay.¡± He smirked. ¡°Then kiss her instead.¡± He pointed a finger at me. Chani looked over at me cautiously. She moved in closer and spoke. ¡°We don¡¯t have to, Mali.¡± ¡°You were dared¡­¡± I cracked a smile, causing her to smile too. Chani tenderly leaned in and placed a hand on my cheek. Her dark brown eyes locked with mine. I could feel her breath on my face, gently and almost tickling. So close I could breathe her perfume in. It took what felt like forever for her to press her lips against mine. But when her lips finally met mine, there was a spark as if she had shocked me on my lip, electric. ¡°With tongue!¡± Dean yelled. Chani slipped her tongue into my open mouth, tilting her head to the side slightly. I closed my eyes, savoring the moment, savoring her minty saliva. ¡°Damn!¡± Dean and the other guys cheered as we split. There were goosebumps on my skin as a result of the kiss. Of my first perfect kiss. Not an awkward peck with a pubescent boy who didn¡¯t know how to even kiss, but a real kiss. Chani¡¯s eyes never left mine as she pulled back, a smile on her face. ¡°I hope it¡¯ll be a date.¡± I smiled slightly. ¡°It might have to be.¡±
Chapter 7 I hurried out of my class and towards my dorm room. I didn¡¯t have much time to get ready before my date with Arthur. We, well, he asked, and I said yes, had set it up a couple of days after talking for a few days. I was nervous but also excited. So far, he seemed like a really nice guy. I felt a bit off about the idea of going on dates with different people around the same time. I had accepted his request before Chani¡¯s, but I wondered what she¡¯d think about my date with him as well as her. I suppose I¡¯d bring it up with her if things got more serious between us. I wasn¡¯t sure where I even wanted things to go between us. I appreciated her friendship and didn¡¯t want to possibly lose it, but at the same time, I really did like her. I guess all I can do is figure it out as I go the best that I can. I hopped into the shower and began shaving everything. I didn¡¯t plan on sleeping with him but wanted to make sure just in case somehow we got there. I still hadn¡¯t gotten used to the shared showers in the dorm and honestly kinda hated them. It felt like when my family used to go camping, and sometimes you¡¯d have to shower in those public restrooms with flip flops on to be sanitary. After showering, Alice helped me do my hair and makeup, as well as helped me pick out an outfit. She seemed to want me to pick something a bit more ¡®normal¡¯ and a bit less gothic than usual, but I didn¡¯t want to feel like I was lying to the guy. Eventually, we finished, and it was time to leave. Alice drove me there and made sure to give me plenty of tips on the way. Most of them were about sex, which didn¡¯t help, but at least she was trying. Alice pulled up in front of the restaurant and kissed my cheek before I got out, waving a goodbye. I crawled out with my purse in hand and started towards the entrance. I scanned the waiting area, eventually finding Arthur leaning against the wall, looking down at his phone. He looked rather handsome in his button-down, slacks, and shiny shoes. ¡°Hello.¡± I walked over to him before speaking up. He dropped his phone back into his pocket and smiled at me. ¡°I was just waiting for you. I got us a table.¡± He began guiding me towards it. We took our seats across from each other. The restaurant was busy and seemed fancy. Fancier than the usual place I ate at. ¡°You look great, Malia.¡± He continued to smile, his eyes locked with mine. I smiled slightly, pushing my hair behind my ear. ¡°You look nice too.¡± The waiter came by and took our order, before leaving us to our conversation once more. He chuckled. ¡°I appreciate that. I like your glasses. They make you look cute if you don¡¯t mind me saying.¡± ¡°Well, I mostly wear them ''cause I can¡¯t see too well,¡± I smiled, ¡°but thanks. I¡¯d be screwed in all my classes if I didn''t have them ''cause I wouldn¡¯t be able to see the board.¡± ¡°Oh, yes. You said you were in college. How has that been? What year are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a Freshman, and so far, it¡¯s been fine.¡± I shrugged. ¡°If I may ask, how do you pay for it? Do you have your parent¡¯s help?¡± Arthur asked softly. I figured it was because he wanted to know where my money would go if he gave me any, but it didn¡¯t feel any less awkward. ¡°I¡¯m paying for it myself. I had to take out loans.¡± I admitted. Alice was lucky; her parents had the money to pay for her college outright. My parents had helped where they could, but it wasn¡¯t much. Admittedly one of the reasons I was willing to try to sugar daddy website out was to get help with my loans instead of getting a job. ¡°That must be a lot of stress.¡± ¡°It is. I--I need to get a job soon to help pay it off.¡± I looked down at the icy glass of water. ¡°If things work out between us-not saying you should force yourself to make it work-I would be happy to help you pay for it.¡± Arthur¡¯s offer caused me to look up at him with wide eyes. ¡°That¡¯s way too much to ask of you.¡± I shook my head. ¡°At least consider it.¡± He shrugged. ¡°I have plenty of money.¡± His boast was surprisingly comforting. I barely knew him, but he was already offering to help me with one of my biggest burdens. ¡°We can talk about other things.¡± Arthur assured me with a soft smile. ¡°Sure.¡± I nodded. ¡°Have you¡­had a¡­sugar baby,¡¯¡± I spoke the words quietly, ¡°before?¡± ¡°I have not.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I just got out of a divorce. You were one of the first girls I messaged and the only one who responded.¡± ¡°I wonder why they didn¡¯t respond.¡± I tilted my head to the side slightly. ¡°I think you¡¯re very attractive, and you¡¯ve been nothing but nice to me.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know.¡± Arthur shrugged slightly, the soft smile still on his face. ¡°Are there those you haven¡¯t responded to?¡± ¡°Yeah. Most of them were just too forward. You weren¡¯t that way, though.¡± ¡°Perhaps that pro for you was a con for others.¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± I looked over as our waiter set our food down in front of us. We spent the rest of our evening chatting and eating. We talked about everything from my living on a farm to his business, which mostly consists of buying and selling rare and expensive cars. Arthur offered to drive me back to campus since I would¡¯ve had to call Alice for a ride back. ¡°Thank you again for the ride.¡± I shifted awkwardly in the seat. Arthur¡¯s car probably cost more than my parent¡¯s house. ¡°I¡¯m glad to give it to you.¡± He smiled. ¡°Do you not have a car?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a license. Not yet. I guess I should get one soon.¡± ¡°Do you have a dream car?¡± He glanced over at me as he spoke. ¡°A Challenger or a Mustang.¡± I laughed quietly. ¡°So you¡¯re a muscle car kind of girl?¡± ¡°I am.¡± I nodded, looking over at him as he drove. We drove for a while before arriving at the dorms. We said our goodbyes and agreed to keep talking. I headed back up to my room to a curious Alice. ¡°How¡¯d it go?!¡± She bounced on her bed as I began to remove my makeup. ¡°Good.¡± I smiled to myself, before turning to face her. ¡°He¡¯s very nice.¡± ¡°I told you that going and finding a sugar daddy was a good idea!¡± ¡°Keep it down.¡± I attempted to hush her. ¡°But yes, you were right. I¡¯m excited to keep talking to him.¡± ¡°Did you two do anything? You weren¡¯t gone for very long.¡± ¡°No, we just had dinner and talked, and then he drove me home.¡± ¡°Can I see his picture again?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± I pulled my phone out and his profile up before handing it to her. ¡°He¡¯s cute, Mali. You hit the jackpot.¡± ¡°He also offered to help me pay for college.¡± I casually mentioned. ¡°Holy shit, girl! He¡¯s the one.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about that, but yeah¡­he¡¯s great.¡± ¡°Are you gonna go on another date?¡± ¡°I hope so.¡± I shrugged, grabbing my phone back. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°You got a notification for Paypal.¡± She pointed out. I checked the notification, seeing that Arthur had sent me a couple hundred dollars from our date. I felt off about getting money for dates, but admittedly the money would really help me. ¡°How much did he give you?¡± ¡°Two hundred.¡± ¡°Not too bad, Mali.¡± I sighed, taking a seat on my bed. ¡°I¡¯m ready for bed.¡± ¡°I have so many more questions, though.¡± Alice pouted. ¡°We can talk tomorrow. I promise. Before I leave with Chani that is.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± She sighed dramatically. ¡°Good night, Alice.¡± ¡°Night, night, Mali.¡±
¡°Hey, girly.¡± Chani smiled at me as she pulled up in front of me. ¡°Get in.¡± I walked around the black Corolla and crawled in. ¡°Nice to see you again. How¡¯re you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m doing well. Enjoying the weekend for sure.¡± She laughed, before driving off, towards our destination: the mall. ¡°You had a date last night, right? With the sugar daddy guy.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I nodded. ¡°It went well. He¡¯s handsome and nice, and he even offered to help me pay for my tuition.¡± ¡°Damn, aren¡¯t you lucky?¡± ¡°I just feel bad for taking his money¡­he gave me two hundred dollars for dinner alone.¡± ¡°Mali, he knows what he¡¯s doing. You¡¯re not scamming him or anything. Plenty of people that have money just stash it or spend it on stupid shit. At least he wants to do something good with his.¡± ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡± ¡°And you need it, don¡¯t you? If you¡¯re going to be a psychologist, you¡¯re gonna need to pay for medical school.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¡°Then let him help you, Mal.¡± She looked over at me at the red light. ¡°Come on.¡± ¡°Fine, but it¡¯ll take some time for me not to feel bad about it.¡± ¡°At least it¡¯s a step in the right direction.¡± She shrugged, looking back at the road. ¡°I¡¯m really nervous about what our relationship means. I feel like, eventually, he¡¯ll want sex.¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m scared of that. The most I¡¯ve done is kiss and hold hands. I never even had a boyfriend, much less someone who wants to sleep with me.¡± Chani raised an eyebrow. ¡°Other than you.¡± I laughed. ¡°Well, you don¡¯t have to sleep with him, Mali. Plenty of sugar babies don¡¯t. But¡­if you want to feel better about it, I can help you out.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°Well, we can always experiment. That is what college is about after all.¡± Chani shrugged. ¡°Or¡­I can just give you advice. I¡¯ve only been with women, but I¡¯ve used plenty of toys along the way. First thing you need to do is feel good about yourself. Why don¡¯t we get you some lingerie while you¡¯re out?¡± ¡°I guess¡­I don¡¯t know how much it¡¯ll help.¡± I admitted. I didn¡¯t hate my body, just didn¡¯t really want anyone to see me naked outside of Alice. Alice and I were at that comfort level like no one else was. ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± We arrived at the mall and headed straight toward the Victoria¡¯s Secret. Chani and I picked out a handful of lingerie sets before going into the changing rooms to try them on. Even just after the first one, I could tell Chani was right. I felt hot as fuck in this lingerie, more so than ever. I peeked my head out to see if Chani was still around to find her sitting in one of the chairs in front of the changing rooms. I waved her over and huddled her into the dressing room. ¡°Damn, girly. You¡¯re even hotter than I thought.¡± She looked at me with a smirk, her eyes roaming over me. For once, I didn¡¯t feel self-conscious, but instead proud of her looking at me like that. ¡°You¡¯ve got some curves.¡± She looked back into my eyes and smiled. ¡°How do you feel?¡± ¡°Like I¡¯m hot.¡± ¡°You are!¡± ¡°I love how it looks.¡± I looked back over towards the mirror. The mesh showed my nipples but in an elegant kind of way. ¡°I told you.¡± ¡°You were right.¡± I nodded with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ve got to hand it to you.¡± ¡°Hand it to yourself, girly. You look killer. I¡¯ll leave, and you can try on the rest. Even if this one leaves little to the imagination.¡± She winked, causing me to blush, and then left the dressing room. I looked over to the mirror and then to my purse, coming up with a naughty idea. I pulled my phone out and snapped a few pictures that I could send to Arthur later.
Chani and I had returned to the dorm rooms to do some homework. We were currently working, listening to Pierce the Veil. ¡°Your roommate seems to live at her boyfriends¡¯.¡± I spoke, my eyes still trained on my papers. ¡°He has a house nearby, so I don¡¯t blame her.¡± Chani responded casually. ¡°I can¡¯t complain. It¡¯s nice having the place to myself. Especially since now, there¡¯s room for you.¡± ¡°Fair ¡®nough.¡± I shrugged. We continued working until we got to a stopping place and began chatting. ¡°I wanna show Alice one of the sets of lingerie I got. Which one do you think?¡± ¡°The velvet corset top and garters, for sure.¡± ¡°Awesome.¡± I stood up and started to dig through the bags. I had spent all of the money Arthur had given me and then some on the lingerie, but it felt like it was worth it. ¡°Do you mind if I¡­?¡± I looked up at Chani. ¡°¡®Coruse not.¡± She shrugged, before smirking. ¡°I just might peek through.¡± I rolled my eyes, before turning around and beginning to change. Just in case she was watching, I stripped slowly, making sure to do it with exaggerated care. I finished and turned back around to see her looked away, causing me to smile. ¡°How do I look?¡± ¡°Like a snack.¡± Chani laughed. I winked at her before twirling. ¡°Girly.¡± She lowered her voice, almost a growl. ¡°You¡¯re taunting me.¡± I turned back to face her with a smile, titling my head to the side slightly. ¡°No I¡¯m not.¡± Chani stood up out of her chair and took a step forward and then another, until she was chest to chest with me. Her hand steadily raised until it touched my cheek, cupping my face. Her eyes were staring into my soul, begging for more. I didn¡¯t need experience to know that much. ¡°Just tell me yes, girly.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I whispered, anxious for her lips to touch mine again. She leaned in, tilting her head to the side the slightest bit. Her lips touched mine, and just like last time, it was electric. Her lips were so soft, like the silk of a dress on your lips. Chani¡¯s other hand moved up to plant itself on the back of my head, entwining with my hair. Her minty tongue dipped inside my mouth once more. She pulled back after a few moments, desire in her eyes. ¡°Take it off.¡± She demanded. ¡°I-¡± I was interrupted as someone pulled the door open. I quickly hid behind Chani, seeing that it was Nicole who had opened the door. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡± Nicole squeaked. ¡°I need to grab some clothes.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± I could hear the smile in Chani¡¯s voice as she continued to shield me from Nicole. Nicole rummaged around the room before finally leaving, after giving us a small apology. ¡°I should go.¡± I stepped back around Chani. ¡°If you¡¯re sure.¡± She shrugged slightly, seemingly disappointed. ¡°I¡¯m just not ready.¡± I admitted. ¡°That¡¯s fine, Mali.¡± She smiled. ¡°We can always continue when you¡¯re ready.¡± I picked my clothes back up off the floor and pulled them on before making my way toward the door. I looked back at Chani and waved. She waved back with a small smile. ¡°No hard feelings, Mali.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± I nodded, before leaving the room. I walked a few doors down to my room and entered. Alice was nowhere to be seen, leaving the room to me. My mind drifted to Arthur, where I considered sending him the photo before deciding he¡¯d probably appreciate them as much as Chani. I sent various pictures of the lingerie sets, and within a few minutes, he responded with a message. ¡°Goddamn. You look stunning, Malia. You¡¯re just amazing.¡± ¡°Thank you. :) I can send you some more if you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°Yes, please!¡± I set the phone down and began to strip down to the lingerie once more. I felt so sexy getting these compliments. Wanted. After stripping, I began taking some provocative pictures, each increasingly risqu¨¦. ¡°Damn¡­ I don¡¯t even know what to say. Absolutely gorgeous. Will you allow me to send you some money as a thank you? I know you said previously you were uncomfortable with the idea, but I feel like I need to do something.¡± ¡°I guess.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pay for the lingerie. How about that?¡± I sighed. ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll send you the receipt.¡± ¡°Thank you again, Malia. You¡¯re a wonderful woman. I would love to have another date. When are you free?¡± ¡°Sunday works for me. I have plans with my friend on Saturday.¡± ¡°How about dinner and a movie?¡± ¡°Sounds great!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see you there then. Have a good night, Malia. I have¡­some things to take care of.¡± Along with that, he sent a winking emoji. I laughed. He uses emojis like an old man.
Chapter 8 ¡°So, where are we headed?¡± We were riding in Chani¡¯s Corolla, headed away from the campus and out of the city. I had yet to be North of Denver but was excited to see where we were going. ¡°Great Western Sugar Mill. It¡¯s an old abandoned sugar mill.¡± ¡°Sounds interesting.¡± I nodded. ¡°Is the reason we¡¯re going at night so we don¡¯t get caught?¡± ¡°Partially. It¡¯s not exactly legal what we¡¯re doing.¡± Chani shrugged. ¡°Sounds like fun.¡± I smiled. ¡°Never really be one to do illegal things. Always just stayed home.¡± She laughed. ¡°Guess I¡¯m bringing you to the dark side. So¡­¡± She trailed off. ¡°You said you never really dated. Why¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Well, I went to a small school and knew everyone there and never really liked anyone. I¡¯d say I¡¯m more attracted to girls anyways, so coming out as gay would¡¯ve made my school experience that much harder.¡± ¡°I hear you.¡± She nodded. ¡°I went to a small charter school, so everyone was always in everyone¡¯s business too. I got outed by one of my ex-friends pretty young, so it made a great target for anyone who wanted to make fun of me. Of course, that also meant finding a girlfriend became harder too, so I ended up joining sports teams from a different school and had a handful of flings through that.¡± ¡°Dating, or well, sex too, never really interested me.¡± I admitted. ¡°I was too busy trying to help my parents keep the farm running, doing my homework, and keep my friendship up with Alice that I didn¡¯t really have time for much else.¡± ¡°You make it sound like friendship issues aren¡¯t new.¡± ¡°Alice is great, but she can be a bit selfish.¡± I admitted. I didn¡¯t like talking poorly about her, but I trusted Chani not to tell her. ¡°She always ditched me for her current boyfriend or friends group. I was always her one solid friend, but she always had a ton of other friends too.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound like a very fun time.¡± Chani glanced over at me sympathetically. ¡°School wasn¡¯t good for me.¡± I shook my head. ¡°That¡¯s like¡­most of your life so far.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I sighed, before smiling. ¡°College has been a lot better, though. Especially finding you.¡± ¡°Aww, you flatterer.¡± She laughed quietly, before glancing over at me. ¡°I¡¯m glad I found you too. Sometimes fate really has your back.¡± ¡°It owed me after all those shitty years previously.¡± ¡°For sure.¡± Chani nodded. ¡°So, I took some pictures in the lingerie and sent them to Arthur last night.¡± ¡°Ooh. I bet he liked those.¡± ¡°He insisted on paying for the lingerie I bought.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good thing?¡± ¡°I guess.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve just got to get used to it, right?¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Yeah.¡± I nodded. ¡°It¡¯s nice to have someone help you out since my parents never really could, but it¡¯s just weird to exchange nudes for money, you know?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know.¡± Chani chuckled. ¡°But I get what you¡¯re saying. Just take things at your own pace and if he¡¯s not willing to do that, ditch him.¡± ¡°We had talked about sex and how I wasn¡¯t ready for it yet. He was understanding of it at the time, so hopefully, that sticks.¡± ¡°Sounds like a good sign.¡± The drive was most of an hour. We chatted the whole time, between singing along with the punk music. We finally arrived at the abandoned sugar mill and made our way into the property. Only lit up by our headlamps Chani had brought, it was hard to see the size of the place, but from the pictures Chani had shown me in the car, the place was huge. We began exploring together, careful of our steps. The place was old but covered in graffiti from people who had been here before us. If the graffiti weren¡¯t here, it would almost look like something out of one of the Metro games. Chani told me that she first went with some friends in high school, but nowadays she goes by herself. She told me she was happy to have me here though and it made it more fun. So far, I was really enjoying it, kinda feeling like a badass. After exploring for a little, Chani found us a place to sit and have a little picnic. Mostly just beers and a handful of snacks, but it was nice. ¡°Do you wanna be a psychologist, or do your parents want you to be one?¡± ¡°Mostly my parents.¡± I shrugged, taking a sip of the beer. ¡°I guess it¡¯s like my second option. I don¡¯t mind the idea of it, but I didn¡¯t really want to go to college in the first place.¡± ¡°You have to go to medical school afterward to get your doctorate, right?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Seems like a lot of work to do for something you don¡¯t wanna do.¡± She pointed out. ¡°Yeah. I guess it is, but I get it. Neither of my parents went to college and have always lived in their small town. I guess they just want more for me.¡± ¡°A lot of parents have those kinds of expectations. My parents are the same, honestly. They wanted me to go to college, even though I didn¡¯t really care much for it. I was fine with just making art and becoming a starving artist.¡± ¡°Well, what I¡¯ve seen of your art, you wouldn¡¯t be starving.¡± Chani laughed. ¡°I appreciate you saying that, but being an artist isn¡¯t easy.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you do art school instead?¡± I tilted my head to the side slightly. ¡°¡®It¡¯s not real school¡¯.¡± She finger quoted. ¡°My dad doesn¡¯t think art is real work, so here I am. Luckily they¡¯re helping me pay for it. I¡¯m the oldest, so I¡¯ll probably be the only one they can realistically pay for. I had some money saved up from my aunt that passed away, so I¡¯m paying for part of it too.¡± After finishing up our beers and snacks, we packed up once more and continued on. Things were going fine, until I slipped and fell, cutting my hand open. Chani quickly whipped out her first-aid kit and started bandaging me up. I could tell she started to panic a bit, worrying about me. We piled back into the car after finding our way back and headed to the nearest emergency center. We spent the next couple of hours in the emergency center waiting, getting a tetanus shot, and stitching my hand up. Thankfully they didn¡¯t ask too many questions about where he had been or how I got hurt. It was nearly two in the morning when we got back to campus. Chani looked over at me as we pulled up, worry all over her face. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Mali. I didn¡¯t mean for you to get hurt.¡± I laughed, shaking my head. ¡°I¡¯m fine, Chani.¡± ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°It only hurts a little. Nothing that¡¯ll kill me.¡± I shrugged casually. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have brought you there¡­¡± ¡°Nonsense. I had a lot of fun!¡± I smiled widely. ¡°I¡¯d love to do it again sometime.¡± ¡°Real--really?¡± She looked at me with wide eyes. ¡°Yeah. Just once my hand is healed up.¡± A small smile grew on her face. ¡°Deal.¡±
Chapter 9 Chani had offered to ferry me to my date with Arthur, but before the date, we agreed to get a couple of tattoos together. I was thankful to use the money from Arthur on it, to get something fun with the money, even if I should have been saving up to pay off my loans. Each of us got a couple of smaller tattoos, costing less than two hundred each. We left the parlor and headed towards the Brown Palace Hotel, where Arthur told me to meet him. Chani told me she was rather jealous, as she had always wanted to eat there. I told her I¡¯d take her some time. ¡°I actually haven¡¯t seen Alice in a few days.¡± I chewed on my lip in concern. I had texted and called her a few times but to no avail. ¡°Are you sure she¡¯s okay?¡± Chani reached over to turn the music down more. ¡°Well, she has been posting stuff on her Instagram with some girls from the college, so assumedly, yes.¡± I shrugged weakly. ¡°You just think she¡¯s ditched you again, huh?¡± ¡°Mostly.¡± I sighed. ¡°Sorry to hear that, Mal.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. I guess I should just get used to it. I¡¯m just thankful I¡¯ve found you. I don¡¯t know what I would¡¯ve done without you.¡± Chani smiled softly. ¡°I¡¯m glad to have you too, Mali. Well, we¡¯re here.¡± Chani slowed down to a stop. ¡°Well, as close as I can get you. It¡¯s just down thataway.¡± She pointed in a direction. ¡°Cool. Thank you again, Chani. I appreciate the ride.¡± ¡°Call me if you need me to pick you up.¡± ¡°Will do.¡± I nodded, before crawling out of the car, making sure I had my purse. I started in the direction she had pointed out, before finding myself outside of the Brown Palace, where Arthur was waiting for me. ¡°Hey.¡± He smiled widely as he saw me. He opened his arms for a hug, which I reciprocated, hugging him back. I stepped back to see him in more casual wear this time. He looked just as handsome. ¡°You look great.¡± I smiled up at him. He was a good half a foot or so taller than me, though I¡¯m pretty short. ¡°You do too.¡± He guided me inside and up the elevator until we got to our reserved spot. ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve got some new tattoos. I noticed the wrap.¡± He pointed towards my arms. ¡°Yeah. Wanna see them?¡± I held my arms out to him to survey. I had gotten a quote on each one. One was along my forearm, and another on my other wrist. ¡°They look nice. They suit you well.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± I smiled. ¡°I wanna get a lot more. Like covered in them, but I¡¯m nervous about getting a bigger piece.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not too bad. You¡¯ve already dealt with these ones, so you know the pain.¡± ¡°Do you have tattoos?¡± I titled my head to the side. ¡°I love tattoos on people.¡± ¡°I have a handful.¡± He nodded with a small smile. ¡°I¡¯ll show you sometime. I also noticed your bandaged hand. Are you alright?¡± ¡°My friend and I went to an abandoned sugar mill, and I fell down and cut my hand open.¡± I explained with a smile. ¡°I had to get stitches.¡± ¡°Ouch.¡± He winced. ¡°I hope you¡¯re alright.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing too bad.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± We chatted through the rest of dinner until we finished dessert and tried to decide what to do next. Arthur suggested we could go back to his place and watch a movie. I agreed, and after he paid, we headed out. He had brought a different car this time, a Shelby Cobra. My dad had always been a fan of cars, so I was pretty knowledgeable about them for someone who didn¡¯t drive. ¡°I¡¯m still not ready to have sex or anything.¡± I admitted to him after he crawled into the car. ¡°That¡¯s fine, Malia. I don¡¯t expect anything from you. Just having your company is enough.¡± He paused for a moment. ¡°I told you about my divorce. I¡¯ll admit that I¡¯m just lonely. My ex and I held out for so long, through misery, so I¡¯m just happy to have you around. You¡¯re like a ray of sunshine.¡± ¡°Even though I¡¯m dressed in all black?¡± I smiled. ¡°Even so.¡± He nodded. He reached over and gently squeezed my hand, before releasing. It was a loving gesture. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Arthur sat down on the couch next to me, the popcorn bowl in hand. We had settled on a somewhat new action movie neither of us had seen before. ¡°Hey, Arthur?¡± I looked over at him. ¡°Huh?¡± His eyes were still trained on the TV as he stuffed a handful of popcorn into his mouth. ¡°Why¡¯d you decide to get a sugar¡­baby, instead of dating like normal?¡± ¡°I wanted to help someone like you, someone who needed financial help.¡± He shrugged, looking over at me. ¡°Plus, I wanted a breath of fresh air. Someone very different from my ex-wife.¡± ¡°I guess that makes sense.¡± I nodded. ¡°Sorry, we can watch the movie now. I¡¯ll quiet down.¡± ¡°No problem, Malia.¡± He smiled, putting his arm comfortably behind me. ¡°I don¡¯t mind the questions, and if we¡¯re going to be together, you have a right to know. By the way, thank you again for trusting me with those pictures of you. It means a lot to me.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± I smiled up at him. ¡°I¡¯m glad you liked them.¡± ¡°You have very good taste.¡± He squeezed my shoulder gently. The movie ended up being alright, but somewhat boring. I ended up falling asleep partway through, with my head on Arthur''s lap.
¡°Oh shit.¡± I shot straight up, realizing where I was. Sunlight was streaming through the windows, telling me that I was fucked. I didn¡¯t even know where my phone was, but I had obviously missed my alarm. I quickly got up from the couch that I had fallen asleep on and headed upstairs in search of Arthur. I knocked on his bedroom door, but after no response, I opened it to find he wasn¡¯t there. I jogged back down the stairs and called out. ¡°In here.¡± There was a response from the dining room. I walked in to see Arthur on a laptop, fully dressed. ¡°What time is it?¡± He pulled his watch around and surveyed it. ¡°Around ten.¡± ¡°Shit.¡± I shook my head as I cursed. ¡°I already missed my first class.¡± ¡°Sorry, Malia.¡± He looked over at me sympathetically. ¡°I figured you needed your sleep.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your fault.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have fallen asleep in the first place. I need a ride back to my dorm. Are you free?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± He stood up. ¡°I¡¯m ready when you are.¡± ¡°Do you know where my phone is?¡± ¡°Over here with your purse.¡± He walked back into the kitchen, motioning to where I had left it on the counter. ¡°Thank you.¡± I grabbed it before realizing I wouldn¡¯t have time to change. ¡°Do I look alright?¡± ¡°You look fine.¡± He smiled softly. ¡°I can get you a washcloth for your makeup if you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°That¡¯d be nice.¡± I nodded. Arthur left, giving me enough time to check my messages and respond to Chani, who was worried about me. I explained to her what had happened. She responded almost instantly, saying she was glad I was okay, and that it was too bad about me missing class, but not to worry about it too much. Arthur returned with a warm washcloth. I removed my makeup the best I could and made amends that I would have to wear my clothes from yesterday to class. We made our way out of the apartment and to where his car was. Thankfully the drive wasn''t too far to campus. We arrived, and I said my goodbye to him, before leaning in for a kiss. It wasn¡¯t the same as with Chani. Not nearly as passionate, but it was a kiss nonetheless, and I seemed to surprise him. ¡°Have a nice day, Malia.¡± He smiled at me as I moved back. ¡°You too.¡± I smiled back at him, before crawling out of the car. I needed to go back to my room. I didn¡¯t have any of my things. At this point, I might as well change and get some lunch, rather than get to my class late.
Alice had texted me and asked me to get some dinner with her. We settled on a place a bit off campus, that wasn¡¯t too far of a walk. ¡°Hey.¡± I smiled at her as I sat down. ¡°Howdy do.¡± She smiled widely, watching me as I did. ¡°How are you?¡± ¡°Fine.¡± I sighed, taking a sip of the water that was already at the table. ¡°I missed two of my classes this morning because I fell asleep at Arthur¡¯s.¡± ¡°Your sugar daddy? Look at you! You really have changed.¡± ¡°Not really¡­¡± I rubbed my arm nervously. ¡°He¡¯s a good guy, though. He had to drop me off afterwards.¡± ¡°But did you two have sex? Did you finally lose it?¡± She bounced in her chair slightly. ¡°No, Alice. Not yet. We¡¯re taking things slow.¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°But are you and your new goth girlfriend?¡± ¡°She¡¯s not my girlfriend. Not yet, at least.¡± I shook my head. We ordered our food and talked about my relationship a while longer until the topic of her missing recently came up. ¡°I¡¯ve been hanging out with some girls from a sorority house I¡¯m doing. We¡¯ve been doing pledges.¡± Alice shrugged causally. ¡°That¡¯s¡­good, I guess.¡± I wanted to be happy for her, but just couldn¡¯t muster it, feeling like I was being left out once again. ¡°Do you think we can hang out together soon? Like maybe get our nails done or something.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Okay. what about next week?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe. I¡¯ll have to see.¡± I worried that meant she wouldn¡¯t actually get back to me. ¡°Oh, okay.¡± I nodded slowly. ¡°Cheer up, Mali.¡± Alice pouted. ¡°Sorry.¡± I looked down at the table, guilty, not wanting to ruin the mood. I couldn¡¯t help it, though. It made me sad to see her become distant once more. I sighed. I should just enjoy the time with her the best that I can rather than pouting about the time I don¡¯t get the spend with her. I looked back up to see food being brought to us, and Alice smiled.
Chapter 10 I was lying on Chani¡¯s bed while she was working on some homework. Mind you, I have plenty of homework to do, but I was too distraught to focus right now. ¡°So, what¡¯s wrong, Mali?¡± Chani glanced over at me. I was holding one of her Squishmallows to my chest. That, mixed with the lying down, I felt like I was talking to a psychologist. ¡°Alice.¡± I sighed, finally admitting my issue to her. ¡°Again? What happened this time?¡± She turned to face me fully. ¡°We finally hung out and got some dinner last night, and she told me where she has been recently. She¡¯s been hanging out with a sorority. That¡¯s where she¡¯s been this whole time without saying anything. She doesn''t even come to the dorm room anymore.¡± ¡°Mali.¡± Chani stated softly. ¡°Just let her go. She¡¯s not even been a good friend to you.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t just do that. I still love her. As--as a friend, at least.¡± ¡°Then keep her at arm¡¯s length. For your own sanity.¡± I took a deep breath, before sighing. ¡°You¡¯re probably right.¡± ¡°Probably?¡± She crossed her arms over her chest. ¡°Fine, fine. You¡¯re right.¡± I conceded. ¡°In better news, fall break will be here before we know it. What¡¯re your plans?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I was just going to stay here. Maybe finally play some games.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask my parents, and they might lecture me about not spending Thanksgiving with them, but¡­we have a cabin up in Leadville, in the mountains. We could always go up there and spend the week by ourselves. If you want to, of course.¡± ¡°That sounds like a lot of fun!¡± ¡°Great. I¡¯ll talk to my parents about it then.¡± Chani smiled. Instantly, I was looking forward to this. Partially because I was excited to go to a cabin but also because I looked forward to being alone with Chani. My phone vibrated, alerting me to a new text from Alice. She asked me to go out with her and some of her new friends to a club. Not wanting to be ditched like last time, I made sure to ask if I could bring Chani along. Alice had to make a comment, asking me if we were best friends now, but thankfully said it was fine if she came. We agreed to go get our nails done tomorrow before we went to the club too, so I was happy to have her back in my life, even if it was only for a little while. After Alice and I arranged plans, I asked Chani if she wanted to come. She said she was willing, as long as I¡¯d help her pick an outfit out. Rather than doing our homework, we spent the next hour picking outfits out, finally narrowing it down to the winner. I decided to just wear the dress Alice had bought me back home. We got to work on our homework after that, thankfully, since I had quite a bit to do, and I had a call with Arthur tonight. He wanted to chat with me, and we decided a phone call was the easiest way. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. We finished the homework, and I headed back into my room to take Arthur''s call. We chatted for a while, talking about this and that. I mentioned Chani and my plans to go up to her family¡¯s cabin for the fall break. He wished me good luck and said he needed some, too, as he was going to be visiting his kids and ex for the holiday. I sympathized and said I wouldn¡¯t want to switch positions, to which he laughed. I then told him about our plan to go to the club this weekend and some of my issues with Alice. He offered to buy us a hotel room to make the day more special. I immediately rejected the idea, but he eventually coaxed me into it, saying it¡¯d be a fun night for all of us girls. Eventually, both of us got tired and said goodnight. I ended up being too tired to do my night routine, which happens more than I¡¯d like to admit, going straight to bed.
After classes, Alice and I met up in the dorm room and drove to a nearby salon to get our nails done. I told her about Arthur¡¯s plan to get us the hotel room for the night to make the night special. ¡°What¡¯s the damage?¡± Alice asked, looking over at me. I glanced over at the lady who was doing my nails, before talking again. ¡°He, uh, asked me to strip for him. I--I don¡¯t mind, but he also said that I don¡¯t have to strip fully since we haven¡¯t gone there yet. I¡¯ve only sent him lingerie pictures.¡± ¡°Not so innocent anymore, are you?¡± Alice smirked, looking me up and down. ¡°Good for you. I¡¯m proud.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like anything has changed.¡± I looked down at the table. ¡°That¡¯s not true. I heard about your little kiss at the party too. You¡¯re really growing up.¡± She nudged me gently. I know she meant it as a good thing, but it didn¡¯t make me feel any better. ¡°Who told you?¡± ¡°One of my girlfriends.¡± After sitting in silence for a bit, she tilted my chin up, forcing me to look in her direction. ¡°Don¡¯t be so embarrassed, Mali.¡± She pouted. ¡°I¡¯m not embarrassed.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I just don¡¯t want you to think I¡¯m changing or anything. I¡¯m still the same girl; things are just different in my life.¡± I shrugged slightly. ¡°Sensitive, much?¡± She rolled her eyes. I shrunk down in my seat slightly. We sat in silence until I finally spoke up. ¡°I wanna get my rook pierced while we¡¯re out. If you¡¯re okay with that.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Okay.¡± I nodded weakly. The rest of the appointment turned out to be mostly Alice talking at me. She didn¡¯t seem phased by our little disagreement, but I couldn¡¯t be the same. After getting my piercing, she asked to get dinner together. We went to a nearby ramen place. ¡°So, tell me the tea. Are you two dating?¡± ¡°Oh, you mean Chani?¡± I looked up from my bowl in surprise. ¡°Who else?¡± ¡°No, not yet. I¡¯m¡­not sure how she¡¯d feel about Arthur and me if we were.¡± ¡°She¡¯d probably not be okay with it.¡± Alice shrugged casually. I hoped that if Chani and I continued to grow closer that we could work that out. ¡°Are you two just friends for now? Friends with benefits?¡± ¡°Just friends. We¡¯ve kissed a couple times, but nothing more than that.¡± ¡°She seems¡­fine, I guess.¡± ¡°You barely even know her.¡± ¡°Exactly. She hasn¡¯t made an effort to be my friend.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been busy, Alice¡­¡± I didn¡¯t understand her issue. It¡¯s not like she had made any effort to befriend Chani either; she¡¯s been too busy buddying up with the sorority girls. ¡°Anyways.¡± She rolled her eyes dramatically. ¡°I¡¯ve been talking to some sugar daddies myself. I¡¯ve made over four grand already just sending them nudes.¡± ¡°Wow, Alice.¡± My eyes widened. ¡°How many are you talking to?¡± ¡°Like five.¡± She shrugged, before pouting. ¡°None of them seem to care about me as much as your Arthur does.¡± ¡°Well, it seems like we¡¯re building more of a relationship than anything.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m not?¡± She scowled slightly, only enough to show her anger. ¡°I didn¡¯t say that. I¡¯m just saying¡­¡± I trialed off. ¡°Maybe I¡¯m just lucky.¡± I finally settled, not wanting to continue to argue with her. I¡¯m not sure why, but she seemed combative today. We finished our meals, and after driving me to campus, we split ways. Admittedly I was thankful to get away from her. I¡¯m not saying Alice is the nicest person out there, but at least most of the time, she doesn¡¯t direct it toward me, but today that didn¡¯t seem to apply. I wanted to talk to Chani, to get her opinion, but I was too tired and decided to just head off to bed. All I could do was pray that tomorrow night would go better.
Chapter 11 All five girls piled out of the car. We had to take one of the other girls¡¯ cars because Alice¡¯s R8 was only a two-seater. I wasn¡¯t exactly the most comfortable drive squished in the backseat with Chani and another one of Alice¡¯s friends. Mind you, I kinda liked being squished with Chani, but not so much with the other girl. We waited in the line for a while. I was thankful I at least had Chani to talk to, as the other girls were in their own worlds, talking about things that didn¡¯t interest me. Eventually, we were let inside, out of the cool night air, and into the hot, stuffy club. First thing Alice did was get everyone a drink, to make sure we had our ¡®dancing juice¡¯. After downing our drinks, we headed out to the dancefloor. Chani and I started dancing together while Alice and her new friends grouped up together. They were laughing, looking over at us. ¡°Chani?¡± I whispered in her ear as we danced close together. ¡°Are they¡­laughing at us?¡± She looked over as they laughed, looking away before glancing back over at us and laughing again. I didn¡¯t think I was just being insecure. She looked back over at me, turning my chin to face her. ¡°Don''t worry about them, Mali.¡± I looked at her sadly before nodding, trying to ignore them. The music lulled, and so did our dancing. Chani attempted to speak over the music, telling me she had to go to the bathroom. I told her I¡¯d find us a seat so we could sit down. We went our separate ways. Eventually, I found a free table with a couple of barstools. I sat down at one. Alice and her friends were still out dancing, seemingly having more energy than me. I looked around the area, seeing that the tables were mostly packed. One table seemed to be looking in my direction, a bunch of guys laughing and glancing over at me. It didn¡¯t take long for one of the guys to get up and come in my direction. ¡°Hi.. hey¡­nice to meet you.¡± He extended his hand in my direction. I could smell from here that he was drunk. ¡°Hi¡­¡± I glanced in the direction Chani had wandered off in, wanting her to return and save me from this already too-long conversation. ¡°What ya doin¡¯ all here by yourself?¡± He spoke, bracing himself against the table. ¡°I¡¯m¡­not alone, actually. My friends are dancing right now.¡± ¡°Well, I can keep you comfy right here until they get back.¡± He paused for a moment. ¡°You know, so no one bothers you.¡± He spoke again, beaming. ¡°Oh god.¡± I cursed under my breath. ¡°No, thank you.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m really okay waiting by myself. Really.¡± I insisted, hoping he¡¯d take the hint. ¡°How ¡®bout juss five minutes?¡± He slurred his words as he leaned in towards me. ¡°How about no?¡± I leaned away from him. He truly reeked of alcohol. ¡°My girlfriend is coming back soon.¡± ¡°Ah, come on, baby, don¡¯t be that way.¡± He reached forward, grabbing one of my hands. ¡°Leave. Now.¡± I scowled at him. ¡°Your friends may think this is funny, but I certainly don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Hey now, don¡¯t act like a bitch.¡± He scowled back, lowering his tone. ¡°I¡¯m just being friendly.¡± The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°No. You¡¯re not.¡± I tried to pull my hand from his, but his grip tightened. I looked towards the dance floor, but Alice and her friends were too busy to notice. Looking back at the guy, I realized his friends were getting up and circling around the table, like hyenas on the prowl. He laughed at my attempt. ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go dancing.¡± He pulled at my arm, pulling me out of my chair. Before I could even figure out what was happening, he was on the floor with Chani standing over him. ¡°Leave her the fuck alone!¡± She yelled at him, before looking over at his friends. One guy swung a punch in her direction, but she ducked out of the way and moved back. ¡°Run.¡± She turned to me, grabbing my arm and dashing forward, pulling me along. We ran out of the club and past the bouncer, who looked at us in slight shock. ¡°Come on.¡± She pulled me toward where we had parked. Eventually, we arrived back at the car. ¡°Can¡¯t leave you alone for five minutes, can I?¡± She cracked a smile before becoming more serious. ¡°Are you alright, Mal?¡± I nodded slowly, realizing what had just happened. It all had happened so fast, and my heart was racing, but now I just felt scared. ¡°I--I guess.¡± ¡°Come here.¡± She looked at me sadly, before opening her arms. I stepped forward and embraced her, burying my face in her chest. ¡°You¡¯re fine now.¡± She spoke softly, rubbing my back. ¡°Let¡¯s just call the girls and tell them we¡¯re leaving.¡± ¡°Alice might get mad at me¡­¡± I shook my head, standing back. ¡°Fuck Alice.¡± Chani cursed under her breath. ¡°Why don¡¯t we just ditch her and her new buddies and go to the hotel room by ourselves.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± I looked around. ¡°I don¡¯t want to stay out here. I¡¯ll just tell her what happened and that we went to the hotel. She can come there later if she wants to.¡± Chani took a deep breath before nodding. ¡°Alright. You should text her.¡±
Chani and I had made it back to the hotel room, which we had to ourselves at the time. I still owed Arthur the video and asked Chani if she minded if I did it in the main room. She said she didn¡¯t as long as she could sneak a peek. I called Arthur and began stripping for him after he picked up. I did it slow and teasingly, trying to give him a good show. I couldn¡¯t see too much in the video, but I could see his appreciation growing. I ended up stripping down fully; for whatever reason, I wasn¡¯t nervous about it anymore, maybe because he had already seen me mostly naked. I grabbed my phone, but there was a knock at the hotel door, likely Alice. I hung up after saying goodbye, and Chani grabbed me some pajamas to get changed into before we opened the door. ¡°Mali.¡± Alice looked at me sadly; she cupped my face in both hands. ¡°Are you okay? We came as fast as we could after I saw your text.¡± I glanced at the other two girls. Neither of them looked all that happy, causing me to shrink down. I nodded weakly. ¡°I¡¯m fine now. It was just scary.¡± ¡°I should¡¯ve paid more attention.¡± She sighed, shaking her head. She seemed to be feeling genuinely bad about what happened. I was scared she might be mad at me for making her leave, but it seemed she couldn¡¯t care less, unlike her friends. Eventually, we all settled into the room. One of Alice¡¯s friends took the couch, while Chani and I agreed to share the bed. Alice had turned the TV on, but Chani and I were busy quietly chatting. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay now, Mal?¡± Chani brushed some hair out of my face. We were both lying on our sides in bed, under the covers. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m fine. Thank you again for saving me.¡± ¡°I¡¯d do it anytime.¡± She smiled slightly. ¡°Hey, Chani?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°What food do you miss the most now that you don¡¯t eat meat? Mine¡¯s kafta kebabs.¡± ¡°Ooh, hard question.¡± She laughed quietly. ¡°I would say a burger, but there are some really good hamburger alternatives out there. So maybe¡­¡± She seemed to think. ¡°Oh, you know what my mom used to make that I loved. She used to make chicken fried steak with gravy. It was so good.¡± I smiled slightly. ¡°If I ate meat, I¡¯d ask your mom to make me some.¡± Chani laughed. ¡°She¡¯d happily make it too.¡±
Chapter 12 Chani pressed her soft lips against mine, before pulling back and looking into my eyes. I wanted to drown in her deep brown eyes. ¡°Tell me how you feel, girly.¡± ¡°I love you, Chani.¡± I reached up to touch her cheek. She leaned into my hand. ¡°What about Alice?¡± ¡°She¡­isn¡¯t good for me.¡± I looked away from her, shaking my head gently. I looked back over at her with a soft smile. ¡°But you¡¯re perfect.¡± ¡°Mali.¡± She moaned my name, leaning in for another kiss. ¡°I want you.¡± She kissed me again, as her fingers fiddled with the button of my pants. My loud alarm woke me from my dream. I sighed deeply, reaching over to turn it off. ¡°Why can I never finish these damn dreams?¡±
Chani and I were both sat on the floor in her room. She told me today she¡¯d do a tarot card reading for me. All I had to do was come up with a question I wanted answered. ¡°Hm¡­¡± I thought for a moment before deciding on my question. ¡°What will happen between my crush and me? Will we work out?¡± Chani cracked a smile, before becoming more serious again. She sorted the cards out, having me pick a couple, before flipping them over. ¡°Looking into what may happen for you and your¡­crush, we have The World and the 7 of Wands. The World is a tremendous card to see for your question. This is a card of completion, wholeness, and a sense of true enlightenment. It¡¯s as if you will step into the person you are truly meant to be, and you will reach a feeling of being truly fulfilled. The 7 of Wands is a card of resistance. You may be fighting forces bigger than you are, and you are having to really stand up for what you believe in. This can be exhausting, and it¡¯s not always clear if we will eventually make it through this. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°It¡¯s an interesting combination you have. On one hand, you have this powerful and strongly positive energy in The World, but there¡¯s a sense that that power is being challenged in the 7 of Wands. A good thing here, though, is that The World is the more powerful energy out of these two cards. I feel this is saying it¡¯s likely the two of you will eventually be together as a romantic couple, but it may take some time, and it may not be as easy as you would like it to be.¡± She paused for a moment. ¡°It may be you date someone else before you get your chance to be together, and you need to be resilient through that. But The World is telling you that, eventually, things will work out for the two of you. It¡¯s not clear in these cards when that will be, though.¡± I smiled. ¡°Sounds like the cards want you-I mean, her and I to work out.¡± ¡°Sounds like it.¡± She smiled as well. ¡°Anyways.¡± She pulled the cards back into the deck. ¡°Spooky season is already here. Want to go shopping with me and see what Halloween decorations we can find?¡± ¡°Sure. Sounds like fun. Depends on the day, though. Arthur invited me over to a football party this Sunday.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Chani nodded. ¡°I hope you have fun, but¡­do you even like sports?¡± ¡°No.¡± I smiled guiltily. ¡°I don¡¯t, but he invited me and said I would get to meet some of his friends, so I took him up on the offer.¡± ¡°My dad was a huge sports fan too, mostly football, though.¡± She smiled at the thought. ¡°He used to dress me up for church in a Chargers jersey to make all the Bronco fans mad.¡± She laughed quietly. ¡°I was a total daddy¡¯s girl when I was younger, so I¡¯d watch the games with him every Sunday, wearing my all-too-large jersey.¡± ¡°Sounds like you really love your dad.¡± ¡°Loved.¡± She shook her head, looking down at her lap. ¡°He¡¯s a piece of shit.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Chani.¡± I placed my hand on top of hers. She looked back up at me with a small smile. ¡°It¡¯s alright, not your fault. I hope you have a good time with Arthur. I can drop you off if you need a ride.¡± ¡°I probably will.¡± I nodded. ¡°So, thank you.¡± ¡°Of course. Now, we should get back to our homework.¡± She squeezed my hand before standing up.
Chapter 13 Chani and I had spent most of our time together shopping around, finding some Halloween decorations for our dorms. We had a nice time, getting some coffee beforehand and driving from store to store. I liked just hanging out with her. We always had something to talk about and our music tastes overlapped, so we always had good music playing in the car. Eventually, it was time for her to drop me off at Arthur''s party. ¡°Have fun, Mali.¡± She smiled over at me as we pulled up in front of Arthur''s apartment. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m spending the night, so you don¡¯t have to worry about picking me up.¡± I reached into the backseat to grab my duffle bag of things. ¡°This is a nice ass place.¡± She commented, leaning down to look up at the building. ¡°His place is really nice.¡± I nodded. ¡°You¡¯ll have to introduce me to him at some point, Mali. So I can get to know the guy you¡¯re fucking with, I mean.¡± ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll bring it up with him and see what he says.¡± ¡°Be safe.¡± She flashed me one last smile before I climbed out of the car, my things in hand. I greeted the doorman, who opened the door for me and let me in. I hated the elevator ride up to Arthur¡¯s penthouse, but the apartment itself was worth it. He apparently had a nice house somewhere in Cherry Creek before the divorce, but his ex-wife kept the house as one of the collaterals. I typed in the code and rode the elevator up to his apartment, where I was greeted at the door by Arthur. He was wearing more casual clothing than I had seen him in before, this time wearing a Broncos jersey and blue jeans. ¡°Hey, Malia.¡± He huddled me into a hug, before moving back slightly and looking down at me. Assuming he was expecting a kiss, I got up on my toes and kissed him on the lips. He parted with a smile. ¡°You look great as always.¡± ¡°You do too.¡± I smiled up at him. ¡°I dig the casual look.¡± ¡°Only on football days.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Come on. Most of everyone is already here.¡± He motioned for me to come inside past the threshold. Right as we did, the whole environment changed. I could now smell food and could hear cheering from the other room. ¡°Seems busy.¡± ¡°I only invited a handful of friends, but they get rowdy.¡± He chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll like them, but they can be a bit¡­crass.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me.¡± I shook my head. We walked into the living room to find his friends sitting on the couches, spread about. One guy looked over to see us and tapped the guy next to him, causing him to look over as well. Eventually, they were all looking over at me. I waved slightly, putting on my best smile, trying not to seem nervous. ¡°Seth, Peyton, Mike, and Al, this is Malia.¡± ¡°The girl we¡¯ve heard so much about.¡± One of them spoke up. ¡°Damn, she¡¯s hot.¡± Another one added on. I locked eyes with him. He was really attractive. He looked like an older biker, covered in tattoos and a tight black shirt. He was the only one not wearing a jersey. Besides me, of course. ¡°Peyton.¡± Arthur laughed. ¡®Peyton¡¯ winked at me, before looking back over at Arthur. ¡°Nice to meet you all.¡± I dipped my head in respect slightly. ¡°And polite.¡± One of the other men said. ¡°She¡¯s a good girl.¡± Arthur laughed, wrapping his arm around my shoulder, before looking down at me to talk. ¡°There¡¯s food in the kitchen; I don¡¯t know what you¡¯ll be able to eat, though.¡± ¡°She on some sort of diet?¡± The blonde one asked. ¡°She¡¯s a vegetarian.¡± Arthur clarified. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a second.¡± I walked away towards the kitchen. He wasn¡¯t wrong, most of the food was meat. Chicken wings, cold cuts, and even nachos with bacon. I took a plate of veggies and headed back out into the living room. I walked over to sit next to Arthur in the spot he saved me. We settled down and watched the game. The guys were a hell of a lot more into it than me, obviously, but it was fun to be around people so excited by something like that. I hadn¡¯t told Arthur yet, but after he told me about liking football, specifically the Broncos, I started saving some of the money he gave me to buy tickets for us. The only real struggle was getting the tickets themselves, but Chani said she knew a guy. ¡°How¡¯re you liking the game so far?¡± Arthur squeezed my shoulder gently. ¡°I¡­have no clue what¡¯s going on.¡± I admitted with a smile. ¡°That¡¯s alright. I can explain it to you.¡± He spent the next thirty or so minutes explaining what was happening on the TV, sans the commercials. Occasionally the other guys would add to what he said or would mention a short story about something they had done related to the play. Apparently, all of them were on the same football team in high school and had remained friends since then. Even after explaining what was going on, most of it went over my head, but at least I got a vague idea of what was happening. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°So, Malia, right?¡± The blonde guy looked over at me. ¡°Yeah.¡± I nodded. ¡°Seth.¡± Arthur explained. ¡°Sorry, ¡®bout that. I¡¯m Seth.¡± He held his hand out to me. ¡°That¡¯s Mike,¡± he motioned towards the darker-skinned man, ¡°Peyton,¡± tattooed guy, ¡°and Al.¡± Big beard guy. ¡°Arthur told us you¡¯re a college student. What year are you?¡± ¡°Freshman.¡± I smiled slightly. ¡°Biggest year.¡± He smiled back at you. ¡°How¡¯re you liking it so far?¡± ¡°It''s fine. I¡¯ve made a really great friend. That¡¯s been my favorite part of it, outside of moving and meeting Arthur.¡± ¡°Cute.¡± Peyton chuckled. ¡°What major are you?¡± Mike asked, taking a bite of the pizza. ¡°Psychology.¡± ¡°Interesting field. You can make some good money with it.¡± Al added on. ¡°Hopefully enough to support myself, at least.¡± I smiled. ¡°Well, if you two end up getting married, you won¡¯t have to work anymore.¡± Seth looked over at Arthur, who held his hand up. ¡°Now, we¡¯re rather far from that. I¡¯m not about to rush the girl.¡± Eventually, the conversation died out as they turned their attention back to the game. ¡°What¡¯d you do today?¡± Arthur spoke quietly so as not to disturb the others. ¡°Halloween shopping with my friend. She¡¯s the one who dropped me off. We mostly just looked at the stuff, since neither of us have the room for anything big yet, since we¡¯re both in dorm rooms.¡± ¡°I would love to see how you¡¯d style your own space.¡± He smiled. ¡°I would love to decorate my own place.¡± ¡°Maybe one of these days, I¡¯ll make that dream come true.¡± He chuckled quietly. Before I knew it, the game was over, and everyone was in the kitchen taking the leftover food to go. I was helping clean up the living room when Peyton came in, grabbing some of the trash to help me out. ¡°Thanks.¡± I flashed him a smile. ¡°No thanks required.¡± He smiled back at me, looking me up and down. I wasn¡¯t fully sure but felt like he was checking me out. He grabbed the trash from my hand and pushed it down into the bag. ¡°I heard how you two met.¡± ¡°Oh¡­yeah.¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy for him. He seemed a lot happier with you than he has with his ex for years. And you¡¯re hot, so that¡¯s an upside.¡± I looked away, trying to hide my blush. I wasn¡¯t used to being complimented so outwardly. ¡°Thank--thank you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve known Arthur since highschool, we¡¯ve done so much together.¡± He said, looking past me. ¡°Ooh.¡± I rubbed my arm. ¡°Cool?¡± He chuckled, looking back over at me. ¡°We¡¯ve done pretty much everything together¡­ including Miranda.¡± He winked at me. ¡°Arthur¡¯s ex?¡± I looked over at him with wide eyes. He nodded. ¡°You should see your face. Such an innocent girl.¡± I looked back toward the kitchen, unable to see anyone, including Arthur. ¡°You probably shouldn¡¯t be telling me this.¡± I looked back over at Peyton. ¡°I feel like it¡¯s Arthur¡¯s business to tell.¡± ¡°Just letting you know, Arthur¡¯s a good guy, but he¡¯s not some sorta saint.¡± ¡°I¡­don''t think having sex makes you a bad person if that¡¯s what you¡¯re getting at.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I just don¡¯t think it¡¯s your business.¡± He put his hands up. ¡°Woah, I meant nothing like that. Just sayin¡¯.¡± He turned around and walked the trash over to the kitchen. After everyone had finally left, Arthur showed me the PS5 he had gotten. I crushed him in Mortal Kombat for a while, mostly because he hadn¡¯t played since the originals before I was ready to wind down. I asked him if I could take a bath. I hadn¡¯t taken one since when I was back at home and have always cherished a steaming hot bath. He showed me to the bathroom, showing off his jacuzzi tub, which I immediately fell in love with. He asked for permission to sit next to me in the bathroom while I took the bath, so we could chat. I settled into the slightly too-hot water while Arthur sat down next to me, his arm on the edge of the tub. ¡°What time do you need to be back?¡± He asked, groaning as he shifted in the spot. ¡°Whatever time¡¯s fine. I just have a paper and some homework to do that I need to finish before the week starts.¡± ¡°I bet you¡¯re tired of doing that.¡± ¡°For sure.¡± I laughed. ¡°I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t take a year off, though, because I feel like if I got out of the habit, I wouldn¡¯t be able to go back into it.¡± ¡°So, what¡¯d you think about my friends? They were nice to you, right?¡± ¡°Mostly, yeah.¡± ¡°Peyton?¡± He cracked a smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about him.¡± ¡°He just, uh¡­told me about you and him and your wife, you know¡­¡± ¡°Peyton.¡± Arthur ran his fingers through his hair. ¡°I apologize for him, Malia.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. I just didn¡¯t know you swung that way.¡± I smiled slightly. Arthur cracked a smile. ¡°There¡¯s a lot to learn about me, I suppose.¡± After finishing my bath, Arthur lovingly helped me dry off, telling me I could come over and use his bath anytime that I wanted. I told him I appreciated it and would definitely take him up on that offer. After we changed into pj''s, we crawled into the king-sized bed and cuddled as we fell asleep.
Chapter 14 After a long week of mostly classes and homework, I had finally made it to the weekend once more. Of course, I wasn¡¯t home free, as I still had homework to do before the new week started, but at least I got to visit with Arthur again. The highlight of the school week had been going out with Chani to pick out our costumes for the Halloween party we were invited to. Before going to the big box stores, we headed to the thrift store and looked through what they had. Chani decided on going as a witch, and I decided on a vampire since both were pretty easy to cook up with our closets. Luckily we found her a hat that would work perfectly for the costume. Of course, we had to head to Spirit Halloween afterward to try on some costumes, even if we had our costumes picked out. Arthur had picked me up from my dorm. He said he had something special planned for tonight. We arrived at his place, where he told me he had a private chef hired to make us dinner. It didn¡¯t take long for the chef to get there and start our dinner, leaving Arthur and me plenty of time to talk. ¡°Arthur. Can I¡­ask you something?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± He shrugged slightly, flashing me a smile. ¡°It¡¯s about your ex-wife. I just wanna know about your relationship. Why you broke up.¡± He took a deep breath. ¡°I figured you¡¯d be curious. I don''t mind talking about it, though. My ex and I weren¡¯t exactly ever friends. Our parents practically arranged it. I come from money, and so did she. After my parents passed away, it just didn¡¯t make sense to stay together where both of us were unhappy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry about your parents¡­and that you were unhappy.¡± I placed my hand on top of his. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, Malia.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I used to work a crazy schedule, but after the divorce, I slowed down. And I¡¯m glad I did so I can spend time like this with you.¡± He rubbed my hand gently with his thumb. ¡°I¡¯m glad you did too.¡± I smiled. ¡°Do you¡­want to find love still?¡± ¡°I would like to, yes.¡± Arthur nodded with a soft smile. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind having a couple more children down the road if she wants that.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like kids at some point, I think.¡± ¡°Maybe I can give you that down the road.¡± He chuckled. ¡°I want to travel around first, though. See the world before I settle down.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t always have to pick one or the other. With my kind of money, you can have kids and travel with them.¡± ¡°That sounds like a lot of fun.¡± I smiled to myself, before my mind drifted to Chani, wondering how she fit into all of this. ¡°Arthur¡­I think I have feelings towards my friend I told you about. She¡¯s been such a good friend to me and though she shows interest in me, I¡¯m scared to ruin that.¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°You should tell her how you feel, Malia.¡± He spoke softly, his hand still under mine. ¡°You¡¯ll regret it if you don¡¯t someday.¡± ¡°How--how do you feel about me being with someone else, though?¡± He took another deep breath, before finally speaking. ¡°I don¡¯t want to keep you from exploring yourself, Malia. You¡¯re young and this is a time of experimenting. I want you to live to the fullest. And as long as I¡¯m able to be a part of that, I¡¯m happy.¡± Eventually, our food was ready. The chef made each of us specific dishes, well mostly he made me vegetarian dishes. Afterward, he went on his own way and we were left alone again. Unknown to Arthur, I also had something special planned for the night and guided him into the living room where I turned some music on. I began to strip for him, down to the lingerie I had underneath. Arthur watched me with a smile, his eyes never leaving my vicinity. ¡°You¡¯re so hot, Malia.¡± He uttered. I smiled back at him, as I continued to strip until I was left bare in front of him. I still didn¡¯t feel totally confident naked, but at least felt comfortable enough to do it around him. I dropped my to knees and crawled over to him, careful of my fingers, as I had previously broke one this way. In front of him, I sat back up and placed my hands on his thighs, leaning forward to kiss him passionately. He pulled back, looking down at me seriously. ¡°Are you sure you want to do this, Malia? You don¡¯t have to.¡± He reassured me gently. ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± I flashed him a smile, before looking back down. I slid my hands up his thighs and started undoing the zipper to his pants. Arthur ran his fingers through my hair as I pulled them off, shortly followed by his underwear. I put my hand around his shaft, surprised by how soft and warm it was. I took a moment to size him up, not fully sure what to do, before moving forward to lick up from the bottom to top. Arthur shifted slightly on the couch, his breath catching. I swirled my tongue on the tip, before moving back down to his balls and back up. I put him in my mouth finally, only letting it go in so far as I tried my best to push it in farther. Arthur gave me a moan of appreciation, encouraging me to go deeper, until I choked on it, pulling it back out a bit. He ran his fingers through my hair again, prompting me to try again, while trying to control my gag reflex. I looked up at him to see his head resting on the back of the couch. Arthur began to bob my head up and down slightly to a particular rhythm, until he tensed up, pushing me a bit farther into my throat so I was forced to pray I wouldn¡¯t gag. After a few moments, he pulled back slightly and came, some of it coming out of my mouth and onto his stomach and crotch. ¡°Fuck.¡± He uttered, pulling his head back up to flash me a lopsided smile. He rubbed my head gently as I swallowed a mouthful of his cum, pulling back to remove his dick from my mouth. ¡°Sorry.¡± I licked the remaining cum off of his stomach and peppered grey pubes. ¡°That was amazing, Malia.¡± He tilted my face to look up at him and rubbed my cheek gently with his thumb. ¡°It was my first time.¡± I smiled slightly. ¡°You¡¯re a natural then.¡± His words caused me to blush and smile, looking away. ¡°Come here.¡± He grabbed my arm and pulled me up onto the couch and into his lap. His hand ran down my naked body, stopping on my backside. ¡°Can I reciprocate?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± I trailed off, shrinking down slightly, before shaking my head. ¡°I¡¯m not ready.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± He smiled at me softly, pushing a strand out of my face. ¡°Then just let me hold you for a while.¡±
Chapter 15 Another long week, doing pretty much nothing but studying and homework. Midterms are coming up, and I¡¯m nervous about them, so I¡¯ve been spending most of my time with Chani studying for them. I really do look forward to the weekends now, partially because of the break from classes, but also because I always am excited to spend time with Arthur. I agreed to spend the weekend at his place this week, under the condition he¡¯d go with me to get a tattoo. I had finished all my homework up for the week last night, so I had a free weekend with him. ¡°So,¡± I looked over at him, ¡°I hope you had nothing fancy planned for tomorrow because I got you something special.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± He glanced over at me as we drove towards his apartment. He had picked me up from my dorm in another fancy car. I kinda wondered what everyone else thought of me. I guess at the end of the day; I didn¡¯t really want to know. ¡°I got us tickets for the game tomorrow.¡± ¡°The Broncos game?!¡± He looked over at me with surprise, quickly looking back over at the road. ¡°Yep!¡± I smiled widely, ecstatic because of his reaction. ¡°Malia, you didn¡¯t have to.¡± ¡°The big smile on your face says otherwise.¡± I wove my fingers into his, as his arm was resting on the console. ¡°Thank you, Malia. Seriously.¡± He squeezed my hand, looking over at me at the red light. ¡°I got them from a scalper on campus, so hopefully, they¡¯re legit.¡± ¡°I hope so too.¡± He chuckled, looking back over to watch the light. ¡°Are we still going to get your tattoo?¡± ¡°After I drop my things off, yeah. I have an appointment booked for noon. I should eat some lunch and get some juice to bring along. This¡¯ll be my biggest one so far.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be fine, I¡¯m sure of it.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± I smiled, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.
Arthur and I had lunch before heading over to my tattoo appointment. Since moving to Denver, I¡¯ve been going to the same girl. She¡¯s really nice and punk rock, as well as very attractive, not that it matters for her quality of work. She¡¯s a very talented artist as well, which is the main reason I go to her. We were in the tattooing room, while Arthur was looking around the main area at all the art. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re with the old guy, Mali?¡± She raised her pierced eyebrow in questioning. ¡°He¡¯s my sugar daddy.¡± I announced it without even thinking, instantly regretting it. ¡°I¡­maybe shouldn¡¯t have said that.¡± ¡°No judgment from me, girl.¡± She smiled. ¡°He¡¯s pretty handsome.¡± I smiled slightly. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°I assume you have pet rats if you¡¯re getting one as a tattoo.¡± ¡°I did.¡± I nodded. ¡°They make the best pets. They¡¯re so sweet.¡± Arthur wandered back into the room and sat down. He smiled and me and reached over to squeeze my forearm gently. ¡°How¡¯re you doing?¡± ¡°Fine.¡± I smiled back at him. ¡°It¡¯s not too bad.¡± He peeked over at my ankle. ¡°It looks good so far.¡± ¡°I trust Kyra.¡± I nodded. ¡°She¡¯s the best.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too kind.¡± Kyra chuckled, not looking up from her work. It took a couple hours to finish the tattoo. We spent most of the time chatting between the three of us. It always goes easier when you have something to pass the time more quickly. After getting out of the tattoo parlor, we headed to the Aquarium, where Arthur had set up dinner at. The dinner being planned later gave us time to walk around and look at all the fishies, which I was excited about as I¡¯ve never been to an aquarium before. We enjoyed looking around before it was time for our dinner reservation. Arthur ended up ordering fish, which I found kinda weird to eat at an aquarium, but decided not to say anything. After dinner, we headed out, but in the parking lot, my heels caught on uneven ground, causing me to trip and fall onto my knees. ¡°Shit.¡± Arthur knelt down to help me up. ¡°Are you alright, Malia?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I got back up with his help, before rubbing the rocks out of my knees. I had seemingly cut them open falling down. ¡°Maybe you shouldn¡¯t wear heels.¡± He looked down at me worryingly. I laughed, shaking my head. ¡°I¡¯m fine. And no, I will never stop wearing my heels!¡± ¡°Alright, alright.¡± He chuckled, wrapping his arm around my waist. ¡°Let¡¯s get you home.¡± He held onto me the rest of the way to the car, even helping me get in. We drove to Arthur¡¯s place, Arthur insisting I let him look at my knees after we got back. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± I rolled my eyes. Sure, my knees were sore, but it wasn¡¯t anything too bad. If anything, I was the most worried about my tattoo. ¡°Just let me clean them up. You¡¯re bleeding, Malia.¡± He pointed towards my knees. ¡°Fine, fine.¡± I walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, stretching my legs out in front of me. He was right, I was bleeding, and it was running down my calf. Arthur appeared a short time later with a med kit in hand. ¡°I¡¯ll be gentle.¡± He knelt down next to me, running his hand up my leg. He began to clean me up, before finishing by putting some ointment on my knees. ¡°There you go. All better.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Thank you.¡± I smiled at him as he stood up and moved over to kiss me. He moved back, sitting on the couch next to me and putting his arm around my shoulders, cuddling me to his chest. ¡°Would you like to watch a movie before bed?¡±
I rolled over as I woke up, attempting to get out of the bed to go pee when Arthur grabbed me and pulled me against him. I let out an ¡®ump¡¯ as he squeezed me. ¡°I gotta go potty.¡± I whined. ¡°You can go potty in a second. Right now, we¡¯re cuddling.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so warm.¡± I complained, trying to claw my way out of his arms. He chuckled, squeezing me tighter. ¡°I¡¯m never letting you leave, Malia.¡± ¡°But what about college? What about seeing the world?¡± ¡°Too bad. You¡¯re stuck here with me.¡± He planted kisses on my forehead as he ran his fingers through my slightly tangled hair. Eventually, he let me go and get up. I returned from the bathroom, picking my duffle bag off the floor and plopping it down on the bed. ¡°Why don¡¯t you leave some of your stuff here, so you don¡¯t have to transport it back and forth? Or better yet, I¡¯ll buy you some stuff that you can just keep here.¡± He propped himself up in the bed, watching me with a smile, no doubt proud of his ¡®clever¡¯ idea. ¡°That¡¯s too much, Arthur.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Nonsense.¡± He shook his head, sitting up fully. He watched as I pulled out a clean pair of underwear. His eyes roamed over me as I stripped down to change into them. ¡°Find something you like?¡± I looked up at him with a questioning look. ¡°Very much so.¡± He moved in the bed, grabbing my neck to crane down to kiss him. ¡°I found a smart, beautiful woman.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you lucky?¡± I ran my hand over his stubble. Our kiss deepened.
I¡¯d be lying if I said I looked forward to a whole day at the stadium watching a football game, but I was doing it for Arthur¡¯s sake. He seemed excited about it, so that made me happy. ¡°What¡¯re your plans for the week?¡± Arthur asked as we sat down in our seats. ¡°I have a Halloween party I¡¯m going to the following week, so Chani and I need to finish our costumes.¡± ¡°Oh, what are you going as?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going as a vampire and Chani as a witch.¡± ¡°Like a hot vampire?¡± He smiled at me. ¡°Hopefully.¡± I laughed. ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to send pictures before I post them on Instagram.¡± ¡°I¡¯d appreciate some extra pictures too.¡± He winked. ¡°If you know what I mean.¡± ¡°Sure thing.¡± I winked back at him. ¡°If I don¡¯t get too drunk, that is. Chani said there¡¯s going to be alcohol there.¡± ¡°Well, if you do and need a designated driver, just let me know.¡± The game eventually started. We watched along, Arthur cheering here and there when good things, or so I assumed, were happening for his team. ¡°Tell me the weirdest thing about you.¡± I cuddled against him, speaking quietly into his ear. ¡°Hmm.¡± He thought for a few moments. ¡°Probably that I let my best friend fuck my wife.¡± He chuckled. I looked up at him. ¡°You mean Peyton?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He laughed again, looking away from the game to me. ¡°Does that count for your question?¡± ¡°I already knew that, so not really.¡± ¡°Let me think then.¡± He smiled, looking back at the game, before cheering as the Broncos got a touchdown. ¡°I¡¯m sure the longer you know me, the more you¡¯ll find out what I¡¯m into. That¡¯ll probably be weird to you.¡± He answered, sitting back down. ¡°So, you¡¯re kinky?¡± I cracked a smile. He chuckled again, nodding. ¡°I think you would think so. What about you? What¡¯s weird about you.¡± ¡°Well¡­mine isn¡¯t kinky. I just like dead stuff. Like taxidermy and oddities and stuff. As long as they¡¯re humanely sourced, that is. I used to go on trail rides looking for bones.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not really what I was asking.¡± He chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s what I was asking, though.¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°But fine, have it your way. I¡¯m¡­not sure what I like. I guess being dominated.¡± He raised his eyebrows. ¡°I didn¡¯t see that one coming.¡± ¡°Actually or¡­?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ you seem too innocent.¡± He laughed again. ¡°Not that that¡¯s a bad thing.¡± ¡°Just cause I haven¡¯t done anything doesn¡¯t mean I haven¡¯t watched porn or something.¡± I shrugged slightly. ¡°My best friend was insistent that I watch some and tell her what I did and didn¡¯t like.¡± ¡°Well, we might have to try some of that stuff then in that case.¡± I laughed. ¡°Aren¡¯t you the gentleman?¡± After a long time, the game finally finished. We left the stadium and headed home. ¡°I¡¯m sorry your team lost.¡± I looked over at Arthur. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m glad you got us tickets. I¡¯ve been to games before, but you being there made it that much better.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you liked it.¡± I smiled, leaning against his arm as he drove.
I ran my hand over the soft sheets, jealous that I didn¡¯t have as nice of ones in my dorm. They¡¯re admittedly a significant reason, along with the bed, that I liked sleeping over here so much. Arthur walked into the room, a laptop in hand. ¡°Ready to pick out some stuff to keep here?¡± ¡°Nooo.¡± I pouted. ¡°Come on, Malia. Just a handful of things, that¡¯s all I¡¯m asking.¡± He handed me the laptop. I set it to the side on the nightstand. ¡°I know you like shopping, don¡¯t try to lie.¡± ¡°No.¡± I crossed my arms across my chest. Arthur peeled them apart. I crawled away from him, the opposite side of the laptop. Arthur laid on the bed next to me, before wrapping his arms around me and pulling me against him. I shook back and forth before breaking free of his grasp while giggling, jumping on top to straddle him. I sat down on him, where I could feel that he was hard. ¡°Malia.¡± He practically moaned my name, causing goosebumps to form. ¡°I want you. Are you ready?¡± He ran his hands up my thighs, stopping at my hips. ¡°I¡¯m not on birth control.¡± I leaned back slightly. ¡°I should have condoms somewhere around here.¡± He quickly got up from under me, getting out of the bed, and walking into the bathroom. I chewed on my lip. Was I ready? I¡¯m not against it, but part of me wants Chani to be my first, not Arthur. I feel like she deserves it instead of him. Arthur walked back into the room, a purple box in hand. ¡°I knew I had some.¡± He looked up from the box to me with a large smile. ¡°Arthur.¡± I pulled my knees to my chest, sitting up. ¡°I¡¯m--I¡¯m not ready. Not yet.¡± ¡°That¡¯s alright, Malia.¡± He sat down next to me, gently touching my face. ¡°No rush, alright?¡± ¡°I--I¡¯ll get on birth control soon. So we can.¡± I smiled slightly, looking up at him again. ¡°Don¡¯t rush yourself, Malia. Seriously. You¡¯re too important to me for it to be okay. I don¡¯t want to lose you because you regret it.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± I smiled slightly before leaning forward and wrapping my arms around him. He did the same, rubbing my back gently.
Chapter 16 Arthur dropped me off at the dorms this morning, early enough that I had time to get to class. It was fun having a sleepover like that, not having to stay in my lonely dorm room. I went to my usual classes, but before I knew it, it was time to get ready for the party. Chani and I had agreed to get ready together, so I changed in my dorm and headed to hers with my makeup. She ended up doing my makeup for her and I did hers. We had a good time laughing and joking around through it. Chani then drove us to the party when it was late enough. We arrived at the large house, parking reasonably far away, and walking to the door. We each grabbed a beer and settled into the party. ¡°Hey! Chani!¡± A guy from across the room, towering over most of the other college students, waved at Chani. He made his way through the crowd, finally reaching us. ¡°Hey, Sam.¡± She smiled up at him. ¡°Nice to see you made it.¡± Chani looked back over at me. ¡°Sam, this is my friend Malia. Malia, this is Sam; he¡¯s in some of my classes, and we went to high school together.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± I waved slightly at him. ¡°I¡¯ve heard a lot about you from Chani.¡± ¡°Good things, I hope.¡± I rubbed my arm nervously. ¡°Of course.¡± He nodded. ¡°Hey, Chani. Kate¡¯s here.¡± ¡°Shit.¡± Chani cursed under her breath. ¡°Who¡¯s Kate?¡± I looked over at Chani, who shook her head, before looking back over at Sam. ¡°Chai¡¯s ex.¡± ¡°We¡­can go, if you want.¡± I offered. ¡°No, no. We¡¯re going to enjoy ourselves. Just¡­let me get us another drink.¡± She took my empty cup and walked away towards the kitchen, leaving me alone with Sam. We awkwardly stood around, not saying anything to each other, until a girl appeared by his side. She was a pretty blonde but looked very¡­typical. ¡°Hey, Sam.¡± She smiled up at him, looping her arm around his. ¡°Hey, Kate.¡± He looked down at her, before glancing in my direction. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re Kate.¡± I smiled at her. ¡°I¡¯m friends with Chani. It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nice to meet you ¡­erh.¡± She said, extending a hand towards me. ¡°Malia.¡± I shook her perfectly manicured hand. No doubt she paid a good amount of money to keep her nails up-kept. I knew because Alice also did. ¡°So..¡± She looked back at Sam. ¡°Is Chani here?¡± ¡°She¡¯s getting us drinks. I can text her and ask her to grab you one if you¡¯d like.¡± I offered, pulling my phone out to warn Chani of her presence, not blaming her if she didn¡¯t want to come back. ¡°No.¡± She motioned quickly. ¡°I think I¡¯d be best if I¡­ surprised her, y¡¯know.¡± She gave me a pleading look. ¡°I¡­¡± I trailed off, putting my phone back away in my purse. ¡°Okay.¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Thank you.¡± She said in almost a whisper. ¡°Anyways, what are you doing here, Kate?¡± Sam spoke back up. ¡°Y¡¯know I love parties!¡± She said in a super chipper voice. ¡°I love your costume, by the way.¡± I smiled at her cheerleader uniform, surprised Chani would date someone the opposite of her. ¡°Eeee.¡± She shrieked. ¡°Isn¡¯t it the best?¡± She twirled around to show me. I nodded along, trying to keep the smile on my face. I just hope Chani would still want to date me even if I wasn¡¯t bubbly like her ex. ¡°I think you¡¯d love my best friend. She¡¯s super bubbly like you.¡± ¡°Maybe I¡¯ve met her. What''s her name?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Alice Constantine.¡± ¡°O.M.G. I think she¡¯s trying to join our sorority.¡± She grinned. ¡°Crazy how small this campus is, huh?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s cool.¡± ¡°O.M.G. O.M.G.¡± She started waving her arms around and jumping up and down. ¡°Chani!¡± Chani returned with something stronger than last time, in hand. We all ended up spending most of the night together. It was surprisingly not that weird. Chani had to make sure she didn¡¯t drink too much so she could drive back home and so I matched what she drank. We headed back to campus once the party began to die down.
Chani¡¯s soft lips pressed against mine. She tasted like alcohol, but I¡¯m sure I did too. She began kissing the side of my mouth. She slowly moved away, down my neck, and towards my chest. ¡°Mali.¡± She moaned out my name as she kissed my collarbone. ¡°Are you ready?¡± ¡°I am.¡± I answer, running my hand along her hair, careful not to mess it up. She moved her attention back up to my face, looking at me seriously. ¡°Promise me.¡± ¡°I promise. I¡¯m ready, Chani.¡± I smiled softly at her as she watched me with her deep brown eyes. She nodded and moved in to kiss me once again. Her hands shifted down my body and landed on the bottom of my skirt, pulling it up. She smiled slightly as his fingers crawled up my thighs before stopping at my underwear. ¡°You¡¯re already wet, girly? Who knew you were so easy?¡± I pouted slightly, causing her to laugh quietly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mali. You¡¯re perfect.¡± ¡°Perfect, huh?¡± I smiled. ¡°Who knew you were so easy, Chani?¡± ¡°You better watch that tongue, girly.¡± She warned me, a smile still on her face. Her fingers continued to gently rub through the underwear, causing me to squirm slightly. ¡°Or else.¡± ¡°You¡¯re tempting me.¡± I played with the bottom of her shirt, not daring to pull it off without her permission. ¡°Try me, girly.¡± She picked up the pace, causing me to let out a moan. ¡°Good kitty. Let¡¯s get you out of these.¡± Her fingers delicately ran under the lacy underwear, before shimmying them down my thighs. She traced her way back up to my crotch, where a finger dipped inside me, hooking inside and rubbing against the ridges. Her thumb rubbed my clit gently as her finger rubbed my insides, causing me to quickly become overwhelmed. I grabbed onto her wrist. ¡°You¡¯re fine.¡± She cooed, rubbing my head with her other hand. ¡°Do you want me to keep going?¡± ¡°Umhm.¡± I moaned out a reply, looking into her eyes, pleading. ¡°You can trust me, Mali. I won¡¯t hurt you.¡± Chani¡¯s thumb continued stimulating my clit as her fingers ran through my hair, pulling me against her chest. I rested my head there and closed my eyes as she continued. The dorm room door opened, causing me to shoot straight up and watch it with wide eyes. Chani¡¯s roommate walked in, shrinking down slightly as she saw us. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡± She put her hands up. ¡°I just needed to grab a few things.¡± She quickly walked to her side of the room and began packing. Chani made sure to block her view until she left, throwing up one last apology. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Chani sighed. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault.¡± I cracked a smile. ¡°I think she has a radar and has to intrude whenever we¡¯re doing something.¡± She smiled. ¡°I think you¡¯re right. Do you want to continue?¡± I shook my head, no longer in the mood. ¡°I just want to sleep now.¡± Chani nodded, pulling my underwear back up for me. ¡°Come here.¡± She huddled me into a hug before lying down. ¡°Good night, Mali.¡± ¡°Night, Chani.¡±
Chapter 17 I woke up as Chani got out of the bed. ¡°Sorry.¡± She apologized. ¡°I was trying not to wake you up.¡± ¡°You¡¯re fine.¡± I reached for my phone to check the time. ¡°I should be getting up for class anyways, so I can take a shower.¡± ¡°Thanks for last night, Mali. I¡­really appreciate you.¡± ¡°Big ol¡¯ tough Chani has feelings?¡± I looked at her in awe. ¡°Tell anyone,¡± she pointed at me, ¡°and I¡¯ll kick your ass.¡± She spoke with a smile, but I could tell she was at least a little bit serious. Maybe not on the kicking my ass part, but she probably didn¡¯t need everyone knowing she was more sensitive than she let on. I laughed quietly, putting my hands up in surrender. ¡°I won¡¯t tell a soul.¡± Chani continued to get ready while I went off to take a shower, making a pit stop at my things. I made my way into the bathroom and into a shower. I began cleaning myself up when I heard a couple of girls coming in chatting. ¡°Did you see they stayed in the same room?¡± One of their comments piqued my interest. Were they talking and Chani and me? ¡°One of the girls told me they heard them having sex.¡± Were we that loud last night? They continued talking for a while, leading me more and more to believe they were talking about Chani and me. I felt sick to my stomach hearing them talk. It felt like high school all over again, with the girls gossiping about me. I tried to finish my shower as quickly as I could to get out of there. Thankfully they were already in the shower and didn¡¯t see me. I made my way back to my dorm room and changed, trying to get ready for class. I slipped back into Chani¡¯s room before heading to class. She was now fully changed and working on her makeup. ¡°What¡¯s up, girly?¡± She glanced at me in the mirror as she was applying her eyeliner. ¡°I¡­heard some girls talking about us in the bathroom. While I was showering.¡± ¡°About you and me, huh?¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Don¡¯t let it get under your skin too much, Mali.¡± ¡°I know, it¡¯s just¡­¡± I trailed off, sighing. ¡°It¡¯s mean.¡± ¡°Mali.¡± Chani turned around. ¡°You alright?¡± I nodded weakly. ¡°Just feels shitty having people talk about you. Especially when you hear it. They didn¡¯t even think to check or anything.¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°I know.¡± She looked at me sadly. ¡°It¡¯s shitty, but don¡¯t let it bother you too much. It¡¯s not worth it.¡± ¡°Okay. I¡¯m alright.¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°I just thought you should know it¡¯s happening.¡± ¡°Thanks, Mali. Take care of yourself.¡± She stood up and walked over to me, wrapping her arms around me. I hugged her back tightly, feeling like the hug didn¡¯t go on for long enough as she moved back. ¡°Good luck with your classes.¡± ¡°Thanks, Chani.¡±
Chani and I met up after class and headed to a nearby animal shelter. Both of us knew we didn¡¯t have the space for it in our dorm rooms but wanted to fantasize nonetheless. ¡°Aww. Look at this guy.¡± Chani knelt down next to one of the cages and stuck her fingers in there for the dog to lick. ¡°He¡¯s so cute.¡± I knelt down next to her, sticking my fingers in to pet him the best that I could. ¡°What¡¯s your dream dog breed? I guess mostly looks-wise.¡± ¡°Rottweiler, one hundred percent.¡± She looked over at me with a smile. ¡°Ooh. They¡¯re so pretty. I would want another Cane Corso. We had one that passed away a few years ago.¡± ¡°Do you have pictures?¡± Chani stood back up, helping me to my feet as well. ¡°I do.¡± I pulled my phone out and found my album, before handing it to her. ¡°What a proud dog!¡± ¡°She was so pretty. And her head was so soft.¡± I smiled at the thought of my old dog. ¡°What other pets do you have?¡± ¡°My family has a bunch of farm animals and horses. We have this one horse who¡¯s too old to be ridden, but we¡¯ve had him all my life. I miss him a lot.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted a horse.¡± Chani pouted slightly. ¡°We have other horses that can be. Maybe you can come out sometime and ride with me.¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to. I did this thing called Westernaires for years. You ride horses and practice for the show and then sell tickets to the show and then ride in the show.¡± She explained. ¡°I haven¡¯t ridden since I stopped doing that, but would love to do it again.¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to have you come.¡± I smiled at her. ¡°My parents want me to come out this summer, so you have to for a little, at least.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to.¡± She smiled back at me. ¡°So, do you only have farm animals?¡± ¡°No. I used to have rats, but they passed away, and I didn¡¯t want to get more before college and have to leave them. That¡¯s why I got the tattoo.¡± I motioned towards my ankle. ¡°I had a bunch of spiders, but they were all native, so I let them go before I left. I¡¯d love to catch some more when I have the space.¡± ¡°I used to catch spiders all the time back at home.¡± I laughed. ¡°If we ever move in together, Chani, we¡¯ll have a damn zoo.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯d love that.¡± She smiled, wrapping an arm around my waist.
Chapter 18 After my last class for the day, I headed back to the dorm room and started packing for the trip Arthur had planned for us. I had told Chani, who was helping me pack, that I had no idea where we were going, but I was excited. Other than the occasional trip to the nearest big city with Alice or my family, I rarely traveled outside of Trinidad. ¡°How many pairs of underwear do you need?¡± Chani rummaged through my drawer. I blushed slightly at the thought of her looking through all my panties. ¡°I-uh, I can grab it myself.¡± I slipped in between her and the dresser. She laughed and squeezed my shoulder before moving to sit on my bed. ¡°Do you really like him that much, Mali?¡± ¡°He¡¯s nice.¡± I nodded, picking out the underwear and placing them in my duffle bag. ¡°He¡¯s been nothing but nice to me.¡± ¡°But anyone can be nice to you. Do you like him more than just that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I shrugged, walking over to check what I had packed so far. ¡°He helps me buy stuff, and he¡¯s nice. Does a sugar daddy need to really be anything more? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m per se looking for a romantic relationship with him.¡± ¡°But aren¡¯t you having one with him?¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°I guess. I mean, we¡¯ve done stuff, and I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll do more in time, but that doesn¡¯t mean I love him, right?¡± ¡°Yeah. I guess not.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Sex doesn¡¯t always equal love.¡± ¡°You just want to ask if I love you, Chani?¡± I cracked a smile, looking over at her. She rolled her eyes. ¡°No. I already know you do.¡± ¡°Oh, so sure.¡± I laughed. I looked over as my phone vibrated. ¡°Arthur¡¯s here. I¡¯ve got to go.¡± ¡°Bye, bye, girly. Stay safe.¡± ¡°Have fun seeing your family.¡± I moved in to hug her goodbye, before grabbing my bag and heading out the door. I headed down the stairs and outside, where Arthur¡¯s Escalade was parked. I waved, ran around the side, and tossed my things into the back before crawling in. ¡°Hey, Malia.¡± He smiled at me, leaning over to kiss me. I kissed him back, before buckling the seatbelt as he drove out of the parking lot. ¡°So, you going to tell me where we¡¯re headed now?¡± ¡°Vail.¡± He spoke with a smile, glancing in my direction. I sat forward in excitement. ¡°Like the ski resort?!¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± Arthur chuckled. ¡°Have you ever been?¡± ¡°Not at all, but Alice¡¯s family always went to a resort around Christmas time, so I¡¯ve been there before.¡± ¡°Where you guys go?¡± ¡°Taos. It¡¯s in New Mexico.¡± ¡°Never heard of it.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I¡­hope we¡¯re not going skiing while we¡¯re there. I¡¯m not a very good skier.¡± I rubbed my arm nervously. ¡°No worries. I¡¯m not much of a skier either. I¡¯ve only gone with my kids once and I nearly broke my back.¡± He chuckled. ¡°I would¡¯ve loved to see that.¡± I smiled to myself. ¡°I¡¯m sure you would have.¡± He shook his head with a smile still on his face. ¡°Anyways. I do have some things planned, but anything you don¡¯t want to do, we don¡¯t have to do.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really excited.¡± I placed my hand on top of his that was resting on the console. ¡°I am too, Malia.¡± He squeezed my hand gently, taking it in his. We drove for around an hour and a half before arriving in Vail. The next part was trying to find our hotel in the busy city. ¡°We¡¯re at the Lion Square Lodge.¡± I read the resort off of Arthur¡¯s reservation. ¡°I¡¯m plugging it into Google Maps now.¡± We followed the instructions toward our hotel, finally arriving there. I was more than ready to get out and stretch my legs, but it was cold up here, forcing me to quickly grab my jacket first. ¡°Come on.¡± Arthur wrapped his arm around me, rubbing my arm to help me warm up. He was carrying his bag and had handed me mine. The hotel was beautiful, looking just like I expected from a ski resort. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. We walked into the hotel and were given the key to our room. We rode the elevator up, and before I knew it, we were in the room, letting us set our things down. ¡°Are you hungry?¡± Arthur looked over at me after setting his suitcase down. I nodded. ¡°Very.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see what¡¯s around us then.¡±
Arthur let out a groan as he crashed onto the bed. I sat down next to him, scooting under him, so he was resting his head on my lap. ¡°This place is amazing, Arthur. Did you see the other bedroom? There are bunk beds. They¡¯re so cute.¡± Arthur smiled up at me, reaching up to gently touch my face. ¡°Are you ready for bed, Malia?¡± ¡°I¡¯m full and tired, so yes.¡± I laughed. ¡°Alright. Get comfy, and I¡¯ll be back in a second.¡± Arthur got up and walked into the bathroom. I got under the sheets, moving my arms and legs to try to heat it up. Arthur came back out and crawled in with me, pulling me against him, face to face. ¡°Thank you for bringing me with you, Arthur.¡± I whispered. ¡°There¡¯s no one else I¡¯d rather have here with me.¡± He reached over and rubbed my cheek gently. I smiled, leaning in to kiss him. ¡°Thank you nonetheless.¡±
Arthur and I were walking around the town, when I slipped my cold hand in his. He jumped slightly, likely from my chilly hands, but then took my hand in his. We had a handful of bags already from our shopping, as he had insisted that I have a shopping spree. I was tentative, but excited nonetheless since I do, in fact, love shopping. ¡°Malia.¡± He looked down at me. ¡°You can call me Mali or Mal. My friends always do.¡± ¡°Mal.¡± He smiled. ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Do you miss home at all? This is your first time being away for long, right?¡± ¡°Not really.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I like being away from my family and having this kind of independence. They occasionally call to chat, but they would kill me if they found out I have a sugar daddy and an almost girlfriend.¡± He laughed. ¡°You think you¡¯ll ever tell them?¡± ¡°My sister¡¯s kinda mean, but she probably wouldn¡¯t judge me. My parents on the other hand: never.¡± ¡°What are you gonna do if you ever wanna settle down one day?¡± ¡°Probably just not talk to them anymore.¡± I looked down as we walked into the next store. I hadn¡¯t thought on it much, but I guess they would likely disown me if they knew I was pan, so I wouldn¡¯t really have a choice. ¡°If you and I settled down, they¡¯d probably be okay with it, but not with Chani.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fucked up.¡± He looked over at me, before continuing softly. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry that your parents are like that, Mal.¡± I looked up at him and smiled slightly, tilting my head to the side. ¡°I¡¯m just happy to have good people in my life. Parents you don¡¯t choose, but friends you do.¡± Arthur pulled me into a hug. ¡°How very wise of you.¡± He laughed. ¡°I can be pretty smart when I put my mind to it.¡± I inhaled his scent while we hugged. He always smelled so warm and inviting. ¡°More than my family, I actually miss my animals. I especially want to have rats again.¡± ¡°Well, once you move out on your own, you can start your own home zoo if that¡¯s what you want to do. At least the animals won¡¯t judge you for being bi.¡± He paused. ¡°Probably.¡± I laughed. ¡°I surely hope not! I¡¯d like to have a room for animals someday, so the rats won¡¯t keep me up at night anymore. And so I can have a safe space to let them run around in.¡± ¡°How much room do you think you¡¯d need for all the animals you want?¡± ¡°Well, I want dogs and cats and rats and to bring my reptiles back over with me. And Chani and I want spiders and probably other things, but we¡¯d realistically only need like three bedrooms in a place, but I don¡¯t know how expensive something like that is in Denver.¡± ¡°In the city, that¡¯s pretty expensive; you¡¯d have to go further out or get a fixer-upper to find something more affordable. I could always help you guys get a place, though.¡± ¡°That¡¯s way too much, Arthur. I mean¡­¡± I looked up at him. ¡°Maybe. If you¡¯re sure, ¡®cause I don¡¯t know how else I¡¯d afford a place.¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to help you, Mal. Besides, I have the funds.¡± I smiled and got up on my toes to kiss him. ¡°Thank you again, Arthur.¡± ¡°Anyways, why don¡¯t you put that brain of yours to what we¡¯re gonna buy.¡±
After a long and fun day, we were finally back in the hotel room. After shopping and dropping things back off, we went snowmobiling. It was my first time, but it ended up being really fun. I was somewhat nervous about driving, but nothing bad happened, so we just had a good time. After, we grabbed some dinner and headed back to the hotel room. Currently, we were cuddling in bed, watching some TV. I moved slightly, cuddling up closer to him. ¡°I don¡¯t wanna go home yet.¡± I pouted. ¡°I know.¡± He ran his fingers through my hair. ¡°But you have homework to do, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I sighed deeply. ¡°I wish I didn¡¯t go to college. I hate it.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be happy you did once you finish.¡± ¡°But once I finish, I have to go to medical school. And I¡¯m not looking forward to that at all.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll make it through.¡± He rubbed my head lovingly. ¡°I know you will.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how I¡¯m going to pay for everything, though.¡± I shook my head, looking at him sadly. ¡°I¡¯m going to be in so much debt.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it too much, Mal. You¡¯ll figure it out, and I¡¯ll be here to help.¡± ¡°Thanks, Arthur.¡± I smiled at him, squeezing him in a hug. He let out an ¡®ump¡¯ but laughed afterward.
Chapter 19 After the nice trip with Arthur, I had to finish up my last classes before my Fall break trip with Chani to her parents¡¯ cabin. Just one more day, and we get to leave for most of the break! I¡¯m excited to go up to the cabin, to be in nature once more, but I¡¯m nervous about having to meet Chani¡¯s family to do so. She told me they had set up lunch to see, mostly Chani and also me. They have no clue about our affairs, and they should never find out, according to Chani, so I¡¯ll be introduced to them as a friend instead, taking some of that pressure off of me. ¡°You doing alright?¡± Chani¡¯s question broke me out of my thoughts. We were currently in my room, and she was helping me pack for our trip. ¡°Yeah. Just thinking about meeting your parents.¡± I admitted. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine.¡± Chani attempted to reassure me. ¡°We just need to spend lunch with them, and then we¡¯ll be in the clear.¡± I nodded, still not excited by the idea. ¡°Mali. You¡¯ll need a bigger jacket than these.¡± She ran her finger along my handful of jackets. ¡°We can run to the thrift store and see if we can find something before we watch our movie.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°What movie did you want to watch, by the way?¡± ¡°How about the next Hellraiser movie?¡± ¡°Which one are we on now? The third one, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure.¡± I placed the last of my clothes in the duffle bag. Other than a jacket and my outfit for the travel day, everything was ready. ¡°I¡¯m ready to leave when you are. To go to the thrift store.¡± ¡°And get some tea.¡± Chani laughed. I smiled, rolling my eyes. ¡°And some tea, I suppose.¡± ¡°Come on.¡± Chani and I headed off campus, first stopping by our favorite tea shop in the area for a to-go drink, then heading to the thrift store. Thankfully we found me a nice warm coat in black, to match my style that would work for our trip. I ended up calling Alice while we were out, but to no avail, as she didn¡¯t pick up. Chani picked out the craziest clothes she could find for me to try out to try and cheer me up. I didn¡¯t really work, but I appreciated her doing it. After shopping, we then returned to campus and to Chani¡¯s dorm room, where we started the movie. I ended up dosing off part way through.
¡°You still nervous, Mali?¡± Chani asked as we headed to her parents'' house. We were lucky to sleep in today, neither of us having classes. I looked forward to sleeping in during our trip most days, as I hate waking up early. ¡°A bit.¡± ¡°Just make sure you don¡¯t let our¡­thing slip, and we¡¯ll be fine.¡± She sighed, shaking her head. ¡°Sorry that we have to pretend to be straight, Mali.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. I get it. My parents are the same.¡± ¡°Well¡­my dad¡¯s a pastor, Mal.¡± ¡°Oh wow.¡± I looked at her in surprise. ¡°Can¡¯t imagine what that¡¯s like.¡± ¡°Means I spent a lot of my time at church.¡± She cracked a smile. ¡°Mali. What do you eat when we¡¯re not eating together? I never see you cook anything.¡± ¡°I use the microwave mostly. I practically live off this kimchi ramen from King Soopers. It¡¯s the best!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to try it sometime, in that case.¡± She laughed. ¡°How are you alive, though? With all that sodium.¡± ¡°No clue. I also like to add another packet of ramen, just the noodles, if I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a shitload of ramen, Mal.¡± ¡°It is.¡± I smiled proudly. Before too long, we arrived at her parents¡¯ house and shuffled out of the car. They have a beautiful house in a seemingly nice neighborhood. Most of the people we had seen in the neighborhood were white. Chani and her family seemed to be the outlier. I couldn¡¯t help but to wonder if they had faced any discrimination from their neighbors. ¡°Come on.¡± Chani smiled at me softly, motioning for me to follow her up the driveway. We came to the door where she knocked. The door was opened after some loud footsteps from the other side. An older man opened the door, looming over the both of us and not just because we were a step lower than him. ¡°Chani.¡± He didn¡¯t smile as her saw her, just moved out of the way to let us in. Chani stepped past him and urged me to do the same. I looked around the house. It was very well furnished and clean, better than my parents¡¯ house. Both of them seem to always have something better to do than clean up. ¡°Hey, dad.¡± Chani smiled at him, confirming my suspicions. ¡°This is my friend I¡¯ve been telling you guys about.¡± ¡°Hi.¡± I waved nervously. ¡°Mal--Mal, something, correct?¡± ¡°Malia.¡± Chani corrected him. ¡°Ah, yes. Well, go meet with the others. Lunch is almost ready.¡± Chani and I started down the hallway and into the kitchen. Chani¡¯s dad was really intimidating. I was just glad I didn¡¯t have to talk alone with him. Chani introduced me to her sisters and mom who were working on lunch. Shortly afterward, her mom ushered us into the dining room where food was served. I was thankful to not be the only vegetarian, as my parents always complain about me having a meal separate from theirs. For the most part, the family talked, leaving me out of it, though I was thankful for that as I rarely had to say anything. And before too long, food was finished and the women started cleaning up while her father had us follow him outside where the truck was prepped, the UTV Chani had told me about, in the bed. ¡°Just be safe, Chani.¡± He turned to face her, looking as serious as ever. Chani didn¡¯t seem intimidated by him, leading me to believe it was just normal. ¡°Don¡¯t wreck our things, please.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± I could see her roll her eyes and cross her arm. ¡°We¡¯ll be fine.¡± Chani¡¯s dad pulled out a set of keys. ¡°And don¡¯t wreck the cabin. Clean it up and bring the trash back down before you leave. Or else.¡± His threat wasn¡¯t said, but sent a chill down my spine. ¡°We will. It¡¯ll be nice and shiny, dad.¡± She grabbed the keys out of his hand, before turning towards me. ¡°Let¡¯s get our luggage into the truck, Mal.¡± We walked over to the Camry, took our suitcases out, and moved them into the, now, unlocked truck. The both of us said our goodbyes and piled into the truck, heading off towards Leadville, an approximate two hour drive. On the way up Chani told me a story about how she went to one of the mines up in the mountains with her schools. ¡°They had a cave-in and put a fake body there! It traumatized me as a kid!¡± Chani laughed. ¡°I can imagine.¡± I shook my head with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ve always hated mines, so I don¡¯t blame you, and I didn¡¯t even have a reason like you do.¡± ¡°During outdoor lab, we had the option to go into a different mine, and I sat out because I was too traumatized by the other one. Though they did talk about it being haunted, so I kinda wish I had gone.¡± ¡°Sounds like something you¡¯d like.¡± I chuckled. Around an hour and a half later, we arrived in Leadville and then ten or fifteen minutes further up the road, and we arrived at the cabin. It seemed nice from the outside, but not exactly what I was expecting. It looked more like a house than a cabin, but maybe that¡¯s because I was expecting a Lincoln Logs cabin. ¡°We need to unload the UTV, but after we get settled in, I thought we could walk around downtown Leadville and get some dinner. If that¡¯s cool with you.¡± Chani took the keys out of the ignition and opened the door, getting out. ¡°Sounds great.¡± I crawled out as well, walking to the backseat door to get my bag and Chani¡¯s suitcase out.
Chani and I walked around Leadville for a while. There were quite a few shops along the main drive, giving us something to do for the few hours before dinnertime. We bought a handful of things, but all small enough for us to carry along with us, as well as some fudge. Chani told me that whenever she goes into small towns in the mountains, she always has to get some fudge since they have the best kinds. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Eventually, we settled down in a caf¨¦ lounge for some dinner. ¡°So, what¡¯s your opinion on Leadville so far?¡± ¡°Reminds me of home.¡± I smiled slightly, taking a sip of my drink. ¡°I keep forgetting you grew up in such a small town. All my friends from high school grew up mostly in the same area or in some other suburban areas.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just a little country gal.¡± I spoke with a southern accent. Chani laughed, shaking her head. ¡°Who would¡¯ve known I would fall for a small-town goth.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already fallen for me?¡± I looked at her with feigned shock. She rolled her eyes. ¡°Maybe. Just don¡¯t tell anyone, okay?¡± I smiled. ¡°No problem.¡± After dinner, we headed back to the cabin and watched some TV before going to bed. I sat awake for a while, thanking any god out there for my luck in finding Chani. I missed Alice, missed when things were good, but with Chani, it felt like things were always good, rather than when she felt like putting in the effort to make things better for me. I wanted to tell Chani how much she meant to me but wasn¡¯t sure how to put it into words yet, how to express what she meant to me and how much it was growing. But I was going to figure it out this trip. To give it my best shot and see what would happen.
Chani and I woke up late today, rolling out of bed whenever we finally felt like it. We got up and had our leftovers for breakfast before going for a walk around the area. The cabin was close enough to see the other cabins but far enough that you had plenty of privacy. I had always dreamed of having a cabin when I got older, but when I grew up, it became obvious that I wasn¡¯t going to be able to afford it, so it was nice to be able to enjoy one, even if it wasn¡¯t mine. Maybe if Chani and I stayed friends¡­or became more, we could use it sometimes to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. ¡°Thanks for being willing to take a walk with me.¡± Chani smiled over at me. The rocks beneath us crunched as we walked. It reminded me of back home when I was younger and how I always refused to wear anything but flip-flops, if even that, as I spent most of my time barefoot. ¡°I¡¯m glad you offered.¡± I smiled back at her. ¡°It really is great up here.¡± The wind was blowing slightly. Chani told me that it¡¯s almost always windy up here, so I should get used to it. I took a deep breath of the cool morning air, feeling a sense of calmness wash over me. ¡°It¡¯s a lot nicer up here than down in the city. I like the city, but I don''t think it¡¯s really for me.¡± I rubbed my arm. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to be away from you, though.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind living somewhere else.¡± Chani shrugged. ¡°My dream is to live in a little mountain town, where there are not so many people.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like that.¡± I smiled. Chani gently grabbed my hand. We walked side by side for a while, stopping at a lake that the cabin looked out onto. ¡°Can we sit and talk a little?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± I nodded. ¡°Probably too cold to put your feet in the water, though.¡± She smiled guiltily before sitting down on the dock. I found a spot next to her. ¡°Smells very fishy.¡± I chuckled. ¡°I use to always come down here. I spent so much of my time out here on this dock, in this water. The cabin up there,¡± she motioned towards the cabin up the hill, before turning her attention back to the, ¡°was my grandparents¡¯. Almost seems surreal being back here. It feels like a lifetime ago, and even though I was so young, I remember it so well. Playing with my horses in the water, catching the little minnows with a solo cup, begging my grandparents to let me take them home.¡± She laughed quietly. ¡°Fishing with my grandpa, exploring for hours on end with just my dog and me, watching the highway with binoculars.¡± She took a deep breath as a sadness seemingly washing over her. ¡°I don¡¯t miss the way things were growing up. I mean, almost all of my childhood sucked. My dad is a drunk, my mom couldn¡¯t care less about protecting us, my older brother was too busy for me, and I was almost always alone. Middle school and high school were hard, as they are for most people, but add being gay and out to that, and it makes it that much harder. I hated growing up, but I guess in every bad situation, in every hard time, there is always that little bit of light from it. Even if it might just be relative.¡± She shrugged weakly. ¡°I guess I just miss those times when things were good. Relatively.¡± ¡°When everything was simpler.¡± I echoed her feelings, getting a nod from her. ¡°Chani¡­thanks for opening up to me.¡± She looked over at me with a small smile. ¡°I¡¯m glad to have you in my life, Malia.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to have you too.¡± The two of us went for a couple-hour hike around the cabin area, just walking up the road deeper into where the other cabins were, before turning around and heading back to our cabin. There wasn¡¯t much food besides dried things like rice and hash browns, so we agreed to head into town, to the King Soopers, to get some provisions. We drove down to town, shopped, and headed back with our bounty, before packing up a picnic basket. Taking our food down to the dock, we had our lunch there. ¡°You¡¯re not such a bad cook, Mali.¡± Chani smiled at me, taking a bite. ¡°It¡¯s a sandwich. I didn¡¯t cook.¡± I laughed. ¡°But it¡¯s a good sandwich.¡± She held it up triumphantly. I shook my head with a smile. ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad you like it so much. What¡¯s our plan for the rest of our day? If you have one.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about you, but I want to take a nap before we do anything. I haven¡¯t had a nap in forever. My grandparents use to take a nap together on the hammock whenever I was up here. We could do that.¡± A smile grew as she spoke. ¡°Sounds like a good plan to me.¡± I shrugged. After our lunch, we cleaned up and headed back to the cabin, where we collected a bunch of blankets. We cuddled up on the hammock, cozy beneath the blankets, and took a nap.
Chani and I were sitting around the fire pit roasting marshmallows for our s¡¯mores, keeping warm from the frosty night. Each of us had a blanket around our shoulders to keep our backs warm. We ended up staying until the fire died out. I was about to go in when Chani told me to come lay beside her on the ground and stargaze. She pointed out whatever constellations she could see. After a while, it got too cold, so we moved inside to the bed, where we chatted a while before heading off to bed, ready for another day.
To my detriment, we woke up early. Though I was a bit grumpy, we got up and around, so we could take an off-roading drive. After packing up some drinks and snacks, we headed off to the mountains. Thankfully I fully trust Chani, or else I¡¯d be more than a little scared of some of the spots we drove in. She told me that her dad had her driving off-road since she first got her license, calming me a bit more. ¡°So,¡± she glanced over at me as we were moved around by the rough terrain, ¡°we took this trail that my dad said would be a shortcut to the pool. All of us trusting him and his navigation skills thought nothing of it. Turns out the road was closed for the season, and for very good reason, as there was this one muddy hill we went down that there was no way we could get back up in the F350. My dad has a steel bladder, but on that trip, he was so nervous that he peed like ten times.¡± She laughed. ¡°My brother also almost broke his neck too, when we hit a bump. That was pretty funny.¡± ¡°Not for him, I¡¯m sure.¡± I chuckled. We eventually made it down the pass and into a small town, called Pitkin, in the valley. It was so cute and quiet that the entire time Chani and I were there, all we could talk about was moving here when we retired. We had lunch in Pitkin, before heading back out on the road. It took most of the time until dinner to get back, leaving us only a bit of time to get cleaned up before we headed into town to get some dinner and catch a show. After that, we headed back to the cabin and went to bed early.
Chani and I were lazily laying in the bed, not having plans for the day yet. I shifted in the bed, looking over at Chani. ¡°Chani, you¡¯re so pretty.¡± She smiled and looked over at me. ¡°Right back at cha, girly.¡± ¡°Chani¡­¡± I trailed off, taking a deep breath. ¡°What exactly are we? We¡¯re more than friends, right? Or are we just friends?¡± ¡°I¡¯d say we¡¯re more than friends.¡± She shrugged. ¡°But we can be whatever you wanna be.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± I admitted. ¡°I like Arthur, and I like what I have with him, but I also like you a lot and want more with you.¡± ¡°Why not both, Mali?¡± She turned on her side to fully face me. ¡°I don¡¯t mind you being with Arthur. I''m fine with us being somewhat open, as long as you¡¯re honest about it.¡± ¡°Real--really? You¡¯d still want to be with me even if I continue things with Arthur?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± She sat up; I sat up with her. ¡°I really, really like you, Malia. Hell, I may even be in love with you, so if I get even just a piece of you and I know you¡¯ll be there for me, then I¡¯m willing to let you fuck some old guy.¡± She cracked a smile. ¡°Wow, you must really love me, Chani.¡± I joked, a small smile on my face. ¡°If you agree to be my girlfriend, you¡¯ll have to get used to being smothered with my love.¡± ¡°I kinda like the sound of that.¡± ¡°Maybe once we finish school, we can reevaluate things once if we¡¯re still together.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± I nodded. ¡°I¡¯m fine with that. I¡¯m sure Arthur and I won¡¯t last that long. Eventually, he¡¯ll probably just get tired of me and move on to someone else.¡± I shrugged. ¡°You think so little of yourself, girly.¡± Chani tilted her head to the side slightly. I shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not really a diss to myself, as much as something I think will just happen.¡± ¡°I guess we¡¯ll see.¡± She shrugged. ¡°As far as your stuff with Arthur, or anyone else you want, goes, just be honest and open with me and don¡¯t hide it.¡± ¡°Sure thing.¡± ¡°As long as you meet my needs, I doubt I¡¯ll need to ever be with anyone else, but that doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t.¡± ¡°One more time, Chani, are you sure you¡¯re sure that you¡¯re okay with this?¡± ¡°I am. I promise.¡± ¡°Alright¡­girlfriend.¡± I smiled. ¡°I like the sound of that.¡± Eventually, after talking, we got out of bed and went down to town. We walked around a couple of thrift stores, killing some time and finding a puzzle. Heading back, I worked on the puzzle while Chani made us lunch. We spent the rest of our afternoon, until dinner listening to music and doing the puzzle. I admitted to her my love of virtual puzzles on Tabletop Simulator, due to the fact that the game tells you which way the puzzle piece faces, making it a bit easier to do, while not taking away the enjoyment of figuring it out. We finished a little bit before starting our dinner, finding out there were missing pieces, ruining our build. After eating dinner, we took the liberty of cracking open some beers that were in the fridge. Chani and I sat on the porch, watching the sun go down. She had her fingers laced in mine, before moving over and kissing me. We made out for a while, before Chani¡¯s hand slipped under my shirt. She looked at me, looking for permission. ¡°I don¡¯t want our first time to be after we¡¯ve been drinking.¡± I admitted quietly. ¡°That¡¯s alright.¡± She nodded with a soft smile. ¡°Can we keep making out, at least?¡± ¡°For as long as you want.¡± I smiled. She smiled back before leaning in to kiss me again.
Chapter 20 Chani and I spent the day before yesterday exploring abandoned structures, including a mine, around the area. We had talked some about Alice and her lack of care in her and my friendship. It was nice to get it off my chest, to finally admit that she hasn¡¯t treated me the best throughout the years and especially now. How she seems too busy making new friends to care about me, though admittedly, I¡¯m not too surprised. I didn¡¯t expect to never see her, but I¡¯m not surprised that she¡¯s busy with other people, as she¡¯s always done this to a certain point. I also told her how much she really has meant to me. How good of a friend she has been and how happy I am to have her in my life. We both exchanged our feelings for one another and agreed on the word ¡®love¡¯ to cover it. Currently, Chani and I were headed on our way up to Aspen. We agreed to go and shop around for a while today, as we had no other plans than hanging out around the cabin and watching TV, which he has already done yesterday for Thanksgiving. We both had agreed it was a pretty great Thanksgiving, though, just being together. ¡°What¡¯re you thinking ¡®bout?¡± Chani finally broke me from my thoughts. ¡°Oh, just what we¡¯ve been doing the last few days.¡± I shrugged. She smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve enjoyed them a lot. This whole time with you, really. I¡¯m glad we got to come up here.¡± ¡°Me too. Thanks for inviting me.¡± I reached over to the console and squeezed her hand gently. ¡°Of course, Mali.¡± She squeezed my hand back. We drove for a while since we couldn¡¯t go up Independence Pass, so we had plenty of time to chat and listen to the music Chani was playing. But eventually, we got to Aspen, found a parking spot, and got out. We walked around, going into some stores and buying a few things before getting some lunch. ¡°Chani.¡± I looked over at her from across the table. ¡°You¡¯re so pretty.¡± A smile grew on her face. ¡°Aww, thanks, Mali.¡± She tossed her hair over her shoulder dramatically. ¡°You better not be buttering me up just to get into my pants, though.¡± I laughed. ¡°¡®Course not. Never.¡± ¡°So, what do you wanna do next? After we finish eating, of course.¡± ¡°I¡­saw a tattoo parlor, I was wondering if we can see if they have time for something.¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯m fine with that. Maybe I¡¯ll get one too. What do you want to get?¡± ¡°A jack-o-lantern next to one of my little ghosts.¡± ¡°Cute.¡± Chani smiled, tilting her head to the side slightly. ¡°So, how do you like Aspen so far? I¡¯ve only been up here once before.¡± ¡°I like it.¡± I nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sure Arthur has come up here before, but I think he¡¯d like it a lot.¡± ¡°Your man seems to have a taste for the highlife, so I¡¯m sure he¡¯d fit in here.¡± I laughed, shaking my head. ¡°Facts.¡±
I was in the bathroom of the cabin, checking out my new tattoo. We had gotten back an hour or so ago and were lounging around. I had slipped out of the bedroom to use the restroom. I smiled at my growing collection of tattoos before stepping towards the door and out of the room. I walked back into the bedroom, before stopping in my tracks, my eyes widening. ¡°Holy shit, Chani.¡± My eyes scanned her dark brown skin, the bare bits beneath the lacey lingerie. ¡°You took your time.¡± She smirked at me, running her hand down her propped-up hip. ¡°I¡­was looking at my Instagram¡­¡± I admitted as I couldn¡¯t tear myself away from looking at her stunning body. ¡°What¡¯s the problem, Mali?¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Something the matter.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯m in the presence of a goddess.¡± ¡°I think you might be. Approach the goddess.¡± She waved me over. I walked and stopped at the edge of the bed, kneeling down next to it. ¡°My love, you came to see me?¡± ¡°I did, my lady.¡± I reached up to touch her gently, a smile on my face. ¡°Have you come to worship?¡± ¡°You know it.¡± A subtle smirk formed on my face. I ran my fingertips along her skin, feeling the slight stubble on her legs. ¡°Love!¡± ¡°Oh-oh. I mean. Yes, my lady. I have come to worship you.¡± I sat up on my knees, moving closer to her. ¡°Let me, please.¡± ¡°Come.¡± She ran her finger under my chin, controlling me to come closer for a kiss. Her lips were soft, like silk against them. Our kiss deepened as we exchanged our tongues. I moved onto the bed on top of her, our lips meeting once more as our tongues danced against each other. Chani¡¯s hand ran under my shirt, cupping my bare breast as she moved us, so she was now on top, as the dominant one. She kissed down to my cheek and then back up to my mouth once more before moving fulling to the bottom of the bed. ¡°Can we?¡± This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. I nodded, promptly pulling my shirt over my head. Chani undid the bow of my pants before pulling them down and off of my frame. She moved closer again, this time rubbing gently through my underwear. After a few moments, she stripped me of those, too, leaving me bare. She began to rub my clit, eliciting some moans from me as I pushed my head back into the pillow. ¡°Are you ready?¡± Chani asked gently, making sure I was okay with anything before proceeding. I nodded, lifting my head to look up at her. She lifted her fingers to her lips and licked them before inserting them between my lips. She began fingering me, causing me to arch my back and toss my head back once more. She removed her fingers, leaving me begging for her to continue. Chani moved closer once more, her breath against my skin, causing goosebumps to form. Her warm tongue grazed my clit, causing me to tense up and grab onto the sheets beneath me. ¡°You taste so good, Mali.¡± She spoke, her voice muffled by my flesh. After time she picked up the pace, causing me to wonder how her tongue didn¡¯t grow tired. My hand moved to the top of her head, gently holding onto her, but keeping her in place still. We continued like that for some time until she shifted, getting up despite my pleas for her to continue. ¡°I¡¯ve really got you under my finger, huh, Mali?¡± She taunted, before moving back down, this time her tongue stimulating my clit while her finger dove inside me, rubbing up the ribs of my insides. ¡°Fuck.¡± I yelled out as a wave of pleasure washed over me, leaving me limp as my hands fell back to my sides. It took me a while to recover as Chani crawled back up in the bed next to me. She held me, stroking my hair gently until I finally did. ¡°Chani.¡± I looked over at her. ¡°Huh?¡± She smiled at me softly. ¡°Can I do something for you?¡± ¡°Next time, alright? Just go to sleep now.¡± I nodded, closing my eyes.
I slowly woke up, realizing what had happened the night before. I smiled to myself slightly, before rolling to the side to see Chani resting peacefully. I poked her in the side a few times before she finally woke up. She smiled as she saw me. ¡°Good morning, Mali.¡± ¡°Good morning, beautiful.¡± I reached up to brush a piece of hair out of her face. ¡°Mali. I love you.¡± ¡°I love you too, Chani.¡± I rested my hand against her face. ¡°We¡¯re going home today. You sad?¡± Chani yawned and put the back of her arm on her head. ¡°Yeah. I guess. But as long as I still get to spend time with you, I¡¯ll be happy.¡± ¡°Plus, you have a date with Arthur, right?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± I nodded, smiling over at her. ¡°He said we¡¯re going somewhere fancy too.¡± ¡°I¡¯m jealous.¡± Chani laughed. ¡°Other than the fucking some old man part.¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t be that bad. If it¡¯s anything like last night¡­¡± I tilted my head to the side slightly. ¡°I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t be.¡± She smiled, shaking her head. ¡°Come on, Mali. Let¡¯s go take a shower.¡±
¡°Hey.¡± I smiled widely as I slipped into Arthur¡¯s car. I leaned over to kiss him, receiving a kiss in return, before moving to my seat fully. ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you again, Malia. You look great as always.¡± His eyes lingered on me as he spoke. ¡°Thank you, thank you.¡± I pushed my hair behind my ear with a smile. ¡°So,¡± Arthur pulled out of the parking lot, ¡°where are we headed?¡± ¡°The Four Seasons Hotel downtown. They have some pretty good food. I think you¡¯ll like it.¡± ¡°Sounds nice.¡± I nodded, excited to see what the menu would be. It took us a little bit to get downtown and to the hotel. We got our seats and ordered our food, before the waiter left, leaving us to our conversation. ¡°How was your trip with your friends, Malia? Did you have a good time?¡± Arthur took a sip of his Old Fashioned. He had told me that I could order an alcoholic drink if I wanted, as they won¡¯t ask for my ID, but I only really drink when I wanna get drunk, admittedly. ¡°Good! Chani and I are dating now.¡± I smiled widely at the thought, before realizing it may be awkward for him and rubbed my neck. ¡°She said she¡¯s okay with us continuing things as long as I¡¯m open and honest with her.¡± Arthur didn¡¯t show much emotion towards the news, other than maybe a bit of relief on his face after I mentioned the second part about using being able to continue. ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that, Malia.¡± He smiled at me softly. ¡°She seems to make you very happy from what you¡¯ve told me. That¡¯s important.¡± ¡°Does it¡­feel weird to you? Knowing I¡¯m kinda in a relationship with the both of you?¡± I looked down at the table for a few moments before looking back up at him. ¡°Not really. As long as both you girls are comfortable with it.¡± He shrugged. ¡°That makes sense.¡± I nodded. ¡°I just want you to be happy, Malia. You deserve it.¡± He reached over and squeezed my hand gently. ¡°Can I stay over at your place tonight?¡± I smiled. ¡°I¡¯m not ready to have to go back to my dorm yet.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± He chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re always welcome.¡±
I rolled over in the bed onto my back and stretched out. I always like sleeping over at Arthur¡¯s place. He has a nice place and an even nicer bed. Plus, he usually makes me breakfast, which I can only assume he¡¯s doing now as he¡¯s not in the bed right now. Eventually, after I finished enjoying the warmth of the bed, I got up and headed out to where Arthur was. ¡°Good morning, beautiful.¡± He flashed me a smile as I walked into the kitchen. ¡°Mornin¡¯ handsome.¡± I smiled back at him, making my way to the stools on the island. I pulled one out and jumped up to sit on it. ¡°Breakfast¡¯s almost ready.¡± He returned his attention to the stove. After a few minutes of idle chatter, he had prepared a couple platefuls of food. He took a spot next to me, and we began eating. ¡°What are your plans for Christmas, Malia? Are you planning on going home?¡± He turned to face me. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I admitted after swallowing my mouthful of food. ¡°I don¡¯t really want to, honestly. I wanna do something special, but I don¡¯t know exactly what. I¡¯ll probably just end up staying here with you and Chani.¡± ¡°If you let me,¡± he smiled sweetly as his eyes lit up with mischief, ¡°I can figure something out for us.¡± I laughed, shaking my head. ¡°Of course you could.¡± I looked at him again. ¡±But seriously, I¡¯d love that. It doesn¡¯t have to be something big, but to have Christmas be special again would be nice.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure I can figure something good out.¡± He smiled, chuckling quietly. ¡°Thank you, Arthur. You¡¯re¡­really amazing.¡± ¡°Anything for you.¡±
Chapter 21 Our break being over felt like a weight put back on me. From a stress-free trip to a very stressful time as finals approach. At least we get almost a month off for winter break, and from what Arthur has been texting me, I have something to look forward to as he¡¯s planning something super special for the two of us. Part of me feels bad not bringing Chani, as I¡¯d love to spend that time with her, but I¡¯m sure me being with Arthur is awkward enough as it is, and I don¡¯t want to make it any worse for her. She says she doesn¡¯t mind, and though I believe her, I just can¡¯t imagine being okay with it myself. I was relieved when she told me that she plans to stay with only me as long as I fulfill her, as I don¡¯t know how I feel about her being with someone else. I know it¡¯s selfish and backward, as she lets me be with someone else, but I just don¡¯t feel right about my partner being with someone else. Speaking of my someone else, I¡¯m currently packing for my weekend stay with Arthur. My deliveries had arrived at Arthur¡¯s, so I didn¡¯t have to bring as much this time except the makeup I wanted to keep over there and some pairs of shoes I¡¯m okay not having here, as well as underwear. I¡¯m having to split up my nice underwear at two places for my two special someones. Not long afterward, Arthur arrived and picked me up. We kissed like usual before he drove off in the direction of his place. We drove in silence for a while before Arthur finally stopped at a red light and looked over at me. ¡°Everything okay, Malia? You seem quiet today.¡± ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± I showed him my best smile, hoping he¡¯d believe me. In all honesty, I was really nervous. I had finally gotten on birth control, and after doing stuff with Chani, I was ready to take the next step with Arthur. I was just nervous about how things would unfold. Arthur has been nothing but understanding, and I¡¯m certain he will be during this, but I can¡¯t help but to think of all the things that could go wrong. ¡°I suppose if you say so.¡± He didn¡¯t seem to really believe me. ¡°Just know if something happened, you can talk to me.¡± ¡°Thanks, Arthur.¡± I looked over at him, touched by his sweetness. ¡°I¡¯m okay, though. Promise.¡± It didn¡¯t take us much time to arrive at his place, where I planned on broaching the topic. In my dream world, he¡¯d magically know, and we wouldn¡¯t have to talk about it, but I wanted to be sure to make my intentions and consent clear for him. ¡°So¡­¡± I scuffed my foot on the ground, nervously swaying and not making eye contact. ¡°What are we doing?¡± ¡°Dinner first. As long as you haven¡¯t already eaten.¡± He smiled back at me, leading me into the kitchen. ¡°I haven¡¯t, at least.¡± ¡°Nor have I.¡± I shook my head, taking a seat on one of the stools, watching him as he started dinner. ¡°Works out then.¡± Arthur surveyed what he had in the fridge, asking me if anything sounded good or if we should order in. We agreed on some baked potatoes for the night. Nice and easy. ¡°You sure something¡¯s not bothering you, Malia?¡± Arthur asked again as I was now next to him, poking holes in the potatoes. I sighed, putting the fork down. ¡°Fine. There is something.¡± ¡°You can tell me.¡± ¡°I wanted to talk about this in a different way, less bluntly, I guess.¡± I dried my hands off on the towel. ¡°But¡­¡± I trailed off, taking a deep breath, breaking eye contact. ¡°I¡¯m on birth control now. And Chani and I had sex for the first time on a trip. I now¡­want to do it with you if you want to do it with me.¡± I dared to glance up at him. Arthur smiled softly at me, a slight smirk on his face. ¡°That¡¯s what¡¯s been bothering you so much?¡± ¡°Well, when you say it like that¡­¡± I rubbed my arm, shrinking down slightly. ¡°Are you sure your friend¡­your girlfriend, will be okay with this?¡± ¡°She said she is.¡± I shrugged slightly, turning back to the counter and my attention back to the oven. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t believe you, I just find it hard to believe.¡± He admitted, as we casually continued dinner. ¡°Me too sometimes. I¡¯ve never been in a relationship, much less an open one, so I¡¯m still getting use to it.¡± ¡°I can imagine.¡± Arthur nodded. ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad you told me about all of that, but are you sure that you¡¯re ready?¡± ¡°Pretty sure.¡± I shrugged slightly. ¡°At least decently.¡± I looked over at Arthur with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± He chuckled. ¡°I hope so.¡± After finishing dinner, we moved to the living room, where we started eating after turning something to watch on. ¡°How are your classes going?¡± Arthur asked, sawing into his potato and cracking it open, before loading it with ingredients. ¡°Eh.¡± I shrugged, poking at my food with my fork. ¡°Okay, I guess. I¡¯m not looking forward to finals at all. Actually, I¡¯m pretty stressed about it. I¡­never really wanted to go to college, but my parents wanted me to since my sister didn¡¯t go, so here I am. Plus, I guess I need to be able to support myself someday since my parents can¡¯t do it was this or get a job immediately, which I wanted to postpone as long as I could.¡± ¡°Working doesn¡¯t have to be hell.¡± Arthur shook his head. ¡°Isn¡¯t there something you¡¯d like to do?¡± ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯m not sure ''cause I¡¯ve obviously never done it, but I guess my dream job would be having an antique store. To get to find cool things and give them a loving home.¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°You might be romanticizing that a bit, but I think it¡¯d be a good fit for you. Why don¡¯t you do that then, Malia?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have the money. And part of me doesn¡¯t want to disappoint my parents, I guess. They¡¯re the real ones who want me to be a psychologist.¡± ¡°Are you going to go through college not wanting to do it?¡± ¡°I guess.¡± ¡°Maybe you should reevaluate at some point. I would happily invest some money into getting you started.¡± ¡°Or maybe just a booth for now, like in an antique mall.¡± I smiled slightly at the thought. ¡°But that¡¯s a lot to ask of you and I¡¯m not ready for that.¡± ¡°No rush.¡± He put his hands up in surrender. ¡°But at least consider it, alright?¡± ¡°I will.¡± I nodded.
After finishing dinner and cleaning up, Arthur and I settled down on the couch to watch a movie, cuddling. We made comments here and there, but for the most part it was just us watching the movie. I could feel the nerves rising as we got farther and farther into the movie, knowing the time was approaching. Arthur seemed mostly unphased by the revelation, but I hoped that inside he was excited, at least a little. ¡°Arthur.¡± I spoke his name as the credits began rolling and the ¡®what to watch next¡¯ popped up on the screen. ¡°Yeah, Mal.¡± His voice was husky, as his hand behind my head gently stroked me. ¡°I think it¡¯s time now.¡± I looked over at him with a small smile. ¡°Where do you want to do it? In the bed?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± I nodded. We both stood up. I grabbed his hand and led him into the main bedroom. ¡°Let me grab a towel.¡± Arthur pulled away towards the bathroom. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. I don¡¯t¡­have a hymen anymore. So, no blood.¡± Arthur smiled, looking back over at me. ¡°That¡¯s fine, Mal.¡± He walked back over to me, running his fingers through my hair. ¡°It¡¯s still my first time, though. With a man, at least.¡± I looked up at him. ¡°We¡¯ll go slow.¡± He nodded, smiling down at me. ¡°Come here.¡± He leaned in for a kiss, his lips pressing against mine. ¡°I promise to be gentle.¡± He whispered as he pulled away. I nodded before looking over at the bed and walking to it. I began stripping, glancing over at Arthur, who watched me a few moments before doing the same. After getting naked, I crawled on top of the bed, watching as he walked over towards me. He stroked himself a few times before I sat up and began helping him, his warm member in my palm. He let out a soft moan, closing his eyes and putting his head back. ¡°Arthur. I¡¯ve done stuff with sex toys before, but nothing really worked. I¡­¡± I trailed off, wanting to ask him if this was going to work for me, but stopped, not wanting him to feel like this was solely for my pleasure, as it¡¯s much more to me. ¡°I think you¡¯ll enjoy it.¡± He opened his eyes and looked back down at me. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to have you enjoy it.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± I smiled slightly. ¡°Toys can¡¯t replace human touch. I can assure you of that much.¡± He touched my head softly. I leaned into his hand. ¡°Are you ready?¡± ¡°As I¡¯ll ever be.¡± I nodded, crawling back on the bed and spreading my legs. ¡°What a stunning view. A beautiful woman on my bed, ready for me.¡± He smiled as his eyes scanned over my body, causing me to blush deeply. ¡°No sense in being embarrassed, Mal. It¡¯s just me.¡± Arthur climbed on top of me to kiss me again, before pulling back. He grabbed my hips and slid me to the edge of the bed. ¡°Do you want a countdown?¡± He lined himself up, rubbing his head through my lips a few time, wettening his dick with my fluids. ¡°No point.¡± I shook my head. ¡°As you wish.¡± He pushed himself inside of me, holding onto my thighs. He slid out most of the way before sliding back in. He repeated the process, not really illiticting too much out of me, if I¡¯m honest. We continued like that for a while, until I finally got the courage to speak up. ¡°Harder.¡± I squeaked out. Arthur smirked, looking down at me. ¡°You sure you want that, Mal?¡± I nodded, prompting him to do exactly that as he began picking up speed. ¡°Tell me to stop if I hurt you, alright?¡± ¡°I will.¡± Arthur began going in and out faster, as well as harder than before. He also moved over top of me, reaching and collecting my hands above my head. He held them with one hand while his other hand began stimulating my clit. This seemed to do the trick as it began feeling damn good. I closed my eyes and rested my head back on the bed. I liked this. Sure the pleasure, but more than that, feeling safe enough around him to do this. I opened my eyes sleepily as I heard a few moans escape from Arthur. He seemed to be enjoying himself, as his eyes were also closed. ¡°Good girl.¡± He muttered out, causing my face to heat up. ¡°Mal.¡± He moaned out my name. ¡°Can you do something for me?¡± ¡°Umhm.¡± He pulled himself out. ¡°Turn over onto your hands and knees.¡± I listened to the command, turning over and raising my ass up to him. ¡°Fuck. Perfect.¡± He pushed himself back inside, before grabbing a handful of hair and pulling my head back. ¡°I¡¯m not hurting you, am I?¡± ¡°No. I like it.¡± Arthur chuckled. ¡°Good girl. How do you feel?¡± ¡°Good.¡± I smiled. ¡°A lot better.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so wet right now. And when you clench¡­¡± He moaned out again. Arthur picked up speed again, slamming into me, almost causing me to fall over, forcing me to hold onto the comforter. He removed himself once more before kneeling down and licking my vagina, his tongue dipping inside a few times. I tightly gripped the sheets as he continued to stimulate me, making me bury my face in the blankets to keep the moans from slipping out. Right when I thought I couldn¡¯t take anymore, he stopped standing back up. I glanced back at him to ask what he was going to do next, but without warning, he pushed himself aggressively back inside, causing me to melt. I let out a moan, falling onto my shoulders where waves of pleasure hit me. ¡°Fucking hell, Mal.¡± His voice sounded miles away as everything faded away for a while. When I finally came back to it, I could feel warm cum shoot onto my ass. ¡°You came, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I meekly answered. ¡°Told you you¡¯d like it. Stay there. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Arthur left to the bathroom, returning with a towel, which he wiped me off with. ¡°Let¡¯s go take a bath and cuddle.¡± ¡°Sounds perfect to me.¡± Arthur poured us a bath before we crawled into the hot water, his body pressed against mine. ¡°Mal.¡± He purred my name. ¡°You taste like a goddamn angel. Anytime you want to fuck, just let me know.¡± I smiled to myself, running my hand down his leg, feeling his dick twitch against my ass. ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be doing a lot of it.¡±
Chapter 22 It had been a few weeks since Arthur and I had sex for the first time. I had been super busy getting ready for finals and staying up with homework. In high school, I almost never studied for tests, but I wasn¡¯t about to take that risk in college. Chani and I still hang out every day, whether it be in person or over a game of Overwatch 2 or Apex, talking on Discord, even though she¡¯s only a few doors down. I barely hear from Alice, but she texted me a few days ago asking if I wanted to go shopping with her for her secret Santa gift. Our floor decided to do a secret Santa gift exchange, and despite her never being in the dorm, she apparently agreed to do it. Having not yet broken the news to Alice, I asked if I could invite Chani with us, where I planned to tell her about our relationship. Chani wasn¡¯t exactly thrilled that I was letting Alice back into my life, but what can I say? I still care for her regardless of how she has treated me. So, here we are, at Cherry Creek mall, getting out of the car. ¡°Alice.¡± I jogged to catch up with her. ¡°We wanted to tell you something.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± She raised her perfectly manicured eyebrow. ¡°Chani and I are now in a relationship.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± She glanced behind us at Chani. ¡°We made it official during Fall break.¡± ¡°Why her?¡± Alice lowered her voice slightly so Chani couldn¡¯t hear. I looked at her in confusion. ¡°Why not her? Chani¡¯s great. You just haven¡¯t gotten to really know her.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mean to be that guy, but how will your parents feel about this? First to know you¡¯re gay, then to find out it¡¯s with a black girl?¡± ¡°Alice!¡± My eyes widened. ¡°First of all, why does her skin color matter? My parents shouldn¡¯t care, and if they do, I don¡¯t want anything to do with them anymore. And second, I¡¯m bi, Alice. Well, pan, actually, but bi¡¯s just easier to explain to people¡­¡± I trailed off, watching as Alice watched me with disinterest. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just saying.¡± She shrugged slightly, stopping at the door and waiting for me to open it for her. I did and stayed there, waiting on Chani to pass. ¡°You okay?¡± She asked as soon as she caught up. ¡°You don¡¯t look okay.¡± ¡°I told Alice about us, and she just¡­¡± I sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what she said later. But I think going out with her was a mistake.¡± ¡°We can go home now. I can call us an Uber.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll just piss her off.¡± I stopped a few paces away from Alice was who surveying the mall¡¯s map. ¡°I¡¯ll just get through today and cut contact again.¡± I shrugged weakly. Chani slipped her hand into mine, squeezing lightly. I squeezed her hand back, feeling a bit better knowing she was here for me. ¡°Come on.¡± Alice motioned for us to follow. We were now caught up to her, no longer having space to talk without her. ¡°So, Alice, what have you been doing?¡± ¡°Sorority stuff.¡± She shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m moving into the house next semester.¡± ¡°Oh. Okay.¡± If you had told me at the beginning of the year that Alice would be moving out of our dorm room, I¡¯d have been devastated, but now I was nearly indifferent, as she had such little contact recently. ¡°Are you coming home with me for Christmas?¡± ¡°I guess I haven¡¯t told you yet.¡± I rubbed the back of my neck. ¡°Arthur¡¯s taking me to Europe for Christmas.¡± ¡°What?¡± She turned on her heel, turning to face me. ¡°You? Going to Europe?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I nodded. ¡°Arthur planned the whole thing for us. I¡¯m leaving soon, right after my last final.¡± She didn¡¯t look happy receiving this news. I couldn¡¯t help but to think she was jealous of it. She had gone with her parents plenty of times, usually during Winter or Summer breaks from school, but me finally getting to go really seemed to irk her. ¡°Cool.¡± She turned back around and started walking off towards whichever store she was going to again. ¡°She does not seem happy about that.¡± Chani whispered to me. Once again, there was a divide between us, I suppose in life as much as in personal space. ¡°Yeah.¡± I nervously picked at a scab on my arm. ¡°Don¡¯t let her get you down, Mali.¡± Chani placed her hand on my arm, stopping the picking. ¡°Oh.¡± Alice looked back at us with a large smile on her face. ¡°Look.¡± She pointed towards the Santa in the center of the mall. She waited for us to catch up before telling us what he wanted to do involving him. ¡°We should go to take pictures with him and whisper dirty things. See if we can get him hard.¡± ¡°That seems kinda wrong, Alice.¡± I stated quietly. ¡°With all the kids around, I mean. Plus, look how long the line is.¡± She crossed her arms over her chest, lowering her chin, glaring at me. ¡°Why do you always have to be such a killjoy now, Malia? You used to be fun, well, at least more fun than this.¡± She turned on her heel and walked off again. ¡°Alice.¡± I called after her, but it was too late, as she didn¡¯t respond. ¡°Let--let¡¯s just do some shopping by ourselves and meet up with her afterward.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Chani nodded. ¡°Just remember we can¡¯t be here too long since we have dinner with Arthur.¡± ¡°I¡¯d never forget.¡± I smiled. ¡°Are you nervous to meet him?¡± ¡°Nah.¡± She shrugged as we started off in search of a Hot Topic. ¡°He¡¯s just some old white guy, seen plenty of those before.¡± I laughed, shaking my head. ¡°Just some white guy, huh?¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Yep.¡± She looked over at me, becoming more serious. ¡°You doing okay with all the Alice stuff?¡± I took a deep breath before answering. ¡°I guess it doesn¡¯t really bother me. Not anymore, at least. I kinda got used to not having her around and in a way, I liked it, the consistency, at least.¡± ¡°Makes sense.¡± She nodded. ¡°Sorry, Mal.¡± ¡°Not your fault.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Besides, we can still have a good time here without her, just pretend like she isn¡¯t here.¡± Chani smiled slightly. ¡°Sure. We might even find you a new dress to wear for tonight.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be opposed to that.¡± ¡°Good. Let¡¯s find you something then.¡±
I pulled down the dress as it had ridden up in the car. Chani and I were heading to the restaurant to meet up with Arthur. We ended up taking an Uber home after Alice didn¡¯t respond to numerous calls. She can be a real jerk when she wants to be, that¡¯s for sure. ¡°Arthur¡¯s here.¡± I nodded toward him. He was currently sitting down in the waiting area on his phone, likely playing a game of sudoku, like usual. ¡°Hey.¡± I greeted him as we neared. He looked up and locked his phone before standing up. ¡°Hey, Mal.¡± He wrapped his large arms around me, squeezing me tightly in a hug. He pulled back, not kissing me, though I didn¡¯t blame him for not wanting to do it in front of Chani. ¡°Arthur, this is Chani.¡± I motioned towards her. ¡°Nice to finally meet you.¡± Arthur held his hand out to her. She shook it with a small smile. ¡°Malia has told me a lot about you.¡± ¡°Same.¡± Chani responded, stepping back by me. ¡°Let¡¯s get a table.¡± Arthur suggested, walking over to the ma?tre d. He got us a table, which we sat down at. After ordering our meal, we began chatting. ¡°Thanks for taking us out, Arthur.¡± I smiled at him, dipping my bread in the olive oil and herbs. ¡°Of course. I¡¯m glad to finally get to meet Chani. Malia¡¯s told me a lot about you, but all good, I assure you.¡± ¡°I¡¯d hope so.¡± Chani laughed quietly, looking over at me. ¡°You two go to the same college, but I don¡¯t think Malia¡¯s told me your major. Or perhaps I just don¡¯t remember.¡± He shrugged gently. ¡°Art history.¡± Chani answered. ¡°It¡¯s more fun than mine.¡± I added. ¡°At least from what she¡¯s told me.¡± Arthur chuckled, shaking his head. ¡°Then maybe you should take it instead.¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± I shrugged slightly. I had also told Chani about my struggles to find interest in my degree and my hopes to have an antiques shop one day. She had told me maybe I should go into business instead then and see if Arthur will help me pay for the shop. Sometimes I can¡¯t help but to feel as if she only sees him as a source of money for me. ¡°Or business.¡± Chani suggested again. ¡°We¡¯ll see, we¡¯ll see.¡± I put my hands up in surrender. ¡°Mali¡¯s told me that you haven¡¯t told her much about your trip to Europe. Care to share anything now, so I don¡¯t assume you¡¯re just taking her out of the States to harvest her organs?¡± ¡°Chani.¡± I looked over at her in shock, but Arthur¡¯s chuckle seemed to ease the tension. ¡°I still would like for it to be a surprise, but I suppose I can share a bit. We¡¯re going on a Christmas-themed river cruise.¡± ¡°Bleh.¡± Chani stuck her tongue out. ¡°She hates Christmas. She¡¯s basically a Grinch.¡± I explained to Arthur. ¡°But that sounds awesome to me.¡± I turned to Chani. ¡°He hadn¡¯t told me about the cruise part, so I¡¯m stoked!¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad it¡¯s a river cruise and not an ocean one. I¡¯ve been Poseidon before, so that¡¯d leave me worrying about you the whole time.¡± ¡°Cruises are plenty safe.¡± Arthur tried to reassure her. ¡°If you say so.¡± She shrugged. We turned our attention to the waiter as he brought our food over. Every place I had been dining with Arthur was nice, this place included. ¡°Do you travel much, Arthur?¡± Chani asked. ¡°Not anymore.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I use to some for work and my ex and I use to travel for pleasure rather often.¡± ¡°Your ex-wife, right?¡± Chani asked and Arthur nodded. ¡°Why¡¯d you end things?¡± ¡°Chani.¡± I looked over at her again. Even I hadn¡¯t really asked about his ex. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Mal.¡± Arthur reassured me with a soft smile. ¡°Things just didn¡¯t work out. We had been married for seventeen years and had just gotten tired of each other.¡± ¡°Are you going to get tired of Malia eventually, then?¡± Chain crossed her arms. I watched her with surprise, but after looking over at Arthur who didn¡¯t seem to mind, I let them keep speaking. ¡°I don¡¯t have intentions to, no.¡± Arthur shook his head. ¡°But both of you have barely even lived as long as I was married. Once you get to my age, perhaps you¡¯ll understand.¡± ¡°Why date someone so young, then?¡± Chani was really grilling him. She could¡¯ve at least given me a warning, but at the same time, I appreciated her asking questions I was too scared to ask. ¡°I didn¡¯t seek someone young out. I just happened upon Malia. Which I consider myself lucky for.¡± ¡°Hm.¡± Chani made a noise of understanding, seemingly ending her barrage of questions. ¡°Soup¡¯s good.¡± I finally spoke up as neither of them continued. ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear it.¡± Arthur smiled. ¡°How are you liking your food, Chani?¡± ¡°It¡¯s good.¡± She shrugged casually. We talked through the rest of our meal, taking about some of our favorite meals as well as the reasons we had gone vegetarian, which Arthur seemed to find interesting. After finishing our meal and Arthur paying, we said our goodbyes and headed back to our cars. ¡°Could¡¯ve warned me, Chani.¡± I spoke quietly as she dropped into the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Sorry, Mali.¡± She looked over at me. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to do that really. Just heat of the moment it felt necessary.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Just warn me next time, okay?¡± ¡°Alright. I will.¡± She nodded. ¡°Promise.¡± ¡°You worried about your finals? Cause I am.¡± I rubbed my arm as we drove out of the parking lot. ¡°A bit, but not too much. I have a feeling they¡¯re not nearly as complicated as some of yours are going to be.¡± ¡°Probably.¡± I agreed though I was unsure. I am sure her classes expect the same amount of memorization. ¡°You¡¯ll do fine, I¡¯m sure. You just need to get through them, and then you get to go to Europe. On an expensive, I¡¯m sure, river cruise.¡± ¡°The thought is what matters more.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± She nodded in agreement. ¡°But I am excited. Really excited. I¡¯ve never been out of the country before.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just have to find a god to pray to while you¡¯re on that damn plane. Shit scares me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± I rolled my eyes with a small smile. ¡°You better be or else I¡¯ll piss on your grave.¡± ¡°Thanks, Chani.¡± I laughed, shaking my head.
Chapter 23 I let out a sigh as the cool air hit me as I walked out of the building and towards my dorm. I had just finished my last exam and now was rushing back to my dorm room to pick up my things so Arthur could pick me up for the flight. After a brisk walk across the college campus, I arrived at my dorm and headed upstairs, running into Chani on the way. She followed me to my room, where we hugged. ¡°You better stay safe, Mali.¡± ¡°Or else you¡¯ll piss on my grave.¡± I rolled my eyes with a smile. ¡°I know, I know.¡± Her smile faded as she grew more genuine. ¡°I¡¯m really going to miss you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to miss you too, Chani. But I won¡¯t be gone that long. I¡¯ll be back before you know it.¡± ¡°I know, but I¡¯m gonna miss you, regardless.¡± She smiled slightly. ¡°We won¡¯t get to spend the most miserable time of the year together.¡± ¡°Maybe next year I¡¯ll be here, and it won¡¯t be so miserable.¡± I laughed, picking up my suitcase. ¡°Arthur texted me and said he¡¯s here, so I¡¯ve got to go, but I promise you I¡¯ll message you when I can.¡± ¡°I love you, Mali.¡± Chani leaned in for a kiss. ¡°I love you too, Chani.¡± I moved back after we kissed.
¡°Hey.¡± Arthur sat down next to me in the terminal¡¯s seats, pulling my attention away from the birds that fly around DIA. ¡°I bought us some coffee. Decaf for you, of course.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± I smiled as I took the warm cup from his hand. ¡°Are you nervous about flying?¡± ¡°Yes and no.¡± I laughed. ¡°Yes, because of Chani hyping it up so much, but no, because of the medication I¡¯m on making any worries numb.¡± I shrugged with a smile. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to worry about. I¡¯ve been on plenty of planes, and I¡¯m still around.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just barely kickin¡¯, though.¡± I poked him with a smile. ¡°Was that an old joke?¡± He chuckled. ¡°Just know you¡¯re the one going to Amsterdam with an old guy.¡± ¡°Fine by me.¡± I shrugged. ¡°I like old guys.¡± ¡°You like old guys, or you like me?¡± ¡°Just old guys in general, but I suppose you¡¯re my favorite one so far.¡± I nudged him with my elbow. ¡°I¡¯ll take it.¡± Arthur shrugged with a smile. ¡°How long is this flight supposed to be, anyway?¡± ¡°Around twelve hours. We have one stop in O¡¯Hare in Chicago, though. That flight will be about two or three hours of the trip.¡± ¡°Alright. That¡¯s a long time, but I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be fine.¡± I smiled. ¡°You will since I¡¯m there.¡± I laughed. ¡°Oh yeah? You¡¯re gonna make sure the plane stays in the sky.¡± ¡°Or else.¡± I rolled my eyes with a smile. ¡°Practically Superman.¡±
¡°Goddamn.¡± I stretched my legs out in front of me. ¡°I thought the seats were nice on the last plane, but this is even better!¡± The seats were bigger and next to each other this time. ¡°Usually, the longer the flight, the bigger the plane.¡± Arthur took a sip of his Old Fashioned, which he had let me try. Like every kind of alcohol I¡¯ve had,it mostly just tastes like the alcohol itself. ¡°And this thing is huge.¡± I moved in my seat to look back at the other seats. Arthur had gotten us first-class seats, giving us more room for my first flight this long. I had a feeling he was just a first-class kind of guy in general, but I wasn¡¯t about to complain. ¡°I could¡¯ve gotten us nicer seats if we got a different plane. I waited too long for that, though.¡± ¡°Do you see me belly aching?¡± I looked over at him with a smile. ¡°You had an¡­odd way with words, Malia.¡± He looked over at me skeptically. ¡°I¡¯m glad but not surprised. You¡¯re not really one to complain.¡± ¡°I appreciate you saying that.¡± I tilted my head to the side happily. ¡°Oh, and thank you again for the gift.¡± I lifted my new iPad up. ¡°I still think it¡¯s too much, but I really, really appreciate it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s really nothing, Mal. And I¡¯m glad you¡¯ll get to use it on this flight. That¡¯s a big part of the reason I got it for you. Can I see what you were drawing last flight?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± I pulled the iPad up and moved the cover before unlocking it. ¡°It¡¯s not the best.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Arthur smiled as he saw what I had been doodling. Mostly tattoo ideas and the tattoos I already had. ¡°It¡¯s good, Mal. You did well. These look exactly like your tattoos.¡± He pointed to some of them. ¡°You should see what Chani can do.¡± I smiled as he handed it back to me. ¡°She¡¯s an amazing artist. She said she¡¯d even draw something I can get tattooed.¡± ¡°Chani is very intense.¡± Arthur chuckled. ¡°Oh, yeah¡­¡± I reached up to rub the back of my neck. ¡°She really interrogated you. I¡¯m sorry about that.¡± He smiled, shaking his head. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Mal. I¡¯m sure things will work better between us if your girlfriend approves of me.¡± ¡°Fair enough, but I¡¯m still sorry. She shouldn¡¯t have just gone in on you like that. Especially¡­with your ex-wife stuff.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯ve never asked. I¡¯m sure you shared some of her burning questions.¡± He looked over at me as if to see if he was right. I shrugged. ¡°I guess, yeah. At least a little.¡± ¡°Do you have any other questions she didn¡¯t ask? I don¡¯t mind you asking.¡± He placed his hand on mine. ¡°Not¡­right now, at least.¡± I shook my head. ¡°But if I come up with any, and if you promise you won¡¯t ditch me because of my curiosity, I¡¯ll ask them.¡± Arthur chuckled. ¡°Of course, I wouldn¡¯t.¡±
After a long flight, we had finally gotten off and were able to stretch our legs and walk around again. I was happy to be off the plane and to think I wasn¡¯t in the same country anymore, it¡¯s crazy. I¡¯ve only be to a handful of airports in my life, but the one in Amsterdam was very bright and airy. Even the air here felt different, or maybe it was just my excitement. ¡°You¡¯re all smiles.¡± Arthur wrapped his arm around my shoulder, kissing the top of my head. ¡°I¡¯m just excited.¡± I looked up at him. ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear it, Mal.¡± He squeezed my shoulder as we made our way to the luggage pickup. After some time, we got our luggage and headed out to get a cab. We got in and started towards the hotel. I had my face glued to the window, watching everything as we drove by, not willing to miss anything. Eventually, we got off the highway and into the city. ¡°Lot of bikes.¡± I glanced over at Arthur. ¡°A lot of places have better transport infrastructure than the U.S. does.¡± ¡°Plus, there¡¯s weed everywhere. So win-win.¡± I laughed. ¡°Do you even smoke, Mal?¡± ¡°Not¡­yet, but maybe someday. Chani does and has invited me to smoke with her before, though.¡± ¡°I use to when I was younger, but it always made me sick.¡± Arthur shook his head. ¡°Really?¡± I looked over at him fully with wide eyes. ¡°Why does that surprise you so much?¡± I shrugged. ¡°Guess I didn¡¯t expect it, is all.¡± We arrived at the hotel and climbed out of the cab. I looked up at the Pulitzer Amsterdam. It was stunningly beautiful. I loved the architecture in the area. It didn¡¯t take long for us to get checked in and shown to our room. I set my stuff down before jumping onto the bed, letting out a huff. Arthur sat down next to me, and I moved to rest my head on his lap. ¡°What would you like to do, Mal?¡± He ran his fingers through my hair. ¡°Get something to eat and go to bed.¡± I admitted. I hadn¡¯t slept the best on the plane, so I needed to catch up on some sleep; plus, I was just tired in general and a bit achy. ¡°Sure thing. I¡¯ll find us some food and then you can get some sleep.¡±
The two of us woke up refreshed and got some food at the hotel. After breakfast, we embarked on a walking tour through the streets of Amsterdam, stopping at lunch. We split up from the tour and went to a couple of museums before the sun began going down. We ate dinner at a really nice Italian place before taking another walking tour of the red-light district. By the time we got back to the hotel, I was ready to never go for a walking tour again, but Arthur informed me we¡¯d be going on a lot more on our trip. Both of us were tired and sore, so we agreed to use the bathtub that was next to the bed in the main part of the room. ¡°Are you joining?¡± Arthur glanced over at me as he stepped into the mostly filled-up bathtub. I finally tore my attention from outside the window and stepped away. ¡°It¡¯s just so goddamn pretty. The view of the canal is so sick.¡± Arthur chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re enjoying yourself so much. You¡¯ve been smiling nonstop.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just really happy.¡± I shrugged, laughing. After I had finished stripping, I looked up to see Arthur. He was watching me with a smirk. ¡°Something you like, mister?¡± ¡°Something I like very much.¡± He nodded, his voice husky. ¡°Come on and get in before the water gets cold.¡± I followed his command and stepped into the water, getting in on the other side of the bath between his legs. ¡°Not as big as it could be.¡± Arthur laughed. ¡°When I get a house, I¡¯ll be sure to have you check the bathrooms out for me.¡± ¡°I¡¯d love that, honestly.¡± We sat in the hot water for a while, before I sat up on my knees, moving to the other part of the tub to be chest-to-chest with Arthur. He ran his fingers through my hair as we made out. We made out for a while longer, before moving back. ¡°I want you, Mal.¡± He watched me hungrily. ¡°I want you too.¡± I leaned in to kiss him again. ¡°Get on that bed, right now.¡± His voice was a low growl. I crawled out of the bath and laid down on the bed, watching as Arthur got out of the water, still dripping. ¡°Is it okay to get the bed wet?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, Mal.¡± He chuckled, walking across the floor over to me. Arthur stopped at the edge of the bed, his eyes scanning over my body. Insecurely, I shifted under his gaze. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He tilted his head to the side, his smile fading slightly. ¡°I¡¯m just still getting comfortable with people seeing me naked.¡± I admitted, quietly. ¡°You¡¯re perfect, Malia.¡± Arthur looked at me sympathetically. ¡°Maybe in your eyes.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± He nodded. ¡°But you really are amazing. I hope, in time, you¡¯ll feel more comfortable with yourself, because you deserve it.¡± ¡°Thanks, Arthur.¡± ¡°Of course. Because you are perfect, in fact. Just look at you.¡± His eyes roamed over my body once more, the smile growing back on his face. ¡°Fuck.¡± I glanced down his body towards his growing erection. More than anything, it was flattering knowing he was so attracted to me. Arthur got down on his knees. ¡°Can I eat you out, Mal? Let me show you how I feel about you.¡± ¡°I--I¡­sure.¡± I nodded. I could see him smile between my legs. He moved forward, burying his face in my crotch. His tongue ran between my lips, causing goosebumps to form across my body. ¡°Arthur.¡± I muttered his name as he began sucking my clit. ¡°Fuck.¡± He continued sucking as he stuck a couple of fingers inside me, rubbing against my walls. I ran my fingers through his hair, holding on as he didn¡¯t stop. Knots formed in my stomach, but before I could get off, Arthur pulled back with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m gonna fuck you now. You can¡¯t cum yet, Mal.¡± I nodded, pleading with my eyes. I wanted him to finish what he started but also wanted him to enjoy himself. Arthur stroked himself a few times, before running his dick through my lips, collecting my fluids and probably some of his own spit. He inserted himself and began thrusting. Arthur grabbed my ankles, pushing them towards my head as he pushed himself in as deeply as possible. ¡°Fuck.¡± He spoke between thrusts, breathlessly. ¡°You¡¯re. Fucking. Flexible. Mal.¡± ¡°Oh. Fuck.¡± I moaned out as Arthur pushed into me, reaching the end of viable space, pushing into my guts. ¡°Arthur.¡± I touched, well more like clawed at, his fists forcing my knees next to my head. The moans, the gasps, the whimpers all rolled out of my mouth. ¡°You¡¯re so hot.¡± Arthur growled, leaning against my wet body to gnaw at my lips. Between the kisses, he bit at my lips, even drawing blood which he hungrily sucked away from the wound. Eventually, we finished together, leaving me to ride a wave of pleasure while he thrust a few last times. ¡°Holy. Fucking. Shit.¡± I panted, falling back into the bed. ¡°That was amazing.¡± Looking over at Arthur, I could see him watching me with a crooked tired smile. ¡°I need to pee.¡± I stood up on shaky legs. ¡°I¡¯m fucking shaking, Arthur.¡± ¡°You fucking better be.¡± He chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re fucking amazing, Mal.¡± ¡°You¡¯re amazing!¡± I called after him as I walked into the bathroom, a large smile on my face that I couldn¡¯t get rid of.