AnimeCon Harem Pt. 05 free porn video

“C’mon in,” Brian said, shouldering the hotel room door open and swinging Stephanie’s travel bag inside. An air conditioner rattled to life in the window beside the door as he flicked the lights on and revealed the small room’s modest accommodations.

A single bed took up most of the room, a bag of clothes and costumes strewn across its covers, and the seat of the easy chair beside the nightstand was occupied by a large cardboard packing box. Opposite the bed, Brian’s things were an untidy sprawl atop the dresser, which doubled as the TV stand. The far side of the room was sectioned off by a minimal bathroom, leaving an alcove outside it for a mirror and sink. The television, an old tube TV paired with a clunky cable box, betrayed the age of the spartan furnishings.

Not too impressive, and definitely not the hotel Chloe wanted, Brian remembered, suppressing a grimace. Last year, she’d been positively irate at this hotel’s lack of modern amenities; there were hardly any outlets, there was no internet, there was neither a microwave nor a mini-fridge. Of course, with their sudden break-up, the simple room had suited him just fine, as it was affordable and just a short trek across the crosswalk from the convention center. Fuck, I wonder how long it’ll be before every little thing stops reminding me of her in some way.

Well, I definitely have some welcome distractions, he thought, turning to admire the two beauties who followed him into the room.

“Thank you for having us, really…” Stephanie said, displaying an anxious but grateful smile. The sweet and terribly shy geek was still bedecked in the bright pinks and reds of her gijinka costume—long gloves, vinyl thigh-high boots, and a sleeveless sundress with an outrageously short skirt—it had been difficult for Brian not to steal glances at those slivers of exposed thigh. She bore more than passing resemblance to her creature from Monster Battlers, but with the panache of a sixties-era go-go dancer. A bobbing pair of costume rabbit ears rising from her pink-streaked blonde hair completed the outfit, and it was a strangely compelling look.

“Yeah, seriously, thanks,” the dark-haired scene girl chimed in, tailing Stephanie into the room. Though she was dressed casually, Kelly simply radiated sex appeal. Slinky skinny jeans captured her appreciable curves, and the crossing strap of her purse had her black tank top stretched taut about the splendid contours of her breasts. Kelly wasn’t ostensibly an anime fan or comic nerd, and instead seemed more like someone who normally looked down on geeks like them. Confidence shone in her eyes, a proud look that lent the fine quirk of her lips a very different impression than Stephanie’s smile.

The girls were both gorgeous, but otherwise couldn’t have been more different in appearance and demeanor—If Brian were to casually personify Stephanie as an innocent angel of conscience perched upon one shoulder, then Kelly would be the corrupting devil straddling the opposite shoulder.

“Here, lemme get all my junk outta the way,” Brian said, shifting his scattered belongings off the dresser and into a neat pile beside the bed.

“I might, if it’s okay, I’ll take a shower?” Stephanie asked.

“Of course, go ahead,” Brian said, “Guess you’ve probably been wanting to try and wash the pink out of your hair?”

“...Y-yeah,” Stephanie slowly nodded, a complicated expression crossing her face. “That too.”

“Yeah, what’s up with her hair?” Kelly asked Brian. “Are you doin’ something to her? Like at first there was just the one little streak, and then when I saw her again tonight it’s like, all over. Hair doesn’t spontaneously turn colors.”

“It happened whenever we... uh, when we... kissed,” Stephanie fussed, adjusting her glasses. “Both times, I think?”

“Well, lemme see you guys kiss, then,” Kelly insisted. “Let’s see the magic.”

“I-I didn’t say they were magic,” Stephanie sputtered, looking down and scuffing the toe of her boot against the other nervously. “I mean, well, th-they are, but I didn’t mean that I think that, uh, you see—”

“Actually... may I?” Brian interrupted, gently drawing Stephanie’s pink rabbit-ear headband free of the girl’s hair, “I’ve been thinking these are the culprit. You were wearing them all day, right? Did you make them yourself?”

“Uhm... oh! Yes, a little, it was uh, an Easter decoration I had, I glued them onto a better headband, and... the ears were white, I dyed them red for the costume...” Realization seemed to dawn on Stephanie.

“What’d you use to dye them?” he asked, offering the accessory back to her.

“Sharpie cores,” Stephanie admitted in embarrassment. “Red sharpie cores, put in, ah, soaked in rubbing alcohol. From a tutorial I found for dyeing synthetic fiber wigs... it must have come off into my hair? The guide did have all these warnings about st-staining things accidentally... gosh, I’m so stupid!”

She frowned cutely as she rubbed the material of the fluffy costume ear between her thumb and forefinger, inspecting it closely. All the swathes of pink in her blonde hair began at the crown of her head right where the headband had rested, so it did seem plausible enough.

“Hey, s’okay,” Brian said, “Costume accidents happen all the time. If you meet my friend Emily on Sunday she’ll tell you ‘bout all her costume mishaps.” A little bit of dye coming off in your hair is nothing compared to that body-paint fiasco, or last year with the band-aids that wouldn’t stay on her nipples.

“So wait, the color in Steph’s hair just... seeps out when she gets nervous and sweats, or something?” Kelly asked, ineffectively hiding a smirk behind her hand.

“I’m going to go shower now,” Stephanie blurted quickly, looking mortified. She turned, heaving her travel bag into the tiny bathroom, and pulled the door closed behind her.

“You really okay with that, Brian?” Kelly asked, kicking off her skate-shoes and looking for a place to sit. “She might fuck up the hotel towels with all that pink.”

“If they bill me, they bill me,” Brian shrugged, “Couple years back my friend Emily did a Grimoire Saint cosplay, was this... all over textured gray body-paint with some little add-ons here and there that made her skin look like stone with cracks in it. If you’d seen the tub and shower curtains afterwards, you’d have thought she exploded.”

“And they charged you extra?” Kelly asked.

“Nah. Emily left housekeeping a twenty dollar tip on the sink with a slip of paper that just said, ‘I’m so sorry’.”

“That’s rich,” Kelly remarked. “If I started writing those, my life would just be one unending string of apology notes. Someone could follow behind and make a book out of ‘em. Probably be a bestseller, too.”
 

• • •

This is... really happening, Stephanie thought, releasing an unsteady breath. Somehow, situation had led to circumstance, and she’d wound up here. In Brian’s hotel room. I can’t calm down at all.

Her heart was still racing, and jittery pink embers of energy spat and fizzled up and down her body. Out of reflex, she turned and searched the off-white tile walls for her reflection, before remembering with a wince that the sink and mirror were outside this tiny bathroom enclosure. She wouldn’t have any moments of privacy to inspect her appearance, and it had been a long time since she’d felt this self-conscious. Nothing… nothing I can do about it now, she wearily decided, beginning to undress.

Perching her shapely bottom awkwardly on the lip of the bathtub, Stephanie laboriously pulled her tall costume boots off; the first priority for any cosplayer on their feet all day. She released a satisfied sigh as those pink vinyl boots hit the floor, and tenderly probed her swollen feet with her fingers to discover twinges of both pain and relief.

Brian’s outside this door, Stephanie remembered, and her fingertips thoughtlessly traced their way up her tired legs towards her thighs. Brian is... right outside. That trembling pink flame inside her flared again, illuminating those amorous ideas she’d nearly entertained just a few hours ago.

Is it... this simple? Can I really just…? Stephanie spread her legs and flipped up the edge of her sundress over her lap, exposing her gray-striped panties. Blushing furiously and exhaling, Stephanie slid her hand down there to cup herself. She felt warm, and seemed to naturally fit to the shape of herself through her panties, with a finger on either side and then her middle finger settled across that slightly puffy groove, barely perceptible through the fabric.

What am I doing?! She stiffened, sitting up straight, and shook her head as if that could snuff out the spark of this idea… but despite her best efforts that tongue of flame persistently continued to creep along that length of fuse she’d discovered within herself, this awakening of curiosity.

Guys are supposed to always think about sex whenever they see a naked girl, she mused as she tugged her sundress over her head and tossed it into a crumpled heap on the floor. She finished undressing and started the shower, stepping inside when the streaming water had warmed.

But is that really true, it seems so... unlikely? she thought, diligently working shampoo into her hair. She’d always thought of herself as being so dull and plain that the idea seemed far-fetched. Her chest seemed small and unremarkable, her skin too pale, she almost found it hard to believe that someone would consider her sexual.

I’m not amazing like Kelly is. Frowning at the look of the shampoo suds sliding down her body, Stephanie lifted her foot to see the soapy water meandering towards the drain. Not a bit of that pink was actually coming out of her hair.

But... he did kiss me, Stephanie recalled, unable to suppress a smile. Hours and hours had passed since then, and she was still feeling giddy at that pleasant surprise. He had in that moment suddenly made her aware that she was already a part of something she hadn’t even thought she qualified for.

Stephanie lathered soap distractedly, looking down at herself as the spraying water beat a staccato rhythm across her naked back. She’d bathed nearly every day of her life, but today that thoughtless, habitual process was thoroughly disrupted by the flickering flames rising to life within her.

He wouldn’t tell us what he thought of my butt, she thought, pouting. Water trickling down every curve, her hands subconsciously reached behind her, gripping her plush bottom. But he thought SOMETHING. He said he’d have to show me, was he really thinking of it in a... sexual—

“Ahh!” Stephanie gave a small startled yelp of surprise as her rear touched the cold tile of the shower wall—she hadn’t even realized she’d been arching her back. No, no, no. I’m not doing this right now. I’m… I’m just going to finish washing up. Going to change into my nightshirt. And then going to go out and see what the sleeping arrangements will be like, she decided. Her feelings, however, made it impossible to keep her mind from wandering.

I never thought I was attractive or appealing, so I just wasn’t, Stephanie realized. But now, if HE thinks I am, well… I actually FEEL sexy. I feel alive when I’m with him, like I did back before… everything happened way back then.

He said if I wanted him to go down on me, all I had to do is ask… she remembered again. Although she was still half-heartedly washing with one hand, the other had dropped down between her legs to hover, right over her mound of venus. He was joking. Of course, a guy can’t really go down on a girl. But still, does that mean that he can really… see me as his partner for that kind of thing? And was he really flirting with me today?! Would seeing me naked like this… make him want...

Her entire body went still, hesitating for a moment of mute indecision as that pink inferno twisted and writhed within her, rising up and setting her last inhibitions ablaze.

...To FUCK me? Her poised finger pressed down, parting her blushing cleft and sliding inside of her with alarming ease. Oh. Oh? Ohhhh…! Before she could come to her senses she was already playing with herself, her middle finger searching insistently for the relief to this longing ache of desire roiling throughout her. She was hot inside, and pumping her finger in and out of her slick slit, it felt as though this erotic heat was capable of melting the very thoughts out of her head.

Please, Stephanie trembled, stifling the gasps that threatened to rise up out of her as her finger sought feverishly towards that fleeting glimmer of release. I’ll be yours. She wanted to belong to him. To be his lover, his plaything; his to hold, to undress, to do with as he pleased. She wanted to be enveloped in his embrace, wanted him to grab generous handfuls of her butt, to physically dominate every inch of her flesh. She wanted him to pin her down, wanted their bodies entwined together in the throes of naked passion, kissing endlessly. She even found she wanted his… thing inside of her, pulsing with strange, sexual motion as she guessed a guy’s thing might.

I can’t...? Stephanie sighed, feeling a pang of disappointment. She leaned against the tile wall, letting her arm go slack for a moment. It felt good, it felt amazing, but she just couldn’t get that elusive new feeling inside of her to keep building towards... resolution. The sensations were overwhelming, and just as she felt like she was closing in on their source, her fingertip was already clumsily going off-track.

Senseless to the water streaming across her quivering body, she frigged herself with an increasingly frantic, desperate intensity. I can’t... do it after all? Or maybe I just can’t do it... by myself?

• • •
 

“So what’s with the box? Buy somethin’ big at the con?” Kelly asked, sliding into the easy chair situated beside the bed and settling the packing box into her lap. She tilted the box up on its end so that she could read the invoice taped onto the top. “Calamity Queen set by Noblesse Oblique? What is this?”

Ah... that thing. It was the gothic lolita outfit he’d bought for Chloe months ago and secreted away from her, that last tangible missed opportunity to reconcile their failing relationship.

“It’s... uh...” He said, embarrassed. “It’s like a costume... dress... thing. Bought it months ago, it was gonna be an AnimeCon surprise for my ex, but...”

“Right, that break-up, gotcha,” she said, glancing suspiciously from the box to him. “Whatcha doin’ with it here, though? Were you gonna try it on yourself or somethin’? I mean, why bring it to the con if it’s a dress?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “I guess I thought I could sell it or trade it or... something, I’ve been keeping an eye out for girls wearing gothic lolita stuff. Even if I sell at a loss, I can still at least get three or four hundred bucks back and be rid of the thing without feeling like it was a total waste.”

“Three or four hundred bucks?” Kelly echoed, eyes widening, and she hefted the box in her hands. “Christ, how much did you spend on it?”

“Ugh... you don’t wanna know. Noblesse Oblique is considered burando, or, uh, ‘brand’ over there in Japan. It’s a designer label sorta thing and not many get imported, so they’re pretty rare.”

“Burando, that’s funny,” Kelly said. “You said it’s gothic? Like a goth... fantasy dress sorta thing? What’s it look like? I used to be all gothic back in the day.”

“Uh... how to even describe it...” Brian laughed, rubbing his cheek. “Kinda like some cross between a french maid outfit and a victorian dress, with a whole lot of... fancy little embellishments.”

“Wouldn’t it be easiest to sell that kind of thing online?” Kelly said, placing the box down reverently beside the chair.

“I wish,” Brian griped. “Finding a buyer involves digging into all these little niche fashion subculture forums and knowing all about the burandos. When I bought it, it was direct from the retailer overseas. I just pointed my credit card towards these moon runes in her wish-list and that was that.”

“Moon runes?” Kelly asked, arching an eyebrow.

Kind of weird describing things to a non-anime fan, even the explanations need explanations, Brian thought. “It’s kinda... fan slang for when you run into a bunch of Japanese characters, all the hiragana and kanji and whatnot. If you don’t know how to read them, they might as well be gibberish; moon-runes.”

“That’s funny,” Kelly said, and he couldn’t tell if her interest was feigned or not. “I figured you, uh... fans of this kind of stuff were into that though, like, learning Japanese and translating it and all.”

“Some are, I guess,” Brian admitted. “But that’s deeper down the rabbit hole than most of us go.” He resisted the temptation to tell her that their ‘rabbit’, Stephanie, was good with Kanji. Kelly probably wouldn’t care.

“That’s cool,” Kelly said, and her vague reply left Brian wondering. Is she being dismissive, or trying to be polite? I can’t get a read on her at all...

The sudden sounds of the Fantasy Wars victory theme began insistently playing from within the small pile of Brian’s things beside the bed, and Kelly quirked an eyebrow at him.

“Sorry, I’d better get that,” Brian said as he fished through the stack to retrieve his phone and accept the call. He felt both relieved and a little guilty to see that it was Emily rather than Chloe. Wouldn’t have known what to say to her.

“Heeeey,” Emily’s voice warbled through his phone, “I just got off work. How’ve you been holdin’ up, guy? How’s the con been treatin’ you?”

“Hey Emily,” he replied, genuinely happy to hear from her. “Pretty good so far, actually.” How do I even begin? How can I tell her I somehow went from alone and pretty miserable to suddenly sharing a room with some girls I just met?

“Yeah? For real?” She replied with enthusiasm, “Well, ‘atta boy! I was worried, you know? And I keep thinkin’ ‘bout you. I also, ummm, called to see if maybe I could ask for a h-uuuuuge favor... if that’s okay?”

“Whatcha need?” he asked.

“Okay. So. You know how I couldn’t make it to the con ‘till Sunday ‘cause of work? Well! Karen hadta switch shifts with me, so now I’m free to hit the con soon as Rebecca’s off work tomorrow. So we were wondering... if maybe we could room with you Saturday night? We can pay our share,” she hastily added.

“Ah, geez lady, I dunno,” Brian teased. “It’s pretty crowded with me an’ all these girls here already.”

“Puhleeeeese,” Emily called in her sickeningly-sweet little girl impression that he knew all too well, easily overlooking his comment about having girls. Of course she’d never think I was serious.

“I’ll give you a whole dollar! I’m small and don’t take up space at all! I’ll sleep under your pillow and you won’t even know I’m there! Rebecca will stand watch with her sword for the room all night and kill all of the enemies!”

“Well hmm, if it’s all of the enemies...” he said, pausing. For a moment he considered warning her that he hadn’t been joking and that there really wasn’t much space left in the room now, but ended up holding his tongue. Honestly, I kinda want to see the look on her face when she realizes that I actually do have girls staying with me, Brian thought. And I’ll play it off like it’s no big deal, of course. The crowded little room might inconvenience them a bit, but it’s not like he was going to accept their money anyways.

“So we can stay with you?” Emily asked, sounding adorably hopeful.

“‘Course you can,” Brian said. “It’ll be just like the old days.”

“Well not just like the old days.” Emily declared. “This time, it’s gonna be even better.”

“You might be right this time,” Brian said, chuckling.

“I’m always right. But this time, Brian, listen, there’s... well, I…”

“Hmm?”

“Uh, it’s nothin’, it’s nothin’. Thanks for lettin’ us stay room with you tomorrow, really. I gotta... I gotta go. See ya tomorrow, Brian.”

“Hey wait, Emmie?”

“Yeah?”

“Have you seen Chloe at all?”

There was a prolonged silence on the other end of the line, and he had that unpleasant gut feeling he used to get around Chloe, that feeling when he realized too late that he’d said just the wrong thing. For some reason he even imagined a look of distaste and disapproval souring Emily’s normally perky features.

“She... uh, yeah, I saw her,” Emily reluctantly replied. “She’s been pissy.”

“Did she say something?”

“She’s always saying things, she won’t fucking let up,” Emily hissed. “I’ve about had it. Like, someone’s gonna find her accidentally fallen down an elevator shaft somewhere. Onto some bullets. If she says anything about you to me again... look, I can’t be responsible for what happens, ‘kay?”

“That bad, huh?”

“...Yeah,” Emily huffed. “That bad.”

“That’s... well, that’s normal,” Brian said with difficulty, frowning. “After a relationship, for her to feel that way, you know.”

There was silence on the other end of the line for a while.

“Brian, don’t fucking make excuses for her anymore.” Emily finally said, her voice quiet and a little cold. “I’ve really gotta go. Talk to ya tomorrow. And thanks again. Later, guy.”

“Hey wai—” he began, but she’d already ended the call. He stood there silently for a few seconds with the phone to his ear. She’s always taken my side with things, Brian thought, showing a faint smile. Wonder if she’d feel the same way if she knew what a crush I had on her in high school. Would we have still been friends like this?

“Someone checkin’ in on you, huh?” Kelly asked, sounding amused.

“Nothin’ like that,” Brian replied, tossing his phone back into his things. “‘Nother friend of mine, Emily, she and our friend Rebecca need a place to stay for the con tomorrow.”

“Will you need us to find somewhere else to crash tomorrow?” Kelly asked.

“All of us’ll fit in here just fine,” Brian assured her. “Our first couple times here at Animecon, we had seven of us packed in a room just a little bigger than this. S’part of the whole anime convention experience.”

“So... okay, on that note, now I’ve gotta ask,” Kelly said, “What’s up ‘tween you and Stephanie? I mean, I know you mentioned earlier today that you’re recently single, but are the two of you like a thing, or gonna be a thing?”

“What do you mean?” Brian asked innocently, and Kelly shot him a sardonic are you fucking kidding me look.

“Okay, okay... I feel like we could be a thing,” Brian admitted. “I think we’re both interested, but... well, we just met today, I don’t wanna rush anything, we’re definitely not ready for that.”

“Well, what if she was ready?” Kelly said. “Could you be ready, like, what would it take?”

“What’s it matter? I mean, why? Did she say something?” Brian asked, curious.

“We talked for a while. She’s into you, but like, she actually wasn’t even gonna call you about being stranded and roomless. She was all against it... until I mentioned that it could be like, an opportunity, and that really flipped her gears or something. It’s definitely like she’s wantin’ you to take a shot.”

“Ah... opportunity. I did say she was my opportunity. That’s from stuff we were talking about earlier today,” Brian mused, thinking back. “You ever hear the phrase, ‘Luck is when preparation meets opportunity?’ ”

“Nope,” Kelly shook her head.

“Well, I was saying that rather than chalking things up to good fortune, I’ve got to appreciate the people who... helped my circumstances. Emily, that girl I was just on the phone with, she got me back on my feet, prepared me to come have fun at the con after my breakup. And meeting Stephanie really gave me this opportunity to... well, not be as miserable as I thought I would, I guess,” Brian shrugged.

“Okay. But what are you actually gonna do about it? Are you gonna take advantage of the opportunity?” Kelly smirked. “We called you because she obviously wants there to be like, a chance for something to happen. Isn’t it just a missed opportunity if you don’t make a move, then? Guys are supposed to be like, proactive, take initiative and make the first moves, you know?”

“I can understand why she’d be enthusiastic,” Brian said uneasily. “But I’m getting the impression that, in a lot of ways, this is her first... kind of this experience. So, I don’t want to push things too fast.”

“Fuck that. You like her, right? Push her into things, push her into everything. She’s already twenty-two for Christsakes, and she hasn’t even... she hasn’t, uh...” Kelly quirked her lip as if realizing she might’ve let slip too much. “Listen, you kissed her today, right?”

“Yeah,” Brian admitted sheepishly. “But it was, uh, I realize I shouldn’t have, I didn’t plan it out or anything. It was outta the blue, kinda ‘cause she dared me to. Was one of those moments where the vibe is right, and it seems like she’s sending cues, and it just... seems like the right thing to do, you know?”

“Why’re you getting all defensive about kissing her?” Kelly snorted. “Kissing a girl you just met’s kind of… well, badass?”

“Just something I’m readjusting to, I guess,” Brian explained with a chuckle. “You see, my ex, she was always stressing that acting without explicit consent was always a form of... well, a part of rape culture. So all day I’ve been feeling kinda guilty for kissing Stephanie without... asking for her permission or like, really confirming that it was gonna be okay with her. I mean, sure, it felt like she was flirting with me, but that doesn’t—”

“That’s retarded,” Kelly said, rolling her eyes. “You don’t have to ask for permission for every little thing and make sure it’s okay, that’s your ex bein’ a control freak. Guys are expected to read the mood, take charge, and know exactly what to do. That’s masculine. That’s what’s sexy.”

“Chloe, uh, my ex would definitely disagree with that,” Brian said with a bitter smile.

“And look where it got her,” Kelly countered with a dismissive laugh. “She’s gone, she’s outta your life. Doesn’t matter what she thought, what do you actually think?”

“About Stephanie? I’m gonna... well, I want to take things slow, not take things further before she’s really ready. I’m a mess right now anyways.”

“She’s not gonna be gettin’ any readier than she is,” Kelly grumbled. “And she shouldn’t be! I’ve always hated that whole mentality.”

“What mentality?” Brian asked.

“Thinkin’ a girl needs to be ready for things so she can safely experience them. Trying to ever so delicately ease her into things as if life and love is just this awful, dreadfully traumatizing thing. Take off the kiddie-gloves, for fuck’s sake. You’re coddling her, you’re watering down the experience, and worst of all, you’re holding back. That’s dishonest.”

“Being careful with things isn’t dishonest,” Brian said in exasperation.

“Here, I’ve got a weeb way to put it for ya,” Kelly said. “My mom was a registered nurse, and she told me about this stuff in Japan. Didja know over there they’re real crazy ‘bout hand sanitizer and cleanliness, and like, wearing those medical-looking face-masks that block germs in public when colds are going around?”

“That’s called courtesy, it’s this weird cultural thing over there.”

“Funny. But yeah, when they do get colds, they don’t just shrug it off like we do. They’re actually like, bed-ridden and near death and shit, because they’re so focused with preventing germs everywhere that their immune systems have never been challenged, and like, toughened up. So when they do ineva... uh... inevibly? Is that right?”

“Inevitably?”

“That’s it, when they do inevitably catch a cold, their bodies aren’t equipped to deal with it. Do you get what I’m saying here? If you shelter a girl from too much, if all you do is ‘play it safe’ and take it slow with her, your relationship ends up weak.”

“That’s... certainly one way to look at things. But it’s not just her, either. I just got out of a nasty relationship, and I’m not gonna press my baggage and problems from all of that onto Stephanie,” Brian argued. “That wouldn’t be remotely fair.”

“Fuck fair,” Kelly said. “That’s you deciding things all... one-sidedly. What if we—uh, what if she wants to help? What’re you really gonna accomplish by keeping a distance up when she wants to get closer?”

“I don’t get it,” Brian chuckled, running his hands through his hair. “Why’re you pushing this so much, like, what’s your angle?”

“You gave me this,” Kelly dangled her convention badge from its lanyard, and then used it to gesture to the room around her. “And you set me up with all of this. I’m just tryin’ to earn my keep here, alright? You look out for me, I’m gonna look out for you. So let me look out for you!”

“All of that was no-strings-attached. I don’t want you thinking you have some obligation to—”

“Aren’t we friends though? I mean, just what am I to you?” Kelly asked, cutting him off.

“You can’t pull the friend card on day one,” Brian pointed out. “That’s like asking for your vacation day during job orientation.”

“...Okay, then. Maybe I’ve been goin’ about all of this the wrong way, if you don’t really think of me as a friend yet...” Kelly mused, a sly smile slipping across her features.

“That’s not what I said,” Brian said.

“Steph’s a sweet girl, and I do like her. But from what you’re saying, maybe she’s not really what you need right now? You did just get out of a long relationship, and Stephanie... she doesn’t really even know the ropes yet. If you’re not comfortable with the situation, like, taking initiative and introducing her to your... needs, you’re headed right back into another long, messy slog without any emotional... relief.”

“Relief? My needs? That’s the last thing anyone should be worried about right now,” Brian laughed.

“That’s naive,” Kelly chided, her voice dropping to almost a whisper. “Look, I’m no stranger to rough break-ups. In a serious relationship, you invest all these big pieces of yourself. And, when it all ends... well, s’not like you get your change back. You’re gonna have all these empty aches inside of you that’ll keep reminding you of her, and they’re not gonna really heal ‘til you can forget.”

“What can heal you is... affection. Intimate affection. Being shown physically that someone else is attracted, cares for you, accepts you. Wants you, wants to put in effort for you. Minds are complicated, and it’s easy to doubt words, but with the physical… well, bodies are honest. Besides, sometimes you just need to get laid, it’s healthy. I know I definitely need some action this weekend,” Kelly said, flicking her brandy-brown eyes back to him meaningfully.

“Yeah? Well, I wish you the best of luck with that,” Brian said, grinning. Is she baiting me on behalf of Stephanie? Or does she just want to mess around with my head? She seemed fairly sincere earlier, too... What’s going on?

“I don’t need luck,” Kelly said with a confident laugh. “What’d you say about luck before? Luck is when... effort begets opportunity?”

Close enough. You have the idea of it, what was important, Brian thought, remembering Stephanie’s words. For a moment, his head whirled as these ideas and coincidences seemed to align themselves together. If Stephanie represents MY opportunity, maybe she’s been Kelly’s opportunity, too? I’d have never run into Kelly, or given Kelly my spare pass if not for Steph, and if she hadn’t called me tonight from Stephanie’s phone, I’d never have invited them to stay with me. Both times it was—

“I make my own luck,” Kelly declared, a finger toying with her tank top at the crook of her cleavage and teasing it lower. “Maybe, do you wanna... fool around?”

The tipped shapes of her nipples distended the shifting fabric as Kelly leisurely inched the neckline of her garment down, revealing more and more of her tantalizing skin. In the span of a slow breath, she’d tugged that hem nearly to her navel, her lovely breasts nearly spilling free... when the hush of the spraying shower water inside the bathroom cut off, followed by the sound of the shower curtain being drawn open.

In unison, Kelly and Brian exchanged guilty looks followed by laughter. Coughing nervously, she released the fabric and let her neckline return to position with a distracting jiggle. This girl’s absolutely dangerous, I almost froze up and lost it there...

“Meaningless sex wouldn’t get anyone anywhere,” Brian said, a bitter smile crossing his face. “It’s always a terrible idea.”

“That’s small-minded,” Kelly said, scowling playfully. “Just because it’s not part of some deep, committed relationship doesn’t automagically make sex meaningless. A meaning can be something as simple as, like, ‘I don’t wanna be alone with my thoughts tonight,’ or ‘Please help me forget him.’ Or her, I guess, in your case. And a lot of sex in relationships is meaningless; you just end up fuckin’ outta convenience, without any real reason or significance.”

“You know what I like about you, Kelly?” Brian asked, looking thoughtful.

“What’s not to like, I’m pretty fuckin’ amazing?” A cocky, genuine smile broke the surface of her cool facade, and Brian felt himself smiling in return.

“I like that you’re this total opposite side of the spectrum from my ex, this completely other perspective,” Brian chuckled. “It’s refreshing. I mean, neither of you are right at all. You’re both pointlessly persistent and take your ideologies to these weird extremes, but still. It’s nice.”

“That’s rude,” Kelly scoffed. “I’ve been being serious with you.”

“Have you?” Brian wondered. “It’s kinda weird that you’re pressing your point so much, like, why, why’re you so adamant about it?”

“I’m here lookin’ out for you,” Kelly insisted, pouting. “And you’re here being a stubborn jackass. You’re really not gonna make a move on Stephanie, then?”

“Tonight? Of course not,” Brian answered.

“Well... we’ll see about that, won’t we?” Kelly remarked with a mysterious smile.

The bathroom door opened, releasing a dramatic whirl of steam as Stephanie stepped out after her shower. She wore simple blue pajama bottoms, and an oversized T-shirt featuring a faded soft-drink logo hung loosely on her petite frame. Her skin was flushed from the heat of the water, her pink and blonde shoulder-length hair fluffy from being dried. It was an appealing look, but Brian had trouble putting his finger on just exactly why. This isn’t the Stephanie everyone gets to see, this is her out of costume, out of normal clothes even... this is her when she wants to relax and be comfy, he guessed. It was an intimate look, and she was cute as hell.

Chloe had always insisted on donning a bathrobe and pulling her damp hair up into a towel-wrapped bundle on her head after showers, which to Brian somehow felt stuffy and prim. Fuck. Stop remembering her.

Stephanie turned away from the mirror, paused when she realized his attention was on her, and offered a nervous smile that immediately eclipsed errant memories of his ex-girlfriend. “It, uh... I don’t think it came out at all. Still very pink, uh, in the same places.” Oh, right. Her hair.

“Here, lemme take a look,” Kelly offered, withdrawing a brush from her bag and directing Stephanie in front of her easy chair. “You showering too, Brian?”

“Nah,” Brian replied. “I’ll wait and take one tomorrow, after my morning run.”

“Ew, run? Are you one of those weird morning people?” Kelly asked as she stroked carefully through the tufts of Stephanie’s mottled hair.

“Something like that,” he replied. “The loop I do in the mornings back home gets old, so the change of scenery’ll be nice.”

“That’s... cool, I guess. So you run. You’re a geek and a runner?”

“Yeah. Wakes me up, clears my head and gets me going, you know? Plus, I don’t want to be this morbidly obese for the rest of my life, so I’ve gotta do something, you know?” Brian joked.

“You’re not fat at all,” Stephanie predictably protested. “You’re perf-, uh, you’re just, ah, just fine the way you are.”

“Well, hey, it’s late. You guys feel free to take the bed,” Brian chuckled, “I’ve got the floor over here.”

“What?” Kelly asked, giving him an incredulous look as she gently pulled the brush through Stephanie’s hair. “Uh, no? You’re not sleeping on the floor ‘cause of us, that’s stupid.”

“I’m fine, don’t worry about it,” Brian said. He’d slept alone on the floor a fair amount over the course of his relationship with Chloe. After all, the couch in their shared apartment had been slightly too short for him to sleep comfortably on.

“You, uh, can’t sleep on the floor,” Stephanie protested, shooting Kelly a desperate glance for help. “It’s you, ah, it’s your room, you let us stay, so you can’t, I mean, if anything, we should sleep on the floor.”

“You’re my guests, what kinda hospitality would that be?” Brian asked, putting on his charming grin. “And more importantly, you’re girls. There’s no way I’m letting delicate and lovely creatures such as yourselves sleep on the floor like common beasts.” Chloe woulda MURDERED me for saying something flippant and sexist like that, even though she probably would’ve agreed with me.

“You’re not sleeping on the floor,” Kelly insisted.

“Hey now,” Brian said. “It’s my room, since when do either of you get a say in where I sleep? It’s not a big deal.”

“Since we actually care, and any of us sleeping on the floor is dumb? We’ll all fit on the bed together if we’re cozy,” Kelly argued. She tossed her brush back into her purse and carefully smoothed Stephanie’s hair down the nape of the shy girl’s neck with her hands.

“Are we cozy? Sleeping in the same bed when we’ve all just met is kinda weird, isn’t it?” Brian pointed out. “I’d be pretty self-conscious in bed next to you girls, you know? I mean, I can keep my hands to myself, but that doesn’t mean I’d sleep well.”

“Who asked you to keep your hands to yourself?” Kelly retorted, grinning. “Right, Stephanie?”

“Uhm, wh-what?”

“See? She’s uncomfortable,” Brian pointed out.

“We’re, uh, well I’m fine with sleeping anywhere, really,” Stephanie interjected weakly. “I just, um, I don’t want you to have to sleep on the floor because of me. I’ll feel bad. Please.”

“Ugh. Look, just drop the stubborn gentleman act,” Kelly groaned. “You’re a guy, and you’re actually gonna refuse to climb into bed with us?”

“Now that’s sexist,” Brian countered playfully, pulling back the bedspread. “You guys want the sheets, or the comforter? Take your pick.”

“W-we could vote,” Stephanie suggested. “That would, be, ah, be fair?”

“It’s my room, how is voting fair?” Brian asked.

“How ‘bout we compromise here?” Kelly proposed. “We can have a little wager, or like... a game or something, and the winner gets to decide.”

“Like what?”

“Oh, I dunno... why don’t we play truth or dare? It’s fun, plus it’ll help us get to know each other a little better. We’re all in this room together now, we don’t gotta be strangers.”