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She's twenty-three, and this is Audrey's first visit to the Rose Bowers. A two week stay, complimentary through her government job on Arcbright. She's alone.
She's heard stories of the Rose Bowers, of the unrestrained hedonism that's its stock in trade, and its matchmaking, which is reputed to be excellent.
She comes in with trepidation in her heart. Her suitcase rattles as it bumps over the threshold.
It looks like the front desk of an expensive hotel. There are rose patterns worked into the mahogany of the desk and the tables in the front seating area. There's nobody around. A keycard sits on the front desk, along with a short note.
Ms. Ingram;
Your room is number thirty. All expenses are paid for the duration of your stay, but you must pay for anything you take with you other than food or drink. Enjoy your stay at the Rosethorn Hotel.
- The Management
She reads the note, nods to herself, takes the keycard and goes off down the hallway. Her luggage trundles behind, smooth on the plush carpet.
She finds room thirty easily enough, and unlocks it with her keycard. She swings open the door.
The room is spacious, with two large couches, a television, and a huge flower-blossom in the middle of the room where a table might be expected. Its petals are spread flat; on them lies a program advertising the various matchmaking services, a can of root beer, a pack of little chocolates, and a neatly-folded blanket.
Audrey eyes the things on the table, and decides to let them alone for now. She ducks into the bathroom and confirms the existence of facilities, and then she wonders where she's going to sleep. She picks up the program, and a thin remote slides out of it.
She sighs. She turns to the page the remote fell out of. It's advertising a local, dry instance of Club Coze, the introvert's club she's seen at SenseFest. There it had drugs, but here...
Alright, it's a decent suggestion. She'll consider it once she has a bed and her things are unpacked.
She summons up a nightstand and a king-sized bed and puts away her things. Her books, her glasses-case, her clothes, her dildo and electric massager. She'd considered not bringing the last two, but... It's the Rose Bowers. And she likes her own.
She flops on the bed and thinks awhile.
This is her last chance. Last opportunity to turn back. She could just leave now. But - is she really that much of a coward? Is the thought of losing her virginity too much for her?
Heat rises to her cheeks, but - no. No, it's not. She's looking forwards to it, really.
She pulls out her phone and sees if it gets internet. Yep.
She puts on music. Girl In The Mirror.
She bobs her head slowly, and smiles.
The Rose Bowers can have her on her terms, and no-one else's.
She gets out of bed, wraps herself in the blanket. (People do all kinds of embarrassing things in the Rose Bowers, wearing a blanket has got to be less weird than going naked in front of strangers, seriously.) She opens the pop and takes a slug of it.
Time to go exploring.
Club Coze is just a little ways down the hall. It's set up with tables. To her left, a kitsune couple (they're holding tails beneath the table) are playing a boardgame based around bidding for stars and planets. To her right, someone's set up a reading circle and the participants are arguing about which of the characters are hotter. One of the debaters has a tenta-pet on her shoulder. Straight ahead, there's a bar with two seats; one empty, the other occupied by a brown-haired woman wearing nothing but her long hair and a bikini bottom. She waves to Audrey casually.
"Er, um." She walks over to the brown-haired woman, self-consciously adjusting her blanket. "Hello." She can't keep her gaze from dipping below the stranger's collarbone. "I'm Audrey, nice to meet you?"
Audrey blinks, then looks at her blanket and laughs awkwardly. "Uh, ahahahah, no. I'm actually new, I just... wanted some extra comfort. I'm a bit anxious, it's my first time and all."
"I could use some of the 'getting used to this place' part. And you seem to, uh, have things under control there..."
"Yeah, I was nervous at first too but now I like blackberries. - don't eat or drink anything blackberry flavoured until you're ready for a surprise from the Rose Bowers, they're used as an aesthetic consent marker. I'm chilling between scenes now, the Bowers told me to take it slower so I am. And I guess it wanted to gift me you."
"I don't know how I feel about apparently being someone else's present. I mean, I should probably trust the matchmaking service, but..."
"Yeah, it definitely takes some getting used to. We could chill and play a game?"
"I think I want some space, sorry. Do you know a garden or something like that?"
"- Yes, but it'd be filled with nude people. It's deeper in, a little less casual. Would you like to go anyway? I promise I'll leave you alone after I show you to it."
Hannah leads Audrey through twisting halls and out to a blackberry garden beneath the stars. There's a cushioned bench, which she leads Audrey to. There are indeed other nude people here, but none of them are close to the bench. Most of them are just lying around starbathing.
Audrey sits down on the bench, and lets go Hannah's hand.
"Thank you," she says. "I'll look for you later, alright?
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