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?"

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Hannah. Big scene?"

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."

"Your first time at the Rose Bowers, or your first time...?"

"... Yes." She primly adjusts her skirts. "So yes, I'm nervous."

"If you want any help with that..."

"Which part?"

"Any part."

"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."

"I'll take it. Seems better than nothing."

"Alright." 

Hannah gets up and offers a hand. "With me?"

Audrey hesitates, then takes the offered hand. 

"With you."

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?

"Alright," says Hannah. "See you."

Audrey watches as she walks away. It's a nice view. If only she was less of a coward... but no, she'll have to figure this out the hard way.

Hannah vanishes back into the Rosethorn Hotel, leaving Audrey alone with her thoughts.

Audrey sighs. 

She sits on the bench for a little while and watches the stars. Nobody approaches her. 

She considers the blackberry bushes. She could ask for a surprise right now. Maybe that would cut through her indecision. Maybe it would be - proper. But she can't psyche herself up to take that leap of faith. It's just too far, handing over carte blanche. 

She goes and picks a berry and turns it over in her hands. Nope, she can't do it. No chance. She drops it, and it rolls off into the grass. 

"Don't rush it," says a woman wearing a sensible sweater and rose earrings.

"Whoa and who are you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I scare you? I'm Clematis. I'm one of the staff here. First time?"

Audrey looks down. "Yes."

"Let's sit on the bench, Audrey." 

"How do you know my name?"

"It's in your client file. Bench?"

"Alright I guess."

Clematis goes and sits down on the bench. 

"Audrey, you're very smart and perceptive, maybe even more than you should be. You react strongly to hints and you're quick to construe things as being hints. I won't lie to you, the Rose Bowers does nudge people. But you seem to take our hints as orders. They're not. They're suggestions at most. If you were getting orders, you would know. Alright? So just... try to relax a little. Enjoy what we have to offer. We're happy to keep trying until we find the people you click with, we're not supposed to always get it right first time."

"... I'll try. I can't help being nervous, and being nervous makes me hyperaware of things like this, but..."

"Yeah, your first time can be hard, there's no questioning that. But what if you didn't have to be alone?"

"And what do you mean by that, exactly?"

Clematis just smiles and points at another girl who's approaching. "Here she comes now." 

She gets up from the bench and leaves just as suddenly as she came - here one moment, gone the next.

"Um, excuse me, is this... Audrey Ingram?"

"Er, yes, who's asking?"

"Audrey Ingram. I'm, ah - you've heard of the phenomenon of "alts" -?" 

"You're an alternate universe version of me?"

"It, ah, would appear so. And, well. Your problems are my problems."

"Oh! Oh, I see. That's... Would you like to have a root beer together back at the Coze Club?"

"Sounds lovely."

"Alright then! I'll lead." 

She leads her other self back to the Coze Club and sits down where Hannah was before. There's no sign of the other girl. She orders two handcrafted root beers and a bottle opener. She passes one to her other self.

"Thank you! Um - okay, I'm going to get the awkward questions out of the way first. Are you trans too?"

"Yes. Did you keep your dick?"

"No, I didn't. Did you?"

"Yeah, I did!"

"We're still different people despite being the same person, huh?"

"Looks like it. How long have you been here?"

"About a week."

"Did you, ah...?"

"No. Like I said, your problems are my problems."

"It... does occur to me that our problems could solve each other."

"They could, couldn't they? But even with a me..."

"Yeah, there's a lot to get through."

She sips her root beer. "I'm just not up to propositioning anybody else, but for you..."

"The possibility is definitely on the table. Do you, uh... do you have any weird kinks?"

"One in particular, and I can see you have it too."

"Oh good!" She blushes. "... I think I've decided, actually. Your room or mine?"

"Yours. I've had an extra week to get used to the idea, so..."

"Yeah, that's probably kinder to the both of us."

"Lead on, then."

She pulls out her cardkey and sets off down the hallway. When she comes to her room she opens the door and holds it for her other self.

She steps inside with a little smile and goes and sits down on the bed. She leans down and pulls out the bottom drawer of the nightstand, nods at its contents, and closes it again.

"I see you've found my vibe and my dildo already."

"In my room there's a canned tenta-pet there. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Ah. I see. You're... into that?"

"Being held down and pounded? Yes. Definitely yes."

She blushes. "I, ah... What do you even say to that?" 

"Sorry, was it too much?"

"No, I asked the question, I should have expected the answer. So... it sounds like you have a little more experience than me."

"Yeah, I think tenta-pets kind of count. They are sort of partners. But... I still think this counts as my virginity."

"That's fine by me." 

And she leans in and kisses her.

Blushhhhhh. "What brought that on?~"

"I think I just realized how cute and shy and kissable you are. So..." 

She kisses her again.

She kisses back with a smile. One of her hands slips under the blanket and across her other self's back, pulling her closer.

She starts to tug at her other self's bolero.

She lets it happen, a little overwhelmed by the sudden attention, but in a good way. She starts to tug at her other self's dress.

She puts the bolero on the nightstand and starts running her hands over the bare skin of her partner's shoulders. She sits on the bed beside her and starts kissing at her shoulder and neck.

She mmms warmly, leaning into the kisses, and keeps working at her partner's dress. She leans in to meet one of her kisses with a kiss of her own. 

Her dress falls off. She blinks, then smiles. "Guess we're really doing this," she says. And she gets up and steps out of her dress completely, leaving her in simple black lingerie. There's a noticeable bulge in her panties.

She gets up, takes off her own dress. "We are definitely doing this. I'm not going to back down when I've gotten this far."

"Then let's have fun."

She shucks her blanket and sits cross-legged in the middle of the bed. "Come and get me.~"

She comes and gets her. Crawling up onto the bed in her own black lingerie, coming in to kiss at her neck and collar and breast, hands unhooking her bra and dipping down to rest on the bulge in her panties. 

Her gaze is serious, focused and intent. She moves with purpose and a bit of hunger. She wants this very much. 

Audrey grins, and kisses back, her own hands groping her partner's modest breasts, stroking down her sides, feeling the curve of her ass. She kisses her sweetly, then deeply. She twitches beneath her partner's hand on her panties. 

Her right hand roams across Audrey's breasts, teasing them to hardness, as her left hand dips into her panties and starts stroking. She meets the kisses fully, not pushing but not holding back either. 

Audrey slips off her panties and bares her cute cock, standing at attention already. 

"There," she says. "Your turn." Her hands pull at her partner's panties.

She blushes, and pulls away a little. Then she nods, and pulls off her own panties. 

"We're even now." 

She presses in, all warm skin up against Audrey.

She kisses her, and rubs up against her, the length of her cock grinding against her entrance.

"Absolutely last chance," she says. "Just in case."

"Oh, fuck that."

With a little help from her hands, tab A fits into slot B. 

Audrey kisses her deeply and hungrily, and thrusts.

It's exquisite. They're perfectly in sync, and even though they don't have a lot of experience, they figure it out.

Both of them leave very satisfied and spent.

Afterwards, the silver-haired Audrey draws a heavy blanket around herself and her pink-haired alt. She snuggles in. No words need be said. 

No, no words need be said at all.

Eventually...

"You know, if we're going to go around with each other it's probably for the best if we take nicknames."

"I could use the moral support. I'll be Tabs, somebody called me that once because I was good at keeping track of people."

"Alright, I'll be Aurica." 

"What do you want to do next?"

"Well, there's been a few leads that the Rose Bowers has thrown me at. In particular a brown-haired woman, wears nothing but her hair?" 

"Oh, you mean Hannah. She's nice and... probably a good introduction to the whole rest of it. She was very gentle with me, but not at all shy about her interest. Threesome?"

"Honestly I think you've earned that one more than me. I could watch?"

"That's weird. Even though you're me, that's - heck, it's arguably weirder because you're me. Let's not."

"Alright. I think I'll go nap then. My room is number fifty-seven, just knock on the door if you want to talk again. Or... you know."

"Okay. Hope to see you around." 

Aurica gets up, puts her clothes on, and heads out the door.

"Bye!", she calls after her. 

That... could have gone better. But... it wasn't bad. Even for how awkward and tense the whole thing was, it was fundamentally okay. And now she gets to say she lost her virginity to herself. That's... kind of cool, right?

She wraps herself tightly in the blanket and heads out the door, not bothering to put on clothes. It's not like anyone can see her under the blanket anyway. And this is supposed to be a casual place. If she can't wander around in nothing but a blanket, then what's even the point?

Hannah's back in her place at the Coze Club, still wearing her signature bikini-bottom-only outfit. She perks up when she sees Audrey. 

"Nude under a blanket, huh? Are congratulations in order?"

"Yeah, actually," says Audrey. "I went and fucked myself. Like, literally, I found an alt of me and we - you know. We took each other's virginities, actually."

"Congratulations! What was it like, if you don't mind me snooping?"

"Kind of awkward, honestly. Neither of us were really... any good at it. Because of the virgin thing. I guess the only advantage was that I didn't have to worry about being misunderstood or laughed at. It felt close, but... not? Kind of rushed. It was good, don't get me wrong, we were very in sync, but..."

"Congratulations and condolences then. Sex is supposed to be better than that. But still - you had your first time. That's got to be a good feeling."

"Yeah, it really is a good feeling. And, well... I'm not satisfied. Which is why I'm here in my blanket talking to you. I offered Aurica a threesome, because I wanted her there to back me up, but... I think I want you. For myself. Because this sex thing isn't really such a big deal."

"Oh, really? Tell me what you want. Directly, to my face. What do you want?"

"I uh er.... That's hard, you don't get to do that to me like that!"

"Basic communication, Audrey. If you can't tell me what you want, I can hardly give it to you, can I?"

"Oh alright fine." 

She takes a deep breath. "I want... like, basic vanilla sex. Cuddly, if possible. In my room, because I feel safer there. Is that... enough?"

"It's a good start but I'm going to make you give me a position too."

"Uh, spooning."

"I think I could do that. Now, or?"

"... Now would be nice. I'm a little tired from my first round, but..."

"You didn't even drink an aftercare potion? There's a lot you need to learn, Audrey. A lot I'll enjoy teaching you."

Audrey goes pink and laughs awkwardly. "Ahahahah, uh, a little fast there."

"Alright, I'll try not to push. But it's true, you do have a lot to learn. I guess I'll just try to... give you your own time to learn it?"

"That would be helpful, thank you."

"So... which way to your room?"

"It's number thirty, right this way -"

Hannah is ushered into the room and immediately goes over to the console. She summons up a potion vial which is still fizzing lightly. "Anti-fatigue aftercare," she says. "Drink it and you'll feel better almost instantly."

Audrey comes over, inspects the label - "aftercare", yes - and drinks it. It tastes like honey and eases her aches and heavinesses away entirely. 

"... Wow, I really do feel a lot better. Thank you."

"What are partners for?" Hannah smiles, and sits down on the bed. She pulls her bikini bottom off and drops it onto the floor, exposing her sex. "So, you said cuddlesex. Are you the big spoon or the little spoon, here?"

"I, um... I want to be the little spoon, but -" 

She shrugs off the blanket, and exposes herself.

"... the parts work out the other way."

Hannah giggles. "Parts barely mean anything, you know. You want to know my favorite body part? Hands. They're so dextrous and they get in everywhere. Tentacles are a close second."

Audrey blushes. "So... Little spoon, then?"

"Sounds better to me, yeah."

"You get in bed first then, and I'll come join you."

"Alright." She goes and flops into bed; her hair shifts, exposing some of her left breast. 

Audrey settles herself in and presses back against Hannah. It's... kind of scary, she startles away from the heated firmness of someone else's body so close to hers at first, but she presses back in and lets herself press back against Hannah's breasts and thighs and stomach. She's blushing intensely.

"Alright?" asks Hannah.

"Mhm." She makes the tiniest nod she can.

Hannah pulls the covers over, covering the both of them from the neck down. 

"Still okay?"

"Still okay!" 

Audrey settles into the warmth and closeness and exhales softly. It feels... good. Comforting. Proper.

And she's really really turned on too. Hannah is breathing on her neck and she's so close and she's feeling kind of melty already. Her last time with herself wasn't like this at all. She feels vulnerable and it's good.

"I'm going to start touching you now, okay?"

"Um, okay." She snuggles back against Hannah.

Hannah runs her hands slowly down Audrey's front, caressing from her breasts down to her thighs. 

She moans softly, and curls a little more into herself. 

Hannah kisses gently at the nape of Audrey's neck and nibbles. 

She sighs, breath hitching, and presses a little back towards Hannah.

Hannah strokes Audrey's inner thighs gently as she continues to nibble and kiss at her neck.

A moan slips from Audrey's mouth, her thighs tensing, her body moving towards the fetal position. 

"Yes," she says. "More please."

Hannah's hands roam over her body, caressing and playing with her breasts and thighs as she presses more kisses into Audrey's neck and shoulders, not touching her sex just yet, but doing everything short of that.

Audrey squirms under the sheets, letting out little panted moans and wriggling back against Hannah. "Yes," she coos, "More..." 

Even without being touched, her cock is stiff and ready.

Hannah grins into Audrey's shoulders. "Put my hands where you want them."

Audrey grabs one of Hannah's hands and leads it straight to her sex. She blushes, but she says it insistently: "Here."

Hannah begins to slowly stroke and play with Audrey's cock, not letting up her other assaults at all either. 

Audrey melts beneath Hannah's touches, and before long she's jerking against Hannah's grip. "Oh, fuck, Hannah - "

"It's alright, just let it happen -" 

She snuggles in close and comes, with cute little mewls and whines.

In the afterglow she exhales and presses back against Hannah. "I didn't make you come, though..."

"That's alright, I wasn't expecting to. It was still fun for me. You moan very cutely, by the way."

She flushes beet red. "Ah, um... Thank you?"

"Don't mention it. Welcome to the Rose Bowers."

"Yeah, I guess I really graduated, didn't I? Sex with someone who wasn't even me."

"Mmmhm." 

Hannah flicks a lazy hand at the console, and the remote from it floats over where she can see it. She orders a pair of aftercare potions, one for each of her and Audrey.

"Here," she says, floating over one of the potions. "Drink."

Audrey drinks obediently. Hannah knows what's best for her.

"Feeling a little overwhelmed?"

"Mhm."

"It's okay, that's normal. Do you still want to cuddle?"

"Mhm!" Her tone is eager, and she blushes a little.

Hannah folds her arms around her and snuggles her close, kissing her hair. 

"You're cute," she says. "I know I said it already but you really are. Once you get over those nerves of yours I'm sure you'll be very popular."

Audrey squeaks.

"A little much?" A smile lingers in Hannah's voice.

"Mm, no."

She gathers the blanket in close to her. 

"Tell me more nice things."

Hannah smiles into her shoulder. "You're brave, and cute, and you wriggle nicely and you have a very cute cock, and I've already made my position on your moans clear. I want to have sex with you again sometime. I think you could stand to teach your other self some things, I remember her from a few days back and she's so repressed. You too, but less than her. I like your hair color, is it natural?"

"Um, yes. Yes it's natural." 

She ducks her head into the covers, and says, very quietly: "And thank you."

Hannah pets Audrey for a little while longer. Gosh, is she ever fragile. Is she going overboard with this? Should she be putting up with less?

... Audrey probably needs this. And she's alright with being her introduction. Especially since she's so cute.

"Um," she asks Audrey. "Are you okay enough to repay the favour?"

"Uhhhhhmmmm.... No. I'm sorry. You'll have to... you know."

"Is it okay if I unhug you?"

"Yeah. Leave me the blankets though."

Hannah snakes out of bed and places the blankets closer around Audrey. 

"This was fun. I'll see you again once you feel a bit better?"

"Yeah. I just need to chill." She hugs the blankets close.

Hannah puts her bottoms back on and heads out into the hotel. She grabs her potion off the console as she goes and knocks it back.

And Audrey is left alone with her thoughts.

She just cuddles up in the bed for a little while, wondering if she's doing any better now or if Hannah was just humoring her and feeling vaguely guilty for not being able to return the favor. 

She tries to sleep, but she can't. 

Finally, with a noise of complaint, she gets out of bed. 

She picks up the remote and goes over to the console, still nude. She gets a cleaning wand and zaps away her mess. That's better. The rest of the catalogue is rather overwhelming, though. 

She picks up the program and leafs through it.

On the facing page from Club Coze there's an ad for a high-class buffet-style dinner all day. Steak, duck, lamb and various party favors are advertised. There's a dress code; no nudity, no skimpy clothes, no exhibitionist's exhibits.

... Seems worth trying! 

She goes to the console and starts fiddling to see if she can summon up customizable clothes.

The console has a robust interface for exactly this form of customization! What would she like?

How about a ruby-red dress neatly affixed by a single brooch at the shoulder? And a shawl, that's like a blanket but upper-class. It can be black. How's that?

The system uncomplainingly produces a heavy fur shawl - technically a stole - for her, and a long ruby-red dress that takes a little fiddling to pin securely but will undoubtedly come off in a flash should she wish. 

She pins the dress on, flounces, smiles, and heads off to the formal-ish dinner.

The formal dinner is an elegant occasion, filled with people in tasteful dresses and suits standing in small groups around a large conservatory. Planters of flowers break up the space, along with a grand piano, which someone is currently playing fairly well. The buffet is kept under stasis-lights, held in the moment the steak was carved from the roast. Brooches like Audrey's are rather in fashion. 

Audrey goes and helps herself to a large slab of steak. There doesn't seem to be anywhere to sit, so she perches on the edge of a planter with her plate and starts cutting pieces for herself. It's slightly rare, but very delicious. It seems to have been pre-spiced somehow, which just adds to the umami of the meat. 

"Mmmmmmmmmm."

A black-furred kitsune woman wearing a Fire Opal minter at her throat comes over. Her clothing sports the common style of a single closing brooch.

"You do realize that if you just sit anywhere, a chair will appear for you, right?"

She sits in the air across from Audrey, and a chair appears beneath her just as she would otherwise fall.

"I did not know that!"

She smiles. "Um, I'm Audrey. Who are you?"

"You can call me Kumi. I'm a professional masochist and escort. Do what you love, don't they always say?"

"Oh wow. That's kind of cool actually."

"You meet all kinds in the Bowers. Would you like my company, or...?"

"You can stay, but I'm not promising anything about how much I engage. I'm really out of my depth here, honestly, and a professional escort is... maybe not the best person for me to go to for advice."

"Or maybe the best, since we have to deal with clients like you all the time? My advice is just to ease into it. It's not as big a deal as you're making it in your head. Intimacy matters, yes, but..."

"But what? I don't see your implication there. And I didn't ask for advice, no matter how much you might have wanted to give me it."

"Alright, alright. Sorry. I'll get out of your hair."

"Thank you."

Kumi gets up from her chair, which disappears as soon as she leaves it, and wanders off across the hall to another knot of people.

And Audrey is able to finish her steak in peace.

A woman in a wine-dark dress studded with stars walks past. 

Audrey's gaze follows her. With her dark hair and her regal bearing, that girl could almost be a princess. She's instantly envious. 

She begins to speak with another guest, only a few strides away.

Audrey can't muster up the courage to talk to her. Instead she puts her plate back in the dirty pile on the buffet and vanishes off towards her room.

Her room is comfortable and safe and contains exactly zero strangers.

She flops on the bed and rolls herself up in the blankets. 

"Mmmmmmmmm, damn it." She kicks her feet. "Can't I do anything?"

She sighs. She discards her stole by the side of the bed and also her dress. She summons peach-scented shampoo and soap through the console, and goes to have a shower. 

She thinks in the shower about what she wants to do with her time now. She'll be clean and fed and the aftercare potion took care of her fatigue, but she's not exactly horny right now and the local amenities are mostly for couples. She could go speed-dating, but no she's not that desperate. She could get a jigsaw puzzle out of the console and play with that, or just play games on her phone, but she only has two weeks here and she'd like to use them to the fullest. So... 

Once more into the breach, my friends. 

She could use sinflower to get herself ready. That... does not appeal to her at all. She could go find Hannah and play a tabletop game with her. That would make sense. She could go find her other self and teach her some of Hannah's tricks. That... is actually kind of hot, the idea of taking charge like that. But she doesn't know how she'd manage. She could go pay Hannah back her favour. That... doesn't make her hot, but it feels satisfying. She could do that. 

She settles on Hannah. Games or "games" depends on how it goes.

She towels off and wraps herself in a blanket again and heads down to Club Coze.

Hannah is there -

Along with another pink-haired girl, one arm interlinked with Hannah's. It would seem she has a type.

"Er, um, hello?"

"Oh, hello! Rose, I'd like to introduce you to Audrey; Audrey, this is Rose. She's one of my other partners."

"Hey."

"Um, hi." 

Of course Hannah has other partners, it's the Rose Bowers. But she can't help but feel a little stab of jealousy in her heart.

"So you, uh... know Hannah?"

"I mean, we've slept together, but I only just met her today, so..."

"I see. Well, don't get any big ideas."

"Rose, we've talked about this."

"Yeah, yeah, you're not my property. I get it. Still."

"I'll, ah, I'll just leave shall I?" 

"No! Please stay, Rose is a horrible little gremlin and she's teasing you."

"Didn't sound very teasy to me."

Rose is silent. Is that a twitch of a smile at the corner of her mouth?

"- Rose, I need to speak with Audrey alone."

"Do what suits you I guess."

Rose wanders off towards the bar.

"Sorry about her, I really do apologize. She's never really gotten the hang of this polyamory thing."

"It's alright, I'm not that great at it either." Shrug.

"Oh, I see. Well, let's put that aside. Are you okay with my having Rose as a partner?"

Well there's only one thing she can say to that, is there. "Of course I am."

"Now I have a previous engagement with Rose, but that doesn't mean I don't value you, okay? And you can schedule something for afterwards if you like."

"... Alright. I wanted to, ah. Repay the favour. Can we do that in a couple hours? I'll wait for you at my room."

"Okay." She winks. "Thanks for being a good sport about everything."

"Oh, you know, don't mention it."

"Alright. See you." 

She kisses Audrey on the forehead and goes off to join Rose.

Audrey watches as she goes. 

Well, that was a total mess.

She goes to the bar and orders a blue watermelon slurpee to drown her sorrows. Then she heads back to her room, slurping on it annoyedly. 

So, she's committed to being in her room for the next couple hours. Might as well explore the catalog some. Maybe pick out a few things for her meeting with Hannah. Planning can't hurt, right?

... now that she seriously looks at the catalog, she could be doing so much to make her sex life better. There's a lot she could ease away or make more fun. And even if she doesn't do something to make herself more receptive, just knowing that she's prepared will make her feel better. 

First things first, Goddess' Grace and a Consent Button. Just while she's getting used to this. 

And then... a necklace with charms for Breath-Holding, Oral Enhancement and Empathy. And... A Split-Stream Method? No, it's too much of a change to her for her to be entirely comfortable. Maybe later.

There, that's done. She puts on the necklace, there's no reason not to wear it. The Consent Button can be in her left hand, easily held down by her thumb. And the Goddess' Grace can go on her necklace as well.

She kind of wants to go exploring now. The impenetrable shield offered by the Consent Button lets her be... kind of reckless, even? She smiles to herself.

She pulls out her phone. There ought to be a way for her to contact her other self, right?

The Rose Bowers app has a "Your Directory" section, with a half-dozen people in it. Kumi, Rose, Hannah, Clematis, Aurica, and the unknown regal girl from the party, marked as ??? in the contact list. 

She dials the number listed in the directory for Aurica.

She gets a busy signal.

Knowing the Rose Bowers, that probably means Aurica is... in the middle of something. Probably sex.

... She dials Kumi's number.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"It's Audrey, from the dinner. I was a little short with you and I wanted to talk more. is that alright?"

"Sure, hit me."

"So, um, I was wondering... What's being an escort like, anyway? Apparently you enjoy it, but... for me that kind of thing is kind of super stressful, and I can't imagine making a living off it. How do you deal?"

"Skill, mostly. I didn't always do so well. But it's been decades now, and I worked out the kinks, so to speak." Her grin is audible over the phone.

"Can you teach me that kind of skill?"

"Not easily, but... I could give you the rudiments, and they might help you a lot from where you are. Did you have any ideas about that?"

"I, um, I'm waiting on a meeting with someone else, and I have a couple hours. So if you were to come over to my room...?"

"You know, usually I charge for this sort of thing. But it's clear you badly need it, so I'm willing to take you as a charity case. What's your room number?"

"Thirty."

"I'll be right over."

Click.

... Well, that went pretty well all things considered.

She gets up and paces, a tangle of anxiety and hope and fear all bundled up in her stomach. 

It's not long before there's a knock on the door.

Audrey takes a deep breath and opens it. 

"Kumi."

"Audrey. May I come in?"

"You may!" She steps back to give Kumi space to pass her.

Kumi steps by and wanders out into the center of the room. One of her tails casually brushes against Audrey's side as she goes.

... she has no idea what to do with that. She closes the door and follows Kumi into the middle of the room.

"So," Kumi says. "That necklace you're wearing. Preparing for oral?"

"Yeah," says Audrey. "It seemed like an - easy thing I could do, to get practice."

"Would you like to practice oral on me?"

She blushes. 

"...yes."

"Alright then. It'd probably be most comfortable for you if I lay in bed and you laid between my legs. Does that work for you?"

"I... would kind of like to kneel."

"A little bit of a submissive streak there, huh? Kneeling is a stress position for most people, so it might be uncomfortable for you. Are you okay with that?" 

"Yeah, I'm okay with that!"

"Alright, then I'll stand on your bed and you can kneel on it and that'll save your knees. Sound fair?"

"Alright!"

Kumi efficiently disrobes, exposing her (flaccid) canine cock. She gets up on the bed and waits for Audrey to join her. 

Audrey gets up on the bed and kneels and lays her face against Kumi's thigh. "This feels good," she says. "My heart's all fluttery."

Kumi pets her hair lightly. "That's good. Try some kissing and licking? That Empathy pendant of yours should let you learn from feedback very quickly."

Audrey kisses and licks. Her empathy and her oral enchancer send little flickers of pleasure down her spine as she does, spurring her on. Before she's even realized what she's doing she's taken Kumi's pointed cocktip into her mouth and started to suckle.

Kumi mmms lowly. "A little hasty there, hmm? But you're being careful of the teeth, and your technique isn't bad. The key to a good blowjob is variation; lick, suckle, stroke it with your hands..."

Audrey follows along eagerly, stroking the length of it with her hands as she tries out some experimental swirls with her tongue. The feedback she gets from her necklace is quite positive!

"Ah, yes, just like that. And now suckle?"

She suckles obediently.

She is rewarded with a low moan and some hair petting. 

"You're very attentive. That's good. The honest desire to please is something that can't be replaced in a partner. Good listening skills are even better. As you can see, mmm, it's not actually all that hard."

Audrey mmms, nods with a bob of her head on the cock, and takes more of it into her mouth.

"Careful of the knot!"

Audrey pulls back before she can take the rest of the cock into her throat, pleasure-hazed but still obedient. She can feel a small bulge in Kumi's dick just at the edge of her tongue, but surely that can't be what she's warning her about?

"It gets bigger. And you shouldn't be trying to deepthroat me anyway, you'll just retch if you try and force it. Please do not throw up on my dick." 

Audrey nods and returns to simpler techniques.

Simpler techniques can still be successful. Especially since she's using her hands as well. Audrey's a quick study.

Then she will continue to apply them until she is successful!

Success comes in the form of a strong pulse of pleasure through the Empathy link, and a creamy, rich load of seed in her mouth.

She swallows like a good girl.

Kumi pets her hair. "That was lovely. You're a fast learner, most people I have to repeat these things a lot."

She pulls off Kumi's cock. "Um, thank you?"

"Don't mention it, that was a perfectly lovely time."

"Um, thank you too. And I won't take up any more of your time. I'm sure you have many other clients."

"Clients? - oh, you guessed. Audrey, while I am on retainer here in a professional capacity, who I have sex with is completely up to me. And I'm spoilt for choice. I chose you because I wanted to help you and see you do better. And because you're cute, but honestly? Cute is skin-deep. That said, from what I've seen here - your eager obedience in the scene, your ability to get past your hangups to call me, your willingness to ask for what you want - you have a bright future ahead of you. And we haven't even done aftercare."

"Oh," she says. 

"Um... Can we snuggle?"

"We can definitely snuggle." Kumi lies down on the bed and beckons for Audrey to join her.

Audrey falls over from her kneeling and snuggles backwards towards Kumi.

Kumi hugs her and wraps her tails around her. 

It's really kind of nice. Still kind of... cheapened, by Kumi being on retainer. But nice.

She sucked off an escort to completion and got told by her that she had good technique. Put that on her resume.

Kumi kisses her shoulder softly.

She doesn't flinch from it, but she doesn't really welcome it either. It's kind of empty. 

"I think I want to be alone," she says. "Could I see you again later?"

"Clients permitting, yes."

"Then please get out of my bed."

Kumi gets out of bed, picks up her clothes, and leaves.

Well. She did that. And got some decent tips on fellatio. Too bad Hannah has a pussy. 

Oh well. 

She gets herself an aftercare potion, and curls up back in bed feeling vaguely dirty.

After a little while someone knocks on her door.

She opens up wearing nothing but a blanket. 

"Hannah. I, um... I might have to cancel on you. I need hugs, not sex."

"... Can I just give you hugs?"

"You can come in and listen to me whine, I guess."

"Alright then." She comes in.

"Hannah, I... I'm so uptight about all this stuff. I feel dirty for using one of the Bower escorts and I don't know how to be a good partner. I'm just so anxious about it all. I've barely touched the catalog and I hate how much everything here is set up for being with a partner. I feel unsexy and awful and scared. Um... Help?"

Hannah blinks. "I'm... not a therapist, Audrey."

"I know, I'm sorry, but I just... I need to dump all this on somebody and sort through it all."

"There are actual sex therapists on retainer here, you know."

"D'you think I need one?"

"You're the one who said you have a bunch of sex-related bullshit to sort through!"

"I guess I did, didn't I."

"So why not try it?"

"I guess that's a good idea. Now can we cuddle?"

"Now we can definitely cuddle."

Audrey goes and flings herself into bed and steals all the covers.

Hannah lays down beside her and hugs the burrito'd Audrey.

"Mmmmm."

Smile.

They cuddle for a while. Long enough for Audrey to start drooping towards sleep. 

She yawns. "It's been an eventful day, huh? I wasn't expecting to need to sleep this soon."

"It's the Rose Bowers, cutie. I don't care what your opinions are on dyne, you spend one just to get your money's worth."

"You're probably right. Could you get the console for me?"

Hannah gets her a dyne and slips it into the blanket burrito.

She twists, and snaps back to alertness. 

"Whoo. Invigorating."

Hannah kisses the back of her head. "You've got to remember how much is available to you here."

"Yeah, I guess so!" 

She snuggles in closer. "I still don't want to do much, though. I've had sex three times in the last day and I was a virgin before that. It's a little much."

"We could play vidya. Or go play one of the tabletop games at the Coze Club. Or we could go join a public snugglepile."

"A public snugglepile? I see why you say it, but I don't really want to cuddle with strangers."

"It was just a suggestion." She runs a hand through Audrey's hair. "This is nice though, right?"

"Mhm. I'm definitely getting my money's worth."

"Glad to be of service."

"Mh. Don't tell me you're an escort too."

"I'm not. What do you have against escorts?"

"It just... it feels fake, having sex with someone who's getting paid for it. Like I haven't earned it."

"That is a fucked up way of seeing the world, Audrey."

"What, feeling like sex ought to honestly reflect the emotions of the people involved?"

"Feeling like sex is something you have to earn."

"Everything I have ever learned about consent says that you need to earn the right to have sex."

"You have to earn trust and the result of that can be sex. But it can also be holding your partner's favorite toy or reading their diary or what have you. But you can also just have sex given to you, as a gift, asking nothing in return, and that's valid."

"You aren't just pityfucking me, are you?"

"What? No! Like, there is some - room I'm giving you, to be shy and neurotic and kind of selfish because nobody's taught you these things, but the reason why I've had sex with you is because I want to!"

"Mmmmmmmm. Okay. If you're sure."

"I'm sure, Audrey."

"Okay." 

She snuggles pensively.