3.18 Settling Down

Zoey had mentally prepared herself for Delta using her ‘night out’ as thoroughly as possible, but she had underestimated Delta’s stamina. Zoey spent the better portion of two and some hours squirming on her bed, humping air in a way that provided no friction—or, no additional friction—but being unable to help herself. It was torture, in the best and worst interpretations of the word.

She was, at least, spared from Rosalie watching the event. Even by the time Delta’s enthusiastic night out ended, Rosalie hadn’t returned to their shared bedroom. She had set out into Treyhull with a laundry list of plans, apparently.

A half-hour after Zoey stopped being magically pleasured across half a city, Zoey heard giggling and stumbling coming from outside her door, and Delta’s loud, unmistakable voice. They’d gotten rooms next to each other, for convenience, when they’d re-checked into the Guild’s living quarters.

Zoey cracked the door, peeked out, and sure enough, Delta was fumbling her key into the lock, accompanied by two girls. One had black hair, and the other, auburn.

It didn’t take a leap of deduction to know these were who Zoey’s cock had been stuffing not an hour ago. Zoey wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

Delta flashed her a grin. “Hey, Zoey. Just stopping by to clean up.”

“Who’s this?” the dark-haired woman asked. She seemed embarrassed to have company; she appraised Zoey hesitantly. Which was fair, considering the state she—or all three of them—were in. Looking the way they were, Zoey wouldn’t have wanted to be seen either.

Zoey leaned against the doorframe, studying the three. They’d come to clean up? Was that the truth, or was Zoey in for even more torture? Had Delta lugged her hook-ups back to her room for rounds ten through fifteen?

“Zoey, my teammate,” Delta explained to her partners. The lock she was fumbling with finally clicked open. Delta said to Zoey, “We won’t be loud, don’t worry. Seriously, just here to clean up. Apparently Suzi didn’t want her roommates seeing her like this.” A grin. “I can’t imagine why.”

‘Like this’. Yeah. As Zoey had already noted, the black haired girl was in a filthy state—completely unfit for public. She was coated in dried cum. Maybe someone who didn’t know to expect it wouldn’t have noticed, since they’d at least half cleaned up, and the stains were indistinct … but they’d missed plenty, and Zoey did know what to suspect.

And, it was funny to Zoey that it was the black-haired girl that didn’t want to ‘show up home in her current state’, considering how Auburn-Hair was in much worse condition. Black-Hair, at least, could mostly have passed in the dark and nobody would have noticed the stains on her dress—and face. But Auburn-Hair’s shirt, jeans, face, and hair were so much worse. The cum was visible caked on. Zoey’s cum. And she was grinning at Zoey, wearing the filth like a badge of pride, knowing that Zoey knew what it was.

Christ. Delta really knew how to find them, apparently.

They’d walked through Treyhull looking like that? She guessed it was dark out, but still. Color Zoey impressed … talk about shameless.

“Uh huh,” Zoey said. “You won’t be loud.”

“We won’t,” Delta said. “For real.”

“Teammate?” Auburn-Hair interjected—it seemed aimed at both Delta and Zoey. Delta’s introduction had made Auburn-Hair look at Zoey in a new light … and she’d already been looking appreciatively.

Zoey was appreciative, too. Delta had found two gorgeous women to spend the night with. Which made sense. Delta was beautiful, confident, and, while a bit too quick to speak her mind sometimes, that same cockiness went a long way. At least in a casual sort of setting, like girls looking for one night stands.

“Yep,” Delta said. “Teammate. C’mon, let’s get you two cleaned up.” She tugged her two girlfriends into the room, then popped out, briefly, to toss Zoey’s cock at her, which Zoey fumbled in surprise. “And thanks for the loan. But we’re done with it.” Delta’s door closed behind her.

Zoey blinked. If she’d relinquished Zoey’s cock, then maybe they really were done for the night. They had certainly looked spent. Either way, her end of the bargain had been fulfilled. She’d have some peace.

She inspected her softened cock for a few moments, that usual disorientation washing over her—that she had her own disembodied cock in her hands. Not something she could get used to overnight, was it? She shook the feeling away, then vanished the linking plate into her inventory.

Which they had discovered she could do. Or rather, Fe had. Her rush-order inspection, paid for at a premium even with Fe’s generous discounts, had resulted in exactly what Zoey wanted to hear: that the linking plate could survive inventory-depositing without going haywire.

And thank goodness for that, because it was an immensely needed convenience feature. Her decision to be ‘on display’ was still a high motivation, but there would be times she would want it to not be so obvious, while also being able to wear normal clothing—something that didn’t need to hide her enormous bulge, like a billowing skirt, or loose robes, or whatever.

For example, when she eventually met Rosalie’s parents, and her sisters. She would rather not have her fourteen-inch problem so in-their-face when that day rolled around … or god forbid, for whatever reason she stiffened, creating an imprint all the way down to her knee. Zoey would die on the spot if that happened. So she greatly appreciated the item. Zoey’s reservations over her cock were mostly gone, but that didn’t mean every aspect of it, she loved. Its unwieldy size made it a headache to deal with when in polite company.

And sure, she could store the linking plate physically elsewhere, solving that problem, but being able to lug it around in her inventory meant she could also have it on hand whenever she needed it. A perfect solution, rather than a half-solution.

Zoey walked back into her bedroom and collapsed onto the bed. The Guild’s walls were remarkably solid. Despite the density of the hotel-like rooms, she’d yet to be bothered by outside noise. Maybe if Delta really got going, Zoey would hear something from through the wall, but maybe not, either. And, Delta had seemed genuine that she was only offering her room as a place to get cleaned up, maybe sleep. After the two-hour marathon with sporadic breaks between sessions, Zoey would’ve been impressed if Delta had kept going. That girl knew how to roll around, but even she had limits.

A half hour ticked by, and Rosalie returned. Zoey had worked through a few more pages of Sabina’s assigned reading. The more she learned about alchemy, the more she realized what she was in for: it would be a while before she could call herself competent. But maybe next time she saw Sabina, Zoey could perform a brew, rather than talk theory. She was looking forward to that.

The door closed, and a few moments later, Rosalie walked around the corner.

The hours she’d spent separated from her adventuring partner had somehow resulted in Zoey forgetting how beautiful she was. Rosalie had been such a staple in Zoey’s life she’d somehow, absurdly, taken it for granted. Her hard features, small nose, chiseled jaw, and piercing ice-blue eyes hit Zoey like a punch to the gut. It literally took her breath away.

Rosalie’s eyes flicked to Zoey’s crotch. Zoey wasn’t wearing pants; she’d stripped them off and tossed them aside, and was wearing only the pink fabric panties of holding. So, Zoey was smooth down there—she looked how she would before Ephy’s transformation. Seeing it, Rosalie frowned, before quickly looking away and finishing walking in.

Zoey tilted her head. Rosalie, like always when it came to these matters, had been easy to read. She’d been disappointed that Zoey’s bulge was hidden. Zoey felt a few emotion pass through her at that—a sort of insecurity, to name the first. What, Zoey without a cock wasn’t worth admiring? But she knew that wasn’t fair. Or, sort of. It was complicated.

Rosalie liked her cock. If Zoey were honest, she liked Rosalie’s ass, and would be disappointed if that disappeared, too. It wasn’t remotely the most important part of Rosalie, but Zoey still appreciated it. If Rosalie decided to flatten it out with a magical item, Zoey might’ve frowned too.

The whole topic was a mess, though, because the equivalence to her cock wasn’t quite the same, seeing how Zoey had been magically granted the appendage. But, Zoey didn’t want to linger on the incident.

And it wasn’t a wholly negative event, either. The insecurity hadn’t been the only emotion; confidence had swelled up, too—how couldn’t Zoey be proud that Rosalie had outright frowned at not getting to admire her package? A reaction like that was exactly why Zoey had grown to like her new addition so quickly. And Zoey would have to have a horrible opinion of Rosalie to think that if Zoey somehow lost it, then Rosalie would lose interest in her. She just liked seeing it, and without thinking, had let it show on her face.

“Hm,” Rosalie said. “You’re reading. Something alchemy related, I’m assuming?” She sat on the corner of the bed and started taking her shoes off.

“Yeah,” Zoey replied idly. The flash of insecurity was there then gone, Rosalie’s words breaking the spell. Now, Zoey admired Rosalie, as she had at the start. “I haven’t seen you dressed up so casually. It looks good on you. Though, I guess anything would.”

She was wearing jeans and a light-red t-shirt; she’d changed from her adventuring gear at some point—Zoey didn’t know when. Her toned arms and long, milky legs were on display. It was overall modest, but Zoey couldn’t keep her eyes from crawling across Rosalie. Every part of her was perfect, and the brief time away—just a half-day, nothing at all, really, but which had felt so much longer—Zoey had forgotten how much so.

And the way her cheeks colored at Zoey’s easily given compliment … that was the best part of everything. Rosalie huffed and turned away, then, shoes off, walked to the bathroom. Zoey watched the way her hips swayed, the way her ass changed shape as she crossed the room.

Fuck, it really was so perfect.

Zoey rolled out of bed and followed Rosalie. She leaned against the bathroom’s door frame as Rosalie undid her hair, letting the bundled white-blonde tresses fall down her back. Zoey preferred Rosalie with her hair down—there was something casual about it. And that was what Zoey wanted. Casual. Partners, in a non-professional sense.

Girlfriends.

Maybe that title wouldn’t just be a hopeful dream, soon. It was insane how the word heaved the ground beneath Zoey’s feet. Turned her stomach into a pile of actual goo. Fuck, she had it so bad. How? She’d known Rosalie half a week.

“I believe I told you in the first shard,” Rosalie said, focusing on the mirror and not Zoey, “that the compliments are ridiculous. If you need to be taken care of, just tell me. No need to … butter me up.”

Zoey grinned. She leaned off the door frame and approached Rosalie, wrapping her arms around her stomach and putting her chin on her shoulder. “For a politician, you’re really transparent.”

Another huff. “Transparent how?”

“You say ‘take care of me’, like you’re not itching for it too.”

“A curious theory. You do tend to have those.”

Zoey let her hands dip lower, then sneak under the hem of Rosalie’s shirt and start fiddling with her jean’s waistband. With a deft motion, the button popped open. “So, you’re saying you don’t want to?”

Rosalie quickly grew flustered, Zoey’s toying with her pants setting her cheeks pink. Her voice was steady, though. “The alternative is dealing with your lecherous looks and excessive flattery, isn’t it? Might as well sate your appetite. It’s for my own sanity.”

“Mmm,” Zoey said, grinning at Rosalie through the mirror. Her eyes shied from Zoey’s. Zoey’s fingers teased her underwear’s waistband, now, not her jean’s, and Rosalie’s breath started came faster. She was excited—anticipating what was about to happen.

“Well,” Zoey said, fingers abruptly stopping their adventuring. “Either way, there won’t be any of that tonight. We’re keeping it strictly chaste.”

“What?” Rosalie’s response was as surprised as it was affronted. Affronted—Rosalie actually sounded offended at Zoey’s unexpected statement. She reined the reaction in, but it was too late; Zoey grinned at her, and Rosalie’s pink cheeks flared red at how obvious she’d been. “What do you mean?” she said, forcibly casual, wrestling for her composure back.

She’s so cute.

“Yeah,” Zoey said. “Nothing’s happening tonight, so don’t even try it, you succubus. Cuddles, and that’s it.”

“But—but why?” Again, Rosalie flushed at her own response. “Not that a night of uninterrupted rest sounds unpleasant … but it’s uncharacteristic. So I’m curious.”

“Well, you see,” Zoey started.

Rosalie waited.

“Tomorrow’s date night.”

Rosalie blinked.

“So I’m saving myself. I’ve got this feeling I’m gonna get lucky at the end … so I wanna be in top shape.”

If Zoey had thought Rosalie’s flustered state had been cute before, her clumsiness at the mention of a ‘date’ was twice that. Rosalie couldn’t even seem to find a response. She finally settled on the wholly ineloquent, “Ah. I see. That’s—that’s fair reasoning, I suppose.”

“Which means you’re showering by yourself,” Zoey said, kissing the side of Rosalie’s neck. “I wouldn’t be able to help myself.”

That said, she left Rosalie with a firm smack to the butt. Zoey laughed and tugged the bathroom door shut behind her, Rosalie’s protests coming several seconds too late—still flustered from the announcement.