CHAPTER 10

  Cait requested a sandblast bath to get the worst of the grime off of her, but Samsara still gated her directly to the Colosseum showers. She left quickly enough that she didn’t have to take a breath of the same air as Cait in an enclosed area. That was a pretty good hint to Cait about how she smelled, even though her own sense of smell had thrown in the towel about the same time as she dove into an animated pile of hostile shit.

  She walked into a spacious shower stall, already naked since Sonder had not, in fact, had another pair of leather pants. She turned the water on hot, and while it came out cold, she didn’t care. The shower heated up quickly, and for a while, she couldn’t say how long, she held one hand against the stone tile of the wall and just let the water wash over her.

  Snapping out of it, she found a soap dispenser on the wall and got a sample. Pleasantly surprised, she found it wasn’t the normal unscented pink goo, but instead a nice high quality sandalwood and spice. She washed every inch of her body, then did it again, stopping only when the dispenser was giving her nothing but foam. She saw a shampoo dispenser next to it, and repeated the process with her hair, the scent of the soap filling the room along with the steam from the shower. Cait was probably cleaner than she’d ever been in her life, but still she remained in the shower, enjoying the heat and the steam. She was still standing there, head empty as her mind processed the events of the night in the background, when she heard footsteps behind her.

  The shower door creaked as it opened, but Cait didn’t turn towards it. She felt fingertips trace delicately over the muscles of her shoulders, along her tattoo, and down her spine.

  “After a first fight like that, I thought you might need another reason to stay,” came Lira’s voice from behind her. It was the first hint of timidity Cait had heard from the bubbly personal trainer. Slowly, she turned towards her.

  Lira pressed herself against Cait as she faced her, wrapping her arms around the larger woman’s waist. Cait could feel the soft points of her breasts against her abs, and her breath caught as she took her in. Lira looked up at Cait, bright green eyes filled with the promise of lust as her white skin reddened from the heat, playing against the freckles that trailed down her neck and across her breasts. Cait reached down, wrapping her hands around Lira’s waist and pulling her up into a kiss.

  Her mouth tasted spicy-sweet like cinnamon gum. Soft lips pressed against Cait’s, before parting to allow their tongues to meet. They held that kiss for a frozen instant, a shared declaration of intent. Cait broke that moment, spinning fast and slamming Lira into the stone tile of the shower wall.

  ***************

  A short eternity later, Lira slumped against Cait and rested her head on her shoulder, breathing hard. Cait let her rest, stroking the bottom of her thighs and kissing the soft skin of her neck through the aftershocks.

  Cait found a set of the same workout gear Lira had given her earlier waiting. As she stuffed herself into another pair of too small shorts, she raised a questioning eyebrow at Lira. “So, the first time wasn’t a mistake, huh?”

  “Jesus, was I bad enough that you think that was my firs-" Lira started to respond, turning back to Cait as she pulled on her own clothes. “Oh you’re talking about the shorts. Nope! I’d keep an ass like yours naked at all times if I could, I’m not putting any more fabric on it than absolutely necessary.”

  She grinned wide and playfully snapped a towel at Cait, then yelped when the Amazon caught it and pulled her close. Cait looked down at her, bundled up against her chest, and kissed her.

  “Ya’ know, I was gonna stay anyway.” She said, planting another kiss on Lira’s forehead.

  “Yeah, I do. Heh, honestly I mostly just yelled that excuse at Director Swan as I ran past her.” She pulled away, but kept one of Cait’s hands as she led her out of the changing room. “She was waiting outside to bring you to the room she picked out for you and Breastman, but if she didn’t leave when I went in I doubt she waited past that groan in the middle there.”

  “Oh shit! Breastman!” Cait’s blood froze as she remembered the state she’d last seen him in. His tentacles had literally been melting off as he fought off a raging shitbeast, and he had not looked good. “Is he okay? Damn, shit just happened so fast after we won, I never got the chance to check! I’m a bad fucking friend.”

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  Lira raised an eyebrow at her, asking, “You guys knew each other before tonight?”

  “No, but that’s not the point!”

  “Relax,” Lira laughed. “Your buddy’s fine, I didn’t fuck you to distract you from a dead tentacle monster. Turns out those tentacles regenerate, like, scary fast. On the drone feed he was regrowing them nearly as quick as that thing y’all were fighting. It's a damn good thing he’s got the fun hat and a nice attitude or he’d be a PR nightmare, dude is mucho terrifying.”

  Cait laughed and followed her out. She was right about Director Swan; she had not stuck around to wait after Lira decided to delay Cait. Instead, she’d left a note on the Colosseum door.

  Have fun, kids. 3415 PV.

  -E.S.

  “Ooooooo,” Lira cooed, her eyes lighting up as she read the note. “She must reaaaallly like you. How the hell was this room not taken!? Come on, come on!”

  She grabbed Cait’s hand again and led her off along a walking path at a jog. Cait noticed that the rainbow oil sheen of the Wave had finally cleared from the night sky.

  Thank god, Cait thought. That said, it was hard not to be a little grateful, after what this wave in particular had brought her.

  A minute later, they stood outside of the AEGIS complex’s perfect replica of the Palace of Versailles.

  “Holy shit,” Cait said, awed at the gorgeous building lit up by ground installations in front of them. “I liked my old place, but I’ll take an upgrade.”

  “Yeah,” Lira sighed happily and leaned into Cait’s arm. “A bunch of us live here. The commute’s nonexistent, and security doesn’t get better than sleeping down the hall from Freeflow. Even then, you got a good room, let's go!”

  She resumed pulling on Cait’s arm, leading her into the building. This time, they had actually done some justice to the grandeur of the original, in the entryway at least. Pillars supported flying arches, and while the color scheme wasn’t the original bourgeois nightmare of gold and marble, Cait was certain this was the nicest building she’d ever been in. Lira led her up a soaring staircase, and then up one more floor. The rest of the building was more upscale apartment dwelling than bourgeois ballroom, and they ended up in front of a room at the end of a hallway on the top floor. There was a hand-scanner next to the door, which Lira planted Cait’s palm onto. She excitedly pushed the door open when the light blinked green.

  Cait walked into a spacious living room, appointed in a modern but comfortable style. A large sectional couch formed an L in front of a TV the size of one of the walls of Cait’s old studio. A full kitchen done up in stainless steel and granite lay further in, with a big table and comfortable chairs taking up an open area next to it. Cait noticed 5 doors off the main room, one in each corner and another next to the front door, sharing a wall with the end of the hallways. 4 of them stood open, and Cait assumed Breastman had claimed the closed room, the closest to their front door.

  She was pulled out of her examination by a scuffling under the couch, then a long drawn out meow as a tubby tabby pulled itself out from the furniture and ran over towards her.

  “SALAD!” Cait yelled, scooping up her best friend like a furry little baby. He kept yelling as she rubbed his fluffy white tummy, and he rubbed his face against her chest as rumbling purrs poured out of him. She heard a giggle from behind her, and stopped her petting hand long enough to flip Lira the bird before Salad’s upset meows called her back.

  “You named your cat Salad?” Lira came around, stroking the happy cat on the cheek as he mrrr’d in appreciation. Cait held the cat out and made his front paws do a little dance.

  “Look at this little idiot!” She said excitedly, pulling him back in close and playing with the tuft of fur at his chest as he nipped at her fingers. “He’s totally a Salad.”

  His play-bites started to get a little more forceful, and while he wouldn’t have hurt Cait even before the powers, she still knew he wanted down. She poured him onto the floor, where he immediately resumed yelling and weaving between her and Lira’s legs.

  “I’m calling that corner room.” Cait declared, pointing and repeatedly dodging Salad as she made her way over. She pulled the door open, and made her way in. Inside, there was a bed, dresser, and a balcony with a hell of a view.

  “Not a lot of places you can see most of mankind’s collected architectural wonders all at once.” Lira purred, wrapping her arms around Cait’s waist from behind and kissing along her shoulder blade as they admired the view. Cait turned towards her, pulling her into a kiss.

  “Those aren’t half as impressive as what I’m about to show you.” Cait promised, and picked Lira up before tossing the giggling girl onto the bed. She positioned herself above her, kissing along her neck before Lira laughed and pushed her off.

  “Hold on there cowgirl,” she said, still giggling. She placed a hand on Cait’s chest and laughed at her exaggerated frown. “I’m playing it off pretty well, but the ‘impressive’ thing you’re trying to show me already did a number on me tonight, and my pussy feels like it went 12 rounds with a heavyweight.”

  She kissed Cait when her frown shifted to a look of concern.

  “Don’t worry,” She said, smiling softly. “It was great during. Amazing, even. Buuuuut I might have been a little overconfident that I could take what you had on offer.”

  “I said fuck me, pussy,” Cait responded, smiling wide as she did her best impression of Lira's command from earlier. Lira just slapped one of Cait’s tits in response. Chuckling, Cait rolled off of her, drawing an upset grunt from Salad, who had taken up residence next to them, silent and unnoticed.

  Her head hit the pillow, and as Salad snuggled back into her arm on one side and Lira laid her head on her chest on the other, Cait knew she wasn’t moving until morning.