Page 11 of Control

I let her take in her fill as I glanced around the room more, spotting several other couples in various stages of their courtship dance. A few people took notice of my presence and nodded their head to acknowledge me and I nodded in return. After a spell, Clover turned her attention to a F/F couple on another loveseat as they caressed each other and shared several passionate kisses.

“You’ve kissed another woman,” Clover said out of the blue, holding her gaze as the two women continued to enjoy each other. “You have, right?”

“Many times,” I said, Clover’s hand still in mind. I’d loosened my grip on her, but she’d unconsciously insisted I not let go by squeezing on my hand with ever greater force.

“How many times?” she asked. I’d gotten the distinct feeling she was having an awakening.

“I don’t keep count of things like that,” I said. “I’ve had many female clients when I was an active escort. Sometimes we kissed, sometimes we didn’t. Even outside of escorting, I’ve made love to several women. It’s kind of par for the course in Aurora.”

“You really feel that free here?” Clover asked.

“Yes,” I said. At this point, I’d noticed that Clover had begun biting her lower lip. “In real life I’ve been with a woman a few times, but usually only when a man was involved.” Clover’s hand shook in mine as she heard me admit this. “One time I was with a woman on my own. I was young and I was pretty scared, but it turned out to be a wonderful experience so when I got here, I wanted to try it again. With the right partner, experiences like that can be incredible and memorable.” With that, Clover turned to me and stared intently. I could almost hear the gears moving in her head as she thought about what she wanted from me. I stared back at her, knowing what she was going to ask.

“I wanna try,” she said, our eyes still locked. She stared at me blankly at first as if she was still trying to psyche herself up to ask such a thing from me. Not wanting to assume anything, I gave her a standard reply.

“I’m sure you’ll find someone to try that with around here,” I said, breaking her gaze and looking around the room once more. I could feel her staring at me, but I continued to nonchalantly browse the room, locking eyes with several other players there as I did.

“With you,” Clover whispered. I looked back to her just in time to see her eyes drop to my chest. She was nervous and understandably so. I knew she was going to ask, but I didn’t want to push her. It’s was very important to me that she wanted this on her own and did not feel forced into anything. “You’re the only person I know here…I know we’ve only known each other…like an hour or so, but….” Clover paused. She was having trouble stitching together words. “I don’t know what it is. I just feel…comfortable around you. Like I’ve know you for so much longer.” She’d finally worked up the nerve to look up to me. Our eyes met for only a moment before she glanced away again, and then quickly shifting her site back to me once more.

“I seem to have that effect on people,” I said, offering her a soft smile. “I knew you’d ask, but I wanted to give you time to let the idea grow inside you first.”

“I want this,” she said to me, her voice finally above a whisper. “I want you to be my first.” She blinked several times nervously and her hand, still in mine, griped me a little tighter to the point where I forcefully shifted my fingers so she wouldn’t go overboard.

“Are you certain,” I said, taking her other hand into my free one. “You only ever get this once.” Clover’s hair had managed to find its’ way in front of her left eye and a few loose strands stuck to the corner of her lips. I felt her hands drop out mine and reach for my hips, her eagerness taking me by surprise. Her hands reached under my jacket and I could feel her fingertips touch my skin, sending a light chill up my spine.

“Yes,” she said to me as her voice returned to whisper. I nodded my head to her in acknowledgment. I carefully pulled her arms further around me and pressed my chest to hers, our breasts meeting each others which caused here hands to shiver. I could feel her heart rhythmically beating through her chest , its’ pulsing and forceful thump mimicking what it was possibly doing in the real world. I carefully took her face into my hands, delicately tugging the few strands of loose hair away from her mouth.

I lovingly pulled her soft and supple lips closer to me and began to caress them with my own, lightly at first, allowing her to take in a few sharp and nervous breaths. Each gentle kiss I offered her was followed up with another, just as soft and careful as the last. I felt her hands tense up and grab onto my top as if this were one of the most intense sensations she’d ever felt in her life. I let it last as long as I felt comfortable with as I was doing this with someone so new and so inexperienced in the ways of both Aurora and the real world. As I began to pull back from her, I felt her follow my lips as if wanting to steal one last kiss from me.

“Are you alright,” I whispered to her while stroking her cheek with my thumb. Still clutching to my jacket, she stared at me with a longing I’d only seen from those who were desperately yearning for a human connection. I could tell she felt unloved and possibly ignored in her real life. Her eyes, which are a direct representation of how she would look in the real world, told me all I needed to know about her true state of mind. She was someone desperate for affection and no one in her life so far had shown her such care and attention. In a way, I felt guilty because I had unknowingly spoiled her with the attention I’d shown her. I could only hope she wouldn’t get overly attached to me over something that I felt was normal for me, but for her could have been life altering. “Clover, are you ok?”

“Yes,” she said to me in a nearly inaudible whisper. In that moment, I felt as if a dozen pairs of eyes had fallen on Clover and I. Looking away from her for a moment, I realized that at least half the room was staring at us, Clover’s arms wrapped tightly around me as if holding on for dear life. As I always did, I looked back out to the crowd of people staring at us with a quiet confidence that I’d managed to build up over the years. I knew what their looks meant and I knew why they were looking but not speaking. It wasn’t something I’d craved or even chased, but I’d somehow managed to accumulate over my time in Aurora. They were looks of respect.

Over the years I’d become known as a kind and caring person and each of the people in the room who knew who I was knew what I was doing. It’s in my soul to look after and take care of those in need of solace and direction. It wasn’t nearly the first time I’d offered my guidance to those that looked like they needed it. I never assumed everyone needed help, but I make it known that I’m there if they needed it. To the faces in the crowd that I recognized either from prior conversations or just in passing, I nodded to them. Having lived up to the reputation I’d managed to build over the years, they nodded back respectfully.

Clover soon realized what was happening and looked out to the crowd as well, a slight tinge of embarrassment coming over her face. No one there mocked or laughed at her though. They knew that everyone had their first time at some point and were not there to judge anyone else experiencing it. Knowing that these were the kind of people The Lover’s Lounge attracted was yet another reason why I’d selected it. There is no judgment there. It’s all about love, caring, and mutual respect.

I turned back to her, lightly tugging her chin with my fingers so she’d face me again. I looked her over and admired her for a moment before brushing more of her red hair out from in front of her emerald green eyes. After a few seconds, she began to smile for me, her arms relaxing around my waist and finally able to enjoy the moment. For a fleeting instant, I thought she might cry tears of joy and although her eyes did glass up, she was able to maintain her composure.

“I loved it,” she said, her voice much more than a whisper now. Her smile grew wider and she breathed a sigh of what felt like relief coated with giddiness.

“As long as you stick to places like this for your adventures,” I said with a smile, “you’ll be alright.” I looked back over to the players in the room with us as several of them turned their attention back to their partners. “There are good people in this place. Consent and respect are a big deal here. Remember, you never have to do anything you don’t want to. If someone tells you otherwise, they’re trying to take advantage of you.” I brought up Clover’s HUD once more and saved Lunar and Lover’s to her rooms list. “Both of the rooms we visited tonight I’m saving for you. If you ever want to come back, just bring up the rooms listing and select saved rooms. You’ll be safe here. The patrons and room owners always look out for others and if they see someone bringing trouble, they get rid of them.”

“Ok,” Clover said, letting her hands drop further down my waist and hang off of my wider than average hips. I drew her attention back to her HUD so I could show her the proper way to look for rooms based on type and the kinds of people they tended to attract. Room ratings in Aurora used a star system similar to those you see in the real world when looking over products you might be looking to purchase. Those with a higher star rating are generally better than those with a lower one. For a time, people would often try to game the system by offering gold to new players in exchange for a higher rating, but that was quickly quashed a couple of years ago and the associated rooms permanently closed. No one has tried to game the system since then, given the kind of gold you could potentially earn by having a highly rated place. No one is willing to risk losing a strong source of steady income.

I took Clover by the hand again and led her across the room over to a group of people that were sitting at a table that were chatting and having drinks. I didn’t know any of them on a personal level, but I did recognize several of their names from the in game chat boards. I introduced them to Clover and let them know she was still very new. They immediately took her in and began speaking with to her, wanting her to feel welcome. As with most of my interactions, a few people in the group asked for a picture with me and I obliged. I then turned and looked to the upper balcony area of the room and spotted Polyopoly staring down at us. I tipped my head toward Clover and Poly nodded her head at me, knowing I was asking them to make sure Clover was properly looked after. As a thank you to them, I sent 500 gold to the room coffers. Just as I broke my pairing with Clover so I could leave her with her new friends, a message marked as urgent came up in my HUD. It was from Giff, The Spinner. It asked me to call him as soon as I could so I did as I walked away from the table.

“Lotus,” Giff said to me as I looked for a quiet, unoccupied corner to speak with him in.

“What’s going on?” I said to him as I crept around a corner and leaned against a wall out of view from most of the room patrons. “Urgent seems a little much for most of the things you and I discuss. Did you glue your balls to your butt hole again?”

“Oh my God!” Giff shouted with a laugh. “You and that song!”

“What can I say,” I said back to him. “I think it’s funny. And I told you about calling me Lotus.” Giff chuckled.

“You know I like teasing you,” he said with extra spirit in his voice.

“Just like any brother would,” I said back to him.

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