A private session

I stand there in the middle of the empty field under the waning sunstrand. My inner thighs are already slick with my desire. One of my hands goes straight to the top of my folds, fingers rubbing against the nub of my clitoris. The other trails lower, pushing between the lips into my cunt proper. They work in synchronization--my hands--to produce wave after wave of sensation, each weightier than the last. I close my eyes. Awareness of the world around me fades, though I cannot shut everything out, not the feel of the dirt between my toes or the distant laughter flowing in from the polly. For the most part, however, there is only me--me and that wonderful, steadily growing pleasure. I give voice to my satisfaction, little yelps forced from me by the crest of every new wave.

Then I hear panting. I open my eyes. Martin has dropped his covering, the fabric pooled around his ankles. He grips his cock in one hand, jerking desperately. I admire his tool surreptitiously. As I suspected, it's larger than most I've seen, the shaft narrow, but broadening to a substantial head. His balls hang low and plump, jiggling with the motion of his hand.

As he touches himself, Martin stares at me, unblinking, taking in my wet thighs, my hands embedded in my crotch, my shuddering bubs. When he catches me staring back, we lock gazes. I couldn't look away from his eyes, even if I wanted to. I suspect he cannot look away either.

"You have such a nice cock," I murmur. "You shouldn't hide it away." His eyes widen in response, but he says nothing.

The waves build and build within me until one finally crests through my entire body, and I experience my release. More fluid gushes from my cunt, streaking my thighs and wetting the dirt beneath me. An involuntary whine emerges from somewhere within my throat. My legs buckle, threatening collapse. Through all of this, my hands remain busy, never breaking from their appointed tasks, and my eyes are firmly fixed on his.

Mere moments later, Martin reaches his own release. Seed bursts from his cock, splattering the ground before him, narrowly missing my feet. He continues to pump as more bursts come forth, only stopping when a single drop dribbles down the tip.

I reach for my utilities to get a cloth to dry my hands, then remember I left everything in my locker. With an internal shrug, I wipe my hands against my outer thighs. I will have to remember to take a quick shower before bed.

To my immense disappointment, Martin reaches down and pulls his covering back up, concealing his cock once more.

"I feel better," I declare. "Do you feel better?"

"I...I don't know." Martin is staring at the ground, where his seed and my emissions are quickly soaking into the dirt. "Sorry. My head is just so messed up right now. But I know you have nothing but the best intentions for me. So thank you. I just need time." He looks back up. "Marissa...Have you ever been in love?"

"Certainly. I love everyone in my polly. In the world, even. In a way, I even love Auto."

He shakes his head. "That's not the kind of love I mean. The love I'm talking about is focused, obsessive, jealous. The world shrinks to a single person. You want to be with them all the time. You almost become them, two beings as one. Their death, separation...It would be as if you yourself had died."

"I...see. No...I have never loved like that."

"I have...once. It was wonderful and terrible and I don't think I ever want to experience it again," he says. "And right now that is the only explanation I can offer for...how I've been."

"It's a lot to think about, Martin," I say. "I'm not sure I fully understand. Maybe we can discuss further on the path tomorrow. We will have plenty of time."

At that moment, I hear a rise in the voices coming from the polly. It must be dinnertime. My stomach growls, a reminder that I haven't eaten all day. I grin at Martin; he hasn't eaten in far longer! "We should take some food before the others consume everything."

We proceed through the line quickly and receive our bread loaves and bowls of garum. I settle down on the edge of the yard, my back resting against a partition, Martin beside me. The food seems somewhat unfamiliar to him. I show my technique for dipping the bread in the garum sauce to get the best combination of flavor.

It is here that Serena finds us. She plies Martin with questions, which he answers with more aplomb than he ever showed to me.

"So if the surface of planets--like Earth--are convex rather than concave," she says, "why is it that everything stays put and doesn't fall off?"

"Because of the attractive force between objects," Martin answers. "It's called gravity. It only has a noticeable impact with very large objects like planets. But it's a completely different principle from the centrifugal effect that's keeping us on the ground, even if its appearance is largely the same."

I roll my eyes slightly. Serena knows all this! I've heard her conversing with Auto about these subjects often enough. It occurs to me that she is asking these questions simply to hear Martin talk, to be close to him, to see his face. I feel a twinge inside me. Is this...jealousy? Is this the seed of the obsessive love Martin mentioned earlier?

When the sunstream completes its waning, plunging everything into the bluish light of night, I realize how weary my body feels. How far have I trekked today--thirteen, fourteen kayem?--and much of that distance was vertical. Pulling Martin along behind me, I find a room with two beds. Perhaps I am being a bad host for not settling him in first, but I immediately sink onto the sheets and fall asleep in moments.