Down in the mud, face first you land

After a massive breakfast to reinvigorate himself following a very long and intense night of sexual pleasure, Nick finally felt like he could start the day.

“You’re sure you’re okay with this?” Dawn asked, adjusting her glasses. They were a little stained from his semen, and she was fighting the urge to demean herself by licking it off.

But she didn’t wipe them off, either. Then it would be gone. So part of her knew that she was saving it for later, as embarrassing as that was.

She glanced at Nick out of the corner of her eye, and tried to look tough.

“You’re sure?” She asked again, repeating herself. “You know… this whole thing with Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin?”

“You seemed to really enjoy your last date together,” Mary said, in a tone that almost sounded snide. Dawn raised her eyebrow momentarily and then looked back at Nick. She gave him a scrutinizing look but didn’t say anything. Instead, she just rolled her eyes.

“It was a thing,” Nick said, blushing. “But it’s fine… it’ll be fine. I’m feeling totally recharged.”

“I should hope so,” Holly chirped from the corner. She wasn’t in her cage, just standing on the sidelines with an amused smile on her face, enjoying Nick’s dilemma. “After that night you had last night, well…” She let out a long whistle and then shook her head, clicking her tongue.

It was Nick’s turn to roll his eyes now. He got up and stretched his arms over his head. “I can handle Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin.”

He paused. “…I didn’t mean it like that.”

“No, I’m sure you didn’t,” Dawn said, smirking. “Anyway, you two have fun. I’m going to go crash in my room. Enjoy my sleep. Didn’t exactly get a lot of that last night, you know?”

Nick laughed. He understood that well enough.

“I’ll come with you,” he said. “Since you’re rooming with my date for today.”

It was a bit of an awkward elevator ride down, given the fact that Dawn’s clothes were a little… musty. Nick had taken a shower (two showers actually) but she could still smell him filling up the elevator. It wasn’t as intense as last night, but…

Damn it. Why am I getting worked up now? This is the worst! We already had our time together, what kind of person would I be if I demanded more?

Dawn was a competitive person by nature, but she also had a strong sense of fair play. And it simply wouldn’t be fair to try and make a move on a day that wasn’t her day, no matter what had happened with the other girls and all the interruptions she’d had on their date together.

“You’ve got something in mind, I assume?” Dawn glanced over at Nick. “A plan, I mean. For the date.”

“I’ve got an idea or two,” Nick said, nodding. “She really liked the movies we went to watch last time… a few of them, anyway.”

“Movie date. Nice. I liked ours,” Dawn said, nodding considerately. “…And hey, if you can’t think of something, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin seems to like you enough; I bet she’d be fine with whatever you wanted to do.”

Nick laughed. “That’s… not exactly wrong,” he admitted. “Although if we left it up to her the plan the date, I think I might be out of the game for the rest of the round,” he said, indicating towards his pelvis. “She might break something down there.”

He paused. “Actually… I shouldn’t be talking about this stuff with you,” he said, shaking his head. “This is private, between me and her.”

Dawn nodded. “You’re right,” she agreed. “You shouldn’t.”

She lightly swatted him on the arm. “But you can make it up to her by giving her a good date today. Got that? Treat her like a princess.”

“Yeah, got it,” Nick said, nodding. “A princess.”

Like the assassin wasn’t already indulgent and spoiled as it was- that was exactly what she needed, to be treated like a princess.

They reached Dawn’s room, and Dawn cautiously opened the door.

“Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin?” She called, stepping into the Arcade Suite. “I’m back. And I brought… a guest.”

As the two of them walked further into the room, they saw that it was completely empty. Only the flashing lights and muted sounds of the arcade machines served as company; Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin herself was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is she?” Nick wondered, looking around. “You don’t think… …No she absolutely would do that again.” Memories of their last date, and chasing the trained killer through the hotel while she silently laughed her head off flashed through his mind.

He really hoped they weren’t up for round two; after last night, the last thing he wanted to do was tire himself out all over again.

“Well… that’s a problem for you to solve,” Dawn said, taking off her glasses and rubbing her eyes. Her ears twitched and she yawned. “I’m gonna turn in… good night…”

“Right, yeah, gotcha,” Nick nodded, turning away to give Dawn some privacy as she changed out of her rumpled clothes. It was a nice dress; good thing they’d thought ahead and stripped it off her before they did anything. “Thanks again for last night. I had a lot of fun.”

Dawn smiled to herself as she eyed his back. She slid off her dress and leaned up, pressing her breasts against his back and burying her chin in the crook up his neck. “I had fun too,” she said. “You have a nice date now!”

She gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek and let him go. When he finally stepped out of the room, she looked down at her glazed-over glasses and licked her lips. Then she licked the lens and shivered, smiling to herself.

This was going to be a fun break.

Nick stepped out of the Arcade Suite, wracking his brain for ideas. If Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was planning to play another game of tag, he needed to strategize. He needed to figure out where she would strike from, because she could be anywhere. The Banquet Hall, the elevators, another bedroom, or even…

…Right in front of him.

It took Nick a second to recognize her because of how different she looked. Her breasts were larger and perkier thanks to her nanomachines, and she was dressed completely differently than how he normally thought of her. Then again, it had been a while since the last time he saw her with clothes on.

She wore a tight pink top that showed off her cleavage and shoulders, molded to her body like a second skin, and a shiny black leather skirt to go with it. A large gold belt rested around her hips, doing nothing to hold up her dress but designed purely as a fashion statement. Her skirt was so short it was practically a belt itself- showing off lots of the creamy skin of her legs, which were slender and toned, perfect for running. Not that she would be doing much in the strappy high-heeled sandals she was wearing.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s pointed ears twitched and her eyes gleamed with mischief from behind her curly black bangs, and she played with the umbrella in her hand- a slightly-unusual accessory for most women who would be dressed like this, but a deadly weapon for her.

“…Hey,” Nick said, not sure what to make of her outfit. She was dressed like the perfect bimbo, and seemed to ooze sexual intent. “You look… wow. Are those some of your new clothes? You’re really pulling off the whole ‘bimbo’ look, I mean it.”

That was a compliment, right? He had meant it as a compliment, and he really hoped she took it as a compliment.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin narrowed her eyes and flashed a beaming smile, accepting his praise like a preening beauty queen. She seemed to hang on Nick’s every word; she might have taken him saying she looked like a mud monster as a compliment, depending on how he phrased it.

“So, I was thinking for our date we could-”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin lunged forward, sending him stumbling back in surprise. He bumped up against the door of the Arcade Suite as she slammed her hand against the wall, leaning in close to him.

It was very intimidating- even though Nick had a good head on her or so in terms of height, even with her heels.

She wiggled her eyes and leaned in, taking a deep whiff of him, which completely caught him by surprise. Dawn was the one with the scent fetish, right? So why was she…

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin pulled back and flashed a disappointed expression. She puffed up her cheeks and crossed her arms over her chest.

“…Sorry?” Nick wasn’t sure what he did wrong, but she was clearly upset with him. Unless…

She can’t smell the other girls on me, can she? He wondered, thinking back to his last night with Dawn, Mary, and Holly. How strong are her senses? Nick knew that she had been augmented by nanomachines. Did that include…

Wait, why am I feeling guilty? It’s not like I have anything to be ashamed about. I’m going to be with other women, and she has to accept that. If she can’t, then there’s no way we could have anything resembling a functioning relationship.

Nick took a deep breath and exhaled.

“…We need to have a talk,” he said, trying to straighten up and look tall.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin blinked, and then pointed at her mouth.

“…Yeah, I know,” Nick said, shaking his head. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “But I’m serious. We need to have a real conversation, even if you… well… you know.”

He was trying to dance around it, but that was kind of difficult to do right now. He looked at her, and held out his hand.

She glanced at it, then accepted his hand, squeezing it tightly with both of hers. She squirmed, gazing up adoringly at him and brought his hand up to her cheek, rubbing it against her in a caress.

Nick blushed, and their eyes met. “Okay… I’m serious though,” he said gently, letting his hand rest on her cheek. “We need to have a talk. But we can handle it later. Okay?”

He wasn’t running from his issues. This was a conversation that needed to happen- and it needed to happen soon. But he could at least show her a good time before they got into the serious stuff.

Maybe a detour first, though. To make her feel more comfortable.

For the second time in as many days Nick found himself walking into the spa. They were just going to go for a quick dip in the hot springs, to hopefully wash off any of the traces of the other women that were still lingering. Nick didn’t smell anything himself, but if she was sensitive to it, he wanted to accommodate her. And he wasn’t the best at perceiving his own scent, either- nobody really was.

As he headed for the changing rooms, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin grabbed him by the wrist and tugged.

“Huh?” Nick turned back to see the insistent expression on her face. She pointed firmly in the other direction, towards the spa’s other facilities.

Wait… she’s not implying…? …Oh god, yes, she is. Nick felt his blood run cold.

“Look, uh… I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Nick said, shaking his head quickly. He wanted to talk her out of what was, frankly, an incredibly crazy idea, but he was currently drawing a blank on how to do that.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin looked at Nick and raised her eyebrow. Her pouty lips turned into a full-on frown. She tightened her grip on his wrist and tugged a little more insistently, pointing again for good measure.

Okay. So she doesn’t want to talk.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin very clearly wanted to do all the stuff he’d done with Dawn on yesterday’s date with her- at least as far as the spa went, anyway. That could just mean a nice massage. But he was pretty sure she wanted the full experience, sauna included.

He was fine doing that with Dawn. Because he could trust her, they had a relationship built on trust and mutual affection. But Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was a lot harder to deal with; he cared about her, he liked her, but trust?

When it came to something like this, Nick wasn’t sure he could do something like that.

“…I’m not ready to do that with you,” he said, putting his foot down. He pulled his wrist free, trying not to feel bad about the pained expression on her face. “I’m sorry, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin, but I’m not.”

She looked like she was going to cry. Or maybe throw him through a window. And knowing her, he couldn’t be sure which of those she would do, if either.

He swallowed and straightened up.

“I care about you, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin. And what we did last time, that was a great and really creative date!” He said, trying to show her how much he appreciated her presence in his life. “But… look, please don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re really wild and hard to handle. I’m sorry for saying it, but it’s true.”

She puffed up her cheeks and shrugged, giving him a look that radiated so much “So what?” energy he could practically feel the snark rolling off her.

“…I appreciate wild and free-spiritedness,” Nick said, patting her on the shoulder. “And that part of you is exciting. But I’m not convinced that you can have self-control when it really matters.”

What was he doing? This date was supposed to be about showing Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin a good time, not cutting her down. And yet he just couldn’t stop himself.

He had to hope that he wouldn’t hurt her too much with his words. He powered through it, saying what he needed to say.

“Getting dosed with aphrodisiacs when you’ve already got that transformation, the one that makes you really turned on whenever you hear my voice… I don’t think that’s the best for either of us,” he said, shaking his head. “I want to have a good time with you, and the best way we can do that is if we keep things… under control, I guess.”

He was a writer, he was supposed to be good with words. So why did he keep putting his foot in his mouth. The only thing he could assume was because she wasn’t saying anything back. It was almost like talking to a brick wall.

She looked upset. Maybe even hurt. But he saw the faintest glimmer of understanding in her eyes that gave him the strength to power through and keep going.

“Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin, I really want to have a good date with you today, you believe me, right?” Nick asked, reaching out to her and cradling her cheek again. She seemed to like that last time.

She gazed up into his eyes and nodded eagerly, her face brimming with hope.

“Well… then can you trust me on this?” He asked. “I know you want to just throw yourself into the deep end and do everything with me- part of me wants that too. But I’m not used to dating someone like you yet. So until I get used to it… could you let me adapt and we could take things slow? …When it comes to mind-altering substances, at least. I want to get a chance to know you for you, and have fun with just the two of us. Getting me all worked-up and horny… it sounds fun, but it could keep us from really connecting on a deeper level, don’t you think?”

The assassin blinked and tilted her head to the side. She looked confused.

So evidently his words were falling on deaf ears.

“You want to connect with me, right?” He asked, lowering his hand. She quickly grabbed it and pulled it back to his cheek, shooting him a warning look. “…Right. I mean… not a physical connection. We’re pretty good with that, I think.”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin grinned and nodded, flashing a knowing smile. She wiggled her eyebrows and tightened her grip on his hand.

“So that’s why I’m hoping for more from you,” he continued. “You know, you and me. You’re not… some doll Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin. You’re a real person with needs, beyond just physical ones. So yeah, you’ve got those physical needs, and we’ll cover those. But I also want to make sure your emotional needs are met. I want us to have a real relationship, not just the two of us fucking each other all the time.”

She pouted and removed her hand, crossing her arms over her chest and puffing up her cheeks. Apparently, she didn’t like the idea.

“…Wait, is that really it?” Nick felt a pang in his chest. “You just want this to be a physical thing? For real?”

Her frown deepened and a look of sadness flashed over her face.

No, that’s definitely not it, Nick realized. She really wants to be with me. But she just doesn’t know how. Maybe she doesn’t think she’s worth it? I don’t know. But I’m not going to back down here.

“I want to get to know the real you a little better,” Nick said firmly. “Remember that spy movie we watched together? You really liked that, right?”

Her eyes widened and she nodded. He wondered if she was eager at the prospect of watching another one.

“Well, that’s an example of what I’m talking about,” he said, smiling a little as he remembered how happy she was. “That was something we could do together. Something that doesn’t involve sex, or… or any ****, it’s just something you really enjoyed doing with me for its own sake, isn’t that right?” Nick pressed. “So that’s an interest of yours. Something we could share. Something we could do together. Wouldn’t you like to find out more stuff like that? More things you find fun for us to do together? Maybe even something we could make a connection over.”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin looked like she was seriously considering what he was saying. There was a strange expression on her face, like Nick was saying something she’d never heard anyone tell her before.

He saw doubt and hesitancy in her eyes, but he also saw something else. An eager gleam of desire that flashed intently, telling him that part of what he was saying… It was getting through to her, even just a little bit.

That would have to be a start. Maybe he could take that, and build from there on their date together. It wasn’t like he had anything else major planned for today or anything.