Slow Progress

Okay, yes. I activated the app! Sue me! I'm a god damn hypocrite.

Listen, these ladies were not acting rationally. I was in an underwater city, and my wife was one of their brainwashed drones. After seeing her, my morals loosened up just a tad. I was going to use the app, if it was even real, if it even worked, but only so I could get Miranda into a reasonable state of mind. Then I'd be out.

I'd been living with her for a few days. There was no phones in the place, no computers either. Classic cult nonsense, no communication with the outside world to keep everything pure under the waves. Did they even know the threat my watch posed to them?

Miranda was still acting weird after three days of living with me. Whatever they'd done to her, seemed to have messed her up bad, because she would hardly acknowledge I was there. I kept trying to attack her score in different ways, but rebuff after rebuff was leaving me a little annoyed. She'd been the one who wanted me there, and now the was pretty much ignoring me. It must have been hard being the only straight person she knew, or at least the only one interested in men. I may have felt more empathy for her, if her actions hadn't caused me a great deal of hardship. If she was feeling conflicted about her sexual identity that was fine, but in order for my app to work, she was going to have to get over that hump and fast.

One night she had her next door neighbors over for dinner. She'd been kind enough to grab me some real clothes, and at long last I wasn't wearing swim shorts. As far as I knew this was the first company she'd had since returning to Skyros. She must of been dreading it, because she kept making the point that everything had to be perfect. From the shrimp pasta, to roaring fire place, to the angle at which the fibers on her rug rested. She was stressing me out just by looking at her, and it was hard to work me up above my baseline '**** to a fascist society' anxiety I felt at all times anyway.

"Taste this, too oily?" She held a spoonful of sauce up to my lips, for about the eight test of the night. There was a knock at the front door that caused the two of us to freeze up, and look in that direction. “Just don’t say anything.” Miranda hissed at me, as she ran over towards the door. She flattened out her dress, and opened the door with a big smile. “Hiiiii!”

Miranda’s neighbors were on the other side, and greeted her with big smiles and hugs. “It’s so good to finally see you!” One of them cheered.

“I heard you had to go to reeducation.” The other said a little more sympathetically, patted Miranda on the back comfortingly.

“Oooh, so the rumors are true.” The first one said, slipping into the apartment and heading my way. She was a blonde with hair like pasta. She looked at me like you’d look at a dog collar you’d just found in your friend’s dresser. This was Daisy. She stalked towards me, with barely contained glee, the smattering of freckles making her look harmless and then some. “What’s your name?”

My eyes ever so slowly rolled over to Miranda, who was leading lady #2 into the room as well. “That’s Brett.”

“Doesn’t Brett talk?”

Miranda gave a nervous sort of laugh. “Would you want to hear, even if he did?”

Daisy shrugged breezily. “I guess not.”

“Stop teasing her, Daisy.” The other woman said, again rubbing Miranda’s back in a familiar kind of way. “She’s been away for a year, and this is how you treat her?”

“It’s fine.” Miranda moved to slide one chair away from the table, and then another. “It’s better than most people have been treating me.”

“Well what do you expect? People to thank you for bringing a pig to the buffet?”

I crossed my arms, and sized this Daisy girl up. I may not of been on friendly terms with Miranda, but I didn’t like seeing anyone be harassed. I was actually starting to feel bad for my captor. Stockholm syndrome was setting in. She didn't seem as outright hateful as the other women I'd met down there, maybe it was because she was so young. She couldn't have been older than twenty, and I was betting her companion was somewhere in her 30's. How did relationships work on Skyros? Were sugar babies a thing in this utopia?

“I’ll put dinner out.” Miranda said quietly, and started moving pans around the counter top.

Daisy, and the woman I’d very soon know as Rae began to pelt me with questions. They may have lived in an underwater city, but they were bored with that, and I was the most interesting thing in Skyros now. It was pretty flattering, but I kept my mouth shut. Miranda was the only person I was trying to win points with, so it didn’t really matter what these two thought of me. Plus it kind of felt good to make them uncomfortable just by looking their way. I was asserting myself just a little, before my ego faded away to nothing.

“What? Did you cut his tongue out or something?” Daisy asked after her third unsuccessful bid at getting me to talk.”

“No way,” Rae said and placed a hand on her girlfriend’s. “Can’t you see him smirking? He’s doing this on purpose.”

“Miranda, make him talk.” Daisy whined.

“Now why would I do that?” Miranda started putting full plates in front of everyone at the table even me. “I’m the one who told him not to talk.”

“Mmm.” Rae looked at me with renewed interest. “Obedient, guy isn’t he?”

Daisy look at my plate of food then up at me. “You let him eat at the table, and not out of a bowl on the floor?” She rolled her eyes. “You’re not even the fun type of hetero.”

“Daisy, tone it down, you’re a guest here.” Rae warned again.

“Sorry.” Mrs. Freckles finally relented and let Miranda set the table in peace.

When the host was seated the three of them went to dig into their meals like the godless heathens they were, but I finally struck! “I think we should all thank Miranda for the meal she’d prepared, and for hosting us tonight.” I said aloud.

One of Daisy’s thick blonde eyebrows raised, utterly satisfied that I’d finally spoken. “Don’t you think that’s a little patronizing?” Still she and Rae both paused food halfway to their lips, eyes moving to Miranda to check on how she felt.

My surf buddy was blushing, and looking read to karate chop my neck. Could there be anything more insulting for a militaristic feminist, than a man demanding other feminists be genteel towards her? Anything more… humiliating?

Pushing on before they could blow past my request, I looked at her. “Miranda, thank you for this delicious looking food, and for having your neighbors over, so I could be introduced to your friends.”

The compliment hung in the air, and slowly, ever so slowly under threat of being rude the two guests lowered their spoons back down to the plate, and provided their own tempered thanks to Miranda. “T-thanks you Miranda.”

“Y-yeah, thanks.”

Miranda cleared her throat. “Yes, well, you’re very welcome, Rae, and Daisy.”

Daisy Grace-Nadir +5 (-25SP)

Rae Grace-Nadir +5 (-55SP)

Miranda Hari +2 (-53SP)

Nice! All three.

And what the heck is that? Daisy’s only at -25?

That caused me to change my calculations.

I wanted to believe that the friendship I shared with Miranda was real in some ways, and I wanted to believe that she did feel some kind of love towards me. If I could, I wanted to break her out of this cult, and get her mind back. But that was some galaxy brain plot I had in the back of my head, right now I just needed a god damn wi-fi password and Daisy was right there!

“So now that you’re talking, what do you think of Skyros so far?” Daisy gestured at me with a fork wrapped up in pasta. I just shrugged, and took a bite of my own pasta. Not bad. I gotta say, the sea food down here was fresh. “Oh no you didn’t!” She gasped with a delighted smile. “I already heard your voice asshole, you don’t have the power any more.” I shared in her smirk and shrugged again. “What? Miranda will only let you talk if you’re praising her?” She stroked her chin. "Maybe she is the fun kind of hetero.”

“Daisy.” Rae sighed, sounding utterly exhausted with her partner. “Let’s not spend the entire night talking about this thing. I haven’t seen Miranda in a year. Let’s speak our own words of praise to our returning sister, and thank her for the service she’s done for the sisterhood.”

Daisy rolled her own eyes. I was getting the feeling that she was the brat in the relationship. “Then you talk to her, and I’ll talk to the pet. Because he will talk.” She looked over at Miranda. “Will he be joining us for love making?”

That got my attention. I looked over at Miranda suddenly very interested in this conversation.

Miranda coughed, and blushed, and wouldn’t even look at me. “No, no of course not. As if a man’s even capable of that.”

“Aww.” Daisy pouted. “I don’t even remember what a dick looks like.”

“It’s nothing impressive.” Miranda lied. She’s a liar guys! It’s impressive and a half, I swear.

Daisy sat up in her seat alight with energy. “So you have tried it! Uh-oh!” She looked at me with a sinister smile. “If you don’t find a way to impress her quick, you’re going out with the fish.” She pointed towards the window.

“I haven’t tried anything!” Miranda was having a worse time at this dinner than I was. She was completely flustered.

“That’s right.” Rae grabbed Miranda’s hand and squeezed it. “Thetis has removed whatever contamination you picked up on the surface. We all know the only reason you’re keeping him around is your pure heart.”

So Miranda was a mystery to everyone huh? Even her friend didn't know what Miranda was up to in bringing me here. No wonder she was a spy. I was starting to think there wasn't a person alive who understood her, even herself.

From there Daisy kept on harassing me, trying to get me to talk. I was holding strong tough. This game was all about dominance right? As long as I kept her pining for my attention I was winning, at least that's what I figured. I just couldn't figure out a way to milk points out of it. Especially with Miranda and Rae at the table. There was one further unfortunate thing about the situation. Every time I refused to answer one of her questions, she'd just turn to Miranda and have her answer it for me. Which served to annoy both Rae and Miranda, but by the end of the night she knew just enough about me to be dangerous. Including Jasmine. At the time I didn't think anything of it, but I had no idea the headaches this ball of chaos was going to cause for me now that she knew my wife was in Skyros.

They finished dinner, and then talked for about an hour, letting everything Digest before Miranda arose, and cast a romantic look towards both her guests. "Rae, Daisy, thank you for sharing this meal with me."

"It was our pleasure Miranda." Rae announced, standing to her feet. She held a hand out to Daisy, who took it and stood up as well. There was a sensual feel to the air, and these words felt like a well worn ritual, that preluded sex sex sex.

"There must be something we can do to earn an A, Professor." Daisy pouted, and held a finger up to lips. She smiled when she saw the flabbergasted look on both their faces. "Oh wait, that's Rae's special game."

"You are in so much trouble when we get home." Rae growled through her teeth.

Daisy looked at me, still pouting. "She's going to spank me." She complained in a baby voice, while pulling her jean shorts up between her ass, so I could see the rounded pink cheeks that were going to get the punishment.

Oh my god, this girl was trouble.

Fuck it, I'm sticking with Miranda. I don't care if Daisy was only twenty points away from chill, she was crazy. And sure it's fun to run around with crazy girls, and the sex is great, but eventually they get arrested, and suddenly you're raising twenty iguanas all by yourself. I speak from experience.

"I'm sorry about her Miranda, maybe we should just go."

"No." Miranda slowly started backing up away from the table and towards her room. It was almost a moon walk, and kind of sexy, I'll admit. "I want you Rae, I want your touch. Come, remind me why taking him was a mistake." Then she paused mid seduction to bark an order at me. " Brett, do the dishes!" Then she seamlessly went back to the seduction, pulling both her guests into the bedroom with her, and shutting the door.

What wonders of the world of women awaited me, just on the other side of that barrier?