At least rush hour is over

Eventually, your phone buzzes with the ‘your ride is arriving in 2 minutes’ notification. It’s weird how, just a few days ago, it wouldn’t have bothered you that you’d have no idea ahead of time if the driver you were about to meet was male or female.

“Remember,” you tell Molly as she puts on her backpack, “we’re not –”

“I know,” she assures you. “We’re not fucking, we’re not dating, we’re not romantically involved in any way.” She sighs, then tilts her head up for a quick kiss. You oblige her. Her lips feel wonderful.

“But also, don’t call me ‘uncle’. Just… let it stay ambiguous. If they ask, we tell the truth: I’m staying with you and your mom after a fire in my building. And don’t offer any other details.”

She nods. “Understood.”

A few minutes later, you and Molly are sitting in the back seat of a taxi, on your way to campus (you had originally intended to suggest that the taxi just drop her off at a bus stop, but her class starts in 23 minutes).

The driver, it turns out, is a guy. And, thank god, one who’s more interested in listening to music (hip hop in a language you don’t recognize) than in being conversational. As the cab makes its way through the streets and onto the highway, you pull out your phone and open the Multiplier.

What with brushing your teeth, and shaving, and negotiating ride details with Molly, you didn’t have the chance to look at Sweeney’s profile while you were still in the apartment. But you’re going to be meeting her soon, so it might be helpful to know what her attitude towards you is.

(Plus, to be honest, you’re kind of hoping she’s hot, but thinking about that sort of thing in the taxi might give you enough of an erection that the driver notices, self-control, self-control.)

Sweeney talked to you as part of her job, so you select the Professionals tab. And… there’s Sigrid (and you feel all warm inside), and Belinda and Maggie (and you smile), and Olga (who you have no particular feelings for, although she’s really cute, and presumably you and she will have fantastic chemistry if you actually have a real conversation with her).

No Sweeney, though.

You’re not really surprised to learn that Sweeney isn’t a Top Prospect – after all, your phone didn’t buzz when you were talking to her. Although… now you’re not sure whether it buzzed when you talked to Tammy, on Monday evening. At some point, you’re definitely going to have to sit down and read through the Instruction Manual more methodically, figure out what exactly the Multiplier is actually doing. The “notice all updates consciously” thing you selected yesterday isn’t working the way you expected it to, for one thing – you don’t recall noticing any buzzes when you were having phone sex with Sigrid, but when you checked the log later it was full of Sigrid-related updates.

“Looking at Sweeney’s profile?” Molly whispers.

“Yeah, but she’s not a Top Prospect,” you whisper back, and show her the screen. “Hold on, let’s see…”

You pull up the Success Probability Profile Display Threshold control panel, and slowly drag the slider to the right. Sweeney’s profile pops into existence at 56.8%.

The profile image shows Sweeney in a kitchen, talking to a younger woman who you assume is Angela. Sweeney is fortyish, and blonde – although a darker blonde than Tammy, is that what they call “dirty blonde”, maybe? – and safely on the right side of ‘chubby’. “Thicc”, that’s the word you’ve seen. And, yes, that’s a cute face. Angela is slimmer than her mom, and darker, and you’d put her at about Molly’s age? And perhaps not cute, but the sort of face that’s described as “interesting”. In a good way. A very good way. Plus, decent tits.

Sweeney Leslie Edgett

Personal Information -

• Age: 40
• Gender: Female
• Marriage status: Single
• Children: 1 -
• Angela Mary Edgett: Daughter

Physical Information -

• Height: 5’6 ½”
• Weight: 189
• Hair color: Dirty blonde
• Eye color: Hazel
• Bust: 38E
• Waist: 30
• Hips: 38

  Sexual experience +

Molly looks at the picture of Sweeney and Angela, then briefly glances at the driver, who appears to be concentrating on the road. “You absolutely should,” she says, so quietly you can barely hear her over the music. “Both. Together, even.”

An image flashes through your mind: making out with Angela, while Sweeney sucks you. Your cock twitches, and you hope that wasn’t visible… although Molly is grinning. Self-control, dammit.

The driver is muttering along with the lyrics – what language is that? – and hasn’t reacted.

You open Sweeney’s updates log. It’s nearly empty, which you suppose makes sense.

• Sweeney Edgett: Are you not listening to me? -1 (-1)
• Sweeney Edgett: Oh, okay. +1 (0)
• Sweeney Edgett: It’s surprising how nice it is to hear someone say they believe you. +3 (3)
• Sweeney Edgett: Likes that you’re polite. +1 (4)

  ---

You show it to Molly. “Could I see my own again?” she says quietly.

“Sure.” You give her the phone. “Just don’t get too…” and you make a swirly hand gesture that you hope she’ll interpret as ‘worked up’.

She nods. “Probably be more suspicious if we keep whispering,” she whispers, then says “Oh, cool!” at normal volume.

“Yeah, I thought so too,” you say, which you suppose isn’t actually a lie.

Molly scrolls through her log from the very beginning, smiling and nodding… then switches to Tammy’s… then Sonia’s (no new entries since last night, though, which is probably why she looks a bit disappointed)… then Penelope’s… and then the cab reaches campus.

She gives you back your phone, then hands the driver a $20 and gets out.

“You can cover the rest?” she asks.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Hurry or you’ll be late,” you say, and she takes off.

“Cute girl,” the driver comments, but you don’t say anything except to give him the address for the closest stop for the 107 bus. It feels kind of weird to not even acknowledge his statement – like you’re deliberately being rude – but even just agreeing that she’s cute seems like it could be a bad idea.

He shrugs and turns the music back up, and pulls away from the curb.

As the cab makes its way through traffic, you think about what stuff you have pending. For one thing, you absolutely need to talk to Eleanor. You open the messenger app on your phone.

From: Jacob C

• I’m going to be at the building this afternoon to empty my place out. Hope to see you there?

For a moment, you visualize introducing Eleanor and Penelope. You’re sure they’ll get along with each other wonderfully. And maybe if you’re really lucky, Sigrid will be on duty at the building again!

You quickly re-open the message you just sent to Eleanor and send a copy to Sigrid also, then visualize what it would be like to have her there along with Penelope and Eleanor.

Once you explain to them that they’re all Top Prospects, Sigrid would probably get flirty, and say she’d love to lick your cum out of Penelope, and Eleanor would definitely blush because you know she’s shy, and then Penelope would say Eleanor should sit on her face and make out with you and –

The cab drives over a pothole, and the sudden impact jolts you out of your fantasy (and the driver swears loudly), and thank god for that, because you’re almost at your destination and although you very much don’t want to stand up with a visible erection, you’re not sure what you’d say to him if he asked why you weren’t getting up. Self-control.

By the time the cab pulls over to the curb, your erection has indeed gone down. You pay the driver and ask for a receipt; he rolls his eyes but gives you one, which you tuck into your wallet with the one from yesterday.

While you cross the street towards the bus stop, you ponder whether it’s really worth saving travel receipts. Maggie didn’t actually say the insurance company would reimburse you for those – although you’re positive she and Belinda will do everything they can to help you. Which reminds you, you’ve got a list of insurance terms in your note-taker app that you were meaning to look up, and also –

– oh, here’s the bus. Good timing!

As you get on, you immediately realize that the driver is a woman – and she’s cute. And the bus is pretty full… and most of the passengers are women also.

You’re fucking with me, aren’t you, you think at the Multiplier and/or whoever or whatever made it. Well, if you can just avoid talking to her –

“Dude,” the bus driver says, “either pay or get off.”

“Oh, uh, sorry,” you say, and wave your passcard over the sensor pad, which beeps. She nods; the door closes behind you, and the bus drives off.

At least you didn’t hear the Multiplier buzz, which means – which probably means – she’s not a Top Prospect.

You don’t see any empty seats, which means you’ll have to stay standing, which means you absolutely cannot risk getting an erection.

You grab onto a hanging strap and realize that you are crammed in next to someone really pretty – mid-twenties, light brown hair with bangs, the last hint of a suntan, glasses, sparkly earrings, slender but curvy, visible bra strap. Also, she’s wearing headphones. She glances briefly at you, and then looks away. You’re close enough to her that you can, just barely, hear her music. Her head bobs lightly to the beat.

If this had happened last week, you might have spent the bus ride thinking about things you could say to her… and then been too shy to actually say any of them. Now, though – well, you still don’t really know what you’d say to her, but it doesn’t bother you as much.

Not that you wouldn’t mind fucking her, of course stop thinking that way, you’ll get an erection and she’ll 100% notice. Self-control. Self-control.

A few minutes later, Headphones Girl reaches out and yanks the pullcord, and the bus slows to a stop. “Excuse me,” she says. You grunt, and move aside. She squeezes past you – and just as her tits brush against your arm, you hear a buzz from your phone.

Your eyes widen as she makes her way towards the bus’s back door; a few other people get up and follow her off the bus, and you grab one of the newly-vacated seats.

You pull your phone out of your pocket to find out more about Headphones Girl – no, be a responsible grownup. First, you check the route planner… okay, two more stops. Now you can check the Multiplier.

… except your messenger icon is blinking with a notification, and you remember when you were in Maggie’s office, and you were somehow able to tell the difference between Multiplier Update buzzes and Incoming Message buzzes. You didn’t even really say anything to Headphones Girl, right? So the timing of this one was probably just a coincidence.

Probably.

Plus, even if Headphones Girl is a Top Prospect, that doesn’t mean you have to go after her. The FAQ was very clear about that.

Anyway, let’s see who the message is from… ah!

From: Eleanor R

• Oh no, I’m sorry, Miranda and I emptied my apartment yesterday afternoon. I’d come by and help you and your friend, but I’m working until we close tonight.

• <Dinosaur noises>

On the one hand, getting a message from Eleanor feels like sunshine. On the other hand, this is disappointing, and not just because it means you won’t be able to have a foursome with her and Sigrid and Penelope this afternoon.

From: Jacob C

• Damn. Well, I’ll figure something out.

  ---

And, since you already have the messenger open, you – and the bus has just gone past Rafferty, so you’re getting off at the next stop. You shut off your phone, put it in your pocket, yank the pullcord, and get to your feet. Two streets later, the bus slows to a halt.

Since you’re sure the Multiplier has already started tracking the bus driver, you go out the front rather than the back, and say ‘thanks’ as you pass by her. She smiles at you. “Sure thing, dude,” she says. Her tongue flicks out from between her lips so quickly you almost missed it.

You step off the bus; the door slides shut, and the bus pulls away.