Normalization

Normalcy returned, or more appropriately, a new normal established itself. As the weeks marched on, I settled back into my routine. Emma joined me to study two or three times a week. Each time she did, she kept her word and sent me a new picture that evening. Each one was a treasure. Some were of her looking cute. Others had a more sexy slant. All were fully clothed, though she did mix it up with some showing a fair amount of cleavage. If the FBI broke down my door and got access to my PC, I’d be arrested on stalker charges considering how many pictures of her I was compiling.

I think I might have been going that way too. I still watched regular porn to vent some frustration, but at this point I think it was because I knew things were becoming a bit obsessive. I was nothing more than a fish that swallowed the hook, but there was nothing I could do about it now. Without me even realizing it, I had become Pavlov’s dog. Each time she arrived to study was like a shot of dopamine to the cranium and had me drooling for what came next. Sure, I was excited to see her, and now that she was playing DnD with us, our conversation topics expanded beyond classwork. But the real prize was what came later.

In total, I had two ‘nude’ photos of her. The second I acquired through guessing what year she lost her virginity in. It was freshman year. Super glad I guessed correctly on that one as the reward was my favorite picture yet. It was her lying on her bed, staring up at the camera. She could have been completely naked, but the shot was only from her waist up so I wasn’t sure. Her hair was pooled under her head as she gazed innocently up at the camera. It made me wonder who was taking these pictures since it was increasingly clear that she wasn’t the one doing them. I wanted to thank them for doing such an amazing job. At the same time, I wondered how the hell they got stuck with the job in the first place.

As we approached the week leading to Thanksgiving Break, I felt giddy. Teachers were dropping a lot of tests leading up to the break so they could start fresh when we returned. Tests used to be an annoyance. Paperwork that wasted time regurgitating information I already knew. Now, they were opportunities. I wasn’t sure how Emma’s whole test-for-pictures system was going to work, but I figured I’d get at least two since she had been focusing heavily on math and science in our study sessions. I was counting on it because I’d already determined what I’d ask for. Pussy and ass. That would complete the collection so to speak since I already had two of her breasts.

Normalization was a hell of a thing. A few weeks ago, I’d be stumbling over myself with worry and guilt. I’ll admit there were some lingering feelings of weirdness, but for the most part, I was used to it. I still felt ashamed and guilty whenever Emma asked how many times I ‘enjoyed’ her latest picture, but at least I wasn’t stumbling over words or having a meltdown.

Sessions were going great too. By the third session, she had naturally integrated into the group. There were still mega cringe moments, mostly revolving around Owen, but she always handled them with a social grace I envied. Things ran smoothly, and I noticed she took the lead in a lot of roleplaying situations. Not in a dominating way, but her natural energy and enthusiasm brought it out in the others. Even Trent was getting into it. Sure, it was only a few sentences or so, but it was better than his passiveness in the past.

“Isaac, I have a question.” Looking up from my study sheet, I found Emma tapping the eraser end of her pencil against the table. She looked bored, eyes staring down at the paper in front of her.

“Sure, which one?” I asked, activating tutor mode.

“Not about this,” she said, still not looking at me.

“Uh… Okay?”

Her eyes flicked up at me, expression unchanging. “Do you masturbate to me a lot?”

I glanced around. She had said that kinda loud. Fortunately, we were alone in the area. Clearing my throat, I fidgeted in my chair. “That’s uh… what counts as a lot?”

She thought for a moment. “Do you use regular porn or the pictures of me more?”

Hesitating, I felt a cold sweat threaten to form. I knew I should lie, but one of the rules was honesty. A part of me laughed at that lame excuse. As if she would know if I lied, but the overwhelming fear of things coming to an end kept me honest. “Probably your pictures.”

A faint sign of interest flickered over her face. “Probably?”

I sighed. “Fine. Your pictures.”

She didn’t say anything at first, still tapping with her pencil. I grew increasingly concerned because she wasn’t teasing me about it. There was no impish delight, no mischievous smiles. If anything, she looked… bored.

“Isaac,” she said suddenly, cutting through my worried thoughts. The way she used my name. Like hammering a bell and forcing me to listen. “What would you say to leveling up?”

I blinked a few times in surprise. “Leveling up?” She nodded, interest stirring in her once more. “What exactly does that mean?”

“It means what it sounds like. You go into the next tier.” She stopped tapping her pencil, her entire focus on me. “Everything is upgraded. For example, each time we meet up like this to study, you will get a nude of me instead of something with clothing. You still don’t get to pick what you’ll see, but you’ll be getting nudes a lot more frequently.”

That shocked me. With the number of times we meet up, I was going to be swimming in them. Shit. It was already hard enough to pick normal porn as it was. This was a no-brainer, which was why I was immediately on guard. If there was one thing I learned about Emma, it was that nothing was as it seemed and everything had a cost.

“And what takes the place of the nudes?”

There it was. Her infamous teasing grin. Seeing it made my heart race as she leaned forward. “Classified,” she whispered cryptically.

That set off all sorts of alarm bells. What the hell was she going to send me? Pics of her masturbating? Using toys? That would blow porn out of the water.

I was about to agree when she interrupted me.

“Of course, with greater rewards comes greater challenges.” Her grin grew into a smile. “You also qualify for punishment.”

“P-punishment?” I asked, voice catching.

She waved her hand as if dismissing it. “Nothing horrible, but getting a question wrong or refusing to do something will have negative consequences. That could be missing out on pictures, or even having to delete some that you already have… among other things,” she added. She was beaming at me, leaning forward to rest her chin on her hands. “It’s no fun if only one side has a stake in things, don’t you agree?”

“I suppose.” The punishment thing was a concern, but I knew Emma enough to know I couldn’t push her on that. Part of her fun was keeping things wrapped in mystery. She wanted that shock value when she hit me with something. Still, it didn’t sound terrible. Yeah, I would undoubtedly lose pictures considering the number of questions I got wrong as it was, but I would still be getting a net gain if the number of times she studied with me didn’t go down. Plus, these ‘classified’ pictures of hers interested me.

Determination filled me as I made my decision. She must have seen it coming because she stopped me before I could tell her. “I need to warn you first. Leveling up is permanent. If you decide to go through with it and find out you don’t like what you’re getting… there is no going back. Of course, you can quit at any time with no judgment, but that is permanent too.”

Another spike of concern made me waiver. That brought in a whole new data set into this calculation. Taking a moment to step back from my immediate feelings on the matter, I tried to look at the whole situation with a detached mindset. Logically, the safest bet would be to continue on like things were. There were literally no downsides. Yes, I didn’t get that many ‘nude’ photos, but it only made the ones I had all the more special. If things continued like they were, I’d have a huge amount of pictures by the end of the school year. I doubted any of this would continue after we went our separate ways.

Safe.

That was my entire life in a nutshell. There were things outside of my control, but the path before me was paved and prepared. I was going to get into college. Beyond that, a well-paying job awaited me. If I worked hard and didn’t fuck around, I would be financially stable for the rest of my life. There were unknowns, like dating and the possibility of a family of my own, but the core of my needs was almost guaranteed to be taken care of. It made sense that I would pick the safe bet. It’s what I’d been doing my entire life.

Yet there was something about Emma. I don’t know how she did it, but she always seemed to bring something out of me I wasn’t comfortable with. Until I met her, I never would have considered myself a pervert. Now, I had dozens of pictures of her and countless flushed toilet paper wads that suggested differently. It frightened me because I didn’t know if she was turning me into this, or if it was already there waiting for the opportunity to come out. Maybe that is why I was so invested in all this. For a man who had been on the straight and narrow his entire life, even the slightest baby step outside that caused a thrill.

“Let’s say I decide to level up,” I said slowly, still collecting most of my thoughts. Her blue eyes seemed to sparkle with delight as I spoke. “And I later decided that it wasn’t for me and everything came to an end. What about this?”

“This?”

“Studying together.”

“This and that are completely separate.” She smiled. “You have been a huge help keeping my grades on track. I know I’d be super lazy if you weren’t here to push me along. Besides, we have Dungeons and Dragons still. I actually wished I tried it earlier. It’s going to suck having to stop when school ends. Whatever you choose regarding this, it will have nothing to do with our friendship. Unless you suddenly become a raging douchebag or something, I see no reason why that has to end.”

Scratching my cheek, I rolled my lip over my teeth. Okay, so that was a bit of comfort knowing that she would still be my friend. Funny enough, that was what felt the weirdest about this entire situation. This hot girl was my friend. Sure, we weren’t super close or anything, but it felt good hearing she felt the same way I did. I enjoyed being around her, and I was happy she seemed to enjoy it too.

Looking her in the eyes, I made my decision. “I want to level up.”

“I was hoping you would say that.” Without another word, she turned her attention back to her work. Confused, I stared at her for a few more seconds.

“That’s it?”

“Hmm?” she asked, glancing up at me.

“That’s all I need to do? Just agree?”

She laughed lightly. “Of course not. All you’ve done is accept the quest. You need to complete it first.”

My chest tightened. “And that is?”

“Patience, dear Padawan. All will be revealed in time.” Emma gestured to the paper in front of her. “Now come over here and help me with this. I think I’m doing it right, but I want you to check my answers.”