It's deep and dark, deep down in my heart

“Well, that’s something,” Marley said, jiggling the doorknob again just to be sure. “We can’t get out of here until we, what? Find the key? Where even is it? I already tore this whole room apart looking for something we could use to get the last key!”

“Well, it’s gotta be in here somewhere,” Nick pointed out. “We just have to check somewhere that you didn’t look.”

Somewhere Marley didn’t look… the two of them spent a few seconds thinking about that, and both arrived at the same answer. Their eyes immediately shot to the carved stone table in the center of the room, where Nick had been tied up.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Nick asked.

Marley smirked. “If you’re thinking that I didn’t get the chance to thoroughly search that table because you were tied up on top of it, yes.”

The two rushed over to the block of stone, and began looking for any divots or alcoves that a key could be hidden in.

“I could be that there’s a secret lever or button or something,” Nick said to Marley. “Check close and see if you can find anything.”

“Yeah, I’m doing that,” Marley replied. “But I don’t see anything like that. It seems like this is just a big brick.”

“Hmm… you sure? Because I think I found a seam here,” Nick pointed out.

“A seam?” Marley walked around the table to join Nick on his side. She squinted at the stone. “Where do you see that?”

“Right here, see?” Nick pointed to the side of the table, about six inches below the top. There was a very thin line, no wider than a single hair, but once it was pointed out, Marley could see that it wrapped all the way around the sides of the table.

“It’s a lid!” She gasped. “There must be a secret compartment beneath the table! That’s where the key is, it’s gotta be!” She had wondered why the table was a big slab of stone instead of just an ordinary table, but now that she was looking at this it all made sense.

“That’s what I was thinking,” Nick nodded. “Let’s get this thing off, and then we can see what’s underneath it. You go to that side!”

Marley nodded and scooted around the table. They pushed against the sides of it, trying to get it off. But it was slow going. After a few more attempts, they heard something start to squeak. Then, with one more hard tug, the lid screeched and jerked and then began to move. It was an automatic process as it slid off, almost like a machine. Apparently, they didn’t need to lift it by hand; there was a secret lever hidden somewhere, and one of them must have pressed it.

“This is actually kind of fun,” Nick admitted, flashing a giddy smile. Then he winced and glanced at Marley. “…Sorry. I know it’s not what you wanted to do for your date, so enjoying it is a little… well, sorry.”

“Hey, no, it’s fine,” Marley replied, cracking a grin and shaking her head. “As long as you’re having fun, I can have fun with this. As long as it doesn’t get too out of hand, of course.”

But then, they were talking about Dakota here.

There was very little chance that it wouldn’t get out of hand.

“Okay, here we go,” Nick said, turning back to the table as the lid finished sliding open. Marley stepped up beside him and they both peered down into the darkness.

Neither one had exactly known what they were expecting. A little hidden alcove with the key in it, perhaps? A small box?

It wasn’t that.

There was a ladder leading down a dark tunnel that they couldn’t see the bottom of in the dimly-lit dungeon.

“So… I guess Dakota wasn’t wrong when she said that there’s more to this room than we expected,” Nick said with a sigh, shaking his head. “After you?”

Marley paused. “Are you sure? What if you land on me?” She teased. “Isn’t that what Dakota’s probably angling for with this?”

“And you landing on me would be better?” Nick raised his eyebrow and cracked a grin.

“Hey! My hands are all slimy!” Marley pointed out, holding up her sticky palms. “If anyone’s liable to slip and fall off that ladder, I think we both know it’s gonna be me!”

She leaned over the table and batted her eyelashes. “But you’ll be there to catch me if I do, right? My big, strong hero?”

Nick smirked and rolled his eyes. “Leave it to you to be an expert at twisting me around. You practice these mindgames with your sister?”

“Oh, I’m an expert all on my own,” Marley promised with a smirk. “Carly may know how to wrap the boys around her finger, but I’m the one who can make HER do what I want. Now, chop-chop mattress boy. If you’re lucky I’ll land on you with the soft part.”

Soft part?! She screamed internally while masking with a smile. What part is that exactly, you horned up little sex hound!? Stop trying to Carly your way out of this and just be a normal girl, you’re driving me crazy here!

Then again, the flustered expression on Nick’s face really worked wonders for her. She was enjoying that quite a bit.

“Okay, well… just be careful, okay?” Nick said, trying to banish the redness from his cheeks as he climbed up over the side of the table and clung to the first rungs of the ladder. “Dakota’s not going to let you break your neck, but you still need to worry about this stuff.”

“Don’t worry, knowing Dakota, I’ll probably splat into a puddle of slime if I hit the ground too hard,” Marley scoffed, rolling her eyes. She waited until Nick had gotten a good start down the ladder, and then followed after him.

Don’t think about how he’s probably looking at your butt, she chastised herself. Even though it’s highlighted really nicely with these pants Dakota made us wear! …And you, heart, you stop fluttering! Even though it’s nice to be the center of attention for once instead of Carly, there’s a time and a place for swooning and it definitely isn’t now!

Luckily for Marley (or maybe not…) Nick didn’t really have time to waste checking her out. He was too concerned about the height they might fall for that. So he kept his eyes focused on the darkness beneath him, as the light grew dimmer and dimmer.

Soon enough, they were descending into pitch blackness.

After about a minute more of climbing, Nick suddenly felt no rung beneath his feet. He swung his leg frantically for a second before it brushed against something, and he realized he had reached the bottom. Taking a deep breath, he let go of the ladder, and nearly lost his balance when he landed on something soft and springy.

“Marley!” He shouted up to the woman above him, his voice echoing through the tunnel. “I reached the bottom! There’s a soft mattress here!”

“Oh, really?” Her voice was so close that Nick almost fell over in surprise. He hadn’t expected her to be RIGHT behind him! He craned his head up, and realized that, now that his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, the soft, round shadow in front of him must have been Marley’s ass.

“Can I let go now, then?” The round ass in front of him assed. …Err, asked.

“Uh, w-wait, I’m right under you,” Nick said, taking a few uneven steps back. “Don’t land on me or anything.”

“What a charitable gentleman,” Marley said with sarcastic sweetness, letting go of the ladder and landing on the mattress. She turned towards him, maybe, and they kind of looked at each other in the darkness.

No use. They couldn’t make out anything.

“So what now?” Marley asked loudly. “Do we just fumble around in here until we find our way out? Seven minutes in heaven rules?”

“Unfortunately, I think that looks rather likely,” Nick replied.

“Oooh, unfortunately? Does that mean you don’t want to have any fun?” Marley was merciless with her teasing now.

Nick, on the other hand, wasn’t exactly thrilled.

“Marley, come on, this isn’t like you,” he said softly.

“What? Sarcastic and irreverent?” She cracked a grin, not that he could see it. “I’ve been known to be like that on occasion.”

“No, I mean… you know!” Nick stammered. “So… all this teasing! You’re usually more…”

He didn’t want to say that he felt like Marley was imitating her sister, because that was a horrible thing to say to a twin.

But that’s what he felt right now.

And the fact that she hadn’t replied told him that his guess had hit close to home for her.

“…Sorry,” she said quietly. “I just thought… maybe if I was a little more like Carly, then you would have a little fun, you know?”

“Hey, you don’t need to do that!” Nick said. “I want to spend time with you, Marley. Not your sister. I’m not like those guys who see you like two copies of the same person.” He reached out to place his hand on her shoulder.

“That’s my boob,” she said, her voice still carrying a twinge of ironic tease.

Nick’s hand quickly shot back.

“S-sorry!” He stammered.

“Nah, it’s fine,” Marley laughed. “Just because I’m not naturally a tease like my sister, that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a little bit of fun here and there.”

She was really glad that the bottom of the pit was in pitch blackness. Because that way, Nick couldn’t see how red her face was.

Before either one of them could say anything, a sound like a latch unlocking pierced through the chamber.

“Did you hear that?” Nick asked.

“What, the loud creak of a door opening? No, I must have missed it, sorry,” Marley said sarcastically.

Nick laughed. “Fair enough, I think I deserved that. I’m guessing Dakota probably wants us to fumble around for a little bit.”

She shrugged in the darkness but he couldn’t see. “Works for me,” she verbally agreed.

The two maneuvered their way over the squishy mattress, groping through the dark until their hands found purchase on a solid rock wall.

Well, Nick’s hands did, anyway.

“Yow! Hey, what did we just talk about?” Nick exclaimed.

“Sorry, but fair’s fair,” Marley said, giving his butt another pinch. “I thought it was the wall, honest.”

“You’re incorrigible, you know that?” He sighed, shaking his head.

Marley giggled. “What can I say? Without big sister drawing all the attention, I kind of like getting to spread my wings a little. Maybe I’m more comfortable with the teasing than you give me credit for, Nick.”

That was a very real possibility. While most people classified Marley as the more mature and thoughtful one of the two, Nick couldn’t forget how she acted sometimes when she was Mimi. She had a little bit more playfulness than he often gave her credit for.

“…You’re still touching it,” he said, realizing Marley hadn’t let go of his ass.

“I don’t want to lose you in the dark,” she lied blatantly.

“Well, fine then.”

Nick reached down and took her hand in his, and she immediately curled her fingers around his palm and squeezed for all it was worth.

“Ah, much better. Nothing like a little human contact, right?”

Nick felt something soft come up and press against his side. Another thing most people probably wouldn’t have expected from the more reserved of the Granger twins, but again- Nick knew Marley better than most people did. And he remembered how much she loved a good hug back when she was Mimi.

“If it makes you feel better, do whatever you want,” Nick permitted. “…Within reason.”

“Get your head out of the gutter!” She lightly swatted him on the shoulder. “I’m not Carly, remember? I don’t give it up on the first date!” The way she wrapped her boobs around his arm as she hugged it with all her might brought the validity of that statement into question.

“I don’t really remember it that way,” Nick replied with an amused smile as they continued to grope their way along the wall. It was round, like a well, which was strange since the table had been more rectangular in shape.

“That was a special case. Carly wanted to do a joint cosplay.”

“And the hot spring?”

“Also a special case.”

“Sounds like you’re making a lot of exceptions to that rule.”

“The rules can be amended at will, and there’s nothing you can do about it,” Marley chortled, tightening her hold on his arm in response.

“…You can tell me if you’re scared of the dark, you know. You don’t have to grope me all over like this,” Nick replied.

He earned a light smack on the shoulder for that one, too, but he expected that. Marley needed to learn that he wouldn’t just take her teasing lying down.

“…Ow!” His finger smacking against something sharp brought him out of the playful mood.

“Nick!” Marley exclaimed, turning serious again. “Are you okay? What happened?!”

“I think I found the door,” he said, wincing through the throbbing pain in his finger. “It’s down here. Like… waist level.”

“So what, we need to crawl?” Marley asked.

“Yeah,” Nick nodded, crouching down on the mattress. He freed his hand from Marley’s grasp so he could get a better feel of the doorway. “No way we’re walking through this.”

“Okay, then you go first,” she instructed.

“Again!?”

“Before we were going down, now we’re going forward,” Marley said with an invisible shrug. “It’s only fair. A modest, considerate, reserved girl like myself can’t just wag her ass in front of a guy as we crawl through the darkness, you know!”

“Oh, so NOW you want to play at modesty, when it’s convenient?” Nick could already see the amused smirk on her face.

“What, afraid that the shoe will be on the other foot this time?” Marley teased. “Don’t want your sex friend’s little sister eyeing you up?”

“Are you sure your slime didn’t get you worked up?” Nick asked. “Because you’re acting pretty horny right now.”

“I have to be the responsible one because Carly never is,” Marley replied. “Right now, I’m free to cut loose a little.”

She’d never had a boyfriend before. Nick was the closest thing to a guy friend, too. The short time they’d spent together in college when she was visiting her sister… that had been addicting. She wanted more of that, even if she wasn’t in Nick’s harem anymore.

Fortunately, it seemed like he was onboard with giving her some latitude in her playfulness.

“Okay then,” he relented, crouching down and heading into the tunnel first. “If the innocent little maiden needs a man to go in first, I’ll do it…”

“Yeah, goading with that bold feminist stuff might work on my sister, but I’m totally fine with you going in and fighting my battles for me,” Marley said, curling a lock of her hair. “Don’t get eaten, brave knight in shining armor!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Nick called back to her, rolling his eyes.

Marley crouched down and headed in after him. Secretly, she was relieved that the tunnel was wider than she’d first thought. She’d been afraid that she wouldn’t be able to get her boobs through it, but it was nicely spaced.

The only issue she found was her breasts kept rubbing against the floor. It might have been wide, but it was very short.

It’s fine, she said to herself, biting her lip. Just deal with these annoying urges on your own time, and make it through this!

Nick was right to point out that Marley was acting a little bit more like her sister than she usually did. And it was more than just an act on Marley’s part. Marley was discovering new sides of herself that she didn’t even know she had! Before, when Carly had tried to push her into sexual things with Nick, she’d always hesitated with embarrassment. But now that they were alone together, and she was topless, and there wasn’t anyone to call her out on her actions or give her crap for leaning into her desires a little bit more…

She was enjoying herself.

No wonder Carly liked to tease him so much! She thought with a silent giggle. He’s so accommodating! He’d let me do whatever I wanted, just because it would make me happy!

That warmed her heart, knowing that a guy cared about her enough that he’d let her be a little mischievous every now and then.

She wasn’t on Carly’s level, and who knows how she’d respond when it wasn’t just teasing, and they had to move on to a more intimate form of contact.

But for now?

For now, it was good.

Marley would have spent more time contemplating her growing feelings and how they were making her act in ways that she never really had before, but she didn’t have that time. Because she bumped into Nick’s ass a few seconds later.

“Oh, hey there,” she said. “What’s up?”

“I think we reached the end of the tunnel,” Nick said back to her.

“Oh. Did you find the key, then?” Marley asked hopefully.

“Unfortunately not. I found another door, instead.”

Well, that wasn’t a good sign.

“Please tell me it isn’t locked?” Marley asked hopefully.

Nick pushed against it, and light flooded into the tunnel, blinding them both.

Nope. Not locked.

Nick and Marley tumbled out of the tunnel and into a brightly-lit room. They stumbled to their feet, squinting and rubbing their eyes as they adjusted to the light. Once their vision finally returned, they realized they were in what looked like an underground laboratory. There were beakers filled with strange chemicals and a tiny enclosure containing several plants. In another corner, a bookshelf sat, right next to a desk covered in papers with an open book on top of it. And then there were the cupboards! Loads and loads of cupboards located throughout the room.

Marley sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“…So let me guess,” she groaned, shaking her head. “We’ve gotta find the key in all this clutter, is that right?”

Part of her almost wished they could go back to the “sexy” part of the sexy escape room. Sorting through all this could take hours!

“It’s just how escape rooms are,” Nick said with a resigned shrug. “Don’t worry, anything necessary or useful will be pretty apparent. It should be pretty easy to find once we actually start looking through everything.”

“Great! Then you can start,” Marley smirked. “I’ll go check the plants. You can handle the books, mister writer. That sounds like a fine division of labor playing to our expertise.”

Nick sighed and shook his head with an amused smile. He should have expected a proposal like that from her.