Alkalians

by Caleb S. Bugai

  Finding herself honestly considering the idea, unwilling to admit she has her own wishes to see a man’s features, Rose stutters in her reply. “You’ve, you’ve gotten really bold about this, haven’t you? I, uh, I think, um, we…oh, fine, we’ll do it! C’mon, then, let’s get this over with.” Not waiting for him, she goes into the bathroom, leaving the door open.

  Blinking a few times to realize she is going through with it, Matt says, “Ah, right, coming!” and follows her into the bathroom, closing the door behind them. The bathroom is small for the cabin. A simple sink is on Matt’s left with a mirror above it, the toilet is off to his right, and the shower with a curtain is behind Rose, who faces him. The two stand there for a moment, each unsure of how to start, before she admits, “You know, this is going to be pretty awkward, Matt.”

  “Yeah, I would be surprised if it wasn’t. Oh, well, I guess I should take off the most of my clothes.” He proceeds to take off his shoes, shirt, socks, and pants, leaving him standing before Rose in nothing but a pair of black boxers.

  Softly gasping as she stares at Matt’s bare legs, arms, and chest, amazed to find she was attracted to his figure, the two make eye contact before she blushes a little and says, “This is pretty awkward.”

  “Uh huh. Hey, I know! Let’s each turn around, strip down at the same time, and then turn back to the other. Okay?”

  “Um, sure, okay.” Taking a deep breath before turning to face the shower curtain, as Matt turns to face the door, she does a countdown. “One. Two. Three!” As Matt pulls down his boxers, she undoes her bath robe and lets it fall off her. It takes another moment before they dare to turn back around, but when they do they are star struck, their eyes scanning over the other from top to bottom as they see each other completely nude. Tilting her head in interest as she looks at Matt’s lower region, she comments, “Wow, so, that’s what, um, those, look like.”

  “Yeah, and you, um, don’t have them. You’re so, so…” Matt stares at her pelvis, trying to find words to describe it. “So, bare, and smooth, down there.”

  “Yeah, and you, ah, don’t remove the hair, down there, as I did.” Another moment goes by as they stare at the other, like they are each looking at an art sculpture they are trying to understand, absorbing every detail of the other’s skin, frame, curves, and design. Finally, she shakes her head out of the trance before gesturing to the shower behind her and saying, “Well, let’s take that shower, then.”

  “Oh, right, of course!” Blinking to get himself to look away from her lower region, he fails to not look back as she turns around to open the curtain and turn on the water, gazing at her backside when she was bent over. Once she steps in and looks back to him, he snaps out of it again and nods before stepping in beside her, trying his best not to brush up against her in the confined space of the shower.

  As the hot water rains on them both, with Rose’s back to Matt as she runs her hands through her crisp, red hair and over her torso, he takes in a full view of her backside as he stands close to it before asking, “So, is this awkward, anymore?”

  “Um, not as much as before, actually. I’m trying not to dwell on it. The water’s helping me relax.” She reaches for a bottle of shampoo, pours some gel into her other hand, and then lathers up her hair, turning so that the front of her is to Matt, her eyes almost closed as she observes him.

  Slowly nodding as he doesn’t notice her subtle stare, instead peering at her body that glistens with the water drenching her, giving her skin a slick, sexy appearance, he says, “Yeah, same here.” Forcing himself to look away for a moment, he takes a sponge and bar of soap to begin washing himself, running the soapy sponge over his arms, neck, and chest.

  Arcing her head back against the shower to rinse her hair, unaware she draws another entranced gaze from Matt as her body moves while doing so, she looks back to him, fascinated by how his lean and fit body appears more handsome and inviting than before, and says, “Hey, would you mind if I washed you?”

  At first surprised by the risqué question, Matt realizes he wouldn’t. Holding out the sponge, he replies, “Sure, go right ahead. And then, um, may I wash you, in return?”

  “Ah, sure, of course.” Rose takes the sponge from Matt and begins slowly scrubbing his torso, stepping closer so that their bodies nearly touch, while her free hand traces over his soapy chest, stopping over his heart to feel it pounding like a drum, a sensation further mesmerizing her and matching the beating of her own. As she moves the sponge down toward his waist, on its way to his pelvic region and his features down there, she glances up to look Matt in the eye, warning him, “And by the way, we never tell Sean of this. This is none of his business.”

  “Oh, of course not! This is just between us.” He warmly smiles at her, to which she smirks in return before resuming washing him. Soon, the bathroom fills with steamy vapor from the hot water, an enchanting mist that wreaths and binds them together as they take what could be the longest shower of either of their lives, slowly washing each other and exploring the other’s body with their eyes and hands.

  ***

  “Step right up, folks, step right up! Come one, come all, and feast your eyes upon the wonder that is I, Sean Wyseinburg, Gambler Extraordinaire! Take care not to blink, or you may just miss me clean out this entire casino!”

  Being the one with the most enthusiasm, as well as incredible luck, at his side of the real-wager tables in the gambling hall of the casino, Sean has drawn a large crowd around the dice-rolling table he is at, making it big on games of crap-shooting and dice-dueling. With an impressive wall of stacked coins before him, he takes sips of his drink in between rounds of tossing the dice, and the majority of the time he wins it all. If he lost a match, it was only a small margin of the wealth he has already accumulated that evening.

  With every round he wins, more and more people in the crowd cheer him on, especially the women closest to him, fawning and wooing over his charm and luck, to which he grins and winks back at them, causing them to blush or swoon. When he feels nothing could interrupt his moment of glory in the hall that evening, something does. An intoxicatingly succulent voice says from within the crowd behind him, “Well, well, well. It certainly is you, Sean Wyseinburg, the one-and-only. It has been awhile, hasn’t it?”

  In that moment, a sense of shock and awe goes through the crowd like a blast of heat, Sean himself sweating the most. They all turn around to see amidst them an alluring young woman, yet taller than some of them to hint at the fact she is older than them, a senior student. She wears a shimmering red dress that nicely fits her frame, having her curves stick out and much of her cleavage showing. Her skin, lips, and hair are red, the hair long and flowing down over her back a mane of crimson, her skin is a fine, dark shade of ruby to compliment the scarlet of her dress, and her eyes shine like jewels, black pearls in a sea of pinkish red as the sunset dives into it.

  The woman looks at Sean, a friendly, courteous smile on her blood-red lips. Double-blinking to make sure he isn’t hallucinating, that the very woman who had broken his heart the year before was addressing him, Sean staggers before saying, “Heh, yeah, so it has, Cynthia! What, ah, what are you doing here?”

  “Oh, I was just passing by when I couldn’t happen noticing some kind of ruckus going on over here. And here you are, at the center of it. Having quite some fortune with the dice tonight, are we?”

  “Haha, I guess you could say that. I suppose that must mean Lady Luck’s been real kind to me, eh?”

  “Indeed. Say, would you mind if I had a roll or two against you? It just so happens that I’m somewhat of a gambling lady, myself.”

  “Er, well, I don’t know. I’d hate to relieve a boss student of all her money in one sitting, you know!”

  “Oh, don’t worry about my standing bothering you. Just think of it as a contest between two charming individuals. Surely you wouldn’t mind that, right, Sean?” She flashes him an innocent look, her eyelashes fluttering as her dark eyes twinkle.

 
Sean hesitates for a response as he looks away, across the table and into space, gulping as what is left of his rational thoughts tells him what was going on. Cynthia Volvaron is once again trying to humiliate and demoralize him, but this time in his element. Mentally smacking himself across the face, he reasons to get a hold of himself and not let himself fall apart before her again. If there is one thing he still has a good standing for at the college, it was his notorious luck and skill at gambling, and he would not let her just stroll in and make him look stupid at that, as well.

  Rallying his mental reserves, with the help of some liquid courage from a quick gulp of the drink at his side, he looks back to Cynthia, his own brown eyes twinkling as he grins. “Why, but of course, I would have no issue wagering a match with you, milady. In fact, I would consider it an honor and pleasure to do so!”

  Briefly raising an eye brow, mirroring the reactions of the crowd around them, Cynthia again smiles and says, “Excellent, then. Let’s cut to the chase, shall we?” Snapping her fingers, a woman behind her, one of her lackeys, steps forward and opens a bag next to her. She reaches in before tossing a few colored coins on the table before her. Glancing back to Sean, she flicks back her hair while suggesting, “How does fifty marcs sound for an opening wager, to you?”

  While the other students become restless from such a high opening bet, Sean smirks and shrugs it off. “That is no problem for me, madam. After all, what is fifty marcs to the near three hundred I already have?” He shoves forward a stack of coins matching her bet, and the casino worker supervising the table’s activities hands him the pair of dice, which he offers to Cynthia. “Ladies first, Miss Volvaron.”

  “Ah, why thank you, Mr. Wyseinburg. Such courteous manners.” She takes the dice from his open hand, flashing him a sly look as her fingers tickle his palm teasingly, before she tosses the dice across the table. They land face-up as a four and five, and the casino worker announces, “Four and five. Nine for Miss Volvaron.” The most of the crowd nods and murmurs at the high number. She says to Sean, “Hmm, nine. Think you could top that, good sir?”

  As the worker hands him the dice again, Sean smirks and complies, “Ah, yes. Nine, one of those higher up numbers. Indeed, only a few other numbers could top it, but even it must bow down to the universal number of sweet victory, if it should happen to show.” Shaking the dice in his hand as he spoke, he flings them across the table to land as a two and five. “Why, look at that! Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.” The worker announces, “Two and five makes seven. The winner is Mr. Wyseinburg!” The crowd of students ripple with applause as he scoops the coins back toward his side of the table, saying to Cynthia, “It was a good try, milady, but I fear I’ve stripped you of some of your fortune, no?”

  “Hmm, yes. The lucky number seven. It is indeed a pity I have lost so much money from one round. But perhaps I could gain it all back, if you would allow me the chance.” With a nod toward her accomplice, the woman opens the bag and pours all of the money in it upon the table, leaving a large pile of coins before her. She declares, “There’s no need to count it up. I have gone all in. Will you match me, Sean?”

  His eyes bulging at the large amount of cash she nonchalantly put on the table while the crowd around them gasps in awe, Sean shakes his head to resettle himself, knowing what she was up to, and goes ahead with it. “Certainly, Cynthia. The higher the stakes, the greater the thrills, as they say!” He shoves the whole stacks of his coins to be all-in as well while the worker hands the dice to Cynthia.

  Glancing at the pair of dice as if intrigued by them in her palm, Cynthia looks at Sean as she puts them to her lips and gently kisses them, sending a few whistles through the crowd, and says, “A kiss, for good luck,” before rolling them across the table. After bouncing off the far wall of the table, they show six and five. “Six and five makes eleven for Miss Volvaron!” the worker declares, and the crowd murmurs with gasps and hushed comments as she looks back to Sean, smirking. “What do you think of that?”

  Trying to hold back the rising worry in his expression, Sean takes a deep breath before retrieving the dice from the worker, knowing there are only three numbers that could top that combination, twelve, a pair of ones, or seven, and all he needs is one of them. Maintaining his composure despite the pressure, he raises the dice to his face, hoping to rattle her cage as well when he kisses the dice, tasting them before saying, “Hmm, raspberry flavor. Such a sweet fruit, to be found among such savage thorns. A fitting choice for you, if you did not mind me saying, milady.”

  Nodding at her with a sly smile as Cynthia twitches from the subtle stab at her, he then takes a moment to shake the dice before dashing them against the table, sending them tumbling in separate directions. The crowd watches in stilled silence as one dice lands with one, and the other, after bouncing off the wall and spinning, stops on a two.

  “One and two equals three. The winner is Miss Volvaron!” Most of the crowd, them being men, roar in applause while Cynthia smirks. As her assistant gathers all the coins on the table before them back into the bag, she says to an expressionless Sean, “Well, that was a lot of fun. I do hope you’ll be willing to gamble with me some other time. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

  “Duh, yeah, sure, whatever.” As the crowd disperses, with Cynthia slipping away amidst them, he is left alone at the table, upon which he repeatedly thumps his head against and mumbles cusses to himself.

  ***

  Thumping his fist against the table he sits at, Cain cusses to himself before he growls out, “Fire Spirit burn that bitch, Lyn! She always has to screw around with my plans, always has to make things difficult for me!” Standing up from his chair with a start, again in the dark room at some point that night, he paces angrily before stabbing at James, standing nearby, “And why haven’t you done anything about it, James? If you have such a thing for the ladies, then get to using that charm and screw around with Lyn and her whores, so that they won’t screw around with me!”

  Not showing his impatience with his upset cousin, James chuckles before reminding him, “You know I couldn’t do that, Cain. Ever since she and I broke up those few years ago, Lyn doesn’t let me anywhere near her or her women. And besides, I would like to refrain from getting into heated conflicts with anyone in all of this. Even though I’m not bad at it myself, I would prefer not to get dragged into open fights, you know? I’m afraid that’s a problem you’ll have to take care of without me, Cain.”

  Yet growling at James, Cain sits back in the chair and says, “Well, please tell me you at least did that simple favor I asked of you.”

  “Oh yes, I did do that, simply enough. That was no problem. I have enough background knowledge on the history of Dark Warriors and the Shadow Core terrorists, as well as on the history of Rose’s martial arts in ninjutsu, for what you have in mind.”

  “Ah, excellent. Very good! And I trust you will carry out the operation yourself with that, heh, fun little trick of yours.”

  “But of course. It always works so well, after all.”

  “Good, good. Then there is still hope! We shall see Matt brought to his knees, where he belongs, soon enough.”

  As Cain cackles to himself, James asks, “Um, Cain, you still haven’t explained the end result of this scheme of yours. What’s the point of putting Matt and Rose against each other?”

  “Oh, do not bother me about the details, cousin. Just do your part, and everything else will fall into place. My plan, despite the attempts of Lyn trying to interfere, is flawless! Matt shall be taken down so suddenly, he will never know what happened. Hehe…BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!”

  Chapter 5

  Confused Betrayal

  ***

  The following days go by casually for Matt and his friends. They get through their classes and homework, Rose continues her exercises and training with Professor Serpanz, Sean spends the most of his time at the casino, and Matt passes time studying and chatting with Lyn, Amelia, and the other women. He has yet to have another priv
ate lesson with Amelia. Matt also notices that the students around him in class or throughout campus are becoming more tolerant of his presence. Even though they won’t talk or stay near him for too long, they no longer cast scared and hateful looks at him.

  To avoid any more confrontations with Cain or others, Matt also stays away from the pit arena at the casino. In fact, to Sean’s curiosity, they get no trouble from Cain, his thugs, or any of the other boss students anywhere else. Due to the lack of threats from anybody, the three freshmen begin to lower their guard.

  ***

  About one week after Matt and Sean’s victories at the casino, Sean finds himself in the college library, working on a project for biology class. The library consists of a large room with the walls covered by shelves of books, aisles made by tall, full bookshelves, and several tables of different size spread about the floor. Sean is at a small table alone with an open book at his right and his work on the left. He wears a yellow, long-sleeved shirt instead of his usual brown vest.

  Sean is having a difficult time with his project. After thumping his head on the table a few times, he growls to himself, “Man, I hate biology! I don’t care about getting complex with these plants and animals, I just don’t care for it! Arggh! Okay, Sean, concentrate. Just jot stuff down, and then you can get help from Rose later.”

  He looks back to his work, writing down information from the book. “Megatron Dragon, also-known-as Metallic Supremus Dracos. Family is Saurian Dracos. Genus is Metallic Dracos. Carnivore, top of the food chain in its ecosystem. Unique features include three heads, two of them mechanized, lack of wings, tyrannosaur-like body structure, and the ability to transmit an aura of psychic powers…”