/~Contrario~/
"Let's freaking get jiggy baby!" Renn scread at the top of his voice as we got into the Booty hole. As soon as he scread, he headed straight to the bar. It was as if he had not a care in this world
The Booty Hole was alive and so was Renn.
As we walked in, everyone found a spot to hang out. Strobe lights blinked across the curved glass roof, casting deep reds, blues and purples over a packed crowd of warriors, hackers, and rcenaries. A DJ bot levitated at the center with synth cables plugged directly into the sound system, blasting hard bass and every shade of glitch-hop. The sll of burned code, strong alcohol, and sweet synth-lemon filled the air like a drug.
Everyone in this room had won the shadow tournant which ant we would proceed to the next stage. We earned this. A flawless five-man victory in the Shadow Tournant. The last match which turned out to be one of the hardest matches. And we were still standing.
So of us barely.
I massaged a slight throb in my shoulder where a psionic blade had grazed .
"Aw, co on man, don't be such a pussy, it was nothing, plus you were the one who charged in like that." That was Renn's reply when I told him about it after the match.
I didn't want to sit. Not yet. Not tonight, anyway.
Because tonight, for the first ti, people weren't looking at like I was the oddball avatar. Tonight, they were nodding. Whispering and wondering.
"One bottle of synth-lemon, please", I said to the bartender as I sat down in front of the bar, glancing at the players before .
And one of them...was Maxi.
As she t my eyes, she stared at for a while before the bartender made break eye contact with her.
"Here you go, sir", he said, dropping the bottle and sliding a glass my way.
As I poured myself a drink, I glanced in the direction of Maxi, but for so reason, I couldn't find her anymore.
"Hey," she said, appearing at my side like she'd materialized from thin air. Her eyes glittered under the lights, and she wore a black off-shoulder leather gown that shimred with embedded particle crystals. The gown, which stopped a long way above her knee, brought out her exquisite shape, and I couldn't help but raise a brow as I saw her bare, thick thighs.
Her signature dual daggers were strapped to her thighs, typical Maxi. Always ready on the go, just in case. She caught staring lustfully but she smiled like she hadn't stabbed anyone in weeks.
"Dance with ."
I raised a brow. "Woah woah woah....Now?"
Maxi grinned. "Are you afraid you'll trip over your ego or you just can't dance because a pretty lady asked?"
I chuckled and held out my hand. "Slow down, Maxi, don't give yourself too much credit now. Plus, you'd be surprised how light my ego is these days."
She took my hand and led to the dance floor.
The floor pulsed beneath our boots as we joined the others. The music surged, and Maxi moved like gravity obeyed her. Fluid. Dangerous and unapologetic. And when she spun into my arms, close enough for to feel the heat of her breath, the lights seed to dim just for us. And just then sothing happened.
As the lights dimd around us, it lit up on the big screen behind the DJ bot.
"Ladies and scary n! In 3 seconds the spoil of the just concluded tournant would be shared. Gears from the players who died have been turned in and cashed in. The dead have no business with the living, so let's f*cking make rry on their behalf!"
As it finished saying that, every one of us got a notification on our HUD.
DEPOSIT OF 500,000 STARLOS SUCCESSFUL
SENDER: XXX XXX
"Ouuuuuuu" Maxi Squealed, "Now that's what I'm talking about!"
Amidst the joy, Maxi threw her hands around and pecked in that instant.
It took by surprise and I glanced around the room to make sure no one else saw that. Everyone was drowning in joy at the figures that they now had on their screens.
"You're always fighting," she said, leaning into . "Always pushing forward. Why?"
I looked down at her, at the intensity in her gaze and I almost answered.
Almost.
But instead, I asked, "Why did you choose tonight?"
Maxi blinked. Her lips parted, but nothing ca out. She looked to the side. Back at . Then down. "I—uh—I just thought—you earned it."
I smiled faintly.
And let her go.
Without another word, I left the dance floor and slid up to the glowing bar counter, waving over a glass of fire-root whiskey.
The burn was the first real thing I'd felt in hours.
"Looks to like soone's dodging the pretty girls tonight," ca a voice beside .
I didn't need to look to know it was Kyra and instinctively reached for my pocket knife.
She leaned against the bar in a red and white corset jacket, her silver-blonde hair braided tight and eyes lined with streaks of war-paint glitter. She looked every bit like the rebel queen. And sohow, she looked comfortable here, in the chaos.
"Calm your balls, tiger," she said, sipping her drink. "I'm not here to stab you, well not tonight. I'm just...enjoying the show."
"I'm not tense."
"You're gripping your knife like it owes you money," she teased, nodding toward my hand.
I chuckled under my breath and let the knife go.
Kyra's eyes tracked the dancefloor, then flicked to . "So...what's going on with you and Jennifer?"
I turned my head slowly to find Jennifer on the dance floor, hand in-with a guy I didn't even know.
"She's..... she's just my boss. Nothing more."
Kyra's lips curled into a sly smirk.
She reached across the bar and handed sothing tall, neon blue, and absolutely malicious.
"Here. If you're going to lie that boldly, at least do it while drunk."
I didn't think twice downed it.
And I shouldn't have.
The burn was instant. The floor tilted and my blood raced. Colors blood in the air like soone cranked the render settings to psycho. Kyra laughed.....Kyra actually laughed and pulled back to the floor.
We moved in ti to the music, and it was chaos. She danced like fire, fast, burning, untad. I barely kept up. But I didn't care. Because I wasn't thinking. I couldn't believe this was the sa person who had tried to kill at different tis.
I was feeling instead of thinking.
And then, just as the beat dropped into a grinding pulse, she hooked her arm around my neck and leaned in close; I could feel her breasts press softly against my chest and kiss at that mont.
Right there. In front of everyone.
I felt the heat. The lips. The sudden silence.
And when I opened my eyes.....
Jennifer was watching.
Her face was unreadable.
Kyra stepped back, grinning like the devil.
"That's for the record," she said, brushing her fingers down my chest before sauntering off.
I stood in the middle of the dancefloor, the drink still burning in my veins, my heartbeat uneven, and my head spinning.
And suddenly, that night at the Booty Hole didn't feel like a celebration anymore.
It felt like sothing else. Sothing dangerous.
Reviews
All reviews (0)