CHAPTER 18: CHAPTER 18

I crouched down and started undoing the mess they’d made. I popped the screws loose one by one, metal squeaking against wood, then flipped the first leg around and tightened it in properly. My fingers were already getting sore, but at least now it looked like a table instead of some cursed art project.

I reached for the second leg, bracing it against my knee while I twisted the screwdriver hard. The wood groaned, settling into place. Sweat dripped down my temple.

When I glanced up, Tom was standing right there, hovering over me like a shadow. Arms folded, head tilted, just watching what I was doing.

"I got this one," I muttered, flashing him a quick look before turning back to the screws. "You can rest. You seem tired as well."

"Oh, I’m fine," Tom said, tone flat, like he was trying to prove something.

"Hmm," I answered, not pushing it. My focus went back to the table, but my ears picked up the faint sound of water rushing through pipes. The shower had kicked on.

Immediately, my brain betrayed me. I pictured Kim peeling that sweaty tanktop off her body, shorts sliding down those thick thighs, steam wrapping around her curves. Her tits heavy, bouncing slightly as she moved. The image of water sliding over her smooth armpits and dripping down between them hit me like a damn truck. My cock twitched against my jeans. Christ... I needed to stop imagining my neighbor’s naked body while her boyfriend was standing two feet away.

"You really understand this stuff, huh?" Tom said, breaking my dirty thoughts.

"Worked in a warehouse for a while," I muttered, screwing the leg in tight, the metal biting into wood. "Lot of furniture, lot of busted crap. You pick up a thing or two."

He hummed. "Lucky. I just see a bunch of numbers and wood."

"Yeah, it’s not as scary as it looks. Just needs patience." I smirked, twisting one final screw with a grunt.

I kept working on the table, trying to push the image of Kim away...

The shower cut off after a few minutes. Pipes rattled as silence filled in its place. I didn’t look toward the hallway, didn’t have to—my brain already filled in the blanks: Kim stepping out dripping wet, towel sliding over that soft skin. Fuck.

I shoved the thought away and kept working. Screws in. Tighten. Shift the weight. Balance the frame. Easy.

Then her voice. "How’s it going?"

I glanced up, and there she was walking into the room, hair damp and sticking to her neck, skin fresh and flushed from the heat. New outfit: red tanktop, black hotpants that barely clung to her hips. Christ—they were shorter than the first pair. My eyes dragged without permission, and Tom caught it. He noticed. But he didn’t say a word. Just stood there, silent, letting the moment hang in the air.

I swallowed hard and forced myself to look back at the damn table. My throat dry. Hands tightening on the screwdriver.

Still, my gaze flickered. To the smooth line of her armpit as she reached up to tug her hair back. To the way her thighs pressed together when she shifted weight from one foot to the other. What I wouldn’t do to slide my cock into that slick, warm crease of her armpit, feel it wrapped and tight around me. Or to get my dick crushed between those thighs, suffocated in heat. Fuck.

"Need anything?" she asked casually, like she didn’t notice the tension.

I cleared my throat. "Nah, just working through it. Shouldn’t take long."

She walked closer, leaning down to peek at my work. The tanktop clung to her tits without a bra, the outline of nipples pushing through the thin fabric. My stomach dropped, cock throbbing painfully against denim.

"Want some water?" she asked, voice light.

"Yeah," I said quickly, desperate for something to cool me down. "That’d be great."

She disappeared into the kitchen, hips swaying with every step, and came back with a glass. She bent down, holding it out. I took it, gulped, cold liquid rushing down my throat like salvation.

"Thanks," I muttered, handing the glass back.

As she leaned in, her chest pressed closer. No bra. Nipples hard and visible through the damp red cotton. My eyes locked, my breath hitched.

"Oh, man," I muttered under my breath. "God help me..."

"Sorry?" Kim asked, tilting her head.

"Oh, nothing." I forced a smile. "Thanks for the water again."

"No problem." She gave me one of those casual grins before sinking down onto the couch.

I went back to the table, focusing on the last two legs, tightening each bolt, screwing the braces into place. My hands worked automatically—turn, press, screw—but my eyes betrayed me. They kept lifting, drifting toward the couch.

Kim had flopped down to a couch, legs crossed lazily. The black hotpants were so short they may as well not even existed. At the edge, just for a moment when she shifted, I caught the faintest peek of her panties pressing against her skin. Not through the fabric—just the edge, teasing out, like her body was mocking me with how close I could get without touching.

My cock stirred instantly, thick and heavy, pressing against my zipper. I chewed the inside of my cheek, thinking about going home later and taking care of this pressure myself—fist wrapped tight, eyes full of her body—but then I remembered. The goddamn system. The no-masturbation quest. Seven days of hell.

I gritted my teeth, shaking the thought out of my head, forcing my eyes back on the screws.

But she was too fucking sexy. The way her thighs stretched when she leaned forward to check her phone. The faint bounce of her tits when she laughed at something on the screen. The smooth line of her armpit visible when she stretched, tanktop riding up just enough to tease. She was a walking wet dream.

And Tom... Tom caught me looking again. I felt it. His eyes on me, not angry, not jealous—just watching, quiet, like he was testing me.

An hour and a half later, I twisted the last screw into place and let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. I stood, wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans, and clapped my hands together. "There we go. Table from hell, done."

Kim’s face lit up instantly. "Oh my god, finally!" She got up fast and threw her arms around me. The hug hit me like a truck—her tits crushed against my chest, warm, soft, heavy, nipples stiff through the thin tanktop. My head swam, my cock throbbed hard enough to hurt.

Tom stood there. Silent. Watching.

I took a quick step back before I completely lost it. "Uh, yeah. Glad to help, but... I should really get back."

"Dinner," Kim said firmly, smiling. "You assembled the table, you earned yourself a dinner. Maybe tomorrow?"

I chuckled, trying not to look like my heart was about to explode. "I’ll hold you to that."

She smirked, and I forced myself toward the door. Tom followed without a word.

"Okay..." I muttered to myself as I climbed the stairs back to my apartment, the door shutting behind me. "She was fucking HOT!"

—

I scanned the item and handed the customer his change. So... I had to flirt with a customer. Right. But how the hell was I supposed to do that? Who in their right mind would flirt with a guy stuck behind a counter in a gas station? This was hopeless. Unless I cheated, of course.

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SHOP

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• Aphrodisiac Drink (10c)

• Silk Lingerie Set (25c)

• Sensual Massage Oil (15c)

• Mystery Pleasure Toy (30c)

• Flirt Potion (20c)

• Hypnotic Perfume (40c)

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Credits: 95c

Select item to purchase.

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I looked at Hypnotic Perfume. Forty credits... a little on the expensive side, though... but completing that quest would give me twenty-five credits, as well as twenty-five EXP. I really needed experience points because I had to level up desperately.

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Name: Evan Marlowe

Age: 21

Height: 179 cm

Weight: 73 kg

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Level: 2

EXP: 30 / 179

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I was level two and needed shit tons of points to level up. For that, I needed to have sex a lot, since that gave experience points, and take quests. But... for this specific quest, I had to bite the bullet and spend some credit. I had to.

I clicked on Shop again and pressed Hypnotic Perfume with my finger.

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Purchase Item

Sensual Hypnotic Perfume (40c)

Credits: 95c

Confirm Purchase? [Yes] [No]

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My finger hovered on the "Yes" option. Damn it, I was being stingy. I had enough credit, but I didn’t want to spend it on this quest. What else could I do? Shit. I needed to think something else. Or... not? Aagh, this whole damn thing was making me doubt myself.

An idea sparked in my mind as I saw Richard coming in. It was his day off today, and... by logic, he would be a customer here.

The doors slid open and he got inside. He gave a wave and walked toward the counter.

"Whassup?" he asked.

"Well, if it isn’t Rich," I said. "The most handsome, the most sexy man to ever exist!"

"You’re making me blush," he quipped. "Stahp."

"My, my, what a man he is, this Richard!" I said.

"Seriously, are you flirting with me?" he said. "Give me my usual cigarette."

I grabbed his cigarette, scanned it, and paid it myself from cash. He arched one eyebrow as he looked at me.

"We have a discount today. All cigarettes are free for handsome men."

"Har-har," he said. "What do you want? Tell it to me straight."

"That money I owe you?" I said. "Let’s say I paid it by complimenting you."

"Oh, wow. I didn’t totally see that coming," he quipped, then gave me the middle finger. "Fuck you."

"Always."

"Maan, sometimes I don’t know if you’re joking or not."

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Quest Completed

Title: Never Have I Ever

Reward: 25c

25 EXP

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