66 - Reluctant Departure

Ari and Elise made up for lost time. She wasn't sure how many sweaty climaxes they worked out of each other before they were sated, but it was in the high single digits … maybe in the low double. It lasted a while. Even Ari started to get sore, something becoming harder and harder to do, recently.

Cuddled up on Elise's bed, Ari murmured, "I'm definitely setting you back on your studies, aren't I?"

"I think I can forgive … the indiscretion." Elise was still panting from their last bout.

A few moments later, after catching her breath, Elise said, "I don't think you'll remember yourself … so I should say something. Didn't you leave Claire behind?"

Ari froze. She shot up in bed.

"Crap!" She and Elise had been going at it for at least an hour. Maybe more; it had blurred together. Ari had told Claire she'd be right back … then never returned. "Oh, shoot."

Elise sat up, amused. Despite how thoroughly they'd explored each other's bodies, seeing her naked and still-flushed was intensely compromising to Ari's mental state. Maybe they could go for round two hundred and eight … ?

Ari shook her head, clearing it.

"Maybe she figured it out?" Elise suggested. "I doubt she's just waiting on you."

Ari wasn't so sure. "Knowing her, she'd wait anyway. To make sure nothing bad happened. Or if I was taking longer than expected, for whatever reason." She'd want to escort Ari back to base. The lower level monsters weren't a danger to Ari anymore, but Claire wouldn't care. Ari had implied she'd be coming back, and that they'd head to base together, so she'd wait as long as she needed to. Maybe not literally all night … but then again, maybe? Her monstergirl friends were unusually dedicated to her.

"You can go to her," Elise said. "It's not like I'll be offended. Plus, you're sorting out your whole move-in thing, today, aren't you? I shouldn't hold you up."

Ari hesitated. She was supposed to just leave Elise? They were due for at least some snuggling, at a minimum, if not a comfortable night together. The idea of leaving Elise offended her.

Elise's lips quirked up at the edges, probably knowing what Ari was thinking. She squeezed Ari's knee reassuringly. "I'm serious. I get it. I think … we made ourselves clear."

Yeah. Ari had said some embarrassing things over the course of their … thorough sessions … and Elise, less frequently, but she'd also let loose some honest admissions. The things said in the heat of the moment weren't really reliable, but in Ari's case … they had been. Maybe Elise's, too.

Still, Ari hesitated. The conclusion was obvious—she'd at least need to get dressed and meet up with Claire, even if she wanted to spend the night at Elise's.

She pouted. "This isn't fair."

Elise chuckled, then slid out of bed. Ari's eyes locked to her ass as she walked to her dresser, then dug out a towel. Really, how had Ari not ogled Elise her entire life?

"C'mon," Elise said. "Needs to be done. Let's take a shower, then you can head out." She sighed, a hint of irritation, which was the closest Elise could get to pouting. "I've got my own things to take care of, unfortunately. Those assignments really do need to be handled. I'll be up all night."

It couldn't be all play and no work, Ari guessed. For the tenth time, she appreciated the fact that her work was play, most of the time.

Then, Elise's offer hit her. 'Take a shower'? As in, together?

Well. Ari wouldn't turn that down.

***

Exactly as Ari had expected, Claire was waiting for her on the outskirts of the Forest.

"You didn't have to wait for me," Ari protested. "It's been two hours! More."

The outburst was rude, considering Claire had done something nice by waiting for Ari, but Claire didn't seem bothered. The exasperated statement had left Ari's mouth without much thought.

To be fair to Ari, it was a bit much to have waited for Ari so long. And, the event had been unintentional. Ari's best friend had thrown herself at her. Anyone would've forgotten the less-important matters in life. Ari was pretty sure she'd forgotten her own name. More than once. Seriously, why had Elise been so good?

Not only was Claire not upset, she was grinning. "Took your time saying goodbye, did you?" she asked.

Oh, Ari thought. She definitely knows. How?

And, Claire, teasing her? That was a first … and unfortunately, because of that, twice as effective. Ari's cheeks burned. "Um. Uh, yeah. We got … carried away."

The grin got wider. Claire bounced on her heels, her antennae twitching in excitement. "That's amazing! I'm so happy for you! We'll be seeing more of her, right? I like her."

"She's, um, busy," Ari said honestly, though Claire's enthusiasm had Ari's own smile slipping onto her lips. "But I hope so. It's up to her? I'll ask." Ari crossed her arms, focusing back a serious demeanor. "But really! You waited two hours for me? You didn't have to do that."

Claire shrugged. "I wasn't going to leave. And I worked on my stances, practiced a bit. My skills. Would've been what I was doing back at base, so, it's no problem."

It was fair enough reasoning, and made Ari feel a bit better. And pushing the point might not be helpful … and even rude.

"Well, thank you, then." Maybe Ari would have done the same, without knowing for sure Claire hadn't run into some unexpected event.

"You come back just to let me know?" Claire asked. "Or are you heading back to base?"

Ari sighed, shoulders slouching. "Back to base. Elise actually is busy. She's got work she needs to take care of, and we agreed if I stayed with her, she wouldn't have gotten anything done." Because while maybe Elise could've controlled herself to sit down and work on Mistress Selia's tasks, Ari would've been all over her. How couldn't she?

And Ari had her own tasks to take care of. Ari would visit tomorrow. Maybe for a few more rounds? And some talking, more importantly. They'd done too little of that, probably.

Claire bobbed her head. "Okay. We're setting off?"

"I should finish getting unpacked," Ari agreed. She glanced up at the sky; the sun was starting to set. "And I've been intending to talk to everyone, for a while now. We keep getting sidetracked." First it'd been her monster milk skill, then moving, then Elise. Ari had several important topics she wanted to hammer out with her team … how they were handling the dungeon, her Menagerie's presence in society (disguises? Backstories?), and a few other things. Their fifth member, the burrow's expansion, prioritizations. So on.

"But yeah," Ari said. "Talk about it as a group. Let's get going."