I took Aurora’s bag of snacks as she settled down on the grass opposite , her short orange hair catching the afternoon sun.
"That sounds. Healthy," I said, referencing her earlier comnt about Belle.
"We ca to an understanding. She’s protective. I respect that. She knows I’m not trying to steal you or break up whatever arrangent you have with her and Naomi."
I raised an eyebrow. "What arrangent do you think we have?"
Aurora opened the bag of chips, selected one, and ate it slowly while staring directly at . The way she held my gaze made my pulse quicken.
"The kind where you’re sleeping with both of them. Where they’re aware of each other. Where you’re sohow making it work despite being eighteen and having the relationship experience of a golden retriever."
I fought back a laugh. "That’s. Specific."
"Am I wrong?" she asked.
"No."
"Then we understand each other."
She reached for the chocolate cake next, opening the container with careful fingers. When she looked at the single slice, her expression changed to sothing almost reverent.
"You actually bought this."
"You asked for chocolate," I shrugged.
"This is 200 points."
"I’m aware."
"That’s two days of your. Whatever your thing is."
I kept my voice casual. "It’s two days I didn’t need today. You needed chocolate today."
She stared at , her green eyes doing sothing complicated behind their usual amusent.
"You’re. Really sothing."
"Is that good or bad?"
"Haven’t decided yet."
When she took her first bite of cake, she closed her eyes and made a sound that belonged in an entirely different context. I shifted position uncomfortably, trying to focus on gate chanics, monster spawn rates, anything except the noise she just made.
Her eyes opened, catching staring.
"This is really good cake."
"It should be for 200 points."
"Want to try?"
"I’m good."
"I’m offering to share. That’s rare."
She held out a forkful, leaning forward. Her dress worked with gravity in ways that seed to violate several laws of physics.
I leaned forward and took the bite. Rich chocolate exploded across my tongue, dark with so kind of cherry filling.
"Okay yeah that’s worth 200 points."
"Right?"
We traded the fork back and forth until we finished the cake. The sun dropped lower in the sky, painting everything orange and pink. The field turned golden in the fading light.
Aurora set the empty container aside and moved closer, sitting beside instead of across. Our shoulders touched.
"Can I ask you sothing?" Her voice was softer now.
"Sure."
"What’s your actual ability? Not the support thing you tell everyone. The real one."
I studied her profile, the way sunset light caught her orange hair, the curve of her jaw, the small beauty mark above her lip.
"Why do you think I’m lying?"
"Because support abilities don’t make two girls obsessively loyal in under a week. And they definitely don’t make Blair Davenport lose sleep."
"Maybe I’m just. Good with people."
"You’re terrible with people. You’re blunt. You have zero social filter. You say exactly what you’re thinking."
I smiled. "Those sound like criticisms."
"They’re observations. And they’re why I like you."
She turned to face properly, close enough that I could sll her perfu—sothing citrus and warm.
"So tell . What’s the real ability?"
I considered lying, making sothing up, stringing her along. But Aurora had already figured out most of it, and lying to soone this smart would only an getting caught later.
"It’s. Complicated."
"I’ve got ti."
"You might not want to know."
"Let decide that."
I took a breath. "I can enhance people’s abilities through. Physical contact. The more intimate the contact the stronger the enhancent. And I can copy abilities if certain conditions are t."
"What conditions?" she asked, her focus entirely on now.
"Three orgasms in a single session."
She blinked once as she processed this. Then she laughed.
"That’s. That’s the most perverted ability I’ve ever heard of."
"I’m aware."
"And Naomi and Belle both. They both let you."
"They know what they’re getting. And what I’m getting."
"Which is?"
"They get temporary rank boosts. Twenty-four hours. Makes them stronger. Faster. Better at everything."
"And you get?"
"Their essence. Which extends my life. And copies their abilities at Copper rank."
"So you’re like. A vampire. But for milk and orgasms."
I couldn’t help but laugh. "That’s. Horrifyingly accurate actually."
She laughed too, a genuine sound that transford her whole face.
"That’s amazing. That’s the most ridiculous power I’ve ever heard of and it’s amazing."
"Most people would be disgusted."
"Most people are boring. I’m not most people."
She stood up, brushing grass off her dress before holding out her hand to .
"Co on. We’re going sowhere better."
"Where?"
"You’ll see. Trust ."
I took her hand and she pulled up, leading across the field toward the tree line.
"Aurora where are we going?"
"Sowhere private. Where we can actually talk without half the school watching."
We walked into the trees, finding a small clearing about fifty ters from the field—hidden from view but close enough to hear if soone shouted.
She turned to face and stepped closer. "I want to make sothing clear before we go any further."
"Okay."
"I don’t share. Not normally. But I like you enough that I’m willing to try. With conditions."
"What conditions?" I asked, my heart beating faster.
"When you’re with you’re only with . You don’t think about Naomi or Belle or whoever else you’re collecting. Just . For however long we’re together."
"I can do that."
"Second condition. I get to decide when and how we. Do whatever we’re going to do. I’m in control. Not you. Not your ability. ."
"Fair."
"Third condition. You tell if soone else becos. More important. If I’m just a convenience or if you actually want ."
"I want you," I said without hesitation.
"You say that now."
"I’m saying it because it’s true. You’re. You’re not like anyone else here."
"How?"
"You’re honest about what you want. You don’t pretend to be sothing you’re not. And you’re terrifying in the best possible way."
She smiled and stepped closer until our bodies nearly touched.
"You’re really good at this."
"At what?"
"Making girls feel special. Is it genuine or is it just. Your thing? Part of the ability?"
I thought about Naomi’s smile when I braided her hair, Belle’s laugh when I said sothing stupid, and the way Hikaru blushed this morning.
"It’s genuine. The ability doesn’t make want people. It just. Helps keep them alive while I’m dying."
"That’s. Sad actually."
"It’s honest."
"I like honest."
She kissed .
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