Girl Talk

Naja lifted her head from the water and smoothed her hair against her skull. The afternoon light had turned gold, reflecting off the water and catching her eyes. She smiled, her wide mouth and full lips damp and inviting.

Aaron stared, eyes traveling over her mouth and the play of light on her skin. She caught him.

“What?”

“You look hot.”

Her eyes sparkled, and the sunlight reflections played across her wet skin.

“Go on.”

He reached for her, tracing a hand along her jaw. She leaned against it and rubbed like a cat.

“Something about your skin when it gets wet. I just want to touch it,” Aaron said.

He slid his hand down, tracing the shape of her neck, then under the water and along her shoulder, and as they treaded water, their legs swished near each other.

On the shore, their clothes lay in piles on the rocks.

Not moving, she looked into his eyes while he petted her. Under the water, the sensation of his hand was languid and dreamy.

“We’re going to need to go soon,” she said.

“I don’t want to.”

He slid his hand along her back and pulled her to him. She parted her lips, and he placed a kiss on them. She pulled back, and to Aaron, she seemed to glow, as if her skin drank in the color of the sunset.

“Let’s see who can hold their breath the longest,” she suggested.

Aaron shook his head.

“You always win.”

She put a finger to his lips.

“You want to kiss me again?”

He nodded.

“We’ll go down together,” she said.

Grasping his shoulders, she drew a deep breath and looked into his eyes. He mirrored the inhale. She blew the breath out, then drew another. After three breaths, she drew another and pointed downward, towards the surface of the water. Aaron nodded.

They both took a deep breath and plunged under the surface.

She pulled him towards her, twining her body around his, arms and legs wrapping. Lips finding his, they floated downward, bodies interlocked, lips pressed together.

Already aroused, Aaron hardened, and when it brushed her leg, Naja’s hand soon found it and squeezed. Startled by the sensation, he broke the kiss and barked out a stream of bubbles. Naja smiled mischievously and maintained her grip.

The water cooled around them as they descended, and Aaron began to feel tension in his lungs. Naja’s kisses resumed while her grip remained firm.

As though born to it, her body moved against his with ease and held none of the tension Aaron felt.

Aaron broke the kiss a second time and exhaled. When he opened his eyes, he saw Naja’s. Bright and clear, they retained a flicker of the golden sunlight that played on the surface above them.

Their feet touched bottom, and mud squished against their toes. Naja kissed him again, but the need for a breath had become hot in his lungs, and the tension had turned to an ache.

Aaron lifted a thumb towards the surface. Naja smiled and shook her head.

Trying to hold out, Aaron went still, and as he did, Naja’s grip turned into a squeeze. He jerked, and he shook his head. He pointed a thumb towards the surface and pushed off the mud.

As he rose, Naja looked up at him and waved.

Breaking the surface, Aaron gasped and gulped deep breaths until the burning in his lungs subsided.

Naja remained below.

Aaron began to count, his worry growing as it passed sixty. He ducked his head under the water and searched. The sun had touched the horizon, and beyond the first few feet, the water had become a gloom.

Lifting his head out, he drew three deep breaths and plunged towards the bottom.

Reaching it, he squished mud between his fingertips. Naja wasn’t there. Peering into the dark, nothing moved.

The pool was a large circle at the base of a rock cliff. He swam towards the rocks until his hand touched stone. Still no Naja, he looked up.

About five feet from the bottom, a stone outcrop jutted from the wall. Naja looked down at him, her hand gripping its edge. He rose towards her, his lungs beginning to ache.

She kissed him when he arrived and pointed.

Above the shelf, a shadow appeared where the rock wall should have continued. She tugged his hand and swam towards it. He shook his head. She returned and kissed him again and swam away, disappearing into the darkness.

Lungs arguing, he looked up. The surface lay about ten feet above. As it grew dark, it had become a shifting mass of midnight blue.

In the shadow in the stone wall, Naja’s kicking feet disappeared. Knowing it was dumb, he went after her as the ache in his lungs grew.

The passage had been worn smooth, and almost as soon as he’d felt it close around him, his head broke the surface of the water. Grateful for air, he gulped it in, tasting earth and damp as he did.

Naja had climbed out and stood above him.

“I win.”

Looking up at her body as the rivulets of water ran over the curves, Aaron wasn’t so sure, but he continued to gulp air and felt dizzy.

Naja bent and extended a hand, and between the surprising strength of her pull and his own push, Aaron almost jumped out of the water.

Naja stepped close, her head near his chest, and slid her arms around his waist.

“Deep breaths,” she said.

The tension easing, he did as she said. Each breath renewed the scent of earth and damp, and there was something else. The dizziness increased. The air had a metallic scent he felt on his tongue. He staggered, but Naja’s grip around his waist kept him from falling.

“Easy,” she said and guided him towards the ground.

Continuing to breathe, he closed his eyes.

“How do you do that?”

“Don’t feel bad. Swim team,” she said. “I told you.”

Breathing with his eyes closed helped, and he felt her stand and move off.

He opened his eyes.

Almost dark, the cave glowed with a greenish-yellow phosphorescence. Naja had become a silhouette passing before the veins of glowing rocks.

“I want you to see this,” her voice echoed.

Taking another breath, Aaron lifted himself to his feet. Placing one foot before the other, he moved towards her voice, the cave wanting to twist around him as he did.

He approached a line of glowing rocks. The glow moved through them like a current, twisting and pulsing. His vision swam. A hand clasped his and guided him to touch. The rock beneath his hand was steady.

“Here,” Naja said and tugged him to the right.

Taking two careful steps, he discovered a smooth spire of glowing rock. Unlike the cave walls, its glow pulsed. Like a rounded obelisk, it rose from a carved base to the ceiling two feet above his head.

Naja traced a palm along the surface. She shuddered and closed her eyes.

Guiding Aaron’s hand, she placed it flat against the stone’s surface.

Aaron jerked it away. Warm, the stone sent a pulsing charge along his hand and up his arm. The room tried to spin.

“Easy,” Naja said and clasped his hand before returning it to the rock.

The charge returned, along with a renewed dizziness. He tried to pull away again, but Naja’s grip became iron and held him to it.

“Relax into it.”

The shock of the charge stabilized and felt as though the power flowed through him rather than into him. Beside him, Naja swallowed and exhaled.

“Yes, that’s it.”

She guided herself between him and the spire. The slide of her skin against his and the energy from the stone combined. His arousal returned and became an ache that turned into need. He began to lift his hand off the stone, but Naja put her hand over it.

“No.”

She pushed herself against him while pulling him to her so she was pressed between him and the spire.

Wrapping her legs around his hips, she guided him inside her, and the sense of flow came from her and where his hand touched the rock. He almost swooned. She cupped his face in both her hands.

“Here, Aaron,” she said, “Look at me.”

Her eyes glowed in the green-yellow of the cave. In the rush of pleasure, her eyes became the stable center. Around those eyes, the scents and sensations became surreal. What was happening to him?

“That’s it,” she said. “Be in me.”

His hips began to move.

The light in her eyes grew, and his breathing matched hers.

She pressed her back against the stone, and the sense of energy flow increased. Each point of contact between Naja, Aaron, and the stone formed part of the circuit.

Her eyes held him. Alien and glowing, they did not blink, only reacting at the edges to the pleasure flowing through her, and soon, Aaron felt as though he’d separated. His body operated without him, responding to Naja and the energy while his mind watched from a distance.

Pulled by the power in Naja’s eyes, his body followed her lead and responded to every shift in rhythm in breathing and movement.

“In me, Aaron,” Naja repeated.

Then, her eyes shut, and she lay back. Head pressed against the statue, she cried out.

Like a string had been cut, an overwhelming sense of dizziness swirled in Aaron’s mind, and he fell backward. The cool, wet stone slapped against his back, and he was staring at the ceiling. Abstract swirls of crude drawings glowed, then everything went dark.

Naja lay atop him, her mouth on his. She breathed into him, and he blinked. The swirling drawings pulsed above him like the stone’s energy. He lifted his arm to point. Naja lifted her mouth off his.

“We need to get back. I’ll help you up.”

She hooked an arm under his, and as he pushed off the rock, he managed to get to his feet. Stumbling, she held him up, and they scooted towards the pool. He stepped down into it, and she slipped beside him and hooked an arm around his waist.

“One breath, then we’ll go,” Naja said.

He did as she said, and they plunged into the water. Kicking his feet as best he could, he guided himself with a hand on the cave walls. They emerged into the pool, then turned upwards.

Breaking the surface, Aaron gulped air. Clean and cool, he lay back on the water, his head clearing. Beside him, Naja swam for shore. She climbed out of the water, dried, and began dressing while the last of the twilight faded.

“Come on,” she said. “I need to get back.”

Aaron continued drawing breaths. Each one cleared his head a little more.

“Give me a minute.”

“No. We have to go. Hurry up.”

Continuing to breathe, he began treading water. Naja stood on the shore, ringing out her hair and looking down at him.

“What was that?” Aaron asked.

“Just a cave I found. Let’s go.”

“Yeah, but the stone. Did you see the glyphs on the ceiling?”

“Aaron, I don’t have time for this.”

Moving to the shore, he lifted himself out of the water. She tossed a towel at him and went to the pile of his clothes. He began to dry himself.

“Well?”

She looked past him to the pool and shook her head.

“We’re going to be late. Get dressed,” she said as she handed him his T-shirt.

“Late for what?”

She glanced at the pool.

“I have to meet with my advisor.”

“Tonight?”

“Yes, tonight.”

He began dressing, and as he was tying his shoes, Naja had already started on the path through the woods towards his car. Her voice echoed off the trees.

“Hurry up.”

As he moved to follow, Aaron glanced at the pool. The surface had become a smooth polish, reflecting the sky above. Naja continued scolding him, and he moved up the trail.

She leaned against his car as he emerged from the trail, her fingers drumming on the fender. Fishing his keys from a pocket, he pressed the unlock button, and she got in. He slid into the driver’s seat and started the car. As it vibrated to life, he leaned across the console to kiss her.

She jerked back and shook her head.

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to kiss you?”

“Well, stop it.”

He furrowed his brow.

“After what we just did.”

She pursed her lips and gestured to the road.

“Just drive.”

Confused, Aaron leaned away. Naja turned away and folded her arms as she looked out the window. He put the car into gear and began to drive.

They rode in silence until they reached the edge of campus. Naja continued to stare out the window, her eyes going to the clock on the dashboard. She shook her head.

Aaron navigated along the narrow streets around the dorms.

“Did I do something?”

Naja didn’t answer.

“Naja?” Aaron asked.

Still turned away, she shook her head.

He pulled to a stop in front of her dorm.

“Naja-“

“Aaron, I don’t want to see you anymore.”

“What?”

“This summer was fun, but I have some important things coming up.”

“Wait, you’re breaking up with me?”

“Yes, please don’t try to contact me.”

She pulled the door handle and pushed the door open. She stepped out and closed the door. Aaron got out and called after her over the roof of the car.

“Naja?”

She didn’t turn back, then swiped her security card at the dorm entrance. She paused, holding the door open a sliver, then she pulled the door open and went through. After a metallic rattle, she was gone.

A student had paused as Naja passed. He looked between the door and Aaron. He shrugged and shook his head before moving off.

Aaron gave Naja a minute to come back outside, but the door didn’t move. A campus security car slid to a stop behind him and waited. Aaron got in the car and drove away.

The drive to his dorm happened on autopilot. He worked the gas, brake, and turned the wheel.

They’d been into each other. Both wanting to graduate early, they took summer classes. Their schedules had matched so their free times synced up, and she’d invited him to lunch one day. Everything about it had been easy; she was pretty, smart, and had a good sense of humor. They’d talked about getting a place after the fall semester. They never even argued.

In a daze, he climbed the stairs to his room. His roommate hadn’t arrived for the semester yet, and Aaron lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He had to have done something. He also wanted to ask her about that weird cave; she’d been there before and knew all about it.

As the questions turned, he noticed how tired he felt. His arms and legs felt like they were weighted with stone, and even as his stomach growled, he felt too tired to do anything other than lie on the bed.

She said not to contact her, but she still had his key. He could call her for that, right? Maybe it would lead to something else.

Turning on his side and thinking of Naja, he drifted to sleep.

When he awoke, it was already ten. He’d slept for more than twelve hours, and he was late for class signups. Leaping out of bed with his stomach growling, the muscles in his legs ached as he got a shower, dressed, and headed towards the registrar’s.

On the way, he grabbed an apple and banana from the cafeteria. After devouring both, he found the registration signs.

The large hall burbled with students. Tables had been arrayed around the room. Most had only an attendant sitting behind them. Others had long lines.

As he checked the notes for what he wanted to take, he felt a presence beside him and looked up.

Dark-haired and green-eyed, Viera from his mythology course the prior spring looked up at him. Small and buxom, she smiled from under her brows.

“Hello, Aaron.”

“Viera.”

She pursed her lips and lifted onto her toes, peeking at the sheet he held.

“Classes for the semester?”

“Yes?”

“What are you taking?”

“Have to see what I can get.”

“We going to be in anything together?”

“How would I know?”

She stepped beside him, her body brushing against his. She held up her registrar’s card. She didn’t look at the card. She watched Aaron.

Aaron narrowed his eyes and looked from Viera to the card.

“Going to try to get Professor Edina’s class,” Aaron said.

Pressing against him, Viera nodded.

“You should hurry. It’s filling up.”

Aaron scanned the signs hanging over the tables. He saw the right table. A small line waited.

“You’re right. Thanks.”

He began to move off, but Viera closed her hand around his and pulled him back. As he turned, she stepped close.

“I’m sorry about Naja.”

“How did you know about that?”

She tilted her head.

“Girls talk. You know.”

He sighed.

“Thanks.”

He started to move off, but she didn’t let go and put herself between Aaron and the table.

“If you ever want to talk, or, you know, do something…”

“Not really looking for a girlfriend now.”

She giggled.

“Who said anything about girlfriend? I just think you’re hot.”

She met his eyes, a mischievous smile on her face, then she squeezed his hand and turned away, her hips swaying. Glancing back, she caught Aaron looking and laughed.

When she disappeared into the crowd, Aaron went to the table for the class sign-up. A few minutes later, the grad assistant tapped her keyboard and looked up.

“What are you wanting to sign up for?” she asked.

“3241, The Divine in Us, Professor Edina,” Aaron replied.

She bent over the laptop and typed before shaking her head.

“Full, sorry.”

“You sure?”

They nodded.

“Afraid so.”

Then, they paused and met Aaron’s eyes.

“You’re Aaron?”

“Yes?”

They bent back to the keyboard before nodding.

“You could ask the professor. It’s her office hours now.”

Aaron glanced at his watch. The building was across the street.

“Great. Thanks.”

“Good luck.”

He headed out of the hall. Viera lingered near the door and waved as he passed. Crossing the street, he entered the office building and climbed to the third floor. Professor Edina’s door stood ajar.

Aaron knocked.

“Come in,” the voice inside answered.

He pushed the door open. Her desk piled with books, Professor Edina could only be seen through a narrow valley between the stacks. The shelves behind and around the room bulged with volumes. On a filing cabinet, a bronze statue stood. Female and bare-breasted, the figure held a snake in each hand.

Gray-haired and long, the professor’s hair extended in a ponytail that she draped over a shoulder. Her eyes were a pale, icy blue. Seeing Aaron, she lifted her glasses and perched them on her head. She caught him looking at the statue. She looked from the statue to Aaron.

“1600 B.C. Minoan,” Professor Edina said. “How may I serve, young man?”

“Hello, Professor. I was wanting to take one of your classes, but they’re saying it’s full.”

She turned to a laptop that rested on the return of her desk. She slid her glasses on.

“Which one?”

“3241, The Divine in Us.”

Her keyboard clicked. Her eyes narrowed, and she shook her head.

“I’m sorry. It’s already overloaded.”

“No room at all?”

She shook her head.

“I’m teaching it again next semester. What’s your name?”

“Aaron Miller.”

She brightened.

“Oh.”

She began to type.

“I’ll put your name down. We’ll get you in next semester. How’s that?”

“Thank you, Professor.”

Aaron glanced at his list of classes and began to consider what he might take instead.

At the edge of his vision, Professor Edina stood.

“No trouble,” she said. “I’m sorry about Naja.”

Aaron looked up from the list.

“Naja?”

She nodded.

“Yes, I heard you all broke up.”

Viera, now the professor. Who didn’t know? He blinked.

“Thank you.”

She nodded. Aaron turned towards the door.

“I know it must sting,” Professor Edina said. “Naja’s a wonderful young woman. My best student.”

Pausing, Aaron considered.

“You’re her advisor?”

She nodded.

Aaron understood. At least Naja had been honest about the meeting. He started thinking of her, and his heart started aching again. He sighed, then felt the professor’s eyes.

“You’ll find someone. Don’t worry,” she said.

Aaron nodded and slipped through the door.

Returning to the hall, he scanned the tables and went through his coursebook. As he looked between it and the tables, Naja straightened up from writing something. Her eyes found Aaron, and she shook her head before looking away.

“You get in?” Viera asked from behind.

Turning, Viera stood close, her mischievous smile fixed.

“Turned me down,” Aaron said.

She made a mock frown.

“Too bad. Maybe next semester?”

“Maybe.”

Aaron flipped a page in the course catalog. He frowned, but he saw an archaeology course that might work. Might as well. Viera continued watching.

“I have to see if I can get this one, Viera,” he said and held up the book.

“Sure, no trouble at all.”

He turned away and headed for the table. As he did, Naja approached. She’d been watching him and Viera. She slowed down.

“That was quick,” she said.

“What?”

She pursed her lips and tossed her head towards Viera.

“Trading down to Viera.”

“Hey.”

She brushed past and did not look back, glaring at Viera.

Naja never acted like this. What the hell?

The archaeology course was open, and he signed up. Afterward, he frowned at his courses for the semester before heading for the exit.

Viera sat on one of the chairs near the exit. Her smile was gone. Aaron approached. She looked up at him.

“Did Naja say something to you?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Aaron looked to the exit door and pictured Naja; then he looked down at Viera. She was pretty, and they had something in common now. Naja had been a bitch to both of them.

“Viera,” he said.

She didn’t look up.

“Would you go to lunch with me?” Aaron asked.

She wiped an eye and looked up, her eyes damp.

“I’d like that a lot.”

She came to his side and hooked an arm into his, and they walked together. Viera’s gait drifted so that she brushed against Aaron’s side, and each time, she looked up at him and apologized while her eyes made clear she wasn’t apologizing for anything.

In the cafeteria, they slid their trays along the line. Aaron’s stomach reminded him that he’d not eaten, and when he got to the grill station, he ordered two burgers. Viera glanced and raised her eyebrows.

“Good idea. You’ll need your strength.”

Aaron shook his head.

While he waited for the burgers, Viera went to the drink fountain and pulled two cups from the dispenser. Pushing the first under the fountain, ice rattled into it.

“You get water, right?”

“Don’t do that.”

She smirked.

“Already done.”

The cook slid the burgers over the counter. Aaron thanked him and went to the register. Viera lidded the two drinks and met him as she set the cups on her tray. Aaron reached for one, and she smacked his hand away. Lifting the other, she placed it on his tray.

“That one’s yours.”

In the same movement, she pulled a card from her pocket and handed it to the clerk. She gestured to both trays.

“Together.”

“Viera.”

She gave his shoulder a playful smack.

“Not man enough to let a girl pay?”

The clerk chuckled and took the card.

“Well, thank you,” Aaron said.

“Oh, you’ve not thanked me yet.”

The clerk’s hand paused as she slid it through the reader. She looked between Viera and Aaron. Viera held her smile and looked into Aaron’s eyes. Aaron felt a blush rise on his cheeks.

The clerk handed the card back, and Viera swept her tray off the tray slide and headed for the tables. Aaron hesitated, then followed.

She chose a seat by the window. It looked over the entrance to the student center. Settling into her seat, she gestured to the seat opposite.

Aaron set his tray down but did not sit.

“Should we just find a broom closet or something?”

Her mouth dropped open, and for an instant, her smile faltered. She reached towards him, then stopped and pulled her hand back.

Smile returning, she raised an eyebrow.

“I’m game.”

Aaron tossed his head towards the exit.

“Let’s go.”

She swallowed, glanced at his tray, out the window, then paused before standing and clasping his hand.

“Please don’t think I’m like that. I just like you, and I hear boys complain about how they get the wrong signals.”

“I get that you like me.”

“More than like,” she said, her eyes becoming vulnerable. “And I want you to think I’m fun.”

“How about I think you are what you are?”

“Easier to be the other way.”

“Not what I’m interested in. Viera, yes. Not,” he tossed his head towards the register. “whatever that was.”

She nodded and looked at the floor.

“Will you still have lunch with me?”

“I’d like that a lot.”

She smiled and returned to her seat. Aaron eased into his chair. The soreness in his legs thanked him.

Picking at the salad, Viera waited until Aaron started eating before taking a bite herself. They ate in silence, with occasional smiles, as Aaron caught her watching him a little too intently, or for a touch too long. When he caught her, she smiled and looked down.

Aaron finished the first burger, his stomach still grumbling. He started on the next. As he did, he sipped the water, and the straw gurgled with air. He started to rise.

Viera put a hand on the cup.

“I’ll get it.”

“Come on. Not this again.”

“Please let me do something nice instead of you sitting there and thinking I’m a slut.”

“I don’t think that. Stop it.”

“Please?”

Aaron lifted his hand off the cup. She lifted it and rose.

“Water, right?”

He nodded, and she crossed to the fountains and refilled the cup. As he did, he chewed and glanced out the window. The foot traffic outside was thinner than it would be when classes started.

The campus was more fun when it was quiet. Or, maybe, it was more fun with Naja.

Viera set the cup down and returned to her seat.

She smiled as Aaron drank, watching as he set the cup down.

“Would you tell me about the pool?”

“Pool?”

“Where you and Naja would go swimming?”

“She told you about that?”

Viera nodded.

“Before today, I thought we were best friends.”

“What do you want to know?”

She shrugged.

“Just seemed so secret, so private. Like you two were the only ones who knew about it and could run off to your own world when you wanted.”

Aaron thought. It had been like that, but because of Naja, not because of anything mystical or secret. But what had happened yesterday fell well outside normal. Had that been part of it all along?

Viera brightened.

“What are you thinking?”

“Not sure how to describe it, and I don’t want to talk about Naja.”

“That’s fair. I was jealous of how happy she sounded when she talked about it and wondered if you felt the same way, but we don’t have to talk about it.”

He looked past her.

“I was happy.”

Her eyes scanned his face.

“I won’t push you. One day, maybe, you’ll tell me?”

“One day, maybe,” Aaron said.

Viera stopped eating when half her salad was gone, and she pushed her plate away. By the time Aaron finished the second burger, his stomach had quieted. He exhaled and leaned back.

“Dessert?” Viera asked.

He shook his head, and as he did, he felt a touch of dizziness. It reminded him of the cave, and a wave of drowsiness followed. He didn’t have anything to do that afternoon. Sleeping would be perfect. He blinked and looked at Viera.

“Thank you for this. Could we do it again?”

“I’d like that.”

“Let me pay next time?”

“Well, it would be your turn.”

“Great.”

She started to rise. “Ready?”

Aaron rose. She rose with him and took his hand.

“Is this ok?”

He squeezed her hand.

“Yes. Where are you headed? I’ll walk you.”

“Couple errands. My car is just up here,” she said and gestured.

They strode out together. Aaron took a breath as the waves of dizziness came and went. When he got back to his room, he’d just collapse and wake up whenever.

Squinting in the sun as they stepped out of the cafeteria, Viera led him along the sidewalk. She spoke, but it became more and more difficult to follow her words. She didn’t seem to mind and smiled as they continued walking.

Stopping, she turned to face him.

“This is me,” she said and gestured to a car.

Aaron took a breath, trying to keep his vision stable.

“Could we do it again?”

She tilted her head.

“You already asked me that.”

Right. He had. He would pay next time.

“Aaron, are you ok?” she asked.

“Just didn’t sleep much last night.”

“Naja,” she said and nodded. “I get it. How about I drive you to your dorm?”

“Would you?”

“Sure, get in,” she said and pushed a button on the key fob.

Aaron pulled the passenger door open and got in. After he’d buckled the seatbelt, the strength in his arms vanished, and he closed his eyes. Beside him, the driver’s side door opened and closed before the engine started.

“You’re in Stafford, right?” Viera asked.

He nodded and relaxed. It felt like being in a dentist’s chair, as though he was more lying than sitting. The engine started, followed by the sound of movement.

A kiss touched his lips. He replied without thinking, then tried to open his eyes, but they felt weighted shut.

“Wanted to know how before…” Viera whispered.

Before? The rustling repeated, and the car began to move. He could doze here. She’d wake him when they got to the dorm.

Another kiss was on his lips when he tried to open his eyes. The car seat still supported his weight.

“That’s it,” Viera said. “We’re here.”

As he opened his eyes, his vision was filled with Viera’s face. Her green eyes caught the light and glittered like jewels. Her hair was wet and pulled taut against her skull.

She stood by the passenger door and leaned in.

“Sorry,” Aaron said. “Really tired all of a sudden.”

“Doing great,” Viera said. “Take my hand. I’ll guide you.”

She closed her hand around his. Damp and cool, it carried a strength as it tugged him from the car seat.

He unfolded himself and stood beside the car. Tall trees surrounded them. Sunlight dappled the ground at his feet.

“Where are we?”

“Aaron,” Viera said.

He turned towards her. She stood close, green eyes bright as she looked up at him.

“The pool. Remember, you wanted to come here with me.”

They’d talked about it, but not today.

“No…”

“Yes, you’re happy when you come here.”

He tried to think. Happy, yes. With Naja. Had he said that out loud?

“Aaron,” Viera said.

His eyes snapped to hers. The green had changed into something exotic, fascinating.

“Happy when you’re here. You remember. You want to show me.”

“Right, we were going to swim.”

Nodding and smiling, she squeezed his hand and moved towards the trail. Nude, her voluptuous form swayed, and her skin glistened like it was wet.

“Viera,” he murmured.

“Doing great,” she said and headed up the trail.

The dappled sunlight played across Viera’s body and caught the curve of her hips and shoulders and imparted an iridescence. His eyes caught the tiny rainbows and play of color.

Voluptuous, she was beautiful. Different than Naja’s lean grace. He felt his smile spread as he watched her move.

An occasional glance over her shoulder dazzled him with the emerald green of her eyes. She enjoyed how it gave him pause and would wink. The world stopped when she did, and as it ended, he reminded himself that they were at the pool and were going for a swim.

At the pool’s edge, she paused and began unbuckling his jeans, sliding them down his legs. His shoes were already off. He couldn’t remember doing that. Afterward, she helped him lift his T-shirt over his head.

Backing away, her eyes a lure, she retreated and stepped down into the pool. The water swallowed her with slight ripples, and her legs and arms swished beneath the surface as she tread water.

“Swim with me, Aaron.”

His body responded, and he took a step, then a second before his foot descended into the water. Smile inviting, Viera watched, her eyes traveling down over his chest and along his legs.

When the water came to his neck, Viera pushed towards him, arms encircling his neck.

“This is nice,” she said, nodding.

He nodded.

“Will you show me the cave?” Viera asked.

What had Naja told her?

Viera touched his cheek. He met her eyes. She nodded. He nodded in response.

“Show me the cave,” she said.

He began to move. Relief passed over her face, and she swam with him.

Holding hands, they found the stone cliff and dove. Viera went before him, passing into the shadow of the passage. Aaron followed, emerging to the surface as his lungs grew taut.

In the dark of the phosphorescence, Viera’s silhouette moved along the veins of glowing stone, her fingers tracing over the color. She found the obelisk at the far end and stood before it.

Aaron drew his first breath. Damp, earthy, he tasted metal on his tongue.

Viera approached the obelisk and laid fingertips on it before drawing them away as though shocked. Her voice echoed.

“I didn’t realize.”

As Aaron took another breath, the dizziness returned. He turned back to the water.

“Viera. I think there’s something in the air.”

She swirled and came to his side.

“It’s amazing,” she said and drew a deep breath.

“We should go.”

He began to turn. Her hand found his and turned to iron.

“Aaron,” she said.

He stopped.

“Look at me,” she said.

He swallowed. Her eyes glittering an emerald green, she shook her head.

“Show me the ritual Naja showed you.”

“Ritual?”

“Show me,” she said. “Now.”

Her hand slipped behind his neck and pulled him down. A hard kiss met his lips while her other hand slipped around his waist and pulled them together.

Breaking the kiss, she pulled away and stared into his eyes.

“Show me.”

Backing up, she guided him to the obelisk. As they reached it, another wave of dizziness tilted the cave, and he stumbled. Catching himself, his hand planted against the obelisk. A charge of energy shot up his arm.

An instant’s clarity returned, and he tried to snatch his hand away. As he did, Viera’s hand slapped over his hand, pressing it painfully between her hand and the stone.

Her expression drowsed, and her body drew up.

“Yes,” she whispered.

Then, her expression hardened, and she slipped herself between Aaron and the stone. Her kiss pressed against his mouth, hard and needy.

Aaron’s distant arousal had become desperate, and as Viera guided him inside her and pulled him so his body pressed her between it and the stone, Aaron lifted out and saw it happen from outside.

He saw her body tense over and over, and it reminded him of a dream. He closed his eyes, knowing that was how he might wake up if he was dreaming, but when he opened his eyes, his body and Viera’s were locked together.

At length, he felt empty, and he rejoined himself as his body slumped and fell back against the ground.

His eyes slipped shut, and the final image he saw was Viera standing over him.

Dreaming, he saw snakes, eyes like jewels twining and slithering against each other. They crawled towards him and began coiling around his legs, their grip painful. He shut his eyes.

Three voices echoed when he opened his eyes in the dark. He lay on his side, and as he blinked, he felt the phosphorescent glow of the cave. The taste of metal touched his tongue.

“We could let him rest,” the first voice said.

“His body’s young. He can manage the third now. It will save another seduction,” the second said.

“Another seduction might be fun,” the third said. “He’s adorable when he thinks it was his idea.”

“Shh…”

A step slapped on stone.

“He’s listening,” the second voice said.

A step approached, then a shadow passed before his eyes. A feminine figure lowered and sat.

Aaron pushed up on one arm as glittering eyes, icy blue and irresistible, looked at him. She had long gray hair pulled into a ponytail.

“Professor Edina?” Aaron asked.

She leaned forward, the blue filling his vision.

“You want to show me, don’t you, Aaron?” she said and smiled.

A wave of dizziness, and he felt himself nodding.

“Yes. I want to show you.”