04

The Crystal Palace

by Simon Underfoot

Copyright 2024; all rights reserved

Chapter 3

'Asshole.' She didn't say the words aloud, but I could see it in her eyes.

That was Madison: quiet, intelligent, deeply empathetic, and easily hurt. All packaged in a 5'4" frame with a body and style that screamed librarian. She'd tried going blonde, then red. Tried high fashion, then low -- the two-week emo phase still made me smile. Finally she'd settled on true-to-life, meaning jeans or basic slacks and a form fitting blouse enhanced by a push-up bra (so she told me). Beneath brunette bangs were a pair of honey colored eyes that were definitely her best feature, though I'd never worked up the courage to tell her so. We'd started the same week at the firm and been close since.

"Easy," her companion said, placing a calming hand on Madison's arm.

Jenny was more outgoing and also more prone to swings, so it was interesting to see her acting as the calm one. A couple years older, she was the one who had helped Madison get the job, and while still in her late-twenties, was already a team lead. Jenny was, in every sense of the word but age, mature. Confident. Socially competent. Eminently capable. Behind black frames her blue eyes smiled out at me, causing my heart to flutter like it always did. I'd had a serious crush since the moment we met. It was something about her mixed heritage, the perfect blend of skin tone, body type, and facial features that worked synergistically to form a uniquely striking appearance.

The third woman at the table smirked. "You have to admit, not telling us was definitely a dick move." The charming Hindi accent belied the ink black soul of my sworn frenemy, much to my ongoing consternation. She was constantly charming men and women alike, inside and outside the business world, using a natural charisma that defied explanation to win them to her side. I didn't actually hate her, but she'd driven me to the point of insanity on many, many occasions.

"Thanks, Sara," I replied sardonically as I sat on the open seat.

"Shouldn't you be wearing red?" she quipped. I started to retort, then realized all three of them were sitting a little further back from the table than normal, enough to be noticeable without being overtly rude.

I slid back off the chair and took a step backward. "This was a bad idea. I should go." I spun and walked away, even as I heard them call me back, forcing myself to limit my flight to a brisk walk through the still filling bar. I was out the door and onto the sidewalk before I realized it. Two steps toward home, then I froze, not sure what to do.

A hand on my shoulder some time later snapped me out of my daze. "Joe?" Blue eyes. Jenny.

My mouth opened, though nothing escaped.

"I didn't mean it. I don't really think you're a dick." Sara's voice, off to my right. "This whole thing caught us by surprise, you know?" She looked legitimately upset.

Nod. Blink. Breathe.

"Don't worry," I finally replied, coming back to myself a little. "I overreacted. It was just seeing that you're..." My shoulders collapsed and I let out a long exhalation. "I don't like that you're scared of me now."

"Why would we be scared of you?" Jenny asked, her brows furrowed and lips pursed. "You're still Joe."

Another shrug. I started to speak, but Madison interrupted me. "It was my fault. Before you arrived I was asking questions about being... Affected." She said the last word quietly. Uncertainly. Sure she had a mousy appearance, but she never did anything uncertainly. "I was worried. Am worried." Madison looked away.

"We talked about this," Jenny replied, obviously picking up the previous conversation. "We've sat together dozens of times, for hours, and none of us have ever been Affected. Nothing's changed except that Joe has a new job."

I smiled gratefully at her and opened my mouth to speak, but was cut off again. "That may not be entirely true." Madison was obviously avoiding eye contact with anyone as she spoke. "I didn't think about it until I heard that Joe had a new job, but after we get together on Fridays, I'm really..." She let out a frustrated huff and set her shoulders, but she still didn't look at anyone, instead talking to the evening air. "I thought it was because I like Joe." Her words came in a rush, and after a brief pause, she powered on. "After we get together, I'm always really worked up and I can't help it and I'm usually up until two or three trying to take the edge off. There -- I said it."

Silence within the group and shocked expressions all around. A very long moment passed and she finally met my eyes.

In that instant I saw her fear of being rejected, the constant struggle with identity and confidence, and decided I could help. "I'd like to give you a hug," I said slowly, "but I'm not sure that's a good idea." Jenny giggled and Madison shot her a dirty look. I opened my arms, giving Madison the choice.

One second, then two. She closed the distance quickly, her head smacking into my sternum with a thump as she wrapped her arms tightly around my middle. I pulled her to me, rubbing her back with one hand and the nape of her neck with the other.

"You must be pretty sensitive to the pheromones. If you stay this close, we'd better get back to my apartment quickly, because I doubt you'd like to put on a show here in the street." Her cheeks reddened as she smiled uncertainly at my joke, except the color started creeping down her neck alarmingly fast.

"Uh..." My eyes met Jenny's. "I need to take her to my place."

I saw the question in her eyes -- the surprise and incredulity. I nodded. Her mouth opened slightly, but she didn't say anything. I chanced a glance at Sara, expecting accusation, and instead saw something I'd never seen from her before: interest.

It left me confused for an instant before I regained my mental footing. "Let's go, Madison." I took the smaller woman's hand and turned, only to be brought up by a hand on my elbow.

"Can I come, too?" My sworn adversary, she of the quick tongue and acerbic wit, wanted to join in a night of lust and debauchery?

"But you don't even like me."

She kicked me in the shin. "Asshole. Of course I like you."

Completely floored. Dumbfounded. Stupefied.

"But..."

On my other side, Jenny took my free hand. "Let's go, Joe, before Madison starts taking off her clothes." I looked down at the smaller woman, who was staring up at me dreamily while running fingers up and down her stomach.

"Uh, yeah..." Just go with it.

We made the twelve minute walk in less than ten, with me carrying a rapidly devolving Madison for the last half. I stepped into the lobby of my building, then froze. One elevator, and carrying my friend for several blocks had me horny as hell, meaning it was a near certain thing. "If you get in the elevator with me..."

Sara nodded slowly. When I looked to Jenny she grinned and flicked her lip with her very pink tongue. "Why do you think we followed you home?" She sauntered over to the elevator to hit the button.

Old building, slow elevator. By the time we got to the eighth floor, Madison was clawing haphazardly at her shirt as I held her, trying to work the buttons in her inebriated state; Sara was on the verge of hyperventilating, panting and leaning against me on the left for support; Jenny was pressed against me on the right, chewing my ear while running a hand around the front of my jeans.

"Inside," I gasped as the door slid back.

Making it into my apartment was a small miracle. Not dropping Madison as Jenny tackled us was another.

Stinging kisses. Groping hands.

Growling, I tried to assert control, only to be pushed onto my back. Jenny forced another kiss, then bit my lip hard just as someone slid onto my cock; I howled into her mouth as I tasted copper.

I lost myself to the sensations, unable to keep track of what was happening. Whoever was riding me locked up and screamed, a primal wail that probably woke my neighbors, before toppling forward onto Jenny and me. I managed a roll that displaced them both and got to my knees, surprised to see it was Sara that had fucked herself senseless on my dick.

She was still shuddering with the echoes of her orgasm, still leaking fluids from her nipples and pussy. Absolutely exquisite and absolutely mine. Petty fantasies of control bubbled to the surface as I realized how mixed up my feelings for the woman were. Jenny pushed to her knees, ready to pounce, but I held out my hand. "Wait." Something in my voice, a tone of command that I usually lack, broke through. I shuffled over so I loomed above the dusky skinned beauty, then directed the dripping Juice from my cock onto her tits and stomach, then down onto the thick black thatch of her pussy, coating her liberally even as I felt the need to cum build. "I'll be back," I told Jenny dismissively, then turned to find Madison.

My feisty little friend was busily working fingers in and out of her cunt, trying to get satisfaction that only a healthy dose of Juice would bring. I moved between her knees and gently pulled her hand away. "Hello, Beautiful," I intoned as I slid home.

Sharp eyes locked on mine and I froze, shocked. The moment dragged, five seconds, maybe six. A lifetime looking into those unblinking honey colored eyes. She rose up to meet me, soft lips on mine, then pulled me gently back down.

Undulating hips. Breath stealing kisses. Hands gently exploring my back, hips, and ass, pulling me tighter to her.

Afflicted in the throes don't make love. We don't do sensual. Somehow Madison changed that for me. Need surged, yet I stayed steady. Slow, deep motions, teasing her, torturing myself.

My orgasm arrived and I poured into her, drawn out pulses radiating through my cock while I kept up that infuriatingly slow motion. She came as I was on the way down, forcing herself to relax despite the pull of the Juice, despite the ferocity of her climax, despite nerves screaming throughout her body.

Her eyes, tired now, found mine again, and she smiled, physically satiated, emotionally satisfied.

I rejoiced in the moment, fleeting happiness in an otherwise overwhelming existence.

Behind me Jenny cried out.

She was laid out between Sara's legs, in the midst of a Juice-induced orgasm, having pulled the nectar directly from our friend's sodden pussy where I'd left it. I was surprised the trickle I'd deposited had been enough to set her off until I saw she'd also licked Sara's skin clean.

I crawled back to my crush, moving behind and wrapping myself around her while she continued to spasm. One arm for her head, the other for her pert breast, kneading milk from the previously virgin nipple, reveling in the sense of power that came when I forced a woman's body to do something it had never done before.

As her orgasm faded, Jenny came back to herself, turning to look at me. "You okay?" My voice came out as a hoarse whisper.

She gave me a smile and a mild blush. "I didn't expect it to be like that." I tilted my head, an unvoiced question; she answered by rolling her eyes. "Don't expect me to stroke your ego." I shrugged and squeezed her nipple again, expelling more liquid onto the floor, earning a gutteral "ooh" from the beautiful woman in my arms.

Exhausted, I fell asleep.

I was roused roughly. Fierce eyes looked down at me full of anger and lust. "Asshole!" she half-screamed as she tried to force herself onto my still soft dick. Sara was lost to the pheromones again, which was entirely my fault. The antidotal effects of the Juice had obviously lapsed and I hadn't cleaned up. "Fuck!" she voiced at my lack of responsiveness, her voice now at full intensity.

A twist of my hips, then a quick scramble, pinning her to the floor. Soothing words. Calming sounds. After a minute she started to relax; after another, I started to respond. "I'm sorry, Sara," I intoned, rubbing myself against her soft lips. "Forgive me?" I asked as I pushed the head of my cock inside.

Her eyes flashed and her nostrils flared. "You..." She tried putting together words, but the fog was heavy on her. "... came..."

I nodded, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "I came all over you," I confirmed, picking up speed just a little. "I filled you up, then shot Juice all over your tits and pussy." I gave a hard pump and her eyes crossed for an instant before snapping back to me. "I was marking you." Another hard thrust. "And you know the best part?" I teased, now moving steadily in and out.

She tried to retort, but could barely catch her breath.

"The best part, you gorgeous little strumpet, is that I'm going to do it again." I felt myself leaking into her, felt Juice being forced from the cunt I was abusing. I pushed myself, pounding her harder.

Sara took a great intake of breath, a frozen moment before the pending earthquake; I pulled back, leaving her pussy gaping, just as the tremors started. Juice poured from me, coursing outward in a continuous white stream. Cum shot from her gash, coating me from stomach to chest while I did the same. Combined screams echoed around my small apartment as motes of light filled my vision. I toppled forward, landing awkwardly on my still shaking partner.

Suddenly Jenny was there, sucking my abused cock, moaning and vigorously fingering herself.

Blackness.

Awake.

Confusion, realization, then panic. "Shit," I said, levering myself up, staggering slightly at the fatigue throughout my body. Sara and Jenny were unconscious on the floor, covered in a heady mixture of fluids, but someone had opened the two large windows across the room and a breeze was helping clear out the space. In the background I noticed the sound of my shower.

I staggered there, knocking but not waiting for an answer. Not wanting to creep on Madison, I averted my eyes as I stepped inside. "Joe!" Perhaps silly given the depravity we'd shared, but I understood -- being Affected was almost like watching someone take control of your body.

"Need to clean up before they wake again," I explained hurriedly, grabbing two clean towels and a few washcloths.

Several hurried minutes later I started to relax. I'd wiped down myself and the ladies as best I could, then moved them to more comfortable locations, the couch for Sara and Jenny laid out on a fresh comforter atop my bed. The hardwood floor now smelled like pine, and our collected clothing was running on the sanitize cycle.

"Joe?"

Madison's voice pulled me from reverie; she looked terribly uncertain standing in just a towel. "Good morning. You look beautiful."

A genuine blush, not the chemically induced kind. "Thanks," she said with a sweet smile.

"Let me shower, then we can talk, okay?"

I turned without waiting for an answer, retreating to the bathroom.

As water poured down on me, I stood for several long minutes, trying to clear my head. I'd made Sara my plaything. I'd had Jenny and she'd had me. But in processing the night before, it was Madison's alluring eyes looking up at me that kept rising to prominence.

I took extra care with my morning routine, making sure I scrubbed, powdered, and deodorized for maximum protection. Stepping out, Jenny was still passed out, snoring softly and looking utterly delicious in her disheveled state. Sitting at my small kitchen table were the other two. "Good morning."

Madison smiled with a relaxed comfort I'd never seen before; Sara was wary, her expression straddling upset and thoughtful. I sat on the couch, giving them a ten foot buffer. "How are you feeling?" It was the kind of generic question I'd found worked best the morning after a pheromone-fueled encounter. Madison's smile broadened; Sara's lips went the other way, brows pinching together in the classic confused expression. "I'll try to answer questions if you have them," I offered.

"I don't even know where to start," Sara replied. Madison took hold of her friend's hand, gave it a little squeeze, then moved across the room to sit next to me, laying her head against my shoulder.

Chuckling, I asked her, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Mm hmm." She took a deep breath and pulled herself closer by taking hold of my bicep. Still at the table, Sara's expression had turned darker.

"That wasn't like what I thought it would be... I was totally out of control. Are we, like, addicted?"

"Not after one night," I answered with a gentle smile. Rather than being reassured, Sara's eyes went wide and her breath caught. "What's wrong?" I played back what I'd said. "Oh, shit -- no, no, no." My voice sounded panicked in my ears, which certainly wouldn't help calm her.

Deep breath, release.

"Listen, it would take months to get to anything scary like that. Please don't worry -- I'd never do anything to hurt you." I glanced at Madison, who nodded back, though she looked a bit less love struck than moments before. I gently shrugged myself free of her embrace and walked over to the window, sitting on the sill, hoping a little space would keep my mind clear.

"When I was nineteen, I fell hard for a girl. Brown hair, green eyes. Clever. Sassy. An elementary education major." I realized I was looking out into space so I found their eyes in turn -- three sets now, because Jenny had woken and was standing in the doorway wrapped in my comforter. "I met her my second year in University. Or I guess she met me. I used to wear crimson all the time and she worked up the courage to approach me as I walked between classes." A long pause, because I hated the next part. "I didn't take precautions back then -- young, dumb, and arrogant. We had sex behind a building before I even learned her name. Nelly, for what it's worth.

"Something about us clicked."

Roll shoulders. Crack neck. Let out a long breath.

"I'd never had anything other than a hook up. It was always about the pheromones. With Nel it was different, even as I laid on the grass after, watching her sleep it off.

"When she woke, we sat together and chatted for a long time -- two, three hours, skipping class. We spent the night together, then the next day." I smiled at the memory, knowing I was blushing. "It was the first time I'd really talked with a girl for almost a year, since I found out I was Afflicted. In a week we were official. In a month we were inseparable." I looked to Madison, then Jenny. "Classes were no problem for me -- you know I'm really good with numbers, and 200-level material wasn't any more difficult than what I took my Freshman year, but Nelly started falling behind because of all the time she spent with me... or recovering from time with me.

"Before we got together she was carrying a 3.6, but she almost failed two classes that semester. We decided to back off to just getting together on the weekends. I was able to cope since we still talked on the phone, but she could only go a day or two without seeing me before she started getting jittery. We relapsed after less than a month and her parents stepped in, withdrawing her from classes and then transferring her to a new University. It turns out she really had developed a chemical dependency on the pheromones." I met Sara's wide brown eyes. "But you have to understand, we were having sex two, three, four times a day for a semester and a half. It had to have been..." quick mental math, "at least four hundred encounters, and we're a really long way from that." I received a lackluster bob, but at least it was something.

"How many times, do you think, before a person gets addicted?" I didn't have an answer for Madison's question, nor a response to the underlying assumption.

Jenny sat on the far end of the couch and pulled the comforter tighter. "Is there a cure?"

Maybe, but the existence of a way to block or at least tone down pheromone production wasn't the only issue.