Redemption

Author's note:

This is the third and final chapter of Redemption, itself a sequel to Emergence, which I published in September of 2022.

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Let's review the list of my therapies so far. Wait, no, let's discuss the single greatest and probably least obtainable opportunity in sexual research.

There's no way to increase the size of the penis. The startup I helped found with that hack Kapp tried and failed, as had others before us. Hormonal treatments at most produce brief swelling, and even if you know what genes contribute to penis size, there's no way to productively introduce them into the subject. You might as well try to make someone taller. Sure, you could tinker with DNA at conception, but how many parents would pay to make sure their son will be hung like a porn star in twenty years?

But apart from that holy grail, I feel pretty good about what I've accomplished with a portable gene sequencer, a cloud computing account, and a nanoparticle printer. Boosts in female sex drive, anal sex receptiveness, staying power, and the ability to shoot big loads. Any of these has the potential to be a lucrative product.

The problem is, each of these treatments has to be custom sequenced for the individual. I can't compound a single tablet or print a single nanoparticle patch that will work for everyone. Big pharma might someday be able to do it, but for now, even if I shared the formulae, making the patches would be a boutique process. Essentially, that's what I've been doing at Glisten. I'm a one-woman pharma boutique, connecting our guests with treatments to improve their sex lives.

***

"What do you think, Elaine? Which of these guys do you like?"

While Larissa, the Glisten 'Activities Goddess', and I sometimes hang out, she's never brought me a smartphone full of photos before. She places her phone on the common area table where I'm having an ill-advised afternoon coffee, and swipes through them.

"Which ones do I like?" The men vary in age between their twenties and fifties. And while a few are posing in smart, casual attire, the others look like their photos were snapped in the middle of sailing, beach volleyball, or relaxing by a pool. There are also more than a few photos of women, but Larissa skips past them. "If you're asking which of those dudes I would fuck, then there are a few keepers in there. Why?"

Larissa gives me a sweet smile. "You're still recruiting for events, right?"

"Yyyes," I say slowly. "I wasn't sure if Jan had told you about that."

"He did," she replies airily, before returning to her original inquiry. "What about this guy? Kinda old, but he's okay, right?"

The okay guy is probably my age, but I don't bother to share this with Larissa who has yet to reach her mid-twenties and to whom anyone over thirty probably qualifies as kinda old. She's right, though, the man in question is handsome and fit.

"Yeah, he's alright. But we don't need anyone else. I don't know when you spoke with Jan, but we haven't scheduled another event yet."

"Oh, I know, but I'm an idea woman." Larissa sits back and flips her braids behind her neck. Her mouth is small, with invitingly full lips. My bi-streak is usually dormant but for a dangerous moment, I'm tempted to kiss her. I fight past it.

"So, what's your idea, woman?"

"To make Jayna's event work you had to find men willing to visit the resort on a specific week and play a certain role. Plus, Jayna had to approve each one. That's a lot of work."

She's right, although I hadn't given it that much thought. "It worked out though. Not like the rest of my job duties really keep me occupied."

"These guys," Larissa says, swiping once more through the lineup, "are all staying at nearby resorts this week. On any given day, the island is crawling with horny men and women. They all have rooms, don't need to be picked up at the airport, and don't need to be entertained the rest of the week."

Now I

really

want to kiss her, but again I push the urge aside. "But Glisten is a couples resort."

"Is it, though? Jayna's scene wasn't a couple's thing."

She's right. Again. Jayna and the men she performed her scene with didn't have any sort of relationship apart from that night. I've been justifying the exception as entertainment and little more. Plus, as Larissa points out, the special events series that I've been working on requires long lead times, lots of coordination, and more than a bit of luck. Opening up casting, so to speak, to guests at other resorts would offer some dexterity.

"How would it work though? Let's say the event in question was this week?"

Larissa leans in, and somewhere under the table her hand brushes my thigh. "You know I work the morning and sometimes day shifts at Rhapsody, right?"

"Sure." Rhapsody is our sprawling and more swinger-centric neighbor.

"Well, if the event was this week you'd tell me who you needed, and I'd chat up some of the guests there to check for interest. Rhapsody requires guests to screen for STDs, so we wouldn't even need to take care of that."

"You'd just need to know what the scene was."

"Yes." Larissa touches my thigh again, this time leaving her fingers to rest against my bare skin. "So, Elaine," she whispers, "what's the scene?"

"A woman," I whisper back. "A woman who's really, really overdue for some dick."

***

If I thought that perhaps whoever is pursuing my therapies lost interest, I was mistaken. Less than one week after Jayna's event, I receive another email.

Dear Ms. Salan,

While we appreciate that you have uploaded data in an apparent attempt to resolve your tenuous legal situation, we are not able to decrypt it. We recently changed our encryption protocols and no longer use the set of keys we issued you during the original case. Please provide the key you used.

Failure to do so will compel us to coordinate with the Aruban government for your swift extradition to the United States where you will face immediate and harsh consequences.

Food and Drug Administration Northeast Field Office Chief Counsel

At least this time I know for sure it's bullshit. I never provided the FDA with any data during the original trial, and they never issued me an encryption key. That whoever sent this email is pretending that I did is proof it isn't the FDA. Not that this is necessarily comforting. Whoever it is, they've already proven that they're not above spying and deception. What's next?

This isn't something I can readily discuss with Jan, either. He's still upset with me for bringing unwanted attention to Glisten. Bookings are up and guests continue to post favorable reviews, but I'm mostly shut out, and not just from his bedroom. I'll have to solve this problem before he'll soften.

***

Reviewing the fantasy fulfillment inquiries is both entertaining and time-consuming. And it's repetitive.

Glisten reservations. Do you have any four-day stays available in February? I'm a single male. Also, I'm not sure how this works, but I've always wanted to have a three-way.

MFF, lol. Where do I sign up?

Hey, your resort takes three and four-day reservations now, right? Can you set me up with two women for four nights?

I just discovered Glisten and it looks perfect! Great reviews, too. Is two-girls-one-guy one of your standard packages?

So yeah, men are predictable. Eighty percent of the requests we've received are for three ways. Most are from single men who are hoping we can hook them up with two women. A few are from couples who want a third, and of those, most are looking for a woman to join them in bed. Against these numbers, not one woman has inquired about being partnered with a couple.

Not that I couldn't make it happen. If I sort through enough correspondence, request enough photos, and play enough match-making, I could probably make one or two of these fantasies come true. No doubt some of the men are handsome and fit enough to attract interest from potential female guests.

Women are in their own way just as predictable.

Good afternoon. I have been reading reviews for Glisten with considerable interest, but I'm unclear on the extent to which you offer match-making. Are you able to find me a partner who is skilled in bed? Photo attached.

I want to be a Glistener! Got any guys who can last for more than two minutes?

My girlfriend told me about this place. I'm not sure if I'm ready for public sex, but might consider it if he's better than my ex.

Jayna was a unicorn. A woman who wants to be at the center of a gang bang and be drenched in cum probably won't come around again any time soon. Certainly not one as gorgeous as Jayna was. That leaves me playing matchmaker until I find another unicorn.

***

"Mind if I shower here?"

There's still activity around the pool, couples laughing and splashing after the orchestrated chaos that is Pool Party Plus. The activity is a reliable early-week favorite, getting the guests into the water, naked, and loosened up. Some have headed back to their bungalows, but a small handful hang around. With her activity director duties complete, Larissa is standing dripping wet on my balcony.

"Uh, sure." I won't lie, Larissa's unexpected arrival throws me off. She's an enticing young woman with coffee and cream skin, a ripe figure, and bold eyes. To magnify her appeal, she's been flirty with me lately.

"Thanks." Larissa turns the tap on the outdoor shower, which is shielded from passers-by, but not from where I sit in a deck chair. "The one by the pool isn't working."

This is the first I've heard of this, but then again Jan isn't telling me everything these days, and the plumbing has been a long-standing thorn in his side.

With no sign of self-consciousness, Larissa tugs off her bikini. I don't even pretend to look away. Her breasts are full and high, her torso supple, and her ass deliciously round.

"Mmm, thanks Elaine." Larissa turns slowly, stepping in and out of the stream to soap her face, neck, and arms. "This feels so nice."

It looks nicer,

I want to say, but I'm still not sure exactly what is happening here so I settle for unabashedly enjoying the view. Larissa obliges by washing ever farther down, across her breasts, belly, and between her legs.

"I wonder if I might ask you another favor," she asks. By now she's raising a toned leg to lather her calf.

"Yes?"

"Can my friend join us?"

Before I can stammer out a question, Larissa gives a whistle, and a man steps onto my balcony. I draw back involuntarily, but there's nothing threatening about the new arrival. He looks to be in his early forties, well-groomed, and dressed in casual resort attire. He grins at me, then more wolfishly toward Larissa.

"This is David," Larissa says in explanation. "Come here, David."

Larissa's friend doesn't hesitate. Within seconds he's torn off his polo shirt, kicked out of his sandals, and liberated himself from his shorts. When he joins Larissa under the shower she immediately soaps and strokes his cock.

I find my voice. "Uh, Larissa?"

Her response mostly ignores my confusion. "Do you remember, Elaine, how I said that this island is crawling with horny guys? Well, David is one of them. Say hi, David."

David turns my way, giving me more than a token glance. He's a good-looking fellow with close-cropped brown hair, a nice smile, and some muscle tone.

"Hi, Elaine." He groans as Larissa strokes his slick, soapy cock, but doesn't look away from me.

I'm being manipulated. Larissa is trying to impress me with her ability to find men willing to take part in Glisten's special events. She's decided that if she gets me laid I'll be more open to the idea.

She's right.

"When did you and Larissa meet?" I ask David.

"This morning." He's facing me while Larissa stands behind him, her arms circling forward to lather and caress his chest, cock, and thighs. "Chatted me up at Rhapsody."

"I see. And did she promise to fuck you?"

"No." He's still grinning at me. "But she said nice things about you."

"Did she?" Part of me is ashamed at how easily Larissa read me, but my body is already responding to the dynamic.

"Elaine," Larissa says, peering over David's shoulder, "I'm not sure what passes for hospitality in Boston, but here in the islands we consider it polite to invite visitors into our homes."

David is hard, I'm wet, and Larissa is gloriously sexy with water dripping from her lithe body. Of course I'm going to invite them in. "Don't track in any water," I say over my shoulder.

Once inside my bungalow I undress and hop into bed. David follows me in, after honoring my request to towel off. He's undeniably appealing, and must think much the same of me, because he's still hard. He hops on the bed and leans in to kiss me.

"You just going to watch?" I manage to ask Larissa, despite David's lips on my cheek and neck.

Larissa gives what might be a faint nod, looking on intently, naked, and biting her lip. David doesn't linger but rather kisses with ever more urgency, reaching first my neck, shoulder, then breasts. His eager tongue wets, circles, sucks, and nibbles until I let out a moan. My eyes slide shut.

When I open them again a moment later Larissa is gone.

***

Several months ago, the Aruban military shot down a spy drone over Glisten. Following that incident, Jan asked the military if they could maintain a visible presence, which they did. Several times a week they'd roll a truck by, come inside to check in with Jan, and look out over the beach with keen eyes. I can't say with certainty that this presence kept us safer, but it was only after they stopped coming around that my laptop was stolen.

I discovered the crime coming back from a late evening poolside. Larissa had led the guests through an erotic and compelling session of Follow Along, in which she and her partner mimic sexual positions while guests try to keep up. The evening concluded with several couples continuing to go at it on their public loungers. I watched until I couldn't take the frustration any more and headed back to my bungalow.

The intruder must have been eager to get in and out swiftly. The flimsy lock had been forced and some loose papers snatched up, but only the laptop was taken. The GENiE - my compact gene sequencer- is still there, as is the nanoparticle printer. The thief wanted information, not hardware.

Well, the joke is on them. The contents of the laptop are protected by powerful encryption. Without my password, the thief won't be able to access anything. And I know better than to use an easily guessed password. More to the point perhaps, I store almost nothing on my laptop. I've taken some smartphone photos which I've saved, along with footage from LoveDrone that I found particularly, uh, interesting. And yes, I've downloaded some porn. However, all of my research is stored in my cloud account.

But while there's no immediate worry about my data, the question of my personal safety is closer to the surface than ever. First drone spying, then threatening emails, now breaking and entering. The most likely next step isn't very appealing. Once they can't access any data on the laptop they may decide that kidnapping me is the only solution. Karma?

The offender has to be a pharmaceutical company. No one else would stand to benefit from my research. It could be an Israeli firm. They have a strong pharma industry, and the drone they were using was of Israeli design. But this conjecture is pointless. I'm in increasing danger; it doesn't matter exactly where from.

There's no point in telling Jan. He's already upset and paranoid, and they aren't even after him. Or is that a justification? If someone breaks into Glisten and carries me off it will leave a cloud over the resort. Ethically, I suppose, the proper action on my part would be either to surrender my research, or leave Glisten so when the axe falls it falls only on me.

Or is there a middle way? I stay up late with my phone looking at reviews, thank-you letters, and booking requests.

***

As sometimes happens at Glisten, a distraction comes along to pull me from my worries. I've been looking for the next Jayna, the next unicorn around whom we can further advance Glisten's reputation. I'd about given up, swamped by requests for threesomes and other dreams. Then I see it.

Good afternoon. This message is for Elaine.

My partner and I have been together for seven years now. We have a great relationship and are deeply in love. We have, however, decided to take our relationship in a slightly new direction and hope that Glisten can help us give it a try.

I go on to read the rest of the message, which is far more thorough than most. When I get wet just reading it I know I've found another unicorn. The scene which the authors want to play out is one that will be immediately appealing to almost anyone visiting a sex resort. The only significant challenge is their requirements for a participant. They're looking for a man who, apart from being good-looking, is kind, respectful, and gentle in nature. These aren't easy characteristics to screen for, but I already know just the man.

***

"Would you like some more wine?"

Wine in the islands, especially good wine, is not a solid value proposition. An unexceptional Rhone, which I could find for under twenty dollars at my corner shop in Boston, is closer to forty in Aruba. Dare to set your sights on a Paso Robles? Good luck even finding one, and if you do, prepare to hear your wallet cry.

So in retrospect, tracking down a bottle of Oregon pinot and having it delivered for dinner was not the best tactical decision. It's made Jan suspicious of my intentions.

"I would," he says, pushing his glass forward. Jan is cautious, but he knows wine. That the pinot isn't a perfect match for the pork skewers doesn't bother either of us. I pour him a splash.

"Thank you for joining me tonight." Not that he had to go far. With a modest tip to the chef, I was able to arrange a private table toward the back of Glisten's open-air restaurant. With a slightly less modest tip, I was able to arrange for the private menu, half a step above what the resort normally offers.

"This has been nice," Jan says.

I was hoping for better than 'nice'. "It's my way of apologizing."

"Oh?"

"These last few months haven't been easy."

"True."

"Yes, and I know that some of it is because of me."

Here Jan lets out a sigh heavy with fatigue. "The occupancy rate is up. I don't want you to think I don't appreciate that."

"Thank you. And I have an idea for another special event. This one we can make part of a-"

"Elaine," Jan says, cutting me off. He puts down his fork. "I appreciate your enthusiasm for these events and I know they're good for Glisten. But we have larger problems, don't we?"

I open my mouth to object, but Jan isn't done quite yet.

"I know that you think these problems are solely yours, Elaine, but they aren't. What happens to you happens to us, to Glisten. Holding another special event sounds great, but it doesn't lessen the danger we're in."

"You're right, Jan. I've been partitioning myself from Glisten, kidding myself that I haven't brought unwanted attention here."

And now it's Jan's turn to open his mouth and my turn to keep going.

"But what if I told you that I have a solution?"

Jan's eyes narrow. "You'll stop your research?"

"I won't promise that," I say carefully. I have no intention of giving up my hobby. "And pulling the plug on my research won't stop the people that are after what I've already discovered anyway."

"That's true. So what will you do, give them your research?"

"Not exactly, but I can make it so they lose interest."

"Are you going to tell me how?"