Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
That will have to wait until after we all take a long bath.
When we were in the starting zone, we had easy access to clean water.
On our journey on the road from the spider village to this town, though, we were nowhere near a water source.
Every drop on hand needed to be conserved for drinking, and that needed to be rationed carefully.
I practically lusted for a long, hot soak, and Cait told me there’s a bathhouse in Thebe that’s worth every copper piece it requires. However, the attendant told us it’s two silver for the bath alone, more if you want anything extra like soap. It hits me then how poor I am.
“I’ve got you covered,” Guy tells me.
“You need to stop paying for everything,” I say. “I don’t want you thinking I’m your sugar baby.”
He smirks. “And what would be so wrong with that? I like the idea of spending money on you.”
“Mm-hmm…” I respond. “You just don’t want me stinking so bad when we get intimate.”
To my surprise, Guy puts his arms around me and smells my hair.
So far, he’s been very reserved, always letting me take the lead with physical touch.
I don’t know if it’s because he’s trying to respect my boundaries or he’s trying not to scare me off.
Right now, though, he’s showing a side of him I haven’t seen before.
“Even covered in dirt, you smell good,” he whispers. “Like sugar and campfire smoke.”
“Liar,” I playfully chide, while secretly tingling from his breath on my ear.
I think back to when he touched my ear for the silencing spell. It tingles pleasantly. I wonder how it feels when he touches other places.
I better take that bath.
There’s a ka-ching, and I see an entire gold piece show up in my inventory. I gasp. Holy shit! Is Guy rich? No wonder it didn’t bother him to spend a few coppers on my basic gear and food.
“Get anything you want,” he says as he steps away. “They’ve got roses and everything. I’ll be on the men’s side of the bathhouse.”
I nod, probably looking like an idiot as he walks away. When I turn toward the women’s side of the bathhouse, I see Cait looking annoyed with me.
“What?” I ask.
“You’re wasting time,” she gripes. “We need to get our baths and get you upgraded gear. Also, like I told you earlier, there’s another temple here. Our deities will want us to check in.”
“That doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy ourselves a little,” I tell her. “Chill.”
I want to tell her to yank the stick out of her ass, but that will only make her more abrasive. Cait’s such a hot and cold person. I’m glad she’s my friend, but Jesus, she can be a pain in the ass sometimes.
When we get to the women’s side, I take a gander at the menu and realize I’m going to have money to spare.
“I’ll take the exfoliation, the soap, the rose petals, the hair wash with scalp massage, the extra rinse of hot water, and the pedicure.”
When the attendant leaves to get supplies, I squeal at Cait. “They have pedicures here! I’ve never had one before.”
Cait gasps. “You’ve never had a pedicure?”
I shake my head. “Nope. I mean, I’ve obviously clipped my toenails, but I’ve never even stepped into a nail salon.”
“Why on earth not?”
“I don’t know,” I say. “Just seemed like something only pretty girls got to do.”
Cait rolls her eyes. “Oh my God, Lauren. You are a pretty girl!” She sighs.
“I’ve changed my mind. Our main objective today is to have a girls’ day out.
After we’re done here, we’re getting you some nice accessories and getting your hair done.
Fortunately, the game designers remembered to cater to us vanity players, too. ”
The attendant returns and guides us to a changing room, where we store our clothing in lockable boxes.
I expected to be given a bathrobe or something, but no, we’re completely naked.
The differences between my body and Cait’s are extremely clear now.
While she’s svelte and toned, I’m plump and about as far from muscular as a person can get.
I try not to look at her, but it’s hard not to.
She’s right there and just about the prettiest person I’ve ever met. Practically lickable.
Get it together, Lauren. You’re exploring things with Guy, and Cait is definitely straight.
Two women guide us to large marble slabs, elevated so that we can lie on them without having to crouch first. I expect the stone to be cold, but it seems they’ve heated it somehow.
It’s surprisingly comfortable. One woman uses a salt scrub on every inch of my body, except for the more sensitive areas.
It feels so good that I almost fall asleep.
Once the scrub is over, my personal attendant washes me off and leads me to a hip bath made of terracotta.
The water inside is light pink and milky with rose petals scattered on the surface.
It looks like something out of a travel magazine’s spa destination article.
I lower myself in and find that it’s the perfect temperature.
The smell of roses is strong but not overwhelming. It’s heaven.
Because it’s a hip bath, the water covers only my lower half.
So, I grab the sponge on the table next to me and squeeze the water over my shoulder and chest before lathering it up and cleaning my body completely.
Throughout the whole bath, Cait is in the tub next to me.
Thank goodness for the privacy screen between us.
Without it, I’d be too distracted to chat with her about our plans for the day.
Even with the divider, I can’t forget that Cait is naked just a few feet away.
All I’d have to do to see her is lean forward and crane my neck.
My experience in Peripeteia has been a roller coaster.
Overall, this entire experience has overwhelmed me in one fashion or another.
I’ve been confused and in denial, not to mention missing Mom more and more every day.
And I’m still trying not to think about that dead harpy.
When we completed the cercopes quest, I felt victorious and celebrated.
The spider quest terrified me, then made me feel proud, but ultimately, I’m still in despair that I’m so powerless to help the villagers move on.
Now I feel romantic stirrings with Guy and a little lustful toward a pretty bitchy barbarian. It’s all just so much.
One thing I never expected to experience here is giddiness at the prospect of a self-care day with a gal pal. This is like the fantasy RPG version of Pretty Woman, except I won’t be prostituting myself to some millionaire.
Okay, so it turns out that Guy is rich, but it’s not like I’m exchanging sex for gifts.
Wait…does he expect sex after this?
“Hey, so about Guy,” I say. “You’ve known him a lot longer than me. He seems like a great person, but I mean…I don’t know how to ask this.”
“Are you asking me if he’s secretly a jerk? Because he isn’t.”
“No, I mean…” I sigh. “He’s paying for so much. Back home, girls say if a man spends a lot of money on you, he expects something in return.”
My friend laughs, almost guffaws. It’s so deep and loud that it’s unnatural coming from someone so completely feminine. “What did he give you for this spa day? A gold coin?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s nothing for him,” Cait says. “He rarely spends any money. Not because he’s tightfisted but because he just doesn’t care about anything that costs money and isn’t strictly necessary for questing.
Honestly, I’m surprised he’s at the bathhouse, too.
He usually just finds a stream or something and cleans up with a cold dip. ”
“Oh, so, he’s not rich?”
“I didn’t say that. He does a lot of the side quests for fun, so he makes more money than we do.”
“Oh, well, I guess I don’t feel so bad, then,” I say.
But this doesn’t settle my nervousness at all. No one’s ever pursued me like this. I don’t know how to respond to it.
“It’s okay,” Cait says with a sigh. “Don’t get me wrong. I still think it’s a bad idea for you two to get romantic. You barely know each other, and this could turn into a Yoko Ono situation if you two aren’t careful.”
“I promise we’ll be smart about things,” I say. “We’ve already discussed being mature about things if it turns out we’re not a good match.”
“Did you talk about what might happen if someone else in the group develops feelings for you?” Cait asks.
“Well, no. But I don’t think that’ll happen.”
“You really don’t think you’re attractive?”
I motion in her direction, though I know she can’t see through the privacy screen. “Cait, look at you. You’re perfect. I’m…well…” I look down at myself. “Even Doug used to call me squishy.”
“Doug?” Cait asks.
“My ex.”
“He sounds like he has turds for brains,” she says. “Lauren, you’re…” She goes silent for a long beat. “There was this cartoon that I saw once at a friend’s house. It’s the kind of movie that my parents would never let me watch. I really shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t look away. It was so good.”
“What was it?” I ask.
“Wizards,” she says. “It was by this guy named Ralph Bakshi. One of the main characters is a fairy. She’s so round.
All curves everywhere. If she were a real woman, people would call her fat.
” A small sigh escapes Cait. “You could see through her clothes to her breasts. Lauren, she was so beautiful, so sexy, and you look so much like her.”
I can tell I’m blushing because my entire face is as hot as a stovetop. “Oh. Well, I’m sure that’s not many people’s taste.”
“Even if it’s not, remember that you’re a Cleric of Aphrodite. People are going to be drawn to you romantically and sexually. And you’re going to be mostly around our party. Even if someone isn’t looking for love, they might accidentally tumble into it with you.”
“You think Guy…?” I trail off.
What if he’s not really into me, and it’s just Aphrodite’s power? My heart plummets. I may not be looking for anything serious right now, but I am attracted to him, and I don’t want our entire relationship to be a lie.