Black Melt_Mother Fountain

by Indy McDaniel

  “Not at all,” Zoey replied, apparently unbothered by her own lack of appropriate attire. She’d changed yet again, now wearing an even more casual outfit. A pair of jeans, t-shirt with a button-up shirt thrown over it, and some bright red Chucks. She waved down the maître de so they could get a table. “We faced down a perilous situation today and came out alive. Cause for celebration.”

  “The part of me that loves a good filet mignon agrees with you,” Stark said. “But the part of me that’s concerned about paying my rent this month wants to run screaming out the door and not stop until I get to a Denny’s.”

  Zoey gave him a concerned look. “Isn’t one courtship with death per day enough?”

  Even if she was strange, the doctor had a point.

  They got seated at a small table near the back. Hardly a prime location, but they were hardly prime customers. Stark was mostly amazed that they’d gotten a table at all. A quick glance at the beverage menu convinced him that it would be a good idea to stick to water for the evening. And then hope that the place didn’t charge for water. When he tried to place the order, Zoey cut him off.

  “No, water terrible order,” she said, shaking her head. “Needs to be stronger. More flavorful. Wine, for both, I think. Anti-oxidants and alcohol.” She looked up at the waiter standing beside their table. “A bottle of wine. Red. Decent year.”

  As the waiter moved off to get them their wine, Stark lifted an eyebrow at Zoey from across the table. “You planning on putting me in the poor house tonight?”

  Zoey blinked slowly at Stark. “No. I’m sorry there was a misunderstanding. The meal is on me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because. You saved my life. This seemed a more socially acceptable way of repaying you than offering you sex.”

  Stark laughed. “If the cost of this place is any indicator, you most value sex with you pretty highly,” he joked.

  “Oh, I am extremely proficient in sexual techniques,” Zoey replied, completely serious. “Could show you. But I doubt I’m your type.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “I’m transgendered,” she replied simply. “Male to female. Not that I like to presume. That could be your type, it’s just not a type for majority of people. To be honest, you’re not my type, either. Too gruff, too macho. The muscles are nice, though. Don’t think I didn’t notice those. I did. Hard not to, really. With full disclosure, I’d be willing to make an exception in my typical tastes. If the feeling were mutual, that is. Which, I suspect, it is not.”

  Stark shook his head, trying to keep up with the rapid fire of words spewing from Zoey’s mouth. “Wait, hold on. You’re really a guy?”

  “Genetically born a male, yes,” Zoey nodded. “Internal belief is that I’m female. Currently undergoing a transitional process to sync mind and body into a single gender. Hormone treatments, minor surgeries, a complete shift in wardrobe accessories.”

  Stark was stunned to silence. He stared hard at Zoey, trying to figure out if she was screwing with him or not. He looked over the elegant curves of her face and tried to spot any glaring signs of masculinity, but came up empty. “No way,” he finally said. “I can’t see it.”

  Zoey grinned widely. “Good. That’s the point. Hormones have allowed me to produce some rather quality, if less than bountiful, natural breasts. A highly targeted exercise regimen toned and plumped certain aspects of my body, while doing the opposite to others. Long road, difficult, but so far, very satisfying. Unfortunately, ruse would last only until I removed my pants. I still have my penis.”

  Zoey’s last statement coincided with the return of their waiter and earned her a very confused look. She replied with a casual smile and thanked the waiter for the wine, holding out her glass for him to fill it. When they each had their glasses filled, Stark took a healthy drink of his while scanning through the menu. He had no idea what he was ordering and knowing that Zoey was paying only made it harder. He didn’t want to leave her with a massive bill at the end of the night.

  Zoey seemed to notice Stark’s quandary. “Order whatever you like. If it helps your conscience, I’m going to have the Tuscan Lamb Chop Skillet.”

  Stark scanned the menu until he found the item in question, noting it was a forty dollar plate. Better be some damn good lamb for that price, he thought before letting out a sigh. “If I try to order a salad, you’re going to just order something else for me, aren’t you?”

  Zoey giggled and nodded.

  “Fine,” he said. “I’ll have the filet mignon then.” Stark took a little solace in the fact that the filet mignon was only a bit more expensive than the dish Zoey had ordered. He handed his menu over to the waiter and took a sip of his wine. It tasted earthy, robust, and expensive as hell. “So, if you’re technically a boy, how come you think the fungal infection has a preference towards women?”

  “Hard to say without more research, testing. Best guess, hormones. I’ve been taking them long enough that, if some form of smell is a factor, I may be emitting distinctly feminine pheromones. Or perhaps it relies on visual clues alone. If that’s the case, O’Malley would have been surprised and disappointed if you hadn’t killed him.”

  “You still think the fungal infection was the cause of his behavior?” Stark asked.

  “Strongest likelihood, given all other factors. Especially given likely point of origin for the fungal matter to begin with.”

  “Right,” Stark said. “Space fungus. Really, really little green men, creeping inside people’s heads and telling them to goo-ify any unlucky lady that gets within reach.”

  “Preposterous,” Zoey said. “Fungus shows no signs of green in its hue.”

  “I’ll tell you right now, that’s not the only reason your theory sounds preposterous.”

  Zoey shrugged. “Should have autopsy and lab results on Kurylenko, O’Malley, and Moone tomorrow. Know more then. Can adjust theory one way or other. More interested in what comes after.”

  Stark helped himself to a little more wine. “Well, first we’re gonna have to head up to CyberWolfe’s main headquarters. It’s about a two hour drive from here and that’s not including traffic, so you might wanna head home after this. Pack a bag.”

  Zoey shook her head. “Don’t live here. CDC sent me in from Atlanta. Bag already packed. Still in car, actually. Haven’t selected hotel yet. Any suggestions?”

  “Not beyond the usual suspects,” Stark said. “Why don’t you stay at my place? Not as ritzy as the Hilton, but it’s also not nearly as expensive. Hell, I’ll even throw in a continental breakfast.”

  “Couldn’t intrude, really,” Zoey said, waving off his offer.

  “It wouldn’t be an intrusion. Place isn’t huge, but the couch folds out into a reasonably comfortable bed,” he said. “And with the cost of this dinner, you could stand to save a bit of money on hotel expenses.”

  Zoey thought it over for a moment before finally nodding. “Makes sense. Alright, Stark.” She gave him a smile. “Bunking with you tonight.”

  * * *

  Stark wasn’t exactly sure what had caused him to lean in and kiss Zoey, but it had happened. Maybe it had been too much expensive wine at dinner or maybe it had just been a spur of the moment tactic to get her to shut up for a minute, but either way he found it difficult to pull away from her so soft lips once he’d pressed his against them. He could see her wide eyes, staring at him in shock and was certain his own were equally so. This is as ridiculous as her theory on space fungus controlling people, he thought. I’m not into guys. Except Zoey wasn’t a guy. He didn’t think of her as a guy, hence the feminine pronouns he kept using regardless of her revelation to him. Regardless of what gender he thought of Zoey as, he knew that continuing to kiss her was most certainly a bad idea for a number of reasons. Still, as she began to kiss him back with growing passion, he found it impossible to break away from her.

  It had been a while for him. Maybe that had something to do with it. Working as a field agent for the FBI didn’t exactl
y mesh well with a steady relationship. Too many long nights spent working and too much classified data to properly explain those late nights to keep an average woman satisfied. One night stands were plenty of fun, but far too few between due to the same reason he couldn’t maintain a girlfriend. Stark would have been embarrassed about the size of his porn collection, except it was the only steady sexual release he had. Plus, he didn’t make a habit of telling people about it. That helped.

  When did I get so hard?

  He hadn’t realized it at first, but as Zoey and his tongues mingled against one another, the crotch of his pants had grown almost unbearably tight. He reached a hand up to stroke his fingers through Zoey’s blonde hair, amazed at how soft it felt and even more amazed at how badly he wanted her in that moment. What’s going to happen when her pants come off? It was a valid question. With her clothes still on, he could pretend she was just another girl. But he couldn’t keep up that charade. Zoey had been extremely blunt as to what she was packing between her legs. Maybe she really was just dicking with me, he thought and immediately chastised himself for his poor choice of words.

  Zoey’s hands moved to Stark’s chest, running over him and feeling his muscles through the fabric of his shirt before she let her fingers move to his buttons. She seemed as eager as he was to progress things to the next level. If he didn’t make a move to stop things then, he didn’t think he’d get another chance. Reluctantly, he broke free of Zoey’s lips. She allowed it, her fingers pausing at the third button down his shirt. They each took a moment to catch their breath. “This is probably a terrible idea,” he told her. “We have to work together. And, well… there’s that other thing.”

  Zoey’s brow furrowed with concern and dismay. “You’re right,” she whispered. “Of course, you’re right. Freaking you out is not my intention, Stark.”

  He laughed. “Just call me Nick. And you’re not freaking me out,” he said. “It should be, but it’s really not. At least, right now it isn’t. Problem is, I can’t guarantee that’ll last.”

  Zoey moved her hands off Stark’s chest and scooted away from him on the couch. “Too much wine. Historically, inebriation leads to bad decision making.” She went silent for a few moments, chewing at her bottom lip. “Why did you kiss me?” she asked. Her words weren’t accusatory or pissed off. She wasn’t hurt by his rejection, just genuinely curious.

  “Honestly,” Stark said, letting out a sigh. “I have no damn clue. You’re cute. Regardless of what you are or aren’t packing down below, you’re really damn cute. And I’ve been lonely for a while. And the wine, yea, that didn’t help.” Stark thought over a bit longer before adding, “And you’re not like anyone I’ve ever met before, boy or girl or otherwise. You don’t seem to give a shit about what other people think. You jabber on at a mile a minute and even if I could keep up with the speed, I’m nowhere near bright enough to follow along. You’re five foot nothing, weigh maybe a buck twenty tops, and you intimidate the shit out of me.”

  Zoey smirked. “Intimidation was not my intention, either.”

  “And that’s part of what makes you so cute,” he said. “You do all of this amazing shit, and you don’t even think anything of it. And I’m not gay, but I don’t know if that matters. Is the fact that you don’t identify as male negate the fact that you have a dick?”

  “I believe so, yes,” Zoey said with a firm nod. “But that’s me. Your perception may differ. Although, if it matters, I’m a bottom.”

  Stark couldn’t help laughing at that.

  “Did kissing me feel wrong?” she asked.

  Stark shook his head. “It didn’t. It really didn’t. But I think that might have something to do with the fact that you’re passing as a full-bodied woman so well.”

  Zoey nodded. “Simple way to see if that’s the case,” she said, standing up from the couch. Her hands moved down to her jeans, unfastening them. Stark thought about stopping her, but before he could, she shoved her jeans down to her ankles. He gasped as he saw the crotch of the boxer shorts she wore, already half-tented up. Apparently, he hadn’t been the only one to react to the brief make out session. Zoey managed to get her feet out of the crumpled up pants and then pushed down her boxers to join them. Her semi-hard cock came into full view and Stark found he couldn’t take his eyes off it.

  Zoey’s cock was on the smaller side – maybe a side effect of the hormones she was on, he didn’t know – and was shaved clean of hair. Her testicles, too, seemed undersized, hiding behind her dangling shaft. Zoey stood before him, bottomless, and allowed him to survey her. “You can touch it,” she told him. “Examine it, if it will help.”

  Stark did reach out, slowly, and grazed a finger across the head of Zoey’s dick. She let out a soft moan as he did and he saw the member jerk and harden a bit more. He slowly wrapped his fingers around her girth and held her, remarking at how warm and soft she felt in his hand. How familiar the sensation was. There was a trickle of weirdness coursing down the back of his mind, but Zoey exuded a weirdness that went much deeper than the fact that she had a penis. Which may have been why Stark pulled her back down onto the couch with him and tugged her closer to resume their previously aborted make out session.

  The rest of their clothing came off in a disorganized fashion as their hands wandered over one another. When Stark was down to nothing but his pants and Zoey was fully nude, he wrapped his arms around her narrow waist and pulled her on top of him as he lay back along the couch. His hand moved down to squeeze the smooth flesh of her ass. He could feel her rigid erection pressed between their stomachs, smearing a warm stickiness across his skin. Paired with the feeling of her breasts pressing against his chest, it made for a bizarrely unique experience.

  Zoey broke away from Stark’s lips and kissed her way down his body, trailing down his throat, across his chest and stomach, and finally moving lower. She kissed across the bulging front of his pants before fumbling to get his belt unfastened. Stark lifted himself up so she could tug his pants halfway down his legs and free the pressure within them. Her hand slipped into his boxers and pulled his stiff member free. Stark groaned as her lips continued to kiss, slowly moving across him from his tip down to his base. She kissed her way back up before parting her lips and wrapping them around the head of his cock. Her tongue fluttered across him as she added a little suction, gaining a louder groan from him.

  Stark let his eyes slip closed and brought a hand down to the back of Zoey’s head, casually teasing her hair as she sucked him deeper into her mouth. Her throat muscles constricted around the head of his cock as she took him in down to the base of his shaft. Her hand moved into his boxers to tease his balls while she slurped her way back and forth along his length. Zoey’s free hand moved between her legs to stroke her own erection. Stark’s breathing grew heavier as the waves of pleasure from her talented mouth washed over him, drawing him ever closer to release. When he could take no more, he gripped her hair and eased her off of his saliva-soaked member. Zoey’s lips popped free of his cock head and she gave them a quick lick.

  “Has it gotten too weird for you?” she asked.

  Stark shook his head. “Just wasn’t sure if you wanted me to explode in your mouth.”

  Zoey giggled. “Wouldn’t have minded it,” she said. “Although, other things could be fun. If you’re interested.”

  “If we stopped now, I don’t think it’d be fair to either of us.”

  “Agreed,” Zoey said as she scooted back up. “Are you opposed to anal sex?” she asked. “Giving,” she was quick to clarify. “Not receiving. I could see the potential for confusion, given the situation.”

  Stark laughed. “As a rule, I’m not opposed to the giving side of that equation. Although, it’s rarely on the menu.”

  “My menu is specialized,” Zoey said. “Superior, even, in that regard.” She pushed herself up on the couch and bent forward to grab her discarded jeans. She slipped a hand into one of the front pockets and came out with a condom. She tossed it to Sta
rk. “Safety first,” she said then turned away from him and leaned forward over the arm of the couch to give him a clear view of her ass. She turned her head to look at him over her shoulder, reaching back to spread her cheeks. “The fit may be tight. Don’t worry. I don’t break.”

  Stark tore the condom package open and unsheathed it over his erection. “Good to know,” he said, moving onto his knees on the couch and scooting closer to Zoey. He could see her balls dangling between her spread thighs and was once again struck by how strangely unique she was. He took hold of the base of his cock and guided himself to her puckered sphincter, pressing against her tight orifice. He reached forward to take hold of Zoey’s hips, holding her in place and steadying himself as he slowly eased himself into her ass. The pair let out mutual moans of pleasure as Zoey’s asshole gradually stretched open to take Stark’s stiff cock into her.

  It took several minutes of slow penetration before Stark was able to fully enter Zoey’s rear end. Once he had, he paused, soaking in the pleasure of her warm, gripping hole wrapped around his cock. She hadn’t been kidding about it being a tight fit. Even through the condom, it felt amazing. He leaned forward over Zoey as he moved his way back and forth inside her. Sliding a hand around her, he cupped one of Zoey’s breasts and gently kneaded the soft flesh, rolling her nipple between his fingers. Zoey cried out as he pinched down on the small nub and bucked back against him, flexing her ass muscles around his cock.

  Stark didn’t put much thought into it as he slid his other hand around to Zoey’s erection. He took hold of it and pumped the firm flesh. Zoey let out a shocked gasp and drove herself back with more force. As her ass relaxed, Stark found it easier to thrust into her and it didn’t take much longer for him to work up to a speedy rhythm. Zoey seemed to enjoy the more vigorous pounding he was giving her ass, as well as the tight grip he had on her cock. The air filled with the sound of their flesh slapping against one another and their mingled moans and groans as they fucked towards a mutual climax.