by Zoey Draven
“Uh, absolutely. Are you mad?” Genni asked. Then she pursed her lips. “Now that I think about it, you could afford a night with one of them. Fancy booking an appointment so I can live vicariously through you?”
Eve laughed, but it sounded nervous. “You want to live vicariously through a virgin?”
Genni grinned and then teased, “Well, I haven’t been one of those in ages. It might be fun.”
“In that case, maybe we should turn around,” Eve joked, shaking her head at her friend’s dig.
Genni giggled but then sighed, reaching out to squeeze Eve’s hand. “Madame Allegria’s is the last place I would ever expect to find you, darling Evelyn. Me on the other hand…well, it would be the first place if I had a rich husband,” Genni joked. “Oh look! There’s the restaurant!”
And just before they turned the corner to Restaurant Row, Eve looked over her shoulder one last time, glancing at the dark alley, the quiet street…the name of which she memorized and she didn’t even know why.
Chapter Two
“And I told him that no, he couldn’t cum there,” Genni finished, finally taking a bite of her salad. Her friend had been picking at it as she’d told Eve the story of her latest lover. Genni sighed, apparently relishing the taste of lab-grown lettuce. “Why do men always want to cum on your face?”
Eve wouldn’t know, but her cheeks flamed when the couple seated at the table next to them cast disapproving glances at Genni…or at least the woman did. The man was trying to slyly eye Genni’s figure without his partner noticing.
Genni had been talking for most of their meal at Luna, one of the most popular restaurants on Restaurant Row. It had received a rave review in the Gazette that Eve read religiously, but she wasn’t all that impressed with the food. She thought it was bland, but the atmosphere more than made up for it.
Luna was dimly lit by hundreds of wax candles, not an electric bulb in sight. The ceilings were high and directly in the center was a bright, glowing full moon suspended by clear cables, the namesake of the restaurant. Eve had read about Old Earth’s moon. She’d seen pictures at the archives and had seen it in the old films.
At Luna, it was in full display and Eve even thought she could see the ‘man on the moon,’ which she’d also read about.
Genni’s latest lover worked next door to the beauty shop. He was a tailor, apparently, and had met Genni since their noon breaks lined up with one another. After a couple lunches together, they’d started having sex and now, more than a month later, Genni was getting bored.
It was her friend’s cycle. She repeated all her same mistakes with every lover she took and complained to Eve any moment she could. A part of Eve didn’t mind. The curious virgin in her took a strange thrill hearing about Genni’s sexual escapades because Eve knew that she would never be so bold as Genni.
Eve had a healthy interest in sex, had pleasured herself with the latest toys and vibrators that she got discreetly delivered to her townhome, and she’d seen her fair share of erotic films. She tried to imagine what sex would be like, to have a man deep inside her body, to feel his weight on top of her, to hear his groans and rough breaths in her ear, to touch the shifting muscles of his back as he thrust into her.
To be connected to another person in a way that sex could only provide.
But the truth was that Eve couldn’t imagine it. She’d never experienced anything as intimate as sex. She’d been kissed once during her schooling days, which she later found out was a dare. She’d received friendly touches from strangers, which she’d soaked in with sad desperation.
Eve craved touch. No one ever touched her anymore, except for Genni, and even that was done with absentmindedness since Genni touched everyone she spoke with.
Looking around at the other patrons dining at Luna, Eve was struck by her loneliness again. Even when she was with Genni and listening to the chattering voices of at least fifty people, she was lonely.
She’d done it to herself, she thought, briefly glancing down at her half-empty plate of braised modified meat and lab-grown vegetables. She was a coward when it came to people and relationships. She hid herself away in her big townhouse because it wasn’t frightening, because it was easy.
Genni was talking again, unhindered by Eve’s silence. “I still can’t believe Mrs. Langley visits the Krave. I always pegged her for a prude.”
That got Eve’s attention. “Really?”
“She’s always very distant when she comes into the shop. Then again, all the richies are like that,” Genni added, but then said, “Not you though.”
Eve almost sighed. Genni always made comments like that and Eve wondered if Genni thought she was vastly richer than she actually was. Yes, Eve would be able to live comfortably for the rest of her life if she budgeted the credits and assets her father had left her. But she was by no means as wealthy as the Langleys or the Buttes or the Chungs. Not even close. And Eve would never dream of giving up her shop job, not only because she liked working there, but because of the credits she brought in.
It gave Eve peace of mind…and there was something comforting about being able to live off her own credits, not her inheritance.
“Still, she never gossips or rants about her husband. I mean, I’m a beautician. I get an intimate look into all my client’s lives and that includes sex. But not Mrs. Langley. She’s never talked about it once, so I just assumed she didn’t have much of it,” Genni said, taking another bite of her salad.
Eve hesitated, but then said softly, “What…what have you heard about the Krave?”
Genni grinned. “Lots. What have you heard?”
“Just that, you know, their…” Eve trailed off, glancing at the couple again seated close to them. Whispering, she said, “Their ejaculation…er, fluid triggers orgasms.”
Genni laughed, taking a sip of her wine. Not bothering to lower her voice, she said, “Long orgasms, Evelyn. I heard as long as their cum is inside you, it’s like a never-ending orgasm. You have to clean it out for it to stop.”
Eve’s thighs clenched and she swallowed thickly, trying to ignore the couple that was obviously eavesdropping on their conversation. Not that Genni was trying to be discreet about it anyways.
“Do you think that’s true?” Eve asked, wondering what that would be like.
“I know it’s true,” Genni said matter-of-factly, around another sip of wine. “You know Karen Newton? Her best friend used to visit the Krave and Karen got all the details from her friend and told me. Apparently, this woman once had an orgasm for an hour straight. She eventually passed out from it and when she woke up, she was still cumming. She finally begged the Krave she was with to clean her up.”
“And…he did?” Eve asked.
“Of course,” Genni said. “And apparently she visited him on a regular basis, like once a week. Can you imagine being rich enough to visit a Krave once a week? God.”
“What are they like, do you think?” Eve couldn’t help but wonder. She’d never even seen a picture of them, had only heard vague rumors and murmurings over the years and throughout her schooling days. “The Krave?”
Very few alien species resided on Everton, or any of the other Earth colonies, for that matter. Only those that provided ‘valuable services’ were allowed a visa inside. Apparently the Krave possessed what was considered a ‘valuable service,’ and even then the sponsorship fee was…immense.
Genni shrugged. “They can’t be too beastly looking if they have regular clients.”
All throughout the rest of their dinner, Eve couldn’t stop thinking about them. She couldn’t stop thinking about that alley, about that street, about what would happen if she made an ‘appointment’ with one of the Krave.
It was a harmless fantasy, but long after dinner was over and when Eve was back in the safety and quiet of her townhouse, curled up by her fireplace, with tea to help her sleep, she couldn’t stop thinking that she could visit a Krave. While she’d never use her inheritance credits on something like tha
t, Eve still had plenty of savings, since she never spent much of her income.
Would the Krave be gentle if she asked him to be? she wondered.
Would he think anything of her virginity if she told him why she was visiting him? Would he care?
Would she be able to have sex with him, so shortly after meeting him?
Eve watched the flames flicker and she sipped her tea, listening to the silence of the townhouse. She thought of Genni, about how easy it was for her to attract attractive men, even though they didn’t want her as a wife. She thought about how confident Genni was in her own skin, with her own sexuality, how she didn’t care what others thought of her and how liberating that must be. She thought about how brave Genni was, taking risks that would’ve made Eve retreat home with her tail tucked between her legs.
Eve wanted love. She wanted companionship and a husband and a family one day. But a big part of why she was intimidated by men was because of sex.
If she had sex with a Krave, if she lost her virginity and became more familiar with loosening up and finding sexual pleasure with another being, would it help her? She’d once heard that a woman who embraced her sexuality walked differently, that she saw the world in a different light.
Would Eve see the world differently? If she paid a Krave to help her explore her sexuality, would it change her? Would it help her be more open to new people and new experiences, instead of hiding away from the world?
It didn’t hurt that the Krave were rumored to be skilled lovers, not only because of what their bodies were capable of. Perhaps if a Krave took her virginity and introduced her to sex, it wouldn’t be as painful or as miserable as she’d heard it was.
The fire popped suddenly, as if in answer, and Eve jumped slightly. Shaken from her thoughts, she looked around her sitting room, decorated with her father’s antiques and Eve’s own possessions that she’d slowly added in since her father died.
She felt so old at 25, surrounded by ancient things. She had a sudden fear that she would die that way in that townhouse, in quiet, alone, without knowing intimacy and touch and love.
And it wasn’t worth it, she realized. Her fear of other people, of rejection, of anxiety, of sex wasn’t worth not knowing those things.
What am I doing? she asked herself softly.
How could she expect to make new friends, to fall in love, to start a family if she was hiding away? She couldn’t have those things if she was a coward, if she let her fear overpower her, if she didn’t make herself vulnerable first.
Eve wanted to be courageous. She wanted to be like Genni, who went after the things and people she wanted, who didn’t seem frightened of anything. She wanted to be more confident in herself.
And maybe doing something that scared her most of all—experiencing sex for the first time—would be the best place to start.
That was what prompted her to rise from her chair, to set her tea aside with her gut churning, and drag her Nu tablet from its place on the charging port.
The slim, airy device felt like lead in her hands as she ran a search for Madame Allegria. There wasn’t much on the famous Madame, to be fair. A few pictures at charity events and social galas on the Genesis colony revealed that she was a beautiful woman in her forties, with deep auburn hair and blue eyes, not a single wrinkle marring her creamy complexion. She was always dressed to perfection and always had a confident, knowing smile on her features.
But there was nothing about the Krave, or how to make a booking with one…until, almost a half hour later of searching, Eve navigated to a landing page that she didn’t even remember how she stumbled upon.
The landing page was white and ‘Madame Allegria’ was spelled out in thick, gold letters, much like how it appeared on the brick building in front of the alley earlier that evening.
And just below her name was a direct number.
Eve’s heart jumped when she saw it. She scrolled down on the landing page, but the rest of it was blank. Only her name…and a number.
Suddenly, it felt real. Her harmless little fantasy now became a frightening, heart-pounding seven digit direct number.
Her finger hovered over it and she thought, Am I really going to do this?
But then, she knew that if she second-guessed herself too much, Eve would never do it. She would once again allow fear to get in her way. She would once again be a coward.
So, without another thought entering her mind, Eve tapped on the direct number and the screen of her Nu tablet immediately went black, beaming light upwards as a hologram call readied. Her stomach dropped when she heard the faint beeping sound of a direct number being connected.
A hologram of a pretty girl, no older than Eve, appeared in the beams of blue light. She looked at Eve with a pleasant polite smile and said, “Good evening, Miss. How can I assist you?”
Eve swallowed and her voice came out like a whisper. “Is this…is this Madame Allegria’s line?”
The girl’s face never changed. “Yes. Are you interested in booking a visit?”
“Yes. With a…Krave.”
The girl nodded, as if it was obvious. “Did an existing client refer you?”
Caught off guard, Eve blurted out, “Yes, Mrs. Langley did.”
The girl nodded again, still wearing that serene smile. “We have an opening next Monday evening due to a cancellation. Does this suit your schedule? Our next opening would be two weeks from now, on Thursday evening.”
“Monday is fine,” Eve found herself saying. Her voice sounded strange to her own ears and she worried that if she waited too long, she would back out. “I’ll take that opening.”
“Excellent,” the girl said. “We require an immediate deposit to hold the booking for you. If you cancel and we cannot fill the opening, then it is non-refundable…though, in all honesty, we’ve never had trouble filling a cancellation,” the girl said with a small wink. “The deposit is half of the visit price at 450 credits. The rest of the visit price will be withdrawn from your credit line the evening of the booking. I’ll open the payment line now.”
Eve tapped on the payment icon that appeared on the screen and entered her credit number.
It went through immediately and the girl said, “Thank you, Miss Tesler. Please also be assured that privacy is one of Madame Allegria’s strictest policies. Your details are completely safe within our booking system and will never be shared.”
“Thank you,” Eve said, because she didn’t know what else to say.
The girl nodded, “We will send a complimentary driverless car for you on Monday evening at six and it will take you home after your visit as well, unless you would like to make your own transportation arrangements.”
Eve realized that married women visiting the Krave might not want their husbands seeing a driverless car picking them up and dropping them off, but it wasn’t something Eve had to worry about.
“No, the car will be fine,” she replied.
“Excellent. I can confirm that you have been booked for Monday evening and that a car will be sent to your address at six. Do you have any questions?”
Too many, Eve thought, heart racing.
But she said, “No, I don’t.”
The girl nodded. “If you do, you may call this direct number any time and I can assist you.” When Eve nodded, the girl finished by saying, “Thank you, Miss Tesler. We will see you on Monday evening. Enjoy the rest of your night.”
“Thank you,” Eve said, her finger already fumbling for the disconnect icon. “Goodbye.”
She disconnected the call, slumping back in her chair and taking a deep, ragged breath.
She’d just booked a visit with a Krave.
A hysterical laugh bubbled from Eve’s throat and she realized it was the first time she’d laughed all week.
What in the universe had she just done?
Chapter Three
The night of her ‘appointment’ at Madame Allegria’s, she dressed in a silk dress that Eve thought flattered her body. Unlike the sl
im, willowy figures of Everton beauties, she had an hourglass shape, with large hips, a small waist, and larger breasts. The dress hugged her figure, but the capped sleeves gave her a bit of needed comfort, adding a modest touch to the sensual silk.
A strange calm had come over her that day. Leading up to Monday, she’d been a nervous mess. She thought of her decision almost every waking moment that on numerous occasions throughout the week, she’d almost cancelled her visit. But that same reason why she’d called in the first place always stopped her: she didn’t want to be afraid anymore.
So she never made that call to Madame Allegria’s. She never even told Genni that she’d booked a visit with a Krave and she didn’t know why. And when the day finally came, Eve felt…relaxed.
She didn’t understand it, but she wasn’t going to question it. She figured she’d simply run through the extent of her nerves.
At exactly six in the evening, she received an alert on her Nu device that her transportation had just pulled up outside her townhouse. With a deep breath and one last look in the mirror in her bedroom, she left her home and got inside the driverless car, pressing the glowing blue button on the inside of the door to signal that she was ready to depart. Immediately, she was in motion and she blew out a steady breath, looking out the window of the car but not truly seeing anything.
They arrived at Madame Allegria’s in less than ten minutes. The driverless car parked itself right outside the two buildings she’d seen the week before. The dark alley between them greeted her as she climbed from the car on surprisingly steady legs.
The sky of Everton showed that it was twilight, projections of stars just beginning to twinkle and the lamps that illuminated the streets were flickering to life. Except for a woman walking towards Restaurant Row, she was the only one on the short street, which was called London Street.
Eve’s legs carried her to the alley and the echo of her heeled shoes on the smooth cobblestones was the only thing she heard…other than the blood rushing under her skin. Because underneath her muted nerves, she felt…anticipation. Would she finally experience sex that night? Intimate touch? Or would she choose to take it slower?
