2.13 – Caught


    Natalie wondered whether it was going to be a trend that she and Jordan lost control the first time she upgraded a skill, then settled into a bizarrely casual routine. Because despite their busy day, Natalie’s ss still needed to be attended to, and so the two of them had ended up together, ‘gathering’ carnal energy before she headed off to the party.


    It was unfortunate how much of a staple public bathrooms were bing in Natalie’s life. She couldn’t wait until she had a dormitory room to retreat to—an actually private space to handle all this in. Until then, Natalie needed to grope her best friend in the safety of the barrack’s public facility.


    “We’ve got a few things to test,” Jordan said easily, as if Natalie <em>didn</em><em>’t </em>have her hands on her tits, massaging away. “First, whether kissing and groping together gives more energy, rather than one or the other. For that matter, whether the next ‘tier’ wiped the old one away, when you got it. Does kissing still give energy?”


    “I think so,” Natalie said, fairly confident in her answer. Intuition didn’t always show up when puzzling over one’s ss, but when it did, it was usually reliable. Natalie was pretty sure any of the previous ‘collection methods’ would work when she upgraded her Harvest skill. The progression just indicated the ‘maximum act’ she could earn energy from. So, kissing was still on the table. Though, whether both in the same session would give more, she wasn’t sure. It was a good question.


    A good question she only paid half a mind to. She was distracted. It was hard to be a studious professional when she had her hands on her best friend’s tits. And, she couldn’t even zone out, either. Assuming the newly upgraded groping requirement had the same mechanics as kissing, then Natalie <em>had </em>to enjoy herself. Going about the motions didn’t provide half as much energy. So she basked in the sensation of her hands against Jordan’s small, shapely tits, and the noises Jordan made—interrupting her oh-so-professional discussion—whenever Natalie pinched or squeezed harder than normal.


    It might sound bizarre, but funny enough, this event—groping—was <em>less </empromising than kissing Jordan. Natalie had never in a million years expected her and Jordan to have a ‘friends with benefits’ situation going, but she knew they existed, and they made sense to Natalie. Having fun with a friend’s body? Getting some relief from each other? Not that big of a deal.


    But Jordan’s mouth on hers? The way her tongue moved, and how she felt Jordan’s moans in her own mouth? Much more dangerous thoughts started to creep in when they became intimate in that way. More so than when she had her hands on Jordan’s tits, or even down lower. Thoughts Natalie still wasn’t acknowledging, much less addressing.


    So. Having Jordan’s blouse popped open, Natalie hands on her bare tits, rolling in circles and squeezing. No big deal.


    Kind of.


    “Second,” Jordan said. “We need to find out whether ‘thoroughness’ actually matters, like we assume it does. Or is it just enthusiasm, like with the kissing? Does how much of my body you cover matter? Are my tits enough for the full value, as long as you get your money’s worth, so to say?”


    “Mm,” Natalie agreed absently. “Should … test it, yeah.”


    In her peripheral, Natalie saw Jordan’s lips quirk in amusement. It didn’t register. Natalie’s attention was upied. Tits were amazing in any situation, but <em>Jordan</em><em>’s </em>tits? They were on the smaller side—Jordan had a lean rogue’s build—but fuck, they were so perfect. And her nipples were so <em>cute</em>. Natalie was struck with the sudden urge to lean forward and give one of the hard nubs a nibble. But that would, uh, be taking things too far. Right? Maybe she should try and find out.


    “You aren’t listening,” Jordan said. Natalie could <em>hear </em>her roll her eyes. “I guess I should let you finish. But we do need to test it. So, do you want to be thorough today, or just my boobs? You can pick.”


    The words slowly hit her brain. “Er.” She thought about it. Her kneading hands slowed as she thought, but she didn’t pull back from ying with Jordan’s tits. “I guess … we’ll go light today.” She couldn’t keep the disappointment out of her voice, which was maybe too straightforward.


    What did Jordan think about all of this? For all Natalie felt like she could read Jordan easily, when it came to <em>this</em>, she couldn’t. Partially because Jordan was <em>keeping </em>her reactions hidden. Did that mean Jordan didn’t want to be here? That she was doing this just to help Natalie, and Jordan’s careful control meant she was hiding the fact she was ufortable? The idea had Natalie’s stomach twisting. But why else would Jordan be moderating her reactions?


    Out of an unconscious desire to steer them away from that subject, Natalie blurted out: “I got caught, by the way.”


    Jordan blinked in surprise, and so did Natalie. Natalie’s mouth tended to work separately from her brain.


    She grimaced, realizing she had to follow through. It was best she did, anyway. She had a policy of confiding everything in Jordan. Some advice on what to do about that disaster was probably in order.


    But exining what she’d been doing? Ergh. So embarrassing. Without even mentioning she’d been caught, which made it twice as awful.


    “I, um,” Natalie said. She kept her eyes locked firmly on Jordan’s tits, knowing she’d squirm under Jordan’s amusement. “I was testing [Illusion] in a … not so appropriate way. And got caught up in things. Apparently, the skill works better when the images are,” Natalie cleared her throat, face burning, “well, lewd. I thought the bathroom was empty, but I guess it wasn’t. I think someone heard me taking care of myself. Maybe saw.”


    <em>That </em>had been an ordeal to get out. But she managed. At least while squeezing Jordan’s breasts, talking about lewd matters didn’t feel as embarrassing.


    “Taking care of yourself?”


    “Please,” Natalie huffed. “You don’t need me to spell it out. You know what I mean.”


    Jordan absorbed that. Her previous question, at least, hadn’t sounded like she wasughing at Natalie. Natalie rxed at that. Jordan had always been able to take everything in stride. “Well. You don’t know who?”


    “No clue. Maybe they didn’t even catch me. Just … they left right after I finished. Snuck out, it sounded like. And I wasn’t being super quiet.”


    “That might be a problem.”


    “No shit. Any advice?”


    “What’s there to say? I guess … keep an eye out. Someone might try to ckmail you.”


    “ckmail?”


    “That’s how T works, isn’t it? All scheming politicians?”


    “Liz seemed nice.”


    “I get the feeling Liz isn’t the ‘normal politician’,” Jordan said dryly.


    Natalie agreed. For being a highborn, she was ridiculously bubbly and outgoing—and seeminglycking ulterior motives. Was it an act, or genuine? Natalie’s other ssmates were definitely more reserved. She wouldn’t be surprised for any of them to strong-arm Natalie into something. At least Natalie wasn’t important, which made her a not-very-relevant ckmail target.


    “Yeah,” Natalie said. “I guess.” She groaned. “I really didn’t need this to deal with. I’ve got enough going on.”


    “Maybe don’t jerk off in public bathrooms?” Jordan suggested. “And to who, anyway?”


    “To who?”


    “Who’d you make the illusion of?”


    Natalie started, then blushed, remembering how the first time—the first test—it had been Jordan who had popped into her head. “Does it matter?”


    “Was it me?”


    “No!”


    Jordan blinked at the loud, instantaneous reply.


    “Um,” Natalie said, reining the reaction in. “I just mean … I wouldn’t, of course— it wasn’t— it was Tess.”


    “Tess?”


    “My magic tutor.” Natalie shrugged. Her face burned red as she kept her gaze firmly on Jordan’s tits, the bizarrely safer optionpared to her eyes. “She’s cute. I dunno. But I felt seriously creepy doing it. I don’t know her at all.”


    Jordan was quiet for a bit. Finally, she said, “Well. If using strangers makes you feel weird, then use me, next time.”


    Natalie froze. She looked up. Jordan wore an amused expression, exactly as she’d expected. Just teasing Natalie.


    But also … she sounded like she meant it?


    “Really?”


    “Sure. It’s hardly different than this.”


    “Right,” Natalie said. She’d already been red-faced, but this topic of conversation had her face melting. She tried to y it off, to middling sess. “I’ll, uh, keep that in mind.”


    A brief silence fell over the two of them.


    “You’re done, right?” Jordan eventually asked. “It’s been a while.”


    Yeah. Natalie had been groping for more than a few minutes. Her skill probably didn’t require that much effort to max out, not that she knew the exact specifications. Just, it was so much fun. Jordan seriously had some amazing tits.


    Reluctantly, she withdrew her hands, then checked in on her energy supply.