Chapter 42: SUCH A GOOD COOK

I really didn’t want to keep talking about Sarah. If this woman somehow found out what was going on and ran her mouth to Hubert, everything could collapse. The safer play was to keep my mouth shut.

"I didn’t catch your name," I said after a moment.

"Star."

Exactly as expected. Fake name.

"Well, Star. Nice to meet you."

"Mmh."

"You, uh... know Karim well?"

"No. He’s a customer. I don’t ask questions. That’s all about it."

"Fair enough."

Another stretch of silence settled between us. I was still terrible at this. Part of me was already second-guessing the decision to invite her in. The quest had only required getting her through the door, nothing more.

"Fucker’s late again," she muttered, checking her phone. "God, I hate waiting on him."

"Then why wait?"

"He pays well. That’s why. Duh."

"Oh. Yeah, sure."

That was the part that didn’t make sense. Karim lived in the same shitty building I did. Where the hell was he getting the money to hire girls almost every night? Either he had some side hustle I didn’t know about, or this place was just where he brought them so his girlfriend, or fiancee, never found out. Or maybe he was just a complete degenerate who burned through his entire paycheck on sex.

Hard to say.

I took another drag of my cigarette and watched the smoke curl toward the open bedroom window.

Her phone buzzed inside her purse. She pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and immediately grimaced. I caught a glimpse of the name.

Karim.

"Where the fuck are you?" she snapped into the phone. "I’ve been waiting forever, Karim."

I couldn’t make out his reply, just the low murmur of his voice.

"What the fuck?" Her voice rose. "I’m not your personal whore, you bastard! My time is worth something!"

Another short reply from his end.

"Yeah, yeah. Go suck your own dick. Find someone else." She hung up hard and crossed her arms. "Fuck. I was supposed to spend the night with him. I already told my roommate I wouldn’t be coming back."

"Damn. Sorry to hear that. Nowhere else to stay?"

"Nope."

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NEW QUEST

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[!] MISSION:

The Night

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> OBJECTIVE:

Let ’Star’ stay with you tonight.

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> REWARD:

+100 EXP

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Yeah... no.

I wasn’t about to let a random sex worker sleep in my apartment. I barely had anything worth stealing, but every last bit of cash I owned was in my wallet. If she took that, I’d be completely broke. And there was zero chance my sister would take me in.

"I’ll go," she muttered, stubbing out her half-finished cigarette in the ashtray. "God, fuck this fucking... FUCK!"

She stood up and stormed out before I could even react. The door slammed harder than necessary. I just sat there for a second. Karim must pull this shit a lot. Still made me wonder where a guy living in this building got the money to hire girls almost every night.

"Well," I muttered, shaking my head. "That’s that, I suppose."

A knock came less than a minute later.

I opened the door. Star was standing there looking defeated. Behind me, near the couch, I noticed a small foil packet on the floor, condoms that must have fallen out of her purse.

"Sorry," she exhaled. "Dropped my condoms."

I walked over, picked them up, and handed them back. "Here. No problem. Just... go easy on the door next time. I fixed it less than a week ago."

"Sorry," she said, calmer now. "Anyway, I shouldn’t hold you up. What was your name again?"

"Chance."

"And yours?"

"Star."

I raised an eyebrow. "So we’re sticking with Star?"

She met my eyes for a moment. A small, almost reluctant smile tugged at her lips.

"...Latonia."

"Nice to properly meet you, Latonia."

"Mmh." The smile faded. She took a step back. "If you see Karim, shoot him for me."

"I’ll... uh. I’ll try."

"Thanks."

She turned and left for real this time. I closed the door and leaned against it for a second.

"What a strange woman..."

❤︎‪‪❤︎‪‪❤︎

I sat on the couch, head tilted back, staring at the ceiling. These daily Endurance quests were brutal, but the rewards made them worth it.

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MAIN MENU

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NAME: Chance Brooks

LVL: 9 [300/505]

RANK: Homewrecker

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[ CORE STATS ]

> CHA: 22

> END: 11

> PER: 22

> LCK: 4

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[ ENERGY ]

> LUST: 180/180

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[ACTIVE PERKS: Expand]

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SIN POINTS: 1370

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Another small chunk of EXP. Not much, but every bit helped. If I’d managed to complete that workplace quest yesterday I would’ve leveled already. Groping Sarah in the middle of a busy café had been way too risky, though. I couldn’t afford to tank her Favor over something that stupid.

"Alright... any minute now..."

I shifted on the couch so I could see through the bedroom window at an angle. Right on cue, Hubert walked out of the building, got into his car, and drove off.

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OPPORTUNITY DETECTED

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[SUGGESTED ACTION]

- Sarah is home alone. Visit her.

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- COST: 10 Lust

- EST. GAIN: ??

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I stood up and headed to the bathroom. Washed my face, brushed my teeth, then studied myself in the mirror. The Charisma points were doing real work, I looked sharper, clearer, less like the gloomy mess I used to be.

"Alright," I muttered to my reflection. "Let’s do this—"

A knock interrupted me.

I turned off the light and walked to the door. Through the peephole I saw Sarah standing there, holding a small plate with two slices of chocolate cake.

Well. Looks like the opportunity had come to me instead.

I opened the door and smiled. "Hey. Morning."

"Morning." She returned the smile, a little nervous. "I, uh... you brought us that lasagna, so I figured I’d return the favor with some dessert."

"Wow." I took the plate from her. "Looks good. Thank you, Sarah."

"No problem." She clasped her hands in front of her. "Hope... uh, hope you like it?"

"Was that a question?" I chuckled.

"I really don’t know."

We both laughed quietly. Then the silence stretched just a little too long. Part of me wanted to just pull her inside and take her right there before Hubert came back.

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OPPORTUNITY DETECTED

────────────────

[SUGGESTED ACTION]

- Invite her inside.

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- COST: 10 Lust

- EST. GAIN: ??

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"Would you like to come in and... eat it with me?" I asked. "Two slices is a lot for one person. Especially now that I’ve started working out."

"Oh, right. You’re working out. I forgot."

"Yeah. If you make me eat both of these alone, you’re gonna be the reason I have to run extra." I stepped aside. "So you’re basically obligated to help me."

She hesitated for half a second, then stepped inside with a small smile.

"When you put it that way... how can I refuse?"

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TARGET: Sarah Angi

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[ RELATIONSHIP ]

> Partner: [Hubert]

> Loyalty: 0%

> Dependence: 74%

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[ SYSTEM SYNC ]

> Favor: 0% [☑]

> Threat: None

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x2 Sexual Encounter EXP

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> GRIEVANCE LOG

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Dependence at seventy-four. Still high, but dropping. She was inside my apartment, alone with me. I needed to bring that number down further, ideally under fifty, without pushing so hard that I scared her off.

Careful steps from here.

"I still can’t get used to how small this place is," Sarah said, looking around. Then she paused, turned slightly, and rubbed the back of her neck like something was bothering her.

"What?"

"It smells like... a woman’s perfume. I swear."

Shit.

Latonia’s perfume. I hadn’t even noticed it lingering. Sharp, sweet, and apparently stubborn enough to still be in the air a day later.

"Ah, yeah," I said with an easy smile. "A friend of mine came by yesterday with his fiancée."

"Well, I’ve got to say, she’s got good taste." Sarah chuckled. "Nice perfume."

I set the plate on the counter and grabbed two forks. Sarah stepped up beside me, took one from my hand with a warm smile, then cut a small piece of cake and ate it. I did the same.

Damn. She could cook.

"I already regret sharing this with you," I said, nodding. "This is really good."

"Thanks. I am a pretty solid cook, if I do say so myself."

"And a good barista?"

"Just a server for now," she corrected, taking another bite. "I’m training a new girl."

"How’s that going?"

"Pretty well. She still overdoes the shots, but she’s getting there."

I leaned forward on the counter with one elbow, taking another piece. Sarah mirrored me without thinking, leaning in just enough that the neckline of her top gave me a clear view of her cleavage. Full, soft, and unfairly perfect.

"Mmh," she hummed after another bite. "God, I’m such a good cook."

"Such a humble person," I said with a smile.

"I know, right?" She spread her arms a little. "Sarah Angi, humble AND a phenomenal cook."

"Woo."

Oh, her dependence lowered.

Seventy percent. Progress. It looked like I wouldn’t be able to push Favor any higher until her Dependence was completely gone. That meant a long road still ahead. But I could be patient.