"This is a really beautiful sight." Priya said as they stood on the rooftop of Langford Lodge.
The Lodge had a conventional roof that was rusted but the whole thing was slanted in a way that the rain didn't reach this section of the building.
Where they stood right now was the rooftop terrace… it used to look so beautiful when Wren's mother and the other workers had grown potted plants up here but they were all long dead now, the pots even cracking open from years of weathering.
The tiles were cracked and the railing was rusted but from up here, they both got a clear view of Harlow bay stretching out below them, the water catching the morning light.
"Yes it is." Wren said.
They had checked the kitchen, the second floor and the third floor.
The second floor was the biggest in Langford Lodge with the most rooms, and the two of them had looked through several of them. For the rest he hadn't wanted to tamper too much but he had gotten a full picture of the place.
Langford Lodge looked like absolute shit.
Well, he and Nyx would change that but first he needed to focus on completing his side missions and that started with kissing a woman in a committed relationship.
He glanced at Priya who was looking out at the bay with wide eyes.
She was his target.
[Hehe~ Since the timing is perfect, allow me to advertise my side business, Host. I can sell you skills that you can purchase to help with pleasuring your women… better kisses and better performance overall. Credits from your System balance will be used as payment and I have a good offer for you right now.]
[Skill: Good Kisser]
[Level 1]
[Cost: 50 Credits]
[Would you like to purchase this skill?]
'So in essence you give me money and then immediately take it back.' He thought and got the sense that if Nyx had a head she would be nodding at this without any shame but then again, did he have much of a choice?
Wren had never touched a woman intimately before. He didn't want to disgrace himself up here on a rooftop in Harlow and how many people could say they had a System that sold them skills for exactly this kind of thing?
He bought it.
Priya took a deep breath beside him.
"Did you… enjoy looking at the Lodge?" Priya asked while turning to him and Wren raised an eyebrow with a small smile.
"It was nice to remember the old days. I can't believe it's been so long already." Wren replied while looking at the water.
"Same here. I still can't believe I get to see you again… I still don't think you're real." Priya said. "You left us… all of us without saying anything Wren. Couldn't you have written or something?"
She knew he had been grieving his mother but still. Did that stop him from writing a single letter? Even with his crooked handwriting? She had been so worried and so had everyone else, and then he just came back like nothing happened.
"I actually tried…" Wren said while rubbing the back of his neck. "But nobody was sending a kid's letters from Bostara all the way to Harlow."
That was a fair point.
"Well it's too late Wren… You made me worried. I couldn't stop thinking about you." Priya said and Wren raised an eyebrow.
"Should I take that as you flirting or—"
"Shut up and listen…" Priya said while grabbing his ear. "I was worried about you but I'm not anymore. I may have had a little crush on you back then but I have a boyfriend now so you shouldn't try anything."
She really wanted to stop herself but when she was really nervous she started blabbering and Wren knew this as well so he turned to face her properly.
"Are you sure?" He asked.
Priya blinked, letting go of his ear and looking at him with eyes as wide as saucers.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
He was facing her now and in those moments Priya looked him over properly. Wren was really fit… he looked like he hadn't missed a single day of training in his life, all of it sitting naturally on him without any effort.
"Are you sure that you've gotten over me?" He asked and took a step forward, making her take a step back.
A blush appeared on her face. Of course she had gotten over him. It had been fourteen years. What kind of woman would still be carrying feelings for a man she hadn't seen in fourteen years?
"Absolutely. I don't like you anymore." She said. "Take a look at your face… what kind of woman would want to wake up to that every morning?"
She would… She would wake up to Wren's face every single morning without complaint.
Wren took another step closer and her blush deepened as she was pushed back against a dusty wall.
The back of her singlet caught the dust but she couldn't move anywhere, he had her completely cornered.
"I want to use my reward for beating you in the race." Wren said, glancing at her lips.
Priya's blush deepened further. He didn't mean that, did he?
"It's pretty simple Priya. I want to kiss you on your lips. You're free to walk downstairs right now if you want… I'm not forcing you but if you stay here, you're going to kiss me."
'K-k-k-kiss Wren…'
Her brain short-circuited. His face drew closer to hers and she could see the outline of his jaw and his lips coming toward her own.
It was exactly like she had dreamt… Wren had her pinned against a wall with nowhere to go. This wasn't exactly how she'd imagined it since he was giving her an out but at this point Priya didn't—
He kissed her.
His lips met hers and spread warmth into her mouth immediately. It started as a simple press of lips but Priya blushed harder as Wren kept going, pressing her head gently against the wall.
Before she knew it his tongue had found its way into her mouth and was moving slowly against hers.
'Ah~'
She couldn't help it.
The way he was kissing her made her head go fuzzy at the edges. His hands found her waist and slid down, both palms settling against her ass and gripping slowly, pressing both cheeks together making her toes curled inside her shoes.
She wasn't sensitive there but she guessed her body didn't care when it came to Wren.
He lifted her slightly off the ground and she felt herself rise before he set her back down without breaking the kiss, like it was nothing and she felt the warmth of it go all the way through her.
He was kissing and touching her in ways she hadn't let Derek near her, not once in their entire relationship.
A string of saliva connected their lips when he finally pulled back slightly, just like those scenes in the novels Dani was always trying to get her to read… When the Main Protagonist kissed his Heroine.
Priya's head was fully fuzzy now and all she could think about was his lips.
"Wr— Mmph!"
He came back, pressing his lips into hers again, gripping her tighter as his tongue played with hers and all kinds of sensations she hadn't expected ran through her at once.
She loved it, she loved how he kissed her until her brain felt like it was melting but she had a boyfriend.
She was already cheating on him. Derek didn't deserve this… he had been kind to her, he had loved her when Wren wasn't there, and now Wren was here taking something he hadn't put a single moment of effort into building.
Priya gathered everything she had into her arms and pushed. Wren staggered back with genuine surprise on his face.
"Huh, Priya?" He asked and she gritted her teeth.
"I… I… I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN! STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!"
With that, Priya ran for the stairs and disappeared, her footsteps fading down through the building and out. Wren stood on the rooftop alone, rubbing the back of his head.
"Ouch."
[Side Mission Complete]
[Kiss a woman in a committed relationship on the lips]
[Reward: 100 Credits]
[Bonus: +100 Credits for going above and beyond. Your credits have been deposited to System Balance.]
Wren's lips thinned. He had wanted to kiss her but he hadn't wanted her to hate him and from the sound of it she did.
'Didn't you hear what she said…' He thought. 'If she says no, doesn't that remove her from the target list?'
[Nonsense. A target is only removed when their affection for the Host drops below 10. The last time I checked, Priya's affection went up after she ran off.]
Wren stared at the empty rooftop door.
Priya's affection went up… after she ran off and screamed at him? He genuinely didn't understand women.
[Not all women mean what they say. The important skill is knowing the fine line between when she's serious and when she isn't. You're doing well for a first timer but tsk tsk… I really do have to explain even the basics to you.]
'HOW am I supposed to know the difference when she was literally yelling directly into my face.' He thought.
[She didn't slap you. That's a good sign.]
Wren had completely given up trying to understand it.
"But at least I finished one mission." He exhaled slowly. Now he had two left… clean the ground floor and somehow obtain Diana's used panties.
He had to do the cleaning alone since Priya had ran off, leaving him alone.
"Fuck!"
…
"So I think I have everything accounted for…" Wren said, standing in the Lodge reception with several buckets, two mops just in case someone he knew was foolish enough to wander in and he could put them to work, and a significant amount of detergent lined up by the front door.
He had bought all of them from a nearby shop and they were pretty cheap, the amount for a Mop here could buy three in Bostara.
"What the hell are you doing?"
The voice came from the entrance and a certain short pink-haired woman who had been very pissed off with him the previous night appeared in the doorway, looking around at the buckets and mops with an unreadable expression.
Wren sighed, he had expected anyone except Zoe.
"About to do some serious cleaning. If you'd take your leave I'd appreciate it even mo—"
Zoe stepped inside.
"I… I… I…"
She swallowed hard.
"I apologize for shouting at you last night." Zoe said, closing her eyes.
Wren blinked.
This rude bitch was actually apologizing?