“Maybe, maybe not,” she said, licking her lips and giving him a hungry stare before looking off into the night. Caiden clenched his fists as he felt a jolt of pleasure shoot down his midsection. He quickly recovered and handed her his motorcycle helmet.
“You don’t have another one?” she asked.
“No. Besides, ladies first,” he replied.
“Oh, you’re such a gentleman,” she mocked.
They hopped on the bike and Caiden revved the engine.
“Okay, tour guide, where to?” he asked.
“A nice little hangout spot, Midnight Arcade,” she replied.
“Oh, yeah. I know where that is, good choice,” he said.
“Really? I thought you never went out?”
“I don’t, but you can blame Vantz for taking me there once. It wasn’t all that bad when I went,” he replied. “Off we go.”
Yvora put on the helmet and they made their way to Midnight Arcade. The ride was a few short minutes into Central Andro.
“Whoa, man, long line,” Caiden said.
“Don’t worry about it. I got this,” she said assuredly. As they pulled up, the people in line couldn’t help but stare at the magnificence of Caiden’s hypercycle. But they were even more intrigued by the mystery passenger. “There’s a parking lot right behind the building, I’ll go talk to the bouncer at the door real quick and wait for you,” she said.
“Aye, aye, captain” he jeered as he saluted her. She gave him a punch on the shoulder in response. She truly enjoyed Caiden’s company. Taking off the helmet and handing it to Caiden, the patrons in the crowd gasped in excitement.
“Oh, man! It’s Yvora Blue!”
“Wow, she’s even prettier in person,” someone was heard saying.
Caiden found a spot and returned to the front of the establishment.
“Hey! You good?” she asked.
“I’m all yours,” he replied as she grabbed his hand and walked into the lounge.
“Whoa, that dude is one lucky bastard,” a patron from the line was heard saying.
“You hear that? You are lucky to be in my presence,” Yvora joked.
Caiden simply smiled. This was shaping out to be one of the first good nights he’d had in long time.
The Midnight Arcade was incredible; it was nothing like its name would suggest. There was sensual green and purple lighting. Real trees were swathed with white fairy lights and strategically placed throughout the establishment. There were carefully crafted walkways, designed around sculpted dirt patches on both sides. It was an extravagant work of art. The lounge also had white manna-laced silk sheets covering the cabanas with couches inside.
Manna was a strange glowing, white liquid that was extremely versatile. Cultivated the right way, manna could be infused with clothing, weapons, technology, food, and a vast array other everyday items. Manipulating manna was particularly difficult to do, as it required a specialist to extract the liquid. Most of the specialists came from the manna rich region of Oasis, located in the middle of the Sun Desert.
On the market, manna was extremely expensive due to its highly capable and versatile applications. Infusing manna into fabric would make it stronger and less likely to be damaged. Infusing it into body armor would reinforce said armor. Applying it to any form of combustion fuel-based vehicles, would make the vehicle more energy efficient. It was once said that manna could give off strange mystical qualities, but due to its difficulty to process and cultivate, there had not been enough studies done to confirm such a hypothesis.
In the lounge, the manna-laced sheets gave off a subtle, hypnotizing glow. The air was sweet and smelled of leaves and freshly cut grass.
“Wow! It wasn’t like this when I last came here,” Caiden said.
“Of course, not, hermit crab,” Yvora prodded humorously. “Rumor has it, the same interior designer who created Bliss Park in Club Cosmica was also heavily involved in the re-design of this place.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” he replied, looking around.
“Is that my beautiful, Yvora Blue!? Come here gimme a hug, sweetie,” a woman called from a behind the two of them.
“Sasha! Oh my god, it’s so good to see you!” Yvora replied.
Their hug was long, drawn out, and more intimate than Caiden expected. Sasha affectionately kissed Yvora on the cheek.
“Damn girl, lookin’ better than ever! Sheesh! What brings you here tonight?” Sasha asked.
Yvora pointed in Caiden’s direction and smiled. “Oh my, my, my! What a handsome date you have here, huh, Yvie?” Sasha said, impressed. She shook Caiden’s hand and peered into his eyes before snapping out of it. “Nice to meet you!”
“You too. I’m Caiden,” he replied.
“Caiden, huh? Gorgeous,” she said, emphasizing the word as she said it. “Well, listen here, you two, anything you need is on the house tonight, okay? So good to see you again, babe. And have a good time tonight! Toodles, lovelies!” Sasha waved to them as she went to greet some other patrons.
“Okay, what was that all about?” Caiden asked in a gossipy tone.
“With Sash?” she asked.
“Yes! With Sash or whatever her name is,” he chuckled.
“Oh, man. Where do I begin? We sorta had a quick fling a few years ago. We hooked up,” she said while Caiden furrowed his eyebrows.
“What? I was drunk!” she said sheepishly.
“I mean, damn, it couldn’t have been more obvious. Clearly, she still has a ‘thing’ for you. You sure you don’t wanna re-visit that?” Caiden teased.
Yvora smiled begrudgingly while punching Caiden in the arm again. “Shut up loser,” she shot back.
She grabbed his hand and guided him to one of the cabanas in the lounge. The vocals on the record being played were hazy and reverbed. The music was beautiful, filled with chord changes and melodic progression. It was the perfect mood setting music. As they sat, Yvora took her jacket off to show off her body in an attempt to seduce Caiden. He clearly got the message.
“You really got me outta my comfort zone right now. Phew! Oh, man,” he said.
He was completely captivated by this woman. Just like the first and
