"No!"
Liam's scream ripped through the silence of his apartment as he shot upright on the couch. His chest heaved, sweat soaking through his shirt and making the fabric stick to his skin.
For a moment, he didn't know where he was. Then fragments of memory came flooding back. Delilah. Her weight pressing down on him.
The way his body had locked up, completely useless. Her lips brushing his, cold and soft, while he lay there helpless.
"Fuck," he whispered, touching his mouth. His lips still tingled from where she'd kissed him. His first kiss, stolen while he couldn't even move his arms to push her away.
He sat up fast, head spinning as he looked around his apartment. Empty and No sign of purple haired stranger who'd dog walked his masculinity
Frustration bubbled up in his chest, hot and annoying.
"Seriously?" He stood up, running both hands through his messy hair. "I dropped three grown men with a pipe. Three! And I couldn't handle one girl?"
He paced around his small living room, shaking his head at himself. The whole situation felt ridiculous when he thought about it.
'What kind of backwards logic is this? I fight off rapists in an alley like some action hero, then get completely played by the same girl I saved. She kissed me and I'm acting like it's the end of the world.'
He stopped pacing and let out a long breath, the anger already starting to fade. When he really thought about it, what did he have to complain about? A hot girl had kissed him. Most guys would kill for that kind of problem.
'Get over it, idiot. She's gone and you've got real life to deal with.' She was gone. Whatever she was, whatever had happened, it was over.
He had classes to get to, assignments due, a normal life to pretend he still lived.
Liam dragged himself through his morning routine on autopilot. Hot shower that barely woke him up. Black jeans that had seen better days.
Plain white t-shirt that hung loose on his skinny frame. He grabbed his worn backpack, stuffed his books inside, and headed for the door.
The morning air was crisp, carrying the smell of car exhaust and coffee from the shops down the street. He walked his usual route to campus, sneakers scuffing against the cracked sidewalk as students rushed past him in groups.
When he reached the alley where everything had started, he slowed down.
The scene looked different in daylight, just a narrow space between two brick buildings, littered with broken glass and cigarette butts. Hard to believe three men had been groaning on the ground there less than twelve hours ago.
He stared at the spot where Delilah had stood, shirt torn, using her arm to cover herself.
The memory of her panties flashed through his mind, making heat rise in his cheeks.
'Will I ever see her again? Was she even real, or did I imagine the whole damn thing?'
Part of him hoped he'd never run into her again. Another part, the part he didn't want to admit existed, wondered what would happen if he did.
Campus came alive around him as he got closer to the main buildings. Groups of students clustered together on the grass, laughing at inside jokes and planning weekend parties.
Flyers covered every bulletin board, fraternity rush, study groups, intramural sports, campus clubs recruiting new members.
The noise hit him like a wall. Conversations overlapping, people calling out to friends across the courtyard, music bleeding from someone's speaker.
Everyone seemed to belong somewhere, part of something bigger than themselves.
Liam walked through it all like a ghost.
It wasn't that he was antisocial. That was the worst part. He wanted to join conversations, wanted to laugh with people, wanted to feel like he belonged somewhere other than the edges of other people's lives.
But every time he opened his mouth, the words died in his throat. He'd stand there like an idiot while everyone else traded jokes and stories, unable to find his way into the flow.
Kelvin was the only one who'd ever bothered to include him, probably because Liam did half his assignments and probably might help him keep his GPA from crashing.
Without Kelvin around, Liam was just another face in the crowd, invisible and forgettable.
'Pathetic. Twenty years old and I can't even make small talk without choking up.'
Lost in his own depressing thoughts, he almost walked right into her.
A girl stepped directly into his path, holding out a bright green flyer. She wore a white t-shirt that clung to her body like it had been painted on, the fabric so thin he could see the outline of her bra underneath.
Stretched across her chest was a large green leaf design that seemed to pulse with her heartbeat.
Her tits were massive.
The shirt was clearly too small, pulled tight across her chest until the fabric strained at the seams. Her nipples pressed against the cotton, visible as small peaks that made his mouth go dry.
She had a tiny waist that flared out into wide hips wrapped in dark blue jeans that hugged every curve. The denim was so tight it looked like it might split if she bent over.
Her ass was round and full, the kind that made guys turn their heads on the street.
"Hi there," she said, smiling as she held out the flyer. "Want to support the Green Initiative?"
That's when Liam saw them. Floating above her head like some kind of hallucination, the number 42 in glowing white text. Next to it, three small hearts connected by what looked like a tiny padlock.
He blinked hard, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. The numbers were still there when he looked again.
'What the fuck? Am I having a stroke? Did I hit my head last night and not remember?'
Before he could say anything or even process what he was seeing, the world stopped.
Better version:
It didn't slow down. It stopped completely.
The girl's hand froze mid-motion. Students walking behind her locked in place like mannequins. A bird overhead hung motionless in the sky. Even the wind died, leaving the campus in perfect, impossible silence.
A voice spoke inside his head, cold and mechanical like a computer program.
[System initializing...]
[Congratulations, Liam. You have been chosen.]
His heart tried to beat its way out of his chest. "Chosen for what?" His voice sounded too loud in the dead silence.
[Lust meter system activated.]
[Host: Liam Carter]
The words hit him like a slap. "Lust-Meter?"
[Would you like to continue?]
He looked around at the frozen world, at the girl standing motionless in front of him with her tits practically spilling out of her shirt. Nothing about this made sense, but arguing with voices in his head seemed pointless.
"Yeah."
[Target: Sofia Rain]
[First task: Flirt to get her attention and spark interest]
"Flirt?" His voice cracked like he was fourteen again. "How am I supposed to flirt with anyone? And who the hell is Sofia Rain?"
[Bio uploaded: Sofia Rain. Age 20. Environmental science major. Considered one of the most attractive women on campus. Has rejected advances from different men in the past year. Believes most people only value her for her physical appearance.]
Liam stared at the frozen girl, Sofia, with her perfect body and that green leaf stretched across her chest. "Of course she thinks that. Look at her."
[Dialogue options available. Choose wisely. Each option has different point values that can be used in the system store]
Text appeared in his vision like subtitles in a movie:
Option 1: "Thanks for the flyer. Environmental protection is really important." [+3 lust point]
Option 2: "That's a beautiful Cannabis leaf... the real beauty is those tits it's resting on." [+28 Lust points]
Option 3: "Nice shirt. Almost as tight as those jeans choking your ass." [+8 Lust point]
Liam's mouth fell open. "You want me to comment on her tits? Are you insane?"
[Option 2 provides optimal results for current scenario. Sofia Rain has extensive knowledge of botanical symbolism and will respond positively to recognition of her interests combined with confident masculine energy.]
'This is completely fucked up. I sound like Kelvin when he's trying to get laid. Worse than Kelvin.'
But his eyes locked on those numbers floating above her head. 42. If this system was real, if those numbers meant something...
'Fuck it.'
The words rang in his head with crystal clarity. Not resignation just Pure, cold decision.
'If I'm going crazy, might as well make it count.'
No more second-guessing. No more waiting for the world to make sense.
The thought burned through him like a fuse already lit, sharp and final. Fear twisted in his gut, but he didn't fight it. He welcomed it, because it meant he was moving forward instead of rotting in place.
He took a deep breath and made his choice. "That's a beautiful Cannabis leaf. Lucky plant, getting to rest against curves like yours."
Time crashed back into motion.
Sofia's eyes went wide, her cheeks flushing pink as she took a half-step backward. Instead of slapping him or walking away in disgust, she clutched the flyer to her chest, pressing it against the swell of her tits.
"You... you actually know what this is?" Her voice was softer now, surprised. "Most people just see a generic leaf design."
For years, Sofia had been self-conscious about her large chest. Guys always stared, made crude comments, or pretended to care about her environmental work just to get closer to her body.
She'd started wearing looser shirts, crossing her arms, anything to draw less attention to what she saw as a curse.
But Liam had noticed what was printed on her chest, not just her chest itself. He'd recognized the cannabis leaf, understood its meaning.
And when he complimented her curves... something warm and unexpected stirred low in her belly. She didn't understand why his words made her feel appreciated rather than objectified, but they did.
The number above her head flickered and changed. 42 became 75.
Liam's pulse hammered in his throat. 'It actually worked. She's not pissed off. She's interested.'
[+28 Lust Points Earned.]
[Task Progress: 50% Complete.]
[Sofia Rain's attraction increased. Continue building rapport to unlock additional options.]
Sofia tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear, studying his face like she was seeing him for the first time. "Not many guys on campus know the difference between Cannabis and maple leaves. You must actually care about plant biology."
"Yeah," he managed, though his brain was still trying to process what had just happened. "It's... fascinating stuff."
She smiled, a real smile that reached her eyes. "I'm Sofia, by the way. I don't think we've met before."
"Liam."
"Well, Liam," she said, holding out the flyer again, "would you like to come to our meeting tomorrow night? We're discussing sustainable agriculture practices, and it sounds like you'd have some interesting insights to contribute."
The system chimed softly in his head.
[Side objective unlocked: Attend Green Initiative meeting.]
[Accepting this invitation will provide additional interaction opportunities with target.]
Liam looked at Sofia's expectant face then at the numbers floating above her head that somehow only he could see.
'What the hell is happening to my life?'
'Yeah,' he heard himself say. "I'd love to."