Finding the Right Catalyst

Kiovanna - A week before National Nude Day

"What are your plans for next weekend?" Kiovanna asked as she handed Tyler a sports drink from their freezer. They had moved the mixed water bottles from the fridge to the freezer before their run, so they were icy cold at the end of a hot cardio session.

"Thanks, Kio. I don't have any. Thought I would do pretty much the usual." Tyler shrugged. He overpronounced the Key-Oh in her name, either alone or as part of the whole. It had once been annoying, but now she found it endearing.

Her best friend looked good without a shirt and was covered in sweat from a long run. By midsummer, even his pale skin couldn't altogether eschew a mild tan. His short brown hair was messy and unkempt from the sweaty 10k they ran before the day got too hot, atypical of the fastidious young man. Kio was likely the only one who saw it in this disheveled shape on a regular basis.

Tyler was a few inches taller than Kiovanna, which was no simple feat as she was abnormally tall for a woman at an inch over six feet. He had the brightest pair of blue eyes that she'd ever seen. It was one of his best features, and why she'd initially been intrigued by the young man when they met in college before his humor and intelligence fully won her over.

"Video games, D&D, writing, and photography?" Kiovanna gave Tyler a nod and walked past him. Runs were nearly always followed by a weightlifting session. What had once required a drive across town could now be accommodated in their basement. Every few months, one of them added to the cluster of second-hand equipment cluttering their bottom floor. It made it easier for Kiovanna to reward herself afterward when she had her own shower.

"If you change the order to put writing and photography at the top of the list, then add marathon training with Kio and my usual weight training, you pretty much got it." Tyler was the only one who called her Kio instead of the typical shortening of her name to Vanna or Van. Her best friend and roommate for the last five years was the only one allowed to use the moniker without getting an angry look. Her glare wasn't effective on him anymore.

Buying a house in the Fort Collins area was exceedingly expensive for recent grads still starting out in their careers. It took a pair of well-compensated incomes to afford the place. Their first two years after college had been in a shared apartment. They'd thought the arrangement would be temporary, but living with her best friend made an immense amount of sense, even if it made her still hidden, simmering crush more difficult.

"Are you sure you're not finding a reason to escape back to Arkansas?" Kiovanna asked.

The pair had spent the last six months of 2024 perfecting the space. The largest project was putting down the rubber mats and hanging the mirrors to monitor their form while lifting. Demarcus had helped at the beginning, too, but his relationship with Kiovanna ran its course before he saw the project's completion.

I needed too much from him. Kiovanna thought and held back a tear. Every guy claims that's what they want, but when they get me, I'm too much.

"We're starting a new campaign next Saturday, so no." Tyler stretched a T-shirt over his toned torso. Kiovanna felt a slight sadness as his muscles went into seclusion. Just because their relationship had yet to turn romantic didn't mean that she couldn't enjoy some visual stimulation.

Been too long since Demarcus. Kiovanna shook her head at one of the mirrors as she turned away from ogling Tyler. It had been months since her latest breakup, and she wasn't finding any decent prospects in Fort Collins.

Kio's choice of a lavender sports bra and speckled grey running pants looked good on her dark skin. Having Tyler to challenge her over the last nine years had done wonders for her body. She felt like she was all knees and elbows when she first arrived in Colorado. It took her longer to grow into her tall, svelte form, but now she had utter confidence in her curves and beauty.

Typically, Kiovanna had a wig on over her natural short-cropped, curly black hair, but she didn't need it out on a run or lifting weights with Tyler. She was more comfortable around him than anyone else. Kio fished her piercing from the tiny pocket in her waistband. It was where the jewelry inevitably went when she forgot to remove her belly button ring. It could chafe on a long run, but she liked it highlighting her toned tummy.

Tyler had been thrown into her life in her freshman seminar class during her first semester at Colorado State. They'd been forced into groups for several projects that had the students explore the campus and the surrounding city. Tyler was standoffish and brusque for the first few activities, but slowly opened up as the seasons turned cold. Her best friend was an introvert who battled social anxiety.

Much like Tyler had gotten Kiovanna into running and weightlifting, she'd returned the favor and helped him overcome much of his anxiety in crowds. Dungeons and Dragons, therapy, and photography helped him conquer that fear outside of her influence.

"Nerd shit." Kiovanna teased. She grabbed her purple-framed glasses and put them back on. She wore contacts all week but let her eyes rest most of the weekend. She was comfortable being herself around Tyler. Well, mostly. There were still a few things she kept hidden from her best friend, including her crush.

"Says the woman who won the Magic tournament last night!" Tyler shook his head.

"Oh shit! I'm a nerd, too?" Kiovanna dropped her jaw in playful disbelief. Exercise wasn't the only place that Tyler had influenced her. Before coming to Fort Collins, Kiovanna would've turned her nose up at the nerdier pursuits. She'd been a cheerleader who hid her intellect in high school out of fear of being ostracized by her friend group. At least until she started planning for college. Then, she went all out for the grades she needed. "Or am I a blerd?"

"Blerd?" Tyler asked as he set up the bench press for incline sets.

"Black nerd! I blame you, Tyler!" Kiovanna giggled as she pointed an accusatory finger. She'd picked up Magic when Tyler dragged her along to the local game store where he played Dungeons and Dragons. They caught her eye at first due to the appealing art on the cards. After a few visits, Rebecca, the proprietor's daughter, taught her how to play.

"Me!? I wasn't the one who was a National Merit Scholar in high school!"

"Only because your district didn't possess computers to fill out the paperwork!" Kiovanna teased.

"I don't think they were that backward!" Tyler theatrically rolled his eyes. It was a common refrain for Kiovanna.

"Admit it! They're just now getting electric lamps and indoor plumbing!" Kio giggled.

Kiovanna grew up in the Bay Area of California. There were a ton of fantastic computer science programs near her childhood home, but an explosive divorce between her parents during high school and an experience with a stalker had her searching for somewhere further from home. Colorado State made sense. One of the best decisions I ever made. Fort Collins was home in a way that the Bay Area never felt, even before her family fell apart.

"They were thinking about getting dial-up internet before I moved." Tyler grimaced before he smiled.

He's been grimacing a lot when Arkansas is mentioned. Kiovanna connected a few threads from conversations they'd had since the last time he went home over Christmas. Need to broach that topic sometime. She thought, but it would have to be another day. Kiovanna was already going to push him far outside his comfort zone.

"So, you don't have plans on Sunday or Monday? You're not on again with Kim?" Kiovanna asked as she checked the collars on the weights. Tyler would check them, too, but it was part of the ritual of spotting her best friend.

"Been off for three months. She moved to Asheville, so I'm pretty sure this time is permanent." Tyler shook his head.

"Sorry, Ty." Kiovanna meant that sincerely. Kim had been one of the few other friends who had stayed in the area since graduating from college. The woman had shared an apartment with Kiovanna for the last two years of college, but the pair had drifted apart when Kim started dating Tyler.

"Yeah. She was out of my league anyway."

No, she's not. With a little more confidence, you could have any woman. Kiovanna wanted to argue, but gave Tyler a shrug with a smile.

"Why are you bringing up next weekend?" Tyler lay on the bench and grabbed the bar.

"I may need your particular set of skills next weekend." Kiovanna took her place behind the bench to spot her bestie.

"Where do you need me to chauffeur you?" Tyler asked. "What? I'm sure you're not in need of my soldering skills, and you're imminently proficient at most of my others."

Before coming to Colorado, Kiovanna never considered needing a car or learning how to drive. She took the BART anywhere she needed. In college and even when they had their first apartment, almost anywhere she needed to go was walkable. Their house was further away from things, but Kiovanna's job was across the street from where Tyler worked, so she rode along.

Tyler had once attempted to teach her how to drive, but a near miss of the only car in the parking lot they'd used for the attempt put a kibosh on future lessons. Even his admirable patience had its limits.

"Denver and I need more than your driving skills."

"Do you?" Tyler raised an eyebrow. He lifted the bar off the rest and started his set.

"We've got a couple of months before the Fall Equinox Marathon."

"Believe me, I remember."

"One." Kiovanna counted his first rep. "We did okay with the half last year. Two."

"What'd you sign us up for?"

"Three. A 10k. It'll be like we're training but with competition. Four."

Tyler didn't respond as the reps became more difficult for him. His face turned red from exertion as his arms started to shake. He was going until failure today, so Kiovanna's role was pivotal. Once he couldn't lift the bar, she helped him rack it.

"I don't remember a 10k on the calendar for our running group." Tyler swiveled out from under the bar and sat up.

"Remember why we're getting Monday off at work." Kiovanna grinned.

"No." Tyler shook his head. National Nude Day coming up wasn't a surprise.

"Come on, Tyler! It's a run and a festival. I'm invoking the do something scary clause of our friendship!"

When they first got close, getting Tyler out of his shell and his head meant that there were transactional agreements between the two. If Tyler did something that scared him, Kiovanna would have to do something Tyler wanted to do. It was how Tyler battled through some of his social anxiety, which was the catalyst for Kiovanna's getting into nerdy pursuits. It was rarely mentioned these days, but it ultimately made them happier people.

"This is a big ask, Ms. Abara." Tyler used her last name as a covert way to drop the jokes and speak plainly in the conversation. "I don't believe that I currently owe you anything."

"Name your price, Mr. Foster. Though I will prewarn you that I've celebrated every year, it's been a holiday in Colorado, and I intend to keep celebrating. Which means I'm gonna drag your ass to a party one way or another." Kiovanna would back off if Tyler genuinely didn't want to do something, but sometimes, he needed a push to get over a fear.

The state law said that those working on National Nude Day couldn't participate while at work. The tech companies' employees in the area banded together to demand the day off so they could take part in the festivities or hide at home.

"What's this race?"

"The Nude Day 10k."

"Running a 10k without a bra? Isn't that going to hurt?"

"A little, but I've been practicing on the treadmill. I can do it. What price do I need to pay to get a ride and you to participate?" Kiovanna asked.

"Knew I should've installed a security camera in the gym." Tyler chuckled.

"Lech." Kiovanna winked at him. "Though you'll get to see it all if you come running."

An image of what she would be willing to pay flashed into Kiovanna's head, but it was nothing Tyler had ever asked for. She could see him asking for sex in return, and she would comply with the request without delay. Pulling his shorts and her pants off while he lay back down on the weight bench. She'd watch her form in the mirror as she satisfied her curiosity about her best friend and found out if the rumors about him were accurate.

Kiovanna had been thinking about changing their relationship for a while. Any time she was between suitors, the question of why she and Tyler had never been more than best friends cropped back up. They were both objectively attractive, and Kiovanna had to admit to having a bit of a crush on him for some time. It had been worse than ever since she and Demarcus broke up.

Maybe he's not into black girls. Kiovanna told herself, though she knew it was far more likely that Tyler didn't want to ruin a superb friendship. That was something she could empathize with. Their home life flowed so perfectly together, and there was no one she'd rather spend time with than Tyler. He was smart, silly, and still a little shy. They could talk for hours about anything or quietly recline on the couch and read together without saying a word.

"The group needs one more for the next campaign." Tyler smiled.

"More nerd shit," Kiovanna murmured. "I think that's amenable."

"Don't think we've quite squared the scales."

"What else?"

"I know you're going to end up talking me into doing something crazy anyway. I might as well see what it's worth."

"Don't know that you're helping your bargaining position."

"We host Dungeons and Dragons here."

"Ha! That means I can drink wine while we play! I'll take care of the hotel rooms for Sunday night." Getting a single hotel room would probably be too far to push him.

"I'm a little worried about chafing."

"I have some literature for you to look at after our workout. You're in?" Kiovanna asked as she bounced happily on the balls of her feet.

"Yeah. I swear you could talk me into anything!"

"Might have to test that sometime." She winked at Tyler as he got in place for the next set.

Tyler - National Nude Day before the race

"Stop that." Tyler scolded his crotch as he tied on his red running shoes. When he woke up, his nerves had kept him from popping up, but as he put on his sneakers, his cock was standing tall. Like it or not, the thought of seeing Kiovanna naked had excited him. His best friend was a beautiful woman and always intrigued him, even if some of his sheltered upbringing bullshit got in the way.

Tyler hadn't been angry about that until his last trip to Arkansas. Prior to that, he thought that being slightly in his head about Kio was a good thing. It allowed a relationship to build instead of him taking a swing and missing. Not that I would've been able to ask her out back then, anyway. Social anxiety probably wasn't helped by being home-schooled until late in his sophomore year of high school. Kiovanna did.

In his freshman seminar class, Tyler would've been happy to hide in the back and muddle his way through the required group projects. Kio wouldn't let him. At first, it was a little grating, and Tyler was worried that it was all some kind of practical joke. He thought it was like the prank some of the seniors played on him when he was a sophomore in high school. He was convinced it was the only reason that a beauty like Kiovanna would want anything to do with him.

Back then, one of the cheerleaders decided to come onto him and invite him to a party. It was all part of an elaborate joke where the girls were supposed to find the biggest loser they could. Their actual boyfriends bombarded them with foul-smelling water balloons in the chilly spring air. He could still feel himself shivering in the cold as the seniors laughed at him.

That joke exacerbated his social anxiety and crystallized his desire to work on a computer engineering degree somewhere well away from Arkansas. He had the grades and aptitude to go to a school on one of the coasts, but they were too big for him. Tyler agonized over his decision between Colorado State and Wisconsin. Fort Collins' smaller size, the allure of the scenic mountains, and a terrific campus visit made the decision for him.

Best decision I ever made. Not only Colorado State, but perhaps more importantly for his growth, he met Kiovanna. The woman who patiently brought him out of his shell. It took him years to realize how much poison was in his upbringing. Kiovanna was the antidote. When an opportunity to stay in Fort Collins after he graduated came up, he said yes as soon as he found out that Kio was staying.

Last Christmas, Tyler went home to Arkansas for what might have been his final time. He'd invited Kiovanna to come along, but an unplanned end-of-the-year code change kept her in Colorado. Thank God for small miracles.

At home, Tyler had a heart-to-heart conversation with his older brother, Robert. He was happy for him to finally propose to MaKayla over Thanksgiving. When Robert asked him what was happening with Kiovanna, it was the first time Tyler vocalized that he wanted to ask Kio out on an actual date. Robert acted ecstatic for him, but couldn't keep his mouth shut, so he brought up the topic with their parents.

For years, Tyler had known that there was some simmering distrust of Kiovanna from his parents. He thought that they were miffed that he was living with a woman that he wasn't married to, though that didn't seem to be an issue for his younger sister, Raylynn, and her boyfriend, Justin.

Robert must have blabbed because his parents called him into the kitchen for a discussion. Tyler could still manifest an instant rage when he thought about his father telling him that it was beneath the Foster family to associate with people like Kiovanna. When Tyler asked what that meant, his mother chimed in with the kind of paternalistic views that his ancestors must have used to justify keeping people as property.

What happened next was a blur of raised voices and arguing on Kiovanna's behalf. His parents tried to say that it wasn't Kiovanna's fault that her people just weren't that bright. Tyler vehemently defended Kio. He was typically one to avoid conflict, but no one was allowed to cut down his amazing best friend. When his father dropped the N-word, and his mother declared that no honest Foster was an N-word lover, Tyler walked out.

Words were of no more use. Tyler couldn't argue with anyone who was that willingly ignorant. He didn't even bother getting his luggage, just his laptop bag that he'd had in the living room. Tyler pointed his SUV toward Fort Collins and drove through the night to get back home. He ignored several calls from his family as he had nothing more to say on the matter. He would have had a better faith argument with a brick wall.

Even leaning into the trauma and, if not a secret, at least something that he was keeping from Kiovanna, wasn't reducing the swelling of his member. "Fuck. You're going to be a problem today, aren't you?" All the literature about National Nude Day he'd read had disapproved of erections during the festivities. Men were expected to remove themselves from public if they got excited.

Tyler's cock responded to his questioning by drooling a dollop of clear precum. "None of that in public either." He growled. A glance at his smartwatch let him know that he should have at least a few minutes until Kiovanna arrived. "I'd better take care of you before Kio gets here."

Inclined on the king-sized bed, Tyler spread the slick liquid around his cock. He leaned into his recent history as he thrust his clenched fist up and down his pole. He could see Kim's petite body riding him like she so enjoyed when they made love. Personal experience usually worked better for him when porn wasn't on offer. He and Kim had a lot of fun, even if their relationship was lacking when it came to romance.

As he wrapped his opposite hand around his testicles, the image of Kim morphed into the tall, sinuous form of Kiovanna instead. He could see her shapely breasts shake each time she bounced on his cock. His knowledge of those gifts was incomplete, but she was stunning when she filled out her favorite bikini. Going to see a whole lot more of her than that today.

Tyler imagined her sexy pussy spread around him to take his pale cock. He could see a smattering of close-buzzed pubic hair atop her mound. Stop daydreaming about your best friend. He tried to calm himself, but the phantom version of Kio was too visceral to push from his consciousness.

After a few minutes, Tyler got up and stumbled to the bathroom. He neither needed to take a shower to clean up when he finished nor leave a mess for the maid. Flipping on the light in the bathroom, the memory of the national conference overtook the image of Kiovanna for at least a moment. Kim came back to his hotel room, one that was a clone of this one, and they had sex for the first time.

Particularly vivid was Kim seated on the bathroom vanity. It was the perfect height for Tyler to rail into her as she screamed in pleasure. He made her climax hard enough to revert to Mandarin as she bellowed in bliss. She was born and raised in New York but had learned Mandarin before English. I spent more time in Kim during that week than in sessions at the conference.

Tyler dispensed some body lotion from the bottle locked beside the mirror and made a tunnel with his paired fists. A single fist wasn't long enough for his poor imitation of Kim's tight quim. He closed his eyes as he tried to recall the sights and sounds of that coupling. The smell of Kim's musk and orange-blossom body wash filled his nostrils as he unlocked his memory. He thrust into his hands as the bliss built.

Even with the potent memory, Tyler couldn't help his phantom lover morphing into the image of Kiovanna. Her long, toned, dark legs spread around his torso, shaking as he picked up speed. Plump lips were covered in an exciting and wonderfully contrasting shade of lip gloss, like she always selected before going out on a date. Her taut tummy danced in time with her hips and his thrusts, causing her piercing to fly out and flop back.

"Ffffuccckk..." Tyler moaned as the electric sensation flew up his spine. He quickly spun around and pointed his cock at the open toilet before the lance of sperm shot into the water. Tyler varied his grip as urges rolled like waves and precipitated a flurry of white jets firing.

"Shit..." Tyler groaned as he worked the dregs of semen from his finally relaxing cock. I can't fantasize about my best friend like that. A wave of guilt pulsed through him. Tyler felt terrible, but he couldn't control the fantasies. He flushed away the shame and cleaned the excess lotion from his penis.

Tyler wrapped a towel around his waist as he put away his toiletries. Before he could put them in his suitcase, there was a joyful knock on his door. He peeked through the peephole to ensure that it was Kiovanna knocking and not a maid before he opened the door. He didn't ogle her through the fisheye lens as it seemed like a poor substitute for the glorious figure he was about to witness, but he could tell at a glance that she wasn't wearing more than running shoes.

"Open up, Tyler! No hiding in your room!" Kiovanna giggled through the door.

"I'm not, just making sure you weren't a maid or a highwayman!" Tyler opened the door and stepped back. The last part was a tease from her getting caught unaware in D&D when her third-level character was supposed to be keeping watch.

"It was my first time playing!" Kio complained with a gleaming smile as she burst into the room. "Can't help it if your dice didn't like me."

Kiovanna stole Tyler's ability to speak. Everything he'd imagined or fantasized about had been woefully insufficient. Kio was exceedingly tall, just a few inches shorter than Tyler's looming height. She had one emerald-green running shoe while the other was gold in color. They were the same style, only different colors. On either arm, she had ribbons tied above and below her biceps, each arm with a green and gold motif.

Instead of a wild color, Kiovanna had a wig of black straight hair that was probably a little over shoulder length. Tyler could see the gold and green theme carried into the scrunchy, corralling it into a ponytail as she pulled her luggage into the room and then turned to close the door. Her pink backpack sat just above the ass that Tyler peeked at often. It had been a fantastic feature as long as he'd known her, but squats and running improved perfection.

Around her thighs, Kio had a pair of green and gold ribbons that mimicked the detail on her arms. The bright colors stood out boldly on her dark, smooth skin. Her calves flexed as she bounced on her toes in a dance reminiscent of when she won a Magic tournament. Not at the table, no, but once she got somewhere private. She was only a sore winner when she could rub in taking a win against Tyler. How am I lucky enough to see it often?

Kiovanna whirled around while continuing her dance with a gleaming smile on her face. She'd selected a matte lavender lipstick that highlighted her plump lips and seemed to beg Tyler to step forward and kiss her. Other than her bright and well-contrasted lips, her makeup was subtle but did make her bright, decadent, honey-colored eyes pop. She wore her lavender frames that would doubtlessly be switched out for sunglasses before the race.

"Hi! This is me, Tyler. All of me." Kio held her arms out from her side, beseeching him to drink in the whole of her form.

Two pink backpack straps corralled her incredible breasts. They were shaped like twin ski jumps with jet-black nipples placed at the apex of her swells. She looked captivating in a bikini, but this was beyond enthralling. Other guys might not like a stomach with visible abs, thinking it wasn't ladylike, but they were wrong. He couldn't see each individual muscle group, but the core stood out as she continued her excited dance.

Hanging over her belly button was a pair of jewels, an emerald and a topaz, which was a new look for her piercing. The wild spring break weekend that culminated with Tyler holding her hand while she got pierced replayed in his mind.

Down Tyler's eyes fell and almost popped out when he got to her womanhood. Kiovanna was waxed smoothly. Her labia were a darker shade than the surrounding chestnut tones. It looked as if the greatest comic artist in the world had inked her to highlight the entrance to earthly nirvana. She had a pronounced mound and the hint of a pink clit peek from under a dark hood.

"My God, you're beautiful," Tyler murmured as what he wanted to internalize snuck out. It was impossible to hold his tongue when viewing perfection.

"I know, right? This is half your doing." Kiovanna sauntered past him toward the central part of the hotel room.

"How do you figure?" Tyler spun to follow her with his eyes. He was glued to every quake of her toned posterior.

Kio glanced over her shoulder and caught him looking. She didn't call it out but offered a smile and wink that cried she saw it. Is she flirting with me?

"Wouldn't look half this good without my exercise partner." She reached back and grabbed the edge of Tyler's towel. "How come you get to wear a towel? Doesn't seem fair, Ty."

"Trying to get things packed up. I'm not used to being naked."

"Better get used to it quick. I plan on wearing this outfit a lot more often at home now that we've broken the ice."

"Really!?" Tyler blinked in disbelief. If only I could be that lucky.

"It's comfy during the warm months!"

"It's quite the gorgeous outfit." Tyler hoped that his grin wasn't as stupid as it felt.

Kiovanna flicked her wrist and tugged the towel off Tyler. Her eyes got wide as they snapped to his crotch. "Oh my! You shave!?"

Tyler glanced down at his anatomy. His cock wasn't standing, but it wasn't in its relaxed state either. What remained of his foreskin was still pulled off the dark red head. "You can blame Kim for this. She got waxed if I shaved, and I kind of liked the look. Though if you'd given me a little more than a week's warning, I would've grown it out. Half-grown hairs would've led to more chafing since I have to run a 10k naked."

"It's a good look on you. I'm just surprised."

"It's a good look on you, too." Tyler nodded. She has the cutest pussy I've ever seen.

"Nice cock. Looks like you got a semi going on. Do you need to take care of things so he doesn't pop up?" Kiovanna dropped the towel, then loosely balled a fist in front of her smooth mound and wanked an invisible cock.

"Kio!"

"Sorry, think I lost part of my filter when I shed my kit." Kiovanna blushed.

"It's fine." Tyler sighed. He didn't want to do anything to discourage future opportunities to see a happy naked Kio. "I already did that. He's just a little lazy about relaxing after his beating."

"Prudent." Kiovanna unslung her backpack and grabbed something from the front pocket. "I had to do the same. Nudity at home is comfortable. In public, it's exciting." She waved a silver cylinder at Tyler, which he had no doubt was a vibe, and then her face got darker and warmer as she blushed. "Oops. Like I said, no filter without clothes."

"Public nudity gets you going?"

"Uh-huh. Doesn't last long on Nude Day, fortunately. It's also not as obvious for me as it is for you. If these two get pointy, I can blame it on a cool breeze," Kio pointed at her nipples. "And no one gets close enough to see how wet I get. Make sure you put new sunscreen on your willy now that you rubbed it off."

"I will."

"If you don't, you won't be able to beat it for about a week." Kio giggled.

"I'll bet it would hurt like hell to even get a boner when it's sunburnt."

"I would imagine. You almost ready, or do you need a minute? I wanna get there early and scope out the festival before the run."

"Give me five minutes to pack up and put on sunscreen."

"I'll set a timer." Kio winked at him. "Got your camera?"

"Of course. Not sure I want to take it with me, though. It's kind of cumbersome for running, and it might make people nervous."

"It's completely legal in public spaces. Just don't be creepy about it and ask for consent if you want someone to model."

Tyler stepped into the bathroom to reapply sunscreen as he thought about taking his camera. Even before Kiovanna had slowly pried him from his shell, hiding behind his camera had helped Tyler fight his social anxiety when the world required him to be out in public. It let him be an observer and made it so that the small talk that felt so awkward for him was usually about his camera or capturing images.

"Okay, but what do I do with it during the race?" Tyler leaned out of the bathroom to ask.

"There are lockers by where the race starts and finishes. That's what I plan on doing with my backpack. And, yes, I'll be your model, as usual."

"Really!? Naked!?" Tyler raised an eyebrow. Kiovanna liked to model for him when they went hiking, but she was clothed for those.

"Of course, as long as I get to see the photos, tell you what to delete, and keep copies for myself."

"Why would the process change just because you're naked?" Tyler finished in the bathroom and found that Kiovanna had thrown open the curtains and reclined on the bed as she scrolled through something on her phone screen. It was a typical casual pose for her, with one leg on the bed and another spilling over the side. Without clothes, it put her womanhood on full display. Her pussy was glistening and wet, begging to be toyed with.

Tyler tried not to stare at his best friend and archetype for beauty in his mind. He bustled through the room and zipped up his luggage.

"Grace and Celina are going to be at the race," Kio said. They were friends from school, though Tyler and Kiovanna weren't lucky enough to be in their inner sphere.

"See, you didn't need me. You could've gotten a ride with one of them." Tyler tried to joke through the spike of anxiety. He was okay with the race when it was just Kio, but if there were other people he knew, his chance for anonymity was gone.

"Nah, their car was full of those two's significant others and brewery merch. Besides, I prefer your company." Kiovanna looked up with a wink. "I meant it about walking around our house naked now, Ty. It just has a single condition."

"No taking pictures?"

"Nah, I need you to join in."

Unbidden, the image of Kiovanna doing her weightlifting routine in the buff pulsed in Tyler's imagination. He shook his head to dash away the vision before his cock ascended again.

"Maybe. You do look so relaxed like that."

"And hot, right?" Kio smirked.

Is she coming on to me? Tyler tried to discern what this new information meant. "No question. It might be distracting when I'm trying to write."

"Want to make the race more interesting?"

"More interesting than running naked? I think I'm getting all the interesting I can handle." Tyler sighed. "What's your idea?"

"Whoever does better in their division gets to decide our schedule for the rest of the day. I'm sure there's plenty of nerd shit we can do if I lose."

Winners for the race were broken into age groups, as well as men's and women's divisions. Tyler was a little faster than Kiovanna when it came to running, but this would put them on a fair footing.

"And my blerd bestie would have fun doing that nerd shit, too. Sounds like you win no matter what."

"I promise you'll have fun with my plans, too."

Tyler checked his camera, then leveled it toward Kio on the bed and snapped a photo. "I'll never hear the end of it if I chicken out anyway."

"Very true. See what you missed out on by going to Arkansas during National Nude Day the last couple of years?"

"Yeah." Tyler couldn't hide the grimace when Kio mentioned his home state.

"What is it about Arkansas lately? Every time I mention it, you cringe."

"It's nothing."

"No, it's not. I've known you for almost a decade, Tyler. You're hiding something."

"You're right." Tyler clenched his fist as rage leaked into his brain. "Not a topic for today, okay?"

"Yeah. I'll always be here when you need to talk, Tyler."

"Let's get to the race so I can kick your pretty little ass, and we can do some nerd shit for the rest of the day." Tyler offered a hand to help Kio off the bed.

"I'm not going to make this easy." Kiovanna was close as she accepted the hand and stood. All he needed to do was lean in and kiss her to find out if the feelings surging through him were reciprocated by the beauty.

"Why start now?" Tyler grinned as he pulled away.

Kiovanna - A little later

"Wow, she's shiny!" Kio marveled at the sleek, clean finish on Tyler's SUV. The dark grey finish had an incredible depth to it. Tyler was proud of the first new car that he owned and spent the day before they hosted D&D hand-washing and waxing it. They'd driven to Denver after dark last night, so she hadn't gotten a chance to see her cleaned up.

"Gave me something to do other than be nervous about today." Tyler shrugged. "Want to put our backpacks in the back seat? I'll play Tetris with the suitcases and cooler." He shrugged out of the straps of his backpack.

Tyler looked incredible in the nude, even if the bright tan lines aping his running shorts made it apparent that he wasn't typically outside naked. Much like her, he'd been tall but scrawny when they first met. His brother had gotten him into weight training during the summer; however, it had been too late in the season to make much of an impact before the school year.

Nine years of steady work and playful competition with Kiovanna had sculpted Tyler into something that turned heads when they were out on runs together. She could see the jealousy in other women's longing looks or envious glares. It was a gradual process, but looking back on the photos from early in their friendship, it was night and day. She was flabbergasted that no one had snapped him up. That likely had more to do with his simmering social anxiety than any other perceived defect.

Kiovanna's pulsing need to see if their relationship was something more profound than a near decade of loyalty was more than a little fueled by Tyler's biceps and pecs. I want those wrapped up tight around me. She stole another glance at his plump backside as she changed from her glasses to her mirrored shades. I could think of a few ways to put that to use.

The image of her legs spread in the front seat of Tyler's SUV, the leather seat fully reclined as he fucked her, unable to control the lust unleashed by the new paradigm, played in Kiovanna's mind. He'd be the perfect mix of tender and driving as he stroked his big cock into her. Fun, but no. Kio hid a smile. On any other day, that would be illegal, but it was doubly so on National Nude Day. Colorado was very protective of anything that would besmirch their new fiscal boon.

Her best friend having a shaved crotch was another surprise, as was his giant cock, though it wasn't nearly as long or thick now that he calmed down. Always thought that big guys had a quiet confidence. Kiovanna mused. What if he was only half hard when you saw him?

Would he even fit? Kiovanna pondered as she stowed their backpacks. She was a tall woman, but had never had experience with a man that large. Didn't think that would happen with him. Kiovanna had decided last weekend that this trip would be when she seduced him. She had to know if the feelings brewing were authentic. After settling in last night and getting a beverage at the hotel bar, Kio almost invited Tyler back to her hotel room, but nerves stopped her.

This wasn't the first time that feelings for Tyler had cropped up. Kiovanna had nursed an initial crush on the man that seemed to pulse back to life each time she got out of a relationship. She had never been more certain of an emotion than her love for the man, but was scared about changing her near-idyllic home life for something more. Would adding physical intimacy to our relationship ruin everything? Or would it make things complete?

"Think we need towels to sit on?" Kio asked through the open liftgate.

"No, not yet. If it were anyone else taking advantage of my ferrying service, I would say without question. With you, it's fine." Tyler looked down as his cheeks turned pink.

"Yay! Always wanted to feel this leather beneath my naked ass."

"Today's the day." Tyler pressed the button on the liftgate, watched it close, and then hopped in the driver's seat. "Besides, I made sure to waterproof the leather in case someone's still a little excited about it being Nude Day." Tyler winked as the red on his cheeks got brighter.

"I will be with the crowd for the first little while." Kiovanna slid into the passenger seat. The supple leather was slightly cool in the morning air.

"I like the ribbons."

"Thanks. I thought I was going to need something to pin a runner's number to, but I read that timing and identification are all done via a wristband. Gotta represent Cam the Ram since I saw the Buffs in the buff group heading to the race in my Insta."

Cam the Ram was Colorado State's mascot, the name coming from when they were Colorado A&M. Colorado University was larger than Colorado State and had a buffalo, really a bison, as their mascot. Kio felt the need to represent her alma mater when they were outnumbered.

"Huh, you don't happen to have extra ribbon, do you?"

"I do."

"Could you help me represent the alma mater when we get there?" Tyler asked.

"Of course. Arms? Legs?" Kiovanna asked as she buckled her seatbelt.

"Just the arms, I think." Tyler looked over with a smile. "One sec." He opened his door, and Kio watched his toned ass with great amusement. The man never skipped leg day.

"Could do a gold ribbon around your cock and green around your balls."

"Don't think I need to call more attention to him." Tyler shook his head with a wry smile as he fished through his backpack and retrieved his camera.

"You wouldn't be the only guy who played a little dress-up on Nude Day!"

"Would you mind helping me tie them on?"

"For a guy with so much grace with a soldering iron, your knot-tying does suck."

"I'm amazed that you were able to tie them around your arms. Those knots are intricate with one arm." Tyler hopped back in the driver's seat and leveled his impressive camera at her.

There was a tingle of doing something extra naughty as Kiovanna posed for the camera. She had no desire for those pictures to be released, at least none of them that could identify her, but she liked Tyler's attention.

"Thanks. I kinda like showing off." Kiovanna grinned.

"The way your breasts look separated by the seatbelt is gorgeous!"

"Don't forget the kitty." Kiovanna twisted her torso and spread her legs further. Her smooth pussy was peeking out from under the thick gray of the seatbelt. She bet it paired great with the red leather of the seats. "If you're taking photos, you might as well get everything. Don't need the kitty to feel left out of the fun because you were scared." She winked at Tyler.

"If you insist." Tyler moved the lens further south and took a few snaps. He peeked at the back of the camera after the shot and smirked. "Ms. Abara, I do believe modeling has you excited."

You're the one making me excited. Kiovanna wanted to say and change their friendship permanently, but she held her tongue. Win the bet and put your plan in motion. "I told you it would for the first little while. Doesn't appear that the photographer minds."

"Shit." Tyler looked down at his crotch. He wasn't as long as he was when Kiovanna had taken off his towel, but he was ascending. "Being around you while naked is dangerous. Would you mind holding the camera?" In his old car, Tyler typically had the camera seated lens first in a cupholder, ready to be drawn and fired quickly. That didn't work in his new SUV, as the cup holders were ahead of the gear selector without enough room for his camera.

"Not a problem. Know where we're going?"

"Already in my phone." Tyler grabbed his phone from the armrest and put it under the front portion where it should charge wirelessly.

"Shouldn't have had to ask." Kiovanna grinned, then pointed the camera at Tyler and grabbed a couple of images of his best features. She couldn't help giggling.

The only time that Tyler didn't have the destination preprogrammed in his phone's mapping app was on one of his and Kiovanna's trips wandering in the mountains. They'd found a number of stunning vistas together, and he always had the maps downloaded in case they got lost, but that was part of the adventure. They were always kind of romantic. Kiovanna smiled to herself.

One of those drives would be fun on Nude Day next year. The air would be chilly, but there would be a thrill standing atop a scenic overlook in nothing more than a pair of running shoes.

The drive across Denver to the race site was remarkably normal despite their lack of clothing. Kiovanna and Tyler were never bereft of conversation or good-natured arguments. Nudity was mostly forgotten as the pair got accustomed to the new normal. Kio planned on testing the waters as soon as they returned to their perfect house.

Kiovanna had been close to bringing Tyler into her confidence when it came to nudity, but had chickened out every time. On the rare occasions she was home alone, Kio left her clothing in her bedroom to wander the house. When Tyler came home a day early from Arkansas after Christmas, he'd very nearly caught her. Wish he would've. Being naked was just more comfortable for her.

On the roads, about half the cars held naked occupants enjoying the day. Maybe if we get far enough out in the middle of nowhere, I can ride around like this on more of our adventures. Kiovanna daydreamed outside the confines of the sanctioned holiday.

"You have the paperwork on your phone?" Tyler asked as they got in line for parking near the race and event.

"It's in my backpack." Kiovanna unclipped her seatbelt and dove between the seats and the armrest to get it. When she sat back down, Tyler's eyes were wide. He must have had one hell of a look in the rearview mirror.

"Wow..." Tyler gasped with a foolish grin. "The person who waxed you didn't miss a spot."

"Great, now my best friend knows what my B-hole looks like."

"It's a surprisingly cute little pucker, but I'm not the one you should be worried about." Tyler chuckled as he pointed at the car ahead of them. "You know the windshield isn't tinted."

"Advantage of having the sun shining in our eyes. There's got to be a heck of a glare on the windshield." Kiovanna attempted to reason, but the thought of Tyler getting an intimate peek was tantalizing. A random driver was less so.

"If I tried to do that, my ass would've lit up like a spotlight."

"Knew that being black would've had to be a benefit at some point!" Kiovanna giggled. "Plus, don't take this the wrong way because you have a fantastic ass, but that's not the best look for guys. Too much dangly bits and grundle."

"Don't think I'd make that look sexy."

He saw it and liked it. Kiovanna let him off the hook by not continuing the conversation as she unlocked her phone. "They'll need to scan the QR code for parking." She handed over her phone as they pulled up to the attendant. "Part of the expense of the race was the fee for parking. We lucked into Coors Field staff parking."

"Good morning!" The woman in her early fifties smiled. "Here for the foot races?"

"Yes, ma'am." Tyler nodded and turned the phone to the woman.

"You two look cute together." There was an audible beep from the tablet she held as it hovered over Kiovanna's phone. "Wish I could get my husband to embrace the holiday. Good luck!" She stepped back and waved them forward before either Tyler or Kio rebutted her statement of them being a cute couple.

Tyler found a spot that was a few cars away from anyone else, with one side of his new SUV protected by a median. He parked as close as he could get on his driver's side without impeding his egress.

"Ribbons?" Tyler flexed his showy biceps as they got out and gathered their backpacks.

"Of course! C-State has to represent!" Kiovanna leaned under the liftgate to get her ribbons out of her suitcase. She could feel Tyler's blue eyes on her posterior and played up her lean in a manner she hoped wasn't too noticeable. Just because she was waiting until tonight to seduce Tyler didn't mean she wouldn't tease and prime him for later. It was too much fun to avoid.

"Maybe not with the pretty bows, though."

"Aww, but you'd look so cute!" Kiovanna whirled around with ribbons and scissors in hand.

"That's going to happen anyway." Tyler winked at her hard enough to be seen despite his mirrored sunglasses. "I need to grab a close-up of each of your fetching ribbons before we head to the race."

The morning air was still cool, causing Kiovanna's nipples to harden. The race needed to be run before the nineties descended on Denver by midday. The event parking was around Coors Field, taking advantage of the all-star break to provide enough parking for a series of races and festivals for the holiday.

It took a few minutes for Tyler to collect his photos and get ribbons tied perfectly on his terrifically toned biceps. The man's muscles were showy without being ostentatious, like he used them, but he wasn't fanatical about his diet to accomplish it. Kiovanna savored the time close to him and got in far more touching than was typical for their relationship.

"Is that the red you wanted?" Kiovanna pointed out the SUV that was pulling into the parking space on the other side of the divider. The vibrant red seemed to glow in the light of the sun. The gleaming surface argued that the owner put as much care into detailing as Tyler did.

"Yeah, I couldn't wait for delivery, though." Tyler shook his head. The man had driven his high school car until the wheels almost fell off. A seized engine after three hundred thousand miles forced him to buy something new.

"I still like the green you showed me better."

"That's not coming to the hybrid. At least not this model year."

"Too bad, it's almost a Colorado State color. Could've decorated it for game day this fall."

"That could've been fun. These look great, thanks." Tyler stepped closer, looking as if he were going to lean in for a kiss.

This is it. Kiovanna tried to savor the impending moment.

"Which one of you is the gopher?" A shorter woman with deep tan skin tapped the blue gopher character peeking out of the rear side window of Tyler's SUV. Both of the nipples on her small but perky breasts were skewered with metallic barbell piercings. The woman was svelte and toned in the right way, with a small strip of trimmed black hair above her womanhood. "Oops, sorry."

"Blame Kio." Tyler pointed at Kiovanna as he took a step back from the brink. "She picks up stickers whenever she goes to conferences."

"They gotta go somewhere."

"Key-oh!?" The newcomer asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Short for Kiovanna." Kio nodded. "I prefer Vanna or Van, but Tyler insists upon calling me Kio." She liked the nickname now, but she wasn't going to let Tyler know that yet. It was more fun this way.

"Pretty name. Are you a programmer?" The new woman asked as she pressed the button above her license plate and leaned out of the way of the ascending liftgate of her SUV.

"Yup. Go, and I put a rustacean on the other side. I'm going to guess you're a programmer, too. No one else has a clue about what they are. They confuse Ty at times, but he's a computer engineer."

"Uh-huh. Almost all Go all the time for me, though I do have to muddle through Typescript when I have to do frontend work." The woman smiled as she got out her backpack. "I'm Ori, and my girlfriend, Blake, is a little nervous about her first Nude Day."

"I'm not! I was texting to see when Mitchell's car is getting here." A pretty blonde woman stepped out of the brilliant red SUV. She was the same height as her girlfriend but had a far different build. Blake wasn't husky, but heftier than Ori. She had a pair of spectacular, large breasts that were unfairly perky for their size. Like Kiovanna, Blake waxed. "I was going to save a space for them."

"Sure." Ori bounced over and planted a kiss on her girlfriend's cheek. "You two are cute together."

"Thanks, but we're just friends," Tyler said without much gravitas.

Ori's face crinkled. "Not sure if I believe that. Which one of you is running today?"

"We both are." Kio nodded. "Are you my competition?"

"Competition?" Ori raised an eyebrow. She had delightful almond-shaped eyes.

"I have a bet going against my best friend here that I do better than him in my division. Are either of you running the 10k?"

"I am, but my girlfriend complains that her tits are too big for running in the nude."

"Running hurts with these two!" Blake hopped a little, causing her breasts to shake. "I'm walking the 5k, though. I like the ribbon decorations. The bows are very symmetrical and look incredible on your skin tone."

"Thank you, go Rams!" Kio cheered.

"Next year, we bring purple and silver ribbons." Ori nodded.

"Cute that you think you're going to get me to agree to this more than once." Blake turned toward Ori and gave her lips a peck.

"We'll see, my love," Ori smirked. "How do you like the hybrid?" She turned toward Tyler and pointed at his car.

"It's great. I drove it, and the naturally aspirated model was gutless, and the hybrid could move well enough. Doesn't get as great of mileage in the winter, but still does about double what my old truck did. How's the turbo?" Tyler's confidence didn't seem to be impacted by the newcomers.

"Fun, but Blake's right foot can get a bit heavy at times. They didn't have the hybrid when I bought mine."

"Me, the heavy right foot? I'm not the reason we're already looking into new shoes for Ruby." Blake patted the muscular-looking haunches of the SUV.

Tyler - a few minutes later

Should've known that Kio would've made new friends. Tyler couldn't help but smile at the latest pair of women that had been pulled into Kiovanna's orbit. Ori and Blake made quite the adorable couple as they guarded the space beside their SUV. Ori and Kiovanna were deep in conversation about preferred coding styles, operating systems, and the tools they used.

Tyler was happy listening in; he had a vague understanding of coding, but that wasn't the path of his career. Blake engaged him in conversation, and they got into the finer points of writing novels and where they were getting hung up. She was a fan of the fantasy genre while he was steeped in science fiction. They had a number of writing tools that they depended on to share with each other.

After several minutes, being naked sort of faded into the background. That was if Tyler didn't look over at Kiovanna. She was mesmerizing and confident in nothing but ribbons and purposefully mismatched shoes. Her confidence was rarely in doubt, but being devoid of clothing seemed to amp up that swagger.

Eventually, a larger SUV of the same make as the others in their mostly filled row pulled into the saved space as the scrum took up position behind Ori's car. Out of the vehicle, four friends of Blake and Ori sprang out.

"Sorry we're late." Apologized a tall, fit man with brown hair and a neatly trimmed goatee. He was about an inch taller than Tyler and had his hand in that of a brunette who was only an inch shorter than Kio. His crotch was closely trimmed, but he had a halo of darker brown around his manhood.

"I needed coffee." Another tall woman with auburn hair shrugged. She was svelte and thin with a small chest. Her legs stood long and toned below a waxed womanhood. The woman's fingers were intertwined with those of another tall woman.

"I'm Tess, this is Avery." The other woman waved. She had unnatural purple hair that morphed slowly into silver at the tips. Her eyebrows were dyed to mimic the pattern, as was a patch of hair above her womanhood. That had been waxed or plucked into a shape that resembled a mountain icon that a phone may display. Her chest was full, with nipples that had been stained purple to match.

"I'm Tyler. This is Kio." Tyler grinned as he got side-eye from Kiovanna. It had been a subtle goal of his to get more people to call his best friend by his preferred shortening. If it bothered her, he would drop it immediately, but this was playful teasing.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Mitchell, and this beauty is Gwen, my fiancée." The other guy stuck out a hand to shake Tyler's. "Are you two fraternizing with the competition?"

"You know Ori never misses a chance to make a new friend." Blake grinned.

"Who's all running?" Kio asked but didn't correct her preferred shortening of Kiovanna.

"I'm running the 10k, and so are Ori, Mitchell, and Gwen." Avery held up her hand.

"I'm running, but only the 5k." Tess nodded.

Tyler stood back and watched as Kiovanna shone, creating new friends, even if they were rivals for the upcoming race. Kio could make friends anywhere. That would seem like Kiovanna's relationships were frivolous or shallow, but the woman had the mental and emotional bandwidth to juggle all her associations.

Even if Kio was much better at making friends than Tyler was, it didn't mean he was just going to stand back and stare at the beauty. Avery was a fellow computer engineer, and they were able to nerd out on some of their favorite things. The woman was gorgeous, as was the tall woman beside her. Tess was engaged in conversation with the others, while Avery seemed more comfortable talking only to him.

Tess must be the extrovert in that relationship. Tyler thought to himself as he turned back toward his open liftgate. His conversation with Avery continued as he pulled the cargo cover over his and Kio's luggage. Once he was happy with it looking uninteresting to possible thieves, he grabbed his camera from the little cubby on the passenger side of the SUV. Kio wouldn't want him to forget to bring it along.

"Nice camera!" Avery said as she tugged on Tess's arm to grab her attention. "My fiancée is a photographer."

"Is she?"

"Oh, you have good taste in cameras, even if it's the wrong brand," Tess said with a giggle. "I'm a Nikon girl myself. Are we allowed to have cameras during the races?"

"Yeah, at least according to Kio." Tyler nodded.

"Well, shoot, I was wrong, babe." Avery shook her head.

"That's fine. I didn't want to lug my tripod around before the race anyway." Tess shrugged. "Do you do nude photography?"

"I would have said no before this morning. My model insisted that I treat things like normal, even if she's only wearing shoes." Tyler motioned with the lens of his camera over to Kio, who turned toward him and smiled without stumbling in her story from her escapades on her latest work trip. "What about you?"

"It's dangerous to date your favorite model." Tess smiled before leaning over to place a kiss on her fiancée's cheek. "Fun, too. It's one of my favorite subjects." She paused and looked toward Avery.

"Go ahead. I don't think it's a secret anymore since you got your image put in the gallery back at school." Avery sighed with a bemused smirk.

"I've published three volumes as Quintessa Gossamer."

"A Wandering Muse?" Tyler blinked in disbelief. The third volume was a favorite in his photography club. It was outstanding work, and Tyler had gone out to buy all three volumes after seeing it. They occupied the bookshelf in his living room.

"Yup, and this is Avelina." Tess hip-checked her fiancée after she invoked her pseudonym. "We're going to work on the fourth volume this afternoon. A Wandering Muse in the City or A Wandering Muse at Play, if we get more recreation pictures. Gwen, Mitchell, Avery, and I are going to be the models. Do you think Kio would be interested?"

"Maybe? You'd have to ask her. Can you keep her anonymous?"

"She's good at that, usually." Avery shook her head.

"Eh, either you or Gwen would've blabbed anyway." Tess snickered.

"Me?" Avery scowled but quickly smiled. "It's hard not to brag about my fiancée."

"I know the feeling," Tess smirked. "You could be a model as well, Tyler."

"He's fit, and we could use a little more sausage in the book." Avery nodded. "Though it's hard to model and take pictures."

"We better get moving if we want to snag a locker for our stuff." Kio pointed over her shoulder toward the race check-in.

Tyler wanted to reach out and grab Kiovanna's hand as they walked. The three couples that constituted the new friend group were all holding hands. Would everything change if I did that? His left pinkie twitched toward Kiovanna's empty hand. Walking next to her felt right, as if this was where Tyler naturally belonged.

Just reach out and take her hand. Tyler could envision how Kio would react. She'd look over with a shy smile and brush her hair over her far shoulder as that smile widened. He had no doubt that his world would change, but there was still a sliver of unease. It was a risk, one that he was going to have to take even if it endangered the best thing in his life. Win the race, take her somewhere romantic, and kiss her.

"Hey, Kio?" Tyler slowed down and caught her attention.

"What, are you trying to back out of our bet?" Kiovanna grinned as she slowed to match his pace. "I'm not about to let you back out on the agreement."

"No. Looking at things logically, it seems that you have a lot more opponents in your division." Tyler shrugged. "I was going to let you out of the bet if you only let me pick what we were doing for an hour or so."

"Oh!? You have something in mind?" Kio asked.

"You know those Wandering Muse books I have?" Tyler looked away from Kio as his cheeks burned.

"Those artistic nudes?"

"Yeah, those."

"Of course. Some of my favorite books. Makes me feel a little jealous."

"Does it?"

"Yeah, I wish I could wear this while working or doing something recreational like in the latest volume." Kio smiled. "I'm going to get my running fix today. I figure I can work out naked at home."

An image of Kio working on each piece of equipment formed in Tyler's mind. The bench press, biceps curls, and squats each had their own appeal, but the one that spent the most time frolicking in his mind was her on a piece of rarely used equipment. Kiovanna's butt would look exceptional while she did leg curls.

"That's going to be very distracting." Tyler nodded.

"But fun!" Kio giggled. "Think I could use some of that distraction to my advantage in D&D or a Magic tournament."

"No using your beauty for evil!"

"No promises." She winked at him. "So, what do you want to do with your hour?" Kio refocused the conversation.

"Umm... Tess and Avery both have pseudonyms. Tess is Quintessa Gossamer, and Avery is Avelina."

"Whoa. Really? Those photos are amazing!"

"Yeah. Tess and Avery are going to be using the holiday to do some urban shots for their Wandering Muse series, and they wanted to know if you wanted to model."

"Only if you do, too, Ty." Kio nodded. "I think that's going to happen no matter the winner of our bet. I may have more challengers for our race, but I'm not backing down. I have plans when I win." She smirked.

"I better win, or I'm in trouble."

"Promise, you'll like the trouble!" Kio winked again. She seemed to be having entirely too much fun teasing him. "Oh! There's Grace! That must be Lexi!" She pointed at a pair of women at the check-in table.

Grace was a tall, gorgeous redhead. She had a pair of large, round, gravity-defying breasts and pale, freckle-strewn skin. Beside her was a petite blonde in fantastic shape. She had a pair of tiny, perky breasts and a toned body. They each had colorful tennis shoes tied on and waxed pussies.

The ladies were deep in conversation, laughing frequently with each other. Grace had a new diamond ring on her left hand, and looking at the two girls holding hands and laughing instantly made the relationship make sense. Grace had only dated guys back in college, but her soulmate had other plans than her history.

"Kio!" Grace whirled around and waved.

"Grace! Are you running the 10k?" Kio asked.

"Only the 5k." Grace sighed and then bounced on her feet for a moment. Tyler watched her incredible breasts bounce. "I tried to practice running further without a bra, but it hurts."

"Whew, one less runner to have to worry about. I got a bet going with Tyler." Kio pointed over her shoulder with her thumb.

"Are you two finally dating?" Grace asked in a whisper that was a little too loud for Tyler to miss.

"You must be Tyler." The petite blonde said, pulling Tyler's focus away from the other two girls before he could hear Kiovanna's explanation.

"Lexi, right?" Tyler asked.

"Yup, only a couple more weeks until I marry the tall one." Lexi grinned. "Who's everyone else in this scrum?"

"Some people we met in the parking lot. They had the same make of SUV as me, and that was enough for Kiovanna to make friends." Tyler took a moment to introduce the three couples that they had made friends with.

"Grace warned me that Kio pulled people into her orbit," Lexi said after a round of introductions.

"Always has. I'm lucky enough to have been captured by her prodigious gravity well. Where's Celina and... AJ was it?"

"Yup, short for Alejandro Junior, my best friend. The newlyweds are getting the pop-up going a few blocks from here. They'll be here for the start of the race."

"Are you running?"

"Uh-huh, my fiancée talked me into the 10k." Lexi shook her head and laughed. "Amazing what Grace has me doing."

"I take it you weren't a runner before."

"Nope. Don't get me wrong; I was still getting my exercise. It was just all carrying kegs and bags of barley at the brewery. My cardio was lacking. Then I fell in love with a tall, beautiful runner."

"Amazing what the right person will get you to do, like participate in Nude Day." Tyler shook his head.

"You two are cute together. How long have you been dating?" Lexi pointed at Kio with a hand up to block.

"Err..." Tyler wished he had been privy to Kiovanna's answer a few minutes before. His cheeks flushed fiery red, and he felt as if he was going to give the wrong answer no matter what he said. "We aren't. She's been my best friend and roommate for nearly a decade."

"Oh." Lexi leaned in to whisper. "Do you want to?"

Tyler couldn't help but nod as he looked over to Kiovanna and smiled.

"Hey, Lexi! I want to model for Tyler and Tess with Kio unless you tell me no." Grace flounced over to Lexi before Tyler could vocalize her thoughts.

"Why would I stop you? We get copies of the pictures, right?" Lexi asked Tyler.

"Of course."

Kiovanna - Start of the race

"You ready, Kio?" Tyler asked as the racers assembled near the starting line.

"As I'll ever be." Kiovanna nodded. Hanging out with all the new friends was fun, but when it came to race time, she was glad it was just her and Tyler. Friends were great, but Tyler was family. Hopefully, that's still the case after today.

"Hydrated? Breakfast sitting all right?" Tyler started to go through their regular pre-race checklist.

"Yes, you?"

"Of course."

"Visited the facilities, so you don't have to go halfway through the race?" Kio pointed toward the banks of porta-potties.

"Yes, ma'am. You?"

"Uh-huh. Anti-chafe cream applied?"

"That's a new one." Tyler shrugged. This was their first time running in the nude. "Usually, I trust my boxer briefs with that assignment. Do my thighs look too shiny?"

"A little, so do your cock and balls." Kiovanna laughed. "You're just trying to make me look at it, aren't you? Trying to get me back for the car when I showed you all the goods." She smirked.

"Err... no." Tyler blushed. "That wasn't my intention."

"It's a cute penis. Shaved is a good look on you." Kiovanna grinned. "And he's behaved himself since you had to give him a beating. Do my shiny thighs make it look like I'm still too turned on?" She'd also slathered herself in anti-chafing lotion.

"Sort of?" Tyler's cheeks got redder.

Kiovanna always walked a delicate line when teasing her favorite boy. He was generally receptive, but if she pushed too hard, he could shut down and end the game. It wasn't something Tyler had done recently, but she was asking a lot today. The man was already well outside his comfort zone.

"Sort of, how?" Kio couldn't resist another shove into discomfort.

"When you're turned on, your thighs get slick, but there's also a glimpse of pink between your labia," Tyler said without hesitation.

"Oh... You're very observant, Tyler." Kio smiled. "When did you see the pink between the black?"

No guy that has ever seen the pink has refused me. Kiovanna thought.

"Twice." Tyler shrugged. "Once, when you demanded I take a picture of the kitty, and the second time when you dove over the armrest to get your phone. It was more distracting than the B-hole that you were worried about me seeing. Not that that wasn't cute, too."

"Guess I saw you with a stiffy, or at least a half of one, a couple times, so fair is fair."

"Glad he's behaved himself since we got here." Tyler shook his head. A horn sounded, and the guys started before the ladies, as they were a little faster on average. "Oops, there's my cue. Good luck, Kio. I'm not going to let you win." He didn't have to rush to the front of the line if he wanted to make good time. His race didn't start until he crossed the starting line, and his wristband beeped.

The staggered start times were not only more accurate but also a way to keep a giant scrum of slower people from forming and slowing people down.

"I sure as fuck hope not." Kio smiled. "Good luck to you, too. I have plans when I kick your ass."

"We shall see Ms. Abara; I've got plans of my own."

Kiovanna put her headphones on and tapped her phone for the running playlist. It was a set of songs with the same cadence as her steps should be on the course. On a typical run, she and Tyler talked the whole way, but race day was different.

"You ready?" Lexi asked as Kiovanna approached the starting line.

Kiovanna gave her a solemn nod and stepped past her. Running with friends might slow her down, and she needed to win to take the next step with Tyler. Gwen, Avery, and Ori got the same treatment as she weaved through the people. Once the race was over, she would be the cordial and gregarious woman again, but until she crossed the finish line, she was in competitive mode.

There are way more people running the naked 10k than I thought there were going to be. People lined the race route, both clothed and nude, to cheer on the competitors or gawk at the spectacle. Good for the charity, I suppose. The race raised money for breast and testicular cancer research. It was an appropriate cause for the nude participants.

The morning air was still slightly cool, though that was changing with every minute as the sun heated the thin air. Kio couldn't ask for better weather. Just a few wispy clouds lazily drifted across the blue sky. Conditions seemed perfect for her to lay down her best time. 10k should be a breeze. Kiovanna convinced herself. She was ready for a marathon in a couple of months.

Even if Kiovanna didn't need to be at the head of the scrum of runners to get a decent time, she wasn't leaving anything she could control up to chance. Her plan for the day relied on a win. There were thousands of women arrayed near the start of the race, and it wouldn't do to get trapped behind a group of them.

Kiovanna had been practicing for today's race for far longer than she'd let on. It was the event's fifth year in existence, the exact count of years as National Nude Day had been a recognized holiday in Colorado. She'd seen the photos from the first year, and although Denver had a ton of parties to celebrate the occasion, only a couple of dozen were there for a naked run. It planted the seed half a decade ago.

For the last couple of years, Kiovanna has gone out to the hidden pond that Lexi and AJ once discovered while working on a student project. Even if she had wanted to run this race for years, she wanted it to be with Tyler. Going back to Arkansas had been his typical response to the holiday.

Tyler's yearly summer excursion hadn't started to purposely avoid the holiday. It was when his family all met up a few weeks after the Fourth of July. It had allowed Kio to celebrate the holiday without bringing him into her confidence the last few years, but she'd vowed to let him know the first time Tyler stayed in Colorado during the festivities.

Win the bet and claim his heart. Kiovanna stretched as she surveyed her competition. She had no illusions of winning the race overall. There were many faster women than her. Avery seemed like a strong contender as she leaned over some hurricane fencing to kiss her fiancée. The woman ran daily with Tess and had been a cross-country runner in high school.

Gwen was tall, with the type of long legs that propelled the woman a long way on each stride. Mitchell had to leave her about the same time Tyler left. Lexi and Ori were shorter, but Kio had no doubt about either woman's heart. Just run faster than the girls you know. Kio didn't think she had a chance against the best of the best who were conversing at the front of the line, but she only needed to do better than Tyler.

As soon as the horn sounded to start the run, Kiovanna tapped her earbud to begin her playlist and found her pace. About fifty naked women took off faster than her from the start line. Kio ignored them as most looked like they were inexperienced and would soon hit a wall. There was nothing she could do about the women who seemed like professionals.

Avery pulled beside Kiovanna as they rounded the first corner of the route. She and her long legs had an easy stride as she looked over with a nod. Kio matched the woman's pace unconsciously.

People still lined the avenue, cheering for the runners and snapping photos of the event. Too late to worry about that now. Kio thought as the first song in her ears blended into the next. The only person whose opinion on her nudity mattered had about a five-minute head start on her. You might be modeling in Tess's next book. The thought titillated her and took her focus off the rough shocks pulsing through her chest with each step.

Switching her stride slightly to compensate for the lack of a sports bra, Kiovanna didn't lose pace against her new rival. Avery's smaller chest didn't seem to bother her as much as Kio was feeling, keeping her stride the same and pulling ahead by a couple of long paces. Run your race. Kio silently admonished herself as she tried to keep up. She knew her pace, and if she wanted to push herself for the first couple of kilometers, she'd run out of energy.

Being in downtown Denver naked was an experience. Kio had liked her time out at the pond the last couple of years and around Fort Collins the other three, but amongst the tall buildings and screaming crowds was so much better. The feeling of the bright sunlight and cool breeze was invigorating on her bare skin. Despite the shocks in her chest, Kio couldn't obliterate the smile on her face.

The route swerved through parks and followed the South Platte River for a little while; glimpses of the mountains to her left added to her grin. Colorado was her home, and the beauty was all around her.

Kio passed not only a handful of the women who had strode past early on but also a few stragglers from the men's race who had left well before her. There was a rhythm to not only the cadence of her steps but also her breathing. She wanted to press and speed up. Winning the bet was essential to enacting her plan with Tyler.

Most of the day was still unplanned, but there were two potently necessary things in her scheme. Dinner at Celina's pop-up and the street dance afterward. It wasn't so much that she couldn't go through with what she wanted to without them. They were the excuse for getting a hotel tonight, a reservation with a single room. Unless she chickened out and got two rooms again. No more shying away.

On top of the shocks through her chest, there were additional complications to running naked that had nothing to do with the cheering crowd or the plethora of smartphones capturing her image. Next time, I wear a sweatband. Kiovanna had to constantly wipe her brow to keep the sweat from stinging her eyes. Her sunglasses also wanted to steam up. That wouldn't be an issue if she had some soft fabric to wipe the condensation with.

Kiovanna almost missed the turn at the 5k mark but heard a shout behind her, even over the sound of her music.

"That's your turn, Kio!" Lexi pointed. On her short legs, Lexi was doing a remarkable job keeping up with the front runners. She and Ori were pacing each other as they talked.

Kio nodded as she almost ended up going off the route. Talking during a race? Kio couldn't believe that the women were keeping up as they spoke. Need to train harder. "Thank you!" Kio said with a wave as she turned back toward downtown.

After nearly missing a turn, Kio paid closer attention to the route through the fog on her sunglasses. She knew that they had to be making another one soon if the finish line was adjacent to the start. That's when I'll dig deep. She told herself. The burn in her legs was starting to manifest at the 6k mark, but it wasn't fierce enough to slow her stride.

Seven kilometers into the race, Kio caught sight of Gwen. The tall, sinuous brunette was plodding along at the pace Kiovanna had been on before the turn back toward the start. She glanced behind her. Avery was nearly a block behind her now, running stride for stride with Ori and Lexi.

I just need to catch Gwen. Kio had a tangible goal within her grasp. She was happy enough to gain on her new rival slowly over one kilometer, but when she passed the water station that marked the start of the eighth kilometer, Kiovanna swiped her earbud to a selection with a faster beat. I need to make up a half block in two kilometers. She told herself.

Kiovanna wasn't the only one increasing her pace; Gwen was lengthening her strides. That just incensed Kio. She pushed her body to its limits and ignored the shocks on her chest with her more efficient gait. It helped as she was just behind Gwen by the beginning of the ninth kilometer.

You got this. Kio told herself as she moved out of the center of the street to pass Gwen. It was agonizingly slow as she seemed to only gain an inch or two with each step. Gwen glanced in her direction when they were running abreast and changed gears. She obliterated all the ground that Kiovanna had made up as they made the final turn. The arched finish line was only a hundred meters away.

Kio grimaced as her body begged for her to give in. Her eyes focused on the finish line, and she found a trio of individuals. AJ was standing beside Celina as the woman aimed the lens of Tyler's camera at her and Gwen. Her boy's quick instructions with the impressive camera had been effective.

The most important of the trio, though, was Tyler. He was drenched in sweat and water. "Let's go, Kio!" came through over her headphones and the rest of the crowd. Perhaps it was her imagination amplifying his words. "You can do it!" He clapped with a water bottle in his hand.

Still, with all the encouragement, Kio's legs felt like jelly. They wanted her to stop or at least slow to a walk. No, not when it's so close. Kiovanna dug into the last of her will and pushed. She passed Gwen ten meters from the finish and ended up crossing the barrier almost a meter ahead of the woman.

"Way to go, Kio!" Tyler was waiting for her and swept her into a hug. It was a typical reaction to completing a race, but being nude, it felt different. Tyler's chest felt incredible, his heart pounded against her.

"Nice... job... Kio..." Gwen puffed for air as Mitchell emerged from the crowd and greeted her with a kiss.

"Win that bet." Mitchell gave Kiovanna a thumbs-up.

"I think you beat me!" Tyler said with a smile.

"What!?" Kio blinked in disbelief as she stepped away from him and strolled, as her breathing slowed.

"Look!" He pointed toward a pair of kiosks emblazoned with the Nude Day 10k logo. One showed the men's results. Down near the bottom was Tyler's race number, which she could read on his wristband.

"Holy shit! That's your best time ever! You cut twenty seconds off your time."

"I wasn't about to make it easy on you, Kiovanna." Tyler paced with her. "I had plans if I won."

Kio couldn't be certain if Tyler really had anything planned; he'd only agreed to the bet this morning, but she wouldn't put it past him.

"Look at your time!" Tyler tapped the second screen all the way at the top.

"That can't be real." Kiovanna shook her head and flipped over the RFID wristband with the Nude Day 10k logo on it. She thought she must have misremembered a digit of her number. No, it's right. The time was five seconds faster than Tyler's. The background of the fastest time turned green as a trophy appeared beside it. "Why'd that change?"

"The system knows when the last woman started the race and that she couldn't beat that time even if she crossed a few seconds ago." Tyler smiled as the background turned green behind second place.

"That... that's a full minute better than my 10k this spring, and I had the benefits of a sports bra." Kiovanna blinked again, thinking that some of the data was going to change each time she looked back at it.

"You must really have wanted to win the bet. Third place!" Tyler cheered when Kiovanna's race number changed to a green background, and a bronze trophy appeared.

"Oh, I have plans!" Kiovanna smiled.

Tyler - A little later

"Feel free to take a dip or a shower, Kio," Tess said as she, Avery, Tyler, and Kiovanna swung by Tess and Avery's hotel.

"Even if my glute didn't cramp up, I wasn't going to catch you, Kio." Avery shook her head. "You're an impressive woman."

"It'll just take me a few minutes to take a lap or two of the pool and grab my camera," Tess said as she opened the door to her hotel room. "We'll meet you two there in a few minutes, okay?"

"A dip to rinse off the sweat sounds like a good idea, but I have another stop before the pool."

"Where's that?" Tyler asked.

"I get to decide the plans for the day, right?" Kio smiled. It was time to let Tyler in on the first prong of her well-crafted plan.

"Have you ever known me to go back on my word?"

"No, it's one reason that I still enjoy hanging around you." Kio winked at him. "You still have a grip of vacation days, right?"

"I do, but the bet only has you over my plans until midnight." Tyler raised an eyebrow.

"Then, we're staying in Denver until at least midnight. Take tomorrow off. I'll make it worth your while."

"You sure that there are any vacancies?"

"No, but I'm going to check while you take tomorrow off. I already took a vacation day."

"Someone was awfully certain she was going to win." Tyler teased as he set his backpack down to grab his phone.

"I took care of it in the car over here." Kio shrugged before she pivoted on the ball of her foot and disappeared around the corner toward the lobby. Tyler watched every quaking footstep as she went.

It only took a minute to put in a request on his phone. Tyler didn't think getting the day off would be a problem. They were in a couple-week lull after completing their last massive project. While he was waiting for the approval, Tyler followed Kiovanna out into the lobby. The poor guy at the front counter was having a difficult time concentrating on the keyboard as Kio leaned over the counter.

Can't blame the fellow. Tyler suppressed a smile and tried not to leer as he watched Kio's gently swaying booty. He wanted to sweep in beside her and pull her into another hug. The embrace after the race felt right and normal for a moment before his brain registered that they were still naked.

"Bad news, Ty." Kio must have seen Tyler in the reflection of the mirror behind the front desk.

Tyler's phone dinged at the same time she said it to let him know that his time off for tomorrow was approved. "Am I going to regret being prompt with my vacation request?"

"Maybe. They only have one room available, two queens, though."

"Couldn't think of anyone I'd rather share a hotel room with."

"Perfect."

"You're all set, Ms. Abara. The rooms won't be ready for check-in for a few hours." The desk clerk interrupted.

"Can we use the pool if we're not checked in?"

"Uh... Sure. It's against policy, but you came in with your two friends, right?"

"Yeah, they're staying in 127."

"Seems like you came over to meet some friends; who am I to stop you?" The clerk asked rhetorically.

"Come on, Tyler, let's go skinny dipping." Kio grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the indoor pool. There was no one at the pool yet as most people checked out before eleven a. m., and new check-in wasn't until three p. m.

"How come we've never done this before?" Tyler asked as he put down his backpack and grabbed a couple of towels for them.

"Someone never wanted to come to the pond with the crew." Kiovanna shrugged as she pulled off her wig.

"There was skinny dipping there?" Tyler shook his head. The pond was up in the mountains outside of town. He couldn't imagine taking a swim in icy mountain snowmelt.

"Uh-huh. It's a mingling of snow melt and a hot spring. It's delightful."

"Damn, I missed out. What else do you have planned for me?"

"A photo session with Tess, Avery, Gwen, and Grace. Then, a surprise if there's time. Beyond that, we'll go to Celina's pop-up for dinner and dancing afterward. You're taking me dancing." Kio gave him an uncharacteristically shy grin. "Maybe we can come back here for some beverages with friends and another swim before bed."

"Fun."

"You're not going to back out of dancing?"

"You won the bet." Tyler shrugged. He'd been practicing recently, at first for Robert and MaKayla's wedding and then to surprise Kio at some point when Tyler was no longer wanted at the wedding. Dancing had been a part of his plan with Kio had he taken the win. His plan would've been a romantic dinner back in Fort Collins before taking her out to a dance club.

"Yeah, I did."

"You alright with being in A Wandering Muse?" Tyler asked before cannonballing into the deep end of the vacant pool.

"I am, are you?" Kio waited to ask as she elegantly entered the water without so much as a splash.

"Me? I'm a photographer."

"You do know that those books have as much male talent as female, at least the first two. I'm pretty sure that volume three was ninety percent Avelina and Quintessa."

"I knew they were in love. It's apparent in their photos." Tyler wondered if the way he and Kio were around each other was just as evident.

"Didn't answer the question," Kio said before splashing him playfully with water.

"She does a great job keeping people anonymous." Tyler shrugged.

"Great!"

The pair swam for a few minutes with playful banter and light teasing before Tess and Avery made an appearance. Tess was loaded down with a camera bag and a pair of curious cases. One looked to be a musical instrument, but Tyler wasn't sure what the other could be. Avery had her arms full, too, with other photography paraphernalia. The pair took their craft far more seriously than Tyler did.

"You two ready? Avery and I decided to go the cold shower route so we can get back to the crew."

"Sure. Why cold?" Kio asked as she paddled toward the shallow end.

"If I'm taking a hot shower, it's going to be hot enough to make my skin pink, and that doesn't make for good photos," Avery said with a shrug.

"Makes sense. What's with the instrument case?"

"It's my violin, which I used in volume two. Av and I are going to need it and my tripod after we're done with our models." Tess explained.

"Think we're going to set up in one of the parks we ran by." Avery nodded. "Something with the city, mountains, and river for a background at various times."

"Can't wait to see the next volume." Tyler grinned.

"We'll have model releases for you to sign and an agreement on payment," Tess said as all the frivolity drained from her.

"I thought I was getting paid in photography tips," Tyler said as he toweled off and watched Kio put her wig back on. Everything she did was enchanting, whether she knew it or not.

"It's not negotiable." Avery shared her fiancée's serious look. "It's a standard amount with bonuses based on sales of A Wandering Muse at play. Our fourth or fifth volume will depend on when we finish with the things we have in the hopper."

Getting all the new gear in Tyler's car took some work and blocked his view out of the rear window. The compact SUV made sense for two people, but four burdened down with gear was a stretch. Most of it occupied the middle seat between Tess and Avery. Wonder if there's enough room for a small family. Tyler considered and looked over toward Kio. He couldn't help blushing at the hidden thought. You're getting ahead of yourself. He was going to ask her out tonight.

The rest of the new crew of friends, save for AJ and Celina, who had returned to the pop-up restaurant, were enjoying a tailgate lunch. Grace and Lexi seemed to have ingratiated themselves with the out-of-state group. Kiovanna making a connection. Tyler smiled proudly. The self-proclaimed blerd was an incredible woman.

The friends that had been captured by Kio's orbit offered a sandwich to Kiovanna and Tyler, but they politely refused as they'd grabbed a light meal on the way to the hotel. A reapplication of sunscreen and several laughs later, they put away the gear and followed Tess. She and Avery scouted the area yesterday, hoping to take advantage of the holiday.

"Whoa, nice camera!" Tyler said as Tess pulled her top-of-the-line Nikon from her camera bag.

"Thanks. Volume three bought this so I can have multiple cameras on site. Avery's gotten pretty good at taking candids of my process with my older one."

"People were missing out on her whole spiel." Avery shrugged. "I mostly just follow instructions from my brilliant photographer and soulmate."

"It helps when we dance together for a shoot. I can set up on a pair of tripods, and we can dance, play violin, and sing while these two capture everything. My future bride handles all things computer-related, so I can relax and shoot." Tess smiled at her fiancée.

Avery, Gwen, Mitchell, Grace, Lexi, and Kio proved to be fantastic models as Tess laid out her vision. Tyler tried to keep up as the photo session flowed from one site to another.

Blake and Ori hid behind the lens or helped Avery with reflectors to light the models. They were never in the photos.

"You guys come out with them a lot?" Tyler asked Blake.

"No, this is new. Gwen, Mitchell, and Avery do, but Ori and I don't. I'm a teacher." Blake explained.

"So are Gwen and Mitchell, but they don't have my history." Ori blushed. "Blake doesn't want to do anything that might be slightly out of line."

"Your history?" Tyler asked as he lined up a shot of Kio. He was trying to ensure he was taking photos of the whole group of models, but he couldn't help lavishing a little extra attention on Kiovanna.

"Yeah. I... umm..."

"Oh, shit. You don't need to tell me if you don't want to." Tyler looked back to see Blake and Ori blushing.

"No, it's okay. My boyfriend, before Blake and I finally admitted we were in love, is in jail for posting revenge porn about me. I'm trying not to let that take away my love of being naked, but I don't want to be purposefully on camera." Ori sighed. "Blake is under increased scrutiny because the school is worried about what will happen when someone stumbles onto those tapes."

"Sometimes, the internet's memory is too long." Blake shook her head. "We love seeing Tess work, but we can't join in."

"Makes sense." Tyler whirled back around to see Kio and Grace posing together beside a building. Tess not only found great angles, but she also had a knack for getting her models positioned perfectly. The contrasting skin tones were elegant in the interesting lighting conditions created by a canyon of tall buildings.

"You get that one?" Tess smiled from behind her camera.

"Yeah, here." Tyler turned his camera around to show Tess.

"Wow, great composure! Are you sure this is the first time you've shot nudes?" Avery asked as she looked over Tess's shoulder.

"Thanks, and yes."

"Not the first time Kio's been your model, has it?" Tess smiled.

"No."

"First time you've seen her in what has to be her favorite outfit?" Blake asked.

"Yes."

"Beautiful, isn't she?" Ori kept her voice low as she asked.

"Undeniably," Tyler said as he leveled his camera to grab a photo of Mitchell, Gwen, Grace, and Kiovanna imitating the run earlier.

"Are you sure you two aren't together?" It was Blake's turn for a question.

"We... we aren't." Tyler was flustered. "She's my best friend."

"Blake was my best friend." Ori shrugged. "Still is, only now we can kiss, make love, and hold each other. Don't try to tell me that you two aren't thinking about it. Everyone can see how you two look at each other."

"That hug at the finish line didn't look like a just-friends hug." Blake piled on.

"I..." Tyler was close to admitting his feelings to a clump of strangers who were quickly becoming friends.

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen, I just want to stop one more spot before Avery and I turn you loose." Tess grabbed the group's attention and interrupted what Tyler was about to confess.

"You'll have to do it without Grace and me." Lexi raised her hand. "We gotta go to the pop-up to help Celina and AJ for a bit."

"Sucks to have to put on clothes." Grace shook her head.

"If you guys don't have dinner plans, come meet us at the pop-up at, say, 6:30?" Lexi offered. "Kio has directions if you need them."

"That sounds like fun!" Tess answered for the six out-of-towners.

The last stop for the photoshoot was an open outdoor basketball hoop. Tyler only captured a couple of images before Tess asked him to join in the fun. Avery and Tess revolved around the group and captured images of Gwen, Mitchell, Tyler, and Kio playing an impromptu two-on-two game.

"Think we got all we need. Thank you!" Tess smiled. "Avery and I'll go set up for our part of the shoot, and we'll see you at the pop-up tonight!"

"Take Blake and my car if you need it." Ori fished a key fob from her purse and held it out for Avery. "We're going to go do some nerd shit for a few hours."

"Do you two want to go explore some of the local tabletop stores?" Blake asked Kio and Tyler.

"These two like to take in the local flavor whenever we travel." Gwen tried to sound put-upon. "It's what Ori and I get for falling in love with nerds."

"Huh, I don't remember being the one who suggested costumes for Pathfinder," Blake smirked.

"They're just more outward nerdy than us, Gwen." Ori nodded. "So, are you two in?"

"I got a couple of places that I like when I make it down to Denver, but Kio's in charge of my agenda for the day."

"Sorry, folks, I have other plans for Ty." Kio's smile was devious. "We'll see you at the pop-up this evening, yeah?"

"Sounds good."

Kiovanna - A few hours after placing third in the race

"Walking around downtown and taking photos of you and the architecture seems more like something I wanted to do, not your plans." Tyler looked over after taking another snap of Union Station. Tess and the other ladies had only hung out with them for about an hour as she gave Tyler pointers and collected several images for her new book.

"Gotta keep you interested, or you'll be less inclined to make crazy bets in the future. It's a delicate balance. I was an athlete before you got me into weightlifting. I figured I had an advantage." Kiovanna grinned and then struck a pose as Tyler's camera turned toward her. Despite having a group of lovely ladies to turn his lens on, his first choice all day seemed to be her.

"Don't get me wrong, I like our new friends, but I like spending time with you, Kio."

"Yeah, that was kind of my plan, inviting you down to Denver for the day." Kiovanna tried not to dwell on the victory hug, believing it was Tyler getting caught up in the moment and forgetting his nude state.

"Well, we have several hours before we meet the crew at Celina's pop-up. What else do you have planned for me?"

So much when I get you back to our hotel room tonight. Kiovanna kept to herself. Getting Tyler to agree to take tomorrow off and share a hotel room tonight was enough of an ask for the man who usually liked things to be meticulously planned.

"Celina has a recommendation for a massage parlor. I'd like to go get one of those. It's only a few blocks that way."

"As long as I don't have to get a massage." Tyler shrugged. "Sure they aren't too busy?"

"Made an appointment when I won." Kio smiled. "It's a new place trying to get off the ground, but it has the masseuse that helped Celina get through working way too many hours before she moved North to be with AJ."

"They make a cute couple." Tyler nodded as he found another angle to shoot an overhang from that Kiovanna had no doubt would turn out amazing.

"Yup. Didn't think Celina was going to be the marrying type for a long, long time." Kio said. Celina had dropped out of college in their junior year and poured herself into becoming a chef. She put in so many hours that she disappeared from their friend group.

"Grace and Lexi were the ones who surprised me. I didn't think Grace dated women."

"Dated, no. She did hook up with Kim the semester before I did, but women were always temporary for her. It wasn't a surprise if you went up to the secret spot a couple of years ago for Nude Day. They were hanging all over each other all day."

"Too bad about the spot getting shut down by the Forestry Service," Tyler said as they started to move toward the massage parlor.

"They're trying to fight it. The Nude Day 10k was fun, but I think the lake might be more your speed."

"Funny that you think you're going to get me to do this again."

"What? Don't tell me you're not having fun."

"You find a way to make everything we do together fun, Kio." Tyler grinned.

You'll say the same thing about sex with me after tonight. Kio thought. If that doesn't ruin everything. She knew that the first month of any of her relationships was fun, but when guys realized how high her sex drive was, they couldn't keep up. From that tiny impurity, the ties would falter, even if it wasn't right away. He could reject the kiss outright. The fear kept her from taking the plunge.

"And that's why I'll get you to another Nude Day celebration!"

"Damn, you're probably right." Tyler shook his head with an exaggerated sigh.

They walked for a few more minutes, Kiovanna following the directions on her phone. Not everyone was enjoying the holiday. People who were working had to be clothed, and some businesses were open to accommodate the crowds milling about downtown Denver and around the festival. Kiovanna tried to place the expression on several people's faces as if they were jealous of her and Tyler's freedom or angry that so many people were participating in the fun.

The ballot question had been narrowly passed a few years ago, and that was aided by a pledge that the first year would be a trial run. People on the opposing side argued that it would lead to a day of lawlessness and debauchery. Instead, it had been a boon to the tourist industry. Colorado thrived when tourism was healthy, and the celebrations brought crowds both in cities and small towns peppered around the state.

"We're here." Kiovanna tapped Tyler on the shoulder when they arrived outside the massage parlor. Signage was minimal, and it looked like construction was still ongoing.

Tyler was lost in his lens again and almost walked past the place. "Oh, it's not far from the car. Sure this place is safe?" He raised an eyebrow as he inspected the half-built space. The red brick was stained a sooty black in an odd pattern that didn't look like it had been caused by a fire, but years of neglect were evident. Scaffolding arranged around the exterior did speak to a new effort to rehabilitate the structure, but it had to be early in the process.

"It's Celina's recommendation. Do you trust her?"

"I do, but she's lived up North for a couple of years now."

"This is the first stop she made when she came into town," Kiovanna argued, but Tyler's expression remained skeptical. "I know you don't want a massage, but you can come into the room if you're worried about anything untoward happening to me."

"Okay."

"Plus, I might look real good coated in massage oil. Maybe you can get a photo or two of shiny Kio." Kiovanna shimmied her hips as she arched an eyebrow above her sunglasses. Tyler's preferred shortening was rubbing off on her. It had been for some time, but it was fun to complain about it at times.

Tyler's pictures of the architecture would be shared far and wide, but the photos he'd taken of the girls, Kiovanna knew he'd be discreet with. He didn't bandy about the pictures he'd taken of Kiovanna in her bikini. Utter trust. Kio knew he was the only person she would allow to take photos of her in the nude. It'll be fun looking at them later.

"You'll look like you were carved from polished obsidian." Tyler smiled.

"Come on! To adventure!" Kiovanna grabbed his hand and pulled him through the door.

Despite the building's lack of curb appeal, the inside was immaculate. Dark wood and bright paint soaked the walls in luxury. The front counter was a slab of veiny marble atop the same dark, stained wood. On a little easel on the counter was an advertisement for 'Half off if it's all off' announcing the day's special.

"Welcome." Waved a smiling, petite, pretty, blonde woman in a stark white lab coat.

"Changed my mind to 'Are you sure you can afford this?'" Tyler whispered as he stared at the opulent interior.

"I'm not making a car payment and there's a Nude Day special," Kiovanna replied with a grin. "Hi!" She turned her attention to the receptionist. "I had an appointment with Corrileana."

"Oh, excellent. Is this a couple's massage or single?"

"Single, is it okay if he comes to the massage room with me, though?"

"Your boyfriend is welcome." The woman nodded. "Have a seat. Corrileana should be back from her lunch break in a few minutes."

Kiovanna didn't correct her and Tyler's relationship status. She figured that the parlor might change its mind about allowing Tyler into the massage room. As soon as they were seated, Tyler pulled his tablet from his backpack and started to clack on the keyboard. His sci-fi novel was coming along well, and Kio looked forward to the snippets of space opera that he shared with her when he finished a chapter.

Quiet conversation continued as Tyler wrote whatever new idea had come to him during their eventful morning. Their fine surroundings influenced a softer volume of their voices.

"Kiovanna?" A tall woman with long brown hair falling over her shoulders leaned out of a thick-looking wooden door at the end of a short hallway. She was wearing a lab coat similar to the receptionist's, with her name embroidered in curling lavender thread over her left breast.

"That's me." Kio hopped to her feet. "Come on." She motioned to Tyler.

"Welcome, Kiovanna. I'm Corrileana, I'll be your masseuse. What's your partner's name?"

"Tyler, nice to meet you, Corrileana." He nodded but didn't make any arguments about the partner assumption that the massage therapist had made.

I want you to be my partner.

"No couple's massage? I'm sure we could have Tracy work a stud like you into the program."

"No, thank you, just Kio today, please." Tyler shook his head. The man wasn't a fan of being touched by strangers. He had a decent love life, but only let those he trusted touch him.

Doubt that a massage would be relaxing for him. Kio thought as Corrileana opened the door to the massage room. It was a small room with just enough space for the massage table, Corrileana to work around the table, and Tyler to have a place to take a seat out of the way of the action.

"We can use the smaller room then." Corrileana held open the door and stepped out of the way.

The massage table was elegant and far from portable. Thick mahogany legs held up a plush-looking surface. A mottled, rich brown leather covered substantial padding. Doubt it's actual leather. Kio thought as she approached. Large mirrors hung on each wall, making the space appear larger. A bright translucent skylight and can fixtures bathed the room in a warm glow.

"There's a changing room behind that mirror with a restroom and a shower." Corrileana pointed across the room. "Made this room a little small, but people like to rinse the oil off after the massage before they get back in public."

"Prudent," Tyler said.

"Mind if Tyler takes a picture or two during my massage?"

"Not at all. You two are kinky. I like it." Corrileana grinned.

"We're not... Tyler's my best friend, not..." Kiovanna wanted them to be more, so she was worried about denying things too vehemently. She didn't want to give her beau emotional whiplash when she presented the one more thing she had planned for the day.

"I think the lady protests too much," Corrileana whispered as she covered her mouth with her hand.

Kiovanna looked at her and gave her the smallest of shrugs and a glare that warned Corrileana to drop the subject.

"Any places to concentrate on?" Corrileana took the hint.

"My shoulders, hammies, and calves, if you would please. Glutes, too, if it's not too weird."

"You're the one who decides what's weird, Kio." Corrileana grinned. "Think I can handle that. Are you two runners?"

"Yeah, Kio placed third in the Nude Day 10k." Tyler beamed with pride.

"Oh, wow. Congrats. Deep tissue, or do you not like it that hard?"

"Hard and deep, please," Kio said and looked over to Tyler with a smirk. She knew exactly how she phrased things and needed to see how Tyler reacted.

The man blushed as he got his camera and tablet out of his backpack. Working on his novel. Tyler took any chance he could to tap out a few paragraphs. Kio had no idea how he kept track of multiple chapters at once, but Tyler managed it.

"That can be arranged. Not as well as Curtis and Andrew, but they're on their honeymoon this week. I'll have to do." Corrileana winked. "Get up on the table face down, and let's get started."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Suppose you two don't need me to push the upsell on the Catalyst, then." Corrileana washed her hands in the small sink beneath the line of mirrors.

"What's the Catalyst?" Tyler asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"It's a massage oil that we're trialing. Let's say it puts people in the mood." Corrileana winked. "I don't offer it to singles, male or female. For guys, I only offer it as part of a couple's massage, as we don't need them walking around with an erection they can't shake. Or worse, having to kick them out for asking for a happy ending. We're not that type of place!"

"It works!?" Kiovanna furrowed her eyebrows. She wasn't convinced.

"Well enough that we've had couples rent out the massage room for a second session so they could overcome their frustrations loudly." Corrileana shrugged. "Once we get the remodel done and take over the boutique hotel, it'll be a little less awkward."

"No way." Tyler shook his head.

"I got to try it when it first came in, and Randi, the receptionist, and I went at it and had some of the best orgasms of our lives. I can neither confirm nor deny that she snuck a bottle home for our private use." Corrileana smirked.

"Oh, she's pretty," Kio said. "Been dating long?"

"We'll be married in September." Corrileana's shadow nodded as Kio had her head in the round, open pillow awaiting her massage. "Some women get skeeved out when I tell them I'm a lesbian. That doesn't bother you, does it?"

"Not at all," Kiovanna replied. "I dabbled, but it's not the direction I prefer. Congratulations on the impending nuptials."

"Thanks. I guess no extra pleasure for you two today, but at least I don't have to put on gloves if we're not using the Catalyst."

Is that stuff that much fun? Kiovanna's curiosity thudded in her brain. What would happen if Tyler and I used it for our first time together?

Corrileana got started, first coating Kio's skin in a layer of massage oil before concentrating on the spots of interest. Kiovanna and Corrileana talked about the therapist's white dress and her family finally coming to accept that their daughter was a lesbian. They had an outdoor wedding planned at a scenic plateau surrounded by soaring peaks. Tyler tapped out things on his tablet. Kio had Corrileana pause several times during the session so that Tyler could take photos.

Corrileana's fingers were magic as she squeezed the long day's tension out of every sore muscle and pressure from every knot in her back. I can see why Celina recommended her. Kiovanna loved to treat herself to a massage, and this woman's skill outshone any other experience.

It was challenging to concentrate on the conversation near the end of the massage; the thoughts of how she was going to seduce Tyler started to overcome everything else. After dinner and dancing with new and old friends, Tyler would take her back to their hotel room. As soon as the door closed, Kio was going to pounce on him like a wound spring.

What if he rejects me? Kiovanna tried to ask, as a circuit breaker, to get out of the potent daydreaming that was invading her thoughts. Never going to happen. She assured herself. They'd been getting closer and closer for years, and Kiovanna had to take a chance.

Soon enough, even that worry was blasted away, and all that Kiovanna was left with was increasingly vivid images of her and Tyler's raunchy exploits. They ranged from practical glimpses of their future in the hotel room or back home to fantastical, like having sex in public, flaunting the laws against it because they were too riled up. The images couldn't be shaken from her thoughts for long. She mumbled responses to Corrileana but wasn't fully invested in the conversation.

A bell went off in the room. "Oops, lost track of time, that's our hour. And I forgot the tablet to settle your bill. Or maybe I should say I purposefully left it at Randi's desk so I could sneak a kiss from her." Corrileana blushed as Kiovanna turned over on the table. "One second and I'll let you rinse off."

Kiovanna sat up and turned toward Tyler as Corrileana exited the room. "Have fun watching?" Kio thought she could see Tyler trying to conceal an erection. Maybe I'm just imagining it. She was wet and excited, so she closed her legs, hoping that Tyler couldn't see the pink that gave her away. He's got to see how pointy my nipples are.

"Got several good photos and almost knocked out another chapter." Tyler smiled.

Fuck, I need him. Kiovanna imagined getting up, putting Tyler's tablet to the side, and riding his enormous cock. Still haven't seen exactly what he's working with. Kiovanna shook her head as she slid off the padded table. She tried to put it between her and Tyler before she attempted something.

Not yet. Not until tonight. Kiovanna pleaded with herself as the desire to touch herself pounded in her ears like a drum. "That's good." She murmured as she gripped the padded table to keep her hands from caressing her breasts or clit.

"Was it a good massage?" Tyler stood up and stretched. He had been sitting for an hour, but Kio was hoping that it was a precursor to his coming over and embracing her.

"Very." Kio couldn't stop her body. Maybe he won't see it. She canted her hips forward, failing to conceal a shudder as her clit came into contact with the slick smooth surface. Instead of scratching the itch, it only whipped the flames.

"Uh, Kio!? What are you doing?" Tyler stared as his blue eyes blinked.

"Mmm..." Kiovanna moaned as her hips picked up speed; she needed relief. "I... I... I can't help it!" Tears flooded her eyes. She had plans with Tyler, but her wanton body was too concerned with pleasure.

"Are you okay, Kiovanna!?"

"SHIT!" Corrileana threw open the door. "Sorry! Sorry! The new girl mixed up the massage oils!"

"What's that mean!?" Tyler asked, his eyes wide as he watched Kio work her hips against the edge of the table.

"Are you sure you two aren't together?" Corrileana looked sweaty.

"Not yet!" Kio answered, feeling like she was giving away her plan for the evening.

"Well, if you're not, I'm sorry, Kio, you're about to be very frustrated." Corrileana looked distraught. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm worried that you got a much higher dose than intended." Randi walked into the room with a laminated, double-sided checklist. "Don't worry, there's no risk of toxicity with topical uses of the Catalyst."

"Randi's not only the receptionist. She's our resident medical professional." Corrileana gripped her fiancée's hand. "She's just here during the trial, then she's back to being a nurse practitioner at a practice a few blocks away."

"Our researcher can't be here every day, so I'll muddle through for them." Randi blushed. "If you don't have a partner, do you have toys? Or do we need to have Tyler get you some?"

The conversation sounded as if it were in a tunnel, far away from Kiovanna. Their words were distinct but also echoey and muffled. Every glide against the surface of the massage table was exquisite. It reminded her of an earlier time before toys, when she had to make do with rubbing against a pillow. Her thoughts were fragmented, but tiny bursts of understanding came out as her pleasure increased.

"In my backpack." Kio pointed. "Didn't want to leave them in the hot car." She had enough cognizance to come up with an excuse for why she always had toys near her.

"Would you mind getting those for her, Tyler? I've never experienced this without a partner. You'll be able to read through this after an orgasm." Randi shook her head. "You can have the room, but I don't think we can let you leave the place before this subsides."

"Especially not without clothes." Corrileana agreed. "It's not a choice, it's a compulsion."

"I'm afraid that Corrileana is going to be indisposed in a minute. Since she only had her hands exposed to the oil, it's taking longer to affect her, but she, too, will be lost to the Catalyst soon." Randi sighed. "Tyler, can you wait for her in the hallway in case she needs help?"

"Yes, ma'am." Tyler blushed as he handed over a vibe and a dildo to Kiovanna. His grimace and eyes projected fear and concern for Kio. "I'm sorry, Kio. I'll be right out in the hall if you need anything."

"You might want to put on your headphones. I'm going to be loud." Kio managed to say as she twisted on her dildo and touched it to her clit. It didn't matter that there were three people around her. She needed to cum and clear her mind. "Out, now!" She snapped and pointed as she succumbed to the burning need.

Tyler - After Kiovanna had been in the private room for a while

Although he was trying to concentrate on his book, Tyler couldn't help but fight against his thoughts about what Kiovanna was doing in the room across the hallway. His best friend looked resplendent, coated in a shiny layer of massage oil. His malignant, dormant feelings for Kio were keeping him from even finishing a sentence in his novel. He was working on several chapters at once, but no matter where he attempted to start, they were getting into romantic situations.

Stop. Tyler begged himself. Kiovanna meant too much to him for his anatomy to break them apart. It's just that stupid massage oil mix-up. The image of Kio rubbing her clit against the edge of the massage table, her face contorted as she tried to wring out pleasure, was replaying in his mind. The poor masseuse was so apologetic when she realized her mistake, and the owner had come to check on him several times as Kio tried to get relief.

Catalyst was for couples. They explained that the massage oil was some secret formula that they were trialing in the parlor. It was aimed at couples getting a massage to spice up their love lives. After Kio had disappeared into the private massage room alone, the proprietor explained that it could be a very frustrating experience without a lover.

Headphones blasting instrumental music were a must to keep from overhearing Kiovanna moan in pleasure. A few orgasms, and she'll be herself again. Tyler glanced at his watch to see that they had a few hours before they were going to meet with their new friends at Celina's pop-up restaurant. Since writing didn't absorb his thoughts, he tried to think about the places he wanted to take photos of on their way across downtown Denver.

Putting his tablet aside, Tyler picked up his camera and fiddled with cleaning his lens and filters. That, too, proved a bad idea when he couldn't help flipping the camera on and looking through his shots from the day. He culled a few blurry shots but was drawn to the close-up glimpses of Kiovanna, Tess, Avery, Gwen, and Grace's curves. Only the photo of Kio crossing the finish line of the 10k, taken by Celina, revealed her identity. She does look cute in green and gold.

Every sexy curve looked good on his best friend. Can't believe she wanted to model for these. Tyler grinned. None of the photos were particularly erotic, although they were all sexy. Halfway through the images, Tyler found a few photos that Kio had covertly taken when he'd set his camera down. There were a couple of pictures of his ass and another few that were entirely too intimate captures of his anatomy.

Better keep those, or I'll never hear the end of it. He did cull the blurry ones but left the others. Tyler shook his head. He was pleased with the rich colors and warm tones that his camera had captured from his new favorite model's dark skin tones, while not washing out Grace's competing pale shades. She's beautiful. Tyler had always thought that, but bullshit from his raising hadn't at first made her seem like a romantic option when they got close.

Fortunately, once Tyler had gotten away from his racist homelife, he'd grown and realized that people were people, not tagged by nature as different based on the amount of melanin in their skin. Not to say that people weren't treated differently due to their race, but that was a construct of society, not genetics. It still twisted his stomach when he thought about how he was raised.

Oh shit. I'm in love with Kio. Tyler gulped as he shook his head. It was too late for those feelings to manifest. They'd been best friends for too long in Tyler's mind to change the relationship. She was the last close friend he had since everyone else moved away after college. I can't. There's no way that she likes me like that. Tyler silently reasoned as he swooned at the images of his bestie.

As he was sitting on the bench across the hallway, trying to figure out how best to secure Kiovanna's images, a ball of fabric hit him in the face. The striped gray and lavender panties slid off his face and into his lap. Confused, Tyler looked up to see Kio poking her head out of the door. He pulled out his earbuds and blinked in confusion.

"Come here, Tyler!" Kiovanna whispered harshly.

"Why!?" Tyler held up the bottoms that had landed in his lap. His anatomy had already reacted to the skimpy panties. He'd seen Kiovanna naked all day, but there was an intentionality in part of Kio's missing outfit being thrown at him.

"I need your help!" Kiovanna's warm skin tones were brightened by a dense blush. There was far more ruby than bronze in her undertones.

"What do you need me to do?"

"I only have a few minutes of clarity between orgasms." Kiovanna looked desperate. She stepped to the side, revealing that she had a vibe held to her womanhood as she was speaking. "I can't stop!"

"Huh!?" Tyler couldn't shake the feeling that this was impossible, but everything today had exceeded what he thought was conceivable.

"Get in here, leave your stuff." Kiovanna snapped one hand and waved for him to come into the room with her vibe.

"What can I help you with?" Tyler left everything but the panties and stepped into the massage room. He didn't bother to hide his hard cock. Kio had already seen most of it. Every wall was covered in mirrors to make the small room seem sizeable. "Why'd you throw your panties at me?"

"It was that, a shoe, or huck a vibe at your head." Kio flashed a brief smile as she closed the door and tossed her vibe in a basket beside the door. Her fingers were circling her womanhood. "Those are my bikini bottoms, not panties. Thought they'd be least likely to do any damage to that skull of yours."

"You could've come out and tapped me on the shoulder."

"No, I couldn't. I can't go back to anything approaching public until this is resolved." Kiovanna shook her head. "Have you ever been so fucking horny that you can barely think about anything other than trying to get yourself off?" Her fingers kept working around her pussy. Sometimes they would circle her clit, and others, a digit would dip between her folds, revealing glimpses of pink and coming out shiny with her overactive nectar.

"I was once a teenage boy going through puberty, so yeah." Tyler shrugged.

"I can't get relief! I've tried everything but the final two steps on this list!" She grabbed a laminated paper from the massage table and shoved it into Tyler's hands. "I've used the vibe and ridden the dildo to several orgasms; I even tried the cold shower!" Kiovanna rolled her eyes. "If I don't get some relief, it's a visit to the clinic or you having to keep me from humping against every animate and inanimate object on our way home!"

"Okay, but what's that have to do with me?" Tyler wanted to support her however he could, but didn't want to make the logical leap she was intimating without Kio making it concrete.

"Step seven! See what can be used as an antidote to this shit!" Kiovanna looked disheveled. Her wig had been lost during her hour of trying to get her body under control. Her lavender-framed glasses were still on. She looked sweatier now than she'd been after she got third place at the naked 10k. "I didn't believe it, but I've tried everything!"

Tyler looked down, and his eyes immediately shot to the seventh option. His eyes bugged out. "Semen!"

"Uh-huh! I obviously can't provide that for myself!" Two of her fingers curled into her pussy, and her hips worked.

"Wha--what do you want me to do!?"

"I need you to ejaculate, Tyler! And I need it to be on or in me." Kio locked the door and then stepped closer. "Doesn't look like you'd have a problem with it!" She pointed at Tyler's straining erection as it drooled precum.

"This can't be real." Tyler shook his head but didn't step away from Kiovanna's advances.

"We can do this one of three ways. I know which one I'd prefer, but you have some agency in this."

"What three ways?" Tyler wasn't dense, but he wanted Kio to make the move instead of letting his mind go wild.

"You could beat your thick cock while I keep masturbating, then cum on my tits." Kiovanna sneered at that suggestion. "I can suck your cock, but you have to reciprocate." There was a tease of a smile when she mentioned that option.

"I... I could do that." Tyler grinned at the thought of going down on Kiovanna.

"Kim had excellent reviews of your prowess." Kiovanna smiled like a predator. "Better than me, apparently."

The image of Kiovanna and his petite ex-girlfriend cavorting blasted through his brain and caused him to grin. "Damn, that sounds hot!"

"She was my roommate during my senior year, and COVID got lonely a few times." Kiovanna shrugged. "Kim was my only female lover, but we had a lot of good times. Even if we never felt a shred of romance."

"What's the third option?"

"We fuck on that massage table." Kiovanna's smile gleamed as she tapped the surface, leaving little doubt about what she wanted. "We've been dancing around each other for almost a decade. Aren't you curious?"

"Yes! But, I... I don't have a condom." Tyler knew that his life had changed when he saw Kiovanna nude this morning, but he didn't think he'd be doing anything but developing a new, unrequited longing for his best friend. He couldn't conceive this being on offer.

"What part of needing your sperm in or on me do you not understand?" Kiovanna scowled. "I have an IUD, and the only time I had sex and my partner didn't wear a condom was with Kim. I get checked every time I have a wellness appointment anyway. You went to the doctor two weeks ago, right? Are you clean?"

"I am. I've never had sex without protection."

"Then get up on that table, and let's change that!" Kiovanna snapped her fingers. "I need to earn my antidote."

"I thought I had a choice," Tyler complained with a smile as he hopped up on the table.

"Like you were going to pick anything different." Kiovanna double-checked the lock. Tyler ogled her incredible ass even if he'd seen it all day. "It was an illusion of choice, I'm afraid. Though I'm still interested in option two, we can save that for a future engagement."

Future engagement? Tyler didn't vocalize the thought. He assumed that this was about Kio's desperate condition, but the possibility that it wasn't had Tyler smiling.

"Have I told you how beautiful you are?"

"A few times. I liked you murmuring it after staring at me slack-jawed this morning." Kiovanna leaned over the massage table and found Tyler's lips. The kiss hit like an explosion, morphing from a single smooch into a fevered make-out session. "Keep saying it, and we can keep doing that and much more."

"I had no idea..." Tyler reached out and urged Kiovanna to meet his lips again.

"Neither did I, not entirely. I was curious and have been for a while. Since before Demarcus. Far before. After those kisses, though..." Kio's light pink lipstick was mesmerizing as she smiled. Her whiskey-colored eyes burned with passion behind her intoxicating frames.

Tyler's mind was reeling when Kiovanna bounded onto the table and grasped his cock. She straddled his torso and rubbed her womanhood up and down his thick erection. He reached up and toyed with her incredible breasts. Tyler had wanted to see if they felt as perky in his hands as they looked. Her coal-black nipples were sharp in his grasp.

"I was so jealous of Kim. Had I known my best friend had a fucking pipe between his legs, I would've been beyond envious." Kiovanna moved her hips furiously as her excitement coated Tyler in her plentiful, slick honey. Glimpses of pink advertised her need for him.

"Really!?" Tyler didn't think he was more than average, but then again, he never had occasion to measure himself against another man. It was difficult to assess based on porn. He'd seen quite a few naked guys today, but none of them were excited. They could grow quite significantly.

"You don't know!?" Kio blinked as her eyebrows furrowed. Her hips kept her labia gliding up and down Tyler's erection without taking him into her tunnel.

"I only have one cock. Straight girls likely have more experience than I do with erect cocks. Err... more variety of experience."

"Saying I get around!?" Kiovanna tried to look angry, but one corner of her mouth curled into a smirk.

"I know I'm not your first, so that means that you've seen at least twice as many erect cocks as I have."

"This is number eight. At least that I've touched. Lucia's bachelorette party was wild." Kio shrugged with a grin. "But that was more of a feast for the eyes. At least for me. I'm not the one-and-done type, personally."

"You're number five." Dustin blanched a little. Every woman he had been with was a part of a longer relationship.

"This is the biggest I've been with. Might take a minute to stretch for this." She pivoted up, grasped his cock, and fell back down with him aimed precisely. "Oh!"

Despite her warning that she needed to stretch first, Kiovanna fell down his length in one slow go. Her pussy was blazingly hot, crushingly tight, and impossibly slick. The green and gold pendant hanging over her belly button swung like a pendulum as she slid her hips up and down atop him.

"Shit..." She gasped, eyes wide in surprise. "Never mind, guess I've never been this turned on." Kio leaned in for a kiss. Her core never stopped moving as Tyler embraced her, and their tongues twirled around one another. "Good pussy?" She asked as she broke the kiss.

"Mmm... Too weak... of an adjective. Not sure that I possess the vocabulary... necessary to relay the stupendous woman that's making love to me."

"Nah... we're fucking. Making love will come when my body doesn't feel like it's ablaze." Kiovanna added a bucking component to her riding.

"That... a... promise?" Tyler struggled to say as Kio picked up speed.

"Only if the sex is good. I need the cure, but not too soon. I need a few orgasms before you fill me with the antidote. Consider this a tryout." Kio smirked.

Kiovanna - That same time

This wasn't how Kiovanna wanted to finally admit she had feelings for Tyler. She'd hoped that it would be after a night of dancing and frivolity, her putting on her best makeup and favorite heels. Kio would have her hair immaculately done with her preferred wig. Those didn't appear to be important factors for her beau. Tyler had seen her without any of the artifice she put on to impress others and herself, and loved both versions of her.

I love him. A brief thought bloomed in her Catalyst-addled brain, and Kiovanna knew it was correct. She'd loved Tyler for a while in an agape-like manner, with all his foibles and strengths making him an ideal partner in life. Even if lust was a more recent companion in their relationship, it was a very welcome addition. Kio needed him for far more reasons than the Catalyst.

"OH!" Kio screamed as the chemicals from the special massage oil percolated in her brain. With each passing moment, she lost more of herself to the substance. It had clouded her thoughts and made waiting to spring her trap impossible.

Corrileana or Randi had told her that she'd been exposed to an extra potent dose of the Catalyst. Kiovanna's occluded thoughts didn't allow her any certainty about which of the adorable women had let her know that. They didn't know that the Catalyst was acting on fertile soil. Kio's libido was a lot to keep under control on most days. It was the reason that her toys were in her backpack.

The massage table didn't give her a lot of room to ride Tyler. Kio's feet barely had the space and grip to press her body up and let it fall down the length of his wonderous cock. Tyler had the most enormous cock she'd ever experienced, rivaling those of the largest she'd seen attached to some of the strippers she'd witnessed at a bachelorette party.

Kio had never been a size queen when it came to her partner. That was more Celina's style than hers. She'd needed a cock that was at least decent-sized, though one of her best lovers had been decidedly smaller than average. Kiovanna needed frequent sex, but that didn't mean she needed a giant cock to satisfy her. Technique was far more important than size.

Tyler was obliterating that belief. Not that he wasn't showing admirable skill as he rose to meet each buck. No, his cock had her pussy full to just south of Kio's breaking point. Perhaps it wasn't as close to the brink as her reeling mind saw it, but she'd never experienced the heavenly girth that Tyler was giving her.

Even with the constant motion and the constructing pleasure, the fire was returning. The Catalyst would slowly erode her thinking until her next orgasm, and even then, the reprieve was fleeting. The blessing from the substance was that the orgasms were far more potent than the ones she was capable of on her own.

With every passing moment, the fire of the Catalyst burned away all thoughts but the need for sexual gratification. Tyler's strong hands gripped her hips to keep her steady as she shimmied and shook. When she concentrated on his icy irises, she could recollect some of herself. Even those glimpses were brief as the conflagration enveloped her. She put one hand in the middle of Tyler's chest for added stability as she increased her fevered pace.

A steady, clapping beat rang into the massage room as their sweaty bodies came together. Kio circled her clit as she ran head long toward her next orgasm and hopeful moment of clarity. She wasn't typically a screamer in the bedroom; she was used to living with a roommate whom she didn't want to overhear her. Today, that was thrown out as it was the only way she could expel some of the pressure building in her body.

Tyler hung on for dear life as she accelerated to a ludicrous, unsafe speed. When her legs burned, she fell down his length and engaged her hips instead to keep the friction and pressure spiraling to greater heights. Her next orgasm was elusive. She was far beyond the point where she should be screaming and shaking in bliss, but the Catalyst was making the release hide.

"Grr..." Kiovanna growled as if she were possessed by pure id. Cognizance was suffused by the inferno.

"My god, Kio!" Tyler gasped with an enormous grin. It felt as if he were speaking to her when she had a bad fever. Reality and dream intermingle, uncertain of what was real and what was merely her imagination.

The flames rushed higher, draining Kiovanna of all semblance of intellect. All that was left was the basest need to fulfill her biological function. She needed to mate with Tyler, and nothing else mattered. Not consequence or future, only the moment. Kio teamed the movements of her hips with manic bucking as she closed her eyes and gave into the inferno engulfing her.

The shocks of pain from a long day doing things that she couldn't imagine without a sports bra went wholly unfelt. Pressure built like overactive gravity pulling her core into the tightest of spaces. There were only two choices as reality further fuzzed at the edges. Either she would explode into a supernova of ecstasy, or the gravitational forces would crush anything left of her.

Kio needn't have worried for long as she detonated. Unable to hold herself up any longer, she flopped forward onto Tyler, whose strong arms embraced her as she screamed. Her body seemed to become pure energy as she shuddered. Her long-overdue climax was at least an order of magnitude more potent than any she'd experienced before.

Across clenched eyes, gold like her alma mater and the same shade of red from Ori's car battled in spinning spirals like that of a galaxy. Each time it seemed one would take supremacy, another gout of pleasure would rush from Kio's nexus and reinforce the opposite in an eternally pulsing stalemate.

Tyler wasn't passive as Kiovanna writhed atop him. His embrace kept her from toppling off the narrow massage table as his hips continued to work his cock in and out of her. The intoxicating bliss seemed to spiral out forever as she sputtered and shouted to let out some of her pleasure lest it erode what was left of her mind. The climax couldn't have lasted for all that long before she opened her eyes, the reality of the moment finally hitting her full force.

The flickering and growing flames caused by the Catalyst were finally snuffed by that orgasm. It was like all the bliss had robbed the inferno of the oxygen it needed to continue, too much of it absorbed as she wailed and shook. I'm having sex with Tyler! Kio suddenly felt as if guilt was going to rush in, but all she felt was ecstatic in Tyler's arms.

"Oh... fuck!" One last shiver ran through Kiovanna's body.

"Feel better?" Tyler asked with the most radiant smile Kio had ever seen on his countenance.

"This won't be a one-off if I have a say." Kiovanna returned the grin before meeting his lips. The kisses were now slow, sensual, romantic, and perfect. This wasn't sex because she had no choice; this was something far more profound than anything she'd ever experienced. "You still good? I want to make love now."

"I'm having sex with the most gorgeous woman in the world. I'm far better than good." Tyler put a hand behind her head and brought her in for more kisses.

"That's not what I meant. Can you hold out longer? I'm not quite ready for the cure yet."

"I'm not ready for this to end any time soon."

"Good." Kio took one more round of kisses before pivoting up into riding position again. There wasn't even any of the latent, unmistakable flames that had clouded her brain from the Catalyst. Her prior orgasms hadn't entirely vanquished the fire, only turned it to a controlled burn instead of an inferno. That conflagration had been replaced by her unquenchable affection for Tyler.

Kio's bucking slowed, luxuriating in every bounce and stroke instead of trying to fight a blazing inferno. Tyler no longer kept his hands on her hips to keep her on target. He was free to explore her body, eyes sparkling with glee at everything he saw. The man was gentle as he studied her breasts, seemingly fascinated by the dark, pointy nipples. His fingers glided around them, opening another font of pleasure.

"You're incredible, Kio. Everything about you."

Now that the Catalyst wasn't in control, Kio could look around the room instead of getting tunnel vision on Tyler. Looking into any of the mirrors made Kiovanna look disheveled. Her body did look resplendent, coated in a sheen of sweat. She'd scrubbed the massage oil from her skin in her cold shower. She didn't like being without her makeup or favorite wig, but it didn't seem to be a detriment to Tyler.

The reflection of their point of intersection captivated Kiovanna as she rode Tyler. His pale cock disappeared into her pussy and reappeared, streaked with her sex-frothed nectar. Part of that has to be Tyler's precum, too. The foamed honey decorated her feminine petals, both the black outer labia and the pink inner lips. She made a game of how little of his cock she could keep in her tunnel before falling down the length again.

"We look great together," Kio called Tyler's attention to the mirror in front of her. "Perfect contrast of our bodies."

"Anything is going to look perfect with you involved, Kio." Tyler turned his head so he could meet her eyes in the reflection.

"It looks like you barely fit in my pussy."

"Your pink looks like it doesn't want me to escape." Tyler returned his attention to her instead of the mirrors. "It grips down on me and pulls me back home. It looks amazing and feels even... better." His hands moved south until he was exploring her busy womanhood. "Your clitty is so pretty."

"Mmm..." Kio moaned. She'd been giving her nub attention, but there was something much better about Tyler toying with it. The unpredictability was exquisite.

The pace of the lovemaking fluctuated with time as the next orgasm built with glacier-like slowness. Kio knew that when it finally hit, it might be even more explosive than the last. Kisses were frequent and romantic. Kiovanna could feel their souls merging as they made love. The Catalyst's bite never returned; there was only the decade's worth of build-up guiding them.

"You can be a little harder on my nipples," Kiovanna instructed Tyler. "Tweak them harder."

"Like this?" Tyler pinched, and each of them did so with precise timing.

"Oh!" Kio bellowed. "Great..." She increased the speed of her bucking. "Can... you hold out? I need... to cum... again!" Complete sentences were difficult as her fingers twirled around her clit. "Don't fill me... yet!"

"Go for it, Kio!"

Kiovanna watched intently in the mirror as she picked up speed, concentrating on the building sensation from three distinct locations. The friction and stretch of her full vagina, the mingling of pleasure and pain from her nipples, and her fingers gliding around her clit were weaving together into a full body orgasm.

"Guh!" Kio gasped as she fell forward, caught by Tyler as her body ignited. Her shaking legs fell off the table as she screamed, barely cognizant enough to turn her face toward a wall and not shout directly at Tyler. One of his arms wrapped around her back while the other gripped her ass as she shuddered.

There was something intense about the first climax with Tyler and the rabid fucking she'd employed to get there, but it paled in comparison to the second. Maybe it was because it only radiated from her nexus, while this one got her nipples in on the fun. Perhaps it was the slow buildup, or maybe it was the fact that she was finally making love to her soulmate. Whatever the cause, Kio's screams had to be amplified to inform the world of her bliss.

Kio's whole body quaked and rumbled on her perch as she gasped. The battle that had been fought across her closed eyelids last time had gone from a skirmish to a full fracas. Every nerve in her body had been turned into a conduit to push ecstasy through her. Tyler held her steady as the bliss rolled through her in waves.

"Mmm..." Kiovanna moaned as she turned to collect a kiss.

"Kio using me to cum might be the hottest thing in the world." Tyler grinned.

"I'm thinking I don't need to do all the work, and I still need my cure." Kio shrugged. She put her legs back on the table and stood, feeling a little empty as Tyler fell from her pussy. "Wanna fuck me while I lie on my back?"

"Fuck, yes, I do. First, though, I have another idea."

"Oh!?" Kio raised a curious eyebrow as she dismounted the table.

"Hop back up on the table and lie on your side, like this." Tyler demonstrated where he wanted her, his cock pointing toward the mirrors.

"Seems fair since you followed directions so well." Kio didn't jump up on the table immediately; she stopped when Tyler got up and pulled him down slightly to meet her lips. "About fucking time we added this to the friendship." She grinned.

"Damn, I gotta thank Corrileana for the mix up." Tyler grabbed her ass and pulled her close for one more kiss, trapping his cock between them. "Pretty sure that this is indeed carved from obsidian." He found her lips again.

"Up on the massage table again?"

"Yes, please."

"What do you have planned for me?" Kio asked as she struck the pose that Tyler had shown her.

"Something fun. I know you like watching in the mirror, so how about we give you a show?" Tyler hopped onto the table behind her. "Raise your leg a little."

"Like... oh!!" Kio squealed as Tyler's cock slid into her pussy again.

Tyler - Heartbeats later

The feeling of sliding back into Kiovanna's warmth was invigorating, making it hard not to instantly pick up speed as Tyler coupled with his dream woman. He stroked into her a couple of times before bringing one arm over her hip to find her button and the other under the extension for the headrest to find her breast. Kio needed attention on both to achieve bliss, so he intended to provide all she could take.

Tyler nuzzled into the back of her neck as he thrust into his dream woman. Her enchanting musk filled his nostrils as he kissed behind her ear. Kio closed her eyes and made a noise akin to a purr that rumbled in Tyler's chest. She likes that. He made a mental note to kiss her behind the neck whenever he got the chance.

Making love in this position atop the massage table was a challenge, as it was difficult to provide the motion that Kio needed without slipping on the surface. Her round ass felt perfect against him and Kio gripped the edge of the surface so that she could push against Tyler on every thrust.

"You just wanted to stare at my bum, didn't you?" Kio giggled when they had to take a quick break to move back to the center of the table.

"Guilty but tell me you don't like watching yourself get fucked in the mirror." Tyler leaned over and pulled back a little so he could find her lips. Her pale lipstick was the only part of her makeup that had survived her encounter with the catalyst.

"It's going to be fun doing this in our gym back home."

When Kio had first pulled him into the massage room to help her out, he'd been worried that they were crossing a line for short-term relief. Then Kiovanna kissed him, and any shred of doubt remaining was obliterated. This wasn't a hook-up. It was the culmination of a near decade of growing feelings. He was hoping that it would be the start of everything he had dreamed of with his perfect woman.

While some guys were more than happy to go from girl to girl, sampling everything without ever wanting to settle down, that wasn't Tyler. Emotion was always an integral part of sex for him. It was present in bunches with Kio. If only I can prove I have the skills she needs me to have.

The room descended into moans and slaps of wet skin as the pair figured out a rhythm in the new position. The way Kio could move her hips and flex her pelvic muscles was already stuck in his head. She could dance in a manner that always astounded him when she pulled him out to the clubs once a blue moon. It shouldn't have been a surprise that her sense of rhythm extended outside the confines of the dance floor.

"You had to have seen me staring at this in the gym." Tyler patted the side of her hip as they caught their breath.

"A few times. It seemed fair, though. You got a real nice backside yourself, and I've been ogling it whenever I get a chance." Kio reached behind her and slapped his ass. "How about you put it to work? I'm close again."

Is this me or the Catalyst? Tyler thought, but didn't let that question escape his brain. He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. He wrapped his arm back around Kiovanna and pulled her tight as he got back into a rhythm. Tyler planted more kisses on the back of her neck and behind her ear and was rewarded with a symphony of sighs.

It took effort for Tyler to bring more speed while still applying pressure to her clit in the way that made her squirm and look away from the mirror. It let him know that he was on the right path. He employed the technique that Kiovanna had shown him while she was riding. There was an increase in difficulty while trying to keep all the other motions going. However, anything that would bring Kio more pleasure was worth the increased challenge.

"Unh. Oh!" Kio moaned.

Tyler couldn't help his smile as he was bringing Kio pleasure in abundance. This is better than what I had planned if I had won.

Trying to summon the courage to change their relationship felt simultaneously necessary and impossible. His social anxiety rarely flared when it came to Kio, but every time he tried to broach this topic, his heart pounded, and he felt like he was going to faint. Like he used to think before Kiovanna's influence helped him fight his anxiety. It was the one time I couldn't use my best friend to help me get through it.

The leg that Kiovanna had kept up to improve her view of their coupling in the mirror fell as Kiovanna's pussy started to contract around his cock in an unsteady rhythm. She pressed her ass back against him as she gasped in little breaths. It wasn't the loud screams of the two previous orgasms, but the shudders drifting through her body spoke that this was no weaker than the earlier climaxes.

Tyler had to work on a calculus problem in his head to keep from spilling. He wasn't finished with Kio yet. Even if the kisses had destroyed any risk that this was going to be a solitary coupling, it didn't mean that Tyler wasn't going to give her his best.

"Ffffuuucccckkk..." Kio whined as her eyes reopened. "Good god, Tyler."

"Another good one?"

"You have no idea."

"I think I have some idea. Every orgasm has been with me buried inside you. It's... indescribable to feel you cumming on my cock."

"True. This position has a problem other than sliding around the massage table."

"Oh? What's that?"

"No kisses after my orgasm."

"And no feeling of your chest against mine." Tyler kissed her behind her ear again before he pulled out and stood beside the table. "Your heart beating against me is magical."

"Huh, that's a good word for it." Kiovanna hopped off the table and whirled around to kiss him. "Sex with you is magic." She assaulted him with more kisses. "See, not so indescribable." Kio giggled and winked at him.

"You make a fine argument."

"You wanna lay me on the table and rail me? You gotta be getting close." She hopped backward onto the massage table without looking and spread her legs.

"Why do you think I've been letting you distract me?" Tyler asked. "Needed a minute to recharge."

"Well, I'm still cure free, so get over here and fuck me." Kio spread the petals of her flower so he could see the pink and curled a finger.

"My god, you're beautiful, Kio." Tyler stepped between her legs and leaned down to kiss her hungry lips.

"You know you're a catch, too."

"Starting to get the idea with the way you look at me." Their lips met again, and Tyler felt that magical heartbeat against his chest. When he tried to stand up, her kisses followed him, desire still unquenched. When she finally let him go, Tyler started to go down on his knees so he could worship her pussy with his tongue before going back to work.

"Later, Ty. I'm curious to see why you rank better than me at that, but my pussy needs fucked, hard." Kio shook her head. "We'll have plenty of time to take things slow later in our hotel room or at home, but right now, I need the cure before the fire comes back."

"I wanted another few minutes of cool down." Tyler shrugged as he stood between her long, toned, dark legs.

"I want that, but when we're alone and can take our time." Kio leaned up and grasped Tyler's cock, guiding him into her embrace. "Hard, Tyler. You're not going to hurt me. OH!"

Tyler listened to his marching orders and slammed himself into Kio. It got him a vigorous nod and a flock of sighs from the magical woman. Every thrust brought with it another shock that reverberated through Kiovanna's chest in mesmerizing fashion. She had to hold down her chest as Tyler worked. Her legs closed around his hips as he held her torso tight so that their fevered working didn't push her away from him.

Kio seemed to dance on the slick surface, tummy undulating enticingly. Each thrust into her tight tunnel came at a different angle. Her pelvic muscles squeezed in time with the strokes, magnifying the pleasure blasting through him. Sweat made Kio shine, and her toned body stood out.

It took some careful maneuvers in the midst of the fucking for Tyler to move one hand from Kio's hip to her clit. He had to slow slightly to keep on target, but when her body curled as she screamed, Tyler knew he'd made the right decision. Watching his cock lance into her pussy was dangerous as it brought his coming ejaculation closer, but anywhere he could look was an image of their coupling in the mirrors.

"FUCK ME!" Kio roared as she pinched her nipples harder than Tyler had.

There was no concern for being overheard by anyone at the massage parlor. There was only the moment that he and Kio shared for the first time. Although sex was always incredible for Tyler, this was something else. He would be spending the rest of his life chasing ecstasy again. My whole life with Kio. He wasn't ready to vocalize that yet to keep from scaring Kio away, but this felt like it was forever.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Ffffff..." Kiovanna trailed off as she slammed backward and screamed incoherently toward the mirror behind her. Her legs clenched around Tyler as her vagina pulsed in time with an unheard song. The last three orgasms that he'd caused had been potent, but this was a new level. Her pussy felt like it was trying to crush his cock as she unconsciously cranked down on him.

Kio continued to quake as her ankles locked around him and she bridged her back with the table. Her exhilarating breasts looked bigger as she wailed toward the wall. Tyler bit his inner cheek and focused on the pain instead of the intense buffet of shows and sensations before him. Kiovanna slammed her hands on the tablet top, and she pushed herself up as she kept shuddering.

"Fuck!" Kio yelped and fell backward onto the padded tabletop. Tyler did his best to keep stroking into her to elongate her extended climax. He wanted her to be in ecstasy as long as possible, even if she were making it difficult not to unleash within her. Kiovanna said that she wanted the antidote, but until this orgasm, she hadn't seemed possessed like earlier under the influence of the Catalyst. He was going to check with her again when she was lucid.

When the storm started to abate, Kio's hands snapped to Tyler as she yanked them together, into a blistering kiss. Each orgasm seemed to fan the flames of her passion.

"Holy fuck, Tyler!" Kio flopped backward, hands out as she gasped for air. "I've never... EVER! Cum that hard!"

Tyler stood staring as her chest rose and fell. "I'm a lucky, lucky man." He smiled and leaned down for another kiss. His hips kept moving; he couldn't help himself.

"No question." Kio giggled. "And I'm a fortunate woman."

A flight of further kisses slowed things down for the pair again. It let Tyler recharge a bit, but surviving four of Kio's orgasms wasn't going to allow him to hold out much further. This isn't going to be the only time we have sex. Tyler told himself. This coupling was too good not to have a myriad of sequels. Kio owned his heart.

Even if the end was swiftly coming, it didn't mean that Tyler was going to forget to make Kio feel as good as possible. It was the only thing that seemed fair with her sharing her body with him. Tyler made sure to vary his technique, using long, slow strokes, short, rapid thrusts, and aggressive, full-length advances that kept Kio's moans and sighs coming. That's going to be a new addiction.

Tyler made the mistake of looking down at their point of intersection. He stared in captivation as his pale cock was surrounded by Kio's pink inner lips that seemed to have every intent of pulling him back into her core. There was no way he wasn't going to abide. However, that glance destabilized the stasis that had held back his ejaculation for the longest time.

"Oh fuck, Kio! I can't hold out much longer." Tyler looked away while his hips kept working, hoping to forestall the inevitable a little longer.

"Then fill me with the antidote!" Kio demanded. He looked back to see her brown eyes ablaze through her captivating glasses. It was an unequivocal declaration of her desire.

Tyler nodded as he held his breath and got a one in reply from Kiovanna. Electricity flew up his spine as his whole body seemed to lock up. He pushed as deep into Kio as he could. "Unng!" He moaned as the first jet flew out of his cock. She rippled her pelvic muscles in time with his individual impulses, milking more from him.

"Grrnnk!" Another unintelligible groan spilled from his lips as he sprayed his sperm into the woman he loved. Each time a release hit, the pleasure escalated. Every jet seemed to contain as much semen as entire ejaculations in the past. Their nearly decade together made more of a difference than a whole day of teasing.

After more than a dozen blasts, things started to slow a little, just in time for Kiovanna to shudder again. Her climax wasn't anywhere as potent as the ones prior, but there was no missing her gasps and the unsteady beat of her pussy on his cock.

Kiovanna - A little earlier

It didn't matter that the massage room wasn't sound isolated from the rest of the massage parlor. Kiovanna couldn't control her outbursts. She'd tried to when she was in the massage room alone, but once she came together with Tyler, the world needed to know his potent effect on her body. She'd been in complete control since her first orgasm with Tyler but wasn't sure if it was Tyler or the Catalyst that was making her cum so hard.

Probably both. This last orgasm, when she screamed and shook around Tyler, was a world-beater. However, even her solo climaxes had been far more extreme than typical. Nothing compared to her pairing with Tyler, but it was more intense than most sex was.

The mirrors covering the walls provided Kio with glimpses of Tyler's incredible, toned ass as he worked. He was standing beside the massage table with Kiovanna's legs spread around his hips. Her breasts shook on every deep foray made by Tyler's thick, long cock. His pale skin against her dark tones looked like it belonged.

Tyler was the first Caucasian she'd been with, not that Kio had any reason to avoid white guys; they just didn't typically approach her. Unless they were the guys back in high school trying to check off 'been with a black girl' from their lists. Kiovanna hadn't given any of those guys the time of day as she knew they didn't want her for who she was, but for the color of her skin. There was no question that Tyler had a profound understanding of who she was.

"Oh fuck, Kio! I can't hold out much longer." Tyler looked away while his hips kept working.

"Then fill me with the antidote!" Kio demanded. It didn't feel necessary as the burning impetus hadn't returned since her first orgasm with Tyler, but it was still something she wanted to share with the man she loved.

Tyler turned his head back toward Kiovanna and gave her a nod, which seemed to be him checking again. He looked fantastic, coated in hard-earned sweat. Kio pinned his blue eyes with hers and returned the nod. She was all orgasmed out, but Tyler needed his reward for stepping up to help her so willingly. The antidote seemed superfluous as whatever had grabbed her earlier had been dissipated by their furious mating. Now, it was pure ecstasy.

Faster, Tyler's hips drove his piston in and out of Kiovanna, his hands gripping her hips to keep from pushing her around on the sweat-slicked surface. Kio held her breasts down. The day of running without support and fevered sex was finally making them sore. She gasped as she wiggled to meet each thrust, her mind churning with curiosity about what the moment she'd avoided since she'd become sexually active would be like. Can I feel anything?

It didn't take more than a dozen more strokes to get her answer. Tyler thrust his cock as deep as it could go before his eyes went wide. A burst of heat filled Kio's womb. Each time he grunted, the warmth spread. She couldn't be sure that it continued for his whole ejaculation, as a surprise, petite orgasm gripped her. Kio closed her eyes and whined through the tiny climax.

Compared to the world beaters that Kiovanna had experienced during the intense session, this one was meek but far from unwelcome. She shuddered as more bliss fired through her. It didn't take long this time for the joy to release her from its grip to see Tyler smiling above her.

"That's... as much... antidote as... I can muster." Tyler struggled to catch his breath.

"It'll have... to do." Kio was as winded as her lover.

They needed to get up, shower, and leave the massage room, but Kio required more of Tyler in her life. After a minute, to get the oxygen flowing and heart rate lower, she leaned up to meet his lips. When it broke, they finally decoupled. Kiovanna scooted back and lay on one side of the massage table. There wasn't much room on the surface for two, but she needed a cuddle after the intensity of the moment. A pat on the table got Tyler to join her.

For several minutes, they exchanged kisses and held each other. Kiovanna was basking in the warm feelings flooding through her, not just from the handful of intense orgasms but from the incredible man beside her. This wasn't a single episode. It couldn't be. She needed more of her beau in her life.

"Good god, Tyler!" Kiovanna broke the silence and spread her legs a little as she marveled at the amount of semen leaking from her pussy. "Do you think there's more white in me now or before you came?" She giggled.

"Huh?" Tyler grinned. His befuddled stare wasn't confusion. Kio had been around him long enough to know when the wheels were spinning in his head. "Could probably do the math on that. You want to compare the amount of sperm I injected to the injector?" Tyler asked as he shook his slowly deflating cock.

"Injector?" Kio laughed and shook her head. "Not sure I like that term."

"It did provide the antidote." Tyler shrugged and came in for a kiss.

"You have a point, and you covered the question, yeah." Kiovanna giggled. She should have expected her boy to be doing the math.

"I see two issues with the query." Tyler leaned in for a slow kiss. "One, the injection was substantial, but you asked after you were already leaking some of it."

"Not most of it." Kiovanna shook her head and came in for a sequel smooch.

"True."

"I mean, you tried to inflate me from the inside like a water balloon." Kiovanna chuckled. "And I know you already came once today! It's not like you've been saving it up."

"I got to have sex with Kiovanna Abara, and she said she needed the cure. I intended to give her as much as she could handle." Tyler grinned.

"My hero, though I'm a little worried about overdosing on it." Kio pouted and hoped that Tyler found it sexy. "I believe there was another complication."

"Ah, yes. Well, I think we need to compare volumes. We'd have to take measurements of my penis when it's erect and compare that to the average I can ejaculate." Tyler tapped his chin. "Though, my cock is only white on the epidermis, which averages between one and a half and two millimeters thick. Not sure if it's thinner or thicker on the penis."

"If you want to be my boyfriend, no more math during sexy time!" Kiovanna held up a hand.

"Oh, I want to be your boyfriend, but I don't think you want me to agree to that!" Tyler gasped in dismay.

"Oh, why not!? It's a sensible rule!"

"Well, Miss Abara, I intend to make our couplings last long enough to satisfy you, and I don't know if you're aware how incredible your pussy is, or how mind-blowing the rest of the woman is, or how you can move." Tyler leaned in to meet her lips. "If I can't do math in my head to distract me a little, you'll get your cure far too soon."

"A compelling argument." Kio nodded. "Just no math out loud, okay?"

"So, did I get the position?"

"The position? I think we got more than one down pretty well." Kiovanna played dumb.

"You said it was a tryout. Figured it was an interview."

"Not bad, Mr. Foster, but I think we're going to need to call you back for another round of interviews. There are numerous positions for you to try." Kio grinned. "And at least one opening to fill."

"Lucky me."

"This was going to happen today, with or without the catalyst." Kio sat up. Making out with Tyler was addictive, but they needed to talk about things, and she needed to ensure that her sizzling libido hadn't broken everything.

"Oh, was it?" Tyler sat up and shifted so his blue eyes were beaming toward her.

"I had a plan to seduce you when we got to the hotel room tonight."

"Is that why there was only one room available?"

"No, that was a happy accident. We were only going to need one either way." Kio smirked. "I figured a beverage or two would help me get over my shyness."

"I'm not the only one who's been thinking about this for a while?"

"Nope. There... there are things I worry about that had kept me from doing this before today... and I'm still scared about those. If there is any man who helps me get through the scary, it's you, Tyler."

"Scary, like what, Kio?" Tyler asked, concern evident in those gorgeous irises.

"Well, the first is not wanting to lose my best friend if things don't work out. That's a huge deal for me, Ty. I've never had a friend who's been loyal for as long as you have."

"It's why I haven't acted on the feelings that have been bubbling inside me." Tyler leaned over, lightly caressed her cheek, and urged her to kiss him.

Kiovanna sighed and looked away after the smooch. She'd been hoping not to have this conversation quite yet. "I'm going to tell you something that you think is awesome at first, but it never ends that way."

"You can tell me anything, Kio." Tyler grasped her hand, weaving his fingers between her own.

"We'll see." Kio shook her head. "I have a really high sex drive, Ty. When I'm in a relationship, I need it all the time. Outside of one, I wear out vibes." Her cheeks burned. Her dark complexion could hide some of that from outside observers, but not the feeling of warmth as she blushed.

"Is that why you always take so long in the shower after our workouts?" Tyler smiled.

"Part of the reason. I have to watch you work out with me, and I need some relief! I couldn't very well have walked back out of my bedroom before I was done with my vibe and got dressed."

"Yes, you could've. That would've been fucking awesome!" Tyler's smile gleamed.

"I almost did it several times." Kiovanna looked away as she blushed. "Got to the doorknob a few times and even opened the door once before chickening out. I've been thinking about us for a long time."

"So have I."

"You're going to think my sex drive is fucking awesome at first, but you, too, will tire of it. You'll have your fill of the hot woman and not be able to get this guy up." Kio sighed as she reached out and grabbed Tyler's cock.

"Guess you're lucky that I love eating pussy. Even if that guy's lazy, I'll be ready."

"Heard that before, too." Kio shook her head and grimaced. "Sorry, not trying to prejudge you and what you'll be like as a boyfriend. I know you're a great guy. Experience has just branded things on my heart."

"You've never dated me, Kio." Tyler pulled her close.

"After the shine wears off in my relationships, guys decided that I would cheat on them because I needed more than their bodies could provide." Kiovanna blinked away a tear. "They got jealous of any guy I spent time with, convinced I was getting what they couldn't provide me, and as you and I were best friends, you were the primary suspect."

"I was?"

"Who else spends more time with me? Tall, handsome, smart, with devastating blue eyes, you're kind of the full package. You're a hottie, Tyler."

"Yeah, but they had to know that Kiovanna Abara's loyalty was never in question."

"That's what I thought about my parents, too. I didn't find this out until a few years ago. They both suffer from the same affliction as me." Kio clenched her fist. She wanted to date Tyler, but admitting this might push him away. He needs to know before he's all in on me. Waiting will make the heartbreak worse. "They were loyal to each other for a quarter of a century."

"What happened?" Tyler wasn't backing away.

"They each went to a work conference on opposite sides of the country. It was the first time I was left home alone without a babysitter watching me over the long weekend. Grandma and Grandpa Abara had moved back to Nigeria about a year before that." Her paternal grandparents had been the ones to watch her when her parents were out of town before then.

"Surely this wasn't the first time they traveled separately in twenty-five years."

"It wasn't, but my parents relied on phone sex to control their urges." Kiovanna grimaced. "Sorry, I know too much, so I guess I'm foisting it upon you, Ty."

"You can tell me anything."

"You may regret that, but I've got to share this TMI with someone else."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Mom's phone fucked up somehow, and they couldn't call each other to release pressure. Instead of, you know, waiting like half an hour and trying again, my dad was inside his boss, and my mom's boss was inside of her."

"Eww, that's a little crass."

"I tried to warn you." Kiovanna shrugged. "When they got home, I was proud of myself for keeping the house clean and homework complete while they were gone, and the house became all yelling and recriminations. They can't even be in the same zip code as one another anymore."

"You're not them, Kio."

"I know, but I am a conglomeration of their DNA, so it's part of me."

"We're not our parents." Tyler clenched his jaw. "We can't be." He looked away, staring into the mid-distance at a wall between the panes of the mirrors.

"What happened in Arkansas?" Kiovanna asked, guessing what caused Tyler's reaction.

"I wanted you to be able to go with me on that trip so badly." Tyler shook his head. "I'm so glad you weren't able to."

"Why's that?" Kiovanna raised an eyebrow.

"Don't get me wrong, you would've made the fifteen-hour drive far more tolerable, but I was worried about a couple of things. The way my family was going to react when they finally met you, and what you would say when I finally asked you out."

"Yes, I would've said yes!" Kiovanna pulled her new boyfriend close to meet his lips. "Without a thought. Bet we could've found a few quiet places to make love on the way there and back. Might make the drive take longer the next time we make the journey, but so much more fun."

"You make a compelling argument, but I won't be going back to Arkansas." Tyler leaned away and looked down.

"What happened?"

"When I went home for Christmas, I told Robert I wanted to ask you out, looking for a little advice as he and MaKayla's relationship was going so well."

"Seems like he might know something about women," Kiovanna smirked. "The Foster boys did alright for themselves."

"Yeah, that mirrored my thoughts when we got done with our conversation. That's when I texted you to give me a call when you got a minute. I was going to ask you out; the distance be damned." Tyler swallowed hard.

"When I called you, no one answered."

"I was in the middle of nowhere when you called. I was driving home as fast as I could without crossing paths with a state trooper. Even if I had reception, I was too embarrassed to answer. By the time I stopped for gas, it was midnight back in Colorado, and I didn't want to wake you. So, I just sent a text that we'd talk when I got home." Tyler dropped his face into his hands. "I was ashamed and angry." He sobbed.

"It's okay, Tyler."

"When we met, I was... a little..." Tyler shook his head.

"A might ignorant or maybe sheltered? I mean, you were brilliant when it came to school work, but outside of it?" Kiovanna shrugged.

"I may have been a little racist." Tyler gulped. "Not overtly, not purposefully. I had no idea it was insidiously within me."

"Racist? No, ignorant, yes."

"I thought you were gorgeous from the first time I saw you, Kio."

"Back then? I was a scrawny beanpole."

"You had the prettiest smile, and at first, I thought it was some kind of involved practical joke that had you hanging out with me."

"It was those diabolically beautiful blue eyes. Then it was your sense of humor and vast repository of pointless knowledge."

"I believe you called it useless knowledge." Tyler smiled briefly. "Back then, I didn't think dating you was possible, and not only because you were out-of-my-league beautiful."

"We were in the same league, trust me, Tyler." Kio smiled. "Please, continue, but let's head to the shower. Your injection is getting a bit sticky on my thighs." She hopped off the massage table and went to open the concealed door to the changing room and shower enclosure.

"It'll do that." Tyler chuckled.

"This was fun this time, but maybe we don't always finish inside me. Keyword being always. It looks a little obvious on my legs."

"Plus, if we finish and have to go back in public, it can get a little sticky on the undies. It dries like glue! Don't ask me how I know."

"Labium getting stuck on panties sounds painful. Hope you don't mind smelling a little girly. All the body wash is floral scented." The bathroom may have been larger than the massage room. It had the same opulent touches inherent to the interior of the massage parlor. The herringbone pattern of several shades of gray and blue on the walls gave Kiovanna ideas for when they remodeled the primary suite of their home.

"You're the one whose opinion matters." Tyler spun Kio around before she turned on the water. "You really like wearing this incredible outfit all the time?" He pointed to their image in the mirror beside a vanity.

"Only if you wear yours." Kiovanna winked at her boyfriend before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a kiss. "The contrast looks so good together."

"Didn't think I was a nudist, but you're very convincing." Tyler's meaty hands gripped her ass and pulled her close. "And I thought your butt was distracting in those yoga pants you love."

"So why didn't you think we could date?"

"I..." Tyler flushed. "There's no way that this isn't going to make me sound bad."

"I find the past versions of us can make me feel shame all too often." Kiovanna leaned over to open the glass door to the shower and turn the water hot. Much better than a cold shower.

"I didn't think that white guys could date black girls or black guys could date white girls." Tyler's cheeks were tomato red. "I had no idea where that came from at the time, but it was ingrained in my psyche."

"Okay, you don't believe that anymore, do you?" Kiovanna stared into his wonderous blue eyes, seeking the truth.

"Of course not!" There wasn't a glimmer of deception in his glare.

"I'm glad we didn't back then, though we could've probably started this a few years ago." Kiovanna shrugged. "I would've used you up and cast you aside back then. I didn't know how to handle my high sex drive. What's this have to do with Arkansas?" She pulled him into the cascade of warm water and waiting suds.

"After I asked Robert for advice, he must have told my parents about my plans. I... I had no idea what their reaction would be, but not that."

"What happened?"

"That was the night I found out that my parents were racist as fuck. Like if I went snooping for Christmas presents, I might find some white hoods and torches." Tyler grimaced as he grabbed the body wash and lathered it in his hands. There was enough room for both to stand under the rain showerhead in the warmth.

"Scrub me, and I'll scrub you?"

"Sounds fair." Tyler explored and scrubbed the sweat from Kio's skin. His strong hands felt fantastic on her flesh.

Kio knew Tyler intimately, even more so today than previously. She was confident that he would continue his story if she let him pause to think and carefully arrange his words. It was why he typically preferred to communicate asymmetrically, though he hadn't been showing the need for that today. Kiovanna was also exempt from that preference, mostly.

"They told me I couldn't date one of those people. That races didn't mix." Tyler shook his head. "My parents had a gross, paternalistic view of race and slavery, and it all came out."

Kiovanna's family hadn't been embroiled in the lasting scars of the slave trade, at least not with direct family members that she could trace. Her mother's family had come from Ethiopia two generations back, and her father was a Nigerian immigrant. She'd experienced underestimates and questions about her coding prowess for the color of her skin and because she had a vagina. Neither of those characteristics made any difference in that domain.

"My mother and father made the argument that because you were black, naturally, your intelligence was somehow lesser." Tyler sneered. "I argued vehemently that they were wrong, not just about you, about so many men and women I worked and went to school with."

Tyler worked to avoid conflict, not so much by hiding from it but actively de-escalating things. He and Kio had a few arguments in their time together, but he'd also helped mediate discussions between Kiovanna and her roommates. He was slow to speak in an animated debate, careful to pick his words before he interrupted. Raising his voice with his parents is a big deal. Kio thought as she soaped up her new boyfriend.

"I can argue if provoked, but when they swerved the discussion to blatant racism, I walked out."

"Already sounded racist." Kiovanna nodded.

"My parents' willful ignorance got worse. They told me that an..." Tyler winced before he continued. "N-word lover didn't belong in their house. Told me not to go back to that N-word, and they should've never allowed me to move in with that N-word bitch. They used the word, and I refuse to do the same. I got up and got in my car. I didn't bother grabbing my luggage. I was afraid of what I might do if I stayed long enough to pack."

"You're not them. This has been bothering you for a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me about it?"

"I was ashamed of my family. Then, I spent time dwelling on how I treated you differently when we first met and questioned so much about myself. Things went back to normal, and I love the life we have together; I didn't want to upset the balance, even if you were always in my thoughts."

"We know sex together was fun, right?"

"Not a strong enough word."

"Precisely." Kiovanna grinned and pulled Tyler's soapy, slippery body against her. "When we remodel next summer, I want a shower like this. We need more room for post-workout sex."

"You make a persuasive argument." Tyler kissed her lips, passion still evident even if their bodies were tired.

"It'll be a lot like what we had before, with more kissing, frequent sex, and an open guest bedroom." Kiovanna smiled as she lathered shampoo into her short hair and washed away the hard-earned sweat.

"Sounds perfect."

Tyler - A little later

"What?" Kiovanna asked with a smile in the mirror as she leaned over the vanity to touch up her tantalizing lip gloss.

"Better get used to me staring at you when you're leaning over like that." Tyler grinned. "That butt is incredible outside yoga pants is even more effective. Plus, I can't see your pussy when you're wearing yoga pants."

Kio had to stoop over the sink to see the mirror. She'd have better luck back in the massage room. Tyler thought. That room was covered in several floor-length mirrors, making it seem larger. His girlfriend wanted a sink, though, as she fixed her makeup.

"It would be better if you fucked me instead of staring," Kiovanna smirked and changed her stance just a little, better revealing the pink of her wet pussy from this angle. "High sex drive, remember?" She shrugged. "That, and I know you can hit it right. Pull out this time before you finish. I don't need sticky thighs when we go to meet friends."

Before Tyler could respond, a loud knock issued from the massage room. "Kio? Tyler? Are you two decent?" Corrileana's voice poked into the bathroom from a crack in the door. "It's okay if you're not, but the parlor is closing soon."

"Think I won the bet!" Randi snickered, her voice excited but barely audible. "I smell sex in here! Pussy and semen!"

"Shh!" Corrileana tried to quiet her fiancée. "Please, at least let us know you're okay!"

"We're fine. Give me a minute to put back on my makeup." Kiovanna implored toward the crack in the door.

"That's fine. Meet us at the reception desk when you're done. Take your time, and sorry about the mix-up!"

"Damn, guess round two will have to wait," Tyler said after the door closed.

"Yeah, I guess we can't blow off our friends and go check into the hotel."

"I wouldn't complain, but we haven't seen them in a few years."

"Yeah, and it's only Nude Day once a year, at least in public." She bounced her eyebrows as she turned to him with a grin. "Guess I'll have to be happy with a handful of the best orgasms I've ever had." Kio huffed and blew the long strands of her dark wig out of her face. "My hair look okay?" She had a ponytail with a pair of strands framing either side of her adorable face.

"Always, Kio."

"Even that semester when I shaved it all off!?"

"Especially the semester you shaved it all off," Tyler recalled the fall semester of their sophomore year when Kiovanna shaved her head for a Halloween costume. Although she wore wigs for classes, in her or Tyler's dorm room, she'd eschew them. "You have a very symmetrical head." It was the first semester he felt a genuine pang of a crush on her.

Tyler stepped behind Kio and spun her around to meet her lips. Kiovanna wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. He could feel the strong thumping of her heart in the embrace, firing a wave of bliss and contentment through him. They belonged together. There was zero doubt left in Tyler's mind. Kio was his forever. As long as I can keep from fucking up. It was too early to voice it, but he felt it in his soul.

"I'm going to need honest appraisals of my hairstyles," Kio smirked when the kiss broke.

"I'll do my best, but don't expect an unbiased opinion. I always think you're hot."

"Darn. Suppose we need to get out of here before we get locked in."

"It would be fun overnight, but I suspect we may need food for energy far before they reopen tomorrow morning."

"Sex with you is a superb workout, and we've already paid for tonight's hotel."

Tyler helped Kiovanna gather her things that had exploded from her backpack and across the mirrored massage room. She scrubbed and dried her toys before putting them away.

"I used to carry something like these two with me wherever I went. It's part of the reason I always had a big purse." Kios said as she put the toys back in her tote.

"You did?" Tyler asked to probe for more information.

"Uh-huh. If there was a private bathroom, I could relieve a little pressure."

"Wait. You used to disappear in the library when we went to study."

"Yup. Hard to study when you're so horny to can't think about anything except ripping your study buddy's clothes off him and taking him for a ride."

"You did always come back with renewed focus."

"Can't take them to work, though, no private washrooms. Maybe we can take lunch breaks together at places other than our cafeterias." Kio's smile was predatory.

"I have always thought going home for lunch would be a good idea."

"This room reminds me of our home gym. Think we're going to need to modify our current routine."

In this small room, the mirrors were used to make the intimate space feel more expansive. In their gym, they helped Kio and Tyler check their forms while lifting. Came in pretty handy to watch forms here, too. Tyler smiled as images of their first encounter played in his mind.

"Are we?"

"Uh-huh. Running, lifting, and fucking. I am open to changing the order of the last two."

"It's fun to watch in the mirrors, isn't it?"

"Your cock barely fits!" Kio skipped over to collect a kiss. "I like watching how I stretch to take it." She let him go and opened the door back out to the hallway.

"So do I. The chocolate, pink, and vanilla all in one helping!"

It took Tyler a minute to get everything stowed in his backpack. He didn't typically leave his stuff in a state of disarray, but when Kiovanna needed help, that was the only thing on his mind. Once he got his stuff slung over his shoulder, Kio reached out to grasp his hand. Tyler felt that it was going to be a common formation when they went on walks.

"Are you two still trying to say you aren't together?" Corrileana was seated in the receptionist's chair, and Randi was in her lap. The tall masseuse had lost her uniform, but Randi was still clothed.

"We weren't before the Catalyst." Kio shrugged.

"We comped your visit because of our mistake." A man in his early fifties leaned out of a door that had appeared to be a mahogany panel earlier. He was fit with a dark palette of warm colors on smooth skin. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I'm Wyatt, the co-owner of our slice of paradise. I take care of the books while Corrileana brings the skill and connections." Tyler had met him earlier while his girlfriend was indisposed, but Kio needed an introduction.

"Comped?" Kio shook her head as she dug through her bag. "At least let me leave a tip. That massage was incredible even before the Catalyst started to do its thing."

Corrileana looked back at Wyatt and got a nod. "Okay, thank you."

"Do you two have a couple of minutes to discuss your Catalyst experience?" Randi asked as she held up a tablet computer. "It would help with my research, and I promise to keep you anonymous."

"I'm game as long as it's okay with Ty."

Better get used to her sharing. Tyler thought before he gave her a nod. "As long as you play the spokeswoman."

"Great! Have a seat, please." Randi pointed at the row of leather chairs that served as the establishment's waiting room. She hopped off her fiancée's lap and pushed a second office chair out from behind the reception desk.

"Ask away." Kiovanna sat down and gripped Tyler's hand as he sat beside her.

"How far did you make it through the checklist before you resorted to Tyler?" Randi sounded emotionally distant as she asked, like the woman who did the debrief for a psychology experiment he was in during college.

"Only semen and a trip to the clinic were left on the list," Kiovanna said without a hint of discomfort or shame.

"Semen's not strictly necessary to clear the Catalyst's bite. Sorry, I assumed you were straight. There is a second card with a different step if you were a lesbian." Corrileana said.

"I'm straight, mostly. I did have a single female lover during the pandemic, but none since." Kio nodded.

"Honey, I love you, but if you're going to join the conversation, I need you to get dressed." Randi turned toward her fiancée.

"Wouldn't do to give the CBI anything untoward to investigate." Wyatt nodded. He'd come out of his office and leaned against the railing of the reception desk. His bright, well-tailored suit might have looked garish on Tyler, but there was confidence in the man that made it work.

The holiday had been a rousing success for the handful of years that it was celebrated, but every year, there was a news story or two about the CBI investigating a business or two for breaking the rules. One of the chief rules, outside, no sex acts being allowed in public, was that people working must be clothed. They had no intention of running afoul of OSHA and bringing in the federal government to ruin the fun.

"I already clocked out." Corrileana pouted theatrically.

"Don't give them a reason to also look into me for making you work off the clock, too."

"Okay, I'll grab my lab coat."

"How many times did you climax before you brought Tyler in?" Randi asked.

"Lost count after five," Kio said.

"Did it relieve the compulsion when you orgasmed?"

"Yes, but only temporarily. The time got a little longer after each climax, but it got harder to achieve."

"It can be very frustrating if you're exposed to the catalyst without a partner." Wyatt nodded. "I spilled a bottle on myself, but my wife got stuck at work." He shrugged.

"I thought semen was a cure." Kiovanna turned toward Wyatt.

"It is, but it can't be your own, and I'm not certain if it works on gay men." Randi nodded.

"Didn't think it had that much of an effect when you tried it." Wyatt smiled at Randi.

Corrileana reappeared wearing only her white lab coat, but she had it buttoned up. "That was before me. Well, before we were an official item. We'd fooled around a few times, but Randi hadn't admitted that she was bisexual yet."

"I had to experiment," Randi shrugged.

"Glad you did with me."

"How strong were your orgasms if we were to rank them on a scale from one to ten, with ten being the most intense?"

"Eights and nines. They got stronger each subsequent time, but it got much harder to achieve. That's why I had to resort to the cold shower. It did nothing." Kio furrowed her eyebrows.

"Another advantage of the Catalyst." Wyatt nodded.

"When you brought Tyler in, did you two use protection?"

"No. We didn't." Tyler answered. Kio didn't need to be alone during the interview.

"Orgasms with him were tens and elevens, with one eight at the end." Kiovanna smiled. "I... I didn't lose myself to the catalyst once I had my first with a partner."

"Fascinating," Corrileana said.

"Think that corroborates my belief." Wyatt nodded.

"Certainly doesn't contradict it." Randi agreed. "Did the catalyst improve his performance?"

"I have nothing to compare against. This was our first time together." Kio shrugged.

"Really!? How do you know each other?" Randi asked.

"We met nine years ago in a freshman seminar class at Colorado State. Been best friends ever since and roommates for the last five." Tyler answered.

"And you never thought of each other as potential sexual partners before?"

"No one said that." Kio smiled. "I've been thinking about it for a while. I was... I was going to get an answer one way or another tonight." The smile broadened as she looked toward Tyler. "First time I've seen him naked, too."

"Really? If you went to CSU, that means you've been in Colorado for a while. Have you not been celebrating?" Corrileana asked.

"Tyler kept finding a reason to be out of the state for NND. I've celebrated every year it's been legal. Usually at a spot found by my friends from college, but that was off-limits this year." Kio grinned. "Schooling this guy in the 10k was a plus."

"You beat me by like five seconds!" Tyler shook his head. Kiovanna wasn't going to let him forget the loss for a while. Reason to win in the marathon. He could see a lifetime of little challenges pushing them to compete against each other at times, and compete on the same team for others. He was ready for it all if it meant he got to be with Kio.

"You said the compulsion left you after the first orgasm you experienced with Tyler?" Randi returned to the questions on her tablet.

"The Catalyst's compulsion, to be clear." Kiovanna winked at Tyler, causing his heart to flutter. "My desire was replaced by the need to get more of my boyfriend's big cock. It was spectacular."

"Think that's another vote in my favor. I think it's a point for each of them." Wyatt grinned.

"What's that?" Tyler asked.

"Well," Randi glared at Wyatt, who grinned with pride back at her. "When we started studying the chemical compounds from a special pair of teas brewed in a small town, and we got to human studies, our research lead wanted to ensure that safe sex was practiced. That meant that our couples wore condoms. The compulsion didn't fully recede until there was some kind of fluid exchange."

"Huh." Kiovanna raised an eyebrow but let Randi continue.

"It's not just fluid exchange, though. Kisses don't count, and there has to be an orgasm. Wyatt thinks that because you two weren't wearing a condom, you would have received some precum from Tyler during your intercourse, meaning that an orgasm cured you without the need for semen in or on you."

"You ladies can't just finger each other and clear the haze, can you?" Wyatt asked.

"No, it helps if we conduct oral." Randi agreed. "We have seen that if both partners are exposed and oral sex is only conducted on one, then that partner is the only one to get relief after the fluid exchange, at least until they also experience orgasm."

"Think I'm right about the other thing, too." Wyatt beamed.

"I agree with my business partner." Corrileana leaned over and kissed her fiancée's cheek.

"I still think that's a belief in some kind of magic, and you know how I think of magic." Randi shook her head.

"I never said it's magic! I think there is a noticeable change in brain chemistry when that's on the table that isn't present otherwise. Think about your experience with your boyfriend before Corrileana and your experience with the Catalyst since." Wyatt argued.

"You guys want to clue us in?" Kiovanna asked.

"Wyatt and I believe that to fully clear your mind after fluid exchange and climax, it works better if you're in love. I know Randi, and I had no problem clearing my head after exposure." Corrileana giggled.

"That's too much pressure to put on a pair of best friends that just got together." Randi disagreed but smiled at Corrileana. "It does work for us, though."

It's too early for that, right? Tyler tried to reason as he looked at Kiovanna, who gave him a shy smile and a shrug. No, it's not. She's game over for me. Tyler pulsed his grip on Kio's hand as he smiled and returned the shrug.

"Should we at least warn them about the echo?" Wyatt asked.

"Indeed." Randi nodded. "About twelve hours from your exposure to the Catalyst, that amorous feeling will return. Strong enough to wake you from a dead sleep." She smiled sheepishly. "It would behoove you two to occupy the same bed tonight. Kiovanna's going to need more."

"I was already going to need more." Kio smiled. "Don't think that's going to be a problem. Do you have anything else? Tyler and I need to check into our hotel and get across town to my friend's pop-up brewpub."

"Is it for Pink Sunset?" Corrileana perked up.

"Yeah, it's Celina's brewpub; she's the one who recommended the place."

"We might see you two there."

"I think I have everything I need. For answering my questions and the confusion, would you two like a bottle of Catalyst once we get it through the trials and it's available?" Randi asked. "Free of charge, of course."

"That would be fun." Kiovanna nodded with a Cheshire grin that promised a lot of fun in Tyler's future. "He can experience the fugue state, too." She pointed at him.

"Great. We have your address information from the appointment!" Wyatt declared. "Thank you for coming in today. I hope that if you find yourself in Denver, you'll come back and see us. I promise there won't be another mix-up. Though the Catalyst will be available if you're both interested."

Tyler and Kiovanna said their goodbyes and exited the massage parlor before Kio asked, "Would you let me give you a massage if I get the oil?"

"Of course." Tyler nodded.

"I didn't know. You have a thing about being touched; it's why you don't like massages."

"True, but that's because I don't like being touched by strangers. I like my personal bubble, but that expanded to include you, Kio."

"Really!? For how long?"

"Just about always." Tyler smiled. Even back when he'd been an idiot and didn't believe they could date, she'd been close. It was only a few weeks at the start of their relationship that he thought Kio hanging around must have been due to an ulterior motive. "It was much easier for someone inside my bubble to help push out my boundaries."

Kiovanna - A few hours late

Although she was confident about their relationship, Kiovanna was hesitant to grab Tyler's hand as they got out of his SUV. They found a spot next to a bright red SUV that had to be Blake and Ori's. Not that the red color wasn't popular, but the out-of-state tag and turbo badging were a giveaway. Kio wasn't sure that Tyler wanted to make their relationship public yet, but the SUV reminded her that they would be seeing friends soon.

I want to shout it from the rooftops. Kiovanna thought as she grabbed her purse from the back of the SUV. They'd taken a few minutes to check in to their new hotel and put up their luggage. The room with two queen beds had to be changed to a king, thanks to a canceled reservation and a maintenance issue with their reserved room. Kio didn't think Tyler would mind. She was looking forward to his strong arms wrapping around her as she slept.

As the liftgate closed, Tyler stepped beside her and grabbed her hand. "I'm not hiding this if you aren't."

"I wasn't sure you'd be ready to reveal..." Kiovanna stared at the asphalt.

"I'm all in on this, Kio. I get it if you don't want to be seen with a schlub like me." Tyler stopped in his tracks.

"Never. You're my schlub, and you don't seem reticent to be seen with a blerd."

"I prefer to be seen with this blerd." Tyler leaned in to meet her lips. "Always."

The restaurant that hosted the Pink Sunset Brewpub's Nude Day pop-up had once been a Denver institution headed by a celebrity chef. It was where Celina had honed her impressive skills as a chef. A year ago, that celebrity moved on, but without Celina, who moved north for an opportunity to open a place of her own, the place shuttered. Signs and banners covered up the old name but looked slightly slapdash.

The parking lot was crowded, but there had still been a space far from the front door, where Tyler preferred to park anyway. It protected his car from dings and scuffs without inconveniencing other drivers. Outside the front door of the establishment, a line meandered around the building. It consisted of patrons, both clothed and nude, in nearly equal amounts.

Tyler and Kio queued up for a moment before Kiovanna's phone rang. She tried to fish it out of her tote without spilling the contents on the hot asphalt. Only Tyler needed to know about her two hidden toys.

"Where are you guys?" Grace asked before Kio could say hello.

"We just got in line."

"No waiting in line. Being best friends with the chef has its perks! I can share that with friends!"

"Plus, the whole you managing the endeavor has to amount to something."

"A little. Meet me around back so you don't have to sneak through the line." Grace said and hung up before Kio could argue against special treatment.

"Grace?" Tyler asked.

"Yup, we need to walk around back to where deliveries are dropped off. Grace is going to sneak us in."

"Perfect. Knew there was a reason we stayed friends with a business major." Tyler joked.

"Hey, uh, Tyler."

"Yes, uh, Kiovanna?"

"When they see us holding hands, there's going to be questions."

"And you don't hide anything, right?"

"Yeah." Kio nodded.

"Fine with me. I know what I'm getting myself into."

As they walked around the back of the glass-wall-ensconced building, the delivery door rumbled open. It was a deep maroon and slightly wider than a single-car garage. Grace waved with a grin, Lexi beside her, holding hands and naked. The statuesque redhead and petite, toned blonde made a cute couple.

"I didn't think you could be naked when you worked," Tyler said as he stepped up a small staircase to the delivery dock.

"Celina and I called it a day an hour ago. Her new chef is excelling with Celina's menu, and they don't need me looking over their shoulders." Grace smiled proudly. She was the restaurant manager who ran the business and let Celina do her thing. Celina's fiancé, AJ, ran Lexi's brewery.

"Goody. Hate you two to miss out on the new friends."

"Come in. We're using Celina's former chef's private dining room." Lexi grinned. "This is new." She pointed at Kio and Tyler's entwined hands.

"Is it big enough for everyone?" Kio asked as they followed the pair of women around the outside of the busy kitchen and up a flight and a half of stairs onto a landing with a single dark-colored door. On the door was a sign that read 'Authorized entry only.'

"Of course. I think it was his favorite part of owning the place." Grace tapped a card she was wearing around her neck to the door.

Suspended above the kitchen was an enormous, glass-enclosed box looking out on the restaurant with a panoramic view of the glass, sculptures, and ambiance of a fine dining establishment. In the middle of the room was a massive, live-edge wooden dining table. Most of their new friends were already seated around the incredible table.

Ori looked up at them and smiled deviously. "You two did it!"

"Ori!" Blake looked shocked as she giggled.

"What!? Look at how they're holding hands!" Ori bounced in her seat, the wooden chair gently squeaking beneath the petite beauty.

"It's about fucking time!" Celina smiled as she turned around from gazing at the restaurant.

"You two should've been together for a while." Grace nodded as she motioned to a pair of seats in the middle of the long table. Kio and Tyler took a seat together, smiling at the sprawling group of new and old friends.

"You can thank the Catalyst!" Randi's voice caused Kiovanna to jump. "Sorry, AJ saw us coming in and invited us up. Hope we're not intruding." She had shed her clothes since leaving the massage parlor.

"Never. The more the merrier." Celina grinned and pointed to the last pair of unclaimed chairs. "Though if we pick up any more strays, they'll have to stand."

"The Catalyst is a good time." AJ nodded as he stepped around the table and kissed his fiancée's cheek.

"Yeah, it is!" Lexi smiled as she and Grace took a seat beside Celina and AJ. "Glad Grace and I have had a purpose in visiting Denver lately. A couples massage and sex after the Catalyst is a great way to relieve stress, isn't it?" Lexi looked at AJ, her lifelong best friend.

"Between a pair of weddings, the brewery, the brewpub, and this place, stress has been high. A visit to see Corrileana then and an hour with my bride makes it all worth it." AJ beamed proudly. "We should have occasion to visit this place more often." He motioned toward Celina.

"My life is a few hours North of here, but I suppose I'll have to come to check on this place often." Celina nodded as she motioned toward the rest of the restaurant. "This is going to be the second location for our burgeoning empire."

"No longer tethered to Pink Sunset." Lexi agreed. "Grace and Celina need room to grow as long as they come home to us every night."

"Or join us on a new adventure." AJ nodded.

"I set the menu, but the Pink Revival will have its own chef. Today was the trial run."

"Pink Revival?" Blake asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"We're reviving the space, and we didn't want a direct connection to Pink Sunset, but it needed something to correlate between names," Grace answered.

"It was Grace and Lexi's idea." Celina nodded. "They're incredible when they put their minds together."

"Pretty incredible when we put other parts together, too." Lexi grinned as her eyebrows bounced suggestively. Her fiancée playfully slapped her shoulder in response.

Conversation around the table flowed like an easy deep-water river. Upcoming nuptials consumed much of the collective bandwidth. Celina and AJ were walking down the aisle before Grace and Lexi. The four had the added challenge of playing significant roles in each other's weddings.

Even if Kiovanna had only started dating Tyler today, she had little doubt that she would be wearing a white dress and saying I do to the man in little time. If my stupid libido isn't an issue. The thought of forever, of committing to someone for a lifetime, was something she'd dreamed of as a little girl, but when her parents' marriage fell apart, that dream died for Kio. That was before thoughts of Tyler cropped up. She was hoping he was her forever.

After impending marriages were discussed, the group covered occupations as the first course was served. Kiovanna had seen the menu for the Pink Sunset brewpub, but the Pink Revival's fare was decidedly more upscale, befitting the prime real estate in Denver. Celina's ample talent in designing a menu was on full display, as well as her and Grace's ability to choose a chef to fulfill their menu.

When the group extolled the virtues of the first course, Celina blushed and pushed all the group's praise toward her new executive chef in Denver. She hadn't changed that much since their time at Colorado State; she still preferred to share any glory with those around her.

The next and most hotly debated topic of the night was an impassioned argument about which was better, D&D or Pathfinder. The group from out of state was devotees of the offshoot when D&D went to fourth edition, and people weren't fans of the changes. They preferred to evolve the system instead of making wholesale changes. Changes in licensing also played a significant role. As Kio had only played D&D once, she had no strong opinions, but it was fun listening to the good-natured arguments.

No matter the topic, the table was full of laughter and good vibes. Kiovanna hadn't realized how much she missed close friends in addition to Tyler. The guys at the comic bookstore were fun, but it hadn't been the same since Rebecca went out of state to go to master's school. Grace and Celina had been so busy since they graduated that they rarely made it to Fort Collins. I'm going to need more of these people in our lives. Kio thought.

"So, what finally got you two to smooch?" Grace asked, pointing an upside-down spoon at Kio and Ty as they were served luscious slices of cheesecake at the end of their meals.

"The Catalyst," Tyler said.

"Yeah, because somebody mixed up the massage oil bottles." Corrileana sighed from the other side of the table. "At least Randi was at work to help me out since I didn't know I should be using gloves."

"Always be there to help you, my dear." Randi leaned over and kissed her fiancée's cheek. "But don't make it seem like I didn't get a little something out of it." She smirked. "We still want to vehemently apologize for the mix-up, though."

"Don't." Kio shook her head. "I should thank you, really, and not just because sex with Tyler was incredible."

"Why's that?" Ori asked.

"I've been trying to let him in on both my love of wearing this outfit and my love for him for a while." Kiovanna only realized she had dropped the L-word after she said it. She looked over at him, hoping that she hadn't gone too far.

Tyler gave her a shy little smile before leaning in to kiss her cheek. "I love you, too, Kio." He whispered, keeping his declaration to just her.

"I don't know what I chickened out of more," Kiovanna said with a broad smile. "Coming out of my bedroom nude, leaning in to kiss Tyler, or finding another way to tell him how I felt." She scooted into Tyler, who wrapped her in his strong arms. "Without the Catalyst, I might have chickened out again, satisfied to let him in on one of my secrets for one day."

"It took sliding off the road and ending up in a hotel together for this one to finally convince me." Blake smiled as she cuddled Ori.

"A thunderstorm and a see-through shirt." Avery laughed and kissed Tess's cheek.

"A drunk bastard copping a feel and AJ keeping me from beating the drunk's ass and having to take out five of his frat-boy friends, too." Celina clasped her hand over AJ's, displaying her diamond wedding ring. "That, and he has a big cock and knows how to use it."

"Hey!" AJ blushed before chuckling. "I know why I'm important."

The whole crew took turns telling their tales of how they came to meet their mates. Some were fantastical, like Lexi and Grace's love at first sight, while others were more mundane, like Gwen and Mitchell working together and slowly falling in love. No one's story was the same, and they all seemed ecstatic with their partners.

Kiovanna was happy to huddle in her man's arms and laugh along with the group. Perhaps not everyone at the table would have a happy ending in the long run. Statistics and probabilities argued against that, but they were happy now, and instead of letting herself worry, Kio was going to enjoy the moment with Tyler.

After dinner, those staying at the hotel in downtown Denver dropped off their cars before the entire crew met up at a vast street dance to cap off the nude day celebration. Denver had discovered a problem with the nightlife during the first couple of years of the holiday, which they had subsequently rectified. The original law had the celebration cut off at exactly midnight.

Last call in Colorado was typically at 1:30 am, but if people needed to be dressed by midnight, it deflated the sales of the bars and dance clubs. The law was amended so that people had to be clothed again by 4:00 am. It gave people plenty of time to safely get home before public nudity laws had to be enforced again. Kio had never been anywhere public when the clock struck midnight, so it was nice to know that there was a plan.

This year, even though there was plenty of opportunity around their hotel in Denver, Kio didn't plan to test the limits of Nude Day. She had far better designs with Tyler in their hotel room.

Dancing was fun, and Tyler was lithe on his feet. Kiovanna hadn't remembered him having rhythm back when she dragged him out to clubs in their college days. Between songs, he confessed, reminded her that he'd taken lessons over the last year in preparation for his brother's wedding that he wouldn't attend as he wanted nothing to do with his family's racism. Tyler was glad that his lessons hadn't gone to waste.

"You two tired yet?" Celina asked as she stopped them between songs.

"Getting there." Kio nodded.

"It's been a long, incredible day," Tyler added with a smile.

"I think most of us are headed to the hotel for a little skinny dipping and beverages. I know the bartender at the hotel, and she'll pour us drinks in plastic so we can take them to the pool." Grace said as she stepped beside Celina.

"That sounds like fun. What do you think, Kio?" Tyler asked before leaning in for a kiss.

"Perfect. We can hang out for a little longer." Kiovanna leaned closer. "I have plans for you before the echo." She smirked.

"Lucky me."

The pool was fun, with games, laughs, and beverages with a newly expanded friend group. It would be weird when they all met for breakfast tomorrow to see some of them in clothes for the first time. Plans were made to play D&D or Pathfinder in a week and see if they could all play, with half of them living in Colorado and the other half out of state. It was agreed that they would split into two groups so that they could play locally and do some crossovers once a month or so.

Tyler was rarely far from Kio. She wasn't sure how covert their kisses, tickles, and teases had been around the pool. Her libido had behaved itself tonight, but that didn't mean it wasn't simmering below the surface. She rarely stayed this satisfied, but Kio never experienced the heights of the climaxes that she did with Tyler.

"Wanna get out of here?" Tyler asked as most of the group was heading for the hot tub.

"What I want to do isn't legal on Nude Day, so yeah, your idea is a good plan B." Kio giggled.

Once out of the water, Kio toweled off but dropped the towel in the basket near the door so she didn't have anything to cover up with on the glass elevator in the atrium. Heights typically stressed her out, but they were completely unnoticed as she and Tyler exchanged kisses on the way up.

Tyler made getting out her keycard to tap to the door difficult as he pinned her with kisses. Her boy was at least as excited as she was. His cock was pressed between them, hard as a rock.

"Let me get in the door before we get caught!" Kio warned, but doubted its effectiveness as her flurry of giggles cut through her seriousness.

"Better hurry then; it's been hard to control myself all night."

"Has it?" Kiovanna teased as she dug through her purse for the card.

"It's not as obvious to the outside world when you're excited. I've been running high-level equations in my head all night to prevent this." Tyler tapped his cock. "The way you dance, Kio..." He trailed off as he gave her butt a squeeze.

"You weren't so bad yourself." She grinned and tapped the card to the door.

"I had to watch this ass all night."

"Wanna watch it some more?" Kiovanna fell through the door and spun to pull Tyler behind her by his enormous endowment.

"Better get used to it if you're going to wear your best outfit all the time."

"I plan to wear it all the time, especially if it leads to more of this." Kiovanna kicked the door closed, then pushed Tyler against the now-closed door to smother him in kisses. Between kisses, she found the bolt and the hotel bar. She didn't need any attempted visitors in the morning.

"Fuck..."

"That's the plan." Kiovanna bit her lower lip and swayed on her feet to entice more from her man. "Frequently. Bend me over the bed and have your way with me." She skipped over to the big, opulent mattress and lay down on it face first.

Kio expected Tyler to sweep in behind her and bury his cock in her pussy. He was certainly primed and ready for the moment. She watched his big cock bob with each deliberate step via the reflection on the flatscreen across the room. Instead of plunging into her, Tyler went to one knee behind her and spread her cheeks before his tongue jabbed into her pussy.

"I need a taste," Tyler said and gave her booty a sharp smack. It didn't bring with it any pain, but the smack seemed loud enough to alert everyone staying at the hotel to what was happening.

"Oh!" Kiovanna shouted.

"You're so wet, Kio," Tyler said as a finger slid into her pussy.

"High sex drive and a boyfriend I'm in love with!" Kio playfully defended herself.

Tyler was in no rush as he explored and built pleasure with his tongue and fingers. He sucked on her clit as she screamed into her first climax of the night, but Tyler wasn't done slurping and sucking up her honey. A second finger joined the first deep in her vagina, curling against her walls. Kiovanna shuddered with surprise when another finger joined in on the fun, only this one wasn't satisfied with her womanhood. His pinkie wriggled into her pucker.

"Wow!" Kiovanna bellowed. She never thought she was into ass-play. She would've declared it a scary thing and demanded reciprocation if she'd known it was coming.

"You wanted this since this morning, haven't you? That's why you showed off your cute little B-hole." Tyler used the somewhat juvenile term Kio had employed earlier.

"No." Kio giggled and squealed. There was nothing of Tyler's shyness or anxiety evident in the bedroom. "Not before now!" She'd been prepared for that to crop up once they got together, but Tyler had absolute confidence in the bedroom. Kiovanna was putty in his hands.

Again, in no rush, Tyler took his time, teasing parts of Kio's anatomy that she had no clue caused her to shift and shudder. Her next climax felt different from any before; her anus had never been in on the fun, singing in chorus with her clit and vagina. She understood why Kim had pronounced Tyler as better than Kio and had no doubt that the man was better than Kim at it, too.

"That looked like a good one." Tyler came up on the bed and found Kiovanna's lips.

"Holy shit... Tyler!" Kiovanna croaked out as she was gasping for air. "You're way better than Kim!"

"Perfect." Tyler kissed her again, and his hands groped her naked breasts. He unconsciously knew the right mix of tender and insistent.

"That was a scary thing, Tyler."

"Oral!?" Tyler blinked in disbelief.

"No, that was exhilarating. I mean the pinkie!" Kio giggled.

"Oh. I really thought you were hinting at that this morning."

"Nope, just didn't think about how I was dressed when I dove between the seats. I demand one scary thing from you." Kiovanna affected a scowl.

"Hey! I didn't think these things could be demanded after the fact!"

"I promise you'll like it."

"What is it?"

"Later. Right now, I need cock! Just not in the booty hole. You're too big for that!"

"You've never?"

"Nope. Scary, like I said." Kio watched in the mirror as her man stood and aligned himself with her sheath again. "No finishing in the kitty before bedtime, yeah?"

"Noted."

Sex with Tyler at the end of the night was a far slower affair than earlier. They had a full day with friends, running, and sex that was finally catching up with them. The first position, from behind, was intense and led to another series of powerful climaxes, but when Kiovanna climbed on top of Tyler, her legs felt like jelly. It became slow lovemaking. The climax from that was built with the speed of a glacier. When it finally hit, Kio nearly lost consciousness as her legs shook and her toes curled.

After several more slow, tender positions, Tyler abruptly pulled out so he could fulfill his orders. Kio grabbed his cock and wrapped her lips around it just in time for Tyler to unload. She swallowed every drop and cleaned him up afterward as Tyler blinked in disbelief.

"I swallow." Kiovanna shrugged.

"You keep getting more amazing." Tyler leaned in for a kiss.

"You have no idea," Kio smirked.

The pair kissed and snuggled for a few minutes before they got up to brush their teeth. She washed off her makeup before collapsing on the bed in each other's arms.

Randi hadn't been kidding about the echo. At four a. m., Kio was wide awake and desperate. Tyler didn't seem to mind getting woken up for more sex. This time, they finished simultaneously and fell back asleep, cuddled together, basking in the afterglow. If she'd experienced orgasms that scored a ten and eleven with Tyler earlier on the Catalyst, finishing together on the echo was an easy twelve.

Tyler - Two years later, the weekend before National Nude Day

"You look nervous, babe." Tyler reached out and grabbed Kiovanna's hand to arrest her pacing. She looked incredible with her natural hair grown out a little bit. She was planning on cutting it and getting a weave sometime during the first of their two weeks off. Tyler thought she was beautiful either way, but Kiovanna had a specific look in her head for the upcoming pictures.

"Never done this before." Kio's behind looked even better when she was wearing only a pair of heels. It was round and plump, with a warmth radiating from her dark skin tone. Naked Kiovanna was a common sight, but the addition of sultry heels was a rare added treat.

"Miss unflappable confidence?" Tyler met Kio's matte pink lips. They matched the color of her heels.

"Your kisses always help." She flashed a smile. "I get nervous. I'm just better at pushing through it. Or maybe, just better at hiding it." Kiovanna wrapped her arms around Tyler and pulled him close. Her bare breasts against him would never get old, nor would the feeling of her heart beating in rhythm with him.

"Standing in front of everyone in a white dress, this time next week is enough to make the strongest a bit reticent." Tyler teased.

"That's never been a worry, Tyler. Not when you'll be beside me in a tux." Kiovanna pulled him into a sultry kiss. "There is a little anxiety about my parents behaving themselves all weekend." It would be the first time the pair would be in the same place in over a decade.

"They'll do it for their daughter, or your matron of honor will take care of it." Tyler grinned. Lexi was tiny but fierce, and she always came with her wife and best friend as backups. AJ wouldn't be far behind, but the three women could handle themselves. Lexi may have had less time with Kio than her wife, but the pair had bonded in the last two years.

None of Tyler's family would be present for the wedding, but Tyler was okay with that. His family made the decision to wallow in their ignorance. Tyler ended all in-person contact with them when his parents' reaction to him possibly dating Kio got racist. After a profanity and racial slur-laced tirade a few months ago, Tyler changed his cell phone number to prevent it from happening again.

"Saying yes to you has never made me nervous, Ty." Kio held up her left hand with the gleaming diamond ring. "I've never DM'd before." The bright gold looked fantastic on her dark skin. It looked like it belonged.

"It's a one-shot, and I'll be right beside you at the table if you need help." Tyler grabbed Kio's round ass to pull her closer. Kiovanna's influence on him had buoyed his confidence to the point that he was his group's regular dungeon master. Kiovanna was a staple of the table each week.

"Where you belong." Kio grinned. "Too bad we don't have time for one more romp before they get here." She eyed their king-sized bed as she waggled her eyebrows.

"Damnable punctual friends!" Tyler shook his fist theatrically.

His fiancée was insatiable in the bedroom, one of her fears that prevented Kio from acting on a long-simmering crush. Fortunately for her, Tyler's sex drive very nearly matched her own. There were weekends when they barely left the bedroom to do more than refuel and hydrate. Most days, their running and weightlifting routine had added to sex on the equipment, in the shower, or both as a reward for their hard work.

The echo wasn't the only time that Tyler was awoken in the middle of the night by a needy woman. He had a high sex drive, too, but still occasionally walked into the bedroom with Kiovanna in the middle of a vibe session. He invariably joined in if Kio wanted him to, sometimes with his tongue and others with his cock. Why she used to disappear into her bedroom back when they were merely roommates made much more sense.

"There's always after the game." Kiovanna grinned. It didn't matter that they'd have visitors in the house. She needed raucous physical intimacy, and Tyler was more than happy to oblige.

"Something to look forward to," Tyler said as he grabbed her hand, and they headed down the stairs before their bed pulled them in like gravity. Neither of them would be wearing clothes tonight or much of the week, but that wasn't out of the ordinary at home. Tyler hadn't been a nudist before Nude Day two years ago, but now it seemed as natural and required as kisses with Kio.

His fiancée's nudism wasn't confined to home or even the one day a year it was legal in the state of Colorado. Kio liked to explore the backroads in the sliver of time before winter tourists and summer tourists. Once she was reasonably sure that they were far enough away from civilization, Kiovanna would shed her clothes. She often wore an unzipped, long jacket so she could cover up if they ran into anyone else on the roads.

Tyler and his soulmate's adventures often ended in the backseat of his SUV or, recently, in the tent that was set up on the roof rails of his truck. Making love to Kiovanna beneath the stars was another thrill he was blessed to experience. Sex in the backseat was one of the few places where Tyler wore a condom with Kio. It made for easier cleanup when they finished.

One of the most challenging parts of their happy relationship was when Kiovanna insisted on Tyler teaching her how to drive. She didn't want to go out on a hike and have Tyler twist or break an ankle, and have a hard time getting down the mountain. Teaching her to drive wasn't the problematic part; Kio took to that pretty readily. It was learning how to drive on the steep backroads that made Tyler and Kiovanna sweat.

Tyler let Kiovanna go down the stairs in front of him to gawk at her naked booty in her high heels. It wasn't as quality of a viewpoint as watching her climb the stairs, but Tyler would take any opportunity he could.

Kiovanna set up her DM screen and got out all her materials as Tyler put an array of beverages in a topless cooler. A glance out the window spied a bright red SUV pulling into the driveway.

"Ori and Blake are here!" Tyler pulled the front door open and went back to getting the stage set for the first activity of the week preceding their wedding. Tomorrow night would be the bachelor and bachelorette parties, but kicking off the festivities together felt right. He didn't want to linger by the open door without clothes. There wasn't a direct view from the road, but he wasn't going to take chances.

Grace, her wife Lexi, Celina, and her husband AJ were regulars around the table for a round of D&D, but the others only made it up to Colorado once or twice a year. Blake, Ori, Mitchell, Gwen, Tess, and Avery never missed a Nude day in Colorado. They even slummed it to play D&D when they were in town, even if they typically played Pathfinder. Kiovanna and Tyler played a monthly game over the internet in their preferred ruleset.

"Eeeekkkk!" Kiovanna shrieked from the entryway. There was the unmistakable sound of many dice hitting the tiled floor and scattering.

Tyler dropped the beverages he was carrying on the dining room table and sprinted back to the source of the scream. "Are you okay, babe?" He rushed to Kio, deftly avoiding slipping on the dice arrayed like caltrops.

"Who the fuck are you, and what are you doing in my house?" Kio growled at a newcomer she didn't recognize. She wasn't cowering or hiding her nudity, so neither was Tyler.

"Robert!? Get out!" Tyler turned to see his older brother standing in the arch of the doorway, stalk-still as if he were camouflaged by the oak and smoked glass.

They stared at each other in a kind of detente paired with a standoff.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" roared a voice from a tiny woman that ducked into the house behind Robert. MaKayla, Robert's wife, popped up beside him. She had long, brunette locks, lightly curled and cascading over her shoulders. MaKayla was wearing a lovely skirt and a sweater that seemed too warm for the afternoon sun. Her skin was pale even in mid-summer, but the woman never got much of a tan, even on beach vacations.

"They're naked. Why are they naked?" Robert murmured, barely audible enough to be heard across the room.

"It's a cock and a pair of tits." MaKayla huffed. "I'm going to guess by the open door and lack of clothes that your brother and his..." She scanned Kiovanna and Tyler before examining the pictures hanging on the walls on the way up the staircases. "fiancée are nudists. Is it a clothing-optional thing, or is it compulsory?" MaKayla shrugged and pulled her scarlet sweater off over her head.

"Fiancée!?"

"They're together in all those photos; she has a diamond ring on, and he doesn't. Simple deduction says she's his fiancée. Not a surprise considering how much he bragged about her every time he was home." MaKayla dropped her skirt, revealing a lack of panties beneath and a wedge of brunette hair. "Hello, Kiovanna. I'm MaKayla."

"What are you doing here?" Tyler asked as he held on to Kio.

"Come on, Robert. Nude up!" MaKayla insisted as she shucked her bra to reveal a pair of large breasts. There was a slight sag to them, but MaKayla didn't appear to care.

"That's my brother."

"And your cock runs in the family." MaKayla snickered. "He seems to have gone bald, though. Matches his fiancée."

"You two aren't answering questions," Kio said as she gripped Tyler's hand.

"We were excommunicated from the family, too. Though I believe Tyler's was wisely by choice, and ours very much was not." MaKayla scooped up her shed clothing and stepped past Tyler and Kiovanna.

"Sorry, I tried to call. Can we talk for a few minutes?" Robert asked as he was unbuttoning his shirt. The man looked like Tyler's clone, who had taken a different life path. Where Tyler was toned, Robert was slightly pudgy. He also had a goatee mottled with flecks of gray hair. Tyler had no doubt that Kio would've recognized him if the shock hadn't overcome her.

"Talk to your brother for me, okay?" Kio whispered. "Let me text the crew and buy us a half hour." She sighed to the scrum. MaKayla was impressively convincing.

"Come in then. Can I get you two a soda or something?" Tyler's welcome let him pendulum into joy since it was at the behest of the woman he loved.

"Diet Cokes, if you're offering." MaKayla nodded.

"I have a fine vintage available. It's my favorite. Have a seat in the living room. There are towels to sit on; we'll be there in a second." Kiovanna pointed toward the new living room and dining room from the addition she and Tyler had added on to their house a year ago. This was going to be their forever home, and they were planning ahead for future family, both their own children and the friends who were as close as kin.

"Sorry, Kio, I thought that was Ori and Blake's car." Tyler apologized as Kiovanna was tapping out a group message to their friends.

"That's fine, Lexi wanted to show them the brewery anyway." Kio grinned, letting him know that it wasn't a dismissive utterance of the word fine. "I know your parents might be beyond forgiveness, but that doesn't mean everyone you're related to should be cast away. You turned out pretty good."

"You're my world, babe. I love the life we have together." Tyler wanted Kiovanna to know that he would defend her from any of the vile poison that came from decades of racist teachings in his family's past.

"Willful ignorance isn't passed genetically. Remember that, Ty. Give them a chance." Kio patted his shoulder.

"I will."

"And if they're assholes, we never have to talk to them again. What can I say? I like MaKayla."

"The Foster boys both love strong women." Tyler leaned in for a kiss.

"Damn straight, you do."

Tyler followed Kiovanna out to the living room. Carrying a pair of full Diet Coke glasses left him a few steps behind and let him watch every swaying step of his fiancée. Her wearing high heels isn't fair. MaKayla and Robert had taken a seat together on the dark leather of the loveseat, so after putting down a pair of icy diet Cokes in front of the unplanned guests, Tyler huddled on the couch next to Kio.

MaKayla had volume five of A Wandering Muse in her lap, flipping through the nudes of their friend group. Tyler had left it out on the coffee table so that Tess and Avery could sign it. She was on a picture of Kio and Tyler playing basketball.

"These are pretty. You and Tyler?"

"Yeah, we got a chance to have our photos taken by an incredible artist, and we took them."

"You were always braver than me, bro. Looks good." Robert nodded. "Both of you are in great shape and look comfortable like this."

"How did you two get excommunicated from the Foster clan?" Kiovanna leaned forward on the couch and crossed her long legs as she switched subjects.

"First of all, I want to apologize, Tyler. I really was happy when you told me you wanted to ask Kiovanna out. Glad to see you did!" Robert started the conversation. "The next day, I got into an argument with Raylynn." She was their younger sister.

"Go on, sweetie, you'll feel better when you get this off your chest." MaKayla rubbed her husband's back. "Like me with my bra earlier." She swerved into a joke with a chuckle. "Sorry, sorry. It's how I react to stress." Her expression sobered. "Congratulations on your engagement, you two. You really do make an adorable couple."

"Raylynn thought that you'd never find someone. She said you were too much of a nerd for your own good."

"I was lucky enough to find a blerd who loves me." Tyler reached over and grabbed Kio's hand, which gripped his, and she gave him a dose of her winning smile.

"He and his blue eyes wore me down and turned me into a blerd."

"Babe, you were always a blerd. I just hung out with you long enough to wear down your mask." Tyler picked up his fiancée's hand and kissed it.

"Those blue eyes from the Foster boys are dangerous, aren't they?" MaKayla nodded. "Almost as dangerous as their huge cocks."

"Raylynn was the one who tattled to the parents." Roberts gripped his hands in fists, ignoring his wife's slight provocation. "I had no idea what those monsters said to you that night. I just knew you'd left without telling me anything and refused to answer your phone."

"Robert was on a date with me that night, getting lucky," MaKayla said without humor this time. "He was confused for a while. When he asked your parents why you hadn't been home for some time, they blamed you, Tyler. We should've known better." She looked down as she blushed.

"I didn't find out until a few months ago when they discovered..."

"Raylynn found out that I was bisexual and ran directly to your parents with that tidbit of information." MaKayla shook her head. "Evidently, being bisexual meant that I wanted to screw everyone I met. Like, just because I had sex with women and men before Robert, I was going to be a disloyal wife."

That sounded somewhat familiar to Tyler. When Kiovanna told her past boyfriends that she had a high sex drive, they assumed the worst. They thought it would mean that she was on the prowl for additional cock. Maybe other people with high sex drives behaved like that, but Kiovanna was a monogamist at heart. She sought additional relief in the form of her vibrator, not another man.

The closest that Kiovanna got to something approaching a one-night stand was the first time they hooked up. When her supercharged libido hit the Catalyst, it nearly drove her crazy, but even that was the start of her and Tyler's romance, at least in earnest. They'd been falling for each other for longer than a single, potent dose of the massage oil. We have some of that for the wedding night. Tyler hid an expectant smile.

"Mom and Dad sat me down around the kitchen table." Robert sneered.

Tyler could feel the rage bubbling up inside him when Robert mentioned the kitchen table where Tyler had his screaming match with his parents. His jaw clenched as he looked far away.

"It's okay, dear." Kiovanna pulled Tyler close. Her warmth against him let the anger dissipate.

"Mom and Dad told me I could have my marriage annulled, as I didn't know about her past. Said that she used her feminine wiles to trick me."

"I mean, I do use my pussy as persuasion." MaKayla grinned. "Sorry, sorry. Defense mechanism. Go on, sweetie." The smile faded.

"They told me to choose between them or MaKayla. Quoted 'Honor thy father and thy mother' to me. I told them I made a vow to Makayla when I married her. I asked which I should prioritize." Robert grimaced. "Not that I had any intention of leaving MaKayla, but I was trying to make them think."

"I tried the same." Tyler shook his head. "It didn't work."

"Think you have to have someone willing to listen, not regurgitate their ignorance that they love wallowing in." Robert nodded. "My question got them to play the victim, that they must have done something for one son to fall in love with a... let's just say the D and F words were bandied about like it was no big deal. Then Dad confesses to having done the same thing to Tyler, but he used the N-word for Kiovanna."

"Like we fell for a pair of foul temptresses." Tyler squeezed Kiovanna's thigh and got a smirk from his fiancée.

"I tried to tell them that that type of language wasn't acceptable and was screamed at that I was going to go to hell with that N-word lover of a brother. I tried to argue for a few minutes, but they wore me down. Not that I was ever going to come around to their thinking. I couldn't yell any longer. I got up and tried to depart. Dad stood in front of the door and said he wasn't going to let me leave until I saw some sense. Fortunately, I'm a little more spry than those two and ducked out the back door before they could stop me."

"Tell them the worst part."

"Dad shot at me, peppered the tailgate of my truck with his shotgun. I drove off. It made the decisions we were agonizing over easy." Robert squeezed MaKayla's hand.

"I had a job offer in Denver. We traded in the truck and my car, then bought an SUV like yours since you were so proud of it, and we knew that you'd done the research when we didn't have time. We left for Denver that weekend, especially after the sheriff didn't believe Robert's story." MaKayla shook her head. She'd only ended up in Arkansas because of Robert. Her family lived in Wyoming, so Colorado was closer.

"Lived in a hotel for a couple of months while we looked for an apartment and I worked on getting a reciprocal electrician license in Colorado," Robert added.

"Once we got an apartment and things settled down, Robert wanted to find you. Let you know you weren't alone." MaKayla displayed a thin smile. "This weekend was our first opportunity."

"Had I known, Ty, I would've been on my way out of town right behind you. I'm sorry." Robert blinked back some tears.

"I suppose you two have plans for tonight. We'll leave you two them." MaKayla downed the rest of her Coke and then stood and stretched.

"We're only an hour south of you, so if you need anything, here's my new card. Has my cell phone number on it." Robert took the hint from his wife and stood up.

"I know we aren't going to heal things in one night, but when Robert and I start a family, it would be nice to have an aunt and uncle nearby for the kids."

Tyler looked at Kiovanna, who gave him a nod. "If you guys don't have plans for tonight, you can stay and play D&D with our crew."

"I haven't played since I was in college." MaKayla grinned. "Could be fun, but I'd hate to intrude on your group."

"Tonight's a one-shot. We're already going to have a crowded table; don't think two more would hurt." Kio stood and motioned toward the expansive dining table. Some may buy a large table for expected holiday dinners, but Kiovanna and Tyler took D&D into account. "As long as these two musclemen can add the other leaf."

"Really!? I've never played." Robert looked like he wanted to stay. "Do you always play in the nude?"

"No, not usually when the game's in person. When we were playing over the internet without cameras, though, yeah. We're naked most of the time at home." Tyler shrugged.

"This week's special, though." Kio walked toward the table with MaKayla in tow.

Tyler watched both their round asses sway, then looked over and got a knowing nod from Robert.

"We are a pair of ridiculously lucky men," Robert murmured behind his hand.

"Agreed." Tyler nodded.

"Why's tonight special other than those two ogling us?" MaKayla didn't miss their two partners watching.

"You know National Nude Day is Wednesday, right?" Kio asked.

"Yeah, one of the first things my new coworkers told me about. We get the day off!"

"Well, we have a lot of friends coming into town for that this week, and we thought it would be a fine time for a wedding since they were already in town."

"Really!?" Robert asked.

"Don't worry, we're not getting married on Nude Day. I have a white dress picked out to make Ty's jaw drop." Kiovanna smirked at him. "It's next Saturday."

"I know I didn't make it to you two's wedding." Tyler could feel his cheeks getting red. "But there's no use in reciprocal pain from me not inviting you. It's at 3pm here in Fort Collins."

"We'll be there." MaKayla nodded just in time for the doorbell to ring.

Despite a few stumbles by the first-time DM, the wedding week kick-off one-shot was a hit with their array of friends. Two years ago, Tyler had been happy with his life and spending time with his best friend. Then, a pair of catalysts swerved everything.

The first was agreeing to go to the Nude Day 10k with Kiovanna. That set into motion the second, but it both reconnected them with old friends and brought in a swell of new ones. Kio and Tyler were no longer on their own little island, but both were happier with others with whom to share their nerdy interests.

The second was set into motion by Kio winning a bet with the race. That led to her getting a massage and the Catalyst. Kiovanna admitted that she was going to seduce Tyler that day, but one massage obliterated the walls between them.

Tonight, Tyler had the one other thing he was missing, a connection to his family, at least the part of it that refused to wallow in willful ignorance. He smiled as he curled up on the couch with Kiovanna, listening to the conversations blooming around them. Robert and MaKayla blended in like they'd always belonged.

"Think we put in enough time with the crew?" Kio leaned up and kissed him.

"I do believe we have a bed calling our name." Tyler snuck up the stairs with his fiancée, blessed to have friends and even happier to be able to retreat to his haven with the woman he loved. "If you're drinking, you're staying on the couch, in one of the guest bedrooms, or calling a cab, but Kio and I will leave you to it." He waved from the top of the stairs. More time with his destiny awaited him.