A Visit to Salmacis Ch. 02

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[Alexandra]

Smiling in satisfaction, Alexandra took a long drink from her water bottle, and surveyed her surroundings once more. A couple of women were looking her way with interest, or presumably, with interest in the color of her stamps. Quickly turning her head, she hoped that without any acknowledgement, the other women wouldn't attempt to come over. As she was bracing herself to rise and keep looking around, a sniffle from the girl nearby caught her attention. She had a miserable cast to her face, and looked like she was on the verge of tearing up. Black hair was cut into a pixie cut, and the glasses she wore set off delicate features to give her a look of perpetual innocence. Her conservative outfit contrasted sharply with some of the other getups Alexandra had seen in her short time at the club. Blue skirt working in tandem with a purple blouse to nicely frame her modest assets, and Alexandra assumed she was a year or two below herself. Hands lay in her lap, silver stamps shining bright on olive skin. All in all, she had a soothing, harmless vibe that Alexandra felt herself drawn to.

Argh, I don't have time for this! I can't be spending all night checking out girls. I've got a jackass to locate. Siding against her internal musings, Alexandra found herself jotting a quick message in her notebook. Taking a deep breath to prepare herself for the interaction, she stood and walked over to the sofa the girl was on before sitting near her. Holding the page out for her to read, it took a few seconds for her to register that Alexandra was trying to get her attention. It simply read:

[Are you alright?]

Giving a weak chuckle, she looked directly at Alexandra. "I'm OK, just kind of regret coming tonight."

Frowning, Alexandra looked on in concern. One of the rare situations where it might actually go better if I just speak up. "W-w-what's w-wrong?"

The girl turned to stare down at the amber liquid in her glass on the table before quickly draining it in one go. Looking a little more confident, she spoke. "Nothing, really. I just thought I was prepared for this place. I've always been self-conscious about my, well, you know... I wasn't very popular in high school, and I guess I was kind of jealous about how easy everyone had it with dating and making friends. I figured I was past all of that when I graduated, but I still don't feel any better about everything. Then I thought that maybe I'd feel better about myself if I was able to finally 'do it'. Like, 'Hey! I can get someone, too, you know!', you know? But the idea of going home with some random person is actually really uncomfortable. I guess I'm just feeling sorry for myself right now. I mean, I don't even know your name, and here I am unloading on you like you're my freaking therapist. Sorry. You didn't sign up to hear me complain."

Well, I certainly know how all of that feels. Alexandra sat thinking of how best to respond to the bevy of information. Out of every possible option, she thought maybe a bit of levity would work best. Sticking her hand out, she said, "I c-can f-fix one of those th-things. I-I'm A-A-Alexa... I'm A-Alexandra."

To her credit, she got a light giggle in return before the girl reached out to formally shake her hand. "Guess that takes care of one of my problems! I'm Su-Jin."

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[Su-Jin]

This night wasn't turning out at all how she had expected. Su-Jin had been planning to come here for months, and after dithering about it for so long, she decided to be spontaneous for a change. Her snap decision to get rid of her virginity tonight seemed smart at the time, but her confidence had been rapidly evaporating since she arrived. Despite the woman at Sizing's best efforts to make her comfortable, she found the process very humiliating. Su-Jin had never been very big, and she couldn't help but feel embarrassed that everyone would know after seeing her green stamps. She assumed she'd have better luck finding someone nice if she asked for silver, instead.

As she entered the club proper, she found herself regretting what was actually a very public proclamation that she was fine being a permanent bottom. Almost as soon as Su-Jin was done gazing in awe at the number of futanari around her, she was accosted by a woman sporting black on her hands. The woman wasn't shy in her advances, and had taken it as a given that Su-Jin would fall in line with her plans for the pair. After wriggling away and offering some choice words over the assumptions being made, the woman had simply laughed the rejection off with a 'your loss'.

After seeing the writhing mass of dancers on the main floor, she knew she didn't have the guts to force her way into a crowd like that. Getting a drink from the bar had been the only endeavor she'd succeeded at so far. The participation award of club experiences. She'd begun looking around so she could at least say she'd been here if anyone asked. When she found the private room section, she'd had to stammer out a polite refusal after a quartet had invited her to join them as they went in. Retreating to safer regions of the club, she'd been approached by a few other women who luckily weren't nearly as overt in their advances. Aside from the one who let slip that she 'dug Asians', anyway. They'd all been respectful enough, but their attempts to make conversation fell on deaf ears as Su-Jin retreated inside herself. Eventually she had made her way up to the second floor, where she found an empty corner to sit in. She'd been nursing the same drink since she arrived half an hour ago, and had simply shaken her head at the couple of would-be suitors who approached her. At that point everyone seemed to collectively give her up as a lost cause, and she'd spent the last several minutes sitting in silence as she listened to the milling groups nearby.

She was shaken from her reverie as a girl had entered her little corner of sorrow before unceremoniously sitting down. Expecting another attempt at chatter, Su-Jin had instead been ignored by the newcomer. Suits me just fine right now. Seeing that the woman had pulled out her phone and begun texting, Su-Jin took the opportunity to discreetly study her. Her impressions were that the woman was...intimidating. She looked to be well over 6 feet tall, her sharp features pulled into an annoyed grimace as she glared at the bright screen. Dark red hair curtained her face from view by anyone not directly across from her. Her basic outfit of a white dress shirt and black pants only highlighted her striking looks, and Su-Jin couldn't help being surprised to see someone so pretty sitting alone. Mind you, if she's been glaring like that since she got here, I guess I can't blame people for giving her some space.

She quickly lowered her head as the giant lifted her head sporting an amused smile that made Su-Jin feel strange. The woman's face quickly fell, however, and she looked around as if searching for someone. She looked to be getting ready to leave, and Su-Jin felt strangely downhearted at the loss of her silent companion. She couldn't stop herself from sniffling as she contemplated the return to solitude. I shouldn't have come tonight. Nothing good is going to happen if I stick around any longer.

But unexpectedly, the girl had begun writing in a notebook before cautiously approaching. Sitting next to her, it was extended for Su-Jin to read. It was only three words, and there was no stopping the chuckle that slipped out at the polite inquiry. Yet the genuine concern on her face had Su-Jin's thoughts of the redhead's scariness ebbing away, and she found herself easily conversing with the other woman. The strangely comforting stutter had disarmed any remaining fears Su-Jin held onto, and she drained the rest of her drink to hopefully imbue a bit of the liquid courage. She didn't meant to vent all of her problems to this stranger, but it was all too easy to continue talking about her worries now that she'd begun.

Alexandra. Alexandra. A charming name for a girl who hid her sweet nature behind a stony front. Between the notebook and her speech impediment, Su-Jin wondered why an imposing woman like this would have such a hard time with communication. "Why do you stutter?"

What!? Fuckfuckfuck! I didn't mean to say that out loud! What happened to my filter!?

Su-Jin prayed to whatever God watched over awkward idiots that she hadn't ruined everything with that thoughtless comment, and was surprised when Alexandra burst out laughing. She continued to guffaw as she rolled around in mirth, and Su-Jin found herself giggling along as Alexandra made a spectacle of herself.

Slowly getting herself under control with an embarrassed smile, Alexandra wiped tears from her eyes before looking at Su-Jin. "M-most people w-walk on e-e-eggshells about my st-st-stutter. Or they're just b-being ass-h-h-holes. You sounded like you were just curious. Feels d-d-different." Breathing out in relief, Su-Jin was glad that she hadn't been angered at the question.

"I h-had an a-accident as a k-kid. St-tuttered ever since." As Su-Jin contemplated how unfair it has to be to still be haunted by a childhood injury, Alexandra continued. "Gets w-w-worse when I'm t-talking to a p-p-pretty g-g-girl, though."

Both girls blushed. Su-Jin couldn't believe she was flirting right now! "C-come on! Oh god, I'm doing it now, too!"

Breaking up into another fit of giggles, Su-Jin returned fire. "You sure you want to waste time on an awkward loser like me? Plenty of prettier girls around here who'd love to get acquainted, if the way they've been eyeing you up is any indication."

Alexandra frowned at the self-deprecating comment. "D-don't call yourself a l-l-loser. And you're p-plenty p-pretty enough."

"Noticed you didn't call me out on the awkward thing."

"W-w-well, m-maybe you're right on t-that one. But I am, t-t-too."

Yet as weird as they both thought themselves, Su-Jin couldn't help but notice they weren't awkward with each other. Maybe it's because we both know what it's like to be, well, us? She still couldn't believe a woman like this was giving her the time of day. Su-Jin never considered herself the type to care about someone's height, but she couldn't deny that she found it made Alexandra so much more attractive. Her monotonous voice had a very soothing quality to it that made Su-Jin want to relax and lean into her, and those gold marks... She didn't care how large someone's junk was, so long as they were a good person. But she knew it made Alexandra a very appealing choice for anybody looking for a casual partner tonight. Anybody being people so much better than Su-Jin was, people who had more experience with relationships inside and outside the bedroom. As she thought about how someone might show up at any minute to take the girl away, Su-Jin felt her spirits dropping again.

Alexandra noticed the change in demeanor immediately. "What's the m-matter? Th-thinking too m-much?"

Su-Jin couldn't stop herself from going off. "I'm not overthinking, just being realistic here. You're a beautiful woman who could have damn near anybody in this place, and you're sitting here flirting with little old me? What could I possibly have that would be appealing for you? I'm weird, and awkward, and just so...average. I'm not any prettier than anyone else, or smarter, or charming, or funnier. I chose silver stamps because I was embarrassed about how small I am, and worried that nobody would want me. I don't know how to talk to people, or how to do anything else that the people around here can. And you? Sure, you're quiet and you stutter. But it's not a deal breaker at all; it actually makes you even cuter. You're tall, and beautiful, and you seem so intelligent. You may not think you have any charm, but you sat down with me, and I instantly felt drawn to you. You're so kind and sweet, and for god's sake, even your cock is huge. I'm very flattered, but trust me, you've got better options around here."

Alexandra's face hardened the longer she listened to Su-Jin rant. "I d-didn't come here looking for a-anyone. I d-don't think you're w-weird, and e-even if you were, th-there's nothing wrong with b-being different. You s-say you aren't p-p-pretty, but you're the only one I've n-noticed since I got i-in. J-just because I haven't t-tried d-dragging you into a c-corner doesn't mean I d-don't want to get to know you b-better. I th-think you're probably r-really smart, e-even if the w-way you think of y-yourself is really dumb. You're a-acting like I'm p-perfect, and anybody w-would w-want m-m-me. I-I'm a st-tu...St-tuttering freak. I'm clumsy, and q-quiet. I-I don't have f-friends besides my s-sister. I-I'm not beautiful like you s-said. My f-face is pl-plain, I-I have no h-hips, and my t-tits are small. My dick was s-something I was b-born with, not like it's s-some trophy I e-earned and can be p-proud of. I wouldn't want s-someone who only likes me for t-that, a-anyway. I w-wish I was b-born a normal g-girl. I'm fl-flattered you think s-so highly of m-me, but d-don't b-build me up just to t-tear yourself d-down."

Su-Jin tried several times to get a word in edgewise, but Alexandra kept going. "I'm s-sorry if I u-upset you with w-what I s-said, I'll l-leave you alone if th-that's what you w-want."

Alexandra went to rise, but Su-Jin panicked and grabbed her arm to pull her back down. I messed up again! I didn't want to drive you away. "I-I don't want you to go away. You have nothing to apologize for, but I do. I just get really insecure, and I would rather hurt myself than let others hurt me. I'm so sorry, please don't think any of this is your fault. I just can't see why you would want to spend time with me."

Alexandra looked directly into her eyes as she replied. "Y-you treat m-me like I'm n-normal, even after h-hearing me s-speak. People o-only do t-that before I t-talk. A-afterward they either look down on m-me, or t-treat me like some kind of c-child to p-protect. I-it means a lot to me that you h-haven't done any of t-that. Y-you're the o-only person besides A-Alexia that doesn't treat m-me like I'm b-broken. I-I know it probably doesn't mean m-much coming from m-me, but I think you're r-really c-cool."

There was no hiding the happiness on Su-Jin's face as she looked back at Alexandra. "It actually means the world to hear that coming from you. You're not broken, and if anything, you're the one that's protecting me. From myself in this case, but the point stands."

Despite her best efforts, Su-Jin began cracking up. "God, listen to us! We're going back and forth trashing ourselves, only for the other person to swoop in and defend us."

Laughing again, they settled into a companionable silence that Alexandra eventually had to break. "S-Su-J-Jin, I have to go f-find my s-sister. If i-it's OK with you, can I h-have your n-number? I'd like to talk more s-soon."

Rejoicing inward at the upswing in her fortune tonight, Su-Jin extended her hand to request Alexandra's phone, and entered herself in her contacts. Handing it back, a long sigh escaped her lips. "Well, I better start heading home. I've sabotaged myself enough tonight, and it's not like my night'll get any better than this. Gotta go now if I want a cab any time soon. It's been really nice meeting you, Alexandra."

The girl in question was deep in thought until she seemingly reached a decision. "W-want to l-look for her with me? I can give you a ride home a-a-afterward."

Oh thank god. I didn't want this to end yet. Smiling in delight at Alexandra, Su-Jin agreed. "Is that OK? I'd love to!"

Alexandra stood, and extended a hand to help Su-Jin up. "Let's go f-find her and g-get out of h-here."