Pluribus: Icebreaker

It didn't take me long to answer that question. "Maybe Snowfall?"

Tally laughed, a sweet and small sound. "No one else?" She was really blushing now.

I got the impression she was asking mostly about herself, but then why would she be planning an orgy? I wondered about that for a few seconds before I remembered she was waiting for an answer. "No, definitely not." Wherever she wanted this to go, I was in.

Talipo was so cute when she smiled, and she gave me a big one at that moment. "Good. Then don't worry about it. I'll make sure you have a good time."

"Tally! It's your turn! Come suck my tit!" Nalissa was waving her over, salt coating her nipple.

Gevna had already gone, and she hovered in front of me, licking her lips gesturing for me to get back to my spot. "This game is awesome, Tally," she said as the malorc left to take her turn.

The rest of the girls went. It was really funny watching Chekuar, because the wulk seemed to be the only thing that made Nalissa nervous. The lith nearly jumped out of her scales when Chekuar lunged into her face for a kiss.

Nalissa cleaned herself up while Chekuar dealt the next hand. I got a little distracted watching her wipe off her dark green nipple, and I was a little late looking at my hand. I got a little too excited when I did. I had a pair! Yes, I know that's basically nothing, but it's better than the actual nothing I'd gotten lately, so I got excited.

"I bet one item of clothing!"

I got some inquisitive looks for yelling like that, but I tried to play it off. I don't think it worked. Surprisingly, though, Tally and Nalissa both called. After the river, Tally raised it one truth, and Nalissa raised it one dare. I thought about it. I still only had the pair...

"You can't fold now, Marc! You've folded almost every time so far!" This was only, like, the fourth hand, but I let it go.

I knew Tally was only cajoling me because she had a good hand. I knew I was going to lose. I also knew I was a sucker for a pretty girl.

"Alright, I'll call," I said with mock reluctance, and just a touch of real reluctance.

Tally wasted no time, the little blue girl throwing down her cards to reveal two pairs! Nalissa had the same single pair I did, so the malorc won. I tried not to smile at her celebration, but it was hard. She was just so cute with her wide mouth grinning from big ear to big ear.

Tally rubbed her hands together deviously. "Hmmm...for my truth, I ask both of you: Who here would you most like to have sex with?"

I still couldn't believe how quickly this game had gotten out of hand, but I seemed to be the only one with even a hint of concern about that. Nalissa, for example, hesitated exactly zero seconds before answering. "Marc. It's Marc. No offense. I like the ladies, too, but I've heard some really good things about what humans have between their legs, and he's cute, too. Snowfall's my second choice."

"Surprised. Intrigued."

"That's right, Snowfall. Get ready."

Other than knowing smiles, no one else had any reaction to that. I was still processing the fact that she called me cute when everyone looked at me to answer. I had never been called cute before! I was nervous and excited and not sure how to feel, all at once.

"Marc?"

Oh, yeah! "Oh, yeah, sorry. Um, all you ladies would be great choices."

Nalissa didn't like that non-answer. "Just pick one, boy. The only person you're going to surprise is yourself."

What did that mean? I thought about lying but that wouldn't be cool, plus I wanted to be the kind of person who put himself out there, and the only way to get that kind of confidence is to fake it. "Tally, no offense to anyone else."

Everyone nodded, acting like they'd known, except Tally. She was beaming. I felt pretty good about that. Was I really that transparent, though? They barely knew me, after all.

Gevna put her hand on my leg, her eyes sparkling mischievously. "No offense taken, Marc, as long as you give me a chance to prove you wrong."

Gulp. "Umm..."

Tally rescued me. "My dare! Marc, I dare you to take off Nalissa's underwear. With your teeth! Well, with your mouth."

My eyes went wide, but they really shouldn't have. This wasn't too many leaps beyond sucking her nipple. But, if Tally was into me, which maybe she wasn't, then why was she trying to get me to take off Nalissa's underwear with my teeth?

"You're talking about just my ridgeband, right?" Nalissa clarified.

Tally blinked and shrugged. "Probably? Whatever your equivalent to underwear bottoms is, Nalissa."

"Okay, yeah. Come on, big boy. Get those lips under my skirt already." The lith raised her body up over the center of the circle. I guessed she was planning on giving everyone a show, so I scooted in toward the center. Her dress extended into a short skirt below what could generously be called her waist. It was odd to see her snake-like lower body extend out from under the skirt. Her body tapered down from her muscular arms and chest, similar to a human's, but then it never flared out into hips. It just kept tapering until it reached the point at the end of her tail. The area under her skirt was about as big around as my two thighs put together.

I knee-walked closer, and lifted the hem of her dress's skirt with my fingers until Tally interrupted me. "Enh-eh, no hands, Marc!"

That meant I was going to have to press my face against her...tail? I wasn't even sure what to call that part of her body. The snake phobia aspect of it made me hesitate, but I took a few deep breaths and nudged my head under the hem of her dress.

"That's it. You can do it, buddy."

Nalissa's words actually helped. They reminded me that she wasn't actually a snake, but a person. The warmth of her body helped a lot, too. Liths are warm-blooded, despite their scales, and noticing that helped me relax and enjoy the soft, surprisingly smooth texture of her lower body. I tilted my head, searching for what she'd called her ridgeband. My eyes were totally covered in the fabric of her dress, so I couldn't see anything. I could feel her scales against my cheek, though, and I inched them upward until I found more fabric. It was thin and elastic, and I grabbed the bottom of it with my lips and tried to pull. It didn't move.

"I think you're going to have to use your teeth, boy. Don't worry about biting me. I'm going to bite you later, anyway, so it's only fair..." I could hear the smirk on Nalissa's lips. Despite my phobia and how hard she worked to make me uncomfortable, she was growing on me. At least I could always tell what she wanted.

I used my tongue to try to lift the fabric away from her body. Her scales tasted...slightly salty, just like human skin. The scent of her that I got from being this close didn't seem very alien, either. There was a bit of female musk to it, but it wasn't at all unpleasant. It was just...natural. I got my teeth on the hem and slowly pulled down. There was a moment of resistance, and then it slid down her body. Once it got a couple of feet down, her body was narrow enough for the band of white cloth to fall to the floor, resting half on the part of her tail that sits on the floor, holding up her large upper body. I tool a deep breath in triumph, surprised that it had been as difficult as it had.

Nalissa lowered her body back down to her spot, and worked her underwear down to the end of her tail and off. "Ooh, it feels nice to get a little air down there."

I knee-walked back to my spot, and Tally stood up and motioned for me to do that same. "I need to take your shirt off." I certainly wasn't going to be complaining about that. I smiled down at her as her slim blue fingers worked on my buttons. A couple times she looked up at me and smiled, blushing.

Soon, my shirt was on the floor, and I was dealing the next hand. I had nothing, and I don't think anyone else did either. Gevna and Tally were the only ones betting, but with only one item of clothing on the table I was assuming their hands weren't great either. I was right. They both had a pair of sixes, and Gevna's queen high gave her the win. She untied and removed Tally's white canvas sneakers, and then dealt the next hand. It was a bit of a letdown hand after the last two, in terms of sexiness, but that was probably for the best. If things were going to get out of hand, we should at least build up to it, right?

The next hand had Tally, Nalissa, Snowfall, and Chekuar betting an item of clothing while Gevna and I folded. Chekuar raised it a dare, which surprised all of us. Snowfall folded, and the wulk ran away with it with a pair of aces. Were any of us ever going to get an actually good hand? I thought it was funny that Chekuar thought a pair of aces was a winner and she turned out to be right. I didn't have any room to talk, though. I had been betting on every pair I saw, too.

I jumped when Chekuar slid over in front of my face. "Do you have ideas? For the dare?"

"Ideas? You didn't have something in mind?"

"No, I..." She looked down, cheeks reddened. "I got excited. About winning."

I had never even heard of an embarrassed wulk.

"Okay, what kind of dare do you want? Sexy? Playful?" I was impressed with myself for sounding professional asking that question. Where did that come from? I take off one woman's underwear with my teeth and suddenly I think I'm some cool sex-having normal? Oh well, play it off, play it off.

"Yes. Both."

"They could take off each other's clothes, or take off their own but with a striptease, or--"

"What's a striptease?"

"It's, like, a sexy dance they do while they take off their clothes."

Just like that, Chekuar was back in her spot addressing the two losers. "Striptease!"

Snowfall hadn't heard of them either. "Explain: That Word."

I looked at Nalissa and Tally, who were both smiling. "If you two need to, I could pull up some videos."

"I'm tempted, Marc, but I know what a striptease is," Nalissa answered, and Tally nodded along. "We can just start and they'll see."

I chuckled in suspicion. "And how do you two know what a striptease is..."

Tally couldn't look me in the eye, but the blue in her cheeks answered for me. Nalissa just answered. "Human pornography is...nice. It's almost all we watch on Sillah, at least in Bosella. Mostly because of the video quality."

"Wait a second!" I pulled up "Wet With Sound" by ExxNine on my tablet to give them a soundtrack. The thumping bass was more than I usually enjoyed, but I thought it was a good fit for a rowdy stripshow. I was so glad Tally had suggested this game.

Obviously, Nalissa went first, leaving most of her tail in place while her upper body swayed over the center of the rug. She started by rubbing her hands up and down her sides over the fabric of her dress, undulating her body to give the suggestion of hips. She cupped her exposed breast and pinched the nipple. She ran her fingers along the edge of her scaly neck. She was staring at me most of the time. With the way her body was moving, I felt like she was both the snake and the snake charmer and I was somehow the one getting charmed.

She reached down and pulled up on the hem of her shirt, revealing that it wasn't actually a one-piece dress. She quickly re-covered her midriff, teasing us a few more times before those green scales between her skirt and her top were permanently revealed.

I heard a few appreciative hums from the audience, only realizing after the fact that one of them was mine. I was a bit disappointed when she finally lifted her top off and her right breast was completely covered in a utilitarian bra. It was an impressive piece of design, though, to cover only one breast while remaining totally hidden under her top. It didn't really hold her in place, though, when she gave us a little jiggle at the end of her dance. I was pretty stiff, despite the lack of new cleavage. Nalissa was a really good dancer, aided by her natural lith flexibility.

Gevna agreed. "That was hot, Nalissa!"

Nalissa just smiled in reply.

Tally went next, dancing to RedFilly's "Get On It" while the rest of us watched. Her dance was very different than Nalissa's. It was less slinky and sensuous, with more stomps and other quick movements. It was another departure from the person I had assumed she was when I moved in: this sweet and self-conscious little woman who would never have organized a group strip poker session with people she'd known less than a week. Clearly, I had misjudged her, but to be fair, I liked both versions.

She undid her buttons one by one, pulling her blouse open aggressively, revealing smooth blue skin and a tight, fit torso. Eventually, her hot pink bra was revealed, itself concealing two perfect little handfuls on her chest.

Once her shirt was on the floor next to her shoes, she knelt back down and I finally let out the breath I'd apparently been holding.

Tally dealt the next hand, and she and Gevna were the only two who bet. Although, after the turn Chekuar made a grunt that made me think she would've had something. The petite malorc and the even more petite stevan were shooting playful glares at each other.

"I've got a flush. You might want to fold."

"No, you don't, Tally. You've got a pair. All of us have only gotten pairs this whole game."

They flipped their cards over, and Gevna was right. They had the same pair of kings, and the stevan's jack high gave her the win. I felt a little bad for Tally, while she had her feet in the air and Gevna was pulling her slacks off her slim, blue legs, but I was excited to see that much skin. Tally was fit and sexy, built like a curvy, blue gymnast. She winked at me as she sat back down in her hot pink set of matching underwear. I was glad she didn't mind being the least clothed one here, along with Nalissa.

The lith dealt the next hand, and the bettors were Snowfall, Gevna, Tally, and myself. I had a pair of tens! I was feeling optimistic!

Snowfall raised it a dare, and Tally folded. I probably should have, too, but I didn't. After the river there were two threes on the table, giving me two pairs, so I raised it a truth. Gevna and Snowfall both called. I had my tens and threes, so I got excited when Gevna flipped over her two eights. But, Snowfall had pocket aces, so they took the hand. It was a real roller coaster for me.

Snowfall took off both our shirts, leaving Gevna in a black lace bra and me bare chested. Gevna's breasts were probably only a little bit larger than Tally's, but on her smaller frame they looked huge.

Snowfall asked their question. "Question: Quantity Intercoursed."

I blinked, confused, but Gevna was quicker on the uptake. "How many people have we fucked?"

"Confirmation."

Gevna shrugged. "Oh, gods and goddesses, I have no idea. Hundreds? I was in my first mating flock when I was twenty. That was at least ten just that one day. That's pretty normal for most of the stevans I know back home." She giggled, covering her mouth with one hand in a demure gesture contrasting the content of her words. "Sorry, I guess this question just isn't that relevant on Sartieghe." Sartieghe was the stevans' planet, a watery world with lots of small continents.

I was surprised to hear that answer. What would that kind of life be like? Maybe I had built sex up so much in my mind because I hadn't had it yet. Was it not a big deal in some of these alien cultures? Gevna's answer made me a little more embarrassed than I had been to answer Snowfall's question, but I wasn't about to chicken out. My cheeks did feel pretty warm, though.

"I, uh, I haven't actually had sex with anyone yet."

Everyone froze for a few seconds that threatened to stretch into eternity until Nalissa broke the ice. "Well, we'll fix that."

It was just so matter-of-fact that it cracked me up. I wasn't stupid--I had been picking up on some sexual tension in the room. But hearing her just come out and say it gave me a combination of shock and relief that just made me laugh out loud. And, of course, my laughter cracked everyone else up. We were all laughing together until Snowfall told Gevna and me our dare.

"Marc and Gevna: Extended Kissing."

I wasn't sure what that meant. "Extended?"

Gevna was already stepping in front of me, though. Her smile was devious. "Come on, Marc. Let's just start making out and they can let us know when it's been extended enough."

I looked around the room for help, but everyone looked like they wanted to see this happen. "Okay, that's fine." As soon as the words were out of my mouth, Gevna had flopped herself into my lap. Her tits bounced, threatening to slip out of her lacy bra, but the real problem was her ass rubbing into my lap. I had been hard since the tequila shot, and there was no way she couldn't tell. I was so turned on, but I was also embarrassed at the same time. It was really looking like I was going to lose my virginity tonight, but I didn't want to get my hopes up, and I wasn't sure how I felt about getting all this attention from so many people at once. It wasn't that I didn't like it. It was just so much at once, my brain didn't know how to process it.

Sure enough, the next words out of her mouth confirmed it. "Ladies, it feels like he's okay with our plans."

Nalissa made it worse. "How big is he?"

I groaned as Gevna smiled. "I don't think you'll be disappointed."

"Perfect."

Tally opened her mouth. I thought maybe she would tell everyone to back off, but I was wrong. "Start kissing already!"

Gevna pulled herself up and I leaned down to meet her. Her lips were full and soft, and her tongue was long and flexible. We explored each other's mouths, and my cock pressed up into her ass through my jeans. Kissing Gevna was different than kissing Nalissa, but I couldn't decide which one I liked better. I put my hands on her back, feeling her smooth skin and powerful wing joints. She spread her leathery, draconic-looking wings to give me access. I scratched her back with my nails, and she moaned into my mouth. Our tongues duelled, her thick, wide muscle caressing my thinner human tongue. Gevna's hands roamed much more than mine, her fingers dancing across the tee covering my chest. I could feel her claws drag across the cotton, and if Snowfall hadn't called time I don't know if my shirt would have survived. As Gevna hopped off my lap, Chekuar and Tally both leaned over to try to look for my bulge, and with how turned on Gevna had gotten me I was pretty sure they got an eyeful.

"I am," Chekuar said flatly, "aroused."

I chuckled, and Chekuar's eyes flashed over to meet mine with a stare. I blushed, and asked the room whose turn it was to deal.

Nalissa pointed to Snowfall. "Snowfall's turn."

The sybil dealt out the hand. I had a pair, so this time only Chekuar folded. After the river, Nalissa raised the bet to two items of clothing. I hadn't gotten anything else, and apparently Tally and Snowfall hadn't either. We all folded. That meant we were guaranteed to lose one thing, but that was better than losing two.

Gevna seemed nervous. "You've got a good hand, don't you?"

"Yes, I sure do! You should fold." Nalissa seemed to me to be trying a pretty blatant reverse psychology strategy, but I'm clearly not very good at poker. Even if I was right, that didn't mean Gevna would pick up on it.

"I don't know. You might be bluffing."

Nalissa narrowed her reptilian-looking eyes. "Maaayyybeee..."

Gevna frowned, and then turned it into a smile. "I think you're bluffing. I'm going to add one dare to the pot."

Nalissa was impressed. "Raising it, huh? You've got ridges, stevan; I'll give you that. Alright, I'll call."

Gevna smiled. "Okay. What do you have?"

Nalissa laughed and threw down her cards with a slap. "Two pairs!"

Gevna's smile didn't go away. She calmly flipped her cards. "I have a straight, Nalissa."