The Eromenos Pt. 01

Rahi pushed through the heavy red curtain into the main room, careful to keep the tray of drinks she carried from being upset. It was a skill she had not always had full mastery of. Developing that skill had involved some fairly embarrassing incidents over the last few months, but she was now quite proud of the grace and poise she could maintain while conveying the platter of expensive whiskies.

The main room was about half full, with small groups gathered in the deep cushions and sofas artfully positioned around the room. The rich reds of the carpets and hangings set off the soft pastels of the walls tastefully and suited the space well. Larger than a tennis court, the secretive roof-top home of the universities' House Ganymede was a place of luxury and sophistication. The lighting was always soft, and the corners often obscured by the intentionally dim lighting. Patrons could choose to be in the well-lit center area, or the darker periphery as was their preference.

Rahi walked silently along the long side wall, past heavily curtained alcoves set aside for more private activities. Sounds of passion and pleasure were well muted by the thick curtains, but came to Rahi's ears as she passed, bringing a smile to her lips. She paused at one alcove where the curtain had been left partially open, as some patrons preferred, and saw the new girl Talla, on all fours on the bed. Her body was jerking forward as some unseen patron thrust into her from behind and Talla's expression was one of pure pleasure, mixed with exquisite pain. Her eyes were closed tightly, and mouth parted in total immersion in the experience. Rahi smiled again and continued on, towards her patrons near the end of the room.

While many of the patrons were fellow students, there were always a few former graduates from the university, those who had retained their membership and continued to support the House. Rahi's guests were well known to her now and she had enjoyed evenings with them many times. Sam, as he liked to be called, was one of the rare patrons who also brought his wife with him for evenings at the House. Not the only one, but it was understandably rare.

As Rahi approached the table, she saw Sam glance up from conversation with Farah, his wife, and Rahi enjoyed the smile that she saw emerge there. She was getting much better with her wardrobe selection and tonight's' ensemble of open-sided mini skirt and lacy halter suited her smooth, lean figure. She still hadn't fully mastered heels, so wore some tasteful sandals that had straps criss-crossing up to her knees, with small tassels at the side. Her make up had been done by the studio staff and was perfect, defining her prominent cheekbones and accentuating her large, chocolate brown eyes. Of course, she also wore the traditional red velvet choker of the House's Eromenos..., or 'Eries' for short. She knew Sam found her very attractive and that sent a secret rush of satisfaction through Rahi as she came up to their sofa area.

"There she is," Sam said with a broad smile. "Just in time!" Reaching for the fresh drink Rahi had brought before she could even set it down.

"You drink too much that that, Sam," teased Farah, as she graciously accepted her own glass from Rahi. "If you keep that up Rahi might be quite disappointed tonight!" Farah turned and gave Rahi a sly wink.

Rahi smiled and laughed gently. It was true that she did enjoy her time with Sam. He wasn't as young, buff and energetic as many of the student patrons...but he understood how to take his time and enjoy the simple pleasures...and made sure Rahi always had time to enjoy herself as well. It had first seemed very strange when Farah occasionally joined them in an alcove, but she would sit back in a comfortable chair, never getting involved. She would watch closely, and sometimes offering a comment or suggestion to the two as they partook in the pleasures of the flesh. That she accepted and willingly supported Sam's...less socially acceptable desires, was both lovely and most rare. Rahi admired the honesty and deep love and respect of their relationship. Farah had also admitted to Rahi that the path of enjoyment Sam enjoyed with Rahi was just not something she would do for him, and so she was glad she could give him that without his seeking out other women. In a way, this was 'safe' for their marriage.

"So Rahi, how go your studies?" asked Farah, inquisitively. "Have you mastered the intricacies of Renaissance art yet?"

Rahi settled herself onto a comfortable chair facing the couple, but she sat perched on the edge, her back straight and legs together, with hands on her knees. She had to be careful not to relax too much in a patrons' presence.

"I suppose," she said, biting her lip for a moment. "I find I love the art itself so very much, but the technical aspects of the colour development...histories of dyes and pigments does get very...involved," she answered with a slight shrug.

Their conversation flowed easily for a little while, and there was much laughter and a bit of flirting between all three. At one point their attention was pulled away by a nearby table where a burst of applause disturbed the normally quiet intimacy of the House. Rahi turned to see Kali, the Nubian student, whose darkest black skin made her one of the most desired of Eries. She was tall and lean with hugely enviable prominent buttocks that always drew every patrons' keen attention. She was classically beautiful and always dressed to accentuate her seductive form. Kali was dancing slowly and sensuously with a young student who looked both highly excited...and massively nervous as a group of his close buddies cheered him on. This was a common scene when a new student was permitted access to the House and Rahi smiled at what pleasures awaited that young man when Kali got him to an alcove...likely very soon now by the looks on the boy and the bulge in his trousers. In fact, to calls of encouragement from his sponsors, Kali took the student's hand and led him away towards the alcoves. The nervous young man laughed and glanced back to give his friends a thumbs up, which bought a loud cheer from the group.

As Rahi turned back to face Sam and Farah, she noticed Sam's envious eyes following the lucky young man. Farah noticed as well and winked again at Rahi. It would not be much longer until Rahi would lead Sam and his wife to an alcove to enjoy the gifts of the House Ganymede.

Six months earlier...

Rahman, or Rah to his friends, passed the coffee and croissant on a plate across the counter to the young woman with a company-required smile. As the girl turned away, he couldn't help but admire how pretty the eye shadow she wore had made her large, dark eyes so...alluring. He had also noticed how she filled out her fairly tight jeans as she had entered the shop with her girlfriends a short time earlier, but knew he had to be careful about showing too much interest.

Malak was already starting the clean-up checklist, since it was nearly closing time and the evening was full dark beyond the coffee shop windows. All that remained in the shop was a young man using his laptop, obviously on the shops' free wifi system, and the group of three young women near the door. Rah turned back to the counter and began wiping down all the surfaces and clearing up the detritus left by a day's coffee-making.

A quarter hour later, with minimal fuss, the ladies and young man left the shop and Rah turned the lock and flipped the 'open' sign to 'closed.' There was another half hour of so of mopping and emptying trash bins to do, but it seemed old routine now. Yet, when that was done, Rah's evening would not be over. He had at least a few hours of studying yet and then had to be back at the shop for the early shift before rushing across to the university for his first lecture. Despite his youth Rah could not remember a period in his life where he constantly felt so tired and...overwhelmed. But when he thought of how hard his mother was working since his father suddenly died of a heart attack last year, he knew he should not complain. Working full time, taking care of Rah's three younger siblings, paying all their bills, including Rah's university costs, meant his mother was doing much more than he was. So, steeling himself, he finished his locking up duties, and went to clock out.

Glancing at his timecard, he quickly calculated how much his pay would come to this month. He was doing his best to try to raise his tuition costs for next year, and cover most of his school costs this term...but it was never enough. Thanks to his father, Rah had managed to get into one of the oldest, and best universities; and if he could just graduate, he could take care of his family as graduates always had excellent career opportunities. But since his father passed, there was never enough money.

His mother was stubbornly independent as well. It wasn't unknown in their culture for one of his uncles to marry his widowed mother and take care of Rah's family. It was an older tradition but still looked on as a respectable thing to do. But his mother would have none of it. She was determined not to owe anyone anything and raise her children they way she and Rah's father had wanted. If she had submitted to another marriage, her new husband would inherit the house, the bank accounts and control what happened to all of them. Rah could never see her agreeing to do that, except as a very last, desperate resort. And so, she was working full time and Rah, the eldest, was doing what he could with the coffee shop job to help.

Since Marak had the shop keys, and the closing tasks were complete, Rah grabbed his bag and let himself out of the coffee shop. Before he could set off home though, he noticed a tall, well-dressed young man coming towards him. He also saw that the man was looking directly at him. A quick jolt of fear went through Rah, but it quickly passed. The man did not look aggressive and the city was usually very safe. But Rah was not what one would call muscular. He was thin, and a little gangly, and had never been in a fight in his life. Even amongst his good friends he was often teased at his fairly pitiful frame. He had always been nervous around strangers and especially after dark.

As the stranger came closer and moved into the light of the shop window, Rah realized he recognized the young man. He was an older student perhaps, or in administration, but was definitely from the university campus.

"Hello Rahman," The young man said with a smile as he came close. "Or can I call you Rah?"

Rah's eyes narrowed, immediately wondering why this very senior student, miles above Rah in the social circles of the university, would know who he was, as a first-year student. Taking in the young man's appearance, he could clearly see the clothes were high quality and fashionable. This young man either came from a wealthy family or had a very well playing job somewhere.

"Rah, is fine," he replied cautiously. "Can I help you sir?"

The young man smiled. "Yes, I hope so....or, perhaps, we can help each other."

Rah cocked his head, trying to imagine what this older student could possibly want from a first year...and what kind of trouble might it lead to.

"Sorry, I didn't introduce myself," the man went on with a smile. "I am Immanuel," he said and stuck out his hand.

Rah took the proffered hand and shook it lightly, although he was well aware Immanuel's grip was much firmer than his own. Another thing his friends teased him about was his usual limp wrist handshake. Rah was just not much interested in being 'macho' and never really worried about it.

"Could we talk?" Immanuel asked with another easy smile.

Rah thought for a moment but couldn't come up with a good reason not to be polite. He would rather not delay long, knowing how much study time he still needed to get in, but if a senior student wanted to talk to him about something, he guessed he should listen.

"Okay...," he answered.

Nodding his head towards the nearby city square, centred on a well-lit fountain, the tall young man suggested, "How about we find a seat over there?"

Rah, nodded and walked beside the older boy towards the square. There were many people still out, strolling by or sitting and chatting in groups near the popular fountain. Immanuel led Rah to an empty bench facing the water feature and they sat down at opposites ends but turned to face each other.

"I am sure this seems a bit strange, asking to meet you like this, but I am pretty busy these days and sometimes it is hard to find time to get around to everything I need to get done," Immanuel said.

Rah just nodded and waited for the young man to continue.

"As I think you guessed, I am from the university. No longer a student I am afraid...I graduated a couple of years ago. But now I work in the Student Welfare department. Essentially, my job is to make sure students needs and concerns are taken care of, or sorted out." Immanuel paused to see if the younger boy had any questions.

"Okay...," Rah replied. "I thought I recognized you from the campus, but thank you for explaining," and still having no idea why this graduate was talking to him.

Immanuel grinned, "I thought as much. Anyway, my team is aware of your...difficulties...at the moment, in regard to your future at the university," before taking on a more solemn expression. "I am sorry about your loss by the way. Losing your father must have been hard."

Rah nodded and looked away briefly. Turning back he asked, "How do you know about that?"

Immanuel smiled, "Well, your friends actually. We try to keep an eye on first-years and we had heard about your father and...subsequent problems," he answered. "You have some good friends by the way."

Rah thought about that. He had told his closest friends about his worries around tuition and his other costs, but doubted he was the only student with that kind of concern. Not all the people going to that university were from wealthy families. Many must have to struggle.

"And you want to help me?" Rah asked, a little bit sceptically.

Immanuel smiled, "Yes, that is the general idea...although, as I said, I was more thinking of us helping each other."

That put Rah, slightly on edge...what was he suggesting, he wondered?

Immanuel sat still for a moment. Then he glanced around at the people in the square around them. Turning back, he said, "I know you have applied for several scholarships, and we all hope that you are going to be successful. But there is another scholarship program that few know anything about. One of my jobs is to identify...suitable candidates," he smiled again.

Rah's attention perked up at the mention of scholarships. He had been hoping, praying that he could win a full scholarship but would even settle for a partial one if that was all he could get. But for this university, the competition was pretty tough. Rah knew he was a fairly good student but didn't think he was really full scholarship material.

Thinking about it, he wasn't that surprised that he hadn't heard of whatever program Immanuel was talking about...there were a lot of foundations and even businesses that sponsored scholarship programs...no one could know about them all.

"Okay...," Rah replied. "What program is this?"

Immanuel then looked intently at Rah for a long moment, he seemed to be evaluating Rah somehow. His eyes looked Rah up and down and it made him feel a bit uncomfortable, but soon he saw the older boy smile.

"To be honest, you had already come to my attention, even before your current situation," Immanuel continued. "We are always on the look out for students with the right...special characteristics."

Rah gave him an inquisitive look. What 'special' characteristics could he have? He was no athlete, was not from a prominent family, wasn't much for social organizations. Definitely wasn't popular in any way. He tried to be a good student and got consistently good marks...but nothing outstanding.

"What special characteristics?" He finally asked.

Immanuel glanced back at the people in the square. "Rah, look around at the people here. Tell me what you see."

Unsure why, he decided to play along. "Well...there are two groups of girls...maybe students," he said looking to the left across the square.

"And on the other side?" Immanuel said, nodding to the right.

Glancing over, Rah saw a half a dozen young men sitting around on tables. "Just that group of guys, really."

Immanuel nodded. "What do you suppose the boys are spending most of their time talking about?"

Rah, shrugged. "Probably girls and football."

Immanuel nodded again. "So, do you think the girls are also probably talking about the boys?" He asked.

"Probably...," Rah answered, wondering where this strange conversation was going...and how it connected with a scholarship.

Immanuel said nothing for a little while, then: "Why are they at opposite ends of the square then, if they are so interested in each other?"

With a bit of suspicion, Rah looked over at the older boy. Why would he ask that? The reason was the most basic common knowledge. In their culture boys and girls stayed completely separate until they were married. That had always been the way.

"That is just the way it is. They would get in a lot of trouble...serious trouble if they were together," Rah finally said, still unsure what Immanuel was after.

"Hmmm...," Immanuel muttered, deep in thought about something Rah could only guess at. Then he turned back to Rah and took on a very gentle expression.

"Rah...I am still not married and I am 27," he began. "...and since I was a teenager, I was always desperate to be with a girl, if you know what I mean," looking inquisitively at Rah, eyebrow raised.

Of course Rah knew. All his male friends ever talked about, other than football and maybe music or online games, was girls. They were obsessed with sex. Most weren't too sure about getting married, but they would do anything to have complete access to a woman's body.

"It can be almost...physically painful," Immanuel continued. "Our bodies are just not meant to not be...active."

Rah stayed quiet now...this was getting into strange and possible dangerous territory.

Then Immanuel turned back to Rah. "But I am guessing you have never wanted to have sex with a girl," he said matter-of-factly.

Suddenly Rah's blood went cold.

Ever since he was young, Rah knew he was different. He never wanted to do all the rough-housing boy games. When he and his friends stared at girls, while the others were all thinking about getting them in bed, Rah was admiring their long hair, fashionable clothes and artfully applied make up that could transform their appearance into one of beauty. When Rah dreamed of his first kiss, it was never with a girl; he wanted to be the girl being kissed. He wanted to be adored...to be lusted after by the boys as he walked by. He wanted to be the one they fantasised about. To wear stylish clothes. Grow his hair long, wear tasteful, but provocative make up.

But these feelings had always been buried deep. He knew that if anyone ever discovered what he really was on the inside, his life would be ruined. Not a death sentence anymore, thankfully. Those days were gone now. But he would never have a future in this world. He knew he could leave...go to a different country where his 'kind' were more accepted, but the thought of abandoning his family, his mother and being alone in some strange place was just too terrifying.

He had resigned himself to a long, lonely life. At 21 he knew he would never be kissed, adored or wanted. So, he had decided to bury those feelings and focus on being a successful student and then build a strong career so he could look after his family.

But how had Immanuel known? He wasn't the most masculine guy...he was too skinny. He didn't dress or behave like 'gays' he had seen online. He was always careful to parrot the same lines his friends blurted out about wanting to bed some girl they saw walk past.