It was fair, she supposed, that Sofia wao discuss this ht. Natalie was more than happy to; she was curious about a few things herself. Namely Sofia’s enthusiasm. Of course, she po tease Sofia over that before they got to a more mature discussion. That took higher priority.

  “You were real eager to start rubbing,” Natalie ented. “What with that? Been waiting to get your hands on it?”

  Sofia made an unsophisticated sputtering noise before cutting herself off. “Hmph. Like I said, I got caught up iuation. I’m only human. It meant nothing.”

  “Uh-huh,” Natalie said. The pirl was clearly in denial. She really ought to learn to be more ho with herself. “Oh, and turn around,” she added. “Like I said, I wanna watch.”

  Sofia had had her back turned as she pulled off her top, and she froze with the garment half. She stayed that way for a moment, then faatalie with a gre. She fiaking off her dueling uniform shirt, leavianding in just a bra.

  Sofia had less up top than most, but that obviously didn’t bother Natalie. Her figure was nothing short of stunning even without much to fill her bra out. As expected of a lithe, agility-based fighter, she wasn’t quite muscur, but she still had hints of abs and somewhat defined arms. Her build wasn’t all that dissimir from Jordan’s, minus the differen chest size.

  “I ’t believe you were a virgin,” Natalie said, running her eyes across Sofia’s body with purposeful shamelessness. She’d won a week of Sofia and inteo make good use of it. “How’d that happen, anyway?”

  Sofia gred at Natalie. Natalie got the feeling she was in for a lot of those in the ing week. She wasn’t bothered in the slightest at the hot looks—if anything, Natalie was quite enjoying them.

  “Maybe someone was always scooping up everyone else,” Sofia said.

  “Please, I hardly got around that much.”

  “Certainly more than me. And there weren’t that many lesbians in the local dueling circuit, Nat.”

  “I guess that’s fair,” Natalie said. “But only kind of. Still doesn’t expin it. I mean, really. With a body like yours, it doesn’t make sense.” For all Sofia was insufferable, she was also frustratingly attractive. As in, from an objective viewpoint. Natalie obviously had hought much about it.

  Sofia huffed. “Well, I’m gd you think so.” She paused, then narrowed her eyes at Natalie. “What was it you called me, again? Tight and fuckable?”

  She was obviously trying to embarrass Natalie, but Natalie just smirked at her. “Yeah. Tight and fuckable. A body meant to be pyed with. I’ll be making good use of it.”

  Sofia held Natalie’s eyes for several moments, then blushed and was forced to look away, cheeks burning. It was really way too easy.

  “Anyway,” Sofia said loudly. “As I was saying. That thing of yours—it came with your css, I assume?”

  They’d gotten distracted from the topic. “Didn’t find it on a dungeon run, that’s for sure,” Natalie said. The aforementiohing’ was stig her skirt up a few inches, whiatalie wasn’t keeping hidden at all—it was doing a wonderful job to fluster Sofia, especially when she was undressing right in front of her. “How’d you find out about it?”

  “I slept right o you for the first two weeks,” Sofia said dryly. “How couldn’t I? It was stig up every m.”

  “That’s why I woke up early, though. Before everyone else.” Including Sofia.

  “It wasn’t actually the ms,” Sofia corrected. “More like the middle of the night. There was always so many noises I couldn’t get a full night sleep. I noticed it more than once by act.” Sofia narrowed her eyes at Natalie. “For that matter, it was stig up pretty much every time I looked over. I suppose you have an active imagination.”

  Had it really been? She retty sure Sofia was exaggerating. Regardless, Natalie had reized the risk of someog her with a night- or m-time ere. Her secret might not have stayed as mu the down-low as she’d hoped. Then again, Liz hadn’t knoossibly Ana didn’t. So it was hardly something everyone knew about either.

  There wasn’t much more to say. She was gd Sofia didn’t seem put off. In fact, it had seemed like the opposite was true, based on how she hadn’t been able to keep her hands away.

  “And you said you wao talk about my css too?” Natalie asked. “What about it?”

  “There’s more, isn’t there?”

  “More?”

  “That you haven’t told us.”

  “Why would I? It’s private.”

  Sofia’s lips tugged down in a frown. “A padin of lust. I’ve been thinking about it. There’s only a few paths that would really take, isn’t there? Especially when it gave you something like that.” She gestured at Natalie’s skirt. “You’re rewarded for intimacy, or something of the sort. To use that thing. That’s why you and Jordan are sleeping together.”

  Natalie twitched in surprise. She’d really thought that particur tidbit had bee under s. That had been way too hopeful, she guessed. She just hoped it hadn’t been her sound barrier illusions being too weak that had given it away. Beyond being mortifying, Natalie didn’t want to be a terrible roommate, and she and Jordan weren’t all that quiet.

  “Ah,” Sofia said. “So you two are doing that. It was just a guess.”

  Natalie internally groaned. Well, that had been an obvious trap. Though she supposed it wasn’t a top-secret piece of information. Back when Natalie had talked about experimenting with [Stylish], everyone’s eyes had turo Jordan. Everyone knew something was going oween them.

  “Are you leading to something?” Natalie asked, a bit a having been pyed. “And turn back around. Let me see your ass.”

  Sofia’s hands had goo her waistband to pull down her pants, and she paused, gred, but ultimately did as she’d been told. Natalie was given a great view as Sofia stripped off her lower yer. What Sofia cked up top—and she really didn’t ck that much—she made up doubly lower down.

  “It doesn’t make sense how fat that thing is,” Natalie said. “Seriously, what’s up with you? Some girls get all the luck.”

  “Says you?”

  “Says me?”

  Sofia shook her head, exasperated. She stuffed her uniform into her locker and quickly got to dressing herself. Her shame was reag its limits, it seemed—she couldn’t stand around in her undergarments and take Natalie’s teasing. Natalie sidered tellio slow down, but decided against it.

  “And yes,” Sofia said. “I was leading to something. I want to know if my theory is right. That your css works that way.”

  “Being ‘rewarded for intimacy’?”

  “Yes.”

  Natalie sidered refusing to tell her, but she said, “Yeah. It does. It was a good guess.”

  Sofia seemed satisfied at having figured it out. She hadn’t had much to go on, so Natalie was impressed she’d pieced it together.

  “How does it work specifically, though?”

  “It’s kind of a whole system. I gather energy and spend it to upgrade skills.”

  Natalie watched with some amusement as Sofia struggled to fit herself inside her pants. Jordan had made a joke a while ago about how Sofia must need pulleys to get herself in, and it was nearly true. It made a pretty amazing show. Half because Sofia was so flustered with having a spectator, and the other half for the obvious reasons.

  “Upgrade skills,” Sofia said, finally stuffing herself in. “What do you mean? Temporary boosts?”

  “No. Perma ones. And they’re pretty rge.”

  Unsurprisingly, Sofia was stu the reveal—and ied enough she seemed to halfway fet her circumstances. She shrugged on her shirt, unfortunately ending the show, and faatalie. “You’re posed for an impressive future, if that’s true.”

  “Hopefully.”

  “I’m ied iails, but I assume you don’t want to get into them. Not the exacts.”

  Natalie shrugged. She’d rather not. It simply didn’t involve Sofia.

  “But thank you for tellihe basics,” Sofia said. “I was curious.” She sat on the bend started pulling her shoes on. “I ’t believe nobody walked in on us. We really got lucky.”

  They had, but it also wouldn’t have been a big deal. “Like I said, I had illusions if someone did.”

  “I’ve seen you use those,” Sofia said dubiously. “They wouldn’t be nearly potent enough to fool someone.”

  “They’re stronger when used for certain purposes,” Natalie said, her lips quirking. “So, yes, we would’ve been fine. I’ve gotten away with more.” Namely, pounding into Jordan hard enough to nearly break a bedframe—and it might have been Jordan that was louder than the creaking wood, there.

  Sofia stared at her, then shook her head. “Of course they work that way. Your css is really unbelievable.”