I can’t say for sure, but I think we got Millie and Liz home some time before four, much to their discontent.

It wasn’t so much that they essentially had a mandated bedtime and I didn’t, and more that none of us were particularly tired.

In fact, as we pulled chunk after chunk of metal from the bizarre contraption and transported it back to the Trove we really started to get a groove on.

As I said though, that was before Millie and Liz went to bed and I was left on my own to find a whole new pattern, Connie having decided it would be better for her to hang around the site chopping and grinding until we’d loaded up the final lot.

Not trying to complain, but damn if it weren’t a slut and a half to get the job done on my own.

But hey, some sore joints and exhaustion were certainly better than taking Millie and Liz home in my pockets.

“And that’s…” I grunted as I dumped the last piece of the infernal machine, a particularly heavy spring, into the Trove, “the last of it…”

The sun had come up hours prior, my upper eyelids having turned into anvils not long after, and I was genuinely worried that the muscles in my arms and legs had somehow atrophied.

“Good job, Connie,” I groaned after plopping on my ass next to the Trove, the patient robot waiting for her next order behind the van, “how long you reckon before Nolan’s up?”

“I’m up with the sun,” Nolan replied walking out from around the side of the cabin, a cup of coffee in each hand, “didn’t want to stop you from doing what you were doin’ though. Coffee?”

“Only if I can mainline it through my eyeballs,” I half-joked, accepting one of the cups with my shaky hands, “you stick your nose in?”

“On the Trove?” Nolan asked as I gave up on trying to force my body to stand, “Oh yeah, few times. Frankly, I’m astounded you managed to pull that much from the… thing.”

“The thing was pretty huge,” I replied with tired amusement after burning my tongue with the coffee, “speaking of, I think Connie’s running a bit low on fuel. I can head into town and-”

“I’ll grab some more for her later,” Nolan said, waving me off, “you need sleep.”

“That noticeable, huh?” I chuckled weakly.

“Just a bit,” Nolan replied with a friendly smile, “reckon you’ll be able to sleep through some construction?”

“I could sleep through a parade at this point,” I said, leaning the back of my head against the Trove, “how come?”

“Figured we could get a start today,” Nolan said, “with everything we’ve got, I may actually be able to have this thing up by the end of the night. Well, Connie will.”

“I know the girls’ll be happy with that,” I replied shortly before my phone shocked my system with two harsh vibrations, “Christ…”

“What is it?” Nolan asked concernedly as I pulled the phone out of my pocket and saw a message from my sister above a reminder to level up.

“Just a text,” I said, opening and reading it as I did, before sighing and rubbing my eyes, “Gwen wants to meet for breakfast.”

“Tell her you can’t go,” Nolan replied while I polished the rest of the hot coffee off, the morning chill having brought it down to a safer temperature, “it’s not like you’d be lying.”

“Nah,” I groaned, shakily raising to my feet, “it’s been a while since we talked, and I doubt she’d be up before midday for something unimportant.”

Nolan clicked his tongue at that but saw there was clearly no changing my mind, “Alright, I’m driving though.”

I scoffed and shook my head, “I’m sure I can-”

“You’ll kill yourself or someone else,” Nolan said more firmly, “trust me, bud, you’ll regret it if you try and make the drive on your own. ‘Sides, I got to get Connie fuel.”

“I don’t…” I trailed off, struggling to focus on the phone in my hand, “Thanks. Mind if I shower off though? Don’t want to rock up smellin’ like Chupa’ meat and sweat.”

“Go ahead,” Nolan replied, clearly glad I hadn’t decided to fight him on the chauffeuring, “I’ll get Connie set up, give her an opportunity to get a head start on construction. Might take a while.”

“Sounds good to me.” I yawned distractedly as I struggled to text Gwen back, my thumbs somehow managing to hit every key but the one I wanted.

As an aside, I miss when phones had buttons.

And weren’t in my pocket all the damn time.

And didn’t have updates.

Pointless griping at the wonders of modern technology aside, I somehow managed to slip downstairs, grab the toiletries, go back upstairs, and shower, all without realizing I’d forgotten to grab a towel or an extra set of clothes.

On the plus side, the chill did a good job of keeping me conscious.

On the not so plus side, I’m pretty sure the scrambled run to the cabin shaved a few years off my life and made my testicles semi-permanently ascend a good half-an-inch.

“Coming to bed?” Liz yawned from the edge of the bed without lifting her head from her pillow.

“Not quite yet,” I replied disappointedly, leaning against the ladder, letting my newly booted foot fall with a heavy thud on concrete, “got to head into town for a minute.”

“Sounds fun,” Liz said with a few forced winks before propping herself up on her elbow, revealing she was nude under the blanket and that her hair was still slightly wet from the shower she’d had when they’d gotten back, “want a little pick-me-up?”

“Going to need a minute before I have any more coffee,” I replied, feeling guiltier by the second for waking her, “probably going to have some more when I get into town as well and would rather avoid the heart attack.”

“That’s all well and good,” Liz said, smiling as slyly as she could manage, “but I wasn’t thinking about coffee.”

After a few moments I tilted my head, hoping that she’d explain further, before my sloth brain caught up.

“Oh…” I trailed off before looking the inviting but clearly physically exhausted Liz up and down, “Sure you’re up for that?”

“I’m not talking about sex.” Liz replied amusedly, rolling her eyes.

“Then what are you talking about?” I asked, not bothering to hide my utter cluelessness.

“Why don’t you get over here so I can show you?” Liz sultrily, if still somewhat tiredly, suggested as she sat all the way up and let the blanket fall off her body.

Unable to deny her at the best of times, I found myself slowly walking over to her, overtly aware of just how loud my boots were against the concrete floor as I needlessly did my best not to wake up the borderline comatose Millie.

“There’s no need to worry about waking her up,” Liz assured me after I’d already come to stand against the wall, “between the work we did last night and the, ahem, ‘workout’ we had when we got down here, she’s out.”

“Always missing out on the fun parts.” I lightheartedly muttered, still not having put the pieces together in my head even as Liz grabbed my jeans and pulled me closer to her.

What can I say? Between my relatively low Int and the lack of sleep, I was having trouble putting two and two together.

“That’s what got me thinking that it’d be for the best if you didn’t,” Liz said, sitting sidesaddle and tracing her fingers up and down my thighs through my jeans, “after all, it was pretty sweet of you to make sure we were home nice and early.”

“It was that or getting around with you in a couple of plastic bags.” I joked and immediately regretted, “Sorry, just kind of surprised by the… spontaneity of this.”

“Not really all that spontaneous,” Liz replied, finding the hardening bulge in my pants and gently kneading it with her palm, “we just decided that the next one to see you should do the right thing.”

“The right thing?” I asked, “I’m pretty sure our last little tumble put more than enough points in the bank.”

“Are you trying to talk your way out of a blowjob?” Liz chuckled, stopping what she was doing, “I mean, if you’re not up for it…”

“It’s not that,” I said, trying hard not to sound too eager, “it’s just that… I don’t know, I feel a little guilty.”

“Guilty?” Liz replied amusedly, slowly restarting her slow but firm stroking, “Why?”

“I just… I feel like there’s been a whole lot of this and not a whole lot of… reciprocity.” I explained.

Liz outright giggled at that, stopping just short of waking up Millie, before looking up at me with love in her eyes, “You ever stop to think that might have more to do with the fact that we’re presently stuck in a hole in the ground and not that you’re a selfish lover?” she asked, “You are one of the sweetest, most caring men I’ve ever had the pleasure to know, but it wouldn’t hurt you to be a bit more assertive.”

“Assertive?” I chuckled, “Sounds risky.”

“Well, confident,” Liz clarified, “sexually, at least. You have to realize that we’re just as into this as you are.”

“I don’t know about that,” I half-joked, a groan escaping my lips as I did, “seriously though, you have to see it from my position, right?”

“Oh, shit yeah,” Liz agreed knowingly, pushing a little harder against my cock and smiling as I cupped her cheek in my hand in response, “I mean, the last thing you’d want to do is put us off, right?”

“Right.” I said with a nod, a shudder of delight running through my body as Liz took my thumb in her mouth and sucked.

Hands down, that has to be one of the nicest ways I’ve been told to shut up.