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A couple of months flew by incredibly fast.
Working for Regina was extremely dangerous, but also extremely profitable. It just happened that I decided against buying a vehicle. Instead, I made a deal with Panam that she would be my driver for twenty percent of the expected reward. And so, here we were, driving back from another job.
"Shit, I think I'll never get used to how easy you make everything look…"
I gave a sad smirk.
"Easy? Panam, I've worked like a dog for this 'easy,' and to be honest, I'd trade all this ease and a comfortable life for a quiet life as a tech."
"So what's stopping you?"
"The fact that it's impossible in Night City."
I sighed.
"The City of Dreams. It sounds pretty ironic, since for some reason, Militech and Arasaka's interests have converged on this city, and they're butting heads over it as if the world revolves around it. And people suffer. The moment I give up my solo career and just become a tech, I'll either become a victim of a gang shootout or run into a crazy client who's not happy with the cost of my work. In both cases, the result is corpses…"
I shrugged.
"So what's the point of leaving the solo life if nothing will change?"
"What about moving to another city?"
Panam looked at me with interest.
"Well, it should be better there, of course, but by how much?"
"You don't think it'll be much?"
"I'm almost certain."
I shrugged.
"…if it's not Arasaka and Militech, it'll be others. Other gangs. And there, I won't know who I can trust and who I can't. Well, there's one more reason…"
"One more?"
"Uh-huh… I won't have two amazing friends there, Panam and Judy."
"You bastard…"
Panam took her hand off the wheel and punched my shoulder.
"You could have left out that other friend… you ruined the moment!"
"Come on…"
I smirked.
"…I'm not of any interest to Judy. So you don't need to be jealous…"
"Yeah, yeah… Wait! I'm not jealous!"
"Panam, who are you trying to fool? I know you're attracted to me…"
I placed my hand on her thigh and gently stroked it, but I didn't move my hand to her inner thigh or any higher.
Tch…
She followed my hand with her eyes.
"…don't push it."
"Panam… I know you're not ready yet, and that's why I'm not going to overstep. But a light touch like this shouldn't bother you."
She sighed.
"David…"
"Come on, Panam, I was actually planning on inviting you over… I have homemade pizza and some good mead…"
The girl's eyes lit up, and she gave me an extremely interested look.
"And I have some shish kebab marinating in the fridge that we can cook on an electric grill…"
I had built all of these appliances, including a small fridge, myself. And all the parts were from the city junkyard, with Panam's help.
"Shish kebab?"
"Uh-huh, I got some real meat through Regina…"
She licked her lips.
"You're not gonna try anything, are you?"
"What do you take me for?!"
I was extremely indignant at her question.
"Of course, I will!"
Pffff…
"It's just that you've already tried my mead, and you know it's not very alcoholic. It has less alcohol than beer. So, if you think I'm going too far…"
Panam sighed.
"Fine… But if you do, I'm giving you a punch in the eye…"
"No problem…"
I shrugged and touched her shoulder.
"…turn here, we're going to the megabuilding parking lot."
Panam nodded, licking her lips. I had brought her some of my cooking a couple of times in the morning, and she knew I cooked very well. We pulled into the parking lot, and after going up to the right floor, we left the car. I paid for parking for the whole night.
"Well, let's go…"
I waved her over, and she followed me out of the parking lot and walked to my apartment.
"Hey, David!"
I silently waved to the short girl from the next apartment. I hadn't really gotten along with her or her crew. Well, with her specifically, it was more or less fine, and I had crossed paths with the blonde a couple of times, but the others…
They scowl at the sight of me. I don't give a shit, though.
"Ignoring me again?"
She looked at me intently, but I just walked past her and, opening the door, let Panam go in first.
Ugh…
"Hey, Becca, as you can see, I'm doing great. I've got a girlfriend now… I hope everything's going well for you, too?"
"Yeah… ah…"
But I had already gone inside and closed the apartment door.
"What was that all about?"
"My neighbor, Rebecca, a solo who works with Maine."
"Hmm…"
"He's not the most famous solo, but his crew is effective and has a reputation. Though the guy is seriously obsessed with chrome and could snap soon if he doesn't stop."
Hmm… Panam nodded at the door and sat down on the couch I gestured to.
"And Becca is too much. If I had started talking to her before I got to my apartment door, we wouldn't be sitting here right now."
"Got it…"
Panam nodded, and I went to the small corner I had converted into a kitchen. Taking a pizza out of the freezer, I put it in the oven. I also put the shish kebab on the electric grill, and in my hands was a small two-liter bottle of mead, which I put on the table along with some small sandwiches.
"Well…"
Pouring the mead into tall glasses, I clinked glasses with Panam.
"…to my best partner!"
"Don't sweet-talk me…"
But despite her words, Panam smirked and took her first sip of the drink, closing her eyes in pleasure. I grabbed the remote, turned down the lights a little, and put on some classical music.
"Daviiid…"
"Yeah, yeah?"
I topped up her mead and sat closer, picking up one of the sandwiches from the plate and bringing it to her mouth.
"I'm not… ahem…"
She bit into the sandwich, nodding at me gratefully. Then I ate the rest of the small sandwich myself.
"…what are you doing, huh?"
"I'm wooing a beautiful girl, which is also a way of gently influencing her understanding of the situation and her perception of the world."
"And you'll even tell me what you're hoping for?"
"I will."
I nodded.
"Tonight, I'm hoping for a couple of hot kisses, and for you to stay the night with me."
She frowned slightly, and I put a finger to her lips, stopping her from saying what was on her mind about what I had just said.
"To clarify, not to sleep with me—though I wouldn't say no to sleeping in the same bed—but to stay the night. Just sleep, no sex, but maybe with a couple, or three, or a dozen hot kisses."
She sighed.
"I'm still too sober for this shit…"
For a while, we just enjoyed the taste of the mead. Panam ate the sandwiches that I fed her, until the oven beeped and I went to get the pizza.
"Smells amazing…"
Panam sniffed. When I brought the pizza to the table and sliced it, she didn't wait. She grabbed the first piece and took a greedy bite.
Mmm…
She closed her eyes and, chewing it with pleasure, swallowed.
"…It's divine!"
"I'm glad you liked it."
"You know, if you keep feeding me like this, I might just stay here and live with you."
Panam gave me a cheeky smirk.
"I wouldn't mind…"
I smiled softly at her, and Panam's eyes widened in shock.
"…so if the only issue is good food, then stay here and live with me."
"I was just joking, you know…"
"I wasn't."
I shrugged.
"I really would be happy if you stayed here."
"I… let's not rush things…"
"Alright."
We ate the pizza very quickly, and then the shish kebab was ready. After that, Panam couldn't resist. She grabbed the scruff of my neck and kissed me. But just as she was about to pull away, I wrapped my arms around her, slid my tongue into her mouth, and started a battle of tongues.
"You bastard…"
That was her first word after the long kiss, but I didn't give her long to think. I kissed her again, but this time, Panam gave herself to the moment with as much enthusiasm as I did.
"And what are you doing to me?"
"Me?"
I picked up a piece of meat and quickly held it out to Panam. She bit off half of the piece, and I ate the other half.
"I'm trying to show you that staying here for the night is a very good and smart idea…"
"I don't know, I don't know…"
She shook her head but happily responded to the next kiss. During the kiss, she moved onto my lap. And the next time, she was the one taking a piece of meat from the table, and I would bite off half of it, and she would eat the rest.
"Am I succeeding?"
"For now, I'm leaning toward the idea that staying the night with you isn't the worst idea…"
The next kiss was much longer, and I let my hands gently run along the girl's back and shoulders.
"Keep your hands to yourself…"
Panam said this to me when I bit off another piece of meat.
"Who, me? I'm not doing anything…"
I shook my head…
The evening was wonderful, and when we had eaten everything, I gave Panam my bed, and after clearing the plates, I lay down on the couch.
"Hey, David…"
"Yeah?"
"Are you asleep yet?"
"No, beautiful…"
"Are you comfortable there?"
"Not really…"
She sighed.
"Alright… come on, let's sleep together, but no funny business with your hands!"
I got up from the couch and went to the bed, which I immediately climbed into.
"Come here…"
I opened my arms slightly, and Panam looked at me with a frown.
"Panam, you called me yourself. The bed isn't that big, and we can't count on a comfortable sleep if we don't spoon. So come here, my little prickly pear, I'll hold you, and we'll sleep."
She sighed, moved closer to me a little, and nestled into my arms. The night promised to be a difficult one because of the need for self-control, and a very pleasant one because of the girl who would be sleeping next to me.
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