The Cost of Being Special (Survival of the Fittest Book 1) Read online

  Kyle cleared his throat carefully. “Why are you telling me this? I mean, you seem nice, but this is all sorts of personal.”

  Lily rolled her shoulders in a mild shrug, then smiled. “I find it’s nice to be open. Most people come in here need to talk about something insanely personal about themselves. Sickness. Or a hidden injury. Almost always it’s some blow to their pride. Doctors and nurses can be awfully intimidating. Call this my effort to level the playing field before you fulfill the FDPC’s requirements right in front of me.”

  “What is the FDPC after…? Oh, right!”

  “That’s right, Kyle. Your twentieth birthday was yesterday, which means your mandated fertility test needs to happen.” She turned to a supply cabinet and muddled about. A few seconds later, she produced a sample cup and a bottle of sensual lubrication. “Trust me, there isn’t much to it. I’ll ensure the sample gets into the FDPC for processing within a couple hours. They’ll have the results by this afternoon.”

  Kyle couldn’t help swallowing nervously. Holy crap. I mean, I’m nowhere near to the point of wanting to be a father. But I’m about to find out if Persterim has cut my balls off for the rest of my life! The CDC isn’t even close to a cure, last time I heard. This was it. It was crushingly final.

  He swallowed again, trying to clear his suddenly dry throat. “I mean, right now? Here?”

  Lily tugged open a small door to reveal a narrow bathroom attached to the first-aid station. “Well, in here, actually.” She shrugged, smiling encouragingly. “If it would make you more comfortable, you could go to the male washroom two doors down to the right.”

  “Ack. That might be even worse.” He wasn’t sure he wanted to explain. First, he could mention that there was going to be someone else in that washroom. That was just his kind of luck. He also didn’t want to describe the horrid failure of the janitorial staff to keep he place clean. The thought of ‘rubbing one out’ while smelling old garbage and dried feces was enough to kill his libido.

  “Oh.”

  He scrambled for another idea, “Can I take it home?”

  Lily was sad to disappoint him. “You really can’t. There is a time element. I have to have it in the processor almost immediately.” She tapped her fingernails on the desk, then skimmed her eyes up and down his body. Her gorgeous blue eyes fixed on him. “There’s another option.”

  For some reason, he suddenly had the impression that he was swimming in the deep end. “Wh - what?”

  She sucked her lower lip in and captured it in a sexy, suggestive little bite. “I get it. People get nervous. This isn’t exactly the best place to… you know… perform. Maybe I can offer a little… ummm… inspiration?”

  What did she just say?

  But Lily wasn’t waiting to explain. She reached up and took delicate hold of her lab-dress’s zipper. Drawing it down in one smooth motion, she pushed the thick white dress off and let it fall to the ground around her feet. Then, she pulled at the hem of her pink blouse, rising it up and over her head. With a sexy flourish, she tossed it away. The two motions left her standing in a pink-and-white bra and the matching panties below, accented by the white panty-hose ending at the top of her thighs.

  Kyle was mesmerized. Every stitch of clothing she removed made her that much sexier. Her breasts were small but perfect for her lithe body. Whether from her medical background or her own personality, she had absolutely no shame in her nakedness. Her blatant confidence glowed from her pores and enhanced her appeal a hundred-fold. “Ohh, wow!”

  “Like what you see? Is that inspiration enough?”

  Holy crap, does she want me to… to… like, right here in front of her? He gawked at her, not sure this was better or worse! His erection was painful in his jeans. That much was true! But the idea of pulling his jeans open and pawing at himself in front of this insanely hot woman was crazy! Words failed him again. “I-ahhh… gaiahhh… urmmm…” He pointed at the door behind him, the door of the bathroom, and… well, he didn’t know where he was pointing.

  Lily pursed her lips, mockingly stern as she took a bold step toward him. “This is a required test, Mr. Hutchings. A necessary one. You know the law. It isn’t a choice. And I don’t want to lose out. You have no idea how far I’m willing to go to get what I want.” She grew another seductive smile. “Trust me, you’ll enjoy it.”

  She was getting closer, and Kyle kept getting harder. He was sure his jeans were going to explode open right in front of her. He didn’t have any sort of smooth charm with women. They were beautiful, mysterious, lovely creatures that never failed to send him into a tail-spin.

  He had no response at all when she slipped a hand down and cupped the bulge of his manhood through his jeans. She gave a throaty murmur of approval. “Oh, my. I don’t think you have anything to be ashamed of in there.” Her clever fingers undid his button, then pried away the flaps. She nudged his jeans and underwear down over his hips far enough to spill his shaft into her waiting palm. Her tongue brushed unconsciously against her lips, moistening them. “Oh, nothing at all!”

  He melted into her touch. She pushed her one hand lower to cup his balls, while her first wrapped around his weighty shaft. Fondling both, Lily peered steamily into his eyes. “You know what I need, Mr. Hutchings. Give me… what I… need…” Her one hand parted from his balls long enough to up-end the lubrication bottle, dribbling a healthy dose over her hand and his phallus. Returning her second hand to him, she began to massage his entire cock in long, sensual pumping motions. Her lower hand would occasionally wander down over his balls again, sending tingles into his core, then return to double-piston him faster and faster toward an inevitable orgasm.

  For Kyle, the whole situation was totally out of control. A fantasy come alive. He was putty in Lily’s delicate yet firm hands. He grabbed onto a nearby shelf, doing his best to stay upright despite the weakness building in his knees. He groaned loudly, eyes rolling as intense pleasure began to build.

  Lily pressed closer, then placed a single kiss on his neck. She murmured in his ear, “I need you, Mr. Hutchings. I… really… need… you! Give it to me!” Her hands squelched around his shaft, so wet and tight inside her oiled fingers. She milked him while brushing her silk-covered legs against him and brushing her perky breasts against his shirt.

  He couldn’t stand it. Overwhelmed, the roar of an orgasm filled his whole being. It was on a whole new level from his typical self-abuse that was part of any guy’s life. Gasping loudly, he closed his eyes and erupted onto the skin of her forearm.

  Reacting with a sexy little moan, Lily grinned. “There you are!” She didn’t stop right away, instead pumping him a few more times for a couple more bursts of cum. It had been a few days since he’d last been motivated to masturbate, so there was more than a little stored up inside. She did her best to get it all.

  Then, with almost clinical precision, she swept in the sample cup and scooped the dollops of his emissions off her arm. Gathering all she could, Lily snapped the lid closed and placed it on the shelf. Then, with a wicked gleam in her eye, she brought the arm up to her lips and licked the rest into her mouth. Swirling her tongue, she cleaned herself until the salty cream was gone. “Mmmm, you’re yummy.”

  Kyle sank against the wall. “Th – that… that was… incre… I mean… wow… it was –”

  Lily reached up and placed a finger along his lips. “– was something we won’t tell anyone about ever, right?”

  Gulping, recognizing she could probably get in trouble, he nodded. “No, of course. I don’t know why… why you would risk that… but, thanks. That was beyond anything.”

  Lily glowed at the compliment. “What a sweet-heart you are.” She gave him a flirty smile, then turned and took the sample cup again. She plopped it into a nearby machine and commanded it to start whatever process it needed to accomplish. Then, she tossed him a wet rag and stuck her own hands under her station’s sink.

  Kyle’s head thumped back against the wall. A part of him realized he was st
ill hanging out, but he was far too much of a wreck to recover quite yet. That, and while his erection was a little less throbbing, it was still semi-hard from seeing Lily walk around in her undergarments. The benefits of youth, he guessed; he could totally do that again right now. Or… more.

  But while Lily was giving him fond looks, she didn’t look ready for anything else. Instead, she slowly worked her nurse’s dress back up her legs, over her hips and shoulders, then zipped it closed. She didn’t put on the blouse; indeed, she was fanning her face, as if it was far too hot in the little first-aid station all of a sudden. The blouse would have cooked her.

  Moving about the room, she plucked another small device out of a cabinet. It looked a little like a cross between a gun and a needle holder. Kyle had seen that type of injector device before. It was meant to sink FDPC implants into whoever needed one. He had been fifteen last time he had seen one, and he had pretty much ignored all the details. Lily came close to him, then placed it carefully on the shelf. “I hate to do this to you. I know it is sort of shifting gears. But it has to be done.” She smiled kindly. “I know it can be intimidating.”

  Her kindness set him at ease, despite the fact she was so intensely close. And he was still hanging out past his jeans. His thick shaft and glans brushed against the outside of her lab coat. “You have no idea.” He shook his head. “I mean, my sex life hasn’t exactly been this…”

  “Experimental?” Lily suggested with a mildly wicked smile.

  “Awesome,” is what he settled on, then laughed. “You know how first times can be. Mine wasn’t any better. Then there was this one girl who licked me a little, but it got sort of strange. She didn’t like my hair down there; which I guess I understand. It was so awkward. She never finished, and wow, I was sure nothing sexy would ever happen to me again after that.” Why am I telling her this? Am I this nervous?

  Lily only smiled, not mocking him at all. “Is that why you shaved down there? Odd for a young guy. I was a little surprised.” She quickly added, “In a nice way!”

  He shrugged. “Maybe that’s part of the reason. I also practice a martial art where you spar and wrestle and stuff. Not that anyone would grab you down there, but I feel a lot cleaner the less hair I have all over.”

  She rewarded him with another smile. “Slow starters often end up being the best. They value what they didn’t have growing up instead of taking it for granted.” Her hands reached in again and gathered his manhood in her hands. With a softly erotic wrestle, she managed to tuck him back into his underwear and seal his jeans overtop. Then, she gave one last fond pat over the material. “The monster’s back in his cage.” A luscious smile appeared on her lips. “Nothing… at all… to be ashamed of down there. Hear me? Have a little confidence, Kyle. There are quite a few women who would be happy to meet your nice friend there.”

  He laughed in spite of it all. His whole world was being tossed on its ear.

  Lily retrieved the injector from the shelf. “Now, this? This is an FDPC locator. It breaks down inside the body over time. We get one implanted every five years. Normally, it just does a census count and reports vital signs. You know why we’re watching the population levels so closely, right? If your life-signs stop or show any distress like in a heart-attack, it will automatically send out a beacon to emergency services. Coverage is pretty much world-wide now. I’m sure you could get lost in a bunch of mountains or down in a cave that will cause you to drop off the grid, but there aren’t many places like that left. The locators have priority over every other telecom service.”

  She pushed it into the meat of his shoulder and activated the trigger. The pill-sized locator was blasted under his skin with a rush of slicing air. It stung, but it was over fast. She dabbed at the entry wound with a piece of gauze, continuing, “There are a couple other functions, but they won’t come into play unless your Persterim infection test comes out negative. But you know the odds of that. If you have any questions, come see me.”

  He returned a numb nod. Then, he managed to ask, “How will I find out the official results?”

  Lily gave him a kind smile. “Trust me, you’ll find out soon enough. An FDPC agent should contact you either way within 24 hours, just to see how you are doing. If that hasn’t happened after two days, it’s because they are busier than usual. In that case, you can be sure the test was positive and you are just like most others in the population. There’s no way they will miss contacting anyone who shows any sign of fertility.”

  He let out a shaky breath. He was finally starting to come back down to normal. “Alright. Ahh… ummm…” He met her eyes, and suddenly the nerves all went away. Sincerity gave him strength. “Thanks, Lily. I’m not sure I could have made it through this without you.”

  She smiled again. “You’re sweet. Now, remember, not a word?”

  “You have my word.”

  She caressed his cheek fondly. Then, she said, “Then have fun in class. I need to get back to studying. That is, if I can manage it. I suddenly have… a lot on my mind.” Her eyes flickered down to his still-mostly-hard erection hidden in his jeans. Giggling, enjoying giving him one last burst of confidence, she turned and swayed back to her desk.

  Kyle fled before he did anything truly stupid.

  * * *

  Claire bumped open the door to the FDPC field office with her rounded bum, holding it so she could swing the coffee tray through. It was already after ten in the morning, and she was running a little late. She settled the cluster of four cups on Stan’s desk and handed him the one with two sugars. “Any news?”

  Stan passed her the hard-copy duplicates of the electronic files he had already dumped into her computer. “Four tests delivered. One from Longland. One from Lionsgate Tech. Two from Hugo Memorial. Apparently, their scheduled test showed up at the free clinic not long after it opened, and their mobile unit collected one from Mr. Herald out at his farm at his request, as he couldn’t come into town.”

  Amazed, Claire could only shake her head. “Will wonders never cease? Usually people ignore those envelopes like they contain jury duty notices.” She strolled around the divider and handed the two agents their coffee. It wasn’t that she liked them. But it was her turn to buy. “Any order you want me to do the tests in?” She was feeling generous. Might as well extend an olive branch.

  Jack ignored her. He took the coffee with a soft ‘thanks’ without any heart behind it.

  Jill briefly considered a map of the small city and surrounding county. “If you could prioritize Mr. Tasker and Mr. Herald, that would be most efficient. They are the ones who live outside of town. Better to get to them before traffic gets bad at the end of the day. We can get to Mr. Hutchings and Mr. Montpellier at our convenience.” She didn’t wait for Claire to agree or not. Assuming it would happen, Jill focused back on her work.

  Claire grinded her teeth. Why do I bother? And why do these two stick with this job? If it pisses them off so much, what keeps them chugging along from day to day? I couldn’t hate my life like that! They must seriously believe in this whole cause and what we’re doing here. At least we have that in common. Putting the frustration behind her, she focused on the work ahead. It was important work, and work that she enjoyed.

  The only problem was: more than likely, it would be four more men who couldn’t help their species survive.

  Chapter 3

  The rest of the morning passed in a haze for Kyle. High on endorphins, he didn’t register a single word in Mr. Reynolds economics class. His literature class didn’t go much better, though a sharp word from Dr. Crayman urged him back toward normality. Crayman was a bitter man, and didn’t like glassy faces that weren’t paying attention. Lunch gave Kyle a chance to reset. He munched thoughtfully on his sandwich, finished with a healthy dose of orange juice, and was feeling much more like his normal self by the time Practical Electronics rolled around.

  That class needed him to keep a level head on his shoulders. The prof was a prickly technician who insisted the cla
ss call him Mike. He would probably catch any serious errors before the students fried themselves. Then again, there was no guarantee of that. Drifting in a haze was a good way to get electrocuted, and this was not the day he wanted to die. Not since I’ve already seen a slice of heaven!

  By fortune as much as skill, he survived. That brought him to his favorite part of every Monday.

  History class.

  For a very specific, totally wonderful reason.

  He jaunted into class in a great mood. As per normal, his goods mood was nearly spoiled as he shuffled past the desks at the front of the class. His irritation wasn’t anything new. Same bullshit, different pile.

  Four girls with precisely done hair and designers clothes were huddled together in a knot, giggling and chatting. They coolly averted their eyes before any sort of accidental eye-contact could be made. Not a devastating insult; just dismissing him so they didn’t have to acknowledge his existence.

  Except this time, not all of them did. This time, almost by accident, he caught the eyes of Danielle Nyqvist.

  The sight of her always brought a twinge of regret. It was a shame. He remembered her when she wasn’t one of ‘the elite’. When she had moved into the area from overseas, they had actually flirted with being friends in the early days of middle school. His experience with women was totally untested back then, and he’d entertained immediate fantasies of where things could go with the beautiful girl. She’d been well-mannered but honest, funny and light-hearted.

  Then the hooks of ‘high society girls’ had dragged her into their clique. Oh, she was stunning enough. There was no doubt why the ‘beautiful people’ of the school wanted her in their circle. Blonde hair fell to the middle of her back; she had the slim yet athletic arms of a cheerleader; and to top it off today, she wore a prim, blue dress that was tasteful, expensive and sexy while still being meticulously proper.