Complete 18+ Private Untouched

[Yugam]

Valeria pushed her cup of tea towards Ari whilst describing it to him. The man picked up the cup, condensation making it slick as droplets of water collected on it's outer walls, and took a small sip. "Mm, that is good," the man said as he set the cup back on Valeria's side of the table. It was just the right amount of sweet, just as she'd described, mingling with the earthy, herbal flavor of the tea itself.

Ari placed one half of his sandwich into Valeria's paper wrap, trading it for a half of the Orchard before taking a bite of the half of the Classic he held. Valeria shot him a slightly troubled look. "Hmm? Nah, don't worry about it," the man said, covering his mouth, still full of food, with a hand. "You should try the Classic too, nothin' beats a...well, a classic," the man said with a short laugh. "So uh, did you wanna go see some shows together and hang out a bit today, still, or...?"
She blinked for a moment before chuckling lightly. "I'd hope so, would be pretty insulted if you just dumped me after walking to the park~"
Ari couldn't help but chuckle and response, "Okay, fair. I just, ya know, thought I'd check after last night and all."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

He reassured her that it wasn’t a big issue, before moving on to make a silly joke regarding his sandwich options. "Pffft, you really went there huh?" The laughter that followed was light and airy, before she placed down her half of the Big Orchard to pick up the Classic half that Ari had exchanged over.

She took a bit of it before humming in appreciation, it really was a good sandwich, though if Valeria had to choose between them the blond was leaning slightly closer to the Orchard option instead. The blonde was taking another sip of her tea when Ari decided to float a question in her direction, causing Valeria to blink at the man before chuckling lightly.

Her answer netted the girl a chuckle from the man in response, but before she could bite again into the Classic his next words reached her ears. They caused the girl to pause as the elephant in the room was suddenly pulled up front and center.

"W-What about last night? We were just tired and fell asleep, n-no biggie…"

For the first time since they’d met Valeria had found herself not looking Ari straight in the eyes as she spoke. A hand reached for her drink, already feeling the best pooling on her cheeks as they turned a rosy hue, before taking a long sip in the hopes that it would maybe cool her off before Aristotle noticed…

Unlikely as that was.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Ah...well...uh..." the man stuttered, suddenly finding the paper wrapping very interesting. Had she...forgotten? Ari hadn't thought that either of them were that drunk last night. If half a bottle of sake had knocked Valeria on her ass, she must've been an incredible lightweight, though Ari doubted it. Maybe she just didn't want to bring it up again, which was more understandable.

"Nevermind," he finally said, reaching over and grabbing his coffee and taking a sip. "You're right, I must've just had a weird dream or something."

Mentally, Ari was kicking himself for even bothering to bring up the night before. Of course it would be an awkward conversation. How could it be anything but. They'd just met, and a whole myriad of things had happened over the course of a day. Hell, just that night. Better to forget it anyways. The week would end, they'd go there separate ways, and this would all just be a pleasant memory. No reason to complicate it.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

Ari had caught her off-guard when he’d brought up the events of the night before unexpectedly, and Valeria had panicked in response. The words had blurted out of her mouth before she could even process them, and when the blonde finally realized how terribly misconstrued her message could be she had the mind to try and fix it.

"I—"
”Nevermind.”

A faint syllable had begun forming in her throat when Ari’s voice suddenly carried over to her ears. It caused her faintly parted lips to quickly seal shit in response, unspoken words dying inside her throat.

"You're right, I must've just had a weird dream of something."

Fuck…! Valeria cursed inwardly, the blonde mentally kicking herself for having dug a hole and also burying herself within it in one go. Besides, how could she bring herself to try and rebuke his words now… wasn’t this the best case scenario for the both of them? Chalk it all up to a weird dream, a weeklong fantasy, from which they would both eventually wake up once it came to a close… because there would be an end to it, she’d known that from the very start.

". . ."

That still didn’t lessen the sudden pressure she felt within her chest, the sharp feeling prompting Valeria to bring the sandwich back to her lips. Another bite was taken before she chewed in silence, the flavors that she had once enjoyed now dulled and almost forgotten as her mind focused on the myriad of thoughts and emotions coursing through her head and heart all in one go.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

The silence between them wore on for an uncomfortably long time. Ari stared at nothing in particular, eyes unfocused as he quietly at half a sandwich hardly aware of the way it tasted. He broke the cycle of chewing for a moment by picking up his coffee again and taking a sip before going back to the sandwich.

Finally, he broke the silence. "So, uh...anyone in particular you wanted to see today?" he asked, unsure of what else to talk about. Planning the day seemed like a decent place to start, if nothing else. Of course, there was always the possibility that Valeria would change her mind and decide to go off on her own, a thought that made Ari's chest tighten.

If that was the case though, what was a man to do? Carry on with his own plans, he supposed, though Ari doubted he'd enjoy himself nearly as much without Valeria there as well.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

It was the first time since meeting the man that an awkward stillness had befallen them, and Valeria quickly realized she absolutely disliked it. She’d been in the process of chewing another bite, her mind trying to figure out a way to break the ice, before Aristotle’s voice finally broke the uncomfortable silence that had dared to nestle itself between them.

"O-Oh… shoot, I forgot to look at today’s list!" She’d barely managed to swallow her bite before answering, the now half eaten Classic bialys placed down before Valeria fumbled to extract the phone out of her pocket. "Uuuh, let’s see… who’s playing today… ah, here we go, Tuesday’s schedule!"

She’d leaned forward on their table then, placing the device on an empty space between them so Ari could also glance at it, before her finger slowly swiped up on the screen as the girl carefully read the list. "Mmm... oh hey, it seems KOHH is playing this evening~" There was an excited smile to her lips as a manicured nail carefully tapped on the artist in question, before her gaze turned to look at Ari.

"What about you? See any artists you wanted to catch a peek at on today’s programming?"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Valeria seemed grateful, even glad for the break in silence. She was quick to pull out her phone and start scrolling through the day's setlists. The first one that Valeria pointed out was one they'd spoken about briefly the day before. Ari wasn't as familiar with them as Val was though. "KOHH doesn't sound like a bad start," Ari said with a distant nod, scrolling through the other artists. "Oh yeah, Illenium plays in the evening, if you still wanna go see him still," Ari suggested.

What other artists would be worth seeing today? To be honest, Ari didn't recognize many of them though one other one artist stuck out to the man. "Oh, how 'bout Quinn?" he asked with a hint of excitement. Ari had seen the man once a couple years ago, when he'd played a show at his school for an event. Quinn XCIII had been a favorite artist of Ari's for a long time, so the chance to see him not once, but twice, was something he just felt he couldn't pass up. "Looks like he plays right after KOHH."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"Of course! I wouldn’t dream of missing Illenium’s show this evening~"

The momentary uneasiness that had stubbornly clung to her shoulders slowly began to ebb away as their conversation continued, the smile that tugged at the corner of her lips relaxing once more. There was no need to complicate things with unnecessary thoughts, not when they were having such a good time together just like this—naturally and effortlessly.

"Quinn…?" Her eyes trailed to the name that Aristotle highlighted, the blonde tilting her head just slightly in questioning. "I’m not sure if I’ve heard them before… but if you say they’re good then we definitely shouldn’t miss them."

Bonus, it seemed their slot was shortly after KOHH—and by the looks of it they would have a decent amount of free time to grab a bite to eat afterwards shortly before the evening set of Illenium.

"That settles it then; we’ll catch Kohh, and later Quinn, after our brunch…" After all, it was way too late in the day to call this a breakfast. "... then we have a lil’ downtime to see what hidden gems we can find on the food trucks visiting today…" It would be a shame to simply miss out on the opportunity of trying new food items after all, and usually trucks tended to go extra hard on these events. "... and finally Illenium in the evening~"

Her gaze fixed back on Ari’s as she finished detailing the plans for the day, an excited glint shining in those eyes even as the blonde gave the man a cheeky little grin.

"Besides you promised to keep me company through it all yesterday," Sure, maybe she hadn’t been extremely specific about the terms of agreement regarding the time when the bargain had been struck the day before… but she certainly hadn’t limited it to only a day, either. "Right~?"

Future-Val could deal with whatever aftermath followed, but for now present-Val simply wanted to enjoy this summerfest—with Ari by her side.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"You haven't heard Quinn before?" the man asked out disbelief, though in truth he wasn't entirely surprised. Though he was a popular artist, Quinn wasn't exactly a worldwide wonder like Drake or The Weeknd. Even still, Yu had met more than a handful of people who'd known who he was and liked his music. "Alright, well, you'll be in for a treat later today," Ari said with a smile before popping the last of the sandwiches into his mouth and balling up the paper wrap, tossing it into the brown paper bag it'd come in.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Ari said with a smile and a nod as Valeria went over what they were going to do with their day. The food trucks would offer a nice break from all the standing and walking. And also hopefully give their poor eardrums a much needed rest at that point.

Valeria glanced over to him as he picked up his coffee and took another sip, a mischievous little grin on her face as she gently teased him. Ari couldn't help but chuckle, the return of Valeria's impish habits amusing to the man. The man leaned across the table slightly, mischievous smile of his own on his lips as he spoke. "Careful, or you might get more than you bargained for," he teased back.

The smile slowly faded from his lips though as he leaned back into his chair again. Ari wasn't entirely sure where the line was drawn anymore, in the wake of last night, but even still he'd fallen so easily into the same playful teasing that they'd kept up with since they'd met. Was that still ok? Ari figured it was, at the very least, if Valeria was initiating it. The man's eyes had drifted away from the girl as he'd thought, only to flit back to her as he'd realized, giving her a small smile to assure her nothing was wrong. "Whenever you're done, I'll take out the trash," he said, changing the subject.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"I don’t think so…?" At last the name by itself wasn’t ringing any bells inside the blonde’s mind, despite the effort she placed to try and match it. "But I’m also terrible at remembering artists’ and songs’ names… maybe I’ve heard some of their music, and just didn’t know it was them?"

Another bite was taken of her sandwich, the Classic long since devoured as the girl worked on finishing the Big Orchard now. Thankfully whatever sour mood had befallen them at the table moments before had properly cleared out, the girl now able to enjoy the flavors properly once more as a result.

"Careful, or you might get more than you bargained for."

The playful smile on his face matched her own, the teasing words that fluttered out of Ari’s lips causing a faint rosy tint to her cheeks. A hand reached for her tea, taking a couple of sips as she swallowed, though it was hard for the blonde to hide the smile that still hung around her lips. The last of their time was spent quietly as Valeria finished her own half of the other sandwich, one leg having reached unconsciously under the table to bump against his own.

Before long she popped the last bite of her own brunch into her mouth, the paper wrapper crumpled up into a ball and added to the tray. "Alright, done~" She spoke shortly after swallowing, a soft smile giving to the man before she sipped her iced tea as she stood up.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Val was quick to finish up her food and toss the crumpled piece of paper into the paper bag along with the rest of the trash. Ari grabbed the bag and quickly went over to a trashcan, stuffing the bag in the nearly over-full receptacle before returning to Valeria. "Alrighty then, ready to go?"
"Mhmm~" she hummed in response, prompting Ari to hold out his hand, helping her out of the seat and holding her hand as he grabbed his coffee and headed towards the door.

The bell chimed twice more as they exited and started making their way towards central park. Now in the daylight, it was easier for Ari to look around and actually see New York. To be honest, it didn't feel much different from Philadelphia. The building styles were all fairly similar. The biggest differences were the size of the buildings and the fact that the streets were more crowded here, the distant sounds of traffic echoing down the road. "Pretty different from your home, I imagine?" Ari asked as they walked, enjoying the feeling of Valeria's hand in his, how her slender fingers seemed to fit perfectly between his.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

The trash was properly disposed of before Ari had returned to Val once more, the hand extended by the man willingly taken by her own. The remaining contest of her iced tea bottle was held on her other hand, a quick word spared for the staff as the pair made their way towards the exit.

"Everything was delicious~"

Their steps were slow and relaxed, both young twenty-somethings taking the time to enjoy the sights that New York had to offer them now that the sun was up high in the sky. The tall buildings found in the Big Apple were a far cry from anything Valeria was used to seeing on a daily basis, and she couldn’t help the occasional awed glance as they passed a particularly interesting one or two on their way.

"Extremely so… nothing like this exists in Ludington, or even on the island when I lived there."

Her hand remained comfortably nestled within his own as they moved, their fingers loosely interlaced with one another as if it was the most natural thing in the world… which was exactly how it felt, at least for Val. The thought caused her to smile ever so slightly as she sipped her tea, giving Ari’s hand a soft little squeeze as they continued to walk.

"What about yours, Philly similar to New York or nah?"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Ludington. Admittedly, Ari had never heard of that particular city before. But then again, the man really didn't know a lot about Michigan to begin with. He'd always imagined the state to be more rural than what he was used to though. "Philly's not too different," the man explained. "Kinda the same architecture and stuff, but we don't have as many massive buildings, and they're not quite as packed together as they are here." Beyond that, New York and Philly and seemed fairly similar to each other.

"What about the island though," Ari asked, glancing over at the girl. "What's it like out there?" Though Ari had some experience with island, he'd always lived in a more remote area of the island. The particular town he'd lived in was a fairly small town. He could walk from one end to the other in thirty minutes in fact. That had been a massive difference to the Philadelphia that he'd known. The city was always all around him there.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"I see… that’s pretty cool."

She had imagined as much for Philadelphia, the many online pictures of large cities that she’d seen over the years on the internet coming to mind. Maybe one of them was of the particular area where Ari lived, shown to her by a mere coincidence without realizing the importance of the place. She couldn’t help but shake her head softly at the silly thought, a faint smile pulling at her lips before her attention turned back to Ari as he spoke.

"Mmm? Oh yeah, there’s almost nowhere with this full New York vibe back at the island for sure." Sure there might be a few tall building shere and there, and som area were concrete was more predominant than nature, but Valeria couldn't think of a place in Puerto Rico that would be the spitting image of the City That Never Sleeps. "The closest I guess would be la Milla de Oro in San Juan… but even then I feel the vibe’s hellah different."

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"More laid back, I imagine," the man commented. Hawaii hosted a number of different vibes, depending on which of the islands you were on. Oahu had big cities, though nothing as big as New York or Philadelphia. Maui, where he'd spent most of his time, was a mixed bag. One side of the island was a big island, the other, a bunch of smaller little towns, and in the middle were mid-sized suburbs.

Around them the city was calming down as all the salarymen slowly ended their lunch periods and headed back to their workplaces. Schools weren't quite out yet, so the school busses weren't out yet either. It wasn't your typical calm. But for a city as big as New York, it was calm enough.

"You ever thought about goin' back?" Ari asked. "I mean, the island has to be better than snowy Michigan, right?"

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"Mmm yeah, I guess that’s one way to describe it… though the vibe of ‘island time’ doesn’t exactly click with most of it." She mused for a moment, bringing the bottle of tea closer as she took another sip from the straw dunked into it. "Too big I guess to fall into that spell, though definitely doable in Vieques and Culebra."

Her magenta hued gaze slowly moved to look at their surroundings as they lazily walked towards the park, taking in all the details of a new place. It felt like they had reached a lull time in the city, at least compared to the normal fast paced lifestyle New York was known for. Her hand still remained enveloped by his own, the warmth it provided comforting, and the girl couldn’t help but give him a light squeeze while a smile played on her lips.

"You ever thought about goin' back?"

The words caused her smile to falter, the pin gaze shifted downwards as she looked at the sidewalk they traversed instead. "No, not really…" After all there wasn’t anything in the place that Valeria wished to reconnect with, the island could sink six hundred feet under the ocean surface level and she wouldn’t even bat an eyelid at that. "Though I suppose it’s not a bad place to vacation in… but there’s also other places." One thing was certain, if she ever decided to step foot into it again she’d make damn sure that woman wasn’t even aware of her existence in the same space.

Pity that Val couldn’t just dump her in the ocean somewhere and leave her to the sharks or something…

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Ah, that's a pity," Ari said with a slight chuckle. "It'd probably be pretty nice to just sit back and forget that you have responsibilities, huh?" To be honest, Ari had never really understood 'island time'. At least not in any meaningful way. He'd always understood it as a concept, but in practice? Maybe he just always had too much going on in his life. Too many responsibilities. No time to just forget.

The man observed Valeria's face as she spoke of her birthplace. Though her face didn't betray it, Ari felt like there was something behind Val's words. Maybe it was just the way she said it. Or what she didn't say. So far, she'd enjoyed talking a lot, being free with the information given. But here, she hardly gave him two sentences.

"Plenty of other places," the man agreed, not wanting to push her. He lifted his arm up and around Val's shoulders, her fingers still caught between his. "How about Rome? I've always wanted to visit the Coliseum," he offered, musing about hypothetical trips he doubted they'd ever take.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"Right? Imagine having so much free time to burn that you’d actually take things slow," Her own chuckle joined his, before the girl shook her head softly. "Couldn't be me…"

Time was a luxury very few could afford to squander away after all, the blonde having first hand experience on the matter. It was also an expensive commodity to buy, another harsh reality Valeria had learned as she had wished to have more of it…

"Plenty of other places. How about Rome?"
"Rome, huh? That’s definitely an interesting choice."
”I've always wanted to visit the Coliseum.”

She chuckled softly in response, an airy sound that mingled into the air. "That would be really cool… I bet the Trevi Fountain would be quite the sight too." She had seen pictures of it on the internet, captivated by the detailed sculptures found all around it.

Trips they would never take… but it didn’t hurt to dream, right? At least just for a little bit…

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Me neither," Ari said with a laugh. "This is actually the first vacation I've taken since I started college," the man admitted. "Haven't really caught a break till now." His brown eyes flicked over to Valeria for just a moment. "Sure am glad I did now though." As fleeting as the week might be in the grand scheme of things, Ari couldn't let it go by. He'd enjoy it as much as he could, as much as she'd let him.

"Oh, yeah, that thing must be massive!" Ari said with a hint of excitement in his voice. He'd always loved old and historical things like that. History had fascinated him, once upon a time. True stories, they were just waiting for the right people to tell them, and not through text books. If only excavations were like how it was portrayed in Indiana Jones, then Ari might've become an archaeologist instead. "The Sistine Chapel too. And oh, all the food. God, so much pasta," he laughed.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"Same, last one I had was fresh outta high school—the Disney trip we talked about." Valeria had turned to look back at Ari as she spoke, her pink gaze meeting his brown eyes, before the blonde gave his hand another light squeeze as they walked. "I’m glad you’re the one that knocked my favorite ice cream to the ground yesterday~"

A cheeky little grin spread on her lips then, flashing the pearly white teeth underneath, before his excitement towards the fountain caused Valeria to chuckle. "Mhmm, there's so much good art to soak up and appreciate in Rome… and many other places too, of course—but Rome." If her wallet wasn’t a limitator the girl was sure she would’ve traveled all over the world by now, but instead Valeria would have to satisfy her wanderlust by staring at pretty images through her monitor or watching funny reels in Instagram or Tik Tok.

"Oh yeah, the food is just as important as sightseeing all the statues, sculptures, monuments and whatnot." Two foodies at heart, the blonde had no doubt that they would have the greatest of times if unleashed to explore the world together. "After all, can you truly say you visited a place if you didn’t ingest enough local cuisine from it on a daily basis?"

@Yugam