Smelling the morning air, Adam stood on the balcony with a cigar in his mouth, naked after a long night's sexual intercourse with Merdiana was finished, gazing at the vast sight of Hope City after waking up, hearing the sounds of birds chirping alongside the wind blowing his messy hair from the sleepiness he endured throughout last night's activities, sighing contentedly after such a pleasurable experience.
With his arms placed on the fence, he can't wonder how long it felt to have sex with someone else; he doesn't know how to describe it other than that it obviously felt good. However, there is still something missing in his heart. People these days treasure lovemaking as an automatic goal for men or look upon it as a disgusting act.
Either way, the feelings of flesh aren't truly what he wants, but finding a romantic lover to share the joy and pain with them Eve was the woman he desired the most; he had married her, but fate wasn't kind enough to him after what had happened with her passing and the former friends who perished after. Like a curse, Adam began to suffer after such an incident at the hands of his evil mother.
Feeling the presence of undressed Merdiana approaching from behind, he doesn't care about turning around to greet her; he simply watches the peaceful and busy horizon ahead, inhaling cigar smoke deeply before exhaling it calmly from his lips, feeling her embrace him from behind before planting a kiss on his bare shoulder affectionately, and speaking words softly in his right ear.
"What is it that you really want, Adam?" She asked innocently in a loving tone; Adam stayed silent, not turning around nor saying anything in response as he pondered her question deeply within his mind, having given up on answering since it wasn't something easy to say and felt stupid after all these years of experiencing tragedy after tragedy.
Narrowing his eyes, he deeply thought of it. Aside from keeping his daughter safe and sound, there is much more to it. But finding a romantic lover is actually one of his many powerful desires—to have someone understand him, "to have someone love the way I am," he said under his breath, finally uttering his true desires with a cigarette still in his mouth, responding back to her question, "Someone I can hold."
Adam remained standing silently for a moment without facing her direction. "Is this normal? Having sex with someone like you after my..." biting his lips into bringing up his dead wife again, "losing someone you treasured," the tone of his voice saddened down heavily, remaining speechless from what he said to her.
For a short moment of silence, the atmosphere between them was suddenly filled with deafening silence until she gently replied to him, "Sex is one of the important factors of what it means to be human," saying with a calm expression on her face before planting a kiss on his left cheek lovingly, "We all crave companionship whether we realize it or not." Her words enlightened his mind in hearing such comforting words from her.
"I see, he said, nodding his head lightly before inhaling deeply from his lips again, holding it firmly while giving out puffs of smoke from his mouth, allowing her head to rest on his broad back. Adam glanced at her from behind, "why are you a sex worker? I mean, I understand your succubus and all, but is there a reason behind it?" intrigued by her unusual occupation in a place like this.
Instead of a serious response, she laughed wholeheartedly at his question, finding it both hilarious and cute at the same time; giggling softly as she slowly calmed herself down, "because I need to survive just like humans do, clearing her throat in preparation to explain her reasons furthermore to him, sex itself is an essential food source for my kind, but there is more to it than being a sex worker, raising her index finger playfully as she explained it more to him, consensual should be only allowed to engage in a job like this as long as long they are aware of it and the responsibilities they carry, grinning from ear from how Adam intently listened to her words carefully.
She has a point in that, he thought, slightly nodding his head; pondering more on her answer, he returned back to his staring gaze in the city; "fair enough," Adam exhaled from his lips again before blowing out a thick amount of smoke once more; "aside from having sex, what else do you do normally?" I am truly curious to know her routine in this brothel.
Meridiana chuckled amusingly, "Now that you mention it, I also mentor many of the men that used my services," replying in an almost mirthful manner; thinking if she should reveal such information to him or not; eventually shrugging her shoulders lightly from such notion; "lecturing them the importance of safe sex, managing their urges, and even teaching them about pleasuring techniques," tapping on his broad shoulder playfully from how Adam curiously tilted his head lightly to see her expression; "would you like me to demonstrate such skills to you?" Smirking deviously from such an inquiry he asked from her,
"Not today," shaking his head lightly while sighing as he returned back to smoking his cigar; "another time," throwing the cigar nonchalantly, he asked another question, "why didn't we use condoms then? Aren't you worried about getting pregnant or having diseases?" I'm honestly wondering about her reason for not using a condom for both their sake.
This time she smiled as her wrapped arms around him slowly removed themselves, taking a step back before responding, "Oh, you don't need to worry about that; I'm not human, remember?" Her reply caught him off guard, forcing him to spin in motion with a look of bewilderment.
"Then how..." He trailed off his sentence for a bit, trying to think of a way to say something else, but he hadn't anything to contribute to it. "Never mind," Adam finally muttered, scratching his head from how Meridiana chuckled amusingly again before he decidedly lean against the balcony fence. "By the way, changing the subject suddenly with his elbows on the railings, "do I have to pay for your services?"
Hearing this answer, she frowned as she shook her head. "For special clients like yourself, I will allow this privilege for free." The response Adam gave from this was raising an eyebrow lightly: "special clients?" Unsure of what she meant by such an answer but nonetheless grateful for the allowance she provided him for tonight, he said, "ah, okay then," nodding his head in agreement, "I have to be on my merry way someone is waiting for me."
Understanding this perfectly, she nodded with a continued smile, gently grabbing his hand before saying, "Let's get dressed, shall we?" Her gesture surprised him, but nonetheless he obliged from such a notion as they headed inside and started putting their original clothes back, dressing up silently while her only clothes were simply a bra and pants.
In less than a minute, both were ready to explore outside of this room: "Uh, can you tell me where the—" He wasn't able to finish his sentence when the woman immediately grabbed his unexpected, leading him outside of the said room they were in; bringing themselves into luxurious hallway with many rows of doors leading to different rooms.
As she firmly but gently lead him out of the place by holding his hand, Adam silently kept his mouth shock; not wanting to delay their journey in leaving this brothel. While they continue in transversing this hallway, he could hear many moans and loud groans echoing through these walls; reminding him that they were indeed inside a place for sexual services.
Entering inside opened elevator, she used her other available hand to press on one of the button until the door finally close, causing the shaft to gently go downwards into the first floor, waiting patiently as they ride themselves safely without any malfunctions or trouble in being inside this moving box.
However, Adam was curious to ask a question in peculiar of the escorts and customers enjoying their party time behind closed doors, "are all the sex workers in this brothel succubus like you?" He inquired; gaining himself a curious humming tune from her if his guess was correct on such inquiry; "most of them," she answered briefly without much elaboration behind her statement.
Moments passed until elevator gently stop as its door finally open, allowing both individuals to exit themselves freely while Adam observed how vast and open space this first floor was as they stood inside it. Surprised at how extravagant and decorated the lobby was; even he had never seen something so luxurious or even opulent from anywhere else aside from mansions or wealthy establishments.
Consisting of golden metallic decorations along with chandeliers made out of glass and carpet flooring that gave a soft feeling when stepping on them, it was surely pleasing for him to observe such a magnificent view, and the well-placed furniture decorating these spaces made him think this brothel was worthy of being considered a hotel rather than a dump.
When they headed through this spacious place, a busy crowd of customers comprised mostly of men were speaking with the many sex workers flirting with them or smiling innocently towards their clients, while a few escorts were playfully touching them by caressing their chests or gently patting their backs.
On the other hand, some of these men were ugly-looking, but he understood the reason behind their desire to go into a place like this. As she said before, human beings need companionship, whether it is sexual or friendly; regardless, companionship is crucial for humanity to live their lives better than being lonely all alone at home.
The two finally exited the brothel, allowing him to see the walking bystanders moving onto their daily lives without much thought, seeing some vehicles pass by these streets as a few passing individuals were gazing in his direction just to give him a quick glance before ignoring him all together, reminding him of their judgmental attitudes.
"I'll miss you, Adam," Meridana then let go of his hand. The two turned to face each other with their exchanged looks of gratitude before he smiled in response to her departing gesture, almost as if they were two close friends who parted away for a long period of time. "Come back anytime if you desire my services," she spoke in a sweet tone before giggling herself softly just to mockingly wink at him.
He laughed briefly while nodding his head lightly, "Thank you for making me understand the positive aspects of sex." Adam thanked her genuinely for this, almost as if she had taught him about some important lessons he needed to learn throughout his life just to guide him better; "you were helpful," he bowed lightly for also making him not fear women anymore.
"My pleasure," she then kissed him on the forehead while cupping his cheeks just to affectionately rub her lips against his before removing herself from him, "until we meet again." Merdiana turned her back and entered the brothel, where he watched the woman enter through its doors just to vanish behind its entrance, causing Adam to gaze at this establishment one last time before walking away from here.
Adam hoped his daughter would forgive him when he comes home; he doesn't want her to worry her again or cause her another nightmare because of him abandoning her just to have a little exploration of this city they just moved into. A father couldn't possibly bear seeing his child cry due to their absence, wanting to give her a warm embrace again while making up a punishment for himself.
If he was responsible for her distress, then he'll find a creative way to hurt himself for having his daughter cry. He doesn't want to cause Lilim another tear or add another trauma she needs to have in her entire life. But perhaps it is better if she learns how to be independent without him by her side.
It's not everyday he can be everywhere and nowhere at once; having Lilim wait for his return wouldn't be a wise decision; maybe it would be better if he actually taught her the importance of surviving on her own, preparing her for whatever situations might happen to her life just to ensure she would be fine if Adam wasn't around her side anymore.
