The side quest: Part 1 (Where are they?!)
The room goes quiet for the first time in what feels like hours. Bodies are still warm, hearts still racing, but lips and hands are slowing… Until someone—finally—speaks up.
“…wait.”
Pam blinks up at the ceiling from where she is nestled in Ashley’s arms, still sticky and still flushed. “…where’s Chen?”
June pauses mid-kiss with Kaori.
Riley, still half-cozy on Kaori’s shoulder, lifts their head. “…Yeah. Chen…and Sofia… uh…”
Ashley goes still.
Kaori’s brow furrows. “…shit.”
June sits up, blanket pooling loosely around her hips. “…I mean, we definitely didn’t see them come in, did we?”
Riley tilts their head under the blindfold. “We arrived together—I remember Chen driving, of course—but then…at some point, I just…forgot there were two more people here.”
A beat of stunned silence.
Pam exclaims, half-asleep and confused, “Wait…you mean there are two more people here?”
June sighs. “Yeah, baby. Chen—Chen is, uh…Ashley’s…lawfully-wedded and cohabitating spouse. And Sofia…was going to give emotional support for this whole evening’s chaos.”
Kaori rubs her eyes, suddenly alert. “Right. Chen and Sofia were both coming back with us from Nevada—but we never saw them walk in.”
Ashley sits up, hair mussed, breath deep. “Well. I know they split off at the door. Chen had to go check on the mail and Sofia was grabbing something from the car—didn’t think anything of it because we were all distracted.”
“…but we’ve been here for how long?”
Riley breathes out a shaky, nervous laugh, pointing to the moist messes (due largely to Pam’s squirting earlier) still visible around them. “Long enough to do…all of that.”
June stands, suddenly alert in a way none of them has been all night. “We’ve gotta find them.” Kaori nods slowly, setting aside the cozy post-orgasm smiles. “Yeah. This party has been great and all—but they should be here.”
Riley blinks behind the blindfold. “Do we…call them? Text? Look around?”
Ashley slips Pam a blanket and helps her sit up. “Let’s start with phones. But let’s split up—two groups.”
June turns to Kaori. “Team Chaotic Search?” Kaori smiles. “Yeah. Team Chaotic Search.”
Ashley guides Pam, still a bit dazed but determined, to the couch. “Riley and I will call them. See where they are. Get them back.”
June and Kaori exchange a glance—half mischievous, half concerned. “…Let’s check the backyard and the porch first,” June suggests. “Maybe they wandered and forgot to close the door. Maybe they were…who knows, maybe they were enjoying some wild outdoor sex…”
They move as one—still naked, still warm, still bonded from the night’s intensity—but now with purpose.
Pam clutches her blanket, watching them go. “I really was having a perfect night…” Ashley kisses her forehead. “We’ll finish it. But first—Chen and Sofia.”
Riley’s voice comes from the couch, phone in hand. “Found them on location—they’re…”