And hence, that was what Sabrina had been meaning to tell Aliyah. College was a whole new different ball game as opposed to high school. There were much bigger fishes, in a much bigger pond sea. And UCB naturally has the prestige to attract some of the finest individuals from all around the world, all congregated in one densely packed institution. And the general population average from UCB as opposed to Oregon State would be noticeable. Aliyah had been given a taste of what the world had to offer. And college was like a buffet, with the better quality offering a range of more exquisite specimens to sample and savour. Benji wasn't that bad at all, and would have been able to pull himself at least a number of suitors. He belonged to the clique of popular ice hockey boys after all, that were often fawned over by the girls back in high school.
But Jason - he was a rarity, a one of a kind. What lies ahead for Aliyah, would be a battle of sentimental sweet memories against the appeal of mystery and extreme masculinity. Another question would be if Aliyah might find the latter too hot to handle and end up opting to settle for comfort, or if she would be able to take it in her stride and discover a new side of her that she would never in her previous life, imagine herself to be.
Benji's smile could be seen softly fading away when Aliyah warned that her schedule might be a lot more packed than it was anticipated. He admired her ambition. He really did. But there were times he wished she could just place them at the forefront of her considerations for a bit more. It all started with Aliyah's persistent desire to head to UCB, despite having an offer from Oregon State, and the fact that Benji did not manage to secure himself a place at UCB. At the same time, he knew it would be selfish of him to ask Aliyah to stay. That might effectively be a reason for them to come to a painful need to end their relationship. So settling for a long distance relationship was the best possible option for the both of them. At least Aliyah was willing to try.
"I suppose I can plan to come over to Cali more often when I get the chance to. It's only fair that the bulk of the commuting doesn't solely fall on you." Benji wishfully suggested. He was beginning to dread that now, it sounded like the four years ahead might well be rough to get through. "I love you too. Do think about giving yourself some time for a breather once in a while and don't stretch yourself too much. I know you're an achiever. But you should also exercise some self-care, and dedicate some time into thinking and doing the things that make you happy." Benji said with a smile, and once they formally bit farewell, he blew a kiss right before Aliyah hung up the call.
The last bit of what he said, was a bit cryptic from Benji. He had quietly wished that she would take the hint, that by extension, the things that made her happy included him. But he wasn't even sure if she would actually be perceptive enough to interpret that message. Benji didn't want to come across as being pushy or clingy. But he found an increasing urge to make known his feelings that were beginning to well up within him. In the end, he could only bring himself to dropping vague messages of insinuation in the hopes that maybe, she would be able to pick them up and understand. Otherwise, avoidant Benji typically preferred not to confront.
And it was only after a minute of absolute silence did he realise that Aliyah just did something that she hadn't done in a while to him - by being the one who disconnected their call first.
"Sab... I-I can't wear this in public!"
"Honey, at least try it on before you say no. Do I need to remind you that you promised to wear what I chose without complaint?"
"Besides, it's not like we won't be the only ones dressed up. Eyes are going to be on you tonight, but for a good reason."
"It'll be an opportunity for you to make a good first impression to the people that matters even before the first day of the initiation. There are always going to be eyes everywhere. So you should always be on your finest." Sabrina paused, before she fumbled through her wide wardrobe, and then eventually settled for a sheer semi-translucent dress of matching black to go in theme with Aliyah. The length of it barely stopped under an inch beneath her butt frame. And it was almost certain that a slight bend was all it took to tease what laid beneath. Raunchy as her choice of wear was, it was still comparatively not as wild as Aliyah's. After all, she had intended for the night's spotlight to be on her.
"Girl, are you pretending that you haven't seen that?" Sabrina smirked, her finger gesturing in the direction of a black g-string that was placed quite a bit further away from the choker and thigh belt. The side strings were made of leather, which complemented her overall apparel. And the lingerie needed to be secured by two manual knots on each side, with actual diamonds tied to the ends of each string. The back of it consisted of a small floral weave.
"You know I don't have a fake I.D. right? I can't get any drinks."
"Babes, if there's one thing I'm going to teach you tonight, it's that girls like us never buy our own drinks. Especially not when we look like this. Go put on some mascara and a red lip, our ride will be here in five."
"You need to start appreciating just how perfect a body you've got, Ali. But you're not using it to your advantage. It is an asset, a weapon, for you to hold men at the proverbial gun point. When you do, oftentimes, all you need to do is ask, and you shall receive." Sabrina winked.
"The girls are heading out tonight."
"How'd you know?"
"Sab's got an insta post out."
"That girl is pretty cute. Who's that?"
"Some fresher apparently."
"Ah wait, that's the freshie that got into cheer, and Sab's her tutor innit?"
"Fresh meat." The group of four with a mix of third and senior year rugby boys, including vice-captain Roderick De Ligt, cheered at the sound of that. "Get dressed lads. Time to get to know some new faces." The lads didn't even need to try, for Sabrina had already given away their intended destination via the caption of her latest update.
The ride over to St. Regis Powerhouse - one of the newer clubs in town - didn't take more than fifteen minutes from ACO's frat house. The queue was immense that night. But after grabbing Aliyah by her wrist the moment they got out of the cab, Sabrina directed the fresher towards a non-existent VIP queue that was just around the bend, flashed a glittery card made of heavy weight metal, bearing the acronym A.C.O to the bouncer, and he stepped aside to allow the pair to proceed into the premise.
Aliyah had just been acquainted to another one of many benefits that members of the ACO enjoyed.
The card had to be flashed twice, as Sabrina used it for a second time to get themselves in the VIP room of the club. The overall vibe of the VIP area was a notch more posh and swanky than the public dance floor. And it was a lot more spacious, only because entry to the area was regulated. There was none of that need to sandwich between bodies of 'plebians'. Just by looking around, the general aura of the people within the vicinity reeked of elitism.
It started with a double shot for each, before the pair danced for the next hour or so. Then, Sabrina leaned in to Aliyah as she tried to overcome the deafening bass that was blasting by the background. "Babe, my stomach isn't feeling right. I'm going to need to hit the washroom for a bit. You don't go straying too far, alright?" With that, Sabrina literally dashed towards the corridor. She was clearly in need of an urgent relief.
It was not more than a minute later, before Aliyah found herself being approached by four guys. One of them had a fairly familiar face. The rest of the three were unknowns, but each of them were certainly stand outs in their own right. One looked like the epitome of a jock, one of them was the group's much loved class clown, and the last was an Asian American. One similarity stood out across the entire group of four - they were built like bulls, much like how Jason was.
"Would you care for another glass, or a shot?" The present leader of the pack spoke. "I'm Roderick, by the way." The lad extended one hand for a shake, while the other, coolly resting against one side of her shoulders, pulling her in rather than reaching out to her. The smell of his cologne was overpowering and lethal, as if she just whiffed a shot of alcohol up her nose.
Roderick. Jason called him out during the socials right before Aliyah approached him two days back to start their fateful conversation. Roderick was Jason's right hand man. In the times Jason had to be absent, Roderick had always been the one to step up as Mr. Reliable.
Unbeknownst to Aliyah, Sabrina's stomach issue had been orchestrated.
Moments just before the girls arrived, Roderick had approached the bartender - one of their own who was working for the night. Such was the organisation, influence and grip of UCB Frat's underground illicit industry then extended into places beyond the college with their talons and tendrils. Roderick instructed the bartender-cum-frat mate to slip two separate effervescent tablets into whatever drinks that Sabrina and Aliyah would eventually order. One tablet was designed to throw the former off, whereas the latter, to receive the prized tablet that was one of the key driving forces of the flourishing business that was started by Jason - named the rhapsody.
The rhapsody was a specially concocted mix of dissolvable, that would creep into a consumer's bloodstream in a manner that was gradual and inconspicuous. Unlike the typical drugs used to spike drinks, the rhapsody doesn't impede a consumer's cognitive and physical functions. Instead, it enhances the senses, especially in the modalities of touch, smell, hearing and taste. It increases the baseline heart rate of individuals over time as if they had been jogging for miles, and causes slight breathlessness.
But most crucially, it rapidly peaks and surpasses typical production of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone levels in a consumer within a short space of time. And that manifests itself in the form of gradual heat simmering across the entire body - much like how excessive alcohol consumption causes a sense of minty burn across and beneath the skin, but without the cognitive impairment that comes with it. It takes roughly half an hour for the effect of the rhapsody to start kicking in, and another hour for it to come into full merciless force, and can easily last up to seven to eight hours, before it starts wearing off. All that, whether Aliyah was conscious of it or not, was starting to act on her entire frame.
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