“If you’re ready,” Arya said.

“I’m pretty ready,” John said.

“Great! Before we start, though, I want to tell you about one of my most important functions. At any time, you can just say ‘pause’, and I’ll, well, pause. Whatever’s happening will stop. The augmented effects and audio will shut off. Is that an okay word for you, ‘pause’? It shouldn’t be anything you expect to say otherwise.”

So it was like a safe word? That did seem to be a good idea, with how immersive the experience had been so far and with how few direct controls there were over the game. “Yeah, that works for me.”

“Great! What do you like? I could be here, or not. You could see my breasts, or I can put on porn. I can even do…” she cupped her hands around her mouth, “ASMR whispers.” The sound filled his head again as it first had, sending the back of his neck prickling.

“Maybe later on the ASMR thing.”

“Okay. What do you want now, then?”

“Ummm… that’s a lot to choose from… It feels, um, a little sterile, laying it all out like that.” John also felt a little bit foolish as he realized that he couldn’t remember ever just… saying what he liked. Worse than that, did he really know what he liked? He grinned wryly as he imagined a ‘Game Over’ screen flashing up in response to his indecision.

“Ah, that’s fair,” Arya said. “How about this?” She stood up and leaned forward, tugging on her t-shirt and as she did, the digital fabric morphed from a crew neck into a low scoop neck, revealing her cleavage. She put her arms on her knees and pressed her breasts together and towards him, then looked up at him and said, in a tone just like the silky smoke on the box, “I just really want to watch you touch yourself, please.”

John’s dick throbbed, abruptly fighting against the insides of his own jeans, all his reservations now forgotten. “Yeah, yep, okay.” He started to unzip his jeans, then hesitated. “Right… right here?”

“Yes!” she said, nearly whining. “I can’t wait any longer!”

John needed no further convincing and he dropped his jeans and boxers to his knees, his dick springing to attention. But as he reached for himself, he paused.

His stupid reviewer brain was kicking in, but the idea wasn’t half bad. She’d picked this scene, and he was very on board with it, but… if he waited, would she know? Would she beg?

He bit his tongue to distract himself from his own aching need, and he waited, hand hovering inches above his shaft.

“C’moooonnnn,” she moaned. “Please? I want to see you touch yourself! I need to!”

The wave of heat that washed over John shut off the thinking part of his brain just long enough for his hand to find his shaft. From there, there was no turning back. He moaned, aware of it but not self-conscious of it, confident that Arya would not mind. This had arrived at a good time for him, actually. It had been a while since he’d been in a relationship, and his self ministrations and become uninspired lately. He’d actually been so busy this week, it hadn’t been since the last weekend that he’d had any… release.

And his balls were reminding him of that now, throbbing and tight and full.

Arya periodically encouraged him with a “God, yes!” or a “Mmmmm I love the way you do that,” but after a couple of minutes his arousal was building and he was regretting that he hadn’t brought over any lube. He reluctantly slowed. “I just need… to go get, um—”

“Something slippery?” she asked. “It’s right there!” She pointed to the clear glass bottle. 

He picked it up and sure enough, on the other side of the tag that said ‘pump me’ it was labeled ‘silicone personal lubricant’ with all the corresponding usage information. He’d heard good things about it but never splurged on it himself, and it seemed fitting that such a premium game would include a premium lubricant.

He followed the directions and pumped the top, spreading a small amount on his hand and then tentatively on his dick.

It was satiny, smooth, slippery, delightful. He could stroke more easily and with a firmer grip, firmer and faster, and unlike lotion, it seemed like it was going to last longer than a minute.

Which was great, but he wasn’t sure he was going to last longer than a minute more. He forced himself to slow down, to really savor it. This was a premium experience, after all, not a yank and run.

He was finding a smooth and sustainable rhythm, right up until Arya said, “I love it when you tease yourself.”

His dick throbbed, his balls tensed, the heat blossomed. “Fuck!” His orgasm was coming and he hadn’t grabbed tissues or anything, though he was already past the point of no return. He came on the tile floor of his kitchen, on his jeans and his boxers at his knees.

As his body relaxed, he heaved a sigh. Well, he’d been planning to do laundry anyway.

“That was perfect,” Arya said.

“It was… pretty good, yeah.”

Arya chuckled. “Put that in your review. ‘Pretty good, yeah’.”

“So, um… how much calibration do you need here?” She already seemed to be pretty damn effective.

“More.” She smirked. “I’m obviously ready for round two whenever you are. But, go at your own pace. I’m here tomorrow, and the next day…” She ticked them off on her fingers, as if actually mentally checking her schedule.

“I dunno, I guess I was expecting some kind of quest progress meter for wanking it.”

“That’s not a half bad idea,” Arya said, “But I actually don’t know how long it’ll take myself. It all depends on how it goes.”

“Well, fret not because I will be masturbating like it’s my job. Because it is my job. At least for now.” Maybe being a game reviewer wasn’t so bad, after all.