Chapter 13: Bad Date

"Don’t be shy, you can drink as much as you want, it’s on me!" Iris said, taking a gulp from a small cup of vodka.

As usual, she was all smiles as soon as she got some alcohol running in her body.

"It’s so good to have a chance to relax like that," she murmured.

"We’re not even having classes. What work is even keeping you busy right now?" Arthur asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

Iris’s expression grew heavier as she thought about everything. As a college professor, she needed to continuously do research.

Besides, she was still a teacher in her probationary period, so she had to work her butt off for the other professors, hoping she would be accepted.

"My last paper did receive good reviews," she commented, but her eyes didn’t gleam with the happiness Arthur would have expected. "And the students like my class, even if they say my tests are too hard..."

She rested her weight on the table, her mood sinking as she thought about work and the looming possibility of not getting accepted.

Even if she was doing great, she had heard the rumor that the director only wanted to keep her to fill the gaps in the staff before he could find someone with a bigger portfolio and more decades of experience.

At 38, she was already at an age where she’d be expected to hold a position at a college, so she really couldn’t afford to bomb this job. It could look really bad for her in the future.

"I’m sure you will do well!" Arthur said, trying to lift her mood. "You are incredible, after all."

Iris smiled, enjoying the compliment. "How can you know if I’m good or not if you haven’t even had a class with me?" she asked teasingly. "What is so incredible about me?"

"You are smart and know a lot of stuff," he said, having trouble finding a good answer.

The teacher chuckled. "Was this all you could come up with? Am I really a woman so hard to praise?" she smiled, having fun teasing him.

"Anyway, I get your week was busy, but how was Sunday? You told me you had a date, right?" Arthur asked, trying to change the subject.

But this only made Iris pout. "You really want to put me down today, huh?"

"I..."

Before Arthur could say anything more, Iris slammed her small vodka cup onto the table and began rambling about the terrible date she’d had on Sunday.

"To begin with, why do men always lie about their height? And why can’t he even check the information the arranged date company provides! We arrive at the restaurant, and surprise, surprise, he’s shorter than me and clearly gets flustered about it!"

She refilled her cup of vodka while speaking, then downed it entirely in a single gulp, slamming it on the table again.

The woman was just getting started on her complaints. She didn’t even care that he was shorter than her. The guy wasn’t the best-looking either, but she had agreed to lower her standards after so many useless dates, but...

"Seriously, can’t he do anything but ask the most boring questions in the world? Again, the dating agency gives us basic information about our partner!" she screamed, almost kicking the table away.

"Yes, yes, those guys are terrible," Arthur just nodded in agreement.

"And why can’t he look at anything but my chest? I put a lot of work into my makeup, I want him to see that too!"

She continued to complain, and from what Arthur could make out of the story, the date had failed completely. And when her partner tried to invite her to a motel, Iris snapped, pressed him against a wall, and told him to fuck off.

Apparently the man pissed his pants, but it could very well be an exaggerated lie coming from the clearly drunken woman. Iris could hold her liquor well, but she was clearly drinking too much and way too fast.

"And this was one more week where I ended up alone in bed, only with my toys!" she said, slamming the glass cup after downing it again.

Arthur was worried she might break it, but at the moment he couldn’t help blushing as Iris, maybe way too drunk, revealed way too much about her intimate life.

"I don’t put out for anyone, I value myself..." she mumbled, her words becoming more slurred as she got drunker. "I don’t even know how long it’s been... I just can’t find anyone."

Suddenly, all her energy seemed to disappear, and like a deflated balloon, she rested her head on the table, her really big tits smashed between her body and the table. She closed her eyes slowly, seemingly growing tired and sleepy.

"Sometimes I feel like a reservoir that keeps filling with lust and frustration, and one of these days I feel like I’ll snap like crazy..." her voice slowly faded away.

Arthur blinked in shock. She wasn’t going to just fall asleep in front of him like that, was she?

"Hey, Iris, are you okay?" He tried pushing at her shoulder, but she didn’t even react.

She had completely fallen asleep in a bar, surrounded by people. She was just sleeping peacefully, as if nothing had happened.

"I think it’s time to call it a night," Arthur murmured. Then he shook her shoulder gently. "Iris. Iris, wake up. We should go."

She stirred, one eye cracking open, unfocused and glazed. "Mmh...?"

"We’re leaving. Come on, let me help you up."

"Wait..." She fumbled with her purse, fingers clumsy and slow, and pulled out a card, pressing it into Arthur’s hand. "PIN’s 4-7-2-9. Pay for both of us, will you? Just... charge it." Her words slurred together, and her eye already fluttered shut again.

Arthur stared at the card in his hand, then at the woman already dozing off at the table again. He shook his head, thinking she was being too carefree for her own good.

"Stay awake for just one more minute, Iris. I’ll be right back."

A grunt was all he got.

He moved quickly to the counter, keeping one eye on her slumped form across the room. The bartender rang him up without issue, and Arthur tucked the receipt into his wallet, already turning back toward her table.

But Iris was no longer at the table. His heart jumped, until he spotted her standing, walking toward him with a broad, sloppy smile.

However, before she could reach him, a man stepped into her path.

Arthur couldn’t hear what the guy said, but he was tall, well-dressed, leaning in with the easy confidence of someone who thought he was charming. He said something close to her ear, one hand gesturing toward the door.

Arthur tensed, already stepping forward, ready to intervene, but it wasn’t necessary.

As soon as the man approached, Iris’s expression shifted. Her smile vanished, it was like a door slamming shut.

She quickly became more aware and self-conscious, and quickly rejected the man with a look so scary that he didn’t even attempt to say another word.

The entire exchange lasted maybe fifteen seconds.

Arthur stood frozen at the counter, watching the iron wall melt back into a dopey grin as Iris resumed her lazy stroll toward him.

"What happened? I’m so beautiful you can’t stop staring?" she asked, approaching him with a teasing, lopsided smile, pointing out how he had been looking at her in shock.

"No," Arthur said, still processing what he’d just witnessed. "I was just surprised that you’re so responsible."

Iris blinked, then laughed, a genuine, full-bellied laugh that echoed across the bar. "Hehe! I’m an adult after all. I never do anything with a man while drunk. I’m carefree around you because I trust you, so value it." She stuck her tongue out.

Arthur nodded with a smile, taking it as a big compliment. "I just don’t get why you trust me so much."

"You are Anne’s son," she said matter-of-factly, as if that alone were enough. "And I can judge someone’s character very well with a single look."

Then Iris closed the distance between them, and before Arthur could react, she grabbed his arm and pulled him directly into her chest, his face pressed firmly between her really big tits. His brain short-circuited.

"We’re not done drinking," she announced, her voice buzzing through her chest and into his skull. "You’re coming to my place. We still have that Mario Kart score to settle."

Arthur’s muffled protest was lost entirely. She was obviously not taking no for an answer.