Sohal found it difficult to focus on his work. While he sat at his desk, a storm raged on outside, demanding his attention with loud flashes of lightning and thunder. He also couldn’t deny that he was thinking of his visit to Vein.

Despite the fact Vein was obviously illegal, Sohal had a great time. Just from his short visit, he got a strong sense of the community that thrived there and it was something he could see himself growing to appreciate. 

Hanging out with Asa and Emari was the highlight of his night and he didn’t know how much he missed hanging out with actual human people. But most of all, something about Rune caught his attention. He couldn’t help but want to get to know him more.

Sohal felt a small buzz of excitement at the thought of visiting Vein again. At the same time, he couldn’t help but feel anxious at the thought of going alone. Asa had emphasized the importance of keeping Vein a secret since people could only legally match with others on Fated.

Sohal’s phone buzzed and all it took was one swipe to reveal another Fated notification. It was his second match this month, which was a first for him.

His thumb hovered over the app before clicking on the notification. Tapping on it sent him straight to his new match’s profile, who he quickly realized was a girl named Gina.

Single girl living in a lonely world. I’m a queen and you better worship me. If your dick isn’t at least six inches long, I don’t want it. You better last longer than ten minutes in bed or I’m throwing your ass to the curb. Looking forward to building a happy family with someone.

Nausea spread throughout his stomach at the thought of doing the deed longer than ten minutes. Sohal didn’t even know how long sex was supposed to go for. Even then, how could he know if he even wanted to tango in the bedroom if he didn’t get a feel for their personality first? He wasn’t comfortable enough to sleep around with people he had just met.

He was better off skipping this match, he realized. If this girl was already this judgy in her bio alone, there was no doubt that a date with her would end in disaster.

Sohal thought about Vein and how there weren’t any expectations when he was there. There would be friendly people just chatting there at least. His mind also wandered back to Rune, the nice stranger he met at Vein, and whether he’d be there again.

Asa mentioned that he could visit anytime he wanted, so… why not tonight?

〜

The storm hadn’t let up by the time Sohal had dressed up and left his apartment. Dark clouds swirled above his head, but he had come prepared with an umbrella in hand. Nothing could dampen his good mood now, or at least his clothes would stay dry.

All he had to do was walk to the nearby park that he regularly met Asa at, and then he’d be able to find his way to Vein. So, he set off walking, thinking it’ll be easy as pie.

But just when Lazy Crown Bar and Grille entered his line of vision, his umbrella broke.

“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. It was still raining, and raining hard, and it was at that moment that Sohal realized how screwed he was. Vein was closer than his own apartment, so he decided to run inside but he still got drenched from head to toe.

Once inside, he stood at the doormat, hoping that the water dripping from his clothes would stop soon. His clothes clung to his body and water pooled at his feet. Sohal twisted part of his shirt with his hands and more water fell to the ground.

Fanning his shirt only marginally helped dry him off, but it was better than nothing. Once he was sure he removed as much water as he could, he walked over to the counter and took a seat. A minute didn’t even pass before he felt the seat getting wet from his pants. His phone buzzed again, but he ignored it.

“You okay there, kid? You need a towel or something?”

Sohal looked up to see it was the same bartender from last night. He quietly nodded his head and the bartender reached behind the counter before handing a towel to him.

Using a towel was much more effective than him just fanning his shirt.

“Another thing… could you please get me a Double Blue Oragasm please?” Sohal did the same hand gesture that Asa did and the bartender nodded in his direction.

“Great choice. It’s really popular around here. Do you need to…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Sohal felt someone wrap an arm around his shoulder. The overwhelming scent of fish and beer invaded his nostrils, and he didn’t need to turn to face the guy before he knew who it was — Mr. “I’m better than you” Ed.

“Oh, h-hey Ed.” Sohal cringed internally, wanting this moment to be over already. 

“It’s so funny seeing you here!” Ed removed his arm and then gave him a hard slap on the back. “I never took you for the type of guy that drinks alcohol.”

“Now you know. Ha… ha…” Sohal attempted to force a smile on his face. “So, uh, how have you been?”

The bartender was out of sight, attending to other people sitting at the counter. Sohal could feel his heart sink. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck talking to Ed.

“Doing good, wife just gave birth to lucky number five so I’m out having a little celebration.” He grinned as if he just won a prize. “What was it you ordered? Double blue whatchamacallit?”

“Uh…” Sohal’s mind went blank. “Yes?”

“That sounds good, maybe I’ll get one of those.”

“No! You… definitely don’t want it.” Sohal’s face started to burn and he wasn’t sure if it was sweat or rainwater running down his back.

“Oh? How come?” Ed leaned in closer, with his face right next to Sohal’s. His breath smelled of pure alcohol. “I may not look like it, but I once did three keg stands in a single night. I can handle my booze.”

Ed leaned back and patted his round stomach with a smug look. His bald head glistened in the bar’s light as if to emphasize the man’s pride.

Sohal couldn’t let Ed enter Vein, he was told so many times to not tell anybody else. What if they never let him in again because of this? 

His mind raced as he tried to think of an excuse. “It has nuts. You’re allergic, right? You don’t want a mouth full of nuts.”

Sohal’s face drained of color as he realized what he just said.

Ed just roared with laughter. “Yeah, I definitely don’t want that.”

Before Sohal could embarrass himself even further, the bartender reappeared. “Did you still need to know where the restrooms are?”

“Yeah, can you show me please?” Sohal responded before turning to Ed. “Sorry, I should really clean myself up. It’s really rough out there. I’ll catch up with you next time?”

“Sure, drinks are on me.”

He wasn’t sure how he escaped the situation but before Sohal descended the staircase, the bartender mouthed ‘you’re welcome’ to him.

It was nerve-wracking to visit Vein alone. He kept asking himself if he was doing the right thing. Asa said he was welcome to visit, but he couldn’t shake off the feeling that he wasn’t supposed to be there. Not because it was illegal, but because he didn’t belong.

〜

When he finally got to Vein, he glanced around the room to see if he recognized anyone. Asa wasn’t here tonight and he didn’t feel comfortable approaching strangers by himself. So, he decided to go sit in an empty booth by himself for a while.

It wasn't as loud as last night and there were definitely less people. Unlike last time, there was no one moaning or people dressed in leather. The music was calmer and less upbeat, probably to let people have their conversations in peace.

“Back already?” Rune asked. There was amusement in his eyes. He held a cup in his hand, but unlike Ed upstairs, it was clear the man wasn’t drunk off his ass.

“Am I not allowed to be here?” It took all of his energy to keep the panic out of his voice. People fed on insecurity, and if given the chance, they would eat him alive.

Sohal’s phone buzzed again but he ignored it as he was too distracted by the man in front of him.

“No, no, you’re good. I just didn’t expect you to come back so soon.”

Sohal felt his heart pound. “I got curious or something like that.”

“I thought you would’ve been scared off by the moaning and leather daddies.” A grin appeared on Rune’s face.

“Haha… well it was awkward. I can’t deny that.” Sohal coughed awkwardly. “Why are you here today?”

“I’m here for the monthly asexual meet up,” Rune said.

“What? What’s that?”

“It’s this whole thing that happens once a month. Why? Are you here alone?”

Sohal nodded. When he was at home, all he could think about was visiting Vein again, but now that he was here, he wasn’t sure what to do now. Why was he here again? Sohal shifted from one foot to another, awkwardness seeping into his every movement.

Rune cleared his throat. “Well… I could always show you around and give you the rundown if you like.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to get in the way of your plans. You must be so bus—”

“Hey.” Rune placed a hand on Sohal’s shoulder. “I don’t mind. You look like you need some help. I’m betting no one made you that wet.”

Sohal looked down at his damp clothes with a flushed face. “I don’t like doing that type of stuff. I just…”

“Relax, I was just pulling your leg. You must’ve had a really rough time out there. Do you need a drink?”

“No, I’m just really unprepared. I don’t know. Is there going to be more…” Sohal waved his hands around in a comical fashion. Rune watched Sohal with his head tilted to the side and a raised eyebrow.

“You don’t have to worry about the kink and sex stuff if that’s what’s putting you off,” Rune laughed. “There’s a diverse pool of members in Vein. Like… Uh… How to explain this properly… Asexuality is a spectrum, but some aces are sex-repulsed, so we try and keep the kink to a minimum on monthly asexual meet-up days."

“Oh, I thought…” Sohal scratched his neck. “Ha, nevermind.” 

Rune put a hand on his chin and stared at Sohal for a moment. Sohal stared back with wide eyes, unsure of what was happening.

“You should join the meeting, you might learn a thing or two,” Rune smiled. “Only if you want to, of course.”

Sohal’s phone buzzed for the nth time and as much as he wanted to focus on Rune, he couldn’t ignore his phone any longer. He flipped it open and the Fated app immediately opened on its own. A giant flashing warning appeared on his screen and his face fell.

You have been blacklisted from using Fated, Inc.’s services effectively immediately.