Vertex - Chapter I, How To Enjoy Candy Properly

					Chapter I, How To Enjoy Candy Properly


"Mmmhmm..."
For the love of... what the hell did she think she was doing?
"Mmhhmhmm..."
Is that really necessary?
"Mmmmmhhh..."
There was a wet plopping sound when Farai let go of the liquorice stick.
"You look uncomfortable Craig"
Sure he did. She'd been making a big show from eating that damn stick. Again. Just like with all the rest.

It all started with the first exercise she solved on her own. For her reward she claimed a lollipop, lemon flavoured. She unwrapped it quickly, with a proud smile on her face. She had really white teeth.
"I don't think I've felt this exited for a piece of candy since my Dragoon Camp!" Farai said, savouring the look of the yellow, sticky orb at the end of a stick.
"You went to Dragoon Camp?" Craig asked, surprised.
"Oh yeah, two years ago. Candy had to be rationed there to last. And it had to be kept hidden from the councillors. And it was used as currency, like cigarettes in prison. Oh, I learned to enjoy every bit I got. I think I sometimes even counted every lick of the lollipop..."
She trailed off and got mischievous looking grin.
"You ever wondered just how many licks it will take to finish one of these suckers?"
Craig had not. Or maybe he had as a kid. He certainly couldn't remember it if he had.
"Wanna find out? I lick, you count! Ahahaha! Oh, I mean, Ah-ah-ah-ah!"
Was she... yes. She was imitating The Count.
"Can't you just finish it so we can keep going?"
"Eeh~? No way! What kind of a reward is it when I can't enjoy it at my own pace?"
She had a point, but her pace meant a very poor ratio or work to play. Was this really okay?
"Ssssluuurp!" she said. Literally. She actually said it.
"Hey! Count em'!"
Craig sighed and shook his head.
"Come on, don't be a sourpuss, count!"
She was such a baby.
"Fine..."
"Yay!"
Damn she was pretty when she smiled like that. All the tension that had been present between them while they scooped closer to one another and Craig tried to walk Farai through the math was gone now.
"Okay, here I go... Ssssluuurp~!"
"One..."
"Wrong! That's two! How can you teach me math if you can't even count to two? Ahahahaha!"
Her laugh was too full of joy for him to get mad at her.
"Two..."
"No, no, no! That's not how you do it!"
Now what was wrong?
"You gotta do it like in the Muppets!"
Oh for fuck's sake...
"Craaaaiiig~! Doooon't beee aaa spoooiiilspoooort~!
There was no saying no to her.
"Fine... two! Aha-aha-aha!"
They were both quiet for a while. And then they both laughed.
"Ahahaha! I can't believe you! That sucked so bad! Ahahahaha!"

In the end Craig didn't count the licks. Farai took her time, licking the hard candy with slow and strong licks, circling it with her tongue, sucking ever so slightly without taking it all in her mouth... she was doing that on purpose, wasn't she? That was just wrong. Succubi always ate lollipops like that, but it didn't fit Farai. Or at least it didn't fit Craig's image of her.
He fixed them cocoa while Farai enjoyed her "hard earned reward". Hot for her, cold for him. Hers was cold as well by the time she got around to drinking it.

There were three more lollipops to keep Farai trying and five more math problems on the page to work on. She succeeded with two of them without requiring help.
"Well..." she tried to look crestfallen. They had finally gotten to the end, and she didn't earn herself that lollipop she'd been saving, the one with a cola flavour.
"I guess I have no choice but to... let you have it" she said, holding it out to him. Craig took the lollipop and unwrapped it. It probably was pretty delicious. Then he saw the look on her face as she stared at it like a puppy. She was making that face on purpose, this he knew. That didn't mean much for his feelings though. There was no way he could eat the candy with her staring at him like that, he didn't have the heart for it. No, that's wrong. He had TOO MUCH heart to endure the guilt. Craig sighed.
"You know..."
Farai's posture and ears perked up.
"In, uhh, honour of, of you getting to the end of the page, I think you've, uhh, earned it" he said, handing it back.
"Really?"
"Yes, really"
"You're such a sweetheart, Craigie!"
Oh for the love of...
Craig turned his face away to hide his blush.
"Well then..."
Just take it already!
"I'll just dig in!"
Finally! W-wait, what is she...?
Farai was licking at the lollipop. That he was holding. She was literally eating out of his hand. Huh. Craig froze for a bit. He enjoyed the view of her face freely, as her eyes were closed and she couldn't tell he was staring. Who was Craig kidding, of course she could tell. She knew full well that he was staring at her. She was giving him a little show, wasn't she? Damn. Her tongue and lips worked on the lollipop in a very provocative manner. She was even breathing through her mouth, letting out little, barely noticeable moans.
Craig was stirred from his trance when a bit of saliva dripped on his hand. He let go of the lollipop, which didn't drop because she caught it with her lips.

After finishing that, they kept going with the math. Farai went through the examples on the next page. She seemed to be in high spirits, and breezed through the first few exercises. Good thing she did, Craig checked the clock on the microwave and noticed it had taken her two and a half hours to get this far. Did she actually need five hours to finish what took 75 minutes during normal class? Of course not. She wasn't dumb. She was just acting dumb. Because of the candy, right?
She got further on her own this time than before, but Craig still walked her through two problems, as they had agreed. Quite surprisingly, Craig himself had to do a lot of thinking to do so. Of course, he wasn't any more advanced than she was, there were math problems he was supposed to be doing for homework himself. It only made sense he couldn't simply breeze through them.
And then it hit him. Those four last problems... they were probably something even he would find challenging. Maybe TOO challenging. There was no way Farai could actually do it, could she?

Turned out she could. She was far more focused now for some reason. That reason became apparent as soon as they had checked her solution and found it correct.
"Yahoo! I love liquorice!"
She unwrapped the stick.
"Especially these big ones! Look, it's almost as thick as two fingers, and so long, too! Oh, and check this out!"
She put one end in her mouth, and then breathed like Darth Vader. She giggled, taking the candy out of her mouth.
"These holes in them are so big, I can actually breathe through them! Ahahaha! You try it!"
She thrust it at him.
Would taking it in his mouth be an indirect kiss?
No, of course not. See, she's holding out the other end than the one she had in her mouth. It's fine!
Craig took it in his mouth, and it turned out that yes, you could breath through it. But that was completely meaningless.
"So are you planning to go scuba-diving with one of these or something?" Craig asked.
"Hm? Oh no, I just like to enjoy everything to its fullest, you know?" she said, twirling the stick in her fingers.
She took the tip into her mouth and began to suck on it, and Craig couldn't help but feel that she had ended up sucking the end that had been in his mouth. She was going to eat it all anyway, but this just felt wrong, somehow.

The liquorice stick didn't last as long as the lollipops had, and Farai, motivated by her insatiable sweet-tooth, ended up cracking each and every exercise successfully.
She enjoyed the last stick especially long, and it seemed to be the first time she acknowledged Craig was uncomfortable with her way of eating the candy.
"Sorry" she said, all of a sudden.
"Huh?"
"For teasing you like this. I just..."
She seemed properly embarrassed now.
"Well you can't say you didn't like it..."
That was true enough. She had been a pretty sight.
"But, I, uhh, yeah, umm... thanks"
First apologizing, now thanking?
She stood up.
"I feel pretty confident now. I think I've got it!"
Craig couldn't deny this either. But it had taken her over three hours.
"You're uhh, welcome"
She smiled again.
"I think I'll be able to keep up with the class from now on just fine, but if I ever need any help, I can still count on you, right?"
"Sure..."
"Great!"
Craig got up. It seemed like she was trying to subtly hint that it was time for him to go. She walked him to the door and helped him put his coat on. When they stood so close to one another Craig noticed how tall she was. Elves usually were. Farai was taller than him by at least her head.
It was getting tense and awkward again. Craig didn't want to let that be the ambience when he left.
"Pop quiz!" he said all of a sudden. Dammit, he didn't even have a single thought in his head, what the hell was he going to ask?
"P-pop quiz?" Farai looked quizzical.
"Uhh, what's the point where two rays begin or meet called?"
That was the first thing that popped into his mind that related to what they had been doing today.
Farai's ears twitched a bit, but then she smiled triumphantly.
"A vertex!"