Need P2 - Shame

She didn't react for a moment, just blinked. Then, “I'm sure you would” she told him.
He sucked at his lips a while, not blinking at all himself. “I really would.”
She stared coolly up at him, apparently thinking, before a wicked smile flashed across the lovely lips.
“As uh, 'tempting', as that offer is, Alex, I'm afraid I can't even consider it."
Damn. "No?"
"No."
"You sure, because-"
"Yep." She cut him off. "You remind me way too much of my uncle Derek.”
“Uncle... Derek...”
Uncle Derek didn't sound good. Uncle Derek sounded like the opposite of sexy.

“Aye, he was a pervy, beardy ole lush too.”
Alex's jaw dropped for a moment, and now he did blink.
He tried, unsuccessfully, to regain his composure. The hand left the tree and rubbed the back of his neck, self-soothing.
"That was a bit below the belt" he murmured.
Her eyes flicked to his red boxers and back. "Not as below the belt as you'd like, love."
She gave him a wink and smiled sweetly. “See ya, Little Nips.”
And with that, she was gone.

He'd lost his touch.
Only three million years and eighteen months, give or take a few, without a real woman and he'd lost his touch!
And... he was a complete asshole. What had he been thinking? Shit, poor Jacky...

“I think that's what they call 'instant karma'” said a stern toned Phi.
Alex jumped. “Bloody hell, how long've you been sitting there?”
“Long enough.” She rose from the log she'd been perched on.
“Phi, I have got to get rid of this smeggin' beard.”
Her top lip recoiled gently as she considered the untidy facial fur. “Yes, that would be nice.”
They trudged a little way further from the camp. "But I don't think that was your problem."
He blew air through his lips in a tired admission of defeat.“Yeh, I know. Wanna come find a blanket with me?”
“That's an even worse chat up line than 'what's your name? I like sex, do you? Why don't you try it with me, instead of your boyfriend?'” She emphasised the last word with an angry flash of her eyes, disappointed in, what she had started back on the Dwarf to think of as, her client.
“It wasn't like that” he mumbled.
She glared at him. “It was exactly like that."
He swallowed, guiltily. It was exactly like that.

They walked on in silence for a while before Alex enquired:
"D'you think she was winding me up?"
"How should I know?"
"You're a girl" he accused, "and a medical, advicey, type person."
She ignored it.
"You're a girl" he repeated, his tone a little different.
"Well, I like to think so, yes! Have you only just realised?"
"I don't, um, s'pose you'd be up for a bit of..?"

"What!?" She flushed. "Doing that?" She looked him up and down, lips curling again. "With you?"
"Yeah. Doesn't have to mean anything, just a bit of... crewmates knocking boots to keep from going crazy."
"You don't have any boots."
"Yeah yeah, and I'm already crazy. You know what I mean, though."
"No I do not! Alex are you turning into Justin? What's gotten into you?"
"Nothing, and the reverse, too. That's the problem."
"Ew, you're disgusting."
"Ain't that bad, am I?"
She screwed up her face. "Yes. You're like a..." she looked at him again "... dirty Tarzan." She shook her head. "I mean, I'd be showering for days afterwards." This was muttered absent mindedly, almost to herself.
He mulled that over a moment. "Mmf. Dirty Tarzan, I like that."
"That was not a compliment."
"Hmpf."
"And I didn't mean that kind of dirty, either."
He sighed. "Shame."
"Alex is this one of your weird... 'jokes'?"
"Nope."
He hoped she'd come around but unfortunately she didn't react, she was too busy pointing at something. "Hey what's that? Over there?”
"I dunno."
"Come on."
They headed towards it, Alex slow and reluctant.
"Oh shit."
“That wasn't there before, was it?”
“No. It wasn't.”

They drew nearer still and peered down into the gaping maw in the earth and then at the scratched writing:
<snip>"Jay went down the hole. Davie and Jaxx went after him."</snip>
Phi crouched to inspect it. “Oh God," she looked up "that's not good, is it?”
Alex, though, was still trying to read it.
He couldn't concentrate because of the heat currently pulsing through his body.
Whether it was concern about the newly developed hole, the increasingly warm weather, guilt at coming on to Jacky's girl, embarrassment at her reaction, the growing need for a drink, the fact he'd asked Phi for sex like some kind of depraved beggar, mild arousal, or shame at not being able to read the note, he wasn't sure.

He settled on “all of the above”.

“Alex?” Phi verbally prodded.
“I don't...”
“What?”
“Well I can't... read... it.”

She frowned, not sure if he was joking again. It could be difficult to tell when he was and when he wasn't, the guy had a very strange sense of humour.
"Well Jay's in trouble, he's down the hole"
At this she noticed Alex's face grew concerned, maybe he really couldn't read it.
"And Jaxx and Davie have gone in after him."
"Erm..."
"What do we do?"
"Tell Seymour, I guess."

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