“You can’t expect us to shower here!” said Jenna as she looked away in a hurry.

It didn’t take long for Alex to figure out why Jenna was so upset as they arrived in the shower unit. In fact, Dave had no sooner let them into the unit than they were all greeted by the sight of one extremely naked man surrounded by two equally naked women. The two women were pumping his shaft in a half-hearted manner while they were licking their fingers.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what the throuple had been doing just before they arrived.

Surprisingly enough, Dave didn’t recoil at the sight. He simply raised his hand to wave at the shower-dwellers.

“Oh, hey Brian, hey Stacy, hey Libby,” he said casually before gesturing to Alex and Jenna. “I have some more newcomers here today, and they need showers.”

“Perfect timing, we just finished up,” said Brian as he milked his shaft and then turned off the water. He grinned at Alex and nodded his head. “Welcome to Vesta! I’m sure you’re going to love it here.”

Alex couldn’t help but chuckle. “Thanks, it gets more interesting here by the moment.”

Jenna still hadn’t turned to look back as she was averting her eyes while Brian, Stacy, and Libby all walked out of the shower stall completely nude. What was even more, they seemed to have no modesty or qualms about anyone else, especially someone they didn’t know, seeing them in the buff.

“Well, the shower is all yours,” said Dave, pointing inside. “Just press the dispenser for body wash and turn the knob all the way to hot. The towels will be right outside here.”

That was the moment that Alex figured out he was expected to shower with Jenna. Apparently, she figured it out at the same time too.

“Wait, wait a second,” sputtered Jenna as she looked at Alex and then back at Dave. “We don’t get separate stalls?”

Dave gave her an odd look. “Why would you need separate stalls?”

She gave Alex a pleading look as if to ask for silent help.

“I think what she means is that we typically don’t take showers together back on Earth,” said Alex. “We take them separately.”

Dave started to laugh. “You Earthlings have some weird customs. We don’t do that here on Vesta. A man and his wives shower together to conserve what little water we have here on the planet. That’s also not mentioning that it’s a good activity to do for married couples.” Dave leaned in a little closer to Alex. “I’m sure you saw what Brian likes to do with his wives while they’re in here. He’s not the only one.”

“Yeah, but Alex and I aren’t exactly—” started Jenna before she was cut off by Dave.

“It’s fine, you’re Vestans now!” said Dave as he made to leave. “The towels will be out here when you’re done. Just relax. I’m sure you two need to ‘lessen the tension’ anyway, right? It’s been a long journey from Earth!”

With one last good-natured laugh, Dave left them alone in the shower stall.

Right from the start there was a little bit of tension, especially as Jenna looked at him.

“Can you believe what we just saw?” she said, shaking her head. “Alex, they were having sex in here! This whole colony is nuts. And now we’re expected to shower together like it’s some kind of coed locker room?”

“These Vestans are a strange bunch,” said Alex. “I’m sure we’re not the first ones to comment on their customs, especially of the new arrivals. But I do think they intend for us to shower here together.”

Jenna bit her lip and looked at the shower head, which was still dripping with water. “I guess they do,” she said reluctantly. She wrapped her hands around her arms as if she was already trying to shield herself.

“Listen, I can wait just around the corner,” said Alex. “I don’t want you to be uncomfortable here. This way, you’ll have your privacy and I can just shower when you’re done. Deal?”

Jenna didn’t answer right away. She kept looking toward the stall and back at Alex as if some great internal battle was going on inside her head. Finally, Jenna said something that shocked him completely.

“I mean, I guess I’m your companion, right?” she said with a shy, yet sexy smile. “You are supposed to see me naked eventually.”

There was something about the way she said that caused him to get hard instantly. Perhaps it was coupled with the idea of seeing her strip off her clothes that did it as well.

Either way, Alex wasn’t going to try to talk her out of it.

“Whatever you’re comfortable with,” he said. “I’m not going to pressure you either way.”

She smiled and hugged him. “I know you won’t. That’s what I like you about, Alex. And truthfully, I don’t think I’d do this with anyone else but you. So let’s just get this over with, okay?”

Alex tried not to think about the fact that the woman hugging him would soon be stark naked but it was a futile effort. Instead, he tried to focus on getting this done with the least amount of embarrassment possible for both of them.

Embarrassment. You’re thirty-eight years old and you’re embarrassed about showering with a woman. Seriously?

Shaking the thought from his head, Alex moved to one of the benches just outside the stall and began to get undressed. He was dirtier than he realized, especially as most of the clothes came off. The brief cleanliness they achieved with the river two days ago had long since worn off, and more than anything, Alex saw dust and dirt caked to his skin due to the arid environment of Vesta.

Just next to him, Jenna hadn’t started to undress yet but when he turned to face her, she was watching him with heavy interest as he stripped down. At that moment, it wasn’t hard for him to remember Ellie’s statement about Jenna being infatuated with him.

It actually made him less embarrassed to know he had her interest.

Finally, Alex removed the last piece of clothing—his boxer briefs. In the process, Jenna got her first close-up view of his body, and her eyes locked on his lower half with the intensity of a laser.

Alex tried to resist a smile but it happened anyway as he strode toward the shower head and turned it on. After all this time in the wilds of Vesta, he forgot how amazing it felt to have a hot shower. For several long moments, he closed his eyes, reveling in the feeling of the pressure of water against his bare skin. He pressed the button to get a little body wash, wasting no time in lathering himself up either.

It was as he was doing this he felt the brush of bare skin against his shoulder. Alex opened his eyes to see that Jenna had finally joined him in the shower.

And it took every molecule of his being not to stare at her beautiful and flawless body.

Alex could not have designed a better or more attractive woman if he tried.

Jenna’s complexion was smooth with just the right amount of color to it. Her body was lean, with noticeable lines down her stomach where he could see the ends of her ribs as well as the crease of her abdominals. Jenna had two small freckles on the left side of her torso, right near her rib cage. She had an innie belly button and hips that flared out from her tight stomach in a most attractive and feminine way.

Moving up from her stomach were two incredibly large breasts, standing both high and proud on her chest. They were just the right size for her body—not too large in the cartoon sense but not small either. Her areolas were the same shade of pink as her lips and her nipples were just a little thicker than pencil erasers.

More than anything, Alex felt the urge to reach forward and give them a squeeze.

Moving upward, Jenna’s body had clearly defined shoulders and pronounced collar bones. She had a long neck that just begged for attention. Taking his eyes off her upper half, Alex moved down her tight tummy once more until he settled on the small, blonde patch of hair just above her sex. Just under it, he could make out the vaguest hint of her other lips, but they were mostly obscured by her slender but strong thighs.

In short, Jenna was near perfection in feminine form and it was hard for him not to stare, something that she noticed right away.

“Alex!” she said finally, earning his attention.

He blinked several times and then stopped staring, turning away from her. “Sorry, Jenna.”

She giggled loudly until they met eyes again. “I called your name three times. What were you thinking about?”

“Honestly? You don’t even want to know.”

Jenna’s eyes flickered to his waist. “Actually, I think I do know.”

She pointed down, only to find that his cock was now pointing to the ceiling. Alex pivoted his body so that it wasn’t so prominent but Jenna couldn’t help but laugh. At least she wasn’t attempting to avert her eyes like when the other Vestans were in here.

“You don’t have anything to be ashamed about, trust me,” she said as she began to lather the body wash onto her skin.

“I could definitely say the same thing for you,” replied Alex. “Seriously, Jenna, you’re incredible.”

He wasn’t sure if the red that appeared on her cheeks was the result of his compliment or from the heat of the shower. Either way, he liked the look on her.

“This is so weird, isn’t it?” she asked a moment later, once they’d both gotten used to seeing each other nude.

“It’s a little weird,” said Alex. “But honestly, I don’t hate it. Far from it.”

“Yeah, me neither,” said Jenna with a smile. Her eyes flickered down to his manhood one more time. “Is that really because of me?”

“Well, it’s certainly not from Dave,” joked Alex, causing Jenna to nearly snort with laughter.

When she was done laughing, she was beaming from ear to ear.

“Every day, I’m more thankful that we were put together,” she said, leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek. “And honestly, you’re the first man who’s ever seen me like this and didn’t have anything negative to say.”

“I don’t understand how that’s even possible. It doesn’t make any sense, Jenna.”

She shrugged, clearly not too upset about it. “I don’t even care anymore. What matters is how you feel. And judging by what your body did, you feel pretty good.”

Alex chuckled. “I couldn’t agree more.”

They continued to wash themselves for several more minutes, and it even got to the point where Jenna didn’t feel embarrassed when Alex blatantly checked her out. By the time the water turned off, he felt much closer to her than he was before, and he was even looking forward to the prospect of future showers with his companion.

Alex was the first to grab a towel from the main room, and he brought one back for Jenna so she wouldn’t have to be seen by anyone else. Once they were dried off, they found a neat stack of clothing waiting for them on one of the benches.

“I guess these are our new clothes,” said Alex, picking up the fabric and looking at it. The pants were gray polyester with room for many different pockets. The shirt was scarlet in color and across the chest was blazoned the name of Vesta. There were also small clothes as well—underwear for both of them along with a simple bra for Jenna. Alex put his dirty clothes to the side for now, but he did attach his knife back to his waist just out of habit.

The clothing fit just right and as soon as they emerged from the showers, they found Dave waiting for them outside.

“Much better now,” said Dave, gesturing to their new outfits. “What you’re wearing now is about as basic as it gets. Most of the new colonists don’t have much in the way of clothing, but you’ll find that those pants and shirts are in ample supply. Eventually you’ll be able to purchase new things whenever we get a trading ship from another colony, but for now, it won’t be hard to tell who’s a new colonist and who isn’t.”

That was definitely true, as during the next moment, Alex watched as a group of new colonists, all outfitted in the same uniform as he, were led across the grounds toward another biosphere. Of the group of twenty, there were a few faces he recognized from the Racine, and he was happy to know that they’d survived.

At the end of the group was one face that Alex wasn’t happy to see. Bringing up the rear was none other than Lucius Serrano, looking smug and arrogant like the last time Alex saw him.

For a brief moment, their eyes locked. Alex felt the rage building inside him—the same rage that had consumed his body when they were locked in deadly combat on the Racine.

Before he knew it, Alex was advancing forward and closing the distance. Pulling his fist back, he launched into a full run at Serrano as the other man did the same thing.

“Alex!” yelled Jenna. “No!”