Book 1 of “The Catalyst” Series
Chapter 12: I Kissed A Girl And...
Our parents were waiting at the bar when we entered the restaurant. Having spent the day with Allison, helping her terminate all of her client accounts, she was treating us to dinner at one of her favorite restaurants, far from the typical tourist fare we’d been frequenting. I think she was anxious to show off for us, and luckily, being as it was a Tuesday evening, we weren’t likely to encounter any of her influential clients. At least I hoped not.
It had been an emotional afternoon for Allison and she’d asked me for my emotional support as she had to tell all of her clients she wouldn’t be ‘servicing’ them anymore. Needless to say they weren’t terribly pleased, although she said they mostly took it pretty well. Between that and the nerve-wracking events of this morning I was feeling pretty well wiped out, but I knew there’d be a lot to discuss over dinner.
“Alex, what the heck have you been up to?” my father asked, giving me a big hug. “All your sister said was, and I quote, ‘Alex is at the local hospital. He went there by ambulance, but don’t worry, he isn’t the one that was hurt’.”
I started to answer him as I gave my mother a quick hug, but Cate cut me off.
“You wouldn’t believe it, Dad,” she excitedly announced. “He brought a guy back from the dead!”
“Shhh!” I hissed, trying to quiet her as I glanced around to see who might have overheard her, embarrassed by the whole event. I’d prevented everyone from talking about it for most of the day, so I guess it was only natural that she’d be eager to discuss it now. Still, the whole topic made me very ill at ease. “The guy was hardly dead,” I insisted. “He was merely unconscious.”
“Ha! Dad, the guy had been unresponsive for a full half-hour, and the only reason they didn’t just give up was that Brooke told her partner to keep going and not stop while she went off to get zapped by Alex,” Cate explained excitedly, using hand motions and her own eyes to illustrate the ‘zapping’ process.
I just rolled my eyes. “Brooke and her partner are two EMTs who were at the scene,” I explained. “They’ll be meeting us here shortly, along with a nurse by the name of Rebecca.”
“Man,” my father sighed, “I can’t believe how you manage to pick up women. You put Charlie Sheen to shame.” My mother slapped his shoulder, but we all knew what he really meant.
“Rebecca’s like Natalie, Hi Natalie,” I added, acknowledging our little hotel employee who’d came with my parents.
“Anyway,” Cate went on, not losing any of her enthusiasm, “she just walks up to him and, after his usual response, he quickly explains what the visions represent and so she grabs his hand and drags him over to the guy,” she said, glossing over what the ‘usual response’ entailed.
By this time we’d already been ushered to our table, one big enough to sit our increasingly large party—twelve people that night.
“She said something to Alex, puts his hands on the guy’s head, then a moment later he puts his hand on the guy’s chest and he just bolts upright.”
“Again, she oversimplifies,” I tried to explain it more logically, hoping to tamper down everyone’s enthusiasm as the people seated near us were starting to listen in as well. “She told me the biggest problem with someone who’d been down so long was with brain damage, so she wanted me to do something to his head.”
“But whatever Alex did worked,” Cate said, completely undeterred, “because the guy was instantly OK. No brain damage, not dead, and even alert and coherent,” She concluded triumphantly before turning to shoot me a look. “But Alex has been in a mood ever since. He’s refused to say anything about it all day!”
“Well, damn it,” I responded, looking quickly at Mom to gauge her reaction to my swearing, “It’s very scary to have someone’s life in your hands and have NO idea what you’re doing, have no way of controlling or measuring what you’re doing. She had me doing something to his brain and I couldn’t feel or tell what I was doing. She just said ‘be gentle’ and left me to do whatever I was supposed to do. I couldn’t tell if I was doing anything or if I was frying the poor guy’s brain.”
“I’ll have you know Alex did very well,” Brooke answered, approaching me from behind. I waved my hand to acknowledge her—she’d told me when she walked in the door that they were here. “I realize he was unprepared for what happened, but he did as I instructed perfectly.” She leaned over and gave me a quick kiss hello, pausing a moment, perhaps to guess whether I’d allow it, but I doubt she could even see me nod or not.
“I’m Brooke Knowles by the way, and this is my partner, Clark Straus,” she said, introducing herself, “and Alex has probably already told you about Rebecca Boles,” she continued, indicating their new nurse friend. “I’m afraid I didn’t get any of the rest of your names. Hi, Anh,” she finished with a little wave.
As she was introducing herself I looked them over again. I had been in such a hurry that morning that I hadn’t had much of a chance to really give them a good once over. Brooke was a little older than the other girls, taller and looked to be in very good shape, as the muscles on her biceps flexed as she moved around. She had longish brunette hair and an intense, highly focused look about her, as if she was very intense about whatever she undertook. What I also noticed was that she didn’t like bras, and she had two very distinct ‘bumps’ in her blouse which featured prominently when you addressed her. As for her face, she had a fairly larger nose, blue-grey eyes and a ruddy complexion from being out in the sun so much.
Clark was also older, heavier set with a short haircut which he styled in a younger man’s style—short on the sides and moussed so it stood up on top of his head—and wore plain black frame glasses with a light beard. He had a decent paunch as well, but both he and Brooke were obviously in decent shape, and I was sure that either one could take me if a fight—or in a simple jog around the block. Clark had rugged features softened by his weight with a firm decisive look about his eyes.
Rebecca was clearly younger than either Brooke or her partner. She had dark wavy hair, about shoulder length, and a really cute impish smile that just brightened your whole day when she flashed it at you. She had full cheeks, clear eyes, and of course the dimples when she smiled just right. Unlike the other two, I wondered how she managed the physical demands of her job, as she didn’t seem large or sturdy enough to lift heavy patients, but I didn’t doubt that she had plenty of experience at it, and didn’t think I’d challenge her to any arm-wrestling contests. Finally, all three had larger breasts than my poor sister, Cate, did.
My father stood up to shake Clark’s hand and to give Brooke a big hug. “Well, welcome to the family, Brooke. It looks like you’re one of us now. I’m sure you have a lot of questions for him. I’m Frank Jennings and this is my wife Linda, and you’ve no doubt met Cate, Alex’s sister.”
“Well, we sorta met but nothing was very official,” she cautiously replied before smiling at my father. “We were too busy loading people into an ambulance at the time.”
“I’m Clark,” her partner unnecessarily stated, looking at Alex curiously as he pulled up a chair and sat down. “I still have no clue what went on or what Brooke has gotten into. She refused to say a thing, just telling me we’d discuss it tonight.”
“Yeah,” chimed in Rebecca, “I’m even more in the dark. All I knew is that Alex stormed into the hospital. I knew he was important and needed immediate attention, but I had no idea who he was or what he represents, but what he did with the man that Brooke and Clark brought in is just amazing.”
“Man, you should have seen the cops,” Cate went on, not dissuaded by any of the introductions. “Their mouths all hit the curb, they couldn’t believe it.” She was positively beaming, basking in my reflected glow, despite how much the whole episode continued to embarrass me.
“Care to share some details?” my father asked me once we’d all sat down and the rest of the introductions were made.
“I’ll jump in if you don’t mind, Alex,” Brooke offered, to which I merely motioned her to continue. The less I had to say the better.
“I could feel Alex there from a fairly long distance away, before we ever got there. Personally I thought he was the Angel of Death. I’ve been around death a lot in my business and I’ve never met him before—the Angel of Death, that is—so I figured he had to have come for me, but I wasn’t scared. I could feel this wasn’t personal and I could tell there’d be no arguing with him. It just felt, I don’t know, natural I guess. Like if this was the end that it was just natural to go with it.”
“Man, that’s one we haven’t encountered yet,” Cate chimed in. “So far we’ve had an Angel, Jesus and a mighty spirit. I’d never have imagined the Angel of Death,” she said, staring at me intently.
“I’m sorry,” My mother chimed in, “but speaking as a mother, the image of poor sweet Alex being the Angel of Death is just….” She visibly shivered at the thought, unable to find words to properly describe how that concept made her feel. My father pulled her to him and gave her a protective hug.
“Yeah, well, that’s the only thing I could think of that would be waiting for me at the scene of an accident radiating that much power,” she said apologetically, trying to explain her thinking. “But when I saw him there just watching, I figured he either wasn’t there for me or he was just waiting for me to finish. I figured I’d better do my best and save the guy, but there just wasn’t any way to save him. So I thought I’d ask the angel for his assistance, thinking I could impress him and maybe gain some brownie points with God or something.
“I told Clark to continue treatment and not to stop, and then I got up and approached him. I guess I don’t need to tell you all what happened to me when I did,” she stated, glancing around at all the women surrounding me. They each nodded, showing the same sense of amazement at what they’d each experienced, which seemed to unite each of these women, despite their differences.
“You’d better damn well tell me,” Clark insisted, glancing at her skeptically. “I’ve been waiting all day to hear this cockamamie story, and I intend to hear all of it.”
“Well,” she began, trying unsuccessfully to glance at Alex before beginning, “he glanced up and looked me in the eyes and suddenly there’s this flash of light and my knees got weak. When my vision cleared, there’s this bright floodlight coming from Alex. Then once I manage to gather my wits, I notice that everyone else has this glow about them as well. That’s when Alex told me what it all means.”
“Which is?” Clark asked, sounding exasperated. Shani leaned over and quietly whispered to him for a few moments.
“What the FUCK?” he shouted in response.
I could see that Rebecca was just as quizzical, although not quite as rude, but Natalie had roped her into sitting with her, figuring they were compatriots, so she leaned over and explained to her what Clark had just discovered.
Brooke just met his gaze and nodded her head. “Yep, it’s all true,” she insisted. “You saw the results. When he told me that I could see whether there was any life left in the guy, and considering how much energy he had just leaking out of him all the time, I figured I had to give it a try,” she explained, continuing on with the story.
“When I got back to where Clark was halfheartedly doing CPR, I could still see some lingering energy in the guy. Before I’d commit to anything though, I wanted to be sure we could save him. Any time someone’s been down for so long there’s a significant chance of brain injury, but when I looked there was still a substantial glow of energy there as well. That’s when I told Alex to help him.”
“I told her it didn’t work like that,” I explained, adding my own detail to her story.
“Yeah, he said he couldn’t see what I could, so I took his hands and guided them to the proper location for him to apply his energy,” she explained.
“See, Alex is a catalyst for change in the women around him,” Cate patiently explained to Clark and Rebecca. “He picks people who already have a particular affinity for this new type of life force they can detect and gives them these new abilities.”
“I could tell he had no idea what he was doing, so I just told him to apply a very controlled, careful and minute amount of steady energy to the points where I put his fingers. He did just what I asked, and I watched as those parts of his brain grew in strength.”
“Damn!” was all Clark could think to say in response.
I thought Brooke and Clark would be handy to have around. With the both of them swearing all the time Mom would have a harder time giving me hell about it.
“Once the energy in those regions in his head where most of the damage usually occurs built up, I told him to apply the same energy to his heart, only more of it. I figured he’d just strengthen the heart muscle enough for it to respond to our defibrillator. Anyway, it worked. He jolted upright like he’d just been awakened from a nap by a cat leaping on him claws first.”
“Man, it was the funniest thing to watch everyone just jump back when he did that. None of them expected it,” Cate finished the recount.
“Yeah,” Clark recounted with a laugh of his own. “The various police never got over it. All day they kept asking me if the stories they’d heard were true.”
“What’d you tell them?” I asked worriedly.
“Oh, Brooke insisted I not say anything to anyone, we’ve been partners for a long time now so I tend to follow her lead when she’s particular about something,” he explained.
“So you didn’t say anything?” I asked just to ensure I wouldn’t be hearing anything about it.
“Hell, what can I say? When people keep asking you, you’ve got to say something. But I tried to keep it to a minimum. Don’t worry about anyone saying anything though, Brooke never told me your full name.”
“And Brooke kept your name off the police records while I kept it out of the hospital’s records,” Rebecca added, to my great relief.
“So you can apply this energy to help save people?” Mom asked, blinking in surprise. I was already dreading what everyone would be asking me to do now.
“Well, it’s not so much to save them as to help strengthen them. But I’m not about to do it again,” I insisted. “I have no idea how to apply medicine. I have no way of gauging what’s safe and what isn’t. It scared the crap out of me to be doing that to some guy.”
“Yeah, but if you did something wrong he’d have been just as dead as if you hadn’t done anything,” Shani offered.
“Maybe so, but at least then I wouldn’t have been guilty of frying him!”
Brooke smiled and patted my back. “Hell, kid, you did good. You officially brought someone back from Death’s door. Enjoy the feeling for a while. It doesn’t always last, believe me,” she told me with heartfelt emotion.
“Is that why you didn’t want us discussing it?” Cate asked, finally catching on to my conflicts with wanting to help people but having no clue how to do it.
“Yeah, plus I figured if I started I’d just keep having to repeat it over and over. There were just too many people to tell, and it was just too painful for me to deal with right then.”
“So that’s why you pushed us so hard to do all that crap work?” Cate asked, arching her eyebrow at me.
Ah, there it was. The ‘Look’. The ‘Mom look’ we’d always gotten whenever we used the wrong word. For a bit I’d thought she’d given up on it. But it looked like it still applied to my little sister, even if it didn’t to me. At least there was some personal benefit to all these abilities—well, aside from the sex and having women hanging on my every word at least.
“It wasn’t ‘crap work’,” Allison responded sharply. “There were a lot of important people I had to contact and delicately let down, and it took a lot of effort. I for one appreciate everything you all did for me today.”
“Hey, wait,” Clark said, sitting up a little straighter. “Don’t I know you? You went out with the mayor a couple of times?” Allison just smiled patiently at him, waiting for him to make the necessary associations.
“Yeah, I think I saw you with the State Senator as well,” Brooke stated.
“I’ve been with a great many people, let’s just leave it at that,” she replied quietly. “I’ve decided to leave that life behind. Alex has convinced me to turn my life around and to honestly help people, instead of just playing at it like I’d been doing.”
“How had you been playing at helping people?” Brooke asked her, clearly confused by the carefully worded non-explanation. Shani leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Oh wow,” she responded quietly to the surprising answer.
“What?” Clark asked loudly from beside her. Being so big, he wasn’t very good at modulating his voice.
“She told her that she had been using her ability to feel her clients’ emotions to make them feel better and to try to help them,” my mother explained, joining in the discussion for a change, perhaps seeing Allison as a lost child in need of redemption. “Alex questioned whether that was really what was occurring or not, and suggested maybe a direct approach would be better. A medically licensed approach that is.”
“You know,” Allison explained, “many of my clients congratulated me and told me they’d volunteer to be my first clients once I got my degree.”
“Would that be with or without benefits,” my father pointedly asked before he reconsidered. “Not that I think you’d do that,” he hurriedly countered, blushing at his unintended gaffe. “It’s just that I’d have to question their motives if I was in your shoes.”
“Dad, you could never fit in her five-inch heels, though it would be fun to see you try,” Cate smilingly replied.
“Maybe not, but I take his meaning,” Allison responded. “Actually they sounded quite sincere. I explained that I was permanently out of the business. I’d gotten quite close to most of my clients. It’s what allowed me to do so well when there are so many who charge pocket change to do the very same thing.”
“Still,” I consoled her, “I think your choice is the better one. You were so worried that I’d come to pass judgment on you, I think you’d been feeling guilty about what you’d been doing for a long time. This way you can still help people, but without all the negatives associated with your actions.”
“Yeah, yeah, this is all interesting, but I’m still a little confused here,” Rebecca interrupted the conversation. “I assume that all of you share this little ability to see people’s energy or something?”
“We think of it as their life force,” Cate offered.
“Yeah, OK, but you can all see it?”
“Not just that, they share the ability to communicate telepathically with Alex,” Cate elaborated, motioning to indicate she was only talking about the five women and not my family.
“So, how come I didn’t receive the same thing?” Rebecca demanded, sounding partially offended and partially crushed. “Was I not deserving enough?” she asked, her voice quivering slightly.
“No, no,” Natalie hurried to console her. “It’s nothing like that. It gets complicated and it’s all just conjecture at this point, but it seems that there are some people who have some kind of genetic thing that can feel others’ energy. That makes them susceptible to what Alex can do to them. You and I, as well as a lot of others, only have a partial dose of it so we can feel it a little, just not enough to get the full treatment.”
“According to my theory, which Natalie’s quoting, that’s also why it only affects women,” Cate tried to explain, excited to be talking about her newest theories as much as she hoped to help ease Rebecca’s hurt feelings. “It acts like a weird recessive trait, kind of like color blindness but apparently it only works on women. Men just don’t seem to be susceptible.”
“So it’s like an XLink recessive trait, just the reverse of how they normally present?” Rebecca asked, leaving the rest of us scratching our heads, but apparently Cate knew exactly what she was talking about.
“Yeah, you’ve got it. That would mean that the various people who feel attracted to Alex but aren’t triggered by him, are what you’d normally consider carriers, they only have a single affected gene.”
“Uh, how about a little English, Cate?” I asked, trying to bring the discussion back down to where everyone else could understand some of it.
“Well, if you remember anything from math, logic or computers, it’s similar to an XOR stipulation,” she attempted to explain. “Instead of saying ‘X and Y genes’, or ‘X or Y genes’, it’s saying X and not Y’.”
I had to think hard about that explanation, and from the looks on everyone’s face, it didn’t seem to simplify anything at all.
“So you’ve got two whole classes of women following you around; those with magical abilities and those who just find you dreamy?” Clark asked, growing impatient with Cate’s translation and sounding a little annoyed.
“Pretty much, although I’m doing nothing to attract them, they just started to notice and approach me once we hit the city. I’ve never had a problem with it before.”
“We’re not sure if it was simply the isolation of our small town, or whether his particular abilities only become activated at a particular age,” Cate summarized.
“Man, this is just plain crazy,” Clark concluded, shaking his head. “I mean, this kind of stuff just isn’t possible!”
“Yeah, but you’ve gotta admit, the results are pretty convincing.” Brooke said.
“Actually, once you get into it, his abilities fit into a very definite pattern which is relatively easy to understand,” Cate tried to convince him. “It obeys the standard laws of physics, except it’s like when they first started experimenting with electricity, when you’re dealing with a new realm of physics everything seems ‘magical’ when it’s really not.”
“Well, what he did was very impressive, but it was a single case,” he cautioned, staring down both Brooke and Cate. “And that hardly proves a whole new branch of science.”
“But what he’s done to each of us he’s done, what, five times?” Shani offered.
“Look, let’s not fight about this,” Allison said, trying to temper Clark’s growing defensive temper. “I know it takes time to come to an understanding about all of this, so let’s just think about it before we start saying anything we’ll regret. We’re just trying to lay out what it is that we understand at this point in time. I’m sure we’ll have a more complete picture once Cate gets her brother back to her hidden lab to experiment on him, but for now this is our understanding of events.”
“She’s got a good point,” I said, throwing in my own two cents. “We could sit here and discuss all the details, but everyone here has already heard the story multiple times,” I added, still hoping I could put the whole discussion to bed.
“Yeah, each time he finds a new girl, and so far he’s managed to find one just about every day he’s been here,” my father groused. “That’s a lot of listening to the same theories over and over again,” he added while rolling his eyes to emphasize his exasperation with it.
“Well, if we’re changing the topic; Brooke, what are your plans for the future?” Shani asked, turning the tables on me by changing the topic from one I was uncomfortable with to one I didn’t want to broach at all. “We plan on following Alex home and setting up shop in his little farm community.” Brooke looked a little startled.
“Woodland community, actually,” my father corrected her, although no one seemed to pay any attention to that little detail.
“I don’t know,” she answered. “I’ve got a couple of kids I’d have to pull out of school.” She didn’t seem put off as much as she was simply considering all the tasks she’d have to get started on.
“Slow down everyone,” I said, holding my hands up trying to slow down the discussion. “Maybe her family doesn’t want to move. Besides,” I continued, thinking of a new stalling maneuver, “it may be better for her to remain here in her job. After all, if everyone with this ability is living in the same place, there’s an increased chance everything I’ve done being undone by a single unfortunate accident.”
“Oh, come on, Alex,” Cate complained. “You know perfectly well if you imply you want something they’d fall all over themselves doing it for you. Give her a chance to make up her own mind.”
“Still, he’s got a point,” Mom interrupted, looking like she was honestly evaluating my idea. While she wasn’t my intended target, I wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. “We currently have a bunch of new additions to our little house, and it just isn’t going to be big enough for all of you. How about if you all want to come, we schedule it in shifts?”
“This is a lot to take in all at once,” Brooke complained with a smile, showing she wasn’t overly concerned.
“Does that mean…?” Rebecca asked, leaving the question unfinished.
Natalie reached out and held her arm. “Don’t worry, he said we’re as welcome as the rest are. He says he doesn’t want us to be considered lesser participants in any way. Isn’t that right, Alex?” she asked, looking at me as if challenging me to dare refute her claim.
Man, was I feeling put on the spot. I really didn’t want all these women giving up their lives for me, but they just weren’t giving me any outs.
“Yeah, that’s my position,” I said with a heavy sigh. “If I invite you in then you’re a part of the whole scheme. But that in no way means any of you are obligated—”
“Yeah, yeah,” Cate dismissively waved me off, already assuming no one would be interested in turning down the offer. “So do you think you could stand working at a small regional hospital?”
“I think if I join the second wave it’d give me time to rearrange the kid’s schedules,” Brooke said as the little wheels in her brain were busy spinning.
“You’d quit your job?” Clark asked, surprised to find his long time partner abandoning him.
“Face it,” she told him, turning to look in his face. “If it was up to you, would you turn down an opportunity like this?”
He looked unhappy for a few moments before sighing deeply. “No, I guess I wouldn’t. Still, with this new ability of yours you might be able to improve our rescue rate even more than we have over the last few years.”
“Well, I guess I’ll have a chance to test that out if they aren’t going to be ready for me for a while.”
“So, Brooke, tell us about your kids,” I said, still trying to get us off this newest topic, hoping everyone would calm down once they considered just how difficult moving would be. “How old are they?” Brooke’s face lit up at the chance to talk about her kids.
“I have two; Susan, or Suzy, who’s nine and Peter, who’s eleven. They mean the world to me, but they can be two unholy terrors for a single mother to deal with. Suzy is full of questions all the time and Peter just likes to get into trouble. I can imagine all the questions Suzy is going to have for each of you,” she concluded with a laugh.
I remembered how cute Anh’s granddaughter Victoria was and smiled at the memory as well.
“I look forward to meeting them,” I told her, actually anticipating it enough to forget about my feelings of dread over the prospect of another couple of women following me home.
“Rebecca, what’s your story? Tell us a little about yourself,” my mother continued playing host. Once again, I was just happy to have the attention taken off me for a change.
“Well, I’ve been working as an ER nurse for the last decade. I got my degree from Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri. Aside from spending my days and evenings covered in bloody scrubs, I enjoy the occasional date but I’m generally too busy to do that much. Right now I think I like Cate’s attitude in that I’d love to study what is going on here. Actually I’d love to have this vision thing you are all talking about as it would be a tremendous medical tool, but I guess that puts me in the same camp as Alex and Cate, so I guess I’m not too low on the miracle totem pole,” she said with a gentle laugh. It was nice to see her so relaxed with the whole unusual situation. Clark, however, was another case. He continued to eye me warily. Not that I could blame him.
“Given all this talk of Angels, spirits and such, I guess it’s my role to inform everyone that Alex isn’t particularly religious,” Cate generally informed the assembled crowd without any preamble.
“Cate!” Mom chided my sister.
“What?” she protested. “I can’t be blamed for Alex’s lack of faith.”
“Just how religious is ‘not very religious’?” Rebecca asked, curious about the religious doubts of a supposed angel.
“Actually I’m an atheist. I don’t believe in God at all,” I answered honestly. It got less of a reaction than I’d expected. Usually when you mention atheism everyone acts like you just ran over a puppy. They just can’t picture life without the support of some mythical being to rely on.
“Alex!” Mom responded, as if this was the first time she was hearing this. Actually, given how infrequently I mentioned it, maybe it was. She knew I hadn’t attended church with them except for special occasions for quite some time. I guess we’d be having a discussion sometime in the near future.
“Hmm, an Angel who doesn’t believe in God, that’s a new one,” Allison remarked. “I hadn’t realized that yet. So I guess asking you to forgive me really was unnecessary,” she smiled.
“Explain to them why you don’t believe in him, Alex,” Cate instructed me, smiling herself, knowing just much the contradiction between my personal beliefs and everything that was happening to me undermined my own positions.
“I’ve just never bought the whole concept of the soul,” I explained, watching everyone’s reactions. “I can’t picture a soul existing outside of a physical body, outside of the memories stored in the synapses in the brain. Once you take the idea of a soul out of the picture, the whole concept of God just falls apart. You can’t have heaven without souls to inhabit it, you can’t have a Holy Ghost without them, and you also can’t have a paternal entity watching over everyone’s inner thoughts across the universe. But I don’t expect anyone else to share my beliefs, though. They’re mine and I know most people wouldn’t agree with them.”
“Hmm,” Allison reflected, rubbing her chin as she contemplated the idea. “An Angel who doesn’t believe in God, and a Great Spirit who doesn’t believe in spirits. How do you explain all that’s been happening and what we’re seeing if you don’t believe in it?”
“Well, first of all, I can’t explain anything that’s been happening. Secondly, what you’re seeing is the person’s life energy. That I can believe in. But Brooke, did you notice the guy’s soul leaving his body? Or did his life force just get weaker and weaker until it just started to fade away? That fits with my particular world view.”
“What about Anh’s theory about your spirit crossing over from another dimension to take human form here on earth?” Patricia asked, leaning forward as if interested in personally wrestling this particular dilemma. She hadn’t said anything regarding religion before, but given her background singing blues and jazz tunes, she could either be very religious or completely abstaining.
“No offense, Anh,” I began, waiting for her to nod her head, “but it’s an old world tale from her country of origin from a long time ago. If they ever existed at all, there’s no telling how far the stories got stretched over the years to fit into standard thinking of the time. She’s provided some useful insights, but I’m not sure I’m quite willing to believe all of it yet. Just like I don’t expect any of you to believe any of what I believe.”
Anh said more than a few words in Vietnamese, surprising our three newcomers, who sat there in stunned surprise at the interruption, so I quickly translated.
“She says: ‘The newborn doesn’t know how it comes into the world, so too is a spiritual rebirth. We may never know the truth of his stories, but I feel secure in the knowledge of spirits I have met in the past, whatever their origins.’”
Our newest members all sat agog over the exchange. “Yeah, I know what it’s like,” Dad said, smiling at their reactions. “I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to them doing that.”
A brief exchange started up about whether I knew Vietnamese, which took the pressure off the scene created by the previous discussion, but they quickly returned to it until Shani put a quick end to it.
“I said before and I think I speak for many of those here,” She patiently explained, “you’ve managed to shake up enough of our belief systems that we’ve not real sure what to believe anymore. All we know is we trust you and your judgment. Whether your beliefs about souls is true or not, or whether you’re like Anh suggests, merely struck dumb so you won’t remember who or what you are, is anyone’s guess.”
“Well, I’m not sure if I’m quite as complacent about it, but we’ll talk about that later,” my mother warned me. I just smiled in return, having expected that very response.
The food arrived then, so the discussion was halted—at least temporarily—as it shifted over to quiet conversations between individuals. I was impressed with Allison’s choice in restaurants. I could see why she liked the place. It was quiet, respectful, the food was excellent, and no one paid any particular attention to famous or unusual individuals. As the meal was finishing everyone began debating what was up for the evening, but I begged off, telling them that I was still too preoccupied by my experiences from this morning. They all seemed to respect that and proceeded to make plans that, for once, didn’t involve me.
“Frankly, I’m a little glad you’re going to be otherwise indisposed,” Patricia admitted, glancing at Cate as a barometer of my mood. “Since I want to explore applying these new abilities to my music, I'd rather do it without you providing an overwhelming distraction.” Here she turned to relate to the other girls. “After all, it’s hard to detect minor fluctuations in the crowd’s reactions when your energy drowns it out.”
The other girls all nodded knowingly, as if they could understand the wisdom of her words. However, her reference to her singing career sparked Clark’s curiosity.
“Do you sing?” he asked simply.
When she explained about her club, he nodded sagely. “I actually know the club. I’d often thought about visiting it, but I don’t get into the French Quarter much anymore. You wouldn’t mind if we tagged along, would you?”
“Absolutely not,” she answered with a smile before turning to scour in my general direction. “Unlike Alex, I can gage your reactions, so it’ll actually be a help.”
So Brooke and Rebecca agreed to tag along as well, especially since that would give them more opportunities to talk to the other girls.
“Well, while the rest of you are busy,” my father said, grasping my mother’s hand and gazing into her eyes, “I think we’ll take the opportunity for a quiet romantic stroll along the waterfront. After all, it’s hard to get romantic in the evening when images of what Alex is up to with a room full of girls keeps playing in my head.” Everyone laughed, though I could tell that Clark’s curiosity was piqued, but as long as he asked when I wasn’t around I didn’t really care.
“As much as I’d love to join you, I think I need to be getting home in order to prepare for work in the morning,” Natalie said, excusing herself as well. “Spending all day with you people while still going to work early in the morning is wearing me out.”
Anh spoke a bit, based on the ongoing translation I’d been feeding her. When everyone turned to me I explained.
“She says that if everyone else has plans, that she wouldn’t mind visiting the casino for similar reasons to my dad’s.” When everyone looked at me and her curiously I finished the translation. “She seems to think that the peace and quiet of a blackjack table might calm her nerves so excited by the activities of late.”
Everyone laughed as they all got up, preparing for their own night on the town. That left only three of us.
“Well, like Alex, I’m pretty worn out, so I’ll keep an eye on him and make sure he stays out of trouble,” Cate teased, but I noticed her watching me like she didn’t think she could trust me on my own for the night.
“Well, since that takes care of everyone else, it looks like Shani and I have Alex all to ourselves for the evening,” Allison said, glancing at me meaningfully, “and I plan to thank him for the help he gave me today saying goodbye to all my clients. It’ll be hard to do it without discussing what happened today, but I’ll think of some way of doing it without words,” she promised.
I certainly couldn’t refuse under those conditions, and Shani didn’t look like she was dissuaded by the comment either. Cate, though, looked a lot less tired than she’d indicated as her eyes lit up with what she imagined might transpire.
Instead of walking we decided to take a cab back to the hotel. I’d learned that Allison’s sexy, bright red, 2-door convertible BMW wouldn’t fit all of us. Damn, that was one sexy car, but it just wasn’t practical for a young boy with six women trailing after him. Even the four of us would have been tight. Maybe she’d let me drive it sometime.
In the cab I didn’t want to make any assumptions, giving myself some wiggle room, so I suggested we simply watch an in-room movie. Everyone agreed, despite Allison’s allusions earlier, so I simply chalked it up to bluster on her part, or maybe she was simply picking up on my mood, even though I certainly had nothing against us all fooling around. I might have been interested in some peace and quiet, but too much quiet would just cause me to think about what I almost did that morning, so some distraction sounded like a good idea.
With the four of us spread out before the hotel’s television I discovered the limits of my harem controlling mental powers when I was voted down in my choice of an action flick, and we ended up watching a chick flick instead. I sat against the headboard of my bed with Shani and Allison leaning against me and Cate lying further down, leaning against my leg. They’d all go “Ahhh” every time something cute happened on screen. However part way through the film both girls were holding hands with me, which meant that whenever they’d go “ahhh,” they’d pull my hands to their chests. I started looking forward to the romantic moments on the small screen. Even Cate would cuddle herself against me during these moments, and while having your sister’s breasts pressed against you is a little disconcerting, I certainly wasn’t going to complain about anyone’s delicious breasts being pressed against me. Well, maybe my mother’s, but that’s another story. Too many associations I guess.
After the movie we discussed what to watch when Shani suggested they had HBO. I started looking for the big films but came across one of the play acted “Adult” shows. I paused at it and Cate asked if we could watch, so we did. Soon I was cuddling both women and playing with their breasts while we watched the silly program. There certainly wasn’t much plot, but the two lead characters were the same body type as Cate and I, a thin A-chested female and an equally thin, aka ‘scrawny’, guy. Both of us started talking about how we hated the overdone silicone/steroid injected looks of most current actors.
Watching the film kind of made me think of Cate and I and, while a bit disturbing, I kept watching because it would be rude to suddenly change it. When Cate asked Shani about her preferred body type, she said she appreciated older guys, adding that I’d be perfect once I added some inches to my waist and grew some more forehead. When asked, Allison laughed and simply said she’d seen so many ‘older pudgy balding types’ that the build no longer had much attraction. In fact, she wasn’t interested in either the ‘built’ younger stars or the mature older ones, it was personality she was interested in and in doing things for the people she was with. I thought that was very romantic for a professional escort, but I wisely kept silent. We all laughed and sighed appropriately as the girls started teasing me back and kissing me between them. After a bit we shifted around until we were lying with me facing Shani with Allison spooned up against me.
I kissed Shani, gently caressing her breast to the accompaniment of the moaning sounds coming from the video, while Allison kept my senses alive with a series of intimate caresses of her own. Noticing we’d moved, Cate got a big smile on her face, turning around and sitting up facing us so she could see what we were doing from a better angle, completely ignoring the movie none of us bothered to turn off.
“You know, you guys are certainly more exciting to watch than those phony actors,” she told us as she watched me nuzzle Shani’s neck, biting her ear. “Although, you three are a lot less believable in real life! How you all got together is much too unrealistic,” she added with a pleasant grin as she settled in to watch the newest show.
I must say, it’s an interesting experience kissing a laughing girl. All the right parts jiggle in very interesting ways.
Allison was hugging my back, her nipples pressing into me, her crotch rubbing against my ass while looking over my shoulder. As Shani leaned into me, I managed to slip open her shirt, revealing her naked chest, proving she wasn’t wearing a bra. The sight somehow produced a sudden flash of inspiration, as ideas began to dance in my head. Figuring I’d either have fun or die trying, I reached over Shani, to where Cate was leaning on my legs watching us. Grasping Cate’s hand I pulled it towards us, placing it on Shani’s left breast as I covered her hand with my own, pressing it firmly to Shani’s left nipple.
Cate gasped as her hand made contact with Shani’s naked breast and none of us moved for several moments. Cate looked shocked and Shani merely curious, but I was holding my breath, waiting to see whether she’d make my vision come true or whether she’d storm out, never speaking to me again. As far as I knew, Cate had never tried anything with another girl before, and she’d never given any hint that she wanted to, but I figured you can’t watch your brother fool around with a bunch of women unless you were at least a little interested in those women yourself. It was nerve-racking waiting to see whether my assumptions would play out or not.
I couldn’t even tell if Cate was still breathing, she was holding herself so still. Shani sensed her hesitation and froze as well, although her breathing kind of staggered. Allison simply ground her crotch into my ass as her hand snaked around and grasped my erection. She didn’t initiate any more than a soft caress, but it was clear she considered this a significant milestone as she leaned up in order to watch Cate and Shani interact without my glare getting in the way.
I had the distinct impression—mainly by how she was caressing me--that she was willing to push me even farther if the opportunity presented itself. Still, she was willing to bide her time, not wanting to pressure a delicate situation, but the added stimulation was a nice touch, as my cock lurched in her hand as we watched the scene slowly play out before us. I was close enough that I could see the individual hairs on Cate’s fingers, and each crinkle on Shani’s puckered areola.
Finally I felt Cate’s hand shift under mine as she began caressing Shani’s breast, rubbing her palm against her erect nipple. Cate’s face was priceless. Her eyes were huge and she looked like she was afraid to breath—fearing it would break the mood of the moment, ending the entire scene. I couldn’t help myself, I broke into a big shit-eating grin and pressed Cate’s hand more fully into Shani, squeezing it to encourage her to explore while she had the chance.
Cate finally took a hesitant haltering breath, but her look was now one of intense concentration, rather than one of frightened shock. I noticed goose bumps rise along Shani’s skin, proving she was finding the entire scene to be exciting as well, but she was like a deer caught in a headlight, afraid that if she moved too suddenly, she’d scare my frightened sister, causing her to bolt.
Ignoring their shared trepidation, I leaned forward and again kissed Shani. Since we were spooned, she was facing Cate, offering her free access to her breasts while she leaned her head back, closing her eyes to kiss me. Allison’s breath was loud in my ear as she watched the scene slowly develop, her hand slowing squeezing me more insistently, encouraging me to continue temping Cate. Shifting a bit, I formed my sister’s hand into the proper shape and had her squeeze, then pull the exposed nipple a bit to further extend it. Speaking to us both Shani whispered “harder”. Cate and I did as she asked, and I felt Allison pick up the pace slightly in my nether regions.
Leaving the breast play to my sister, who seemed to have figured it out herself, I reached down, laying my hand on Cate’s thigh. While continuing the intimate kiss with Shani, who was now attacking my tongue with a vengeance, I began playing with Cate’s thigh, trying to get her comfortable with the contact by being nonthreatening in my approach. Cate seemed completely focused on what was occurring under her hand, reacting with a strange, confounded expression on her face that seemed to say she was surprised at what she was allowing herself to do. Since she wasn’t focused on what I was doing I explored a bit more, slowly moving my hand up her leg. Imitating my actions from before, Allison reached across with her free hand and placed it over my own on Cate’s thigh, guiding my hand on its exploration of her flesh. This continued without complaint, so soon we were openly palming her crotch as Cate responded by pressing against our hands. I was absolutely flabbergasted that she’d allow me to be so forward with her, but figured I’d keep going as long as she didn’t complain. I swore to myself that I’d stop as soon as she hesitated, so I watched her carefully while I progressed, which had a direct effect on my kissing technique, causing Shani and I to stop.
Allison took advantage of this opportunity. Not wanting to break our contact with Cate, she rolled me partly over, just enough to give her better access to everyone else, ostensibly so she could kiss me, but I suspect it was so she could more easily reach Cate. We were both continued playing with Cate while we kissed, me lightly caressing her crotch while Allison teased her thigh.
Allison had enough experience to know just how much pressure to apply to stimulate Cate while not scaring her. However Cate seemed preoccupied. Now that she had freer access to Shani’s charms, she was actively exploring her chest with her unguided hand. I was simply overwhelmed with everything happening to me, the sounds of everyone’s increasing breaths overwhelming the sounds of fake heavy breathing from the TV.
Shani, rolling over a little more, progressed to licking my ear, which I found intriguing. I was especially surprised by how stimulating I found that simple act to be. While I’d tried it on her earlier, I’d thought it would simply be romantic, but I had no idea just how intoxicating it could be. I could see Shani was breathing heavily and her chest began to glisten with tiny little beads of perspiration. At Cate’s prompting she lay back enough and Cate tried licking Shani’s nipple. Man, was I ever glad to be me at that point. A bed full of available females; well, I wasn’t sure how Cate qualified but it was a bed full never-the-less. Not only that, but I was witnessing my first girl-on-girl action, something I’d dreamed about for years. None of the girls from the previous encounters had shown any interest in such activities, but now both Cate and Shani seemed to have surprised themselves with their willingness to explore.
Shani, panting for more, decided she’d had enough and began unbuttoning my shirt. Deprived of her plaything, Cate instead started playing with Shani’s nipples again, giving her free access to my shirt.
“Man, I can’t believe what I’m doing,” Cate mumbled, seemingly speaking to no one in particular.
Since Shani finished unbuttoning, we both stopped what we were doing and sat up to remove our shirts. Allison pulled it off my arms once it got that far, and I got up, grabbed Shani by the legs and pulled them out from under her so she landed flat on her back. Crawling up her legs I growled as I wrestled her snap and zipper with my teeth, causing the girls to giggle. That broke the tension, allowing everyone to relax. Grasping Shani’s jeans with both hands I tugged them slowly off her, gently kissing her skin as it was exposed, moving lower and lower. I finally finished as I slid her jeans off her feet and dropped them on the floor. Knee walking back up the bed, I knelt by her hips and, growling again, chewed on her panties. They had a nice damp texture to them along with a delightful smell. Then I shifted up and grabbed them in my teeth and began the fairly difficult process of removing her panties with my teeth. I finally had to give up on that endeavor and ended up just pulling them down, sniffing them deeply before dropping them on her jeans.
Meanwhile, Cate and Allison sat back, watching and giggling together. But, as I was chewing on Shani’s crotch, Cate scooted up to lay alongside Shani and began playing with her breast again. Shani looked at her with lidded eyes and licked her lips, but that’s as far as they got because everyone was waiting for me to set the pace. Allison contributed by caressing Cate’s backside.
I began climbing back on the bed when the girls began chanting “Strip, Strip, Strip” so I stopped and did it. I gave my hips plenty of shake, pulling my jockey shorts down along with my jeans. As they moved past my erection they got hung up for a moment then sprang free, causing my erection to bob up and down in front of their eyes. Realizing Shani and Allison would have trouble seeing it, I turned so it jutted out away from me, and all six eyes looked at it, instead of me. They looked at it in fascination, the video completely forgotten except for the occasional moaning coming from the speakers. Taking the jeans completely off, I again got on the bed. I grabbed Shani by the hips and shifted her up in the bed, then curled up at her knees and stared at her shaven pussy. I breathed in deeply, appreciating the scent that I was beginning to associate with her. I blew air gently across her exposed lips. She shivered and moaned. I took a little while to explore. It was like this morning, only I wasn’t hurrying from one girl to the next and I could take my time and explore with my fingertips. I traced a finger along her inflamed labia, drawing the moisture I found there along her lips. I lifted my finger to my mouth and, looking the girls in their eyes, slowly licked it and sucked the essence from it. Again, the effort was probably wasted on both Shani and Allison, but Cate took a deep breath while watching me lick my finger. Cate was now playing with both of Shani’s breasts, but they were all watching my actions intently. I guess my glow didn’t interfere with their watching what I was doing with Shani, Allison occasionally biting Shani’s shoulder or licking her neck like she had mine.
I bent my head back to the source of Shani’s nectar and used my fingers to spread her outer lips apart to view her delicate inner lips.
“You’re going to have to help me here,” I informed them gently, “I want to make this as special as I can.” Looking at Cate I went on, “Any help from the peanut gallery would be appreciated.”
“Why would you expect me to know what to do?” Cate asked.
“Just let me know what feels good,” I responded beseechingly.
“When someone does it to me, I’ll let you know how it feels,” she responded, sounding antsy. “Now hurry up, I’m learning here as well.”
“Go ahead, experience is very overrated,” Allison advised me, her tone gentle in counterpoint to her heavier breathing. “Just have fun and explore. Discovering things together is its own best reward.”
With that urging I bent back down and took a long slow swipe with my tongue, drawing it through the moist base at the bottom and lifting it slowly upwards, trying to dance my tongue around until I finally reached the apex, where I ran across the little bump at the top. Twiddling it with my tongue caused her knees to rise up and she gasped. Just as I was doing this Cate leaned into Shani, whispered, “I’ve always wanted to try this,” and gently kissed her. Shani turned and kissed her, seemingly relieved that she no longer had to try to watch me. Just as their lips met I sucked Shani’s clitoris into my mouth and gently batted it with my tongue. This caused her to suck my sister’s tongue into her mouth, and her level of aggression with the kiss went up a notch. If Cate was experimenting, she just went from ‘seeing if she’d like it’ to ‘trying to hold on’.
Allison was gently guiding them along as she rubbed both Cate’s back and Shani’s arms, cooing softly to them both.
I worked Shani’s clit for a bit then moved back down to her vagina, spreading her ample juices as I went. I was taking the moans she issued through Cate’s mouth as my only advice on how I was doing, but it sounded like I was doing a fair job. As Cate massaged her breasts and tongue wrestled with her, I speared my tongue into her sex, seeing just how deep I could reach with it. She loved it and began rotating her hips in a circular pattern. Pressing my face fully into her crotch, I started bobbing my head, literally tongue fucking her while breathing in her increasing scent.
Shani meanwhile opened Cate’s blouse, with Allison’s assistance, and was now massaging her breasts. Cate was now lying half on top of Shani as their kiss continued to deepen. The longer I worked on her pussy the wilder Shani got. I tried sucking her clit again as I got my finger involved and began a slow finger fuck on her. Suddenly her thighs closed on my head and I found myself held so tightly I couldn’t breathe. However I still had free access with my finger to her pussy from below, so I could continue to piston it in and out while I put extra effort into sucking her clit.
I was beginning to worry about suffocation, as Shani began thrashing around and moaning into my sister’s mouth. The sound of the TV was completely overwhelmed by both girls moaning loudly. I felt a hand in my hair pressing my head harder into Shani’s crotch. I counted two orgasms and a couple of minor tremors before her thighs finally fell open and I took a deep, gasping breath, trying to fill my lungs with oxygen again. While trying to regain my breath I looked up and saw Shani had collapsed, but Cate had moved from her lips to her left breast, which she was actively sucking while her hand played with the other. I briefly considered diving in again, but noticed Shani weakly shaking her head, so I crawled up to lie beside Allison, cuddling up to her, leaving Cate and Shani plenty of room to work. Allison gave me a hungry kiss, and when she released my lips Shani twisted around, kissing me deeply, licking along my mouth trying to extract her own juices. Suddenly we were interrupted when another face intruded into our kiss.
“Sorry, … but I just … wanted to … have a taste … without having to actually … eat pussy,” Cate gasped as she proceeded to lick all around my face, seeking out all of Shani’s cum she could reach. She was leaning over both Shani and Allison, so I reached up to hold her side. She shifted and my hand landed on her breast. Figuring it must be the fates; I hefted it and began working the nipple. I saw Shani doing the same with the other while also cupping Cate’s face.
As Cate was finishing her cleaning duties, I eased forward and pressed my lips to hers. The touch was like sparks hit our lips and we paused briefly, then she pressed against me pushing her tongue into my mouth. I breathed deeply through my nose, still massaging her breast, enjoying all the sensations when Cate yanked her head back, stared me in the eyes with a deer in the headlights look. She then jumped up and ran to the bathroom, leaving the three of us looking at each other in confusion.
“Think we went too far?” Shani asked nervously.
“I don’t know,” I responded, worried about having pushed Cate farther than she was willing to go as well. “She seemed to be into it for quite a while. She certainly seemed to be enjoying you. I think it was me that scared her,” I suggested, thinking about what might have triggered her panicked response. “She wasn’t really kissing me as much as she was searching for more of your cum. Damn, I should have known not to push Cate into something she wasn’t ready for.”
Shani pulled my head against her chest and whispered to me, “Nonsense, she was getting into you then the whole scene got us all carried away. Me too, I’ve never done anything with another girl before. She just got scared. Give her time. She’ll get used to the idea.”
Allison agreed as she also nestled against me, merely consoling me this time, our arousal seemingly evaporated with Cate’s sudden departure.
“Maybe,” I replied doubtfully. “I just hope I didn’t just screw up a great sibling relationship.”
Cate didn’t come out of the bathroom, and as the minutes began to accumulate, I realized she must be feeling very self-conscious if she couldn’t face any of us.
Shani got up, still naked, and tried the door only to find it locked. I realized that, despite how sexy she looked, my penis was completely flaccid I was so worried about what I’d done to Cate. Knocking on the door she called “Cate? It’s me Shani, can we talk?” I didn’t hear the response but she returned and collected Cate’s clothing, which she passed to her, while the door remained mostly closed. Cate never made any appearance. Shani finally came back to our bed. I was getting worried. After a while, we heard the door lock click. Turning we saw Cate slide out of the bathroom and open the front door.
“I’m going out for a little while,” she whispered without looking at any of us. The door clicked closed behind her before any of us had a chance to respond. I started to get up but Allison held me in place.
“Let it ride,” she cautioned, “She needs to think it all through.”
Unconvinced, I shrugged and snuggled back down. Twenty minutes later, I was pacing when the door lock clicked again, turning I glanced at it as it opened. Only instead of my sister, Anh and Patricia came in. They smiled at me and started to say something but looked confused at my emotional response. I simply turned back and resumed pacing, while Shani and Allison met them at the door and they whispered explanations.
Figuring Mom and Dad must have also returned, I considered telling them Cate was absent but reconsidered after thinking of what I’d say. I was finally coaxed back to bed by the various women. Although we had the two beds to share, they all seemed to think it was necessary to console me, so we somehow managed to squeeze onto the one bed. It was a short time later when Shani got up.
“Sorry, but I’ve got to go back to work tomorrow. I’m sorry to abandon you now but I don’t have much choice.” She seemed ready to cry, so I simply kissed her cheek, then her lips, giving her a hug and escorting her out. I was about to walk out with her so I could search for Cate but was hindered by Anh. She simply shook her head and we returned to bed. We lay restlessly until I nodded off without being consciously aware of it. It was a very fitful sleep and I partially awoke several times, but I didn’t get up and go looking for her.
To Be Continued
“An Unknown Attraction”, and the sequel, “Trying To Be Normal”, are available at:
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