Psy Touch

by A. D. McLain

  Curtis followed, holding Lexy’s inhibitor band. “Thought you could use this.” He handed it to her.

  Ben came in next and closed the door. “I’m so sorry about that. We went to a club before this and Monique can get a little crazy sometimes when she’s riding a Psy-high. She doesn’t think about what she’s doing, and she can be really selfish.”

  “That’s okay,” Lexy said. “No harm done.” She put on her band and stood. “In any case, I just want to go home.”

  “I’ll drive you.” Jared took her arm and led her through the club, straight outside to his car.

  He helped her in, and she sat back for the ride. Her face was reflected in the car window, creating a transparent scene overlay to the hills and cars. There was no moon, only a black field covered in stars. Car lights blinked as people turned onto the autopilot lane onramp. Jared drove past them.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “Your apartment.”

  “But we missed the turn.”

  “I never take the wired roads. At least, not when I have a choice. Been on them a couple times, but I can’t stand not being in control of my car.”

  They drove down service roads and by residential neighborhoods, passing a dozen other onramps filled with cars waiting to be merged into traffic. Lexy looked at the many windows, mostly showing single individuals sitting down to eat or flipping through images on their tablets. Occasionally, she’d see multiple people talking or playing a card game. The biggest missing thing she noticed were families. Nowhere did she see children playing or toys strewn about the rooms.

  They pulled up to her apartment building and she looked up at her darkened window, realizing how similar it would look to anyone driving past. She was no different than everyone else in the city. She may not participate in all the Psy activities, but she didn’t have much else to show for her life.

  Jared opened her door and helped her out.

  “Thanks for the ride.”

  “No problem.” He followed her inside.

  She wasn’t in the mood to be alone, so she didn’t argue. The printer whirled and buzzed. Through the viewing window, she could see Kara’s latest purchase printing.

  Jared followed her into the kitchen and started rummaging through the cabinets and pantries. “Got anything to snack on? I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast.”

  “There’s some toaster pastries and sandwich stuff. I think we still have some peanut butter, if you want that on some bread.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “She pulled out the bread and got to work. When she handed the plate to Jared, he looked up at her and grinned.

  “You drew a star on it?”

  She looked at the open-faced sandwich with a star drawn into the peanut butter, and shrugged. “Habit, I guess. That’s how my mom always does it.”

  Still grinning, he sat on the sofa and started eating. He thanked her when she brought him a glass of water.

  He put down the empty plate and sat back. “So how are you feeling?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “I’ve never seen anyone react like that to removing their band, and I’ve been around quite a few people their first time unchained.”

  “I don’t really want to talk about it. You know, like how you didn’t want to talk about your father’s work?”

  “Fair enough. I’ll let it drop for now.”

  “I appreciate you bringing me home, but you don’t have to stick around.”

  “Do you think I care that you can’t go Psy?”

  She gulped. “Most people would.”

  “Most people are idiots.”

  She couldn’t help laughing at his bluntness.

  “There are plenty of things you can do without Psy.”

  Lexy thought back to the tree house and felt her cheeks flush. She still wondered at the flare of light she saw, but there was no way to ask about it without telling him what she could see.

  After taking his plate, she went back into the kitchen to give herself time to think. That moment was short. Jared reached around her to put his glass in the sink. Pressed his chest against her back, resting his other hand on her shoulder. She leaned into him and turned her head to rub her cheek against his chin. He groaned and turned her around to face him. They kissed, and her body shivered. She wanted his touch, his real touch. How did people live without this? Her body was on fire for him. She didn’t want to be one of the empty people behind the window anymore. She felt an energy around him and opened her eyes. His eyes had a strange blue glow around them. His touch left trails of light across her skin.

  “Which way is your room?” he asked.

  “This one.” She pointed.

  They moved that way. After entering, they both reached out to close the door. Her hands and lips were focused on him. Somehow, they made it to her bed without tripping over her skates. Then he was on top of her. The rough edge of his stubble rubbed against her face. He pulled her shirt from her pants, and she did the same. He pulled her buttons loose and let her shirt fall open, revealing the curve of her breasts, covered by a light blue lace bra. He kissed her chest, nibbling at the skin above her bra. She arched her back. Clumsily, she began pulling her pants down. Each tug put her lower regions in contact with his. She wiggled them all the way off and kicked the bunched-up denim onto the floor.

  Jared’s shirt followed. She splayed her hands against his skin and leaned forward, twisting around to kiss his bare chest. Her tongue flicked across his nipple and she trailed wet kisses down his side, sucking on the skin until he moaned and undid his pants. With one hand working on his pants, he used the other to work on her. Slipping his fingers into her hidden moistness, he touched her softly at first, exploring her folds. He continued rubbing her outside with his thumb while using his fingers to delve deep inside. He kissed her mouth again and finished removing his pants. Then after pulling off her undergarment, he pushed inside in two easy strokes.

  Lexy saw stars. She felt weightless. In her arms, Jared was the only thing real in the world. He moved in her, and soon she was moving, too. Sweating, moaning, and clinging to each other, they fell into the maelstrom of their shared experience. They shook as their energy left them. Jared collapsed beside her, pulling her into his arms. She let her breathing slow and ran her fingers over his chest. Eyes closed, she listened his heartbeat.

  Then she realized, they hadn’t used protection. Physical sex was so rare, it was difficult to find contraceptives. It wasn’t cost-effective for stores to carry them. Sexually transmitted diseases were uncommon enough for no one to worry about that, and most people who had real sex wanted to get pregnant. The irony was that, while fewer people were opting to have children, women were more fertile than they had been in a century. Once they stopped taking synthetic birth control, many of the fertility problems and other health issues of the past several decades cleared up. That realization led to further hormone research and a shift to herbal remedies to correct imbalances that did occur. Women were now more likely to get pregnant and better able to maintain healthy pregnancies.

  “That was some risk you took,” she whispered.

  “The best things in life are.”

  She agreed. Jared was a risk she wanted to take.

  5

  Kara and Curtis were both home when Lexy awoke the next morning. Jared left some time during the night after his father called needing help with something. Unable to go back to sleep, Lexy got up for a quick shower and changed her clothes. She was just finishing loading the sheets into the washing machine, when Kara and Curtis emerged from Kara’s room. Thankfully, they took her comments from the previous day to heart and limited their Psy-play in the living room.

  “Good morning,” Lexy said.

  “Good morning,” Kara crooned. “So I noticed Jared’s car was still here when we got in last night.”

  “Mmm-hmmm.” Lexy hid a grin behind her cup.

  “Don’t mmm-hmmm me. I want details.”

  “I
doubt you’ll get anything out of her.” Curtis took a seat at the counter. “If I know Jared, he was a perfect gentleman last night.”

  “Yeah, right,” Kara scoffed. “That’s why you’re doing laundry so early in the morning. And don’t try to tell me it’s just work clothes, because I saw you put your blue bed sheets in there.”

  “You don’t ever wash your sheets?” Lexy said. “Because that’s gross.”

  Kara grunted. “You are so frustrating. You know that, right?”

  Curtis laughed and patted Kara on the back. “Why don’t you go get changed so we can go? If we hurry, we can make it to the restaurant while they’re still serving breakfast.”

  After a few seconds, Kara disappeared into her room.

  “Thanks,” Lexy said.

  She was starting to warm up to Curtis. Then again, he was friends with Jared, so he couldn’t be too bad.

  “No problem. I’m sorry about what happened last night. You really don’t have any tolerance for Psy, do you?”

  She nodded and shrugged.

  “Well, it seems you and Jared are really hitting it off.”

  She nodded again, smiling at the mention of his name.

  Curtis looked back to make sure they were still alone. Then he turned back to her. “Honestly, I’ve never seen him this happy before. I’m probably stepping over the line, but I think you should know, he’s a Forcer.”

  Lexy’s heart skipped.

  Psy-forcers were strong Psy users, capable of inflicting their touch on those wearing an inhibitor band. No one was safe from them and everyone feared them, so they usually hid their identities until an errant thought revealed them. No one could hide for long without an extreme level of self-control and willpower.

  She thought back to all the flares of light she’d seen from him, and it made sense. Even so, those flares were brief, and with all the intimate contact they had, he never overtly pulsed at her. Everything from the previous night had been physical. How much control must it have taken to hold back his Psy energy while doing what they did?

  Lexy opened her mouth to ask a question, but the bedroom door opened and Kara came out.

  “All right, I’m ready. Let’s go.” She strode to the door and picked up her purse and keys from the small table there.

  Curtis jumped down from his seat. “Coming.” Then he leaned back toward Lexy and whispered, “He’s a good guy. Just thought you should know.”

  “Last one is out.” Jared dusted off his hands and took a seat at the bar.

  Mick slid a drink down to him and continued cleaning the bar. He wore a red bow tie and suspenders over his white shirt. Always trying to recreate some look from the past. It was part of his charm. You never knew which era he would dress in. One night, he may come dressed as a southern gentleman. Another night, he was wearing a top hat and tails. But this look was his favorite. Jared always joked that he was born in the wrong century. Mick argued that they all were.

  He put down his washcloth and closed the liquor cabinet. “It was a good thing you could come in last night. After Brian left, things got a little harry.

  Brian was their best bouncer. He was the strongest Shield, able to block Psy ability from those who were out of control. That was useful when dealing with drunk people riding a Psy-high. Jared wasn’t a Shield, but he could always use his Forcer strength to get people in line.

  “What happened to Brian, anyway? Dad was in such a rush last night, he never said.”

  Mick grinned from ear to ear. “His wife went into labor, so he had to get back to their house in the free zone. He just texted about ten minutes ago, while you were seeing that one guy to the cab. It’s a girl.”

  Jared beamed. “Now that’s good news. Makes what now? Five?”

  “Six. Three boys and three girls, all spitting images of their mom, thank goodness.”

  They chuckled.

  Jared finished his drink. “I’m going to have to get out there for a visit someday soon. Things have just gotten kind of busy.”

  “Yeah? Where’ve you been the past couple nights?”

  “Different places.”

  He started stacking the chairs up on the tables, while Mick took out the mop and began cleaning the floors.

  “I met a girl,” Jared said.

  “Oh, yeah? You going to bring her around here so we can give our approval?”

  “Not yet. She’s a little skittish around Psy energy. Nearly passed out when someone took her band off down at that new club last night.”

  “Hmm. Seen a few of those back in the early days, but haven’t seen anyone like that in a while. Then again, people like that don’t usually frequent these joints.”

  “I took her to the park and the treehouse.”

  Mick stopped mopping and looked up. “You must be pretty serious about this girl.”

  “We just met, but I can’t explain the way I feel when I’m around her. She’s got a good heart and tries to help people around her, even if they’re strangers. When we’re together, it just feels right.”

  “You’ve got it bad.” He went back to mopping.

  Jingling bells signaled the front door opening.

  Jared looked up and his mouth dropped open. “Lexy?”

  She looked over at him and smiled nervously. “Hi, umm, can we talk?”

  He looked over at Mick, who was grinning again.

  “Go. I’ve got the rest.”

  Jared went to Lexy and led her back outside. His apartment was only a couple buildings down from the club. It would give them the most privacy to talk.

  “How did you find me?”

  “I went to your apartment first. When you weren’t there, I looked around and I… just had a feeling you were here.”

  “Okay. Well,” he opened his door and turned on the light, “welcome to my home. It’s not much, but it’s a place to sleep.”

  Not much was generous. His apartment was an efficiency with just enough room to fit a twin-sized bed and a nightstand.

  “Can I get you something to drink?”

  “I know you’re a Psy-forcer.”

  His smile vanished. He drifted over to her and put a hand up, inches from her face. “I would never touch you against your will. Psychically or otherwise.”

  Lexy could see the sincerity and fear in his eyes. She was grateful for the headband, because in that moment all she could think about was touching him.

  “How do you control it? I thought all Forcers lived in isolation, from fear of exposure.”

  He lowered his hand and took a step back, relief flashing across his face. “My father is a Forcer. Since it runs in families, he taught me control techniques, from the time I was born, long before my abilities manifested. I can even control it when I’m asleep. The only time I have any trouble with it is when I’m sick or medicated, but that’s why I have the treehouse. I go there when that happens and hold out until I feel better.”

  “Then how did Curtis know?”

  He gave a wry grin. “So that’s how you found out. Well, my former best friend was with me once, when I got food poisoning. He got me to the treehouse and called my family’s doctor.

  “What’s your range?”

  His posture relaxed. “Thirty feet, with bands. Without, I’m not sure. I’ve gone as far as fifty feet, with one person wearing a band. Doesn’t seem to matter much if I’m the one wearing it or the other way around. Both without bands, I know I can go farther, but I’ve never been able to test the limits. Of course, the contact precision goes down as distance is increased.”

  Lexy stared at him, eyes wide, mouth gaping. He was taking a great risk by telling her any of this, yet he answered all her questions without hesitation.

  “There’s a reason I never take off my band, why I reacted like I did at the club, and why I knew where you were.” Her chest tightened from the fear. “I’m a Psy-reader.”

  His gaze flicked to hers.

  “I also inherited it from my father. Unfortunately, he didn’t learn the sa
me control techniques your father did. He didn’t have to.”

  “A police officer?”

  She nodded.

  At one time, Psy-readers were respected, sought out. In a world where thoughts could kill without leaving any evidence, Readers could look at a person and see into their hearts.

  “He was a detective before the Storm. In the aftermath he used his ability, to track Psy killers and other Psy criminals. Then the bands were invented and the focus turned from investigations to purging, and anyone with a strong ability was targeted. Readers became as feared as everyone else. My father, and those like him, became a liability. Their families and careers were threatened until they turned on each other. My father kept his head low for a while and prepared for me and my mother to get to safety. But they eventually caught up with him, and he was charged with Conspiracy to Commit Thought Crime and sentenced to an undefined term in prison.” She laughed, hysterically. “They say Psy-crime went down after the bands, but it’s all a lie. The government just brokered a deal where the media stopped reporting it. The theory was, the less people heard about crime, the less they would think about it. As the reported crimes went down, people thought it was true, but the real numbers never changed. The police knew the truth, but they were all issued court orders to prevent them from discussing it. Anyone who discovered the truth or even wrote about fictional crime was arrested for disturbing the peace. Those crimes weren’t reported either. My father helped the ones he could, before his arrest. I haven’t seen him in over fifteen years, and my mother and I have been in hiding ever since.”

  “How strong is your reading?”

  “I get impressions and can tell if someone is lying, even if they have on the band. When the band is off, I see these bright lights inside and around everyone. Even if I’m not looking at them or they’re in another room, I can see their light. It’s like a fingerprint. Everyone’s light is different. It moves differently. If they’re pulsing, I can see it and who it’s directed to. Sometimes I hear thoughts riding the pulse waves. After a certain distance, the lights blend together and the edges of my vision become whitewashed. When I came here and you weren’t home, I felt and saw your energy down the street and followed it.”