Sandy must’ve been waiting for me to continue, because she prompted of a sudden, scattering my thoughts, “And then what?”
A shook my thoughts from my mind, like so many gnats clouding my head on a hot summer night. “And it goes from there. I smell something. I break it down. I smell its component parts and then I guess some sort of corresponding smell comes from me that… well, that turns your practical, normal, level-headed female into a nymphomaniac.”
“You can say that again,” agreed Ramona. She slipped out of her heels and padded toward me. Her toes gripped the carpet as she came forth, her arms before her.
I wasted little time and walked into her embrace. She hugged me tightly for a few seconds, then pulled her head back a bit, so she could look up into my eyes – even without heels she was only a couple of inches shorter than me. “You ok?” she asked with such timidity I immediately put her motives in question.
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” I replied in kind, choosing to ignore my misgivings. I bent down to kiss her on the lips with a series of soft pecks that trailed from one corner of her mouth to the other.
She accepted them readily, even patiently, as she waited for me to finish, before she spoke once more. “I think I am more shocked than anything else, Effy. That was really an unbelievable display of male sexuality. I have never smelt anything as wonderful as the odor coming from you. I wanted to have sex with you as well, but I was able to think it through. I remembered it was some sort of experiment, although just barely, like at the last minute. I think that’s why I didn’t run across the room the way the others did…
“Or maybe, because I’ve been with you so many times already, my body knew what to expect on some basic level. Maybe that kept me sane enough,” she added with a lopsided smile. Her eyes were guarded and not entirely their own – she was masking other, more personal thoughts.
I stared at her for a heartbeat or two. “It bothered you that it was Leda, huh?”
“Yeah, babe, it did,” she breathed after a time.
“Wanna tell me why?”
“Because if Leda begins to like you, it’ll prove what I’m already beginning to dread. Soon, I think, there will many other girls and am I going to have to share you with all of them.” At least, the honesty had returned to her face, though her statement confused me a bit.
“What are you talking about?”
She sighed, then extended on her toes and gave me a quick chaste kiss on the lips. “You think I don’t know what this is?”
He shook my head in the negative.
“This is something neither of us can get away from,” she explained with a twinge of hurt that she tried to hide behind her eyes.
“Get away from what?” I ventured, feeling a sliver of annoyance beginning to creep into my tone.
“What you are, Eff, don’t you feel it?”
Again, a confused shake of my head followed.
Her gaze was earnest, impassioned. “Why do you think girls love you so much, so deeply? They either want to be with you forever or they hate you. It’s always been there inside you… this ability to say the right thing or be the right person at the right time. All those girls that talked about you when I was first asking about the kind of guy you were, they all said the same thing, or something close to it – you had ‘powers’. Remember? Even back then, it was palatable enough to comment on with a degree of certainty. They couldn’t describe it or put a specific name to it, but it was there and they all felt it.
“Now, if it’s been magnified, it’s also been made stronger by whatever this sickness was you had this morning. And that is what’s happened, it means it will have to be more than just Katie and me. You watch, Effy, it will be become this inescapable thing that we cannot get rid of or hide from. It will always be there, because it is the way you are made.” She fell silent, her brow like a thunderhead.
I contemplated what she said for a minute or so, but didn’t dare let go of her. I wanted to prove to her, she wasn’t alone in this. “And now, you’re afraid Leda will want to be with me, because of what happened.”
“Oh Eff, all four of us want you, in one way or another. Sandy told me downstairs before all of this shit happened, and now… well, Leda might be crying now, but she’s never going to get over being curious. I know her too well. She’s got a taste of you. It’s gonna make her question her own intentions, because she lost it with someone other than her stupid-ass boyfriend. She’s going to want to know why the two of you responded so quickly to one another. It was the same thing Katie told me about your…,” this she whispered,” little adventure last night. She said it felt as though your bodies were acting without thought, like they already knew how to respond, what to do. She said it was all instinct and it was the best fuck of her life.” She spoke normally now. “Leda is going to want some of that. There is no doubt in my mind.” She surprised me by giving me a hug and rested her head on my chest.
“How do you know this?” I asked still somewhat incredulous.
Her eyes were a matching set of oil-drills, plunging straight for understanding. She wanted me focused when she said: “Because, Estefan, I got sick too, this morning, before I called you the first time. I thought it was nerves about you and Katie being together at first. As time went on, I began to realize it was something much, much more, especially after everything you and Katie have learned and been able to explain, since we’ve been here. Like you, I am no longer the same person I was yesterday. I see things now, things I’ve been ignoring all day, things I can no longer deny. Leda’s little performance proved it to me. I see what you are and I know I will be sharing you with a lot of girls, because you are who you are and there’s no stopping it. You are too strong.”
I let in all sink in, trying my damnedest to be as open minded as I could possibly be. I willed myself to agree with what she had said, or at least I tried. Except the part about being with females other than her and Katie, of that, I wanted no part. My cupboard was full as far as I was concerned. I wanted no one else. I didn’t…
…although Leda had felt pretty fucking incredible, never more than when the firmness of her pubic bone had rubbed hard against my…
…But seriously, I was good. I didn’t need a gaggle of babes hanging off my belt.
Or so I thought.
“So what does that make me, some kind of freak?” I asked in an attempt to distract myself. A little self-deprecation, now and again, didn’t hurt, right?
“If that’s the case, then so am I and so is Katie and Leda as well,” replied Ramona with a soft laugh, letting her hands fall to my ass.
I glanced over at where I’d last seen Sandy and found her gone. In fact, we were entirely alone in the Loft. Everyone had probably gone to the bathroom with Leda; I rationalized just before another question flashed before me.
“How would the three of you be freaks as well?”
“Us four, you mean,” clarified my girlfriend. She giggled out of the blue. “You are the one with the super-attraction techniques. Katie with something to do with heat, because that’s the impression I get when I see her. Leda’s had something to do with her powerful will. And me, well it seems I have the ability to know all of this without having to be told. It as simple as that – four friends, four freaks.”
I chewed on this for no more than a blink of an eye when it hit me. “Are you saying we’re all Mutos?”
That fantastic smile of hers returned in a flash and I knew I was correct.
Son of a mother, fucking bitch! Mutos – are you fucking kidding me!?! What the shit are we going to do now!?! There was a war being waged against Mutos as we speak! How are we going to survive? How are we going to keep hidden, to keep from being turned in for the Discovery Cash? Somebody will find out and turn us in for sure!
That was when my phone vibrated, then rang inside my front right pocket. I pulled it forth and felt my heart sink to the very bottom of my nut sack as my eyes fell upon the Caller ID splash screen – it was Tirza. Sc
hool had let out and she was calling me from her cell.
How could this day get any fucking worse?!?
I had no choice, either way, I was doomed. I broke from Ramona, who was instantly glaring at me, and I knew, whether it was her just professed, newfound ‘power’ or not. She knew exactly who it was.
I turned, swiped the answer icon and spoke: “Hey Tirza, what’s up?”
My timing couldn’t have been any worse. As I turned from Ramona, the three other girls finally emerged from the bathroom just as I said my greeting. It was impossible for me not catch Katie stiffen at the sound of my words, not to see Sandy and Leda share a disgruntled glance out of the corner of my eye.
“Estefan, oh my god, I am soooo sorry, but I need your help. Can we meet somewhere later on tonight? I really need to talk to you.”
Things were spiraling way out of control now. There was no sign of it ending any time soon.
Actually, it never did end…
*****
“Tirza, I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” I spoke into the cell, feeling my heart rate increase dramatically at that point.
There was a huff and, for an instant, I thought she was about to go off on me, then: “Its soooo not like that, Effy. This is about something else, I promise.”
I peered through my eyebrows at Ramona, who was gazing back, her own raised, telling me quite pointedly to get the fuck off the phone. “I believe what you’re saying, really I do. It’s just there are other people in my life now, Tirza. Important people that, quite frankly, don’t want me to have anything to do with you, especially meet you somewhere alone. It freaks them out.”
“You don’t think I haven’t already thought about how Ramona and Katie are going to behave knowing what I am asking you to do? What do you take me for? Am I that stupid to you, Estefan?” She volleyed the accusation right back at me unable to hold back the scorn in her tone.
I had to admit, I sort of did feel she had been a tiny bit immature, since our break-up, but whatever this was, whatever it was that was bothering her now, had put those specific notions to sleep. This was a different kind of Tirza than before.
“I don’t think you’re stupid, Tirza,” I fumbled. “It’s just that things… are weird now, you know?”
“Not to me, not anymore,” she clarified - her voice quavered. It was jittery in a way I couldn’t describe accurately.
“Let’s just talk about it over the phone. We don’t have to meet in order for me to give you advice,” I offered, hoping to find a fertile middle ground.
Ramona began to tap her foot, shifting her weight to one side as she did so. She shared an “I’m going to end this soon” look with Sandy, who nodded back in what seemed complete agreement. Fucken females! Shit!
She huffed again, louder than before. “Estefan, I don’t trust talking to you over the phone on an open line.”
That took me aback. “What’da’ya mean you don’t trust talking on an open line? You’re talking crazy, girl.”
“I have my reasons,” was all she said.
Ramona put out her hand, wiggling her fingers at me, silently asking for the cell. I cupped the microphone with my finger and shook my head “no”, which only served to sharpen the glare in her eyes. She placed both hands on her hips. I could see her jaw tighten underneath the skin of her cheeks.
I put her out of my mind for the moment. “What is this about, Tirza? I mean really, you should tell me, because you know Ramona is standing right here next to me about ready to explode.” It was my way of delaying the inevitable by stating the obvious.
She snorted through her nose. “I can imagine, and I am sorry to the both of you for being so insistent, but I cannot tell you over the phone. All the same, though, I’m still very desperate for your advice. I need your help. I need to see you…” Her voice tailed off. I was startled when I thought I heard her stifle a sob, but still I wasn’t entirely sure she had made the sound in the first place. I merely listened for a few moments. She made no other sounds.
“Ok,” I began and right away Ramona’s eyebrows shot to the ceiling. She took an involuntary step forward, but stopped when I waved her off emphatically. “I hear you,” I continued and turned from all of them to face the windows of the Loft that opened to the hallway below. I couldn’t see it from where I was standing. I was too far back from the edge. I didn’t give a crap about the view. “I understand the severity of the situation, even though you can’t explain it to me over the phone. I acknowledge that, but, girl, I’m still gonna have to talk this over with Ramona before I can give you any final decision, and it may very well be that she comes with me. Ok?”
“I don’t want her to get implicated in any of this, Estefan,” she retorted. Her choice of words bewildered the shit out of me.
Implicated? What the fuck was this little chick talking about?
I breathed in heavily, inwardly glad that Ramona and the others had stayed put for the time being. “That’s the deal, I’m afraid,” was all I could offer her.
“I see, ok…” She sounded worn out, beaten, completely deflated and that bothered me. Tirza always had so much fight in her. She was always out to prove how tough she could be. This loss of spirit didn’t feel right. There was something else in play, something I could only guess.
But, I had to end the conversation soon. The girls would eventually yank the phone out of my hands. I could sense of them at my back. “I will talk with Ramona and get back to you, ok?”
“Yeah, sure.” Now she sounded forlorn, lethargic, as if the wind got knocked out of her.
“And I won’t drag my feet. I’ll get back to you by the end of the day or by early tomorrow. Does that sound ok?” I was doing whatever I could to make her feel better; I just didn’t have very many options with four nearly-angry girls boring holes in my back with their eyes.
She perked up at that. “Ok, Effy, if that’s all you can do for now, then ok. I understand - thanks.”
She cut the connection before I could answer…
Upon me taking the phone from my ear, Katie said: “I don’t think you should go alone. There is something going on that she knows about and she’s not telling you. Whatever it is – and even if it doesn’t involve her trying to get you back – it can’t be good. You should just stay away.”
Sandy and Leda were both nodding like bobble-heads.
“You did very well, my love,” came Ramona’s smug comment as she came forth and hugged me sideways, by the waist, planting a wet kiss on lobe of my ear. “Let’s go eat and we’ll talk about this later.”
“That sounds good, because now I’m like super hungry!” announced Sandy.
With that we left the Loft and went back down the two flights of stairs to the kitchen.
It was not long after, with food reheated, the five of us seated about the dining table, we feasted on everything I’d cooked earlier. It wasn’t all that bad, but what Katie had said stuck with me. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was looming upon the horizon. I couldn’t shake the feeling my immediate future didn’t look all that good.
~~~~~~~~~~~~♦~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ Chapter 31 ~
(Summer – 2018)
K.I.S.S.I.N.G.
Hours later, after Flavia and Johan had picked up Martín at school, and all three had walked the remainder of the way home. After, they had eaten some of the leftovers of the huge brunch I had made earlier in the day, the doorbell rang. My spry step-sister jumped to her feet to answer it. Her movement was quicker than usual, so I knew, without a doubt, she’d invited some of her friends over. Not that this was an issue. I didn’t care. If I had, what was I about to say? I was sitting on the large couch in the T.V. room with two sets of girls to either side of me, watching some documentary about the marvels of Dams, of all things.
I had Ramona’s legs draped across my lap, Katie’s head resting on my shoulder opposite Ramona. Leda was filing her nails beyond my girlfriend. Sandy, sitting next to my cousin, played with a lock
of her hair, her eyes locked onto the huge LCD before us. To a one, they were relaxed, themselves, at home, and so was I. It felt normal, though the four of us had never sat together to watch TV. It felt like we’d been doing it for years. I was very content, being around so many beautiful women, each of them vastly different than the next, but each of them stunning, arresting – like a diamond, a sapphire, an emerald and a ruby lined up, side-by-side. They were a marvelous display. With such a wide array of personality and intellect, truthfully, I could think of nothing else. I sat there surrounded by female flesh, femininity. My mind wasn’t wondering. I was in the moment. I was there, present – young and alive – precisely where I needed to be, the exact spot.
“Hey Eff,” said Flavia breaking me from my dreamy thoughts. I glanced toward the sound of her voice, indicating I was listening with a jut of my chin. “This is Jolene, one of my friends; she came over to hang out, ok?”
Even though my step-sister was only a year younger than me, it had become a forgone conclusion for some years now, when our parents were out of the house, I was in charge. I was responsible for everyone. This wasn’t a big deal, because all of my younger siblings were relatively good kids and were easy to look after.
Plus, I wasn’t about to be a dick either. Not with all the girls over. Not after what we had gone through earlier than morning. No way.
“Cool,” I said back to my sister, waved and dipped my head in the direction of the girl.
She waved back at the group of us. Her eyes darting over me and the sheer amount of girly bodies resting about me in what I assumed was mild surprise. She was pretty. She had dark brown hair cut just passed her ears, curled into a more timid version of a bob. Her equally dark, wide spaced eyes and sculpted eyebrows, made it seem like she’d spent hours a day to make them look perfectly symmetrical. She had prominent cheeks dominating her face every time she smiled. Her narrow nose ended in a cute, girly button, but it was her thin lips - even all these years later – that resonate in my memory. They were the reddest I have ever seen, naturally so.
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