Soulmates
39
The Winter Ball
Jaime and Keira and Emerson
THINGS CONTINUED to progress well for Jaime and Keira with Trayce. They had a fun date the next weekend, continuing to explore physical activities by trying axe-throwing. They were all surprised that Trayce proved to be the champion.
“Wish I could carry one of these around with me,” Trayce said, hefting the axe. “I’d feel safer!”
“It might not work as well in close quarters,” Keira warned. They went on talking about self defense and the pros and cons of having a weapon.
They also agreed to attend the winter ball at the school the next Saturday.
On Monday before the ball, Emerson found Keira and Jaime at lunch.
“Can I join you today?” she asked.
“Of course! You’re always welcome,” Keira said.
“We made some good progress on the apps last week,” Jaime signed.
“Yeah, we did. Mr. Perkins said he thought I could sell the app as is to a paint store, but encouraged me to do a scan of their paint chips first and test the app on real data. I guess you know what I’ll be doing for the next few weeks,” Emerson laughed.
“That’s exciting,” Keira said.
“Yeah, but that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about,” she said. “Can I hold your hands?”
Jaime and Keira looked around the cafeteria and nodded.
“It will just look like we’re praying and no one will bother us,” Emerson said. «I want you to be able to look inside me and I want to see in you while I say this,» she continued in her head. «I’ve managed to fall in love with another couple who can’t love me back the way I love them. Yes, I’m talking about you. You can look in me and see everything about me. I’m standing here naked in front of you. I have a powerful lust for you and I’ll probably be seeing you in my dreams as I masturbate for weeks.»
After a silent agreement, Jaime and Keira agreed to show themselves to her as well.
«Fuck! Now I know I’ll see you in my fantasies,» she said. «Wow! Thanks for that. But I need to tell you that I know there isn’t a real future for us. I’m even further outside you two since Trayce is in the picture than I was with Dom and Raquel. I’m in such serious lust that I’d literally strip off my clothes right here if you’d both fuck me. But I’m not part of your ménage. I won’t ever be. There’s no sense in trying to kid myself about it. You have something very special with Trayce and I wish you the utmost of happiness.»
«Thank you, Emerson. I hope you aren’t saying that you won’t be our friend any longer,» Jaime said.
«No. Not at all. We’ve got some real work to do on our projects together. And… if you, like… need a fourth for your… you know… crime fighting? I’ll be available. We did good in Astoria. Yeah. That’s all.»
Emerson withdrew her hands from Jaime and Keira, though she could still feel them lurking in her mind.
“Thank you, Emerson,” Keira said. Then she started channeling Jaime as he began signing. “We hope we will never need to do that again. We don’t want to be mental crime fighters. We have a long way to go before we are comfortable even with the powers we have. Nonetheless, I’ve been referring to you as the glue that held our gestalt together in Astoria. I could feel it and I don’t understand it, but I know it’s there.”
“Well, if you just want to run some experiments, I’m up for it. I’m just beginning to understand what happened out there and could use your help on it. And Trayce. Everything has to include her now. I’ll see you in class later, Jaime.” Emerson left their table and the cafeteria.
Jaime and Rose
“I must admit, I didn’t really expect you to come in to see me,” Rose said. “You seem very independent.”
“As long as you don’t mind my computer voice, I’d like to talk a bit. I might not be as independent as you think,” Jaime typed into his TTS.
“It’s fascinating. It should be easy for me to suspend my focus on the technology once we get going. You’ve never spoken aloud?” Rose asked.
“My mother died when I spoke aloud,” Jaime said.
“Oh! Do you blame yourself for that?”
“Yes. If I’d been normal, she wouldn’t have been surprised and fainted. It was my fault.”
“That’s a heavy burden for a child to bear. You know, don’t you, that you’re not to blame for it? You didn’t know what would happen. People were pressuring you to speak aloud, I’ll bet. It was expected and hoped for.”
“Not being intentional doesn’t mean there wasn’t cause and effect,” Jaime said.
“Are you confusing cause with sequence?”
Jaime just shook his head.
“Is this what you want to talk about today?”
“Sort of,” Jaime typed. “I’m concerned about the possible results of Keira, Trayce, and me linking our minds.”
“I see. Do you think you might give someone orders just because you are linked together and have that ability?” Rose asked.
“It’s less about controlling our ability than about controlling our impulse. We’re eighteen. We want to save the world. But our idea of what makes a better world might not conform to other people. What right would we have to interfere?” Jaime typed.
“Back in college, we had a Buddhist monk come to give a guest lecture to our ethics class. He was a quiet and unassuming man, as you would expect. He started his talk by saying, ‘Everyone wants to make the world a better place, but no one wants to help Mom with the dishes.’ It stuck with me—possibly the only specific thing I remember from that class,” Rose said.
“I like that,” Jaime agreed. “I don’t think Keira or Trayce or I would have any problem with that. Of course, we should all become more aware of helping those closest to us. I just don’t want to get enthused about something, like Keira and I did with the kidnapper at the movie, and just start shouting commands about it. I’m not even sure it would work.”
“You had no qualms about giving me a command when you and Keira came to see me.”
“Impulse control. That’s what I’m talking about. We never should have done that. Thank you for helping. It could just as easily have gone badly.”
“I had already decided on a course of action before you jumped on it,” Rose said. “I didn’t know you had already contacted Angus.”
“He stopped them from grabbing me a week before they got Trayce.”
“They’re quite a team,” Rose laughed.
“Yeah. I guess what I’m looking for is a way to restrain ourselves when we’re… being intimate and happen to discover something wrong someplace. I’m worried about Schwartz’s post-hypnotic suggestions being triggered by something.”
“Has it happened?”
“Yes. We were sharing a fantasy. Long distance because we didn’t want to rush things physically and we’d been sharing fantasies for a long time. Just when we were all relaxed and basking in the afterglow, a command came from deep inside Trayce to order you and Angus to go away like we did Schwartz. I recognized it just in time. It was a command to protect him from his enemies. But when she used the command, it weakened our ability, too, since we’re his enemies. I was able to dismantle that one.”
“My oh my, Jaime. You surprise me at every turn. First of all, you must realize how unique that ability is. And I can’t help but think it is ultimately your ability, supported and bolstered by your girlfriends. Our… or my understanding of our gift has been that it was all one of hearing. You have a gift of speaking, and that is scary. I think for you as well as for me. I’ve never heard of someone able to dismantle a subliminal command without either drugs or hypnotism.”
“Like Schwartz used to plant them in Trayce,” Jaime typed.
“Yes, but you have a better method, in my opinion. You are gentle and non-invasive. You will need to keep a part of yourself aware of the possibility at all times, but that is the best way to discover any triggers. I don’t believe you need to worry directly about Schwartz, but there could be some landmines,” Rose said.
“Okay.”
“There’s something else.”
“Yes.”
Jaime hesitated with his hands above the keyboard. Rose was experienced enough to just let him think without interruption. Finally, he started typing.
“I spent all my life trying to make other people hear me. I thought I was a bad person because no one would respond to my head talk. Then, in kindergarten, I learned to sign but I still didn’t open my mouth. And then it became so much a part of me that I never considered out-loud speaking again. Mostly. But then Keira found me and she could speak in my head. And we found Trayce… or she found us. Then, I discovered that if I was touching Emerson, she could hear me if I wanted her to.”
“Your world is growing.”
“But what if… if Trayce and Keira only love me because I want them to? Am I controlling them? I don’t want to force them to love me!”
“Oh, Jaime. It’s so hard, isn’t it? I think you would know if you were influencing their feelings toward you any more than any one person influences how others feel about him. Be conscious and be vigilant. You control how you influence others. If you were truly controlling Keira and Trayce, you would have included Emerson in your group. But you’ve accepted her decision to not be a part of it. I believe you would accept Keira’s and Trayce’s decisions as well. You influence them through your love for them. Not through your ability to control their minds. Trust your love, Jaime.”
Jaime and David
After grocery shopping on Saturday, David had Jaime drop him at Olivia’s apartment so the teens would have the house to themselves that night.
“Dad,” Jaime signed before David got out of the car. “I need to tell you something.”
“What is it, son?”
“There might be more than two of us spending the night tonight,” Jaime said.
“No parties, son. That’s just too dangerous.”
“No. Not like that. Remember when Keira and I intended to meet our online friend after Christmas, but it never happened?” Jaime signed, wishing he’d taken care of this while they were home and he had his computer. This was complicated to sign.
David nodded.
“She didn’t meet us because she’d been kidnapped. When we went to Astoria the day after New Year’s, it was to rescue her. She managed to contact us. We brought her home and we’ve been dating her when Keira and I go out. We think we’re ready for that next step.”
Oh, Lord, Nola! How am I supposed to deal with this?
“You mean you are planning to become a threesome?” David asked.
“Yes.”
“Do Keira’s parents know?” David asked.
“Trayce is at Keira’s house to get ready for the dance tonight. They’re talking to Keira’s parents,” Jaime signed.
“I can’t say I understand this. Oh, I understand the mechanics, but not the emotional content. I really thought you and Keira had something special.”
“We do, Dad. It’s so special we can share it with Trayce and not lessen any of it between the two of us.”
“Okay. Well, thank you for letting me know. We’ll probably stop by tomorrow morning—not too early—to meet your other girlfriend. Just… Good luck, son.”
David hugged Jaime and then got out of the car. He glanced back, but kept going resolutely.
Jaime and Keira and Trayce
The Winter Ball was a formal dance and the threesome decided to treat that traditionally. The idea of formal wear had evolved into a wide range of dress. It was mostly boys who eschewed the rental of a tuxedo. The school had banned jeans and all forms of denim, but they couldn’t possibly cover all the variations that guys could come up with. One guy had a tuxedo printed on a long-sleeve black T-shirt. There were a few who wore dark slacks with cowboy boots, a bolo tie, and a western jacket. A few miles east of them in Idaho, that would have been the standard mode of dress. There were a few plain suits, a couple of white dinner jackets, and even a bright pink full set of tails.
On further examination, it was revealed the pink tails belonged to one part of a lesbian couple. Her date was dressed in an outrageously daring formal gown.
Jaime wore a traditional tuxedo and picked up the flowers for his two dates. They’d had to figure out the tickets for the dance. Jaime registered Trayce as his guest and Keira attended as a solo. A number of students who had no date but simply wanted to attend the mid-winter party got solo tickets. Some, who were forbidden by parents to date, bought solo tickets and met their partners at the dance.
Once they had presented their tickets and were inside, no one thought twice about seeing Jaime with two beautiful girls—a redhead and a blonde. They worked hard at screening thoughts from the people around them and caught only a few derogatory remarks from people. Everyone was required to arrive between seven and eight o’clock, and the event would end precisely at ten.
Soon after they arrived, Mex and Cheery caught up with them.
“Hey, Jaime. Hi, Keira. Um…” Mex started in.
“Juan and Letitia, I’d like you to meet Keira’s and my girlfriend, Trayce,” Jaime signed. The mouths of both his friends dropped open. “Trayce, these are my friends Juan and Letitia. We’ve known each other since kindergarten.”
“Wow! That’s a great friendship!” Trayce said.
“It’s nice to meet you, Trayce,” Cheery said. She turned to Juan. “Don’t get any ideas, buster.”
“Not on your life! You are my everything,” Mex said. Cheery beamed.
“We’ll see you later,” Mex said. He and Cheery headed toward the refreshment buffet.
«Well, that… went okay,» Keira said. «Why don’t we just go dance for a while?»
Like most high school dances, the early music was mostly contemporary and fast-paced rock. The idea of dancing to the music was a matter of perspective. They had a pretty good DJ who kept the music rolling and hopping from song to song without more than a minute or two of each number unless the crowd was really into it. The dancing was mostly bouncing up and down and screaming.
The last half hour of the dance, the music slowed down some, allowing couples—or triples, as the case was—to at least hold hands as they danced. The first touch of skin-to-skin with the three teens after two hours of rave-style music was a shock to all of them. Just as the first hand-holding of Keira and Jaime had opened their senses to everyone in the theater, taking each others’ hands as they danced opened their senses to everyone in the room.
Trayce’s eyes went wide as the overwhelming number of thoughts poured into her. Jaime tried to quickly suppress some of the noise, but Keira was caught up in the mass emotion of the dancing students. To her, it was almost like becoming a part of the music as she was borne upward by the vibe. It took only a moment for Trayce to follow with her. Jaime could feel it and joined with the girls, but stayed grounded, ready to pull the two back to earth if needed.
They gradually regained their individual identities as the music continued, pressing themselves closer and closer together. As they focused more and more on each other, lips were raised to lips and they found themselves isolated in a corner of the room kissing.
“Here now!” a chaperone said, approaching them. “That’s not within the bounds of acceptable behavior at school, no matter what event. Pull yourselves together or you will have to leave at once.”
Jaime jumped back and Keira spoke.
“We’re sorry! We didn’t mean to make a spectacle. We got caught up in the music and just lost track of what we were doing.”
«Tell her to just go away!» Trayce commanded. «I want more kisses.»
Jaime clamped down on the thought immediately and Trayce snapped to him with a surprised look on her face.
«Did I…?»
«It’s not a problem, love. I took care of it.»
«I’m a real bitch!»
«No you aren’t,» Keira said. «We just all got caught up in the moment.»
«It’s time to gather our things and get ready to leave anyway,» Jaime said. «The dance is over.»
They found their coats and joined the exodus into the night air.
“I’m sorry,” Trayce said as they got into the car. Jaime drove but Keira and Trayce sat together in the back seat. “I don’t know what came over me. I’m not usually that way.”
“It’s okay,” Keira said. «We were just excited to be together.»
«I don’t think it was a suggestion from Dr. Schwartz,» Trayce said, switching to her inside voice. «I think it’s because I’m not used to controlling my thoughts. It was an instant thought that I had and just let it out. I might not be able to control that.»
«That’s why we’ll all help each other,» Jaime said. «Three minds are better than one, I guess.»
«My mind wasn’t much help,» Keira giggled. «Wow! When we all touched and the room opened up, it was like surfing on a giant wave of emotion. Everyone was caught up in the music. I didn’t really feel any individual thoughts.»
«I did at first,» Trayce said. «Then I saw you out there and I just wanted to be with you. I think Jaime was the only one of us with a foot in reality.»
«A tenuous foot,» Jaime said. «I wasn’t sure where we might end up if we just rode the wave.»
«I’m glad you kept us grounded. Please show me what you did so I can keep from just being swept along next time,» Keira said.
«It’s decision time,» Jaime said. «Trayce, we don’t have to go home yet. We can go get a burger or wings or something. And even then, you don’t have to go with Keira and me. We can take you home. We’d love to have you stay the night with us, though.»
«It really is time. I feel so crazy in love with you both, I can’t think straight,» Trayce said. Then she switched to her out-loud voice. “No. I do know what I want and I’m ready for it. It’s my excitement that’s scrambling my brain, not my desires. Jaime and Keira, please take me home with you and make love to me!”
Please feel free to send comments to the author at devon@devonlayne.com.
