Author’s note.

It seems that there is no end to this story. As soon as I try to draw it to a close, the characters find some more trouble to get into.

I hope that you guys are still enjoying reading it, as much as I am enjoying writing it, and thanks for sticking with me.

As always, my thanks to Dr. Mark for his tireless work, and Theswiss for his work with the server.

As Nova would say – stay awesome.

KR

PM

Caleb 71 - Sarah and Arnie

It had been quite late before I’d got to sleep.

After a shower and a drink, Gracie, Dana, and I had played a lot of the night away. They both had agendas and it seemed that they’d discussed things beforehand. I was happy to go along, not only having a great night, but enjoying reconnecting with a pair of very close friends and lovers that I thought had drifted away.

I understood their reasons for moving out and even applauded it. If it meant that we could continue as we were before, without things getting more awkward or complicated, then I was all for it.

I woke as usual at four with Gracie and Dana both draped over me. Since it had been closer to two that I’d gone to sleep, I decided to have a lie-in and set my phone alarm for six. Flying tired was not a good idea and, although I needed less sleep than I used to, two hours didn’t really cut it.

Dana moaned when my phone alarm beeped to let me know that I needed to get up.

I slid out of bed, and showered, in preparation for leaving for the airport. I’d told Arnie I’d be there at eight.

I made breakfast, having brought the ingredients for that too, and took it into the girls, where they were still dozing in bed.

“Breakfast,” I said, placing the tray on the bed.

I took my own plate, and settled down in a chair to eat, while the two girls sat up side by side in the bed, each taking a plate for themselves.

“You have to go soon?” asked Gracie, a glint in her eye.

“I’m afraid so,” I said. “I’m flying to Nevada and back today.”

“Wasn’t that what you were doing when you crashed?” asked Dana.

“It was,” I said. “But in a different kind of plane. The one I’m flying today has its own parachute, so if there are any problems we can just drift gently down to the ground.”

“Really?” asked Dana. “I never heard of that.”

“I’m sure it will be fine,” said Gracie. “Let us know you arrive back safe though, won’t you.”

I smiled at them.

“I will,” I said. I started collecting my things together.

“Thank you both for last night,” I said. “It was wonderful.”

“It’s us that should be thanking you,” said Gracie. “For dinner, and. . .and breakfast too.”

I smiled at them.

“Have a good day,” I said heading out of the bedroom.

They followed me to their front door, each kissing me soundly before I left.

“Next time,” I said, “you guys should come to us. I’m sure the girls would be pleased to have you over.”

Gracie grinned. “That would be nice,” she said. “Maybe when you get your new house?”

I gave each another peck on the cheek, and then headed down to my truck.

It was about a forty minute drive to the airport from their new place, and I arrived at a quarter of eight.

Sarah was already there. Ness had given her a ride over so she wouldn’t have to walk.

Sarah got in my truck as I pulled up, and Ness came to the driver’s window, which I rolled down.

“Did you have a good time?” asked Ness after our greeting kiss.

“I did,” I said. “How about you guys. Did you have a nice night?”

“I don’t know about Mary and Amanda,” she replied. “They’re not back yet. Jules, Melanie, Sarah and I had a girl’s night. It was fun.”

I looked across at Sarah who, for some reason, was blushing.

“Did you have fun?” I asked her.

“Melanie and Ness are a bad influence,” she said. Ness just grinned.

“See you guys later,” she said, and then to Sarah, “No joining the mile high club with Arnie. He needs to concentrate on his flying. Although I’m sure he might let you play with his joystick a bit if you ask nicely.”

Sarah blushed even more but laughed.

“See what I mean?” she said to me.

As Ness walked back to her car, Arnie pulled into the parking lot.

“Morning,” he said getting out of his car. “Did you check the weather?”

“I did,” I said, having done so on the internet while I was making breakfast.

“It’s going to be a clear day, with some scattered clouds. Perfect flying weather.”

He grinned at me. “Then let’s get going.”

He led us into the flying school where we briefed on the flight. This took slightly longer since we had to brief Sarah on emergency procedures before we left.

Then we went and did our external checks on the plane which had been fuelled in preparation for our journey today.

Everything checked out and we moved inside and began the pre-flight checks.

Between Sarah getting into the plane and us joining her, Arnie pulled me to one side.

“Dad says that you fly like a pro. He is convinced that you have as much, if not more, flight experience than I do. He also said that you were only taking lessons to get signed off.”

“Yes,” I said. “You can sit in the back with Sarah.”

He grinned at me. “That transparent?” he asked.

“Like glass,” I said. “I know the FAA would probably object, but nobody is going to know other than the three of us, and we won’t tell.”

I did have the fleeting thought that if we did crash, and all died, then the FAA would know by the position of the bodies in the wreck. I didn’t think that we would care about it at that time, so didn’t mention it.

Arnie climbed in beside Sarah and then I got in the pilot’s seat.

“You don’t get off quite so lightly,” I said passing Arnie the checklist so he could call out the preflight checks.

With preflight completed, I started the engine and contacted the tower for permission to taxi and take off.

The flight to Nevada was uneventful. I’d debated having a fuel stop, as the Cirrus’ range only gave us about seventy miles over the journey. That was calculated seats full and, since there were only three of us, I figured we’d have a bit more of a margin. Nevertheless, I’d decided that if I got below a certain level, before I reached a set point in the journey, I’d drop into a local airstrip and top up.

I’d fill up the plane, in Nevada, for the return journey and, since I’d be not flying directly back, but stopping at two other airstrips to satisfy the requirements of the flight, I would top up at one of those as well. I’d also be flying solo so would use less fuel per mile than on the outbound.

Throughout the flight, Sarah and Arnie chatted. Sarah seemed to be having a nice time with Arnie pointing out interesting landmarks as we flew.

We flew almost directly over the crash site, but despite all of us looking, we couldn’t see any sign of the wreckage. Arnie said that the NTSB had not yet recovered the plane. I wasn’t sure how they would go about it, but that was their problem and not mine.

The landing at Nevada was as uneventful as the flight and we taxied off the runway. I needed to fuel the plane, and Arnie needed to find his ride home.

“Right,” said Arnie after he helped me fuel the plane. “You get yourself off. Your return flight is going to take longer than ours, so we’ll beat you back by quite a margin.”

“I’ll wait until you’re ready to leave,” I said. “If there’s issues with the plane, I don’t want to leave you stranded here.”

We walked across the apron together, to where a twin engine plane was sitting. Sarah and I waited by the plane, as Arnie went into an office in the adjacent building.

“You okay?” I asked Sarah while we waited.

She smiled at me.

“I am,” she said. “Other than you, I don’t think I’ve ever met a guy like him before.”

“In what way?” I asked.

“He’s just so…” she seemed to be struggling to put it into words, “comfortable.”

“Comfortable?” I asked, amused.

“I don’t know,” she said. “Trevor… and all the other boys I knew… seemed to be trying to be something that they’re not. Always trying to prove they’re better than they are. It’s as if they don’t like who they are and want to be someone different.

“You and Arnie seem to be the person that you want to be. I’m not saying that you’re arrogant, or that you think you’re perfect, but it’s like you understand who you are and are content with that person.

“You both have ambitions and are looking to improve yourselves. But it’s not because you don’t like who you are now, it’s more that you feel like you haven’t yet reached your full potential. Does that make sense?”

“I think…” she began, but then Arnie emerged from the office, and she stopped talking and turned to him with a smile.

“Everything good to go?” she asked.

“She’s all fuelled and ready to go,” he said.

Sarah frowned.

“She?” she asked. “Why do guys do that. Why are their cars, or in this case planes, always female?”

“Because they share the same characteristics,” I said.

“You mean they’re beautiful?” she asked with a grin.

“I was thinking more temperamental and expensive to maintain,” I grinned back. Arnie wisely declined to comment.

“And we love to be inside them,” I added telepathically.

Sarah who had been about to complain about my calling her temperamental and expensive, suddenly blushed scarlet and slapped my arm. Arnie, having obviously not been party to my last comment, laughed.

“You’re a braver man than I am,” he said. “And of course I completely disagree with everything he said,” he added to Sarah.

“I hope not everything,” I caught Sarah’s unspoken thought, realizing that she’d meant me to.

Caught by surprise, I actually laughed out loud at that. Arnie grinned at me thinking I’d reacted to what he’d said.

Sarah and I shared a glance, as he continued to do the external checks.

“Right,” I said. “I’m going to get ready. I’ll leave at the same time you do, but I need to do my own checks.”

Sarah came over and hugged me, giving me a quick kiss. “Thanks for letting me come with you,” she said. “Fly safe.”

“I will,” I replied. “And remember what Ness told you.”

She grinned at me.

I went back to the Cirrus and, after doing all my preflight checks, I waited until I saw the engines start on Arnie’s plane. At that point, I called for clearance and started my journey home.

The flight back was a kind of dichotomy. This was the first time I’d actually, personally, flown solo, and so it was an exciting occurrence. However, I had memories of thousands of hours of flying, most of which were in a much faster and more exciting aircraft. That made the flight quite boring.

I arrived back at my home airfield and went and fuelled the Cirrus up before taxiing it over to the flight school and parking it on the apron next to the plane Arnie had flown up. Sarah and Arnie came out of the flight school as I shut her down.

“Everything alright?” Arnie asked as he helped me tuck the plane up.

“Absolutely fine,” I said. “I also fuelled her up, so she’s ready for whatever plans you have for tomorrow.”

“Nice,” he said. “Although I didn’t expect you to do that.”

I shrugged. “It was no big deal,” I said.

I looked at Sarah, “Hungry?” I asked. She nodded.

“How about we get the girls to meet us somewhere for dinner?” I suggested.

“Great idea,” she said. “You coming too?” she asked Arnie.

“I…” he began.

“Come on,” I said. “The girls will be disappointed if you back out.”

“Let me call my dad,” he said. “I don’t know if he will have something planned.”

It was likely that Danny did have something planned, but I guessed he remembered what it was like being Arnie’s age, and dating, so he told Arnie to have fun. He did remind him that he had lessons booked the next day so not to be too late home.

While he was talking to his dad, I chatted to the girls to see what they wanted to do.

“Have you guys eaten?” I sent.

“No,” Amanda replied. “I’m starving.”

“What do you fancy?” I asked.

“Meat,” sent Jules. “I want a big thick juicy steak.”

“Ringside?” I suggested and got a cacophony of approvals from all the girls.

“I’ll call and book a table,” Mary sent. “We’ll meet you there.”

“Arnie’s joining us,” I told her.

“Thought as much,” she replied, a feeling of satisfaction in her send.

I drove to the Ringside Steakhouse on my own. Sarah elected to ride with Arnie in his car. When we arrived, the girls were already waiting for us in the lobby. We were seated almost immediately.

While we waited for our waitress to come take our drinks order I took out my phone.

“I promised Gracie and Dana that I’d let them know I got back alright,” I explained as I sent the text.

We had a great meal at the steakhouse and, as things were winding down, Arnie excused himself to go to the bathroom.

“Things seem to be going well with you two,” said Amanda grinning at Sarah.

“Yes,” said Sarah. “I can’t believe that someone like him would be interested in someone like me.”

“You mean someone beautiful,” I began.

“Kind,” added Mary.

“Intelligent,” was Jules’ comment.

“Sexy,” was Amanda’s predictable contribution.

“Loving,” added Melanie.

“Funny,” chimed Ness.

“Why wouldn’t he be interested?” I asked her. “And I’m prepared to bet that he’s asking himself why someone like you would be interested in someone like him.”

“It all seems so sudden though,” she said. “He makes me feel so…”

“Horny?” suggested Ness, grinning. Sarah blushed but laughed.

“Is that all you think about?” she asked.

“Tell me I’m wrong,” Ness defended herself.

“That’s not what I was talking about,” Sarah said. “I just feel like I’ve known him forever. We just seem to fit together. What’s more I think if we told him, he’d be fine with it.”

“Told me what?” asked Arnie as he returned to the table.

Sarah blushed, but closed her mouth, concerned that she’d said too much.

I looked around the restaurant, almost theatrically, to make sure nobody was listening.

“Sarah snores,” I said. “Something awful.”

“And she farts in her sleep,” put in Ness. “But only if she eats red meat.” She added as if in mitigation.

Arnie looked at Sarah’s plate, where the remains of a ribeye steak were still sitting.

“I do not snore,” she said indignantly, blushing furiously.

“Notice she didn’t deny the farting,” said Ness conversationally.

“I don’t…” she began but then gave up as the table, Arnie included, burst out laughing.

Still laughing, Arnie leaned over from where he’d re-seated himself and pulled his girlfriend into a hug.

Over his shoulder, Sarah flashed me a grateful glance.

I wasn’t so sure Arnie would be quite so easily diverted though. He was young, without a doubt, but he was by no means stupid. He knew when to push and when not to. I wondered at the conversation they would have later.

He surprised us all by declining our invitation to go back to the hotel with us.

“I’ve got an early lesson in the morning,” he said. “I know you fuelled her up, but there are other things I need to do.”

Sarah looked a little upset and I knew she was wondering if she’d made a mistake earlier.

I wondered if she’d read his mind, to find out what he was thinking, and I was both surprised and proud that she had not done so.

I did, however, catch an errant thought from him; that he and I were going to have a talk on Monday during my flying lesson. I was certain that if I’d heard that, then Sarah had too. I caught her eye and she gave me a weak smile.

Sarah was quiet in the truck on the way back to the Hotel.

“You ok?” I asked her. She was staring out of the window, and didn’t answer immediately.

“What do you think he wants to talk to you about?” she asked, ignoring my question.

“Arnie is not a stupid guy,” I said. “Although he chose not to pursue it, you practically told him that you were hiding something from him. I’m guessing that.”

She sighed. “What are you going to tell him?” she asked.

“Depends on what he asks,” I said. “But more than that, it depends on you. Telling Arnie about us is a big step not just for us, but for him too. It could have massive repercussions for him, especially if he can’t keep the secret. If anything, he is at a bigger risk than we are.”

“So why does that depend on me?” she asked.

“Because,” I explained, “it depends on your feelings for him. The problem is, and please hear me out before you bite my head off, you’re eighteen and you’ve known him a very short time. A time when so much else in your life is in turmoil. You just started a new school, found out you had powers, and had your home burned down. Not to mention finding out about two brothers and a nest of sisters-in- law. That’s a lot for anyone to come to terms with.

“I’m in no way saying that this is the case, but are your feelings for Arnie simply a result of finding someone to talk to when the rest of your life is in such turmoil? And let’s not forget the hero saving your big brother deal too.”

Sarah was quiet for a long time.

“I met him before our house burned down,” she said quietly. “And even then, I felt we had a connection. We just seemed to hit it off, to ‘click’, together. After talking to him for a few minutes, I felt like I’d known him all my life.

“I know he feels the same because I heard it from him. I wasn’t reading his mind, I wouldn’t do that to him, but you know how much he shouts out what he’s thinking.”

“I know,” I reassured her.

“I’ve never felt so connected to anyone,” she said. “Not even you, although we need to talk about that too. I just know that if I let him go, I’d regret it for the rest of my life.”

“You know he’s a norm,” I said.

“So?” she said, a challenging note in her voice. “So are Jules and Ness.”

“Not quite, but that’s not the point I’m making. You know he’ll age much faster than you. By the time he’s eighty you’ll look about twenty-five. Even if he lives to be a hundred years old, you’ll out live him by three lifetimes.

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t get involved with him.” I assured her. “It’s not my place, and I really like Arnie. I’m just saying you need to understand what getting involved with him means. To you. If you fall in love with Arnie then you’re setting yourself up for a tremendous loss down the line.”

“You could say that about anyone,” she argued. “Nobody knows how long they are going to live. Even Norms. I could meet someone today and they could die tomorrow. It’s not as if we have ‘best before’ dates stamped on our asses.”

“True,” I said, “but we know for certain that your lifespan is likely to be up to four times his. So in all probability you will outlive him by a considerable margin. You need to think about that. . .before getting even more involved. I’m not saying that should be a reason to not get involved, I’m just saying you need to bear it in mind when making the decision.”

Sarah lapsed into silence and didn’t speak again for the rest of the journey to the hotel.

When we got back, I half expected Sarah to go into the other suite. I thought she might be mad at me for what I’d said to her in the car. Instead, she came into the suite with the rest of us. As I settled into a chair she climbed into my lap, curling up just as Jules, Ness, or Melanie might. Mary and Amanda didn’t often sit in my lap, at least not unless we were involved in something more than simply sitting together.

I put my arm around her, gently held her, and let her think about what we’d talked about.

“I know it’s all very new, and sudden,” she said out of the blue. “But I really think that Arnie is the person for me. For us.”

“For us?” I queried, surprised at that.

Sarah looked up at me. Her blue eyes intense.

“You once told my mother,” she said, “that it was possible, likely even, that you and I would end up in bed together. I didn’t believe it. I liked you, but there was no way I’d sleep with you. You’re my brother for goodness sake. But the longer I spent together with you guys, the more the idea appealed to me. I’d sometimes lie awake, listening to you guys being together, and wishing that I was in there with you. This was even before the fire.

“Then I met Arnie. He didn’t replace you, but he did show me that I could have feelings for someone outside the family. If anything, meeting him explained Josh and Louise to me. I could never figure out how they could be together as they are, say they love each other so much, and yet both be in love with you.”

“I guess meeting him helped me put you guys into perspective. I love you, all of you,” she looked around the room at the people looking at her, “and after Amanda ‘helped me out’ the other night, I knew it’s only a matter of time before we do more than sleep in bed. I’d like to hold off on that though. I really want Arnie to be my first. To give that to him, to show him that, while I love all of you and that you are all incredibly important to me, he is my number one. Just like Josh is Louise’s number one and she is his.”

“I know he’s going to grow old and die before me, but it makes no difference if I lose him in sixty years because he dies, or I lose him now because I was scared I might lose him later. I’ll still have lost him and I’ll still be devastated.

“You said ‘IF I fall in love with him’. I think it’s too late for that, because I think I already have. All I can do is try to make the best decisions I can, based on knowing I love him.

“I’m a power user,” she continued. “I now know what that means. I watched you go off to have sex with Gracie and Dana last night, and the twins went out to find someone to share with. I now know that that is my life from here on. It’s not something I’m bound to do since I’m not an Empath. However, from what I’ve heard, Telepaths also have a similar need, although not quite so pronounced.

“I know I’m going to end up having sex with you, with all of you and, to be honest, I’m looking forward to it. I’m also thinking that Arnie will get pulled in as well. But I really think that we can be like Josh and Louise. We can be together, in love with each other, but also surrounded by the love of you guys. Josh once told me that loving you didn’t take away from his love for Louise. If anything, it strengthened it. . .nurtured it. I think the same thing will happen with Arnie and me.”

I looked down at her, and smiled.

“Then we need to have a long chat with him,” I said. “And I think you’re right; I think he’s as mad about you as you are about him. It seems sudden, but hell, it’s not as if any of us exactly took our time about it. Mary and Amanda took probably 2 days, Jules probably less than an hour, and Melanie not much longer. Ness, I think, was the longest.

Ness snorted.

“Only because you wouldn’t admit to it,” she said, “because I was only seventeen. If I’d been over eighteen when we met, I’d have been the shortest by a country mile.”

I smiled at her, then looked down at Sarah.

“When are you going to tell your parents?”

“Tomorrow,” she said

“Do you think?” I said “you should wait until we’ve had the discussion with Arnie. You never know. . . we might frighten him away.”

Sarah shook her head confidently.

“Not going to happen,” she said.

“Okay then,” I said. “I’ve technically finished my instructor hours anyway, but I’m still booked for Monday at five. I’ll go to the flight school on Monday and then bring him back here. Then we can have ‘the talk.’

I looked around the girls, wondering if any of them would object. I half expected Mary, the voice of reason, to say that we needed to wait. But they all returned smiles and nods. They were as certain as Sarah, as certain as I was, that Arnie was the right person for Sarah and would be a good fit with us.

I looked back down to Sarah, just in time for her to reach up and cup my face with her hands. She drew me into a kiss, which was both gentle and loving. All in all she wasn’t a bad kisser, although not in the Steadman girls’ league.

“What was that for?” I asked when she finally released me.

“Just because,” she said with a small smile. Then she perked up a little. “Now, tell us about your time with Gracie and Dana.”

I spent the next half hour or so describing my evening with Gracie and Dana.

“So they’re coming over when we get in the new house,” I finished.

“That will be brilliant,” said Melanie. “I really like them. They are so good together.”

“They are,” I said, then turned to Mary and Amanda.

“So how about you guys?” I said. “How did your night go?”

“It was not at all bad,” said Amanda. “We met up with this couple on holiday. I think they came from New Zealand, a doctor and his wife. We got chatting in the bar, and it turned out that they liked to share from time to time too. We went back to their hotel and spent the night with them. I have to say that she was more adventurous than he was. He pretty much just wanted to watch, but his wife persuaded him to join in a little too. Jenny, the wife, was a bit of a tiger, but eventually we wore them out.”

She grinned at me.

“Did you have a good time?” I asked Mary.

“It scratched an itch,” she said, “It was fun too. Jenny was nice, but Dave, the husband, was less into it I think.”

“You seeing them again?” I asked. They both shook their heads.

“They’re going back home this week some time,” said Amanda. “Even if they weren’t, we probably wouldn’t. Dave didn’t seem to really want to do more than watch. Jenny finally managed to persuade him to fuck us both, but he used a condom, which kind of spoils it. I think he was doing it more to please her than us. Don’t get me wrong, we both enjoyed it, and got a couple of nice orgasms from him, but I certainly have had better.” She grinned at me.

“That goes without saying,” said Melanie, smiling at me, love in her eyes.

Mary had been watching me, a little trepidation in her look, but I smiled at her.

“I’m sorry it wasn’t better for you,” I said. “Maybe I can make it up to you later?”

“There’s nothing for you to make up,” said Mary.

“Shush,” said Amanda. “If he wants to make it up to us, then don’t argue with him.”

Mary smiled at her twin, who was grinning at me.

“I’m going for a shower,” I said gently nudging Sarah to let me up. Sarah slipped out of my lap.

I went through to the other suite, got undressed and got in the shower. I’d probably been in there less than twenty seconds when the door opened, and Mary joined me.

It wasn’t a big shower, and there wasn’t really room to get into too much, but she pressed her naked body against mine, and held me to her.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

I pulled back a little and lifted her chin until I could look into her eyes.

“I love you Mary Everson,” I said. “You are the most perfect woman I could ever hope to meet. I know I’ve not always shown it and I can only apologize for that. But I want you to know, that no matter what happens, I’m going to love you until my dying day.”

She looked into my face, her eyes looking into mine.

“Thank you,” she said simply and pulled me against her once more.

We held each other, under the spray, for a little while and then she stepped back and out of the shower.

“Be quick,” she said, “I don’t think Amanda can wait too much longer.”

I laughed, and reached for my shower gel.

Normally I’d have liked to spend time with one or both of the twins in the shower, but there simply wasn’t the room in this one, at least nothing like the room I was used to having. I figured it would be simpler to get showered and then join them in the bedroom, which is what I did.

Amanda had showered in the other suite’s bathroom, and Mary had been next in there. Amanda was laid on the bed, wantonly naked, looking like a cat basking in the sun.

She held her arms out as I came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my waist.

I guess I needn’t have bothered with the towel since, as soon as I was within reach, it was snatched away leaving me standing naked in front of her. She looked me up and down, a predatory glint in her eye.

“You,” she said, “are beautiful.”

I cocked my head to the side. “Shouldn’t that be my line?” I asked.

“I realized before,” she said, “when you were talking to Sarah, you are always telling me, us, all of us, how beautiful we are. I can’t remember the last time any of us said anything of the like to you. You really are a stunning man. I love your eyes, your face, and your body. But most of all, I love you.”

“What’s brought this on?” I asked a little amused.

“I just wanted you to know,” she said.

“I do know,” I assured her. “I feel it from you all day, every day. Even without the connection, without your power.”

“Good,” she said reaching for my hands and pulling me onto the bed.

“I need you inside me,” she moaned as she pulled me on top of her. “I want you to show me that you know I love you.”

Mary came in a few minutes later while I was still busy showing Amanda just how much I appreciated the love I felt from her. She climbed on the bed and lay on her side watching us as we loved each other. When we peaked, almost perfectly together, Mary shared in Amanda’s climax as usual.

“That was beautiful”, said Mary when she caught her breath.

“Sometimes,” said Amanda. “A girl just needs to be loved.”

“You are,” I said. “Always.”

I turned to Mary. “As are you.”

She smiled at me. “Show me?”

I made a mental note to thank Jeevan for showing me how to reset my refractory period to virtually zero. I couldn’t exactly go all night, but my healing made it possible for me to ‘perform’ far more than I had a right to be able to.

Later that night, when we returned to the other room, getting ready for sleep, Sarah once again snuggled into my side.

“Ness told me about sharing her first time with the girls,” she said.

“Oh yes?” I asked, wondering just how that had come up in conversation.

“Can I do that?” she asked.

“You want to share your first time?” I asked.

She nodded.

“Who with?” I asked.

“You and the girls,” she said. “If that’s okay.”

“I can show you how,” I said. “But don’t you think you need to discuss it with Arnie first?”

She thought about that for a few minutes. “I guess,” she said. “I didn’t really think about it. He wouldn’t know.”

“How about if we put hidden cameras in there too then?” I asked.

“What?” she exclaimed. “Why would you…”

“Well you wouldn’t know,” I said.

She sighed. “Point,” she said.

“It’s ultimately your call,” I said. “But I think it would be very unfair for you to share with us without asking him first. And don’t be upset if he says no. I’m not sure, if I’d known about it, I’d have wanted to share my first time. I had no idea what I was doing, and I can imagine the pressure of having someone ‘listening in’ might get in the way.”

“Ness said it wasn’t like that,” she said. “She said it was just the love and some feelings that got shared.”

“It’s true,” I said. “But what if he’s worried that he can’t satisfy you? That kind of pressure can really put a guy off his game.”

“It didn’t stop you,” she said.

“My first time,” I said, “I didn’t know it was happening. And with the others, well, let’s just say I had a lot more experience and confidence by then.”

She thought about that for a few moments.

“Think about it,” I said. “Arnie is going to have a lot to get his head around Monday. You’ll just have to play it by ear.”

She nodded, looking thoughtful, and then worried.

“Whatever happens,” I told her gently, “we will always be there for you.”

She smiled at me for a second before her face went back to being thoughtful.

When I woke the next morning, Melanie joined me for another run. It was cool, but setting up to be a nice day.

“Are you going to Sarah’s parents today?” she asked.

“That’s the plan,” I said. “Are you coming?”

“Would that be alright?” she asked. “It seems a bit cruel, all of us descending on them. Especially with Edgar not being good with crowds.”

“Let’s ask Sarah when we’re ready to go. Then we can make a decision,” I told her.

We discussed it over breakfast.

“Sure,” said Sarah. “I spoke to Mom and she said if you all want to go over then they’d be pleased to see you all.”

“What about Edgar?” I asked.

“Edgar will be fine,” she said. “He’s doing much better around people now that he can block out all the noise they make.”

“Poor kid,” said Jules. “It must have been hell for him.”

Sarah shuddered. “I remember what it was like when you took my amulet off. To think he’s been suffering that all his life…”

“It would have been different for him,” I said, “since he grew up with it. But even so, it couldn’t have been pleasant.”

We decided to take my truck and Ness’ car. Melanie and the twins would ride with me, and Jules and Sarah would ride with Ness. The journey took just over an hour and we arrived just in time for lunch.

“Come in,” Carrie said with a smile as she opened the door. “You’re just in time. Lunch is ready.”

“You shouldn’t have gone to any trouble,” Mary said, being the first through the door.

“It was no trouble,” she said. “It’s just a cold spread.”

To be fair, it was quite a spread. I’ve seen some wedding buffets that weren’t as good. It must have taken them a good amount of time and money to prepare.

Edgar came down mid way through lunch and, after going and hugging his sister, he came and sat on my lap. He looked up at me as he settled himself down.

“Hello,” he sent to me, seeming to prefer telepathy than actual speech.

“Hello, Edgar,” I returned. He smiled at me but then seemed to feel that was more than enough conversation and he applied himself to the toy he’d brought with him.

“How’s he doing?” I asked Carrie.

“He’s much better in company,” she said. “I’ve been taking him to a therapist that Dianna recommended. She’s working with him. Apparently, Telepathy is his only power, and he doesn’t seem to use it often.”

I nodded.

“More to the point,” she returned, “how are all of you? I’m so sorry about the fire. Did the police find out who did it?”

“Not that they told us,” said Sarah. “We think it might have been something to do with Trevor and his dad, but then Trevor’s dad was killed, so I think they gave up.”

“I heard about that,” Brian said. “They said on the news he was carjacked or something.”

“I think,” said Melanie, “that they broke into his home to steal his car keys and he didn’t want to co-operate.”

Brian shook his head. “Stupid. To die over a car.”

“He didn’t strike me as the kind of person to back down,” I said.

“He wasn’t,” said Sarah.

“So what’s Trevor doing now?” asked Carrie.

“Don’t know, and don’t care,” said Sarah. “He’s well and truly in my past.”

Carrie smiled. “So no reconciliation then?”

Sarah snorted. “Not a chance,” she said.

“Oh?” said Carrie smiling. “Do I detect a new man in your life?” She seemed to put two and two together and came up with twenty two.

She glared at me. I laughed, holding my hands up.

“No!” said Sarah looking shocked. “Not Caleb. Jeez Mom, talk about jumping to conclusions.”

Carrie’s face softened. “Sorry,” she said to me before turning back to her daughter.

“So who is the new boy then?” she asked.

“Who said it was a boy?” Sarah said, her head tilted back in a challenge.

Carrie’s jaw dropped and she looked at the girls, who all burst out laughing holding their hands up just as I’d done a moment before.

“Sarah?” said Brian, a gentle note of warning in his voice.

“His name’s Arnie,” Sarah told them after a moment. “He’s Caleb’s flight instructor.”

“His flight instructor?” asked Brian. “Isn’t he a little old for you?”

Sarah looked at me. “What do you think?” She asked. “Would it be better if he were ten years younger?”

“Ten…” stammered Carrie looking wide eyed.

“Not really,” I answered deadpan. “He’d be eight.”

“He’s eighteen?” asked Brian. “I thought you said he was a flight instructor.”

“He is,” I said. “He saw something he wanted to do when he was younger, worked hard, and now he’s a flight instructor. I think his ultimate goal is to be a commercial pilot, but I guess Sarah would know more.

“Oh, and he saved my life.”

“He what?” asked Carrie.

“We were on a cross country flight,” I told her, “and the plane broke. Arnie had to get us down where there was no place to land. He made a great, in-tree, landing.”

“In-tree?” Brian asked.

“Yes” I said. “If there’s nowhere to put down and you’re over a forest, the best bet is to treat the canopy as the ground. It was a really good piece of flying. We neither of us got so much as a scratch.”

“Wow,” said Carrie. “So, when do we get to meet him?”

“In a few weeks, I guess,” Sarah said noncommittally.

There was a bit of an uncomfortable silence. Brian chose to break it.

“What’s it like living in the Nines?” he asked. “I’ve always thought it would be nice to stay there.”

I pulled my face a little.

“It’s a lovely place,” I said. “But I can’t wait until we can get back into our own place.”

“Isn’t that going to take a while?” asked Carrie. “Are you rebuilding?”

“Yes,” I said. “But we’re getting another place in the meantime. We’re hoping to close on another house in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully by the school break we’ll be able to move in.”

“That reminds me,” said Carrie. “What are you doing over the break? We were thinking of taking a trip, maybe?”

Sarah looked conflicted. “I’ve been invited up to Jules’ parents,” she said.

“Oh,” said Carrie, looking a little disappointed.

“I can go up in the summer,” Sarah said after a moment. “I’ll come home for the break this time.”

“Are you sure?” asked Carrie. “I don’t want to put pressure on you.”

“It’s fine,” Sarah said. “It will be good to catch up and spend some time with you guys.” She shot an apologetic look at Jules who simply smiled at her.

After lunch, I helped clear the dishes into the kitchen as was my habit. Soon enough it was just me and Carrie in there.

“Thank you,” she said out of the blue. I raised my eyebrow at her.

“For?” I asked.

“For looking after Sarah,” she said. “After the fire, I thought she’d come running home. I spoke to her the next day, expecting her to be in pieces. She wasn’t. Oh, she was upset, although I think I was more upset about the loss of her dolls than she was. She told me that you’d let her sleep with you all, share your bed, and that she felt safe and loved there.”

I was surprised that Sarah had told her mom that she’d shared our bed. I waited for her to say something else.

“What’s this Arnie like?” she asked after a moment.

“He’s a good guy,” I said. “And he’s head over heels for Sarah.”

“Really?” she said.

“Can I show you?” I asked. She nodded her head.

I gave her a memory of Arnie watching Sarah while we were at the restaurant. Sarah was talking to Ness on her other side and Arnie was watching her. The love in his eyes was obvious. Sarah had turned to him to ask him something and her returning gaze was equally filled with love. They gazed at each other for a second and then laughed together, breaking the spell. The meal continued.

“Wow,” said Carrie. “They really are smitten.”

“I think so,” I said. “Sarah wants to tell him about powers.”

“Do you think that’s wise?” she asked.

“I think,” I said, “that it needs to be explained to put everything else into perspective. It seems that although Sarah isn’t an Empath, Telepaths have a need to share. It’s not as pronounced as Empaths but it still exists. Since I have both, I never noticed it.”

Carrie sighed.

“So, Edgar?” she asked.

“Once he reaches maturity,” I said, “then I think he’ll have a similar need.”

Carrie sighed again. It kind of amused me; the concerns that she’d had for her daughter had been drowned out once she found out that Edgar, her little boy, would have the same challenges when he was older. The diversion might be good for Sarah and take the pressure off her. I could sympathise with Carrie’s thinking. Helping Edgar manage his need in the future would be a challenge.

We rejoined the others in the living room and spent the afternoon chatting and letting Sarah get her parents caught up with everything that had gone on since they were last together. She also told them of the money that Dean had sent for her – to tide her over.

“Twenty thousand?” asked Brian. “Everything you took with you wouldn’t cost that.”

“And,” I said, “the insurance company has made an offer. Sarah has another chunk of money coming when they finally pay out. Hopefully sometime this week.”

“Damn,” said Carrie. “You should be paying US an allowance.”

Sarah laughed, then got serious.

“To be honest,” she said, “I’ve got more money than I need just now. Also, Caleb says I’m going to be training my powers doing hypnotherapy, meaning I’ll be earning. I guess taking money from you as well would be just being greedy.”

I saw Brian and Carrie exchange a glance.

I could understand their feelings. She was, in effect, telling them that she didn’t need them any more. It was a defining moment in their relationship. It also subliminally sent the message that she was no longer under their control. She was a young woman, making her own way in life, and making her own decisions.

“Let’s hold off on making any decisions about that for now,” said Brian. “If you don’t need to use it, then save it. Maybe you can save up for a car for when you pass your driving test.”

Sarah smiled at him. “That’s a great idea,” she said. “I’ll have to start lessons.”

“Me too,” said Melanie. “I have a learners permit, but never got around to getting lessons. Maybe we can use the same instructor?”

They decided that they would look for one after we got home, although I suspected it would be later in the week before they did so.

We left in the late afternoon, not wanting to put the pressure of having to provide dinner for all of us, and decided that we’d stop somewhere on the way back to eat. We didn’t want to be back too late in any case since most of the girls seemed to have prep to do for school the next day.

On the journey home, I asked Melanie how she was getting on with school.

“I’m all caught up,” said Melanie. “Unfortunately, I can’t skip as many classes as you can. They are mostly mandatory attendance. Not that I would want to as I’m finding them really interesting.”

“That’s good,” I said. “When you feel up to it, I think it would be good for you to start training with Jeevan. That should be a great start with training some of your powers. Have you got your power bar yet?”

“Not yet,” she said. “I’m working on it.”

“I think Jeevan will insist you have it before he will train you. So that’s your next goal.” I told her.

She nodded.

We stopped off at a diner for dinner, where I asked Sarah much the same.

She told me that she’d caught up with all the outstanding work, and was killing all her subjects. She’d memorized all of the textbooks that she’d bought and was thoroughly enjoying herself. It appeared that in her first year the professors were being a little more strict about attendance in classes. There was only one who would be unconcerned if she didn’t attend classes, just as long as the assignments were handed in.

I was reminded that I’d not started my ‘studying remotely’ until my third year, and to expect the two girls to be able to do what I was doing would be a big ask, at least until they were more firmly established.

“I think we should start your Compulsion training soon,” I said to Sarah. “Melanie will get all her training with Jeevan while she is healing, and she’s already been working with Josh and Louise. I’d like you to start working with me on some of my hypnotherapy clients. Perhaps we can arrange some sessions around when you have free time, or maybe some evening appointments.”

“I’d like that,” Sarah said. “I don’t think I’m quite ready to get into things with Josh and Louise, but I really want to start training. I’m starting to feel like my power wants to be used.”

“I know,” I said. “Let’s look at the appointment diary. Mary keeps the diary so she’s the best person to work with to figure out which appointments you can be involved with. I think it would be better to start you with a new client, since the returns are only coming to make things seem more like hypnosis and less like mind control.

“Also, you need to register with the State as a hypnotherapist. I’ll show you how to do that when we get home. You only need to pay a fee.”

Later that night, in bed, Sarah was unsettled. She tossed and turned. Her mind was obviously worried about the next day and the conversation that we would be having with Arnie.

“It will be fine,” I said to her gently, making her jump a little. I think she thought that everyone else was asleep.

“Sorry,” she said. “Am I keeping you awake?”

“We can all feel how unsettled you are,” Melanie said gently. “I guess, in your position, I’d be nervous too about tomorrow.”

“You too?” Sarah asked. “Maybe I should go next door?”

“Don’t you dare,” said Amanda. “How about you let us help you settle?”

“Okay,” said Sarah a little uncertainly.

I felt Amanda’s power wash over all of us, filled with love, reassurance, and relaxation. Even I only managed to stay awake long enough to see Sarah relax and her eyes close as she slipped into sleep.

Sarah woke the next morning when Melanie and I slipped out of bed to start our exercise routine.

“What time is it?” she asked.

“Just after four,” I said. “Go back to sleep.”

She looked at me through sleepy eyes, but settled back off without much fuss, as Melanie and I got dressed to go out for our morning run.

We came back two hours later soaking wet. It had started raining, hard, when we were about half way through our run. We could have sheltered and gotten an Uber back to the hotel but, by the time either of us had thought of it, we were already soaked. We decided to just finish the run and make our own way back. We stood in the spare suite, both steaming slightly in our wet gear. Ness stuck her head in, on hearing us come back, and looked us up and down.

“You look like a pair of drowned rats,” she said laughing. She opened a drawer and pulled out a laundry bag.

“Strip,” she said, “and put your gear in here. I’ll get it collected and laundered. I’m not sure your shoes are going to be dry for tomorrow though.”

We did as ordered and I pulled on a robe while Melanie went straight into the shower. I’d wait my turn and go in when she came out. The other girls were using the shower in the other room. I couldn’t wait until we had our own place. The shower in the new place wasn’t as big as the one in our old place, but it was easily big enough for two.

A few minutes later, Melanie emerged wrapped up in every towel that had been in the bathroom. Since I knew that would happen, I’d already grabbed a spare and went and had my shower.

Breakfast, we’d decided, would be had at the campus cafeteria. Ness obviously couldn’t join us, but she had arranged to meet her friends for breakfast and would eat with them. I didn’t have a class this morning, but I did have three hypnotherapy appointments on campus so I was going there in any case.

Josh and Louise, however, did join us, and it was like old times. I thought back to those times, only just over a year ago, where I ate pretty much every meal in this cafeteria, with either Josh and Lousie, or Sue, or one of my other friends. I was a little sad to think that most of the friends I’d had then had kind of drifted out of my life. Sue obviously now had Gordon and, after what had happened between us, was nowhere near as close a friend as she had been. Kyle and Jennifer had left school, both graduating, since they were a year ahead of me. I didn’t even know where they had gone. Even Bob and Angela, who had been good friends, I hadn’t seen for some time. Although that was about to change as now we were neighbors.

I wondered about those two. It seemed that Angela had suddenly developed an interest in me, and it worried me. I didn’t want to mess up their relationship, but Bob seemed to be okay with whatever was going on, so I decided to just play things by ear and see where things led. I also thought about what Ness had said about Angela, and my being disappointed if her ass didn’t live up to expectations. The thought both amused and scared me a little. What if things did develop between us, and when those painted jeans came off, I was disappointed with what was inside?

I chided myself for that thought. I liked Angela as a person, not just her ass, although it had kind of become the standard against which all other asses were measured.

“Penny for them?” asked Mary, seeing I was staring into space.

“Hmmm?” I said, startled out of my reverie.

“Your thoughts,” she said. “You were deep in contemplation. I wondered what about.”

“Angela’s ass, probably,” quipped Jules with a grin.

I smiled. “I was thinking about how much things have changed in just over a year.” I explained. “I used to eat in here all the time, practically every meal, but so much has changed. People have moved on, and people I used to see every day, I hardly see at all.”

“Regrets?” asked Amanda.

“Some,” I said after a moment’s thought. “I certainly don’t regret my new family, but in some ways I do regret losing touch with some of the people that are no longer around any more.”

“You miss Sue?” asked Mary.

“I kind of do,” I said. “I handled that situation very badly, and people who shouldn’t have got hurt did, but…”

“That wasn’t you,” said Amanda.

“It kind of was,” I said. “I set things up, and then was surprised when things went sideways.”

“I think,” said Jules, “that change is a good thing. It’s the catalyst for growth. For development. Yes, things have changed but look at where you are now in comparison to where you were a year ago.

“Look at where we all are in comparison to where we were back then. Sure there were some bumps in the road, but I, for one, wouldn’t want to alter a single thing. I love who we are, and where we are, and where we’re going. I couldn’t be happier, house burning down aside, than I am right now.”

“Me either,” said Amanda.

“Nor me,” said Mary.

Melanie just smiled at me.

Sarah, who’d been quiet so far looked up and down the table. “I think I missed a lot, since we only really just met, but no matter what happens later with Arnie, I think I agree with Jules. Making the decision to join you guys was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

My first hypnotherapy client was the deaf girl, Naomi. She’d lost just over twenty pounds so far and was delighted with her progress. She and her friend came into the office together.

Naomi was full of joy beaming widely having lost over half the weight that she’d wanted to lose, and not felt a moments struggle. She started to tell me about her week, as her and her girlfriend settled into the chairs.

Suddenly I was assaulted by an image from her mind. She’d weighed herself that morning, naked, and had then imagined herself standing naked in front of me. In her imaginary scenario, she’d walked over to me and dropped to her knees in front of me. I blocked the image as the imaginary Naomi was undoing my zip.

Trying not to grin, I tried to settle her down prior to getting her to count backwards to induce the pretend trance. Her mind, however, didn’t stop. The next image I was assailed with was of Naomi, bent over the desk in my little office, as I ploughed into her from behind. Strangely her friend was in the scene, sitting in one of the chairs just watching the goings on.

Finally, I was able to settle her down enough to get her to count backwards, and then Compelled her to sleep.

“She’s been talking about you a lot,” said her friend, as soon as Naomi was sleeping.

“Has she?” I asked.

“She’s trying to work up the courage to ask you out,” she said.

“I have a fiancée,” I said.

“She knows,” she said. “And truth be told, she has a boyfriend back home. She’s not looking for a boyfriend.”

“It’s hardly appropriate,” I said. “I’m her therapist. There are so many ways that people could misconstrue what happens in therapy sessions if I were to have any kind of relationship with someone I’d helped.”

Naomi’s friend sighed. “I told her that you’d probably say something like that,” she said. “But she’s convinced that she can talk you into it. Especially if she loses the rest of the weight she wanted to.”

I shook my head. “There can’t be anything between her and I. It’s the kind of thing that can get a therapist to lose his registration and get sued.”

“Then when she does ask,” she finished, “please let her down gently. Her confidence is soaring just now, since she’s lost so much weight. Don’t destroy that.”

I pulled the friend into an illusion so I could get on with some work. I did take a little time to add a couple of small compulsions to Naomi. She’d realize that her infatuation with me was simply due to my helping her with her weight. She’d figure out that she didn’t really want to have any kind of relationship with me, other than for me to be her therapist.

As the session ended, and I woke them both up, I saw Naomi’s face take on a wry expression, as she realized that she’d been fantasizing about someone for all the wrong reasons. She and her girlfriend left the office, having paid my bill.

I decided that if the girlfriend came back for treatment, Sarah could be her therapist.

The rest of the day seemed to drag its heels. I could understand how Sarah felt. I was almost as nervous about how Arnie would react to the discussion we were going to have that evening. Sarah would be heartbroken if he reacted badly, but I really believed that he wouldn’t.

I still wondered if it was too early. They’d known each other for only a few weeks, but that didn’t seem to matter. I’d entered into relationships with all of my girls almost immediately I’d met them, and I didn’t regret any of it. I was certain that Arnie was the right person for Sarah, and she was the right person for him.

What I was even more certain was that they, as a couple, would be a good fit into our extended family. I wondered not only about bringing Sarah into the connection, but Arnie as well. I would have to discuss it with all the girls at some point in the near future. All we had to do in the meantime was get through tonight.