Soulmates
15
The Listeners
Jaime and Keira
«REMEMBER: We need to keep ourselves shielded. We’re just listening,» Keira said.
«Listen and identify. We aren’t trying to stop kidnappers,» Jaime grinned.
«Please let there not be any!»
They found their seats in the auditorium. They’d started holding hands as soon as Jaime arrived at Keira’s house and they headed for the streetcar. They’d been using the time to fine tune their filters. Or that’s what they told each other. Both were just happy to be holding hands. There were a lot of mentally whispered endearments, and an occasional memory of their kisses. They tried to keep the latter to a minimum because both preferred to have the physical contact of the kiss to the mere memory.
After finding their seats, they settled in and observed the audience around them.
«Three rows down and over about halfway to the right,» Jaime pointed out. «She’s not happy to be here. Usually it’s men who aren’t as glad to go to the symphony as the women they bring.»
«But look. She’s not with a date. Not exactly. She’s here with her little girl who she promised to take to the symphony. She doesn’t mind being here. It’s just an interruption to what she wanted to do today.»
«The little girl is excited, though. She wants to hear the big drums,» Jaime said.
«Hmm. Brahms might not be the best composer for timpani. The other two pieces are concerti for chamber orchestra. Not a lot of percussion in that, I don’t suppose.»
«Here’s the conductor. He really gets a charge out of the applause. Feels he deserves it.»
«It’s really just one of the reasons he loves his job, though. He’s already hearing the music.»
The audience settled after the applause and then the featured cellist arrived on stage to a fresh round of applause. He shook hands with the conductor. The chamber orchestra checked their tuning and all eyes turned to the conductor. The music began.
For a few minutes, Jaime and Keira were swept away by the pleasure and emotion experienced by the audience, and the sheer joy with which the musicians played.
«It’s like they are all connected to the conductor. Even the soloist is watching for the conductor’s cue. He does it all with the tip of his baton and they all understand exactly what he wants!» Keira said.
«Look at how many people are following the baton, too,» Jaime answered. «It’s one of the reasons I love coming to concerts. Everyone is of one mind.»
«It’s magical!»
The first concerto finished with no further deliberate thoughts passing between the two. They were happy—content to be among the listeners in the auditorium. And happy to be touching each other, physically and mentally.
During the second concerto, they began to reach out to touch those around them. Their first attempt was almost too much, as the entire audience flooded their senses. They clamped down, gripping each other’s hand more tightly. They quickly looked around to see if they had disturbed anyone else, but there was no sign of anything but the enjoyment of the music.
«Too much, too fast,» Keira said.
«Let’s see if we can limit the range. Maybe ten feet around us.»
«I’m not sure how to do that. You lead.»
Jaime closed his eyes and let the music wash over him. Then he began to slowly open himself to those around him. Keira closed her eyes and followed in her mind.
The man next to Jaime was nodding at the edge of sleep and his wife kept nudging him so he wouldn’t snore. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy the music, but it relaxed him so that he wanted to sleep. Poor guy.
Behind them, a woman was envisioning her upcoming wedding to the tune that was being played. Of course, she didn’t want that exact music at her wedding. She wanted something a little more upbeat and music that didn’t demand the wedding party pay attention to it instead of her. Keira giggled a little in her mind.
They catalogued all the people within five seats of them, side-to-side and front-to-back. When they were finished, they were exhausted, having read upwards of a hundred people in the packed orchestra hall. They shut down their contact and let the music take them where it would, like most of those they’d peeked in on.
After the second concerto, there was an intermission as the stage was reset for the full orchestra. Jaime and Keira stayed in their seats, observing the people around them as some stood to stretch and others quickly made their way to the lobby bar or restrooms.
«People try to be so sophisticated at a concert,» Jaime said.
«With varying degrees of success.»
«The guy next to me really loves the concert. He can’t help it that the music always puts him to sleep.»
«It might be the best rest he ever gets. What about the man in the center front who is so preoccupied with his business that he can’t rest at all?» Keira asked.
«He’s really stressed out. He wants to talk business with the man accompanying him with their wives, but knows he has to endure the entire concert before he can hope to get him alone. Do you really think his business will fold if he doesn’t get the guy’s support?»
«I don’t think he’ll need to worry about it for long. The only thing on the other guy’s mind is how much he’ll have to pay to get a piece of the action.»
«He’ll be relieved.»
«I thought we’d hear a lot more um… fantasy stuff… sex talk,» Keira ventured.
«It’s a different kind of crowd than the movie,» Jaime surmised. «Older. More attentive to the music than to each other. The music just supplies all the emotion they need while they are in the auditorium.»
«Well, here comes the orchestra. People are coming back to their seats. Do they tune like this every time?»
«Maybe it’s partly just to loosen their fingers while they call the audience back to their seats. The noise from the instruments reminds me of the noise of the audience, now there’s no music.»
The two extended their consciousness to others in the audience as they filled the auditorium again. With no music to focus their thoughts, it was far more of a cacophony in their heads, but the two soon filtered out certain individuals.
«When the music stops, the minds return to the chaos of daily life,» Jaime said.
«Did you catch that?» Keira asked excitedly. «There’s someone, on the far left back. She’s wishing the music would start so all the noise in her head would stop. She’s interested in listening in on one person who is sitting three rows ahead of her.»
«I hear her. She wants everyone else to be quiet, but doesn’t have any filters on what she broadcasts herself. Like I was.»
«The man she’s interested in isn’t a love interest. He’s more of a competitor in business.»
«He uses the concert as a place to think out his strategy and… an invention that he’s anticipating patenting.»
«She’s going to tell someone all about it. Oh my! She’s a corporate spy! She targets certain people to read their minds and then sells the plans to competitors.»
The conductor returned to the stage to applause and the two teens tried to focus their attention on the first bars of Brahms’ Symphony Number 2. It didn’t take long for the audience to settle and let the music wash away all other thoughts. As the music played, those who had other things on their minds—obsessions—came into clearer focus for Keira and Jaime.
«She’d be a terrible international spy,» Jaime said. «Everything she hears from his mind, she leaks out of hers. She has no concept of other people like her. Should we tell her?»
«I don’t think she believes she’s actually reading his mind. She thinks she’s just really good at reading people’s body language and developing stories about what they are planning. She found out a long time ago that she could sell that information, so she calls herself a professional people watcher.»
About six minutes into the first movement, the timpani rumbled and the little girl with her mother squealed in delight. It was mostly internal, but her mother quickly hushed her. She was bouncing in her seat. Jaime and Keira filtered out the surrounding mental interference and focused on the orchestra. There was another good timpani part before the end of the first movement and they tuned in on the little girl just to share her joy in the big drums.
«The blonde with the golden flute and the sparkly black dress is in love with the conductor,» Jaime suggested. They both focused on her as the second movement started.
«She has all the music memorized and automatically turns the page of her score, but she never takes her eyes off the conductor,» Keira added.
«Is it love like we have?» Jaime asked. «Or is it some connection the music makes between them? It excites her.»
«And him, but he’s got so many bits to attend to. He can’t be so single-minded in his attention as she is.»
«Maybe she just loves the music and he is the embodiment of it.»
«It’s really hard to read the musicians. The music controls them and fills their minds. We can feel her adoration, but we can’t really hear any words,» Keira said.
«Would you be quiet? I just want to listen to the music.»
Jaime and Keira instantly clamped down on all their senses, blocking out the thoughts of anyone else in the auditorium and shielding their thoughts against being read. The mental voice had come from the first row of the balcony and was gone as quickly as it had interjected itself.
Jaime could feel Keira shaking and infused their touch with all his calming energy. Discovering one person in the auditorium who was listening to the thoughts of another had been an exciting moment. But being reprimanded by another listener for making such a psychic racket had shocked them nearly as much as the voice Jaime had heard Thursday night had shocked him.
There was nothing malevolent about this new voice, though. He was irritated, but he might not have even recognized they were communicating with each other. In their intense discussion of the flutist’s love for the conductor, they had allowed their thoughts to leak out. They were supposed to be practicing not letting that happen.
In the third movement, they got their fill of the flutist’s solos and the little girl got all the timpani she could desire. It was an uplifting and dynamic finale. They joined in the applause of the audience and realized when their hands left each other, the intensity of the audience input was muted. The drop in mental volume was almost like muting the television during advertisements.
They linked arms and tried not to speak to each other until they were well away from the concert hall.
«Do you think he identified who we are?» Keira asked when they were on the streetcar headed to Jaime’s house.
The streetcar itself cut down on the amount of mental noise the two could hear and they immediately rejoined their hands. There were only a dozen other people in the car and the metal sides and movement served as an effective barrier from outside.
«I don’t think so. He wasn’t interested. He just heard a lot of mental noise and wanted it to go away. There was a note of frustration in his head taste. Like he often heard voices and the music was an escape from it. We were just voices in his head who interrupted his peace and quiet. When he told us to shut up, we did. That might have been encouraging to him.»
«How so?»
«He heard the voices in his head and was able to tell them to be quiet. And they were. I bet that doesn’t often happen.»
«So, during the afternoon concert, we discovered two other people who could hear people’s thoughts. Out of how many people there?»
«The concert hall holds around 2,800. I’d say it was about three-quarters full.»
«That’s four head talkers in about 2,100. One for every five hundred and change. If that holds true for the general population, we’re a lot more common than I ever imagined,» Keira said.
«I wouldn’t extrapolate it that far. We heard two others, neither of whom really had a concept that they were literally listening to other people. Our school is about 2,800 and you are the only other head talker I’ve encountered there.»
«True. It’s hard to do a real survey, though. We could try at lunch, but otherwise people are in fairly well insulated classrooms. We only share one class, and we don’t hold hands,» Keira said.
«It calls for more experimentation,» Jaime said. «We’ll have to go out on dates every weekend. Maybe twice. Like, I could come to see you tomorrow.»
The image of Jaime and Keira kissing was so plain that both of them started laughing.
«Let’s find out how that next part goes this evening. You’re sure your dad won’t, like, hang around with us all the time? Will we even get to kiss?»
«I’m sure. We’ll have dinner together and then go watch TV or play a game. He won’t join us. He figures if we aren’t in my bedroom, we aren’t going to go too far.»
«My parents have been talking to me, you know? They want to be sure I can take care of myself, but they recognize I’m eighteen years old. They even said I don’t really have a curfew. They were just trying to remind me that the trains stop running at 11:30 and didn’t want me to get stranded somewhere. I’d guess what I hear from them is a lot like you hear from your father.»
«Well, you’ll find out firsthand when we get inside the house,» Jaime said.
«Don’t forget to sign. We’ll have to stop holding hands for a while.»
«I guess so. I need to cook!»
Jaime’s dad tried not to be intrusive while still being sociable. He asked about the concert and they felt safe telling him about the little girl who squealed when the timpani played and the guy next to Jaime who kept falling asleep, actually snoring once.
Keira helped Jaime in the kitchen. He fixed rather simple but tasty stuffed bell peppers and she made a salad. David busied himself cleaning up the leaves that had fallen in the yard.
«Your dad’s sweet,» Keira said.
«For the past fourteen years, we’re all each other has had. I worry about him, especially since I’ve met you. I don’t want him to be lonely.»
«Didn’t you pick up about Olivia?» Keira asked.
«What?»
«There’s a woman who works with him named Olivia and he’s thinking of asking her out. He thinks she’s interested, but he’s worried about any sign of harassment. You know how offices are these days.»
«I try not to eavesdrop on Dad too much,» Jaime sighed. «After I figured out that he just didn’t hear my inside voice, I realized he needed privacy, too. I listen for clues when we’re talking, but even then, I’m careful not to answer or comment on what he’s thinking.»
«Well, he might ask you how you’d feel about him dating.»
«I’d never object to him finding any of the joy I have with you.»
Keira leaned toward Jaime and gave him a quick electric kiss, jumping back almost instantly.
«I know we weren’t prepared for that, but I couldn’t help kissing you when you said we had joy.»
«Well, that’s part of our experimenting. We need to learn to kiss without being overwhelmed. Try again?»
Jaime turned toward Keira and the two met in a sweet and gentle kiss. It still had the potential to turn explosive, but they managed to restrain their exuberance until they parted.
«Yeah. I really liked that,» Jaime said.
«Really really liked that,» Keira agreed.
“That was a good dinner, kids. I’ll clean up the dishes and the kitchen. You go ahead to the family room,” David said. “I have some correspondence and review of specs to do for our new project. I’ll be in my office if you need me.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Jaime signed. “Watch a movie with us?”
“You don’t need me to chaperone you. Don’t get too carried away. Let’s plan on running Keira home about 11:30. Earlier if you want, Keira, but I’d like to get to bed before midnight.”
“Thank you, Mr. Stackhouse. We just… you know… want to spend some time together.”
“I understand. I think you should start getting used to calling me David.”
Jaime and Keira went to the family room and David cleaned up the kitchen.
Tempting as it was, they didn’t want to spend the next four hours just making out. Neither was sure they could restrain themselves for so long. They decided to forgo the television and put on music. Then Jaime got out a game of chance.
«I don’t play games of skill and strategy,» he said. «I could always tell what Dad was going to do next, so it wasn’t fun. I can’t control the dice, so it makes a game fair. What you decide to do on a given throw doesn’t affect what I should do.»
«I had the same problem. I suddenly started winning games of chess at school and realized I needed to back off fast or someone would make a big deal out of it. I started losing them on purpose.»
«Here’s a score sheet. You can roll first.»
«New rule,» Keira said. «Five of a kind and the roller gets a kiss. Just a little one, okay?»
«That really ups the stakes!»
Keira did not get a five of a kind on her first turn. Nor did Jaime. In fact, they were in their second game before Jaime managed the roll.
«Now, relax and think of what you want to share with me,» Keira instructed. «I have something to share with you.»
They moved together and touched lips before pulling back.
«I love you, too,» Keira said.
«You really like to dance? I don’t think I know how. I’ve never danced with a girl.»
«Then it’s something I can teach you when we finish playing this game.»
«Does it have bonuses, like kisses?»
«We’ll see.»
The game ended with one more quick kiss and then they moved to dancing. Keira selected music that had a good beat, but didn’t require touching or coordinating their steps. It was quickly obvious that Jaime didn’t know what he was doing. Keira changed the music to a slow tempo piece and invited Jaime into her arms for a close dance.
This was much different. They held hands with one hand and wrapped the other around their partner. In this position, they moved close together and it was easy for Keira to give Jaime instructions and for him to follow her lead instantly.
The next song was slower and they moved closer together until their bodies were pressed tight and their cheeks touched. With this amount of contact, they began sharing more and more of themselves with each other. The basement television room seemed to shield them from any outside mental activity.
«Why would you ever wear a dress if it doesn’t have pockets?» Jaime asked.
«My point exactly! You can’t even carry a cell phone without occupying at least one hand. Even if it has pockets, they are usually sewn shut. A woman is helpless to defend herself. And believe me, it’s not comfortable to stuff a phone in your bra!»
«I don’t know what I’d do without pockets. I wouldn’t know what to do with my hands—if I wasn’t holding yours.»
«You know Patrice Carlisle, right?»
«Oh, yeah. She’s the one who told Debbie Burke to build up a fantasy all day.»
«Well, she wasn’t fantasizing Wednesday when she was attacked after school.»
«I don’t have any classes with her and have been shutting Debbie out of my mind in psychology. What happened?»
«She was walking home from school alone because the girl she usually walks with was absent that day. A guy grabbed her arm and tried to drag her into the bushes. She had her phone in her hand and hit him with it, right across the face. Then she took off running and the guy gave up because he was bleeding.»
«Dang! She was lucky.»
«DO NOT go looking for him! I saw that flash in your mind. The police caught him because when she ran, she dropped her phone and the dummy picked it up and tried to make calls on it. Police tracked the call and picked him up, and the phone with the shattered screen with him.»
«Good. I’m glad, but you know if I knew about something like that and didn’t do something… I don’t know what I’d do.»
«Kiss me and I’ll show you.»
The kiss was not a quick peck like the ones they’d had before. They stopped moving to the music as they accepted each other fully in a kiss that lingered and deepened.
«It would be like this when we’re making love,» Keira whispered.
«Only no clothes between us.»
«I can imagine that, but don’t start removing them right now. We were so close to each other with a hand held and our cheeks rubbing together. Just imagining more skin touching makes my whole body tingle.»
«I can feel it. When I… When I’m alone, those parts of me never feel that way. My chest and my stomach. I mean…» Jaime whispered in his mind.
«I can feel that. I didn’t know how much guys… or you, at least… like to be hard. I think if my clit was this hard all the time it would drive me insane.»
«It does a little. We have parts that correspond to each other, but they feel completely different. I knew lips had a lot of nerve endings, but I never thought about how many the tongue has.»
Keira moved her hips against Jaime’s cock and felt the intensity through both their bodies.
«We need to take a break for a while. We can kiss again when we settle down a little,» Keira said.
«Yeah. I’m afraid I might make a mess in my pants, just holding and kissing you.»
Wow! came a whisper in the backs of their minds.
Please feel free to send comments to the author at devon@devonlayne.com.
