Soulmates
18
Fantasies
Jaime and Keira and the Voyeur
«HOW DO YOU FEEL?» Jaime asked when they went for their Sunday walk to the park. Keira’s parents were still away, but they felt it would be better to stick to a routine that allowed them some contact but didn’t lead to shedding their clothes.
«I’m so in love with you,» Keira said. «I don’t feel the least bit bad about anything we did yesterday.»
«And… her?»
«Yeah. That was something else! Did you think her up?»
«I’m still trying to comprehend that you are my girlfriend. I can’t even imagine someone else,» Jaime sighed.
«Except she was with us. And we didn’t imagine her. It was important, somehow.»
«Are we alone now?» Jaime asked.
Both assessed their filters and barriers.
«We seem to have good filters set up right now. I think it might take some extraordinary contact to bring her in,» Jaime said.
«Maybe some other time,» Keira said. «I’m worried about how much control she has over the contact. Even if she has any. It could be us that’s drawing her in. What if she was doing something important when we made love? I mean like driving, or taking a test.»
«Or talking to her parents!»
The two walked hand-in-hand, listening to the sounds that surrounded them. That included happy children playing an imagination game in which they were hunting for dragons. Though the dragons were different in each child’s mind, they were equally real.
«I was thinking about the play some more,» Keira ventured. «It was like those children playing their imaginary dragon game. The game they are playing completely fills their minds. They don’t have room for any other thoughts.»
«That’s like most of the actors were. They were so into their characters, they didn’t have any other thoughts, either. I see,» Jaime added.
«Maybe we should select a play we can get into and memorize it. Then we could slip into the characters anytime we felt vulnerable. No one else could read what we were thinking and I’ll bet we couldn’t hear anyone else talking to us or just broadcasting their thoughts,» Keira suggested.
«I’m willing to try that out. It seems that control of our own broadcasting and receiving is really significant. We know there are others like us out there. At least somewhat like us. Angus is the only one we’ve actually had a conversation with and for all his detective work, he’s really a kind guy. We should be careful about what we let out—and what we let in, as well.»
«Except…»
«Except our… what do we call her?»
«Let’s say she’s a satellite for now. It feels like she is just caught in our orbit.»
«Except our satellite,» Jaime agreed.
«Let’s kiss and see if she joins us.»
«Do you want to go back to your house first?»
«No. I don’t want to risk getting carried away. We can’t go too far while we’re here in the park.»
«Yeah. I just… Thinking about kissing you brings a hundred wonderful feelings and images to mind,» Jaime said.
«We’ll see if we can keep them under control. And her.»
«I love you,» Jaime thought as their lips came together.
«I love you, too.»
I love these characters! They turn me on so much! I need to find a story for them. Maybe I should go to my room and think about them for a while.
«Not now, love. We just wanted to give you a little kiss.»
Yeah. Just a little kiss. I really don’t have time right now. I need to finish this paper or Ms. Sullivan will be all over my case tomorrow.
Jaime and Keira held their kiss another moment or two and then slowly parted. They were sure they heard a sigh.
«Later,» they whispered.
They returned to Keira’s house holding hands, but holding their thoughts behind barriers to the outside world.
«She thinks we’re characters in a story she wants to write!» Keira whispered inside to him.
«That’s an interesting take. I wonder if she knows she’s part of the story.»
«And just kissing with our minds open to it brought her in with us. We need to be really careful not to interrupt something important that she’s doing. Who is Ms. Sullivan?»
«At the moment, I’d say she’s a clue. Our satellite is a student. Ms. Sullivan is a teacher. We can check the faculty of all the schools in town to see if there is a match somewhere,» Jaime suggested.
«Then we could go there and try to spot her.»
«Very carefully.»
«Right. This could take a while. It’s a short week and I’ll bet every teacher in the city has made papers due before Thanksgiving. I have two.»
«We’ve both got the paper for Ms. Henderson’s lit class. And I’ve got one for Design Tech. But there’s only three days of school, then Thanksgiving. It’s so nice of your parents to invite us to Thanksgiving dinner. It’s like… being accepted into your life,» Jaime said.
«And your father asked if he could bring Olivia!»
«I haven’t even met her yet. I hope she’s nice!»
«How could she be anything else,» Keira laughed.
«I love you, Keira.»
«I love you.»
They kissed softly once more and heard a sigh in the backs of their minds.
Jaime and Keira and the Families
The time both flew and crawled getting to Thanksgiving. The papers that were due were no small matter. As seniors, they were expected to write papers that were properly formatted, with all quotes and references cited correctly. In a way it was good that these two papers were due before Thanksgiving instead of being part of the great Christmas holiday break rush—like Jaime’s psychology paper was. And he’d definitely need time to study for his Calculus final. Jaime and Keira scarcely had time to meet after school and hold hands or have a little kiss. There was no time for anything else.
While they had slowed down some of their amorous adventures, David’s love life had picked up. Olivia was a little younger than David’s 42, but was definitely interested in him. When they picked her up on the way to Keira’s house, Jaime immediately read that she had hoped he would ask her out and was very pleased. Jaime concentrated on not hearing her because he didn’t want to eavesdrop on his father and his love interest.
“I’m so happy you all included me in your invitation to dinner,” Olivia said when she met June and John. “I had to get out of California because the superficial pressure there was killing me. It’s all about how you look and where you live and who you know. But I don’t have any family up here. David came to my rescue.”
“You are more than welcome, Olivia,” June said. “Jaime and Keira have drawn us closer to David. I’m glad you could join us as well.”
“I thought Dad just made you up so I wouldn’t feel bad about spending time with Keira,” Jaime signed. Keira interpreted for him, much to David’s delight.
“I’m not going to throw cold water on your relationship,” David laughed, “but I don’t feel like I need an imaginary friend in order to cope.”
«Unlike us,» Keira shot to Jaime.
«She’s not imaginary. We are!»
«Oh, yeah.»
“There was an article in Psychology Today a couple of years ago—maybe more—that said all our friends are imaginary,” June said. “It’s especially true in our era of internet communications and artificial intelligence. We have hundreds of friends online whom we have never met. We have bits and pieces that they’ve exposed to us, but most of our friendship is imaginary.”
“Thank heavens for real people,” Olivia said, taking David’s hand.
“Sartre said we are beings that cause ourselves,” Jaime signed and Keira interpreted.
“Did I get that right?” Keira asked. Jaime nodded.
“He also suggests that in order to exist, we must interact with others,” Jaime continued with Keira interpreting.
“That’s a deep subject for high school,” John said. “How did you get into Sartre?”
“Oh, we had to read The Stranger in our lit class as an example of existentialist literature,” Keira said.
“I thought it was interesting and read some other of his works. Being and Nothingness was really deep and I didn’t comprehend more than a quarter of the book,” Jaime signed.
“Most of my reading is technical, I’m afraid,” David said. “How did all of you happen to get into Psychology Today and Sartre?”
“Well, June is a social anthropologist and I teach literature at the university. We actually met in college in psychology class,” John said.
“Don’t worry, though. I think we’ve both exhausted our knowledge on the subject,” June laughed. Olivia breathed a sigh of relief.
Trayce and Lanie Lombard
All told, the Thanksgiving holiday was relatively painless. Even Trayce had fun with her mother, who seemed almost her old self.
“Do you want to go shopping tomorrow?” Mrs. Lombard asked her daughter?
“Really? Who can get too much shopping? That would be fun!” Trayce said.
“I’ve been failing as a mother,” Mrs. Lombard said. “I’m sorry, Trayce. When your father was taken from us, it was like part of my being left me. I’m working on getting better. I’ve been attending AA meetings the past couple of weeks. I can’t promise I’m there yet, but I want to be here for you. I realized I was on the brink of losing my daughter as well as my husband.”
“Mom, I love you. It’s been hard on me, too. I’m sorry if I haven’t been a good daughter.”
“Don’t! Don’t ever doubt that you are a good daughter. Taking care of me when I’ve been so depressed is not something you should ever have had to do. Your love has made a huge difference to me.”
“What’s changed, Mom? I mean, I’m happy we’re out doing things together, but what’s happened, like this week?”
“In addition to starting AA, I went back to counseling, just like we did for a while last year. Maybe you should go back, too. But you seem to be doing fine. I started hearing voices of people who weren’t there and imagining terrible things happening all the time. I started seeing a new therapist a couple of weeks ago and she prescribed a new medication for me. She also told me I needed to start attending AA because alcohol would react negatively with the medicine. I can’t believe what a difference it’s made. I almost feel like my old self. I know I’ve got a long way to go, but for the first time since your father died, I feel like I have hope.”
Trayce took in the information that her mother had heard voices and imagined terrible things. Perhaps it was genetic! Maybe her whole story idea was because she was schizophrenic and could be cured with her mother’s magic pills! She needed to take that into consideration. And weigh the possibility against the blossoming of her writing. She’d turned in her short story called “Murder by Angus.” She was pleased with it and was sure Ms. Dorn would like it, even though it had some pretty risqué bits. After all, two of the characters were strippers and everything any of the three of them said had a double entendre.
“I might see some friends over the Christmas break,” she ventured, wondering where that idea had come from.
“Good. Good. I’m glad you are meeting friends. You’ve seemed to avoid people a lot this year.”
“I think that’s another aspect of missing Dad. And you. I didn’t… um… feel very likable,” she said.
“I’m so sorry, Trayce. You are always welcome to bring your friends to the house. I know it’s been embarrassing, but I think I’ll rehire that cleaning service who came in every other week. Neither of us needs the burden of keeping the house in ‘company’s welcome’ shape.”
“If we can afford it, that would be great.”
“We can. I plan to start job hunting, too. Might even get a holiday job if I see something interesting at the mall this weekend. You can point out what store you’d like the best discounts at tomorrow.”
“Mom! You can be so funny sometimes.”
Emerson
Emerson’s holiday was not as positive as the others. She enjoyed the time with her parents, her younger sister, and her grandparents. She’d always been blessed with a happy and comfortable home. For her eighteenth birthday, her grandparents had bought her a new Kia.
Her grandfather, however, was a classic homophobe. He’d taken her car shopping and saw she liked an Outback. He immediately steered her to the Kia dealer and told her he’d buy her any car on their lot if she’d just forget about the Outback. He didn’t want his girl driving around in a lesbian car.
Emerson cringed at the declaration. Her grandfather was always so nice and loving otherwise. She told him if she ever had a girl lover, she’d make sure she brought her guy, too. Even at his age, her grandfather was enough of a dirty old man that the thought of two girls with a boy made him stop to think. If he knew what she’d done in Paris… Well, she wasn’t a lesbian—at least all the time. She’d made love to both Dom and Raquel and loved them both. She guessed that made her bisexual. Whatever. She didn’t need a label. She loved both of them and couldn’t wait to return to Paris.
That was the problem. On Black Friday, she received a letter from her boyfriend and girlfriend. Only it wasn’t a letter. It was a wedding invitation. The two were marrying on New Year’s Day! The speed of the event was staggering. In August, they’d pledged their love to each other. She’d made all her plans to return to Paris to be with them. To be a real threesome.
Je t’aime, Emerson. We love you so much. But Dom and I are meant for each other and we just have to get married. Partly because I’m pregnant. He won’t hear of me being a single mother. My parents wanted the wedding before I was too big to fit in the church. What could we do? We know this is probably too hasty for you to join us. It would be so wonderful. We hope you will still come to visit us this summer.
Your loving Raquel
Emerson had locked herself in her room for the rest of the day, crying.
We were supposed to be a threesome, not a married couple and their summer visitor! How could they do this to me?
The more she cried and the more she questioned, the more it became clear that Dom and Raquel had always been a couple and she was just a third wheel. Out of sight, out of mind.
I should have followed through with Zip, she thought. I’ve been fantasizing about him all semester. I’m even learning sign language! What have I been thinking. Subconsciously I knew I’d never be with them, so I’ve imagined myself with my computer partner. He’s always so nice to me. And sometimes when he looks at me, I think he knows what I hide at this school. I thought I’d keep up the charade until I left after graduation and then let the wild girl loose. Maybe I should let her loose now!
Emerson continued her fantasizing about dropping her mousy persona at school and letting go with Jaime. She went so far as to get some of her Paris outfits out of her closet and try them on in front of her mirror. She danced and spun around, watching herself and building an elaborate scenario in her mind. She’d wear the red dress to school after the New Year. No! Why wait so long. She’d bring it out on the last day before Christmas and just quietly ask Zip if he’d like to take it off of her.
Zip, I’ve been thinking a long time about this. Remember when I told you you’d crossed my mind one afternoon? You crossed my lips that day and the kiss was delicious! I know you’ve looked at me and have seen that I’ve been hiding something. Here it is. Won’t you unwrap your Christmas present?
Yes, look at my breasts. They’re aching for your touch. My nipples are so sensitive! Kiss them. Suck! Oh, God, Zip! Lower, yes! I’ll open my world to you. I wax my whole pubic area. Do you know why? It’s so I’m perfectly smooth for your tongue. Yes, there! Suck on my clit. Take me here, right here, on the computer lab desk. I’m your Christmas present and you’re mine!
Emerson was lying on her bed with the red mini dress crumpled on the floor beside it. Her fingers worked on her breasts and clit, rubbing, pinching, twisting. She slid two fingers into her slippery pussy and began pumping vigorously.
Yes, Zip. Fuck me. Fuck Dom and Raquel out of me. Let them have each other and their little brat. I don’t want them. I want you! Just you!
Her fingers flew, plunging into her as her thumb strained to flick her clit in time. Soon she arched her back with only her heels and her shoulders touching the mattress.
Zip! I knew you’d be wonderful. Fuck me! Fuck me! I’m coming. I’m coming! Oh, God, yes! Fuck me again!
She tried her best to erase the memory of Dom and Raquel with the anticipation of Jaime. After five comes, she’d almost succeeded.
Jaime and Keira and the Satellite
«We’re in public,» Keira said to Jaime Friday night. They were at the movie theater watching a new Christmas release. Of course, they sat in the last row of the crowded mall cinema. «We have to be subtle. But no one will see us kissing once the lights are out.»
An advantage of the last row was that it was the least illuminated by the screen. A second advantage was that the last row was reputedly always occupied by couples who had the same thing on their minds.
They held hands and opened their minds just to those nearest to them. Indeed, those on either side were anticipating slouching down in their seats for some serious making out. They pushed the armrest between their seats up so there was nothing between them. They hadn’t bothered with popcorn or soft drinks. If they got dehydrated, they’d just leave.
The lights went down and the previews played. Then the feature.
Elf 007 Is Missing! was a comic live action romance in which a female (of course) secret elf agent on a mission to protect Santa from a possible abduction is accidentally left behind in the suspect’s apartment. While there, they discover each other and he attempts to hold her hostage for ransom but they discover neither one wants to let her go.
Enough about the movie.
As soon as thoughts had settled down in the theater and people focused on the movie, Keira and Jaime started with a tentative kiss. When it was apparent no one near them was paying any attention to them—or the movie—they let the kiss deepen and opened themselves to each other.
«I love you! I wish we weren’t in a theater. This is going to be so difficult!»
«That’s the idea, remember?» Jaime said. «It’s supposed to be too difficult to get carried away. But I’m completely in love with you! I want you with all my heart and soul.»
«My soulmate. Yes, you can caress me. I’ll turn toward you a little so no one can see where your hand is.»
Jaime had one arm around Keira’s shoulders and the other was being subtle as he could as he caressed her breasts.
Oh, geez! I would think of you now—while I’m watching a movie with my mother. I can’t let her know how hard I’m breathing. The movie isn’t that exciting!
«She’s with us!» Keira whispered.
«I knew she’d show up. That’s why we’re in a public place and can’t get too carried away. We need to let her know the rules,» Jaime responded.
They opened themselves a little more so they were sure their imaginary lover could hear and feel them.
«We love you so much. We had to find a quiet place where no one would be watching but we couldn’t get too carried away,» Keira said.
«We promised not to rush. I know it’s difficult, but if we take it slow, it will be so much better when we finally really do it,» Jaime added.
Yes. Take it slow. I can’t… I can’t even touch myself. Mom would know! Oh, but kiss some more. Do what you can do in the last row of the theater. But don’t come! I couldn’t possibly explain that to mother if I started squealing or gasping for breath!
«Do you know why I wore this baggy Christmas sweater?» Keira asked.
«I think I can feel why.»
«You’ll feel it better if you put your hand under it.»
«Oh! Yes! I love to touch your breasts!»
Why are my nipples tingling so much? I just want to rip my clothes off! You can’t… can’t lift it up to suck on me… her. I know people would see that.
«There’s lots of room inside for your hand, but don’t expose me,» Keira echoed. «Oh! Just right there. You know just how firmly to rub my nipples. Mmm. Kiss me more.»
Oh, kisses. I want kisses. My imagination is just too damn good sometimes!
«Love, you need to let go,» Jaime gasped. «We didn’t make an explicit rule about staying above the waist, but if you keep that up, I’m going to come!»
«Oh, my God! I didn’t realize I was doing that. It was so… handy. I just wanted to feel what you felt when you were really hard. I’m sorry. I’ll pull back.»
If he came, I’d come. I think she’d come just from him exploding in her hand. Oh, please. I’ve got to… I’ve got to stop…
«If we don’t take a break, we’ll both come,» Keira said. «One more. One more little kiss. If we can’t control ourselves, we’ll have to leave the theater!»
I don’t want you to go. Just… just cuddle and hold me. I mean her. Oh, I need to get home and write this all down. And take care of business.
Jaime and Keira reduced the intensity of their making out and lowered the volume of their thoughts a little. They caught up with where the movie was. The elf, who was played by a champion gymnast who was only about four feet-six inches tall, had sprung up on a shelf to replace a typical elf-on-a-shelf. She hid the doll behind a book and stayed very still. The handsome but rather dense guy walked past her several times, glancing at her and shaking his head. Eventually, he laid down on the sofa and went to sleep.
Jaime and Keira stepped up the tempo of their making out a couple of times, always backing off before they went too far, and listening to their satellite as she rose and dropped with them. After the movie, they closed down their psychic channel as completely as they could and headed for the exit. They caught the next streetcar toward Keira’s house before they opened to each other again.
«That was really fun, but also really exhausting,» Jaime said.
«Think of how well we controlled ourselves. Not just because we didn’t go too far at any given time, but because we were able to back off from the mental volume and focus on just one thing to hear,» Keira said.
«She was so loud and clear it was like she was actually in the same theater with us,» Jaime laughed.
«Oh, my God! Maybe she was! Did you see what movie she was watching?»
«No. I figured the one playing in front of us was too strong a visual image to imagine a different one. Can you imagine if she’d been watching Die Hard twenty-seven or whatever while we were watching Elf on a Shelf?»
«That was so funny. But what if we didn’t see what she was watching because she was watching the same thing we were?» Keira asked.
Jaime was dumbstruck. No thoughts could penetrate his amazement. He eventually shook it off.
«We might have just missed an opportunity to meet her,» he sighed.
«Or at least see her. It might not have been the best time to meet her with her mother right beside her,» Keira said.
They walked from the trolley stop to Keira’s house and paused on the porch.
«I’m still really turned on,» Keira said.
«Yeah. Me too. This could be a little frustrating.»
«We could… continue when you get home.»
«You mean mentally? Do you want to do that?»
«I’ve touched you. I want to feel it when you… you know.»
«I want to feel you, too. I almost made a move up your leg, but I was afraid that was too much like what you’d done touching me. I was afraid if you came, I’d come and she’d come.»
«I think you’re right, but I’ll be touching myself and letting you feel me through my fingers. And you’ll be touching yourself while I feel you.»
«I’d really like that,» Jaime said. «But we have to have, like a safe word if either of us gets freaked out.»
«Elf!» they both said at once.
«Before you go, we could step over to the corner of the porch where the light doesn’t shine and have another really good kiss. A really good one,» Keira said.
They moved to the corner and kissed, opening themselves up more to each other and soon letting their satellite join them. Jaime slid his hand under Keira’s sweater and she encouraged him to get his head down there as she leaned back against the house.
“Mom! I’m really tired. Today was such fun. I think I need to go to bed now.” Why did I imagine him sucking my nipples right now? I have to get undressed.
«It’s okay, love. We’re just fantasizing about each other. You have time. We’ll wait.»
Yeah. They must be crazy horny after their date and not going too far in the theater. I bet they’ll go to bed and just think about each other as they touch themselves. I’ll get my teeth brushed and hang up my new dress. Then, I’ll get all relaxed and have a little play time. Geez! I’m still wet down there!
Please feel free to send comments to the author at devon@devonlayne.com.
