Chapter 3

Dressed and padded out in our winter clothes, Lynsey insisted that I hold her mittened hand in mine. My gloves were in my jacket pocket. I knew I should use gloves to keep my hands warm, but I never seemed to put them on until my fingers were already cold.

We walked out of my dorm room. Ira and Vickie were waiting at the elevator. Three minds. Lynsey’s started spinning more immediately. Vickie’s mind spun when she met my eyes and stopped dead when she looked down at mine and Lynsey’s hand.

Vickie’s brain spun the same direction as Paula’s. That would be fun. I had a plan for later. She looked away from my smirk.

“Hey,” Ira said. She and Vickie were dressed in loose t-shirts and jeans. Probably going down to the cafeteria on the first floor. Ira’s mind was a series of precarious balanced plates. They spun pretty rapidly, but tilted up defensively the moment she saw me approaching. “You two make a cute couple.”

“Ira! They were fucking in the shower! With Avril!” Vickie snarled at her roommate.

“Yeah, well done,” Ira said. She put her hand on Vickie’s shoulder. It seemed like she was forcing Vickie’s plates to spin or at least wobble. “Let’s take the stairs. Use the boys room next time, maybe?”

“Maybe,” I said.

“No.” Lynsey declared.

Vickie stomped to the stairs and headed down. I watched her ass, and Ira’s.

“Not those two,” Lynsey said, darkly the moment the stairwell door was closed.

“Why not Ira?”

“Alright, give the lesbian a shot,” Lynsey said, shrugging.

“She liked the look of you,” I said.

“Yeah, but she’s been trying to get in Vickie’s pants forever,” Lynsey said, we stepped into the elevator. “Sorry.” We stepped back letting two of the guys from the end of the hall off first. Alone, in the elevator, I ramped Lynsey up to a five. She wouldn’t jump my bones, but she’d keep trying to please me and not start a fight this way. I assumed.

“Ira and Vickie?”

“I know they made out,” Lynsey said, shrugging. “That’s why Vickie doesn’t drink anymore.”

“Shame,” I said. Lynsey’s brain stopped but I dragged it back up to speed.

“Can you promise me you won’t try with Vickie?”

“No,” I said. The doors opened and we walked out. Lynsey kept her mouth shut. Ira and Vickie were coming out of the stairs. Her lips stayed glued together until we headed outside.

“Why not?”

“Because, if Vickie throws herself at me, I’ll say yes,” I said.

“OK, but can you promise me--”

I pulled her against my chest and kissed her to stop her from pushing and prodding. “What do you want to do for food?”

“I dunno,” she said. “What do you wanna do?”

“I know a place,” I said. There were other people outside. I could feel the pressure of more minds. I had to pick a small place. I led Lynsey on.

“Where are we going?” Lynsey asked.

“To eat,” I said.

The little pub was off of Barrington St and tucked between some old historically protected houses. The dining rooms were divided over three stories. Less minds all at once. Lynsey looked at my face as we kicked the snow off of our boots on the entrance mat.

“You look tired,” she worried.

“Not too tired for you,” I said, promising.

“That’s not what I meant,” she worried. I pushed her up to six. The eight other brains in the room twisted with her. I grinned. The hostess came over.

“Hey,” she said. “Two?”

“He’s a friend of mine!” Dove waved from the bar.

“Who’s she?” Lynsey glared at Fox’s older sister.

“Want me to save you or bring you to Dove?” The hostess asked, with a smirk.

“Bring us to Dove,” I said.

“Don’t do it in front of me,” Lynsey said. “Again.”

The hostess gave the two of us crooked looks. I smiled. Lynsey pulled herself in tight to me. We were led up to the middle floor. With Lynsey, Dove, the hostess, the bartender (a man in his forties, ) and a couple maybe twice that age by the window, I felt the pressure lift off my brain. I could handle this.

“Here,” the hostess led us to the table. “Greg’ll grab your drink order and Dove’ll be over soon.”

“Thank you,” Lynsey said. I smiled. The hostess was dumpy and homely. I wrote her off. I stepped behind Lynsey and picked her jacket from her shoulders, sat her in her seat. She looked up and smiled brilliantly at the gentleman act. I unzipped and sat down next to her, awkwardly shrugging my winter coat off my shoulders and onto the back of the chair.

Lynsey was staring silently at me.

I smiled.

“You keep firing my brain up,” she said. “My heart too. That’s why I can seem to handle Paula and Avril.”

“I’m not being sneaky with it?” I worried.

“No,” she shook her head and laughed. “I’m glad you’re not.”

“So, that means Paula and Avril know I did it?”

“I’d hope so. They’re not stupid,” Lynsey said. “It feels good.”

“OK,” I said. “Good. I’m gonna keep doing it.”

“Right, but ... Just for a couple weeks. While you figure out how to be a ladies man. Then we’re gonna be together,” she said, brightly smiling.

“Yeah,” I agreed. I think in a few weeks I can figure out how to have a harem. That’d be sweet. Lynsey and Vickie.

Dove.

I caught her eye as she came out through the kitchen doors, carrying plates of food for the older couple. She looked as smiley and bright as I had ever seen her.

Her mind was so stock still it felt dead. I frowned. I reached out and spun the minds in the room, Lynsey’s clockwise. Hm ... Or was it counterclockwise? I couldn’t tell without another brain to fight it off against.

“Hey!” Dove winked at me. She almost started up.

The bartender who was wiping off his hands at a sink and the old man with his missus, their brains weren’t a spin sort of thing. I don’t know about the changes I made to them. The old woman though.

“Henry, you’re looking really handsome tonight,” she said, flicking her eyes at me. I twisted my face back to Lynsey who chuckled in my face.

“You want to be careful with that new toy of yours,” Lynsey smiled. She ran her hand over my leg. “Or you’ll find yourself overrun by that nice old lady.”

I frowned.

“I.D.” the bartender came over. Lynsey had hers ready to show. I had to dig around in my pockets.

“White wine for both of us?” I said, looking to Lynsey for a question. She blushed.

“No, not for both of you,” the bartender said.

“I turn 19 in April.”

“K, well, um...”

“I’ll just have a diet coke,” she said.

“Make it two.” I said.

“You can still have a beer or something,” Lynsey said.

“It’s no fun drinking alone,” I said. She smiled and ratcheted herself up all on her own.

Lynsey was gorgeous. I could lose myself in her eyes. There was no excuse for her to have been a virgin. She looked back at me like I was as hot as she was. I felt invincible.

The bartender brought over glasses of ice and opened cans. They mixed drinks, probably, there was fountain pop. This was just gonna cost me needless dollars.

“So look who didn’t die!” Dove walked over to us. She projected a five to see me, but was cold and unturning in her mind. Her walls were up. I frowned. Lynsey pinched me.

“This is about the night before last?” Lynsey said. “When you got all sick in the snowbank?”

“Yeah, my kid sister baked this nice boy some cookies,” Dove grinned. Nice was a slur.

“Your sister?” Lynsey cooled a couple of turns.

“Yeah, Kitty. She’s got quite a crush,” Dove said. Lynsey turned on me.

“I’m kinda best friends with Fox. It’s terrible to start chasing after a bro’s sister, right?”

Dove put up her hands and laughed. Lynsey frowned and worried.

I retaliated against her coolness with a hard push. The old woman spat her drink back into her wine glass. Lynsey kicked me under the table, but couldn’t stop smiling.

“What was that?” Dove said, leaning on the table with one hand down. Her brain had spun up but she was throwing on the breaks with vigor.

“I have superpowers of seduction now?” I said, faking a smile and pretending to joke.

“That explains your incredibly pretty date,” Dove said. Lynsey smiled brightly. “Honestly, I figured you and Fox were fighting way outside your weight class. He’s out tonight with Marie. You college girls don’t know how hot you are.”

“Yeah but don’t clue her in!” I said, aghast. Lynsey pinched me. I looked at her. She leaned in and kissed me, performing and territory-marking in front of Dove. Dove waited, cold inside and jubilant outside. How could it be that fake? I pulled back from Lynsey.

“Do you need more time to look over the menu?” Dove asked.

“Just a few minutes,” Lynsey said.

“I’ll be back,” Dove left and went to check on the other table.

The hostess brought up a table of six, five guys and a heavy girl. I squeezed my eyes shut and leaned forward groaning as my senses were beginning to whelm. Lynsey stroked my shoulder.

“You’re gonna be OK, right?” she asked.

“Yeah, yeah,” I said. I was acclimating after a few breaths.

“You sure? This was sweet, but if you’re still a little ill from before...”

“It’s not illness,” I said. “It’s my superpower.”

“Right,” Lynsey said, frowning. She punched me, but was still smiling brightly. She leaned in and whispered. “It’s not OK to seduce a bro’s sister.”

“Maybe?” I refused to clearly agree as Dove sent the bartender over to the new table.

“What?”

“Well, Kitty’s Fox’s kid sister.”

“Oh!” Lynsey said, leaning back and relaxing. “She’s just a kid. I can’t believe I got jealous.”

“You are both 18,” I said, before I realized how fucking stupid it was to say that. Lynsey dropped and I responded, almost by reflex.

“You’re in a mood tonight, Dorothy,” the old man laughed, raspily.

“Jesus Sarah!” the guys on both sides of the fat girl flinched.

Lynsey bit her lip, her cheeks were flushed, and she was flying at a clear 9 now. I smirked and leaned in. “Go to the washroom and I’ll follow you in a moment.”

Lynsey’s eyes went wide and her lips twisted through several shades of frown and grin. She sipped on her diet Pepsi, the bartender usually tells you when they don’t actually have coke, and got up. She looked back at me four times on the way to the stairs. The washrooms were upstairs. Most of the table of six watched Lynsey go.

But she was mine.

The first of mine.

I was so excited.

I’d fucked and gotten blown already! With three girls! In the last two hours even! I was ready to go again. I pushed back from the table. Dove sashayed over.

“He-ey,” she waved. She was spinning on her own without Lynsey here. Not sexually, like a three maybe. She still had her defenses up though.

“Hi,” I said, wearing a smile to match hers. “Getting curious about what I can do?”

“No,” she laughed. “Why would you say that?”

“Talking myself up,” I said. “If I can land Lynsey, I can land--”

“Careful.”

“Kitty?” I finished, defensively.

“Kitty’s gonna want the treat-me-like-a-princess shtick even more than your current squeeze,” Dove warned.

“With this,” I pushed her mind up.

“For fuck’s sake Sarah!”

“Miss? Can we get the check,” Dorothy grinned. “We’re in a hurry to get home.”

“Wow, I guess we are,” said the old man.

Dorothy shook her head at me, and Dove smiled for the old couple. “Of course, I’ll bring over the machine right away.”

“Washrooms are upstairs?” I said. Dove nodded and smiled as I rushed to follow Lynsey.

I was hit like a battering ram when I reached the top floor. There had to be three dozen people excluding the three servers. I leaned heavily on the bannister and heaved.

“Are you alright?” A waiter, a good looking guy of about 25, asked me.

“Just head swimming.” I said as if every word were a sentence. “Washroom?”

“Yeah, right behind me. You need a hand.”

“I’ve got wall,” I said, leaning across the wall as I staggered towards the washrooms. I pushed myself off of one wall towards the first door.

“Whoa buddy! Down one more, you were about to go in the ladies,” the waiter had stayed and made certain. I groaned and shuffled down to the boys washroom. Lynsey came out at the time, had probably heard the warning. She shook her head, and went back downstairs to our table.

Dammit.

With the door closed behind me. I felt great. How did I manage the lecture hall of nearly two hundred students earlier this morning? Was I getting stronger? It was taking less effort to readjust Lynsey.