Chapter 199: Rachael

Sunday, July 4, 1971

The raft slowly quit bobbing on the lake as I rolled off of Allie, easing the strain on my aching shoulders and forearms.

“Wow. If that was good, I don’t think I could handle really good!” she said animatedly. “It was so much better, I can’t even compare it. Was it good for you?” Allie asked. “I mean, did I do it right?”

“You were amazing, Allie. I had no idea I could cum twice in that short of a time, but it was like you were milking me,” I told her.

“Eat your heart out, Marcus Billings!” she cried in glee. I gathered that he had been her first.

“I need to shower before we go in to eat. C’mon,” I told her. Then I dove into the lake and headed for the showers next to the Pavilion. When I surfaced, I looked over my shoulder, but Allie was nowhere in sight. Moments later, her head broke the surface of the lake beside me and we swam towards the shore together. After a quick shower, I used the towels the ranch kept there to dry us off. Since she didn’t have a brush, she just pulled her hair back in a ponytail using an elastic band she had on her wrist. I was impressed that she had come prepared.

We walked into the Dining Hall hand in hand as Allie chatted lightly with me. After going through the line, we took our trays and headed for the group of tables my family had pushed together. Sunday nights are usually not very busy at the ranch, but tonight, the place seemed packed. I finally remembered it was a holiday weekend.

“ALLIE!” Hanna screamed, when she saw us. She had jumped up so rapidly that she had knocked over her chair as she hurried around the table to hug her little sister.

She was quickly joined by Abby, Rose, and Narvenia. I could tell that this discussion was going to go on for a while, and since it was mostly about me, it would likely be embarrassing as well. So I picked up my tray and moved a little further down the table to sit next to Jimmy.

“What’s that all about?” asked Jimmy.

I just looked at him for a moment, as I found myself wondering how non-Empaths made it in a world filled with females. Using the excuse of eating, I put a bite in my mouth and just shrugged my shoulders. Jimmy was actually standing up to go over and check them out when I put a hand on his arm to stop him.

“Just because you can now walk over to check them out doesn’t necessarily mean you should,” I told him.

“I was just going over to see if Allie was alright,” he almost whined. He wasn’t too thrilled to be taking this kind of advice from a younger guy.

Since my mouth was full again, I waved him on with a ‘be-my-guest’ gesture of my hand. “Some guys are totally clueless,” I thought.

“Whoa, tiger. Remember, you were his age once ... maybe forty years ago!” Anna thought with a laugh.

The girls stopped talking when Jimmy showed up. Then they answered his questions with one-word answers, before sending him on his way. He was back inside of thirty seconds, properly chastised.

I debated going over to talk with them just to show him up, but then realized he didn’t deserve that from me. That was my male ego talking. But when you’re the best, your work speaks for itself. I pushed my tray away as I sat back in my chair debating on getting up for a cup of coffee.

“Okay. How did you know that they didn’t want me over there?” Jimmy asked me.

“Easy. You’re not a cripple anymore. Now that you’re healed, you’ll have to compete for their attentions like the rest of us regular guys,” I replied.

Jimmy didn’t like what I said. He still didn’t cotton real well to pity in any form. But he thought it over for a second before he asked, “What do you mean?”

“Jimmy, you’re no longer in a wheelchair and I assume that everything is now working. That means you have moved from ‘safe-friend’ kind of guy, to ‘potential mate’ kind of guy.”

“I see,” Jimmy mused.

“And when it comes to potential mates, you have to understand that women are genetically engineered to seek out the strongest male available. Whether they consciously realize it or not. And since you’re coming on the scene after me, many of those girls have already made a commitment to me, and the rest are comparing you to me. I know it’s not fair, but that is the situation. That means that for most of these girls, you’re not even in the running.”

“I see,” Jimmy said. I watched him closely to see if he had taken offense to my statement. He seemed to be lost in thought, so I went for a cup of coffee.

“Okay. I know I can’t compete with you when it comes to your money or your special talents,” Jimmy started when I returned. “So where does that leave me?”

“That’s a good question. What are you looking for?” I asked him. “A long-term commitment or someone to do a little exploring with?”

“Hell, I don’t know. All of this is so new, I hadn’t really thought about it. I’ve spent the last four years thinking that I could never have a normal relationship with a girl, only to meet you and now, all of a sudden, I can be a man again. Only now, I don’t know how. Did you know that I’ve never even had a real date?”

“Well, why don’t you think about it and decide what you want. Then, just be honest with yourself and with any girl you meet. If she’s the right girl, she’ll respect you for your honesty, and she might be willing to help you make up for the last four years,” I suggested.

“You mean I should tell her that I’m inexperienced up front?”

“Let me ask you, how long would it take for her to figure that out for herself?” I asked.

“I see,” Jimmy replied absently. I could tell he was deep in thought, but I didn’t bother to scan him. He was a smart guy and would figure it out. We sat there, with me sipping my coffee, while Jimmy processed this new information. Finally he spoke.

“I know I’m not ready for a long-term commitment, so I guess I’m just looking to explore my ‘sexual side’ as you called it. And I can see where just being myself is the best thing I can do when it comes to meeting girls. But what I don’t understand is, where do I stand with Allie now? And maybe Hanna and the others, too?”

His comment caused me to stop and scan him. Then I scanned Allie, too.

“Jimmy, do you know what just happened to Allie? Why her sister and all the girls got so excited when she came in?” I asked.

“No. Not really,” Jimmy replied slowly. “I mean I could tell that something had happened to her, but I don’t know what. That’s why I went to her. But it was pretty obvious that she didn’t want to talk about it with me.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond. Jimmy’s inexperience with females was obvious, but I also recognized that, for the last four years, Allie had been his closest friend. Now, things had changed for both of them.

“This is an issue between friends, Michael. I think you should let Allie, and maybe her sister, handle it,” Anna thought to me. Evidently, she had been listening in. “However, it wouldn’t hurt to fill them in so that they’re prepared.”

As Catherine had said, I am trainable. So I thanked Anna and then connected with Hanna.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I have a situation here that I think you and your sister should probably address,” I thought to her.

Hanna looked up at me from across the tables. “What’s up?” she asked.

So I fed her my memories starting from when I sat down next to Jimmy, including a summary of what I discovered when I scanned. I’d let her draw her own conclusions about them.

Moments later, I saw Hanna lean over and whisper in Allie’s ear. Then they both got up and came around to where Jimmy and I were sitting.

“Jimmy, have you got a minute?” Hanna asked. Then to me, she thought, “And would you show Allie what you just showed me?”

I quickly connected to Allie and did as her sister had asked. Then, I watched as the three of them wandered out on the deck of the Dining Hall. I didn’t try to monitor their conversation because I was suddenly surrounded by a gaggle of sixteen-year-old cuties.

“We want to go dancing,” Rose announced.

“And we want you to teach us how to dance like you did with Kalani at the state dinner,” Eve added.

I started to tease them, but I was outflanked and outclassed. So the next thing I knew, I was holding a mini-lesson on ballroom dancing in the middle of the Dining Hall.

“I think this would go better with music,” Ileana suggested when Abby had trouble keeping in step. So we headed over to the Pavilion and the Sunday night dance.

The ranch had brought in a small orchestra for the holiday, and I found myself wondering where they found eighteen musicians who didn’t mind performing in the nude. As my eyes wandered over all the naked female flesh, I was momentarily distracted by a rather well-endowed clarinet player on the front row...

“Stop that!” Rose chided. “You know the rules about staring at guests.”

“Well, then make all the guys stop staring at you all,” I whined like a sixteen-year-old.

“That’s different!” Eve said as they all just smiled. Then, taking my hand, Abby led me out on the dance floor. I connected with her so she could feel me, and as she got used to it, she began to relax and focus on the basic steps I had taught them. In moments, she was doing pretty well. I kept it simple as we danced around the floor.

When the song finished, she hugged my neck.

“That was wonderful!” she said before Rose took her place. I danced like that with each of them, changing partners after each song until I had danced with all four of the girls twice. Then the orchestra took a break. I went back to the table they were sitting around and looked at Ileana.

“When do I get a turn with you?” I asked as I took a sip of her Coke.

“I’ll dance with you next,” she replied. “I just wanted the others to get a turn first.”

When the orchestra returned, I stood and bowed to her, and then, offering my hand, I led her on to the dance floor. We were the first couple back, so we seemed to have the whole floor to ourselves. I had danced with Ileana before and knew that she had been trained, so I opened it up a little. Since we were connected, she had no problem keeping up with the quick-step we were doing.

It wasn’t until the dance was finished and the crowd began to applaud that I noticed that we were still alone on the dance floor. I walked Ileana back to our table to the enthusiastic cheering of the others.

“You were superb,” I thought to her. “I love you.”

“That was so wonderful,” Sandy gushed.

“Then let’s show them how it’s really done,” I said, taking her hand. I had danced with Sandy a few weeks ago and she still remembered the steps. But this time, she didn’t have all the psychological hang-ups, so she was able to let loose and have a good time.

The girls kept my dance card full, except for an older woman who kept coming over to ask me to dance. The first two times she did, I politely excused myself, saying that I was already obligated.

Finally, Ileana said, “Why don’t you dance with her, Michael? At least once.”

When the orchestra returned for their final set, I walked over to her table and offered her my hand.

“My name is Michael,” I told her. ‘May I have this dance?”

“I’m Rachael Dixon, Your Highness,” she replied. “And I would be honored.”

“How did you know?” I asked her as we walked to the dance floor. Striking a waltz embrace, she replied. “Oh, everyone knows you’re a prince. And years ago, when my late husband and I were in Europe, I had the opportunity to dance with another prince. It didn’t go so well, and I have always wanted a second chance to try it again.”

Rachael Dixon was about my grandmother’s age, I figured, and it was obvious from the first step that she knew how to ballroom dance. I didn’t dare connect with her, but it wasn’t really necessary as she flowed with the music naturally. It was so much fun, I wouldn’t let her leave when the song ended.

“Foxtrot?’ I asked as the orchestra started the next number.

“Oh, my!” she replied. “It’s been years, but I’ll try to keep up.”

We didn’t talk as we danced, both of us concentrating on the moves and the music. I didn’t take the time to scan her for the same reasons. So when the number finished, I invited her back to our table.

“I’d like to know all about where you learned to dance like that,” I explained as I led her over to the girls. I introduced her to everyone without using titles, but she seemed to already know that Ileana was a princess when she curtsied as she said, “It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness.”

I left them talking as I went to get us another round of Cokes. When I returned, they were all laughing at something Rachael had told them.

“Rachael was telling us about the time she danced with the Prince of Brunswick, what was his name?” Rose asked Rachael.

“Prince Ernst,” she replied.

“Oh, yeah. Well anyway, she was telling us how she was so excited, that she tripped over the edge of the raised dance floor on the way out to start the dance, and landed on her hand the wrong way and broke it. Since then, she has always wanted another chance to dance with royalty, but, until tonight, she never had the opportunity.”