Chapter 3

When he arrived at school the next day, ready to start his in-school detention, Zoe was waiting for him on the front steps. When she saw him walk up, she grinned and ran to him hugging him and giggling.

"So what happened? Is your mother angry? What did your dad say? Are you getting punished?" Zoe seemed to have a thousand questions.

"We talked, no, not much, no..." James said, smiling at her confusion as she tried to link his answers to her spate of questions.

"Awesome!" she yelled, kissing him on the cheek. James could feel her affection towards him, but he was having a hard time sorting out which kind. Did she think of him as a boyfriend? Was he one of those friend-zoned guys who gets to talk with the girl, but never a date? It was driving him a little batty.

He put his hands on Zoe's arm, catching her eye. "Zoe. What are we? I mean, everyone seems to think we are dating, and you kissed me two times yesterday, and again today, but not like a girl kisses a guy she likes. " He stopped talking, closing his eyes for a minute. Why was this so hard? "Zoe, I think you are beautiful. You are smart, and fun to be around, and you make me smile. I would like you to be my girlfriend. Dates, dances, the whole nine yards."

Zoe wasn't smiling, her eyes searching his. She looked down for a moment, and James was sure she was going to let him down, nicely, she did everything nicely, but still.

Looking back up, just a ghost of a smile on her face, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his. James was surprised, but he was more surprised by the surge of emotion he felt from her. Affection, desire, and more than a little fear, though it was more like a fear of the dark, than a fear of a bear, if you know what I mean? Undefined instead of concrete?

James pulled her to him, returning her kiss, and projecting his own affection and desire back to her, followed by a sense of well being, of safety. He could feel her relax into his arms, her lips opening a bit, allowing his tongue to touch the tip of her own.

When they pulled apart, it was Zoe's turn to blush, a bashful look that was so very endearing on her face.

"I have in-school until Friday, but would you like to see a movie or something Friday night? Will you parents allow you to even date?" The idea hadn't occurred to him until now, and he felt foolish.

She crinkled her nose, her index finger tapping against her lip. "Maybe, they let my older sister date a little when she was a sophomore. They will want to meet you, and my dad would probably have to drive us."

"Works for me." James said, projecting confidence that he didn't really feel. He had never had a girlfriend, and his whole wallflower plan was already dead in the water, so why not?

In-school suspension was as boring as he had imagined, and memorizing the student handbook was even worse. Criminey! He had broken a half dozen minor rules already this week, not even counting the fight! No public displays of affection, for instance. Like anyone paid attention to that one! You couldn't count the couples holding hands or making out by the lockers and that was just between classes.

He spent several hours each day making little pushes, using the other students in detention as his test subjects. One annoying twit who loved shooting spitballs and throwing wads of paper whenever the teacher was distracted, he afflicted with a sense of dread. He imagined insects crawling on his skin and pushed that creepy feeling towards him, and then he imagined someone right behind the boy, breathing on his neck.

By lunch the first day, the annoying kid had hunched down in his desk, twitching every now and then, constantly turning to look behind him, flinching at the slightest sound. Before the day was over, James felt bad for him and pushed a feeling of tranquility, a warm, relaxing serenity and was glad to see him smiling, his eyes half closed as he left for the day.

The next day he got to practice for real. One of the football team was in detention for the day, and the jock's first act was to scowl at James, making vague punching motions as he ground his fist into his open palm.

For the jock, James decided on the fantasy he had the other night. He began pushing a sense of grudging respect, similar to how he himself felt towards most of the teachers in school. By the time lunch rolled around, the jock had stopped glaring at him, though he wasn't friendly by any means.

After lunch, James upped the ante and began flooding the boy with a feeling of real respect every time he caught him looking his way. That was followed by a sense of comradeship. Not friends, exactly, but a common ground where they could be friends. By the end of the day, James was ecstatic. The jock, as he left for the day, he stopped by James's desk.

"You know, Cullen really was a dick. Good quarterback but he made the rest of us look bad by being a douche. Take it easy man, see you tomorrow."

When the third day rolled around, he was feeling his oats. Not only was there an unexpected side effect of being in detention, no headaches, his experiments were already paying dividends.

The Jock, whom he know knew as Mike Simms, was joined by two others, one a football player, but junior varsity and the other on the basketball team. When the JV player sneered at James, Simms actually told him to back off. James was as pleased as punch. Not only had his experiment the other day worked, it had continued to work. He had been afraid that the effect would only last a short while once his target was away from him, but it appeared to last longer than he had feared.

He went to work, reinforcing yesterday's effort, then tried something new, a stretch goal of sorts.

Concentrating on both of the new jocks and a third student who seemed completely uninterested in interacting with anyone, he pushed friendliness. He imagined them all being happy, gregarious people. When they did anything that seemed the least bit friendly, he reinforced it by pushing pleasure, contentment.

By the end of the day, the three of them were laughing and joking with just about everyone, making plans to hang out over the weekend. James was dying to know if it would hold that long, and vowed to look them up on Monday to see how it was going.

The final bell rang and James, for once, was the first out of his seat, heading for the door. He had a date tonight! Zoe had met him every morning so they could talk a little, and she had extended an invitation from her parents to dinner tonight.

His own mother was smugly pleased, and said that since his school punishment was over after last bell on Friday, that there was no reason he could not go. She even slipped him forty dollars to pay for the movie and snacks!

He bolted out the door, dropping his bag in his locker and then out the main doors to the school, free!

Zoe was waiting at the bottom of the steps, her crew in tow. He skipped down the stairs and accepted a hug from Zoe, giving her a sound kiss in exchange, before smiling and nodding at the other girls.

Sally was looking a little disgruntled these days, and he could sense a little jealousy from her. He wasn't sure what to do with that, but he made sure to smile at her and even projected a little contentment towards her. When she returned his smile, he grinned, this was fun!

"How was detention? Who was there with you? Who was the teacher?" the questions from the ladies came one after another, no time to actually respond, and James laughed as he held up his free hand.

"One at a time!" earning grins all around. The walk home from school was filled with talk of school in general, gossip about who was dating who, which teachers were cool and things of that nature. By the time they reached his house, he was in a good mood and ready for a relaxing weekend.

Anna, Sally, Denise and Doris kept walking, but slowly so Zoe could catch up as James, his arm around her, pulled her aside.

"You nervous about meeting my parents?" she asked, concerned.

"Not at all. Your parents will love me. They will practically beg me to take you off their hands." he quipped, laughing at her consternation. He was soaking in her aura, always a refreshing feeling. She was such a sweet, straightforward girl. Like the song said, she wore her heart on her sleeve and she didn't care who knows. He had never once felt like there was any deceit in her heart, no anger or jealousy, and he loved how she made him feel when she was around.

"You are something special, you know?" he said, smiling at her and giving her a peck on the tip of her cute button nose.

"Oh?" she asked, coyly, obviously fishing for more, but playfully.

"Indeed! You just make me feel good. You are like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. You are a cool breeze when the sun is burning down. You just ... make me smile." he did then, smile that is, and poured out his affection for her.

She laid her head on his chest and tightened her grip. "I was afraid." she said, softly. "When you asked me the other day, I was a little afraid. I saw how sad my sister was when her boyfriend broke up with her, and I saw how sad my mom was after their divorce. She had remarried, but she always gets this little sad looks when she sees the pictures of my dad in my room. I guess I never want to feel that way. So I was scared."

"And now?"

"Still a little scared, but more ... excited, I guess. You make me feel good too. I knew when I first saw you that you were going to be special, but I didn't know how special. Just promise me that I won't ever have to feel like my mom or my sister?" She looked in his eyes, almost pleading.

"Baby, I can't promise you that you will never feel pain, but I can promise that I won't be the reason. Is that enough?"

"It is for me." she said, her smile bright and her eyes dancing. "I even believe you, how very odd!" she laughed. "Now kiss me, I have to run to catch up!"

Picking her up, laughing at her shock at how he did so without even trying, he kissed her soundly and set her back on her feet, giving her a little push.

Zoe took a couple of steps, the paused, looking back at James. Shaking her head, biting her lower lip, James could feel a surge of desire from here and he answer it with his own.

He arrived ten minutes early for his dinner with her parents, wanting to make a good impression. He even wore a short-sleeved, button down shirt for the first time since had arrived in this country. His hiding days were, mostly, behind him now. He wanted to project trust, strength both in body and character. He wanted her parents, her mother and step-father, to like him.

His knock was answered by a girl who could very well have been Zoe, if she had stepped into a time machine and aged six or seven years in the hours since he had seen her last. It had to be Zoe's older sister, though he had thought she was away at college.

She was stunning. The face was very similar, but the years had added a maturity and poise that was startling. Her more mature figure had filled out and she was a knockout, the kind of girl you see in magazines.

When he realized that it had been a minute and he hadn't said a word, he looked up and saw her smiling at him, perfectly aware that he had been looking her over.

"Good evening, I am James Anderson. I am here to see Zoe." he said, remembering his manners.

"You most definitely are, unless there are more cute guys with a British accent running around here these days." she joked, winking at him. Holding out her hand, she continued. "I am Stacy, Zoe's sister. Pleased to meet you!"

James took a chance, bending over slightly at the waist he brought her had to his lips and let them brush lightly over the knuckles. "The pleasure is entirely mine. Zoe told me she hoped to be as pretty as her sister some day, but she didn't tell me how beautiful you really were."

Her eyes opened wide and her lips made a little moue of surprise before smiling brightly. "Oh you are going to be a lot of fun and, unless I miss my guess, a lot of trouble too!" she laughed, gesturing him inside.

Following him, and with a fairly creditable English accent called, "Oh mother, dear sister Zoe had a gentleman caller!" then spoiled the effort a bit by giggling and winking again when he turned to look. He shook his head and walked where directed, into the kitchen.

Zoe's mother was much like her daughters, a very handsome woman, but he could see the old pain in her expression, and could just feel it in her aura. Her emotions were a mix of interest, concern for her daughter and curiosity, both about him and about her older daughter's obvious delight.

"James Anderson, Ma'am. It is ever so kind of you to invite me to dinner." He also kissed Mrs. Stanton's hand, though it had just occurred to him that her name might not be Stanton. He didn't know if Zoe had taken her step-father's name or not! He gave himself a mental kick in the pants for not even asking.

"Well, aren't you the charmer! Maybe I should have sent my children to a British boarding school." she mused, teasing him a bit. He saw Stacy exchange a grin with her mother.

When he saw both of him giving him the once over, he felt very self-conscious. He had deliberately dressed to impress tonight, though, with his mother's advice, had avoided going overboard,

He work some comfortable khaki trousers, a pair of shined loafers and a short-sleeve shirt with a faint pinstripe. Heavily starched, it fit well, though it was a bit snug across his shoulders and chest, it having been a while since he wore it. He had been packing on muscle and his shirt sleeves were a bit strained around his biceps. It was a surprise, when he had dressed, and he had almost changed to a different shirt but his mother had insisted, saying it was just the thing to win a girl's heart and impress a father.

"Well," Stacy said after a moment, "Where were guys that looked like you when I was in high school?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. Before he could stammer a response, her mother cut in. "Please go tell Zoe her friend is here, Stacy, and quit teasing the poor boy!"

Stacy replied with an unrepentant grin and skipped out of the room.

"I can see where Zoe gets her charm, it obviously runs in the family." James mused, watching Stacy leave before looking back at Zoe's mother.

"Hmm ... manners, built like a tank, good looks and a smooth talker. I think I might have to keep a close eye on you." she said, grinning to take the sting out of the remark, but James could see that she was partially serious.

Hoping to change the subject, he decided to take the bull by the horns.

"I apologize if this is in any way insensitive, but I thought I should ask, to avoid possibly causing a greater issue later." He saw her eyebrow raise, an odd look on her face, so he rushed to finish. "Zoe mentioned in passing that you had remarried and, I am embarrassed to admit this, I never thought to ask if she took her step-father's last name."

Her expression cleared and she smiled. "Ah, I can see where that might be confusing. I am now Mrs. Ailene Darcy, my husband is Stewart Darcy. Zoe and Stacy are still Stanton, their father's name. That was very smoothly done, James." she smiled, approval obvious on her face. "Asking a question by making it appear as though you needed help. I think I like you."

"Well, that's too bad, now I will have to find another one to bring home and annoy you." Zoe piped up from the kitchen door, beaming at her mother.

"Hush you, and shame on your leaving this nice young man down here in the clutches of your shameless sister and your aged mother!" her mother replied, grinning just as widely as her daughter.

"Wow, Jim. I knew you had big muscles, but I have never seen you without those baggy shirts you wear to school." Zoe said, advancing into the room and wrapping her hands around his bicep. "Wow!" she said again, squeezing. "Make a muscle!"

James hesitated, his eyes flicking to Zoe's mother, but she was watching too, seemingly as interested in seeing the result. He gave a mental shrug, but felt the blush starting at his hairline.

He curled his wrist, thumb tucked, and bent his arm to just ninety degrees, making the muscles in his forearm and bicep stand out, straining the seams of his shirt sleeve. He didn't dare really flex for fear of ripping the seams.

Zoe gasped, her fingers finding it hard to find a purchase on his bicep. "Oh my god! It's like steel! Mom, feel this!"

"No ... I don't think I will." she said, her voice odd. James extended his senses and felt a rush of attraction but covered by a blanket of embarrassment. He felt another source and his eyes pivoted towards the kitchen door where Stacy now stood. She was unabashedly staring, her desire evident on her face.

Sure that his face was now beet red, he relaxed his arm and then gasped a little when his senses pulled back from Stacy and focused on Zoe. She was ... turned on. She was staring at him, her feelings were pure and unadulterated adoration. There was lust, strong but mostly unformed, more a general desire for more intimacy rather than the very directed pulse of lust he felt from Zoe's sister.

"Can you make a pose? Like Arnold or those body builder guys?" Zoe asked innocently, still running her hands up and down his arm. Her touch was starting to effect him as well, and he had to clamp down on his own lust.

"I'd rather not. This shirt is really just a bit too tight, but I've put on more muscle since I got this and didn't have a shirt that fit looser. Sorry." He said, looking down and feeling a bit out of sorts.

Zoe's mother came to his rescue. "Now Zoe, he's a little shy and he's not a performing bear at the circus!" she laughed, teasing her daughter. James shot her a look of thanks, letting her know he appreciated the help.

"Stew called, he is on his way. He had to stay late, that new engine they just got had some problems." she told her daughters, then turned to James. "Stewart is a captain with the Fire Department. They just got a brand new fire engine and there was a problem with the pump for the water. As you can imagine, a fire truck that can't pump water is about as useful as a doorstop! He'll be here in about twenty minutes, so why don't we have a seat in the living room."