Chapter 15: Pick-Up

"Love?" Sophia asked. It was just after 2am and Calix had woken her while getting into bed. He had whispered an apology and then wrapped her in his arms. She almost didn't want to speak; the world felt so right when he was holding her that she didn't want to break the magical spell. Still, her inner fears and worries wouldn't let the moment pass quietly.

Sophia hadn't been sleeping well; her mind wouldn't shut down. For one thing, it had been a week and a half since Calix had proposed to her; a week and a half without sex. That wasn't her choice. She wanted to rape the poor boy when he got back from his date with Whiskey. However, he said that it wasn't fair to her; he wanted this to be as special for her as it was for Brianna and Whiskey. So, he had decided they wouldn't have sex anymore until they got to the ship.

This was putting her through a very bad, vicious cycle. She loved the way he was taking charge and standing his ground. It was making her very wet every time she even thought about it. Which made her want sex, of course. Except he was taking charge by cutting off their sex life. Which made her wet.

Rinse and repeat. She suddenly understood that dumb blonde joke.

Of course, at first she'd been touched that he would think of her like that. She felt so warm and loved because he thought she was just as special – just as worthy of him – as Brianna and Whiskey. She had trouble thinking of herself that way. She didn't say it out loud – she would never say it out loud after he'd told her not to – but in the depths of her heart she still considered herself just a silly, dumb slut.

Those first touching moments had quickly passed, however, because after a while the only touching she wanted was her man between her legs. She liked sex; no, that was too tame. She loved sex. She wanted sex. She craved sex. Well, that wasn't quite right. She liked sex with Cal. She wanted sex with Cal. She craved sex with him.

Now. Right now. She wasn't sure how much longer she could wait. If this didn't end soon, she was going to rape the poor boy.

So, she tried to think of other things. She tried to focus herself on anything except sex. Without actually getting sex, though, it wasn't happening. To try to stop the horniness flooding through her, she tried to think about Brianna and Whiskey instead. Except that led to thinking about sex with Brianna and Whiskey. And Calix. And her.

"What's up, hon?" He asked softly, interrupting her sexual thoughts.

It took her a second to recall what she wanted to say in the first place. "When are we going to meet with Whiskey and Brianna?" Her voice was soft but there was a hint of impatience in it. "I mean, it's been almost two weeks."

"I know," Cal replied quietly. "Mostly, it's been a scheduling problem. Since Whiskey got that job at the vet's office, I can't find a time when they're both off work."

"Well, how about this weekend?" Sophia asked. She was trying hard not to think about meeting them ... and then finding a motel room or hotel room or maybe just a quiet street where no one would bother the four of them. She shook her head, trying to dispel the thoughts then turned around to face him, her elbow on her pillow and her head in her hands.

"It won't work," Calix said. "Friday is school and Brianna works after school. Plus, ever since Digiroo's started serving breakfast, Brianna works Saturdays and Sundays from 8am until 4pm. Whiskey works Saturdays and Sundays from 3pm until 11pm."

"She's only 14?" Sophia said in confusion. "I thought she couldn't work at 14."

"No, that's only in Detroit," Cal replied, rolling his eyes. "Most of the suburbs have joined the rest of the civilized world and made 14 the new 'age of adulthood'. The vet's in Dearborn, so..." He shrugged.

"Is she safe in Dearborn?" Sophia asked concernedly but her mind was thinking how ripe 14 could be. How tender. She remembered being 14. She'd been on her 3^rd boyfriend by then and he used to ... she shook her head again, gritting her teeth to push the images down. "I mean, aren't they all Muslim over there? They had all those riots back in January."

"Well, they're middle eastern," Calix corrected. "They do have an over-whelming population of Muslims, though. Mostly, they're rather peaceful but ... Anyway, that's mostly cooled down now." Calix sighed. "Well, maybe not cooled down so much as it isn't bubbling over any more. There's still plenty of ticked off people though – on both sides of that fence. It'll probably last until the radiation in those cities finally dies down – maybe another four or five decades."

Sophia was silent for a few minutes, her mind going over things – and trying to avoid the hot, sexy images running through her head. The three young women had described themselves to each other over the phone so she had a general idea what Whiskey and Brianna looked like; in her mind's eye, she saw them naked and sweaty, with Brianna ... she pushed those thoughts away. She needed to focus. To concentrate. If only Calix would fuck her, she'd be able to focus so much better ... say, on his long, hard cock sliding down her throat or in her pussy or ... Again, she had to push the thoughts away. She had to concentrate.

This wasn't normal for her. She'd had dry spells before, a week or two where she went without sex but she'd never been like this before. Sure, she'd always enjoyed sex but this went beyond anything that had ever happened. She felt completely out of control and she didn't like it. Maybe it was just that she'd never had someone she could completely let loose with before. With Calix, she finally had someone she could really be with; someone who loved her for herself. She'd never had that before; she'd always had to keep a part of herself hidden so she wouldn't get hurt. Calix freed her from that. She had put her complete trust and faith in him; she knew that he would never hurt her or let anyone else hurt her – at least, not on purpose. This lack of sex was hurting her – but it wasn't real pain and it was done in love and even though she was finding it hard to stay in control, she loved it. She loved him.

She also wasn't trying to push Calix into something he didn't want. She truly believed that Brianna and Whiskey were perfect for him. Brianna was really smart and reserved while Whiskey was careful and thoughtful but outgoing and fun. The talks between the three girls were always interesting and mildly crazy and the three seemed to fit together so perfectly; each of them had their strengths and weaknesses but together they seemed to have almost everything.

Maybe her problems with focusing were because it seemed that her entire life was on hold right now. Now that she'd finally found the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, she wanted something to fucking happen. She wanted the fucking future to start. Maybe that was why she seemed so damned horny all the time. "Why don't we meet them on Saturday? We can do it on Brianna's lunch hour." Right there on the lunch table; she didn't care who watched as long as ... She shook her head, getting rid of the thought. She hoped.

"I'm not sure an hour will be enough time," he responded thoughtfully. Calix had noticed that Sophia had seemed more demanding lately but he wasn't quite sure of the reason. He had always seen her as largely independent but lately she'd been needier and requiring more re-assurance. He thought it was because of the 'newness' of their relationship – and that she was insecure because they'd only been together for such a short time.

Strangely, he found that he didn't mind sharing his time with her. He'd always considered himself a loner, destined to move through life all by himself. Sophia was slowly opening a new part of his life to him and he was constantly amazed at how more fulfilling and wonderful life was with her in it. It meant that he didn't get to spend as much time in his lab or wandering around, making sure his part of the city was safe and secure – which was largely pointless now, since he was living in Lincoln Park and not Detroit – but he found he didn't miss it as much as he'd thought he would. The times he would normally spend as the enforcer of the Cholos had been usurped by the auburn haired temptress – and he couldn't be happier. He wanted to share that happiness with her, to make absolutely certain that she was as happy as he was so she'd never want to leave.

He chuckled a little bit. Maybe he was a bit insecure about their new relationship himself.

"It should be more than enough time," Sophia said firmly. Honestly, Brianna and Whiskey were as impatient as she was. They'd found their man and wanted to move on him – but he kept dragging his feet. They were beginning to worry he was having second thoughts. Saturday had been Brianna's idea. "We sit down, you ask them, they say yes, we all squeal with joy and hug then I can sit and talk to them for maybe a half hour. Problem solved."

"Why are you in such a rush, hon?" Calix laughed worriedly. A stray concern had flitted through his head as she outlined her plan. What if she was pushing him towards Brianna and Whiskey because she was having second thoughts about their relationship? Maybe she was pushing him off on them to lessen the blow when she told him she had decided against going with him. His voice was a bit strained as he continued. "They'll still be there next week."

"I know but... ," Sophia started then let her voice trail off. "Don't take this the wrong way but it's almost like we're stuck in glue or something. I feel like there's something big on the horizon and we're just sitting here, waiting on it. I want to do something, to make some headway or something."

"So, you're not tired of me?" Calix asked nervously. He hated that he was so worried about this. He hated that this beautiful woman had come to mean so much to him in such a short time – or, at least, a short time since he'd acknowledged how much she meant to him. He felt so vulnerable – and it wasn't a good feeling. He hadn't felt like this when he was alone, when he'd kept his emotions largely in their compartments. He told himself that what he'd received from this relationship was worth the occasional worry – but it was difficult to see that when worries of her leaving overcame him.

"Oh, God, no," Sophia said immediately, leaning down and gently kissing his lips. The kiss immediately revved up the feelings she'd been working so hard to keep in check. Thoughts and images flew through her mind – sexy, naughty thoughts and images. She pulled them back and pushed them down.

She really needed to get laid.

"I told you, the only way you'll get rid of me is if you throw me away," Sophia said, kissing him again. God, she was so wet ... She pushed the thought back down. She really needed to find a way to control this. "I'm just – I guess I'm just eager for the next part of our lives together to get started. There's nothing we can do about the pick-up – I know that's random and it'll happen when it happens. I just want to get on with it and I figured getting Brianna and Whiskey on board was part of that."

"Besides," she continued in a smaller voice, "I need to get some new clothes; we can go shopping at the same time."

Calix chuckled and relaxed, his worries fading. He was more than a little scared of how much pain even the possibility of Sophia leaving had caused him; he knew that if she ever left for real, there was a good chance it would utterly destroy him. He didn't want that – but he couldn't go back to the scared little boy who took no risks with his heart. That boy was dead and gone and he was well rid of him.

He smiled into her beautiful brown eyes. Sophia asked for so little, surely he could fit in some time for shopping. He wasn't too sure about bothering Brianna at work – but he could at least ask her. The worst she could do is say no.

Then he groaned as he remembered that the day already had something of importance attached to it. "We can't do it on Saturday!" Calix griped. "It's Tamara's birthday. Alicia is not going to let us go alone and tagging along after us will totally ruin Tam's birthday."

Sophia thought quickly. "So what?" She asked slowly. "Ask them to join us. Well, maybe at a different table. Tell them it's your present to Tamara for her birthday. Buy her lunch and maybe a blouse or something. We can kill two birds with one stone and Alicia can keep you in her fucking sight. That woman has been almost like your shadow."

That was certainly the truth. Since Calix had gotten out of the hospital, she'd practically followed him everywhere he went. She'd even followed him on some dates though she'd been careful to sit away from him and pretend not to notice him. It didn't matter; he'd pointed her and Tamara out to Brianna and Whiskey already. They knew what was going on.

At least the two sisters had had the decency to bring along their own dates so it wasn't completely obvious. He didn't care for the two men they were seeing – a 'pretty boy' named Francesco who seemed to spend most of his time flexing his muscles and posing and a 'wanna be' named Robert who insisted everyone pronounce his name 'row BEAR' – but they'd been around quite a bit in the past few weeks so he'd gone out of his way to avoid them. He fervently hoped it was a good thing; maybe the two men would distract Alicia and Tamara and get them off his back. Of course, he wasn't lucky enough for either of the two men to have a good enough CAP score to volunteer – Alicia had let that slip during one of the myriad, endless arguments he had with her.

"It means we might have to put up with the two dickless wonders," Calix groaned. "Honestly, you'd think that Alicia and Tamara would have better taste; Alicia especially. I mean, that Francesco dude doesn't compare at all to Rico and Bob is even worse. I can't see what Tamara sees in him."

"She doesn't see anything in him," Sophia snorted. She and Tamara had had several long conversations about the ever-present Robert – or, as Tam often called him behind his back, Bobby. She couldn't stand him or the way he always thought it was okay to touch her and grab her and fondle her – no matter where they were or what they were doing. The only reason she put up with him at all was because Alicia demanded it. Alicia had even given her an ultimatum – be nice to 'row BEAR' or she would make sure Calix didn't take Tamara with him. Sophia had told the younger girl that Calix had already promised and that he always kept his word – but Tam didn't want to take any chances, so she put up with the fucking monster. Alicia had even been on her to 'put out' to seal the guy to them but Tamara had drawn the line there; she wasn't giving her virginity to a guy she couldn't stand. "She hates his guts."

"What do you mean?" He asked in disbelief. Calix couldn't stand either of the two idiots – and he sincerely couldn't see how Alicia could go from Rico to that butt-wad so quickly after Rico's death. Francesco was definitely a step way down from Calix's cousin.

Likewise, he couldn't see how Tamara could get involved with Bob. He couldn't see how the young girl could stand the way Bob pawed her all the time. The man was a letch easily ten years Tam's senior – but then, maybe it ran in the family. Rico, after all, had been thirteen years older than Alicia. "The guy is all over her every time I look."

"Yeah, but only when you look," Sophia explained. It was another thing Tamara had talked about. Bobby didn't like Calix; he was afraid of him and intimidated by him. His pawing at Tam was to show Calix that he had taken Tamara from him. When Calix wasn't around, he pawed her a little less. Usually. "He's trying to prove something, I guess. Tamara tries to fight him off but Alicia refuses to get rid of him."

"I'm just not sure it's a good idea, Soph," Calix said softly. He could easily see Alicia causing a scene. If it was just him he wouldn't really care; he rarely cared what others thought of him. He had to think of Sophia, Whiskey and Brianna, though; especially Brianna, since she might get in trouble if Alicia got really out of hand.

"It's a good idea, Cal," Sophia said firmly. Brianna and Whiskey had told her they were really ready for this. They wanted to get it out of the way so they could start to figure out how this whole thing was going to work. Like her, they'd made up their mind and they were eager to get to their futures. "You really need to ask Brianna and Whiskey, I really need to meet them AND I really need some new clothes. Specifically, underwear. If you do this for me, I'll make sure to go into that racy lingerie store in the mall and pick up something just above flat out dirty."

Calix knew when he was beat. "Fine," he finally agreed. "Just don't blame me if this whole thing blows up in our faces."

"Good," Sophia said with a smile. She leaned down and gave him a lingering kiss. "Now, I'll be right back; I need to go to the bathroom. Don't wait up; I'll just snuggle in when I get back."

Sophia really needed to masturbate. A few times. No more than five or six, probably.

Calix pulled up to his step-mom's old house and had to smile. The house looked completely different than when he'd taken refuge there. The boards on the windows were gone, the sill that had been hidden behind them painted a dark blue and there were faux shutters to the side of each window painted to match. Through those windows, he could see frilly curtains, pulled back in the middle to let light in.

The doorway was no longer boarded either; a solid door stood in place of the dirty, rotten boards. Calix knew the door was of heavy steel – this was Detroit, after all – because he'd helped to hang it but he still thought it looked far more inviting than that nailed together monstrosity. The porch had been fixed and straightened and all of the old, rotting wood replaced. It was painted a rather ugly, utilitarian gray – but at least it was painted. It was a far cry from the chipped, peeling blue from before. He chuckled at the new concrete steps leading up to the porch; the crisp, clean concrete replaced the crumbling eyesore that had been there not too long ago. Beyond that, the entire house had been painted a bright, cheery white.

The house looked happy. Lived in. It was no longer the place of darkness and nightmares that Calix had allowed it to become. It brought him memories of other times, largely happier times when he'd lived there with his step-Mom and half-sisters.

He sighed, his face falling. That had been before. Before his mother had left taking his half-sisters with him, before Rico had taken him in, before he had become the Cholos' enforcer.

The house was much better off now. He had done some of the work. He'd hung the door, helped with the painting – even chopped the small jungle the lawn had become down to size before mowing it. He'd repaired a large part of the plumbing in the house and this past weekend had taken a stab at repairing the garage; the garage was hopeless, unfortunately. There was more rotten wood than good. It was going to have to come down; then it'd have to be fenced off or a new garage built.

He had promised to give the house to Lina, Whiskey's Mom, but backed out at the last moment. He had, reluctantly, consulted an attorney; actually, the same one that Rico used to have on retainer. Rico's attorney was more a criminal lawyer but he'd referred him to an estate planning lawyer. The attorney had explained that if he gave the house to Lina, she might have to share half the value with the husband she was divorcing. Instead, after Calix had explained everything to him, he suggested leasing the house to her for a dollar a month for the next 99 years. They'd then set the house up in a trust with the remainder of what his step-mom left him and a good chunk of money from a Cholos account Rico had kept secret from the rest of the members. He'd also added a substantial amount of money left from his time with the Cholos; he wasn't long for Earth so he only needed enough to get by.

Besides, he could always get a job. He hoped.

The money, if properly managed, should be enough to keep up with property taxes, utility bills and general upkeep for the next decade or so. Once the money ran out, it was in the language of the trust to sell it at market value with Lina getting right of first refusal (at a significant discount). Any net profit was to be given to a charity for battered women.

"They're right behind us," Sophia said from the seat next to him. She was dressed in a white sundress with little pink flowers and a pink belt around her waist. He sat there for a moment, watching her, unable to believe that she was in love with him. He wondered what he'd done in a previous life that had resulted in this gift. Whatever it was, he hoped he did more of it.

Sophia was looking intently in the visor mirror, unaware of the look of adoration on Calix's face. She was more concerned with the foursome behind them; Alicia, Frannie, Tamara and Bob had followed them. Calix had offered to just meet the foursome at the mall but Alicia had responded drily that she wasn't taking any chances. Sophia sighed. "They parked halfway down the block."

She turned to look at the younger man and caught his open-mouthed stare. It freaked her out for a moment because she had never had anyone look at her like that. It was as if he couldn't believe she was real; it was like he was trying to memorize her.

"What?" she asked, looking down at her dress. She thought maybe her dress had ripped or stained; she found it hard to believe that anyone would look her like that. When she saw there was nothing out of place, she just glanced up at the young man, tears in her eyes. He loved her. It was enough.

"You're so beautiful," Calix whispered. He felt mildly out of control, certainly out of his comfort zone. He'd never felt like this before and now he was lucky enough to have not one but three women who cared for him ... and at least one who loved him. He was terrified of screwing this up and selfish enough to want it anyway.

"Thank you," Sophia said simply with a slight smile. "Alicia and Tamara and their dates are behind us. If you don't get out, they might wonder what happened."

"Wonderful," Calix said wryly.

"It's going to be fine, love," Sophia smiled and he almost instantly felt better. He couldn't help it; Sophia's smile just seemed to have that effect on him. "Now go in and get my new sister wife."

Calix chuckled as he exited the vehicle. He was surprised that Sophia was taking all of this so well. He'd felt certain that there would be speed bumps along the way – but there hadn't been. Oh, they'd had a few squabbles here and there; a harsh word or two. It didn't last longer than it took to apologize, though; usually, Sophia just deferred to whatever he wanted. He worried that he was taking advantage of her but she'd reassured him time and again that this was what she wanted. She seemed to hate having to make decisions; every day minutiae seemed fine but she happily let him make the big decisions.

She wasn't subservient, though. She had her own ideas and expectations and she never shied away from letting him know when she had an idea or a thought that ran counter to his own. Usually, though, it would be couched in a suggestion or an aside; it was never directly confrontational. She never seemed upset or unhappy when he ignored her advice, either. It was as if mentioning things was her only job; she left the decisions to him.

Strangely, it seemed to work – probably because he stopped and considered every word she said. He was more than aware that his decisions and the way he did things weren't necessarily the best way; it was just the way which worked best for him. Now, though, there were two – and, hopefully soon, more – in their dynamic. He knew he couldn't be completely autonomous anymore; if this was to work, he'd need to listen – really, truly listen – to everyone in his group and let everyone have a say in the decisions. Yes, in the end it would ultimately have to be his decision since he was responsible for everything, but he wasn't so egotistical to think he would get it right every single time; two heads were better than one and more heads were better than few.

The plan he'd happened upon seemed to work so well for the two of them that it was more than a little frightening to him; he was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. His life couldn't be this great; it never had been before.

He walked up the steps, letting his feet stomp just a little harder than normal on each one; he smiled as the concrete steps didn't budge. If he'd tried that on the old, wooden steps he'd likely be standing on the ground right now, pieces of rotten boards around his legs. He reached the door and pressed the button for the doorbell. Nothing. He chuckled to himself. Something else for him to fix. Maybe he'd stop by the following day. For now, he opened the screen and knocked on the door.

Whiskey's mom opened the door almost before he could finish knocking, as if she were waiting for him. "Calix!" she smiled, opening the door wide. He recalled hearing somewhere that if you ever wanted to see the future of a woman, look at her mother. In this case, he certainly hoped it was true. Lina Summers was only marginally shorter than her daughter but she had the same blonde hair though hers lacked the reddish highlights of her daughter. She also had the same milky skin and the same gorgeous blue eyes. The noses were slightly different, Whiskey's just ever so much thicker than her Mom's and Whiskey's lips were fuller and more expressive, but the two looked enough alike that they could pass for sisters. The only thing marring the illusion were some fine crow's feet around the older woman's eyes and just a slight dulling of the skin. She was also quite a bit thinner than her daughter – and Whiskey was pretty damned thin.

"Come on in!" She called with a smile, throwing the door wide. She peered around him, looking for someone else she expected to see. "Where's Sophia? I've been so looking forward to meeting that girl."

"MOM!" Calix heard Whiskey's voice rolling from up the stairs, it's soft, faded southern accent nervous and dismayed. He could just imagine the young girl standing at the top, stomping her feet.

Lina's face scrunched up. "I wasn't supposed to know that, was I?" She asked in a loud stage whisper.

Calix laughed at the older woman's antics. "No," he whispered back just as loudly. "I don't think so." He pursed his lips together but couldn't help the edges curling upward. "I assume Soph's been calling Whiskey?"

"Every night," Lina smiled with a wave of her hand. She was one of those people who frequently talked as much with her hands as with her mouth. Whiskey had picked up the habit though she did it far less than her mother. "Brianna and Sophia both." She shrugged. "You're a pretty smart one; I figured that no matter how hard they tried to hide it, you probably knew anyway."

"Well, honestly, I didn't," Calix admitted with a small shrug. "I knew that Sophia had been on the phone with Brianna at least a few times every day but I didn't know they'd pulled Whiskey into their cabal."

"You knew?" Calix turned to the sound of the voice ... and stopped.

It was just a sun dress. Calix had seem them a million times on a million different women; Sophia was wearing one out in the car right that moment. Like Sophia before her, though, Whiskey looked absolutely radiant in hers. It was a gentle white with a ruffled skirt and small, pale yellow flowers. The belt, like the flowers, was yellow and it was cinched tight enough to show off Whiskey's thin waist. Her hair was combed down with just the gentlest hint of wave, the left side rounding over her face just a bit. Her lips were done up with a pale red lipstick and the makeup on her cute, elfin face was done up beautifully. In a word, she was ravishing and it took a few moments for Calix to find his voice.

"You're beautiful," Calix gasped, the most sincere expression of dumbfounded awe on his face.

"You really think so?" Whiskey asked, her eyes dropping demurely. Then, she remembered what he'd just said and her face took on a more defiant look. "How long have y'all known?"

For a few moments, Cal couldn't talk and the silence dragged on. Whiskey, with a soft little stomp to her foot, repeated her question breaking Calix out of his reverie with a shake of his head. "About Bree and Soph? Since the beginning. I kind of set them up. Soph wanted to meet you guys to make sure you could all get along but I was worried things could get awkward so I kind of set it up for the two of them to talk. I didn't know you were in on it as well, though, until just now."

"We didn't think you knew," Whiskey commented.

"Honestly, I only really knew about the first conversation," Calix admitted. "I suspected it had continued because Soph seemed to always be on the phone lately but I couldn't be certain. I was just happy her and Brianna got along."

"So, I wasn't supposed to be talking to them?" Whiskey whispered, her face falling.

"I wasn't trying to exclude you, if that's what you mean," he said instantly. "I just couldn't figure out a way to get you into the conversation. I thought if I left my phone behind again when you just happened to call, Soph would smell a rat. I've been trying to come up with something for weeks." He smiled and shrugged. "I guess I didn't have to."