Chapter 32

She greeted me brightly and I grinned at her. We went to a restaurant near campus and chatted along the way.

“I wasn’t sure you were going to be coming today,” I admitted. “When I didn’t get a text by this morning, I thought it was hit or miss.”

“And yet you still showed up,” she pointed out with a smile.

“Of course. I told you last week, you’re a goddess among imperfect creatures.”

“Again with the smooth lines?” she laughed. “Are you sure you’re not trying to pick me up?”

“What chance could a lost ‘little boy’ have with a stunning woman like you?” I asked with elaborate innocence.

“Not gonna let me live down that ‘little boy’ comment, huh?” she asked with a smile.

“I’ll stop. I just needed to get one dig in about it before I let it drop,” I promised. “How’s your week been?”

“It’s been pretty interesting. The dorm was really interested when they found out I’d met you and your bodyguards. That’s why I was a few minutes early. People are probably gathering around there looking to catch a glimpse of you and see if I actually knew you. The rumors about you are getting more and more bizarre. There’s a guy at Cambridge that swears he got beat up on Revere Beach by your bodyguards. I heard this morning that he told someone on campus that he saw you there yesterday with five girls and that you told him the secrets of dating. He won’t tell anyone what you supposedly told him, but they’re treating it like it’s the wisdom of the ages.”

I had to stop, I was laughing so hard and I doubled over, howling with laughter.

She stopped and looked at me quizzically. “It’s true?!” she gaped.

When I calmed down some I could finally talk again. “How the HELL did he connect us to the school?!!?” I wanted to know. “We ran into him and a friend weeks ago. I was still hopping on a sprained ankle when he tried to pick up Lana and Beck right out from under me. Lana kicked him in the nuts so hard, he puked.”

“Really? Well, I guess he had a friend with him that day and the friend saw you at the Review Board and recognized you. So it’s really true? All of it?”

“One of the five was my sister, but the other four were all mine,” I said with a nod. “If you want to know what wisdom he got from his time in the desert, it’s the same thing that we talked about last week. Talk to the girls, not at them and don’t speak in pickup lines. I told him to forget they’re hot girls and talk to them like people, maybe take an interest in some of their hobbies. I suggested he become a booster for women’s sports if he wants to date an athlete. I also pointed out to him that he should be more interested in how the women thought of him than he was about how the guys would think about him hanging out with girls other than at parties. I actually tried to steer him away from the party girls. I told him to make friends with girls and even if it didn’t get them to date him, if he was good to them and respectful, he might end up fixed up with a friend of theirs down the road.”

“So you DID give him the wisdom of the ages,” she said with a laugh. “I can’t wait to confirm that story.”

I laughed and opened the restaurant door for her. “I like that he’s keeping it to himself though. It adds to the mystique.”

“He’s not the only one. I heard the neuroscience department is having kittens over your first set of tests. They can’t make heads or tails of it.”

“They’re probably ready to quit and go work in bowling alleys today then,” I said as we sat down and waited for our waitress. “Dr. Saddler had me write two different pieces of text in two different languages at the same time today, one with each hand. He said it was one of DaVinci’s parlor tricks.”

She nodded, but looked impressed. “You can actually do it?” she asked. “That’s super hard. That’s pretty much like having two brains going at once. You have to parse thoughts in two languages to express two different thoughts and use two different sets of fine motor-control commands to do it.”

“It was a little weird at first, but it was an interesting challenge. It was the first time I felt really challenged for a while.”

“Not surprising given that you’re in the study,” she pointed out. “Enough about that though. You were going to tell me the story of you and the multiple girlfriends. You promised.”

I nodded and started from the beginning. There were parts I couldn’t tell her, but I thought I was skating the truth pretty well for doing it on the fly. I told her about how the divorce had set me off, the crash, the concussion, the sprain, talking to Lana, finding out that her sister was in love with me. I told her about Lana’s desire to be controlled like a slave and Beck deciding she wanted it too.

I didn’t mention the money, but told her I’d found information that someone my father was working with had stolen money from client accounts and that some of those accounts had been mafia connected and it had gotten her killed. I told her that she’d been in a dominant/submissive relationship with three people and that my father had been one of them, that he’d suggested I take the other two girls on and that we’d met and worked it out and those were my other two girls.

“So you’re a super-genius, have four girls that agreed to be owned by you and two of them are sisters?!” she asked incredulously. “Come on!”

“With all the things you’ve heard about me that have turned out to be true, what parts of that seem to be the most far-fetched?” I asked dryly.

“True,” she said. “So why do they just agree to do what you want?”

“Everyone has their own reasons. Lana feels like it’s something she wants. She feels empowered in submission if that makes sense. She described it to someone recently that I’d do anything for her so why would she deny me anything? Collie doesn’t seem to be a very independent person. She’s a good person, sweet as pie, as nice as you could ever hope to meet, but without someone else to anchor her life, she falls to pieces. Tabby does it because it’s a clear statement that she’s valued. Beck ... Beck’s the complicated one.”

“How so?” she asked.

“Beck doesn’t care so much about submission itself. Her real passion is for being treated roughly. Some of that might be the athlete in her responding to discomfort differently, but she says part of it is that it’s easy to get me to show the gentle side of myself, but to get me to treat her like she wants is a challenge. She says that’s when she knows I love her the most because I let her see that side of me that can do that with her.”

“Really? What do you mean by ‘treat her like she wants’? What’s she into?”

“It’s hard to describe, at least in polite society. When Beck gets the kind of sex she wants, it could easily be mistaken for a violent sexual assault except that she’s yelling at me to hit her and spit on her and call her names and she complains harder when I’m not doing it hard enough or rough enough for her liking.”

Her eyes widened. “No way! There’s no way I believe that.”

I shrugged. “It’s new to me too, but she loves it. She says that it’s the biggest payoff in the world when she can get me into it enough that she doesn’t have to tell me to do it any more. She says she gets off on the pain too. Without it, she gets caught up in orgasms and drifts. The pain wakes her up from that and keeps her in the moment. She claims she cums harder because of it.”

“Wow!” she said. “That’s totally mental!” She clapped her hands over her mouth as soon as she said it and looked mortified. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“It’s okay,” I assured her. “I’m aware that the day may come that I have to stop my kinky little Beck because her limits won’t always stop where it crosses over from pain and into injury.”

Her eyes widened at the implications of that. “You mean you could hurt her?! REALLY?” she gaped incredulously.

I shrugged. “The possibility has been discussed.” I told her about Donald’s suggestion that I look into first aid because of dungeon injuries.

“Dungeon injuries?” she repeated, giggling. For some reason she found it hilarious and it took a long time for her to quiet the giggles, covering her mouth with her hand.

I laughed with her and shrugged. “It sounds funny, but it’s true. People get strained muscles from pulling at restraints, rope burns, pinched circulation and who knows what else. Put Beck in the middle of that, screaming that she wants to go faster and it’s a recipe for disaster.”

She stopped and thought about it for a moment and shrugged. “I guess I never thought about that,” she admitted, sounding a lot more open-minded than scandalized now.

“That’s not surprising,” I said graciously. “It’s probably not in the top 20 reasons people sign up for the course.” That started a fresh round of giggles that seemed to last even longer.

When we calmed down, we both had tears in our eyes from laughing. It felt good to laugh. With everything that had been going on, it felt like something I needed. I guess it must have shown on my face, because she was suddenly serious.

“Are you okay?” she asked. “You clouded over all of a sudden like you’d just seen someone you didn’t like.”

I shook my head. “The woman I told you about who got killed for stealing,” I reminded her before explaining. “I feel really guilty about it. It’s ... been dragging me under and I didn’t even realize it until the weekend. It’s a lot more complicated than the brief explanation I gave, but laughing with you has made me realize how much I’ve needed to laugh. It’s been a long summer,” I told her and tried to keep my head out of melancholy.

She nodded and looked sympathetic. “I can only imagine. It’s like something out of a thriller novel. Do you talk to the other girls about it?”

“Some,” I said. “I try not to because they were wrapped up in it while it was happening. Other than my doctor, you’re the first person I’ve gotten into it with that wasn’t there for it.”

“Well I can’t listen to you on a professional level,” she warned me, “but I can listen as a friend.” She smiled and took my hand, the offer genuine and moving.

I smiled at her and gave hers a squeeze. “I’d really like that. There’s SOO much more to tell about it, but I’m just starting to dig beneath the surface to find out how badly it’s affected me. I essentially got that woman killed. I feel like her blood’s on my hands.”

She shrugged. “I don’t see it that way, but then I don’t know all the details. Why don’t we go for a walk. I’ll show you around a little and you can tell me about why you feel so deeply about it.”

I nodded and paid the tab before we got up. I was about to sling my backpack over my shoulder when I put it up on the chair and opened it instead. I pulled out my sketchpad and carefully pulled out the portrait of her that I’d sketched of her this morning. “Before I forget, this is for you.”

She took it from me curiously and stopped dead, looking between the sketch and my face several times. “You met me once and barely glanced at my face and you did something this detailed?”

“Yep. Epic, huh?” I smirked a little and packed up, slinging my backpack over my shoulder. If I hadn’t been busy with that, I might have seen it coming.

She put the drawing on the table and kissed me hard, pulling my face up to meet hers. I was shocked, but recovered quickly, slipping my arms around her waist and melting into the moment.

Eventually we realized that we were attracting a lot of attention and broke apart to the raucous applause of the college lunch crowd. We smiled at each other and then got out of there before they asked for an encore.

Outside, we strolled through campus and we talked. I debated, but in the end, I told her the whole story. I know. Stupid. But I did and I knew that this girl wasn’t going to share the story. She’d come here to learn to help people and we’d become friends. I couldn’t imagine she was terrible enough to betray all that. When I was done, she was quiet for a long time, but took my hand and gave it a comforting squeeze, holding it while we walked.

“Not to sound like a gold-digging bitch, but just how much did she steal?” she asked finally.

“From what I could find, it was over $100 million across a couple of years. I guess they recovered some of it, but not enough for her to save herself,” I told her. I figured that answered truthfully enough to avoid telling her they’d only caught her with her run-fund while I was sitting on the rest.

“And you stood and looked down over her balcony where they threw her off? No wonder you’re messed up. I would be too. Look, I know it took a lot to tell me that. Thanks for trusting me. I have a piece of advice if you’re interested.”

“Absolutely!” I said immediately. “You’re the first person outside the situation that I’ve talked to about it other than my doctor and she’s sort of trying to nudge me without being direct.”

“Forget about her,” she said lightly. “You know I’m from Malibu, right? I remember telling you that much last week. I saw that many fake people with fake smiles while I was out there. They’re everywhere. My dad’s a special effects technician. He talked to directors, producers, actors, agents, you name it. He says that the only people with souls in the industry is the people that work. The guys that build the sets are generally hard-working and honest. Everyone else would jack you up on coke and feed you to anyone they thought could get them ahead. That’s why he was so glad when I came out here for school. She wouldn’t have hesitated to have you, your mom, your sister or your dad killed so she could run away with the money. Don’t let her live rent-free in your head.”

I thought about what she said and nodded slowly. I understood and it made good sense. I agreed. I just wasn’t sure it was as simple as kicking her out of my thoughts.

“If you were 21, I’d tell you to go out on Friday, get really drunk and get laid, just to remind yourself that it was okay to have fun. You’re way too young to drink though and getting laid doesn’t exactly seem challenging, so I guess my advice would be to take a day and make yourself a challenge to see how many times you can get laid in one day or do something else so huge that when the bad thoughts start to get under your skin, the good thoughts push them back out and you can’t stay upset.”

“That might be a fun idea,” I admitted. “Are you volunteering to be part of the cheer squad?” I asked playfully. I gave her a smirk to let her know that I wasn’t seriously asking.

“Maybe,” she returned evenly, a challenge in her eyes. “If I’m woman enough to suggest it, I should be woman enough to help you see it through, shouldn’t I?”

“Why do I suddenly feel like it’s me who’s being seduced?” I asked, fixing her with a knowing smile.

“Well, I may have exchanged phone numbers with Lana and texted her a few times last week,” she said sheepishly. “You were off in your own little world, letting us chat, so we did. She told me some of what you said today. She adores you. I’m guessing they all do.”

I nodded. “So what’s your actual plan for me?” I asked, grinning a little more broadly now. I wasn’t upset that she’d talked to Lana. Far from it. “Gonna turn me loose in the dorms and see how many beds I can end up in over the long weekend at start of term?”

“I think it’s a little early for that, but I have no doubt that you’ll want to try it eventually,” she laughed. “In all seriousness though, I can only suggest doing things to get your mind off it. She may have mentioned that you consistently cause people to pass out. I think you’ll run out of girls before the day is out if you tried the marathon.”

“I get carried to the showers nearly as often as she does,” I said with a laugh. “Point taken though. For now, I think I’d like you and I to stay friends, if you don’t mind though. Don’t get me wrong. You’re incredibly attractive. You’re gorgeous and funny and sweet and brilliant and sexier than any one woman should be,” I assured her quickly when her face fell a little. “The problem is that I’m moving too fast. I’ve got five girls in varying sexual relationships. I need a friend. They’re all my friends, but I need someone that’s not involved with me for the moment. I’m sure that’ll change, but each of them developed suddenly. We didn’t ease into it. I think I’d like to do that with you. Get to know you, let the mystery unravel slowly, revel in the anticipation of what I’ll learn next, let you fill my thoughts when I should be paying attention to a lecture and DATE. Be my friend. Maybe become my girlfriend and then ease into becoming lovers,” I suggested. “I like you a lot. If and when we end up in bed together, I want it to be because I love you a lot.”

She stopped and drew me close, her eyes searching mine. “You are a strange young man,” she said softly. “You’re only fourteen? Really?” She leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Alright, Matt Russell. I’ll be your friend. We’ll meet for lunch and go on casual dates and see what happens.”

We walked and chatted for another little while before we started back in the direction of the parking lot where we’d first met so I could catch my ride.

“Oh shit!” she swore softly when we saw the area was filled with people milling about in groups. “I’m sorry. I figured they’d clear out by now. Do you want to call Lana and tell her to meet somewhere else?” she asked, getting agitated by the crowd.

I shrugged. I was indifferent to the attention. “Nah. We’ll be fine. How do you want to be seen? Should we go out side by side, hand in hand or should we make it look like we went somewhere and had sex for a couple of hours?” I asked, glancing around at the crowd.

“How do you want to do it?” she asked, a mischievous grin on her face.

“Don’t ask me,” I warned her. “I’d walk out there with my pants undone, lipstick all over me and your panties hanging around my neck and not think anything of it,” I laughed. “They’re looking for a spectacle, after all.”

“If I was wearing a skirt, I might do it,” she laughed. She thought about it hard for a few minutes and then slipped her arm around my shoulders since she was taller than I was. I nodded and slipped mine around her waist. On impulse, I slid my hand down over her hip and slipped it into her back pocket, cupping her ass. She glanced at me and smiled before we walked out from around the building as if we had no idea they were waiting for us.

The chatter stopped and I thought I could feel each new pair of eyes as they hit us. There were a lot of people there. I’d stopped counting at a hundred and I wasn’t done when I gave it up.

“I should probably find some way of paying Lana back for trying to set the two of us up like this, but I think keeping you all for myself for the moment might be punishment enough. I know it’ll annoy Beck. She was commenting last week that if I didn’t want you, she certainly did.” I wasn’t bothering to keep my voice down, letting them listen in for the moment. Rumors had already circulated and I imagined news of the kiss at the restaurant had arrived well before us.

“She said that?” Emma blushed. “But they’re so gorgeous. I’m sure they get all kinds of attention all the time.”

“They do, but then so do you. Most of it is like getting junk mail. ‘Oh goody! That guy in my Econ class is having a sale on his cock. Unfortunately the price isn’t the only thing 50% off’.” We both laughed a little about the fact that we were wading through a sea of people that had treated her more or less like that or had talked to her chest or equally demeaning behavior.

We picked a spot on the grass and sat down, talking and enjoying the light conversation and company.

We weren’t waiting long when Lana showed up. She parked and she and Beck and Tabby came up the lawn, a little creeped out by the people gathered around.

“Is everything okay?” she asked uncomfortably as she glanced around at the crowd.

I got to my feet and helped Emma up graciously before grinning at the three of them. “Everything’s fine,” I assured her. “Emma and I were just chatting. I think word of our date might have spread, but I’m glad to see you.”

I kissed each of my girls deeply in turn and took Tabby by the hand. “Tabby, I’d like you to meet Emma. Emma, this is my girlfriend, Tabby. Lana and Beck, you already know. Maybe next time you’ll get to meet Collie.”

They shook hands and smiled at each other. Tabby had heard about her. I think the crowd was making her a little nervous because she was more subdued than normal.

“Yeah, I can’t wait to meet her,” Emma said when they stepped back. “She has to be drop-dead gorgeous. Every other one of your girlfriends are. I definitely want to meet the rest of the Sorority. I swear, I didn’t think you could find someone as beautiful as Lana and Beck. I’ll know better for next time.”

“Sorority?” Tabby asked, giving me a hard look.

“Sorry,” Emma said, coming to my rescue. “My word, not his. He’s told me all about you. I’ve even considered pledging, but Matt’s undecided as to whether this semester’s pledge class is still open or not.”

“I like it,” Lana said. “We already act like sisters.”

“Yeah, that’s great,” Beck broke in. “But what about the audience? It’s a little creepy, isn’t it?”

“I promise, I’ll explain. We have to get going anyway.” I turned to Emma. “So when will I see you again?” I asked, smiling at her.

“I think Friday,” she said. “We’ll go to dinner and take a walk. Maybe you can show me some of the sights.”

“That sounds good. Text me this time so I have a way to contact you and we’ll figure everything out.” I stepped forward and put my arms around her, giving her a soft kiss, filled with playful promise.

She tussled my hair and laughed as I tried to fend her off before giving the girls hugs and stepping back to watch us get into Lana’s car and pull out of the lot. We weren’t even back on the road before the crowd started converging on her, looking for details.

Unfortunately, I was in the same predicament and I was stuck in a car.

“A date?” Beck asked, twisting around from the front seat to look at me over the center console. “What happened to ‘just friends’?”

“We’re just going out. She’s not coming home with me and I’m not going home with her,” I said with a silly grin on my face. “She picked out Friday. I expected her to want to go to lunch again next Monday.”

We drove the rest of the way to the hospital with the three of them teasing me mercilessly about my date with Emma, offering to chaperon, asking if I had condoms, suggesting I get a nice new haircut. I laughed along with them and too soon, we were parked in front of the building. I kissed both Lana and Beck, and Tabby and I went inside hand in hand.

Dr. Spencer was waiting for us when we arrived and sat us down to talk, making sure that we were both coping well and talking to us both in turn about how things were going in our heads.

Toward the end of our time, Dr. Spencer turned to me and smiled. “Carl thinks you enjoy these sessions far too much,” she said, giving me an opening to talk about the morning.

“Carl thinks I spend far too much time with you,” I scoffed.

“Is he right?”

“No. I think it’s more accurate to say that I spend far too much time with Dr. Spencer and not enough time with Victoria.”

“That’s an interesting distinction. Care to explain?”

“Almost all our interaction is either professional or inappropriate flirting on my part.”

“You could stop the inappropriate flirting,” she suggested mildly.

“I’d prefer to make the flirting appropriate,” I countered with a smirk.