Chapter 4

The days leading up to the night when I would put my plan into action passed at a crawl. So much depended upon things I had no influence on, that all I could do was sit back and wait. If Jasmine didn’t come for whatever reason, I doubt Alexis would be comfortable spending a night drinking with me considering what happened last time.

However all went as expected, and it looked as though I would have my opportunity.

I had arranged for a new place to move into, organising it for a week after the night. It struck me that I was being hypocritical - arranging matters so that the aftermath was easier for Alexis to deal with, when I was planning on using my ability to sleep with her. Our interactions that first time made me believe that I wouldn’t have to do too much to seduce her, but I wasn’t kidding myself either.

Even if I had to use the full force of my ability, I was going through with this.

I got home that Friday in the evening. I had actually finished work earlier, but I had decided to make sure I arrived late enough for Alexis and Jasmine to have had a few drinks. I figured everything might go smoother if they were already relaxed.

When I walked in the door, there was music going and I could hear the two of them laughing and talking out on the deck.

“Hey you two, having a good time?” I smiled as I walked outside to say hello.

“Yes! We decided that cocktails are good!” Alexis said, giggling a bit as she did. There was an impressive array of alcohol on the table, far more than I was expecting. I mostly stuck to wine or whisky, and the sea of multi-colored bottles was slightly daunting.

“Wow, you really went all out.”

“I didn’t know what to have, so I just brought everything.” Jasmine said, blushing slightly.

Jasmine was a bit dressed up for a casual drinking session to be honest; she was wearing a low cut top with a small jacket over it, paired with a short faux leather skirt and topped off with high heeled ankle-boots. That, coupled with more makeup then I was expecting, painted a very desirable picture, even though she would be more suited to a club than just at a friends place. She looked young, sexy, and available.

Alexis was a study in contrast. She had a pair of light blue jeans on, one of my favourites; tight and form-fitting over every curve she had. I couldn’t tell what top she had on, as she was wearing a large fuzzy jumper over everything. Her hair was tied back, and her cheeks were flushed with laughter and the alcohol.

“I’m not complaining.” I grinned at her. “What do I have to do to get one of those fancy drinks?”

“We need sustenance.” Alexis moaned theatrically, throwing one arm across her face. “Bring us food!”

“Uh, okay. What do you want?”

“It’s in the fridge.” Jasmine laughed sheepishly, pointing back inside.

I raised an eyebrow and looked behind me to the fridge which was a dozen feet away from them.

“Sure, I’ll bring food. But I’ll need a full glass when I get back!” I turned back to go to the kitchen, the girls cheering loudly behind me.

When I came back outside, laden down with a tray full of cheese, crackers, and various assorted snacks. Sure enough, there was a goblet glass, filled to near overflowing, with some sort of bluish-green concoction waiting for me. I sat down next to Alexis, across from Jasmine, and carefully pulled the glass over to me.

As I raised the glass to take a sip, I saw Alexis and Jasmine exchange a sly look from the corner of my eye. I took my first sip; it was far sweeter than I would normally like, and very fruity. Then my eyes widened as the alcohol, mostly masked by the flavours, hit me. I may not have known what was in it, but it was strong.

“Woah,” I said, coughing lightly. “Are you two trying to get me drunk?”

Alexis laughed sheepishly, and Jasmine blushed again.

“Sorry,” Jasmine said to me. “I can make you another one.”

“That’s okay,” I said to her. “This one is nice, I’ll just be nursing it for a while!”

“Softie.” Alexis teased me. “You’re already behind us! We are just nicely helping you catch up.”

“Ah, so you’re the mastermind.” I said jokingly. I took the opportunity and leaned slightly, and bumped her gently shoulder to shoulder. As I did, I gave her probably the gentlest pulse of my ability I had ever attempted. However the night went, I wanted everything to go as gradually as I could manage.

I could feel Alexis’ shoulder tense briefly before she slightly pressed back into me. She looked surprised at herself before reaching for some food, using it as a cover to shift her chair a few inches from mine.

Far from being disheartened, I took this as a good sign. Her initial response was to reciprocate any advances; it was only afterwards that she decided not to. All I had to do was find the line where those two desires blurred.

After we had all had a few more drinks, a deck of cards was produced. I honestly don’t remember what we played, the game changed a few times and we weren’t really keeping score. Every chance I got, whether I was dealing or taking cards off her, I made sure to pulse Alexis with my ability every time our fingers touched. I still kept every iteration slight, but when I felt her fingertip curl ever so slightly, as if to keep hold of mine, I knew it was working.

Eventually we all got sick of card games, and as it was beginning to get a little chilly, we decided to head inside. We were all standing somewhat aimlessly in the kitchen, unsure of what to do, when jasmine spied the game console in the living room.

“Oh nice, you have the Wii!” She exclaimed, moving into the living room. “We should play some games while we drink!”

Alexis gave me a somewhat apprehensive sidelong glance which I studiously ignored. I knew what she was thinking, what she was remembered, even though we probably had different feelings on the matter.

“Sure!” I agreed enthusiastically. “It’s been a while since I’ve played that.”

It was manipulative, but by agreeing with jasmine and showing a united front, it didn’t really leave Alexis anywhere to go. If she said she didn’t want to play, she’d have to explain why not. And that wasn’t exactly something she could share. On a personal level, I liked the idea of reminding her what happened the last time the two of us had used the Wii.

Jasmine crouched by the tv, going through the games and choosing what she wanted to play. Even though she wasn’t on my agenda tonight, I have to admit her compact little rear was very appealing in the skirt she was wearing. Once she had picked a game - Mario Kart - we all grabbed a controller and moved over to the couch. It was here that things backfired for me.

Alexis, looking uncomfortable for the first time this evening, made sure to sit on the far end of the couch from me, keeping Jasmine in the middle. As the game fired up and we started playing, I was quickly coming last; my mind racing with what to do. My plan for tonight - steadily use my ability every time I came into contact with Alexis, was now shot. I knew I had been making real progress, she had been responding to me, even if only subtly. I knew I could always fall back on a large pulse to have my way with her, but it would be going against my plan. I wanted it to seem like a gradual buildup, sexual tension and mutual attraction winning out over common sense. A shared responsibility, not Alexis, overcome with engendered lust, throwing herself at me.

What to do? I could still use my ability on her, but there was nothing to tie it to. It needed to be natural progression, not an inexplicable building of arousal.

Jasmine was in the way here. It almost made me laugh - a lovely and sexy teen girl was sitting next to me on the couch and here I wanted to get rid of her.

Unless...

Maybe I could use what I didn’t want to do with Alexis, to make Jasmine uncomfortable enough to move? If I used just the right level, just once, with no build up, she could be unsettled enough to not want to sit next to me. It was something that seemed like a brilliant idea to my slightly inebriated self, a confidence in my newly found control that probably wasn’t warranted yet. But then, if I hadn’t been a bit drunk I might never had discovered what I did next.

In mid race, I gave Jasmine a taste of my ability. I wasn’t doing anything to make contact with her, leaning to grab my drink off the coffee table. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her tense and exhale softly in surprise. But then she flashed me a smouldering glance and wiggled her hips on the couch a few times, ending up with her thigh pressed up against mine.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I panicked. I didn’t know what I would do if the wrong woman started throwing herself at me. I could see my plans falling apart, and my losing this chance forever. In my drunken panic I did something I never had before. I pushed away at Jasmine, gathering my ability as I did, rejecting and severing a tie between myself and it, a binding I had never consciously noticed before because it had always been there whenever I used my power. As I did this, I glanced past Jasmine to Alexis. She had noticed Jasmine pressing up against me, and was frowning in annoyance. As soon as I focused on Alexis, I felt my ability link to her; an image of an elastic binding snapping into place is the only way I could describe it.

What the hell did I just do?

Jasmine shifted again, moving away from me. She had a look of confusion on her face. Alexis noticed this, her look of annoyance turning into one of curiosity.

“You okay there Jaz?” She asked, leaning towards her and putting a hand on Jasmines arm.

As soon as she touched her, Jasmine gave Alexis a startled look and then, to my amazement, started blushing furiously.

“Yeah, sorry. I’m fine!” Jasmine squeaked. “I just - just have to go to the bathroom quickly!”

With that she put her controller down and practically ran off to the bathroom.

“That was a bit odd wasn’t it?” Alexis said as she pressed pause on the game.

“She’s had a bit to drink. Maybe it just hit her bladder all at once?” I managed to get out in reply, trying to hide my shock.

“Yeah,” Alexis laughed, brushing it off. “You’re probably right.”

Did I just do what I think I just did? It seemed impossible but ... I think I just used my ability on Jasmine in relation to Alexis, influencing her to someone other than me! I didn’t even know what to think about that. Or what to do about that. Hell, I didn’t even have time to do anything about it!

“So are you alright?” Alexis asked me hesitantly. “You haven’t been playing very well tonight.”