Chapter 7: A Familiar Face, but an Unexpected Request

"So, welcome to my humble abode," Alex said, leading Akilah into their hotel suite. "It's a little less humble than we usually enjoy, thanks to your husband, but we try to keep it toned down by filling it full of people so it doesn't feel quite so extravagant."

"It be empty now," Akilah answered with a smile.

They'd left the restaurant as Ahmed took the girls to the theater in a private limousine. Alex, however, insisted on taking a cab, something that had also made Akilah smile, thinking his humility 'cute'. It was especially humorous since it meant sending the limousine which had been waiting for them home.

Alex tried to get Akilah to open up on the ride, but she resisted, still conscious of the social mores of her homeland. She didn't want to speak openly in the presence of a strange male cab driver, or even telepathically with someone she barely knew. She mostly answered in single word responses, which frustrated Alex. But it was clear where her motivation lay, as her eyes would flicker to the driver whenever Alex asked something, so he didn't take it too personally.

However, she began responding more fully in the elevator, and now that they were inside the expansive apartment, she opened up, taking off her covering scarf, revealing a dress which exposed a fair amount of cleavage.

"What would your countrymen think of that dress?" Alex asked with a teasing smile.

"They'd love it," she responded, "though their wives would despise it and force them to renounce it. But this is America, and here I do as others do. What's the saying, 'When in France?'"

"Listen, Akilah, as much as I like you opening up, I get the feeling these words aren't yours. Could you please tell Sanaa to take a break?" he asked, using Shanna's actual name, since it was the one Akilah was more comfortable with. "I'd rather talk to you instead of her."

"But me no speak good," Akilah struggled to respond.

"It doesn't matter. What's important are your words, thoughts and emotions. It's fine if you use Sanaa to translate my words, but I want to get a feel for you. I appreciate what you and Sanaa have accomplished, but think of this as a final exam, testing just how much you've achieved."

"Sorry, me no understand. Slower speak, please," she answered playfully, swatting his arm.

"That's better. It doesn't sound quite as rehearsed."

Instead of moving directly to the bedroom, Alex sat them both on the couch, hoping to get to know her better first.

"Food be here brought again," she cautioned him. "We must wait."

"The hotel staff is bringing our food," Alex gently corrected her. "And I'll be glad to wait; we've got time to simply unwind. Now tell me about yourself."

"Me simpu ... simpler ... simple girl," she finally finished with a triumphant smile. "I come from small town you no hear of. No poor girl meet rich prince either. My father, well ... seller?"

"Merchant?" Alex suggested.

"Ah, yes, merchant. I grow up, comfort, get good teaching. Ahmed, though, he school here. We meet arranged. We hit off, marry after year demand by Ahmed father."

"An arranged marriage? And how did you feel about that? Did you feel any affection for Ahmed?"

"He sweet, social, imdress. I feel for him like you. He power, he lead, other follow. What draw me you, him too," she struggled to express herself with her still limited language skills. Still, she was doing amazingly well for only a week. It seemed she and Shanna had perfected the telepathic linguistic training. Alex assumed they must've consulted Ahn, figuring he'd have to ask her. Still, she seemed to have learned more words than syntax.

"So you were drawn to his strengths, his confidence, his attitude, but also how he affected those around him. How importantly everyone else treated him."

Instead of answering, she simply nodded energetically. "Like you. Everyone talk, you no. You no talk self."

"No, I don't like to talk about myself. I'm embarrassed by how everyone responds to me. I'd rather be an unnoticed kid. I'm getting used to how people respond to me, but it's still a slow process."

It was clear to Alex that Akilah was still having Shanna translate his words, as even with the telepathic communication, she'd wait after he said anything before responding, but he felt sure she was following his rules, speaking from her heart, while using Shanna to understand his meaning. When he spoke, her eyes would glaze over and remain that way until just before she started speaking, when her eyes would suddenly clear up again.

"So you loved Ahmed from the start?" Alex asked, interested in her response more than out of any interest in Ahmed himself.

"I knew fathers wanted, but then, he ... impress me. Not love, but close."

"Ah, that makes sense, and it's an honest explanation," Alex said, just as there was a knock at the door.

Gini, who'd accompanied them to the apartment but who'd kept well in the background, glanced at Alex for permission. Alex simply nodded, and Gini opened the door, letting a hotel employee in, pushing a large cart full of snack foods. Another entered, pushing a cart with several bottles. Without saying a word, he quietly prepared a drink seemingly knowing what would be appreciated. When finished he glanced at Gini, who nodded. He then brought the drink to Akilah, who accepted it with a smile, thanking him in French. The hotel employees left after that, and Gini locked the door behind them.

"Me make this easy. Me get me drunk so you no need," she explained, smiling at him with a smoldering look, but Alex still wasn't ready to move it to the next level, still feeling like he didn't know her quite well enough yet.

"So, Akilah, tell me more about your childhood," Alex suggested. "What was life in your country like? How did you adapt to a world where you weren't quite a full partner?"

"No," Akilah answered, struggling to look at Alex to show her resolve.

"No?" Alex asked, a little confused by her refusal.

"No. Girls tell me you do this. You ask about us, no tell. Me no tell, 'stead me want you talk," she said, her diction growing a little worse as she tried to stress this point. "Me no want to hear speech, me want to know you."

Though surprised, Alex could see her point—although he suspected she'd been put up to it by the other women in the Seer community. He could see them getting together, searching for new information on him, realizing they'd all heard the exact same stories and that he rarely revealed anything new. It was a defensive action he was well aware he employed too often, but he used it to keep the girls' memories of him 'pristine', not wanting to sully his image if he wouldn't be around for long. It was something he was very aware of, as his approaching death was made more real to him on an almost daily basis.

"All right, if you want to know about me, I can do that. After all, sharing is sharing. I assume you already know more than you want to about Cate and me?" he asked, just to be sure. She merely nodded, taking another sip of her drink.

"OK, let's see. As you've undoubtedly guessed, I was a very shy kid. However, there's a lot behind how Cate and I ended up that way. Being obsessive about my hobbies, like most young boys are, I spent all my time hiding in quiet corners of the house, reading. My father was worried about me, wanting me to be more active. He'd take me out to play sports, throwing a football or something, but it never worked. I wasn't athletic and it showed. Instead I learned to avoid my father when he got that 'I'm going to make a man of you' look. It got so bad my mother discovered me one day, at the age of five, sitting alone in a closet with a book in my hands, trying to hide from my father."

Akilah, though attentive, took a little while to process all of that. Alex realized he was throwing too many complex words and ideas around, but he relied on Shanna to translate his ideas for him. He also knew she'd convey his every sentiment to the other Seers as payment for their services. He realized the whole conversation would be easier if they conducted it telepathically, but she seemed hesitant to do so, and he really wanted the opportunity to watch how she reacted, something that was hard to do when the entire conversation only took a matter of seconds.

When Akilah's eyes cleared, Alex continued.

"Becky read something years ago that helps explain it. She said almost all the athletic stars are born the same time of the year, and they succeeded in sports not because of any inborn talent but simply because when they arrive at school each year they're bigger and more coordinated than the other kids because they're that much older. The teachers and coaches then encourage them, telling them they're special, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more they encouraged them, the more they'd work at it. Whereas kids like me, who by virtue of our birthdays appear klutzy and uncoordinated, are avoided and ostracized."

Alex knew she'd need time with those concepts, even though the message was fairly universal, so he waited until her eyes returned to normal before continuing.

"Thus I kept to myself, both at school and at home. I found I've got a fairly vanilla face, plain and unremarkable. And being a little bigger than the smallest kids, but not overly large, I could easily blend in. In order to avoid being picked on, I'd stand in the middle of a crowd of other kids. Never interacting with them, just avoiding being noticed.

"I became quite good at it and spent most of my time observing the other kids. Any time anyone would approach, looking like they wanted to cause trouble, I'd start talking, just like I was having a discussion with those around me. Since they didn't know me, they'd ignore me, but the new kids would assume I was busy so they'd avoid me. Thus I set up a pattern where I spent most of my life alone, watching and studying other people. And when I got home, I'd spend all my time reading, both as an escape and as a way of learning what I was missing by not mixing with the other kids."

Alex again waited for Akilah to translate and process his description. This time, when her eyes cleared, she frowned, as if commiserating over his painful childhood. Reaching out, she placed her hand on his, trying to 'feel his pain'.

"Actually, it wasn't as bad as it sounds," Alex explained, trying to assure her he didn't regret it. "I was comfortable on my own and uncomfortable with others. Dad eventually stopped reading me stories at night, but while he was he'd use all these different voices, making the imaginary world of books sound more interesting than the regular world where kids would berate me for not knowing what was popular. Thus books and my imagination became more fascinating than other people. I took to studying them, watching and observing people like I'd watch insects working to keep their hive alive, always scurrying around. I knew I'd never understand what any single individual was doing, but it was fascinating to watch how busy and driven they were.

"Now, moving beyond my story, let me discuss my sisters. Cate was just as you'd expect. She idolized me, but never found my silence disturbing. She was happy just cuddling with me, reading my book over my shoulder, soaking up whatever energy I may have been bleeding out at that young age.

"My other sisters, however, weren't anywhere near as understanding. Becky, the oldest, matured early. Being bigger than all her friends, she learned she could get what she wanted by pushing everyone else around. I learned to avoid her early, because she'd frequently push me out of the way to get whatever she wanted. However, that behavior only lasted so long. While she blossomed early, the other kids quickly grew as big as her, and when they did, they'd no longer put up with her attitude anymore.

"That was when Becky turned to books as well. Already a good student, she decided she'd do better not antagonizing people, so she started to focus on her studies. Because she was competitive from having been bigger than everyone else, she turned that competitiveness to her studies. She took to science because she found she could best the boys at their own subject. When they'd stand around talking about the latest science fiction movie, she'd calmly detail why it didn't make any sense. She'd score points for being up on the latest movie, effectively win without ever getting into an actual argument, and she soon found herself excelling in fields with few other women."

At this point, Akilah knew she'd gotten more than she'd asked for. Knowing this was going to be a long story, she cuddled up against Alex, allowing her to look away from him—which made dealing with his bright aura much easier—and spent her time touching him as she listened to the soothing cadence of his voice, even as she struggled with the meaning of his words. The fact she could soak up his energy, reveling in how powerful he felt and how closely that mirrored what she felt for her husband, certainly played a role as well.

"However, that didn't change her attitude around the house. She still picked on me, as small as I was, but it was mitigated by escaping into her books the same way I did. But then Melinda started picking on me, while Becky would ignore each of us, letting us squabble amongst ourselves.

"Melinda, having learned how to behave at her sister's knee, imitated Becky's earlier behavior. She'd tease me mercilessly, utilizing her bigger size and maturity. Eventually my screaming for her to leave me alone would provoke Becky, who'd storm out, tell her to leave me alone, and then give me a wedgie, just so I wouldn't think I'd won anything. That's not the best dynamic to build a lot of family camaraderie. Becky and I would try to escape into our books, Melinda would look for something to entertain her, while Cate would seek me out in my hidden refuge to share my isolation. However Cate seemed to have somehow picked up something from both Becky and me. She adopted Becky and my love of learning as well as my love of studying people. She took up Becky's interest in science, largely so she could spend time with me without disturbing me. Melinda, though, really had no interest in science.

"She progressed from being a bully at home, to learning about boys. She became the black sheep of the family, always getting into and causing the most trouble. Not only that, she also learned how to cop an attitude from the other girls at school, so she was always putting Cate and I down for being such dorks, though she never attacked Becky since she still idolized her.

"The result of all of this was we became a house full of loners. My dad would go to work, only to come home disappointed in a non-manly son and a house of non-communicative women. Becky would disappear into her room with her school work, leaving Melinda storming through the house looking for trouble while both Cate and I would try to find a place to hide. Cate would read whichever of my many books I wasn't reading at the time, soaking it all up, asking me whatever she didn't understand.

"Mom, meanwhile, was driven to distraction. While not exactly outgoing herself, she realized we had a very dysfunctional dynamic going, but she couldn't very well disapprove of our studious behaviors, especially since we were all much better behaved on our own than we ever were if she got us together. In the end, that's the sentiment which won out. It was simply easier on everyone for us to not interact than it was teaching us how to be social butterflies.

"So there you have it," Alex concluded. "That's why I'm so reticent, shy and retiring. Today, even when I try to reach out to others, I do so by avoiding revealing myself, falling back on my experience of observing people to learn about them rather than speaking up for myself. I became a 'sharer' rather than a 'taker'. I never spoke about myself, always distracting others by getting them to talk about themselves, simply because they'd become so involved they'd never stop to question why I wasn't talking."

Alex's monologue was cut short here, however. Akilah had been sitting there, soaking up his energy, listening to this amazing man reveal his most intimate secrets. Instead of turning her off, it turned her on knowing he'd revealed things to her that he hadn't with anyone else. Putting her empty glass aside, she turned and kissed him, wordlessly telling him just how much she admired and desired him, and how even if he wasn't ready, she was.

For his part, Alex was ready as well. Although he usually liked to get to know about his lovers before doing anything, he'd often done that simply as a way of distancing himself, effectively gaining insights into them while revealing little of himself. However, he now felt he'd gained enough insights from how Akilah reacted to his story to gauge just what motivated her, as well as understanding just how emotionally supportive she was. Returning her kisses, it wasn't long before clothes started flying, and they didn't even make it to the bed in the other room, with Alex mounting her right there. Gini simply shook her head at their antics, though she didn't look away either.

Akilah, for her part, didn't need any foreplay. She was more than ready, and had been for some time. She'd have been happy to have gotten down to the basics as soon as they entered the apartment. But despite encouraging him to open up, hearing him exposing himself while feeling his unadulterated power course through her was more than she could stand. Encouraged to express himself, Alex dove in. Having learned from Cate, Alex now knew it wasn't necessary to hold back, so he allowed himself to seek his own release. He knew he now shared enough with Akilah to fully open himself to her, after all, trying to give her a few more orgasms wasn't going to reveal any more of how she'd respond to his activation, so now he worked at hiding himself again. Namely trying to hide a specific piece of himself deep in her 'inner psyche'. It didn't take long before she was screaming out his name, both in English and Arabic, demanding he make her his over and over, as both came in blinding orgasms which swept Akilah away into blissful darkness.

"Hello, we're back," Cate yelled in warning as they entered the apartment, jingling her keys. Kitty and Chalise both quickly scanned the room, making sure everyone was decent before allowing Ahmed or the other girls into the suite, but everything looked clear. The room had been aired out and they were both leaning back against the couch, Akilah resting comfortable against Alex, smiling like she'd had a religious epiphany that no one else had shared.

"I see you had a good time," Ahmed teased, seemingly unfazed by what had just transpired. "You missed a good show, but you've seen several Broadway plays before, whereas these girls were astounded to see their first. It was fun revealing something like that to a bunch of theater virgins."

"It was amazing," Chalise told Alex as Akilah got up to greet her husband, kissing him gratefully for what he'd allowed her to enjoy. She knew she'd have to dance around this topic delicately for a bit, but what she'd gained from the experience more than made up for it.

After they'd had sex that first time, and before he'd recovered enough to try for a second, Alex finally got her to open up about herself. But instead of speaking of her childhood, she'd talked about what she hoped to get out of her odd arrangement with her husband.

"He want me to succeed on me self for first time," she'd related. "Now I have chance to be own self. I can grow my own org ... organ..."

"Organization," Alex suggested.

"Right, now I grow my own organization, be independent, initiate things on my own. What more, since I have backing of your group, my word be ... stronger. When I speak, now it have weight, not just with Ahmed, but with our government. Once they see what we capable of, they allow me to do more than we ever imagine. This be an opp... , an ... opposite ... like we've never seen. Like your own women's lib. I will have freedom, power, independence. I not only share with Saudi women, but I use it like never could before."

That enthusiasm for her newly blossomed potential had overflowed her ability to control it, and she and Alex had soon found themselves in another locked embrace, this time in the bedroom, leading to yet another blinding orgasm for her, followed by a few lesser ones in the shower as they tried to clean up afterwards. Luckily for them, Ahmed had the wisdom to take everyone out for treats, drinks for the adults and desserts for the younger girls. He was a consummate host, having thrown numerous social events, so he kept them occupied and distracted, giving the two lovers plenty of time to finish up, and giving everyone a night they'd remember.