"Hey Jamie! Come in! Steph isn't here yet." Em offered her a chair in the kitchen. "Something to drink? Water, juice?" She studied her friend's face for any signs of...
what? Sex-crazed nymphomania? What does that even look like?
Em knew what it looked like on her, and Caroline and Steph, and it wasn't a thing. Or if it was, it was a different thing for all of them. She handed Jamie a glass of orange juice.
"So, Em," Jamie looked at her over the rim, her eyes shifting a little. "That was really...
weird?
yesterday?" She looked away momentarily distracted by the sounds of construction coming from the basement. "Like, you guys weren't screwing with us, were you?"
Em shook her head and smiled, knowing the four of them had probably texted all night trying to figure out what the fuck was really going on. "Scout's honor," she said seriously, gesturing with her right hand. "You guys talk about it?" Em grabbed a chair at the table, nursing a cup of coffee, fiddling with her phone.
Jamie nodded. "I believe you. And so does Sarah. Naomi's not sure and Allison is convinced it's all bullshit." She giggled a little at cursing. "But we agreed we'd let anyone know if something weird started happening to us." She stopped. "So far, I don't think anything's changed."
Em looked back up and nodded. "Maybe it won't affect you the same." She shrugged. "But Caroline and Steph both said it took about a day after their first exposure. So, it's still too soon if that's how it rolls." She pulled the corner of her mouth back and shrugged again. "But please tell me if something does happen, okay? At least I can share whatever I've learned about it so far." She looked at the bag Jamie had brought. "What's that?"
"Drawing stuff. In case I wanted to do some sketching between cataloging."
Em's eyebrows jumped before she could stop herself, her shared memory with Steph still too fresh to ignore.
"What? Is that a problem?
Em laughed. "No! No problem. I just...of course you would bring your drawing kit. It would never occur to me." Which was true, but the real truth was too much.
No way I'm going there right now.
She was saved from any further explanation by Steph coming in the back door.
"Hey hey!" She looked at the two of them, offering a thin smile.
"Hey Steph!" Jamie's face lit up.
Em nodded a greeting and glanced between the two of them, a movement Steph caught, throwing her a questioning eyebrow. Em shrugged. "You up for this?" she waved up the stairs.
Steph scrunched her mouth a little and shrugged. "We'll see. If I can't take it, I'll work on the stuff in your parents' room."
"Is...is there a problem?" Jamie set her glass down and looked at Steph.
She shook her head. "No. Sort of. Not really. Maybe." She laughed at how stupid she sounded. "Uh, it gets pretty intense for me up there."
Jamie nodded. "I saw you left right away with Robert. What's it do to you?"
Steph's face stiffened, holding back her response. Em knew that expression. Steph's sarcasm was brutal, and Steph knew it, but sometimes she had enough self-awareness to hold it back. She figured Steph didn't want to fuck things up with Jamie, and definitely not five minutes in the door. Steph looked at the basement stairs and nodded toward The Study.
"Let's talk upstairs, k?" She waited briefly and headed up, a determined expression locking her eyes straight ahead.
"She okay?" Jamie whispered to Em as they put their dishes in the sink.
Em nodded. "Complicit has been pretty tough on her. And like she admitted yesterday, she's not the athletic type. Without a physical outlet it fucks with her head. I've told her I would help, in exchange for the cataloging." Her body felt alive. She'd hit the gym hard, trying to build her upper body strength. The memory of the workout, her muscles sore but fluid, was calming. But then the memory of lying on the bench, pressing weights over her head, her legs straddling the pad, her shorts, rubbing against her lips, distracting her; not tender like yesterday, but swollen, needy. She squeezed her thighs together, her channel squishy, the emptiness made her glance at the basement stairs.
Jamie looked uncomfortable.
"What? Did I say something wrong?" Em worried she might have said something out loud.
Fuck this is so fucking weird!
Jamie shook her head. "No! No. Sorry. I, uhhh, I had the strangest image just then, when you said you would help." She looked away, her hand covering her mouth. "Oh dear lord..." She stepped to the chair and sat down, shaking her head, not able to look at Em. "Oh dear."
Em rushed over and knelt down, looking up at Jamie. "What? What. You're feeling something, right? You're seeing something? Can you describe it?" Em placed her hands gently on Jamie's knees.
Jamie just stared at her wide-eyed, her mouth opening. "I...I've never..." she whooshed an exhale, her breath smelling of juice, breathing in again. She closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing. After several cycles she opened them again, her face calmer, her eyes wide and glistening. "You guys weren't kidding. I mean," she closed her eyes again and breathed in carefully. "I mean, if that was what you're talking about," nodding back to the sink.
"Are you going to be okay? Doing this? I mean, if you smell it again, it'll only get harder." Em's concern wiped out her own growing arousal.
Jamie sat back against the chair and breathed. "I do yoga, right?" She kept her eyes closed. "I've got about 50 hours left on my 1000 hour teacher training. I love it. I love almost everything about it. The way my body feels. The way my breath moves. The way my mind dissolves. Whenever anything upsets me, I can just go there, to my yogic breath. It's never failed me since I've been practicing it regularly. That," she opened her eyes and looked at Em, nodding slightly to the sink. "That was more intense than anything I've ever felt. Ever. That...like hit every chakra all at once. Seven bright stars just supernovaed in my body." She breathed again. "Is that what it does to you?"
Em nodded. "Not the same, but yeah. It's a plant for me. Twines around my nervous system. Up my spine and around my brain." She wanted to tell her more but waited. "You gonna be okay?"
Jamie nodded. "Yeah. Wow. Yeah. The second chakra is really lit up." She saw Em's confusion. "Pelvic chakra - reproductive organs, center of desire, sexual energy. Among other things. But it's not the only one. Sheesh!" She smiled at Emily and nodded again. "Phew. Okay. I can see why Steph is so upset." She breathed again. "Let's go and see what Abilene has upstairs."
Em was impressed, nodding.
While Jamie leaned down to grab her things, Em rocked back onto her feet, still wondering what Jamie had seen. "I'm dying to know what you saw. Is it too personal?" The tendril pulsed, waiting.
Jamie giggled a little. "Personal? Too personal? It was the hottest thing I've ever imagined in my life." She exhaled, shaking her head. "And I'm pretty good in that department, so that's saying a lot."
Em couldn't control the surprise on her face.
Jamie nodded smugly at Emily's reaction. "What? Oh. Right. Miss Goody-two-shoes." She smiled thinly.
Em raised her eyebrows and shrugged, leading the way up the back stairs. "I'm all ears whenever you want to share," she said, looking over her shoulder. "I doubt you could ever make me blush."
Or top what I've been doing...
"So, we could get you started by bringing down the boxes from my parents' room." Emily had been thinking Steph would work in The Study, but was concerned about her being able to stay in there. Complicit enveloped them as they arrived at the top of the stairs, forcing Em to stop and get control of herself. Jamie continued through the open bookcase into the room.
"Steph?" Jamie's voice sounded concerned, quickly moving deeper into the room.
Oh fuck.
Em's skin prickled. The morning's gym routine had grounded her body; her muscles were loose, her blood flowing, but Complicit had kicked in, swirling in her head, her pussy squishy. She needed to see what was wrong, but until she got her feelings under control she would be useless. And then...she was in the room, standing close to Caroline, their arms and shoulders touching. They were looking at different shirts, laughing, but Em was looking at Caroline's body, the sounds of the others muted: laughing, quiet whispers, gentle teasing. She felt...self-conscious...embarrassed about something...but she couldn't tell what it possibly could be. Naomi was nearby, her olive tinged skin lit with golden hues from the floor's reflected light. She was pulling up tiny shorts, Em's eyes catching the small landing strip Naomi kept at the juncture of her legs before the deep purple fabric covered her. Jamie was in the chair, a sketchbook resting on her naked thighs, her hand making quick strokes. Jamie's breasts, smaller than Em's, pointed out from her chest, like tiny cones, topped with dark nipples. Em quickly scanned down Jamie's torso, the sketchbook getting in the way, her right foot crossed on her left knee, well-toned legs extending from under the book. Em had seen Jamie naked only once, when they both were showering after a practice. She remembered Jamie's torso was long, flaring to broad hips, her sandy hair on her head the same color as the curls between her legs. Her eyes were staring at the top of the clothes. Steph, lying on her side, facing her, her pelvic bones sharp angles, her nipples extended, aureolas puffy. She wasn't smiling, but she didn't look panicked.
"Em!" Jamie's voice, sounding anxious, injected into the image.
Emily jerked herself back to the present and, ignoring the tendril's cobra-like motion, rushed into the room.
Jamie had dropped to her knees near the cabinet. On the floor, Steph looked like she was having a seizure, her hands pushed between her legs, her eyes closed, moaning and jerking. Jamie was holding her head, looking back at Em, panicking. "What's going on? What's wrong with her?"
