Author's Note:
This is a pretty free-flowing and fun chapter, with Cal bouncing between a few different places and encounters with his irresistible super-scent steering. I had fun playing with some different dynamics between said encounters. There's even a little bit of a female-dominant streak in the last one (all consensually laid out and agreed to before it starts, of course), so if you're not such a fan of that kind of dynamic playing out in this story, be warned! (I think it's fun to twist the 'irresistible guy' concept that way sometimes, though -- some ladies are gonna take it as a cue to submit; others are gonna just pounce.)
There's a bit of an update at the end to Agent Mayim Karabakov's plotline as well, if you were wondering what's been happening with her. Lots of pieces to this story are about to converge -- hope you're looking forward to that!
As always, thanks for reading!
7. A Day to Seize
Saturday morning came and found Cal in a familiar position: sandwiched in bed between two very beautiful, very satisfied women.
It wasn't his first such morning. Far from it. Maybe it was just his lingering disbelief, but that thought almost made him laugh aloud. Here he was, getting used to the type of thing reserved for most people's wildest fantasies. His list of girlfriends now numbered four -- with more lined up already. Today he had his next 'date.' And lots of time to kill up until then. Time he could spend anywhere and with anyone he pleased... or just spend right here in bed, enjoying the company he already had.
Part of him still wondered where the catch was. Whether something, anything, might come to bring him crashing down to earth. Magic in stories came all too often with costs, or even perils. Did this? What if unseen forces were building up, ready to strike him down when he least expected? Or what if he'd just wake up one day to realize he'd been in a coma, hallucinating it all, just dreaming...
Dreams.
Whether or not his earlier worries were true, he definitely recalled something out of the ordinary from his dreams last night.
Cal paid a lot more attention to his dreams these days. Vivid, extravagant lucid dreams had been a regular feature since he'd first started using the soap -- all of them sexy. Sometimes, they'd featured his women from the waking world. Sometimes, they'd been playgrounds for fantasies yet unfulfilled. Last night's dream had been a little of all of that -- but there'd been something else, too. Someone from... elsewhere, looking in, watching him. Someone he hadn't recognized when he'd caught her in the act.
A young woman with curls like spun gold. Beautiful. Alluring. But in an... otherworldly way. Maybe that impression came less from her looks than the way her presence had felt. It wasn't as though she'd had horns or wings or pointy ears. Still, she'd felt... different. Fantastical. The way his magic soap had first seemed when he'd found it on that ordinary grocery store shelf.
Cal didn't know what to make of that.
Was she someone like him? Someone with magic of her own, stepping in just to check on him, with no intent but to observe? Or was she a rival? An enemy? Someone plotting or preparing to act against him in the waking world? Someone he should likewise prepare to face?
He didn't have a clue. He just remembered that moment of eye contact, the way she'd looked back, and then how she'd fled like a deer from a hunter. Before he'd even thought about whether to pursue her, the dream had gone on, new pleasures distracting him from that momentary strangeness. He'd forgotten about her, all the way up until now. And even now, finally remembering, he found he could still make no sense of her.
Who was she? Where had she gone? Would he see her again?
Those thoughts fell to the wayside as Ashleigh stirred and woke beside him. Whoever, whatever, that golden-haired girl had been, she'd ultimately just been a passing face in a dream now gone. And he had a real woman here to attend to.
"Now, that was a fun dream." Ashleigh's first utterance, remarkably on topic, made him wonder if she'd read his mind. "You, me, Mina... All three of us. In a big, fancy, golden palace. Guess it's apt. Fits how you two were making me feel last night. Like a queen. Hah. Give me that any day of the week over the usual ones about being late to an exam I didn't study for, or showing up to work without clothes."
Cal felt her nude body press against his as she stretched, then leaned over to trail kisses along his neck and jaw. He could have pointed out how her dream seemed to mirror parts of his own. He could have dwelled on the new implication -- something he hadn't considered before -- that perhaps magic meant he and his lovers could share dreams, or at least experience remarkably parallel ones. Instead, he just reached an arm around to embrace her, kissing back.
"Almost feels like I didn't even go to sleep," she pointed out. "Just kept on having the best time of my life with you. Mmm. And now I get to have it for real, too."
Her hand went to his cock. He was hard already, but the attention only made him stiffer. He groaned against her lips, letting her stroke and tease him. When she broke the kiss, she was grinning.
"Fuck, you're magic. That's the truth, right? Like, you've really got some kind of magic power. Okay. Don't admit it if you don't want to. Keep it mysterious. I kinda like that." Her slender fingers kept on dancing, tracing up and down his shaft. "Either way, the benefits seem pretty clear. One. I get this, stress-free, however I want it, and I'll never get sick of it." A long, lingering stroke punctuated that. "Two. I get to share you with Em, and all your other amazing women I haven't even met yet -- or just watch them enjoy you -- and I'll never get jealous. Three. The dreams. I meant it -- those felt just as real. Just as fun." Her palm squeezed the base of his cock. "All that together makes a pretty sweet package."
"All yours," he reminded her. Ashleigh just grinned.
Both of them felt it as Mina stirred. Both heard the raven-haired beauty mumble in her happy, half-asleep state. "Mm. Good morning." A second later, her own hand had joined Ashleigh's on her man, her eyes blinking open and shut as she enjoyed the tactile pleasure. "Ahh. There's my favorite toy." A finger teased at his slit, playing with the pre that had begun to gather there. "Ash, he's hard as fuck. Have you two been... mm, conspiring while I've been sleeping in?"
"A little, maybe," Ashleigh replied. "But we haven't talked about our day yet. Any plans, Cal? Do they involve me? Can they?"
Cal chuckled, listening to them banter, feeling both their hands working him over. "Got a date today, actually. With one of Kaiyah's teammates. Trust me, if I hadn't already promised, I probably wouldn't want to leave this bed."
Mina grinned. "Right. Chantae. I'd say 'hope you're ready,' but then, you've already handled one badass baller and her hot girlfriend. So what's a shooting guard, hm?"
Ashleigh perked up. "Wait. Oh, shit, wait. Are you talking about Chantae Ellis? And Kaiyah McKenzie? As in, the basketball players?" She looked at Cal. "You told me you had other girls. I just didn't think they'd be famous. Holy hell, I've been so into the team lately. And now my new boyfriend's going on a date with Chantae fucking Ellis." She let out a long, low whistle, and her hand worked faster. "Fuck. You're gonna have so much fun. Bet she is, too. Is it too much to ask for an introduction someday soon?"
Cal just laughed. "Not at all. Bet they'd love meeting you. Bet they'd love fucking you." He saw the way Ashleigh's eyes lit up at that, and he knew he'd hit the mark. "I'll make sure to tell Kaiyah and Chantae you're a fan."
"Hah. I must still be in one of those dreams. Wake me up." Ashleigh's grin was infectious. "Or don't. This is too good."
"I know that feeling," said Cal, before he kissed her -- reminding them both how real this was.
He felt Mina's hand leave his shaft. The dark-haired photographer was sitting up, sliding off the mattress. "For the record, I'm starving," she told them. "Join me for naked breakfast? Maybe a kitchen-counter quickie after?"
It was a silly question. Both of them were up and following her in seconds.
***
Ashleigh got ready to go not long after. It wasn't for any rush on her part. Just an acknowledgement of Cal's other plans -- and a certain lingering awe at who he'd be with later on. Cal and Mina walked her to the door, but even as she stood at the threshold, Ashleigh kept on touching them both, hands roaming and squeezing. It was like she just couldn't let go. If not for said plans, Cal would have happily tugged her right back in and taken her to the nearest available surface. But as it was, all parties finally acknowledged it was time for their parting -- for now.
"Seriously. Call me whenever," Ashleigh told them both. "You want me? Either of you? Give me an hour, and I'll be right here."
"Same goes for us," Cal replied. "Just say you need us -- as lovers, or friends, or anything in between. We'll make time."
"Fuck, you're perfect." Ashleigh kissed him one more time, then turned and gave Mina a deep, lingering kiss of her own. Moments later, she was gone, leaving Cal and Mina alone.
As he turned, meeting his first lover's eager gaze, he wondered for a moment if he should share with her what he'd seen in his dream. What he hadn't gotten a chance to report before the morning's pleasant distractions. The golden-haired girl still lingered in his memory, partly fascinating him, partly troubling him, but mostly just making him curious. Sharing with Ashleigh would have felt like too much, too soon. He hadn't wanted to risk putting anything on his newest girlfriend that might have weighed down the morning's mood. But Mina had been here from the start. She knew his secrets already. Surely he could tell her.
Yet before he could speak, Mina's arms were around his neck, her lips were on his, and she was kissing him, hard and fierce.
