Caleb 7 - Moving Out
I woke, with Jules curled up against me, my arms around her and her butt pressed into my groin. I tried to disengage, but she complained sleepily, tightening her hold.
"I need to get up" I whispered gently in her ear, and she sighed, releasing me.
"What time is it?" she asked.
"Still early," I said. "I run in the mornings. Will you be okay to stay here without me?"
"I'm going back to sleep," she said, "unless you're kicking me out?"
I laughed and kissed the top of her head. Then realized what I'd done.
"I'm so sorry," I said hurriedly "I..."
"Caleb," she said softly, "it's fine. I liked that. It felt affectionate and right, and I loved sleeping and waking up in your arms."
"Get some more sleep. I'll be back in about an hour."
I went into the bathroom to get dressed. When I emerged, she was asleep again, with a contented look on her face.
Once again, the twins met me at the gate, and we ran.
Amanda glanced across at me and I heard her question. "
How was last night?"
"It was fine,"
I responded, directing my thoughts to both. Then, when Mary looked confused, I realized that she hadn't heard the question. I pushed the memory of the question out to her via our bond and her face cleared.
I gave them the memory of mine and Jules' night, Josh coming back, and finally our conversation this morning. I felt feelings of love from the pair of them as they relived my description of what I loved about each of them.
Amanda grinned. "
Josh's face was a picture when he caught you in bed with another girl."
I sent the echo of her comment over the bond for Mary's benefit and saw Mary's answering grin.
I guesstimated we ran about five miles, and I felt energized rather than tired when I got back to my room. Josh and Jules were both dressed, and they were talking quietly when I entered.
"I'm just going for a quick shower," I said. "Then how about we go down for breakfast?"
Josh stood up. "Jules told me what you guys did yesterday. You all deserve medals."
I looked at Jules, and she had tears in her eyes.
"Jules?" I said gently, "are you ok?"
She nodded. "It's weird," she began, "but when I was telling Josh what happened, it somehow became real. Up until then, it felt surreal, like a dream. I remember being up on the wall and looking down at the path below; I wondered if it would hurt much.
"I remember talking to you, and you convincing me not to jump, and then I slipped and was falling. In that instant, I really thought that I had just been given the ultimate cosmic 'fuck you.' That the universe had decided that I really wasn't worth saving, and had taken matters into its own hands.
"Then I felt you catch me, felt your strength as you gripped me and pulled me back up, and felt your arms around me, and for the first time in forever, I felt safe."
I sat beside her and put my arms around her again.
"I'm happy that we were there," I said, "and I'm even happier that you are here, now, with us."
I looked at Josh. "Please keep this to yourself," I said. "Jules doesn't need the attention just now. Obviously, that doesn't include Louise, but other than her..."
He nodded. "Sure thing. You best go shower if you want breakfast."
I did, and we walked down to the cafeteria, where we met up with Mary and Amanda.
I was approaching the table with my tray. Being a gentleman, I had let the girls go in front of me in the queue and so they were all seated by the time I made my selection. I was just about to dig into my breakfast when I found myself being enveloped in a hug, a pair of breasts pressing into my back. I turned my head coming face to face with Louise. She released me and then proceeded to hug Mary and Amanda, and then she moved to Jules.
"Can I give you a hug too?" she asked.
Jules nodded mutely and accepted the hug.
Louise sat down at the end of the table next to Jules.
"Josh told me," she said, "and I am so proud of you,
all
of you." She looked pointedly at Jules.
"You are so brave," she said quietly. "Trusting a complete stranger and stepping down off that wall must have been the hardest thing to do."
Jules nodded again, her eyes wet.
"Don't worry," she said, handing Jules a tissue, "I won't tell anyone."
Josh and Louise sat with us as we ate breakfast and then we all went our separate ways to go to class. Before we left, I asked Josh and Louise to meet us for lunch, as we had something to tell them.
My morning classes went quickly. I realized that, as Dianna had promised, now that my amulet was gone, my memory was much better, and I could understand things more clearly. I wondered how the amulet had affected my younger life. I'd done okay at school, but I wondered if I would have gotten better grades if my amulet had not been interfering with my brain. I made a mental note to ask Dianna about it.
Mary and Amanda were already seated at a table when I reached the cafeteria. They had grabbed a tray of food for me, so I didn't have to queue. I supposed I could get used to that. I crouched between them, giving each a kiss on the cheek, then settled opposite them.
Amanda waved Jules over as soon as she spotted her entering the cafeteria. "I'm sorry," Amanda said. "I would have got you a tray too, but I had no idea what you wanted."
Jules smiled. "It's fine, I'll go grab something. I'll be right back"
The queue wasn't long, so Jules was back in less than five minutes. She settled into a chair next to me and began eating.
"How was your morning?" I asked her.
She scowled. "Okay, I guess."
"That scowl says different," I said. "What's up?"
"Just some doofus in my class behaving like a child," she replied.
"His name wouldn't be Jasper by any chance, would it?" I asked.
Her eyes widened for a moment, but then I saw understanding on her face.
"Yesterday," I said quietly, "when I asked you if someone had left you, you practically screamed his name."
She nodded. "Only he thinks he has changed his mind. He keeps asking me to go out with him again. I did like him; we had fun, but then it became all about sex. I think he thinks he can change my mind."
Mary leaned forward, "Did you tell him you were with someone else now?"
"Well, no," said Jules.
"Then tell him," said Amanda. "That should make him back off."
"But, I thought that you guys..." she stuttered.
Mary reached across the table and grabbed her hand. "
We,