Author's note:
Hey there, ladies and gentlemen. First of all, I want to thank you all for the patience you have shown in waiting for this chapter. With the current global conditions keeping the kids off school, I haven't had as much peace and quiet to dedicate to writing as I would like, hence the delay in getting this out, unfortunately this means that future chapters will not be as regular as originally planned either. They are still coming, but I will get them out as I can, rather than sticking to a schedule as I had hoped.
Secondly, there are a few issues I would like to clear up from questions sent to me by readers. There will be no mention -- whatsoever -- of the coronavirus or the current situation in any of my stories. There is too much pain and human suffering in the world already without filling our fantasies with them as well. Another issue is the glaring holes around some of the characters; Pete's parents -- for example. I know their histories, thought and motivations haven't been written in yet and that is intentional, their stories will be revealed as our hero goes through his own. Finally, this story isn't designed or written for people looking for a quick thrill. This is not a sex story, it is a story that contains sex, there will be fairly long parts of it that contain nothing erotic at all. If you can stick with it though, Im will try to make the wait worth it.
Lastly... (and sorry to drag this out so much) ... but I cannot go any further without expressing my heartfelt thanks and appreciation for the comments -- both complimentary and critical -- that my work has received. Messages off strangers on the chat rooms, and through my profile, wanting to discuss my work is something that I never expected and means the world to me. You are all amazing people and I thank you all.
Anyway... now that's out of the way... on with the story.
*****
I had never been a morning person; even before the accident, I had always thought that mornings would be infinitely easier if they were later in the day. Since the accident, it had been worse; every morning I had woken up in the same bleary eyed, semi-conscious, pain med addled state of confusion, in no way helped by new newly realized need for extra rest... but today was different. The sleep in the bunker was a revelation, not only was I wide awake, fully alert and properly rested, but I could somehow tell you
exactly
how long I had been asleep -- both in the bunker and in the corresponding time in the real world -- down to the minute. Being awake at 7.25am... voluntarily... was something that would take as much getting used to than the power itself.
I stretched -- both physically and mentally -- feeling my powers extend around me in the same way that my body was. I picked her up immediately, Becky was entering the building. The bubble of joyful apprehension that had greeted be the previous day, however, was gone, replaced with something indescribably harder to read.
It is worth me clearing up something at this point, something I wouldn't fully understand for a while yet, but reading people's thoughts wasn't like you see on the tv. I couldn't look at someone and read their deepest desires or darkest fears or suddenly know their atm number; everyone talks to themselves inside their own head, that conscious running thought process that each of us uses to guide our actions - every time I had heard someone's thoughts, it was this internal monologue that I could hear: everything from 'shit, that girl is hot!' to 'did I remember to feed the cat?... all the other things were possible -- the desires, fears and atm numbers -- but accessing them was a conscious -- rather than a passive -- act and one I wouldn't master for some time yet. Becky's mind was pulling her in so many different directions that it was impossible to follow her train of thought.
Trains of thought were still -- apparently -- assholes.
At first, I thought it was me, that I was still tired, that I didn't have enough control over my powers to read her thoughts from this distance, or that maybe I wasn't as powerful as I thought, but by the time she had changing into her scrubs in the locker rooms and made her way to the nurses station, it was clear that it was
her
that was the problem; her mind was racing so fast that not even she could keep up with it. There were, however, some very clear emotions being given out by my beautiful new lover; excitement to see me, nervousness about how I would react, but -- more pressingly -- concern, bordering on panic at something that had occurred to her last night, something that I couldn't quite decipher. I felt her finish her conversation with her colleagues at the nurses station outside my room, look towards my door, take a deep breath, and start walking towards it. Right on cue, my door opened.
Her smile was brilliant, yet hesitant, as she crossed the room and sat down into Jimmy's chair, "Good morning." She smiled, I returned the gesture, reaching out and taking her hand. "How are you feeling today?"
"Awesome." I replied, it was the truth after all and although Becky was partly responsible, I had more things to feel good about than she could know. "How about you?"
"I'm... err... Pete, we need to talk." She said as her smile faded, her eyes casting down to her feet.
"Look, if this is about yesterday," I said, a sudden pang of concern sparking in my chest, "I'm sorry if anything happened that you weren't comfortable with, if you want to walk away and have nothing more to do with me, I will understand... I'm not gonna lie, I will be disappointed, I really enjoyed yesterday, but I understand the position I have put you in." I started, still completely in the dark about what was bothering her so much, "but either way, nobody will ever find out off me what happened, not even Jimmy. I am not going to put your job at risk with some childish need to boast."
Becky scrunched her eyebrows in confusion, before smiling. "This isn't about yesterday... well, it
is
... but not in that way. I loved every minute of what happened yesterday and am looking forward to a repeat performance," a seductive smile crept onto her face before vanishing just as fast, "that's not what this is about."
"Then what's bothering you?"
"Pete, I..." she paused for a moment, looking down at our joined hands, "I don't think you understand the condition you are in; you're not stupid, so I'm guessing that it hasn't been explained to you properly... but what we did yesterday..." another pause "... shouldn't have been possible."
"I'm not following."