Just a Little Magic Ch. 16

"You listen to me, when I talk. You take an interest in things that are important to me, or that I care about. I just... I feel wanted, and loved, when I'm with you."

"That might just be the long-distance effect. We tend to be on our best behaviour when we get together. It's just like an extended date."

"No." she said. "We talked about that before. I'm convinced that it's your default setting. You can't fake it for two weeks straight, or when you have to look after me because I'm sick - or when you're sick yourself."

"Face it. There's just something about you that ticks all of my boxes. I was falling for you long before Lillian's spell - which wasn't there for very long anyway, because Aunt Anna removed it."

I couldn't argue with that. Nor did I protest when she kissed me on the cheek. In fact, I responded by kissing her back - on the lips.

All of a sudden, I didn't feel tired anymore.

Sophie was a superb kisser. She let me lead, only responding to the level of intensity that I set (though I could feel her holding me a little closer, squeezing me a little tighter).

She smiled when I cupped her breast - I could feel her facial muscles against my cheek. She even arched her back a little, pushing out her chest, to offer her breast to my hand.

I let my fingers run down her hip, and slide around to squeeze her delectable ass. Sophie's breathing quickened, but she continued to let me set the pace.

She moaned softly when I caressed her thigh, and then shifted slightly, opening her legs a little more. I took the invitation that was offered, and ran my fingers ever so lightly across her labia. I avoided her clit, for now, and resisted the urge to push my finger inside her.

I kissed her cheek, her chin, and then up her jaw line, so that I could kiss her ear, and suck her earlobe into my mouth. I kissed her neck, and then her collar bone.

This was all about her. That's what I wanted, and she let me have my way. I used my fingers, lips and tongue on every part of her body. In some places, I also rubbed my nose or my cheeks all over her. When I'd thoroughly explored every inch of her front, I flipped her onto stomach, so that I could do the same to her back.

Her shoulder blades were particularly sensitive, and she loved the attention I paid to the small of her back. Sophie giggled when I ran my fingers down the crack of her ass - and she made an 'Eep!' noise when I followed that with my tongue.

"Pete..."

"You literally just showered." I said.

"That was before we made love on the couch." she protested.

"Tell me to stop, if you really want to - and I will."

She didn't make a sound when I paid direct attention to her little rosebud. That was when I realized that this was still all about me. Sophie would let me do virtually anything, to bring us closer together - to bring us back together.

That didn't mean that I should embarrass her, or push her boundaries too far.

I flipped her onto her back again, and felt her relax just a little.

Then I made love to her.

Yes, Janine had taught me a lot of what I knew about sex, and I'd honed all of that theory with multiple practice partners. But Janine had been mistaken about one thing: she'd never actually taught me to make love, because she herself didn't really know how.

Danielle had been my first real teacher... and Sophie was my Professor, my sensei. I knew what she liked - no, I knew what we liked.

I did my best to make it a spectacular, memorable experience for both of us.

* * * * *

If you've ever had the experience of waking up, to find the person you love looking at you (because they were watching you sleep), then you probably know how amazing that feels. Daunting - and yet exhilarating.

"Good morning." she whispered.

"Good morning."

"Are you starving?"

"No."

"Good. Because I want to tell you something that occurred me just now."

"What's that?"

"I think you were fighting them all along, Pete - Janine and Lillian."

"I don't know, Soph - I was pretty thoroughly under Janine's thumb. Ask Sammy."

"I did." she said.

"You did?"

"Let me explain my theory." she said. She propped herself a little higher up on one elbow. "I think that you were resisting the spells from the very beginning. Didn't you tell us that Janine had to practically force you to go out and sleep with other women?"

That was true. I'd wanted Janine for my girlfriend. At that time, as far as I was concerned, no woman could have matched her. I'd hated admitting that, because it let Sophie (and Anna, Eileen, and everyone else) know how thoroughly I'd been captivated.

"Pete - you had multiple enchantments on you. To make you horny, to encourage you to be promiscuous, to make you desire the thrill of... conquest."

"They worked." I said.

"They didn't!" said Sophie. "You wanted to stay with Janine, even when she was pushing you away. Pushing you towards other women. You wanted Michelle - even when she wasn't ready to have sex. And you respected her wishes!"

"You didn't cheat on Danielle - even though you knew that you would have be having sex with 12 other women in a few years' time..."

I wasn't entirely comfortable about discussing Danielle with Sophie. I thought that I'd been in love with Michelle. But I knew that I'd loved Danielle - just as I loved Sophie.

Don't you see?" said Sophie. "You were resisting most of the spells of they put on you."

"But not all."

"True. But which ones did you never challenge? You questioned Janine and Lillian about several things: making money through the lottery, paternity suits, or even taking the whole problem to the magical police."

"There was only one thing you never seem to have doubted: that you had to save 13 women from a terrible fate, by seducing them. But did you ever expect to fall in love with one of them in particular?"

"I..." Damn - Sophie was miscast as a lab technician: she could have been a lawyer. Okay, maybe she was better off as a lab technician.

"Or, look at it another way: what did Janine and Lillian want you to become?"

That was easy. I knew what they'd been aiming at. Sophie could see it in my face.

"There - that's it! And yet - what did you become? Pete - think of our first date."

I finally understood what she was driving at.

Janine and Lillian had been trying to create a perpetually horny, promiscuous seducer of women, interested only in the thrill of the chase, or the next notch on his belt.

But I'd spent the entire day with Sophie - over 12 hours - and the sexual highlight of our first date, for me, was... holding her hand. It was Sophie who had initiated our first kiss - on our third date. So much for the great seducer of women...

She saw me blush.

"You see!" she said. "You were still you. Through it all... they couldn't change you completely. And you were fighting the spells - you tried to tell me, even though it made you seriously ill."

Sophie saw the light beginning to dawn in my eyes. With a big grin, she leaned over and wrapped her arm around me. Then both arms. That resulted in a great deal of delectable naked flesh being pressed against me.

That ended the lesson, for a time.

* * * * *

Sophie was too smart to keep pressing me. She stopped well short of pestering, or nagging. She'd planted quite a few ideas in my head; she gave me a little time and a little space to assimilate them, to let them soak in to my thick skull.

I'd been focused on the negative, on all of the harm I'd done to the women in question. I couldn't get past the things that Janine and Lillian had duped me into doing. But Sophie was directing my attention to the other side of the coin: my little acts of subversion, or my insistence on carrying out their instructions in my own way.

I wasn't in line for a medal, by any means, but maybe I wasn't quite the monster they'd tried to make me into (and that I believed I'd become).

There had been time, too, for me to digest what Aunt Anna had told me: that Lillian and Janine had planned to dispose of me after I'd completed my tasks - and before I could mess up their scheme. They'd simply miscalculated my 'expiry' date.

Sometimes people agonize over decisions. You can dwell on all of the dangers, or draw up a list of pros and cons. You can consult your loved ones, or take a poll among your friends and family. But there are times when the correct course of action - the right decision, if you will - is suddenly just as plain as the nose on your face.

It was the evening of my second day with Sophie. She was preparing dinner for us; I'd been delegated to cutting the celery and the carrots.

"You're right." I said.

"Pardon? Right about what?"

"I'm not the villain."

This time, it was Sophie whose eyes teared up.

"Oh, sweetheart..."

* * * * *

There's a specific legal defence that can exonerate you completely, if you're charged with a serious crime: Compulsion, or Duress.

I had to drive the getaway car, Your Honour, because they threatened to kill my sister if I didn't. Basically, it's a version of 'They made me do it'.

There are limits, of course. You can't commit a murder because 'they' threatened to kill your family. Or you.

Lillian and Janine had compelled me to do much of what I'd done. But I'd never committed any crime as serious as the ones they were planning: kidnapping children, and murder (me).

It may sound like an odd way to think, but it helped me to realize that I wasn't their accomplice. I might have been their dupe, or their tool, but I wasn't their helper.

In simple terms: I still felt like an idiot, but I didn't feel as guilty.

* * * * *

"I'm thinking of learning magic." said Sophie.

I spit several ounces of perfectly good Riesling all over her carpet.

"Wh-what?"

"My Mom hates the idea, of course. But I think that's mostly just because she loathes Dad so much. Magic is the reason she had to marry him in the first place. But you and Aunt Anna both know real magic - and I love both of you..."

"Soph..."

"I'd like to be able to defend myself, you know. At the very least, I want to be aware next time, if someone is messing with you. Or with me. Aunt Anna has agreed to teach me. And you could, too."

"Aunt Anna was really quite... wise. She was patient. She never told me about magic when I was too young. But now she's ready to help me."

I resumed normal breathing. Sophie would only be in Toronto intermittently. A couple of hours of instruction, every few months? That wouldn't do much.

"Will you help me, Pete?" she asked.

"Of course."

She frowned. "You don't sound very... encouraging."

"I started when I was 18, Soph. You're in your late 20s. I also practiced for hundreds - maybe even thousands - of hours. How much time will you have to devote to it? You might have to... lower your expectations a bit."

"But Anna said that Lillian and Janine were deliberately limiting your progress. Maybe we could both learn a lot from her."

That actually sounded intriguing. "I bet we could. But... how often would you be in Toronto? Or would Aunt Anna be coming up here?"

"Actually..." said Sophie. "I was thinking about moving to Toronto."

* * * * *

I pause my story here (our story?) only because my mind briefly failed to function. I was barely aware of the passage of time as I struggled to make sense of what my beloved had just said.

"Toronto?" was the first coherent word out of my mouth.

"That's where you live, last time I checked." she said. "Aunt Anna, too. You're the two most important people in my life. And my two teachers, if I'm going to learn magic."

"But -"

"Sammy and Trish are there, too. Colette. Most of my social network, to tell the truth."

"But - your job? Your Dad?"

"My Dad has his new family. And my Mom is right about one thing: he is a dick. Anyway, I can come back to Montreal from time to time. Any my job skills are transferable. I'm sure that I can find a comparable position - with a better boss."

"Has he -?"

"No - he hasn't bothered me. Not since you - set him straight. But he's still creepy. Honestly, Pete: if I am going to change my address, now is a pretty good time to do it."

"You're serious?"

"Of course I am. I could stay with Aunt Anna while we look for a place. But I'd rather stay with you while we do our apartment-hunting. I mean, there's no sense moving twice, is there?"

I'd heard a 'we' in there. Twice, unless I was mistaken. And an 'our'.

"Are you talking about... living together?"

"You read my mind." she said, with a big grin.

* * * * *

Two weeks later, Sophie came down for a weekend. Sammy and I took her and her Aunt Anna to Little Portugal for dinner at a popular churrasqueira (Portuguese barbecue). We didn't include Trish this time, because of the topics we intended to discuss.

After what we'd all been through together, there weren't very many secrets remaining between us.

Sammy had pumped his fist and done a strange little victory dance when I first told him that Sophie was planning to move to Toronto. Now that he was seeing her in person for the first time since then, he gave her a big hug.

"That's great news." he said. "You have no idea how happy I am for you two. And for me!"

"He'll be trading up to a better class of roommate." I said.

"You and Trish? You're going to do it?" said Sophie. "That's wonderful!" She immediately dragged him back into another hug.

Once we were seated, Aunt Anna turned to Sammy.

"Have you told your girlfriend about magic?" she asked.

"No." he said. "Not a word."

"Maybe you should." said Anna.

"What?"

"If you're going to maintain your connection to Pete - which now includes Sophie - you're going to continue to be exposed to magic. And your partner - Trish? Unless she's completely oblivious, she's going to have some questions some day."

"She already does." muttered Sam.

It was my turn to say "What?"

"Trish has always wanted to know how you did that trick at the pool party. Plus she's seen your show twice; after each one, she asked me how you do it."

"That's what I mean." said Anna. "You don't want to keep secrets from her - not if you're planning to stay together long-term. How can she trust you completely if you're shutting her out?"

"But I thought..." Sammy was confused. "You know... Men in Black, memory wipes..."

Anna actually smiled. "No, Sam. We don't do that. If Trish is a smart girl - and it sounds like she is - she'll understand. Besides, she can figure out for herself what would happen if she started telling everyone she knows that magic is real."

"And look at the worst-case scenario: how will she react, years from now, if she finds out that you weren't telling her the truth from the very beginning?"

Sammy looked stricken. Sophie put her hand on his.

"We can be there, when you tell her." she said. "Or afterwards - whatever you need."

Aunt Anna waved a finger at me. "That doesn't mean that you can start going around telling everyone..."

The waiter arrived with our drinks, temporarily putting an end to that line of conversation. Once he'd taken our food order, Sophie turned the talk in another direction.

"Did you do your homework?" she asked me.

I dutifully passed over a piece of paper. Aunt Anna raised her eyebrow - much as Sophie herself frequently did.

"Homework?"

"Pete and Sammy need to find another career path. Something other than magic." said Sophie. "They can't go on doing magic shows forever."

"Why not?" said Anna.

"New routines." I said. "You can't keep doing the same tricks over and over. Well, I suppose you can, if you're willing to travel the world, and keep going to new places where they haven't seen your stuff before. But Sammy and I... neither of us wants to travel all that much anymore."

"That's understandable."

"We can do magic for a while. It'll pay the bills. And if I can come up with some ideas for new material, we'll consider a limited tour. But we have to face facts: me by myself isn't going to draw like Janine and I did."

"They need another type of work to fall back on - or even to switch to." said Sophie. "So I asked Pete to come with a list of jobs they could see themselves doing."

"Don't look at me!" protested Sammy. "I can find a job."

"I know you can. But I was thinking of a career - something you would both really enjoy."

"It's my fault." I explained to Anna. "I have a college diploma, but I just don't have any skills. Janine and Lillian convinced me to spend my time studying magic - and sex - while I skipped all of my classes. I cheated on every assignment, and every exam. I don't actually know anything."

Sophie took my hand. I didn't find it especially difficult to admit the truth, but she wanted to show her support - and I was grateful for it.

"And what have you come up with?" said Anna.

"A list I'm not all that happy with."

Sophie and her Aunt perused my list together.

"Counsellor?"

"You'd make a great counsellor." said Anna (who had been one herself).

"I don't think I could do what you did, though." I said. "I have no training, and I don't know anything about psychology."

"You may lack the qualifications, Pete." said Anna. "But you understand more psychology than most people."

"Customs agent?" said Sophie, reading off my paper.

Sammy laughed. "You'd be a wicked border guard!"

I thought so, too. I could picture myself asking 'Anything to declare?', and catching drug smugglers, escaped criminals, human traffickers...

"Police?" Sophie looked confused.

"Well... I was imagining myself in an interrogation room, questioning suspects. Like a human lie detector."

"Oh - you'd be so good at that!"

"Except that he'd have to go back to school to qualify." said Sammy. "And he absolutely sucks at following orders. They'd never let him into the Police force."

"The worst part," I said, "is that none of these jobs would allow Sammy and me to work as a team."

"Purchaser?" said Sophie, as she read the last entry on my list.

"I don't know what else to call it. I was thinking that I could help people, when they have to make a major purchase, like a car, or a house. I thought... I could go with them and make sure they don't get ripped off."

My girlfriend smiled at me. "That's a nice thought." she said.

"It sounds more like a reality show on TV." said Aunt Anna. "Peter Purchaser."

"Getting a good deal with Grey." said Sammy.

"Too long. Don't buy this car." said Aunt Anna.

"Trust me." said Sammy, rolling his 'r' in a bad Dracula imitation.

"I think it's a sweet idea." said Sophie.

"Not very practical, though. This is it? This is your whole list?" said Aunt Anna.

"There's one more - on the back."

Sophie flipped the page over. She and her Aunt quickly read what I'd written.

Private Detective

Neither one said anything, for a moment.

Sammy glanced at the paper, and then turned to look at me. I wondered if he was remembering the same thing I was thinking of.

Some time ago - before he'd met Trish, Sammy had been dating a hot chick named Wendy, who was well out of his league (physically, at least). He suspected her motives for wanting to be with him, and asked me to check her out - to read her mind.

Sammy was afraid that Wendy was just a gold-digger. His fears were more than justified. In fact, the reality was even worse. She was a kinky groupie who was only using him to get to Janine and me.

He was obviously disappointed to have his suspicions confirmed, but happy to be able to get out of that relationship early.

Then he asked me to do the same for the next girl he fell for. Well, that was Trish - and it didn't take me very long to realize that he had absolutely nothing to worry about. That was also the day of the pool party where I first met Sophie. It was something of a life-changing event for all four of us.