Mollified Magic Ch. 20

Mollified Magic

Chapter 20: Saying goodbye with friends can be fun

Wednesday.

It was still early when I found myself awake and unable to sleep. The room was dark, but the first light of dawn allowed me to distinguish the various shades of gray as objects in the room. My arm was still around Molly, who was snoring lightly. I thought about how much my life had changed in the past three weeks since our first date. I entered college wanting to challenge myself and get out of my own comfort zone. Well, I've certainly done that! But I couldn't have done it without Molly.

I slowly and carefully moved my arm from around her. I didn't want to wake her; she looked so peaceful lying there. I eventually got out of bed and dressed myself. I sat in her desk chair, her grandmother's folded quilt on my lap. I stroked the quilt gently as I continued to watch Molly sleep.

I thought about my parents, the Wards. In my later teenage years, I had suspected I was adopted, but they always treated me as their own. They never showed favoritism towards my younger brother, who definitely looked like them. We never had a lot, but they were always generous with what they had.

They were both schoolteachers. My father, and I'll always think of him as my father, taught history. He taught me the need to accept the past and learn its lessons. That included the power of observation and the importance of detail. My mother taught English, and I think I got in the habit of analyzing social situations through her, only I tended to overthink them. She never taught me that; I did it entirely on my own.

Strange that I should become a Chem major. Maybe I got that from my biological mother, Amanda Brewster and the Brewster family, well-known in the magical community for their knowledge and ability for making potions. Funny I was thinking about her while grieving for the Wards.

My brother was more like Molly. He was carefree and took what life had to offer him. He thought he knew everything of course and became careless at times. I would have to bail him out from time to time because he thought he knew it all, but that only drew us closer. We could be friends whenever we weren't competing with each other.

They were gone now. It was hard to believe I would never see them again. All because of my biological father, Lord Blaze.

Their deaths were senseless and so unnecessary. The Wards posed no threat to anybody, certainly not to Lord Blaze. What was he trying to accomplish with their deaths? What was his message? That I should fear him? That I should hate him? That didn't seem to make sense.

Maybe he killed them to isolate me, as he has isolated himself. He said he didn't trust anyone, but he came looking for me the moment I gained my powers as a warlock. Perhaps he wanted to groom me to be his trusted confidant? Isolation could do that.

But if that were the case, then my relationship with Molly would have to be changed or severed. He wanted to marry Morgana to manipulate the coven, not because he cared for Morgana. Molly could pose a threat to him there, too. No wonder he invited Molly to the mansion. But if that were so, how could I stop him?

"Ward?" Molly asked as she sat up, looking at me, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said, trying to keep the sadness out of my voice, "I was just thinking about my family."

"I'm sorry," she said sympathetically, "We're all going through a lot right now, but you've suffered the most. I think I tend for forget that."

"They weren't just part of my history," I reflected, "They were my history. You, Agnes, and your family are all I have left, now. I'm afraid I'm going to lose that, too."

Molly got out of bed and walked over to me. She crouched down next to me and put her arm over my shoulder. It was hard to ignore her breast just inches from my face.

"I'll always be here for you," she said, "I know Agnes and my whole family will be here for you, too."

"I'm not so sure about that," I reminded her, "Lord Blaze took my family away from me. What makes you so sure that he won't take you away from me, too?"

Molly looked at the floor for a few seconds, then hugged me with both arms over my shoulders, her naked breasts pressing against me. She held me like that for a while before releasing me. She kissed me lightly on the forehead.

"I have to pee," she said, "Then let me get dressed and we'll go for breakfast."

It was still very early when we got to the dining hall. The staff was still setting up when we went through the line.

We were the first students there and we had the whole place to ourselves. As we sat near the window, Molly looked at me.

"Is there anything I can do to cheer you up?" she asked.

"You always cheer me up," I said, faking a smile, "You have a gift for it."

Molly reached across the table and held my hand. Her fingers curled around and gently rubbed the callouses on my palms.

"Do you realize how different my life has been since our first date?" I asked her. "I've not only lost my virginity, but I've experienced sex as a boy and a girl. I learned that magic is real, and I helped you become a full-fledged witch while becoming a warlock in the process. Just last night I experienced bondage, watched my girlfriend fuck two guys at once, and had two football players give me a blowjob."

Molly smiled and then laughed lightly.

"I remember you saying something on that first date about wanting to get out of your comfort zone," she laughed, "I think you've checked that box."

She paused and considered her own words. "Come to think about it, I did, too," she said thoughtfully.

We were almost finished with breakfast when Molly asked me.

"What are your plans for today? Or for the rest of the week for that matter?"

"I want to keep busy today, try to take my mind off things," I replied, "I plan to say goodbye to the team after practice, let them know about the Wards and taking some time off. Tomorrow I'd like to go home to where I grew up and do a funeral or something to remember my family."

"I have some ideas I want to work on," Molly said, "Okay with you if we meet for lunch?"

I smiled. "You know I would never refuse that. See you then."

After my first lecture class, one of the campus security officers pulled me aside.

"There's someone in the dean's office that needs to speak to you," he told me.

There were two men as well as the dean waiting for me. One was police detective Brian Rogers asking me questions about my whereabouts over the weekend. I told him I was with the Spellman's and gave them Molly's number as well as Tish's. He gave me his card and told me that the cause of the fire is still being investigated, but so far, they could find no evidence of arson or an electrical fire.

"I'd like to stop by and work on a funeral or some type of memorial tomorrow if that's okay?" I asked.

"Of course," he replied, "The bodies, or what remains of them, are in the local funeral home, since the town isn't big enough for a morgue. I'm sure the funeral director can help you arrange something."

The second gentleman was from the insurance company.

"Mr. Ward, I'm John Butterfield and I wanted to meet you and let you know about the insurance settlement."

"What settlement?" I asked.

"Your parents and your brother had a platinum life insurance policy with our company," he said, "But it is the most unusual situation I've ever seen."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"First of all, it was taken out by a third-party individual, not the policy holder," Butterfield explained.

"What does that mean in English?" I asked.

"It means that your parents didn't take out the policy, someone else did," Butterfield said, checking his notes.

"It was taken out by a Mister Ignatius Burns," he read, "Mr. Burns even paid all the premiums on the policies for the first 9 months. But yesterday, when we checked the records, we could find no trace of Mr. Ignatius Burns anywhere."

"That does sound unusual," I agreed.

"That's not the only thing unusual about the policies," Butterfield commented.

"Policies? You mean there is more than one?" I asked.

"Oh yes," Butterfield continued. "There were three. One for your father, one for your mother and one for your brother. Each of them was a ten-million-dollar policy."

"Ten million!" I was astonished, "Was there a policy for me as well?"

"No," Butterfield said, "There were just the three policies as I said. You were named as the beneficiary of all three policies."

I was beginning to see where this was going. I could also see Lord Blaze's hand in all of this. He obviously wanted me to know that he was my only family and my wealth and welfare depended on him.

"Mr. Butterfield, I can assure you that I knew nothing of this," I said, "This is the first I've even heard of it."

"I've already gotten that impression from meeting you," Butterfield said, "But I also checked on your financial records. You don't have enough money to pay for even one month's premium on any one of the policies, you couldn't possibly afford to pay for 9 months of all three policies."

"Then why did you want to see me?" I asked, "How can I be of any help to you?"

"I was hoping you could help us find this Ignatius Burns person," he said, "We have a number of questions for him."

"I've never met anyone by that name," I said honestly, "I have no idea why someone I've never met would do that."

"I still haven't told you the oddest thing about those policies," Butterfield said. He had a look of concern on his face. "All of our company's policies have an indemnity clause, especially the platinum policies."

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"For your family's policies, it means that there would be a six-month waiting period before our company would pay out any claims. That means that if anyone in your family died within the first six months, our company wouldn't pay a cent. We would only honor the policy after six months."

"When were the policies taken out?"

"Six months and one day prior to the fire," Butterfield said.

Mr. Butterfield left me his card before he and the police detective left. It was noontime and I headed for the dining hall to meet Molly.

I told Molly about my meeting with the police detective and Mr. Butterfield.

"Lord Blaze had this whole thing planned out from the beginning!" she said.

"Who knows what else he's planned?" I wondered.

"Since this is likely going to be our last night on campus," Molly said on a cheerful note, "I thought it might be fun to go out to dinner with Heather and Peter."

"That's a great idea," I said, but then paused, "Oh no, I hope you weren't thinking of going back to that Thai place."

Molly grinned. It was that same mischievous, impish look that I now love so much.

"I already made reservations," she said, "That's where this whole thing started, and I thought it would be more romantic. Besides, I've already texted Heather and she's agreed. She was going to let Peter know as well. So, everything is all set."

"If Lord Blaze doesn't kill me, I suspect you will," I joked.

"Death by spicy fish sauce," Molly mused, "There are worse ways to go."

I said goodbye to my afternoon professors before heading to the boathouse.

When I got there, I stood up on one of the benches in the middle of the locker room.

"Guys!" I proclaimed with a smile, "I have an announcement to make!"

I looked around to make sure I had everyone's attention. I then stripped, showing the entire team my hairless body. Loud cheers and laughter erupted.

As the laughter was dying down, the coach's voice shouted from the far end of the room.

"Mr. Ward, was that really necessary?"

The room was quiet, and I was still standing naked on top of the bench.

"I have a serious announcement as well," I said, solemnly, "My family died in a fire on Sunday, and I'll be leaving college for a while. I'm leaving tomorrow. I don't know when I'll be back, but I'm going to miss all of you."

I stepped down from the bench and got into my workout clothes, maybe for the last time in a while. The coach came over and asked me into his office.

"I'm sorry to hear about your parents, Tom," he said with a tear in his eye, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"No," I said, "Thank you, coach. Thank you for everything you've done for me."

"You've come a long way from last year," he said, "You're a fine oarsman and have the makings of something great. I hope you come back; you're going to be hard to replace."

"Just don't ask me to do extra hill work when I do," I joked.

"Get out of here," he smiled.

Peter and I walked back to the dorm together. He put his arm around my shoulder.

"I'm going to miss you, buddy," he said, "It won't be the same without you."

"But you'll have the room all to yourself!" I joked, "Your own private room for you and Heather."

"I practically have that now," he smiled, "Ever since you had that first date with Molly."

"Yeah," I smiled, "I figured that's why you guys set us up in the first place."

I wore the same outfit I had on during that first date with Molly. It wasn't out of nostalgia; it was literally the best outfit I had. I really needed to do some clothes shopping. Although if I was forced to live with Lord Blaze, I already had two full closets of clothes waiting for me there.

We met the girls outside their dorm. Peter wanted to drive us to the restaurant in his BMW, but Molly and I convinced him we'd rather walk if for no other reason than old times sake.

I stuck to my mild green curry, but Molly convinced me to try her Pad Thai again. With a pitcher of water ready, I took a taste. It was spicy, but I found I could tolerate it with only one glass of water and two forkfuls of rice to wash it down. Molly, Heather, and Peter all cheered. However, I decided not to press my luck when Molly offered me a second bite.

We talked about the past three weeks, especially the pizza party in the dorm room where Peter and Heather had that "strange dream." Peter told the girls about my exhibitionist announcement in the locker room.

"I would have liked to have seen that," Heather said, smiling. She shot Molly a quick glance as she said it.

Throughout the meal, I noticed that Molly and Heather were exchanging glances at each other. Peter seemed to be smiling more than usual as well.

As we walked back, Molly suggested we go back to my room and talk. Heather and Peter readily agreed.

Once we were inside the room, I asked.

"Okay, what are you guys up to?"

"What do you mean?" Peter asked with a cheesy smile.

"He knows something is up, Peter," Molly said. "What gave it away?"

"For one, you and Heather kept looking at each other in the restaurant. And then I don't ever remember Peter smiling so much."

"Tom, we know how bad you feel about losing your family and having to leave school for a while," Heather said. "So, Molly suggested we all do something together to cheer you up and to celebrate our friendship together."

"Heather said that she and Molly were going to do a strip tease for us," Peter smiled lasciviously.

"But Peter," Molly interjected, "when Heather and I set this up, we decided that you guys are going to do a strip tease for us first."

Peter's smile was replaced with a look of astonishment. "Wait, I didn't agree to that."

"Peter," I said, "Heather and I have both seen you naked. You have nothing to be ashamed of. I think Molly would be impressed with your package."

"And I want to see what Molly's been so happy about," Heather said, looking at me.

The girls pulled the desk chairs into the middle of the room and sat down. Peter and I stood in front of them by the door.

"Okay guys," Molly said, "Showtime!"

Peter and I looked at each other.

"Who starts?" Peter asked me.

"I don't know, maybe we should both go together," I said.

"Quit stalling!" Molly said. "We want to see some skin."

Heather couldn't stop laughing.

Both Peter and I were wearing blazers. I started to open the left side, then switched and started on the right, all the while I was gyrating my hips. Heather and Molly began to make "bump and grind" sounds.

Peter had already taken his jacket off when he saw me making a show with my blazer. He started laughing and decided to follow suit by slowing undoing the buttons of his shirt one button at a time. In the meantime, I turned by back to the girls and slipped the blazer down over both shoulders and looked back at them.

The girls were cheering and laughing.

I had my blazer off, twirled it around my head a couple of times and flung it towards my bed. It landed on the floor. Peter was still slowly working on his buttons but had enough undone to show his muscular shoulders and enough of his chest to see a nipple. He was also gyrating his hips.

I started on my shirt buttons and tried to catch up with Peter, but his shirt was now open, showing his muscular chest and abdomen. I thought I would pull open my shirt and hoped the buttons would undo themselves. Instead, some of the buttons popped off and the shirt ripped where the buttons didn't pop off.

"Oh, fuck!" I said.

The girls were laughing hysterically.

I tried pulling the shirt over my head, but that only made things worse, and I got stuck with the shirt half-way over my head and one arm still in the sleeve. Peter came over, bare chested and helped pull the shirt off.

Still more laughter from the girls.

Now that we were both side-by-side and bare chested, Peter and I looked at each other and gyrated our hips in synchrony. We began to unbuckle out belts and unbutton our jeans.

"Whoa!" the girls said, and the room got quiet.

"Take them off!" Molly jeered.

"Show us that booty!" Heather laughed.

I looked at Peter as I undid my fly and teased the front flaps of my jeans open and closed. Peter followed me and did the same.

"Turn, Peter," I said as I turned my back to the girls and began to slip my jeans past my boxer-covered ass.

Peter did the same and we both slipped out or our jeans at the same time. We turned back to face the girls twirling our pants over our heads. I threw my pants into Molly's lap and Peter threw his into Heather's.

"Show us that man meat!" Molly jeered.

"I want to see those shaved cocks!" Heather added.

I leaned over and whispered into Peter's ear. He smiled and nodded. Then he leaned back and whispered into mine.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes, buddy, I'm sure"

We switched places and now I was standing in front of Heather, and he was standing in front of Molly. We teased the girls by pretending to slip our boxers down and then pulling them up again. Peter moved up close to Molly and I did the same with Heather. I was getting erect and so was Peter.

We flipped around, so that our asses were in the girls faces and pulled the back of our boxers down. I saw Molly reach out and touch Peter's ass cheek. Heather then did the same to me.

We both slipped out of our boxers at about the same time.

"Okay, Ward," Peter said. "One, two. . . Three!"

We jumped a 180 and did a full frontal. Both Peter and I were fully erect, with our cocks only inches from the girls' faces. I placed my boxers in over Heather's face and Peter did the same to Molly.

The girls were laughing and clapping at the performance, but first Molly, then Heather removed the boxers with their thumb and forefingers and made a "stinky face" look as they threw the boxers over their shoulders.

Molly held Peter's cock with one hand and caressed his balls with the other. Heather watched Molly and did the same with me. Both girls then kissed the tip of our cocks, slipping a bit of tongue in the slit at the tip, getting an early taste of the pre-cum that was starting to form.

"Our turn!" Molly announced standing up.