Dinner with the Girls

After some thought, I decided on garlic herb chicken with asparagus and mashed potatoes. Another smash hit from Mr. Wells. I had to help clean up his apartment before he relented and gave me the recipe, but it was well worth the trade. Natalie had a weak spot for chicken dishes, so I had confidence she would appreciate it as much as I did when I first had it.

When school let out, Chloe and I went shopping. I saw her eye the wine section longingly. Being underage was unfortunate, but I think the food and company would far outweigh the loss of ****.

Chloe’s good mood only grew as we got back to my apartment and started getting things ready. I let her help in the kitchen, peeling potatoes and some other basic things before gently guiding her focus to things outside the kitchen. Her joyous Noise danced around me as I cooked, bolstering my well-being in the way only she could.

When I got to a lull where I was waiting on things to cook, I cleaned up the kitchen where I could before turning my attention to Chloe. She was moving around the table, getting things set up. My intention had been to help, but that seemed to fade away once I saw her. A magnetic energy was about her, my eyes following her happy movements as my feet rooted in place. She was happy and nervous and confident and worried all at once as they ebbed and flowed in her Noise. Even after all this time, she was as fascinating and wonderful as the day I met her.

The impact she had made on me was everywhere. My apartment was no longer recognizable. The spartan place it had been the two years I’d lived here was gone. Various nick-knacks decorated the place as she spent increasingly longer periods of time here, picking up things here and there when she went out with Sophie. My bedroom was stuffed with the clothes Sophie had bought her, the bathroom filled with the various bath products she used.

Chloe had turned my living space into a home, with her being a central, irreplaceable focus.

Looking up from her fussing over placement of plates and silverware, her Noise shifted to a more uniform one as emotions like embarrassment, joy, and a few other positive ones took hold. Her cheeks were pink as she blushed under my stare. “What?”

“Just looking at my beautiful girlfriend.”

Her blush burned deeper, looking away. “Stop!” Eyes widening slightly, she shifted her place to keep the table between us. “Stay away!” The playfulness in her Noise suggested she wanted the opposite. Her giggles filled the air as I chased her around the table. When she finally allowed me to catch her, I felt the warmth of her Noise wrap around me. Holding her against me, my hands ran over her as I basked in the comfort of her presence.

A spike of annoyance brought my attention to her. It was the most astounding thing, as if it reached out to guide my eyes to her. She was frowning. “You’re looking at my Noise again.” Before I could say anything, the frown disappeared as a teasing smile replaced it. “Honestly. Sometimes I think you are only dating me for my Noise.”

I **** a smile of my own. “You caught me.”

Playfulness danced around me. “Much rather you date me for my body.”

“Why not both?”

“Greedy man.”

I was slowly leaning in. “Can’t help it. I want all of you.”

Excitement rippled through her Noise as our lips grew closer. Right before they met, a timer went off in the kitchen.

A twinge of disappointment ran over her as her Noise reacted to the interruption. “Better get that,” she whispered. Before I could move away, she jumped forward to kiss me. It was as powerful as it was brief. I looked at her as she moved away, a mischievous grin on her face as her Noise was filled with…interesting…emotions. I didn’t need to read thoughts to understand what she was thinking about. “Now you can get that.”

Going back to the kitchen, I attended to the food as I enjoyed her pleasant Noise in the background. At the same time, my thoughts wandered. Was that acceptable? It seemed natural. I did it because I wanted to, and she enjoyed it. Most of all, was that enough? I knew Daniel was right and we needed to talk about our relationship, but that could wait.

Alexis and Natalie arrived at the perfect time. I had gotten everything set when I heard the knock. Once more, Chloe’s noise was blinding me to the wider world. Chloe rushed off to greet them and I heard the excited chatter as the sisters entered.

“Something smells delicious,” Natalie said. I took a moment to check her Noise. Sadness still lingered in the background, but a number of positive emotions kept it there.

“We brought desert!” Alexis said, pushing past her sister. “Best store-bought pie this side of town. Picked it myself.” Pride pulsed through her Noise as she set it on the table.

“Jake makes us this fabulous meal and you’re bragging about buying a pie?”

“Uh, yeah. Do you know how long I had to wait for this? Like, ten minutes.”

Chloe had come over to Alexis, patting her arm in a comforting manner. “You poor thing!”

Grabbing Chloe’s hand, she held it against her chest. “Thank you for understanding my suffering.”

The two giggled and I watched their Noise feeding off the other. Even Natalie’s seemed bolstered by the sight. As the two talked, I moved over to Natalie. “No wine?”

A sharp pull of negative emotions grabbed at her Noise as she fought to recover. “Sadly, no. I’m, uh, avoiding **** for the time being.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said quickly as a rested a hand on her shoulder. “Plenty of other offerings. Water, tea, milk, have a few different types of soda—”

As they went to their seats, I got drink orders for everyone. Conversation was light as we dug in. The girls gushed over the food. I nodded knowingly. Of course it was delicious. Mr. Wells was the best kept secret in the building. The man knew his way around the kitchen. While the girls conversation was lively, I mostly remained silent. I didn’t shun from the social interaction, but my attention was more on their Noise than anything else. The radiant movement of their emotions was mesmerizing. Alexis seemed the core, pulling at the other two and forcing them to dance to her pace.

Beyond anything else, it was a soothing experience. My very being seemed to be floating on a placid lake of warm water.

As dinner began to wind down, I began clearing the table. Alexis challenged Chloe to a, ‘battle to the ****’ and the two rushed off to the living room giggling. Natalie stayed back to help me clear the table and put the leftovers away. I made sure to split it in two so that the sisters could take back a share for later.

“Thanks for this,” she said as we divided the chicken. I looked over at her as she focused on the containers. “I know Alexis is coming from a good place, but it is exhausting having her fuss over me all the time.” She gave a humorless chuckle. “Is it bad I almost wish she would go out and pick up a guy or something?”

“I’ll have Chloe distract her; get her out of the house at least.”

“Thank you. I love how Alexis is doing all this, but I need some space to…”

“Process?” She nodded thankfully. “Understood.”

We settled into a comfortable silence. She rinsed off dishes and I loaded them into the dishwasher. From the sounds coming from the living room, Alexis was losing. Once we were finished, Natalie leaned back against the counter. Staring out at the laughing girls, there was a far away look to her gaze. I saw darker and melancholy emotions enter into her Noise. I said nothing, unsure of what to say. Instead, I settled against the counter next to her. My hand rested against hers. A ripple of surprise followed by the warmth of gratitude. The brief moment faded, replaced in the storm of other emotions. She seemed to hesitate a moment, but there was a spike of emotions as she spoke.

“I think the worst part was how clueless I was.” I looked over. She wasn’t look at me, focused on some distant point beyond my apartment. Her voice was soft, as if she were afraid to even hear it herself. “I was so convinced that we were in love. That my feelings were shared. Never once did I doubt it.” Her head dipped. “All I can think about is when I lost him. Where? There was a time when he loved me. I know that.”

I said nothing. Nothing I could say could fix or soothe the emotions within her. Only by expelling them would she have the chance to heal. I would have thought this would be Alexis’ role. Or maybe this was what she needed: a blank wall detached from it all. No judgment. No empathizing or pity. Just someone who would listen.

“The only thing I can think of is when I… when I told him about my past. That combined with his asshole roommates. They all see women as sluts, and the ones they hang out with certainly reinforce that belief. When he found out his girlfriend was an actual slut...” She took a deep breath before wiping at tears that were forming.

“You aren’t—”

“Jake,” she interrupted with a light laugh. “I get what you are trying to say, but I was. I accept my past, but only because I believed I moved on from that life. I worked hard to put that behind me. The binge drinking, the partying, the sex, all of it. I was so proud of myself. A party girl with no future, loaning out my body to anyone who pretended to care, to a woman with a respectable job, a loving relationship with a wonderful boyfriend, raising a wayward teen who was hellbent on following her big sister’s mistakes. Not everything was perfect, but it was mine. Something I could look back on and not feel disgust and regret.”

I immediately put my arm over her shoulders and pulled her close, trying to stem the oncoming storm of emotions that flooded her Noise. My touch was little comfort.

“It was all a lie, Jake. All of it. I’m still the fuck-up I was back then. My relationship was an illusion. Alexis hates her Gift and believes she ruined my life. At the end of the day, I’m still the lost and helpless slut enjoying sex with whoever the hell wants me.”

She was spiraling, her negative emotions feeding on themselves in a feedback loop. I cut her off before she could continue.

“You are letting your negative emotions color your thoughts. It biases them and makes you see only what you want to believe.” Facing her, my voice was firm as she looked up at me. “The Natalie I know is none of those things. The Natalie I know goes out of her way to make a weird, young boy feel welcome in a strange new world. Who enjoys torturing her sister with a horrible and cheesy movie. A woman who isn’t afraid to dish out some hard love to a sister who adores her. Adoration for a kind woman with a big heart. Who constantly puts others before herself because that’s the type of person she is.

“Natalie, you are a wonderful person not for what you’ve overcome, but because that is who you are. Nothing can change that.” Reaching up, I gently wiped at the tears on her cheeks. “You have nothing to prove. Not to me, not to your sister, and certainly not to yourself. You don’t have to be perfect, Natalie, and you don’t need to stand alone. Alexis is here for you. I’m here for you. Even Chloe once you get to know her better. The you now is worth being here for, flaws and all.”

Taking a deep breath, she wiped at her eyes as she tried to collect herself. I scratched at my chin, studying her Noise. It was still full of sorrow, but it was no longer the maelstrom of negativity. I returned to leaning against the counter and watched Alexis and Chloe battle it out. Chloe was screaming as Alexis tackled her, trying to swat the controller out of her hand. Even though Alexis was shouting threats and demanding her to surrender the controller or else their friendship was over, all I could see was joy and happiness in their Noise.

“Sorry,” Natalie said, still wiping at her face. “I don’t know why I said all that—”

“No need to apologize. I’ll be here, Natalie. Big or small, I will always stand with my friends.”

The smile she gave me was familiar. Something I might find on Alexis. “You know, if only you were a few years older…” I raised an eyebrow. “You would make great boyfriend material.” Her smile grew as she nudged me with her elbow. “I might have even tried to steal you for myself.”

I made a show of sighing. The playfulness of her Noise was encouraging. Like a small child peeking out from behind the curtains. It needed a bit of coaxing to come out.“Resisting one Parker sister is exhausting enough.”

Together, we settled into a comfortable silence as we watched the two entertain themselves. I felt her head rest against my arm. Saying nothing, I allowed the silence to continue.

Her Noise told me all I needed to know.

After a few hours, we ended up watching a movie. It was a comfortable silence. When the movie ended, Alexis invited Chloe over. Sensing her hesitation, I quickly nudged Chloe to accept. She still seemed unsure, but I knew she needed a girl’s night as much as Natalie and Alexis. It would be a good bonding moment for the three of them—especially since Natalie seemed to be doing better. There was still a long healing process ahead, but I was satisfied by what I saw in her Noise. The negative emotions that had been eating at her were stagnant. A night with Chloe and Alexis might be what she needed to give her that extra push she needed.

Chloe had worried about leaving me alone, but that fear was unfounded. Even though I was technically the only one in my apartment, their Noise never left me. I was used to seeing Alexis and Natalie’s Noise if I concentrated enough, but Chloe seemed to be an amplifier. I was used to picking up Chloe from far longer distances, but the curious thing was how Natalie and Alexis’ Noise were as clear as hers.

It was a curiosity, but the main thing I pondered was if this was a breach of privacy. It wasn’t like I was trying to observe their Noise, but Chloe’s was always hard to ignore. And with its soothing presence, it wasn’t something I wanted to ignore.

In the end, I **** myself to sleep, blanketed in the warm and relaxing Noise from the three in the apartment beside me.