To an intimate get together

You make your way through the several city blocks that make up downtown proper, until the crowds dissipate, the streetlights become more infrequent, and the roar of traffic is left far behind.

This part of the town is quieter, but there’s still signs of life. Empty beer bottles half falling out of full recycling bins, people moving behind drawn window blinds like true-life scale puppet shows, and the odd lost student, face down in their phone or phone light turned on to guide their way down the dark residential streets.

Eventually though, you come to Louise’s apartment, hearing the rock music from downstairs. You ring the buzzer for her apartment, and a moment later they buzz you in.

You find the door to her apartment ajar, left open for you.

You walk in, and you find the room warmly lit, a quarter eaten pizza still in the box on the coffee table, and two still young but definitely older than you women sitting on the couches that dominate the living room.

“John!” Louise laughs, standing up as you pull one shoe off and then the other just inside the door. She is about 5’8”tall, with brown hair that goes down to the small of her back, with big brown eyes and a round face. She is wearing a sweatshirt, a pair of sweatpants, and mismatched socks. She puts down her beer can as she passes her low coffee table.

“Hey, nice to see you too,” you reply.

“Long time, no see,” Louise smiles, going in for a familial hug. As she closes your tense. You smell flowers and girly perfume just as Louise hugs you.

“Yeah,” you reply as you stoop down to hug your older sister. When your bodies meet, knowledge flashes like electric current arcing where her cheek meets yours. One hundred and one seasons old. She is happy with her life so far but still regularly stressed. You see gray-white through your third eye; her body is in the luteal stage. Preparing for her next cycle. No strong preferences for children, yet. Of your bloodline. Possessing divine blood. You feel a sudden heat in your chest. The dreamlike sight of Louise looking up at you through gossamer and silk robes stir something in your mind. Her womb―

You break the hug first, blinking hard. Getting hit with so much information so fast is still shocking for you. Your senses suddenly feel fried.

“Tatiana, this is my brother John,” Louise says, motioning to you with the beer can in her hand. “And John, this is Tatiana,” she continues, motioning to one of the girls sitting on the couch.

Tatania sits reclined on the couch with her legs crossed at the knee, jet black hair styled into a soft mullet down to her shoulders, a round face with green eyes and big wings of eyeliner, pale skin, and wearing a plain black dress that reaches down to her mid-thigh that completes a very clearly goth image.

“Hey,” Tatiana says, raising her beer in greeting.

“Hi,” you reply, stepping forwards, seeing gray with your third eye. Contraception.

“Oh, is this John?”

You look and follow the unfamiliar voice. Just coming out of the kitchen is another older looking woman. She is about 5’5” tall, brown hair, with big doe-size blue eyes, and a button nose with a big friendly smile on her face.

“Oh,” you say, “hi?”

“John,” Louise interjects, “this is Victoria.”

“Nice to meet you,” you smile.

“What do you want to drink by the way?” Louise asks, slipping past Victoria into the kitchen, stooping down to look in the fridge.

“What do you have?” you ask, trying to nonchalantly look at Victoria as she goes and takes Louise’s spot on the couch. Your third eye sees intense white, more intense then the luteal stage white you saw with Louise or the cashier girl.

“We have beer, beer, wine, and beer,” Louise states.

“I’ll take a beer then,” you say.

“Here,” Louise replies, holding out a beer to you. You walk over to her in the kitchen.

“Thanks,” you say, taking the beer and cracking it open.

“Go on, go on,” Louise says, shepherding you back into the living room of her apartment.

“So John,” Victoria says, “what do you do?”

“I’m a student at Poly State,” you reply, taking a sip of your beer.

“Still in undergrad, right?” Tatiana asks.

“Yep,” you say, “and what about the both of you?”

“Oh we’re both graduate students,” Victoria states.

“Oh cool, what do you study?” Tatiana asks.

“Anthropology,” you say, “In particular archaeological anthropology.”

Tatiana and Victoria sit and look at you a moment, eyes searching. An uncomfortable moment passes.

“John, they’re art students like me,” Louise interjects, picking up her own beer and sitting back down on the end of the couch.

“Oh,” you start, putting down your beer on the table, “well it’s basically the study of the past from artifacts, you know?”

A moment of silence passes.

“It’s Indiana Jones stuff,” Louise states.

“Oh!,” Tatiana and Victoria say in unison and nod sagely.

You give Louise a look and purse your lips at her.

“Am I wrong?” she asks impishly.

“Uh, yeah?” you sharply reply.

“You’ve been spending too much time around Katherine,” Louise states and takes another long sip.

“Whose Katherine?” Taitana asks.

“The little sister,” Victoria replies.

“What makes you say that?” you ask Louise.

“Well for starters,” she exhales, “you expect that people actually know what Anthropology is.”

“And?” you ask.

“That’s only a reasonable expectation for a mega-nerd like her,” Louise states.

“Maybe it’s all that weed you keep on smoking finally getting to your head?” you shoot back, “Dad always said that stuff would make you go stupid someday.”

“First off, I only smoked weed once―”

“And then what?” you ask.

“She mostly bakes it,” Tatiana says.

“Oh?” you say.

Louise shot an accusatory glance at her friend.

“She has the best hemp cookies and weed brownies in town,” Tatiana states.

“I’m quite good at it,” Louise grins, “years of Girl Scout bake sales finally paying off for me.

“I can see that,” you laugh, looking at Louise’s torso. Her pendulous breasts clearly visible pressing through the fabric of her sweatshirt.

“Hey!” Louise says, wrapping her arms around her stomach, “where do you think that you’re looking?”

“Oh,” you reply, sipping beer and looking elsewhere, “nowhere in particular.”

“Sure,” Louise replies, eyes narrowing at you.

“So what do you two study, if you don’t mind me asking?” you say.

“MFA in Film,” Tatiana replies.

“I'm working towards an MA in Theatre,” Victoria adds, nodding.

“I see,” you say, “a real diverse group of friends, Louise.”

“Snot,” Louise replies.

So the intimate little get together continues, the four of you gathered around the couch and coffee table as it slowly is packed with more and more beer bottles and wine glasses.

OCC: Comment with which girl you should chat up at the party path I should write first