"Oh, by the way, Tina stopped by again. How many girls are you going to string along? First Tina, now Stephanie?"
Hearing that name reminds me, "That was actually her twin, Stacy, last night," I say, trying to hide a smile.
Dennis gives a long whistle, and punches me in the arm. The punch doesn’t hurt as much as it usually did, and I wonder if Vage’s white light is finally showing its effects.
"Three women now? Yeah, I don’t think you can call yourself a geek anymore. He said smiling at me.
I only shake my head, as I get up and go back to my room. How many women I’m with doesn’t make a difference whether I’m a geek or not. The talk of Tina has given me an idea though. Maybe avoiding her is the wrong way to deal with her.
Opening my phone, I notice l’ve missed another call from her (Maybe I should take my phone off vibrate... Naw), i call her back. She answers on the second ring.
"I’m so glad you called me back. I was afraid you were avoiding me again." Her voice is slightly shaky on the other end.
I hate to ruin her mood, but I have to do this, or it’ll never happen.
"Tina, we need to talk." I have a plan, and I’m fairly certain I can deal with the pain my switches are going to cause me. I’m just glad that I’m recovering quicker now compared to few days ago.
"Oh, okay. Is everything alright?"
The quaver in her voice speaks plainly of her fears.
"I’ll come pick you up in an hour, is that alright? ." I avoid fully answering her.
"An hour? Yeah. Is anything wrong?"
"No, I’ll see you then, dress warm" then i hang up. I don’t want to lie to her, but I don’t know what else to say. If I give her too much of a chance, I know my willpower will crumble again.
I shower, and get dressed. I try not to dress too nice, but also don’t want to look like a complete slob. I end up wearing Jeans, and a ’Geeks Are Sexy’ t-shirt from one of my favorite websites.
Tina’s sexy mom answers the door, and she invites me in.
"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes; I’ll let Tina know you’re here."
"I really can’t stay for dinner," I protest, but Tina walks in.
"But we cooked enough for three. Eat with us, and then you can tell me what you want to say." Tina said with an hopeful eyes. I can’t say no to that, I grind my teeth in frustration. I had wanted to talk to her in a public place, but as I think about it, it may be better for her emotional balance if she is home when I’m done.
I just wish and hope she don’t break down this time.
And truth be told, I was also tempted by the free meal, have you ever heard of a single poor University student turning down a free meal?
Dinner was delicious, a fried rice, with roasted chicken and a Baron wine. The table is mostly quiet. I don’t want to talk too much around Tina, but Nancy occasionally asks me questions about school and my plans for the future. For half a heartbeat, I think about telling them that I have no plans if I can’t defeat the demons coming for invasion, but I know how crazy that will sound.
Despite keeping my talking to a minimum, I feel Tina’s foot start to crawl up my leg; her toes caressing my shin for a few minutes, before going up to my crotch. I nearly choke on my food when she does that. A quick glance at her mom shows she hasn’t notice anything, and Tina has a wicked gleam in her eyes.
As soon as l’m done with my plate, I ask if I can be excused, and go to their front room. Tina joins me shortly after.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" She asks as she sits and takes my hands in hers.
I prepare a ’memory’ switch, feeling only a little pain. It might mean that I will have to do this twice, but if she completely flips out, I don’t want her to remember.
"Tina, everything you have been feeling lately is my fault, and I don’t think we should be around each other anymore. It’s not good for you." I try to sound as sincere as I can.
"What do you mean, ’it’s not good for me’? Why not?" The quaver is back in her voice, but she grips my hands tighter.
Time for the truth. Sucking in a deep breath, I say, "I have a special ability. I can make switches with my mind, and do almost anything I want with them." I watch as my words sink in, and then as her face goes to frown, so I rush on,
"That night I came over to help you with your math, I made a switch that makes you wet every time I speak, and a switch that makes your nippples hard too." Even as I speak, I feel the first switch move, and know that my voice is affecting her. This is part of the reason I’d wanted to do this in a public place, but I think her mother protection should be enough, as long as I don’t mess with her own sexual switches too.
She looks at me for a few second, her cheeks going red, probably wondering if I’m crazy.
"Well, that might explain a few things," she doesn’t seem angry, which is a good thing, "but I don’t believe you."
I’m ready for this. I make a switch to make her back itch, then before she can scratch it, I say, "I just made your back itch. I can move that switch anywhere I want to: your foot, or your arm, and even your palm." As I name each place, I move the switch, feeling my headache grow with each change. When it reaches her hands, she yanks them out of mine, and stares at me. This is the part I’m most worried about.
She stares at me in wonder, idly scratching her hand, making the switch shudder..