=::= Amber's PoV =::=

"That's what you're wearing?" mom asked in her totally-not-judgemental tone. "You don't even have any make-up on. Will you at least do something with your hair?"

I rolled my eyes as I shrank a little deeper into my hoodie, "Mom they're my friends. This is how I dress. They've seen me a hundred times and I look like this."

She sighed and frowned as she looked me up and down again, then suggested "Why don't you wear one of your work outfits? You look really nice for work, couldn't you at least put that much effort into looking nice for your friends?"

Mom didn't actually know where I worked, only that I worked retail in a 'boutique'. I had a feeling if she knew I sold adult toys and 'marital aids' she'd be less enthusiastic about how I dressed for my job.

"I already look nice for my friends," I told her. "They'd rather have me happy and comfortable than dressed up fancy but uncomfortable."

It felt like as soon as Tracey stopped bugging me to dress up and show off my new body, mom took up the torch and now I had her pestering me about it. Not exactly the same of course, my sister kept trying to get me into short skirts and sexy stuff. Basically she wanted me to start dressing like Melissa. Mom was more like she wanted me all pretty and fancy as if I was going to church or something. She kept dropping hints that I needed some nice dresses and she kept acting disappointed that I only bothered with make-up when I went to work.

She made that totally-not-judging-you frown as she shook her head slowly. Obviously she was disappointed.

There was actually very good reason I didn't want to dress up like mom was suggesting, but I absolutely couldn't tell her what it was. I'd already figured out that I had the same supernatural succubus beauty thing as Melissa and Susan, but when I was hidden in my big comfy hoodie that seemed to turn it off.

And as of two weeks ago I started getting the 'sex sense' as Melissa called it. I got images and intuition about what sexual stuff people were thinking about when they looked at me.

Put those things together and the last thing I wanted was having my succubus beauty thing activated while I was at home with my family, because my head would start filling up with what my parents and sister were thinking about when they looked at me. And I really didn't need to see that stuff again.

I turned and wandered out of the kitchen to avoid any more discussion about my outfit. Mara Melissa and Susan would arrive soon and there was more than enough on my mind already.

Having Susan over was fine, she'd been coming by regularly again lately. Mom still liked Sue, so did Tracey. Dad was never that close to her in the past but he liked her too. And apart from that time Susan showed off her magic, her visits had always been pretty calm and family-like. She was practically family anyways. Back when I was fourteen she was like a cool big sister, now my family treated her like a cousin we lost touch with but suddenly came back into our lives.

What had me on edge was the impending meeting between my family and Mara and Melissa. I was fairly confident Melissa wouldn't show up in some kind of super-sexy slutty outfit, but even if she came dressed for church my parents would still probably react funny to her. Like no matter what she wore, Melissa had that effect on most people. And I knew my mom would probably be judgemental about her appearance. Especially if she was putting on her 'bimbo' act, though I was fairly sure Melissa wouldn't do that. And I knew she was really smart, so if my folks gave her a chance and tried talking with her they'd probably be impressed.

Mara on the other hand... She was the bigger concern. She was basically one-and-a-half demons wrapped up in a small sexy happy goth package. And she was an unpredictable half-demon troublemaker, by her own admission. My family knew me and Susan were involved with magical stuff, I was positive they knew or at least suspected Mara and Melissa were too. And if anybody asked about it there was a very good chance Mara's horns and tail would come out.

It didn't help any that today was Friday the thirteenth. Not that I was superstitious or anything, but being on a first-name basis with a real live demoness and being part-succubus myself and close friends with a couple more half-succubi and a half-demon... Let's just say I was a little more aware of the strange and supernatural than I'd been a month ago.

My anxiety was just starting to get rolling when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" I called as I hurried to the door.

The three of them were all smiles and hugs as they came in. Sue first, then Mara and Melissa. They got out of their boots and I took all their coats, and I realized mom was going to hassle me some more about my clothes.

All three of them had dressed up. Susan was in a pretty green dress, Melissa was wearing a tasteful pink skirt and blouse, and even Mara was wearing a cute little black dress. Suddenly I felt like a dope for being in the same thing I wore at college every day.

Mom came out of the kitchen and smiled, "Hello Susan. You're looking lovely this evening."

"Thanks Mrs. Dubois," Sue replied as she smiled back. "How are you?"

Before she and mom could strike up a conversation I suggested, "Let's go into the den so we can do all the introductions at once?"

Mom nodded and led the way, then Mara and Melissa followed me and Sue took up the rear. Tracey and dad were already in there, and dad got to his feet to meet my friends.

Like I was afraid of, mom dad and Tracey were all staring at Melissa. And my stupid sex-sense thing was buzzing, telling me what my family was thinking about when they looked at the tall sexy blonde bombshell. Most of the time I was able to ignore it, but now I had something else to worry about. Mom dad and Tracey were suddenly surrounded by three part-succubi and one and a half sex demons. The humans were outnumbered.

I did my best to ignore all that and pushed on with the introductions. "This is Melissa Perry, and that's Mara Carter. Mara, Melissa, this is my mom Helen and my dad Charles, and my sister Tracey."

Everyone exchanged polite greetings, then dad said "Why don't you young ladies all make yourselves comfortable and I'll get everyone something to drink. Melissa, Mara, Sue, what's your poison?"

"Do you have any vodka coolers?" Mara asked.

Dad shook his head "I don't actually, but I'm pretty sure I can mix something up for you that'll do the trick?"

Sue and Melissa just asked for white wine. And dad already knew what the rest of us liked, so he headed into the kitchen and mom went to help him.

Me and my three friends all squeezed onto the sofa together, while Tracey was still staring at Melissa. I tried not to cringe too hard as my sister started asking questions.

"So Melissa, Mara, are you two magic as well? I mean, can you do magic stuff like Sue?"

Mara smirked but kept her mouth shut, while Melissa replied "Not really Tracey. Sorry to disappoint."

Knowing that all three of my friends were probably getting the same sorts of images from my sister as I was didn't help make me feel any better.

Fortunately mom and dad returned with the drinks, and that was enough of a distraction for now.

Tracey got cola, I had rum and root beer, and dad had a beer. Mom was drinking wine with Melissa and Susan, and dad handed Mara a tall glass of something pale yellow and fizzy. "Try that Mara, let me know if it's ok?"

The cute sexy goth had a sip then grinned, "Oh, yeah that's tasty! Thanks Mr. Dubois."

With everyone's thirst taken care of, we were all able to relax a bit and get into some conversation. And thankfully it wasn't too cringey. Like I figured, Melissa impressed my folks with her smarts. Both her and Sue were pretty clever, I had a feeling the two of them would be unbeatable at trivia games. And Mara mostly kept quiet.

Not that she was anti-social or anything, but I already knew her well enough to know she probably worried about blurting out something silly or embarrassing. So she smiled and nodded, she responded when people asked her questions, but she didn't really jump in unless prompted.

And I was finally able to relax a little. It felt like this was going to be ok after all. The conversation was all safe stuff, like how everyone was doing at college and university, how the renovations were coming at Sue's house, how Sue and Mara and Melissa all met, that kind of thing. So far my parents only knew Mara and Melissa and Susan were friends and roommates, and fortunately nobody really went out of their way to fix that misunderstanding, which helped us avoid that whole difficult conversation.

Mom excused herself a few times to check on dinner, and dad refilled everyone's drinks whenever they got low. Melissa let dad know the three of them used a ride-share so nobody was driving tonight which was good, they all got to indulge a little.

By the time dinner was ready I was on my second rum and root beer and Mara was on her third vodka drink. As we all got up to head to the dining room I was definitely feeling the buzz and I knew dad had been heavy-handed with the mix again.

I noticed Mara actually seemed a little wobbly on her feet and I realized I should have said something earlier. Dad was fine pouring wine or beer but any time he had to mix drinks everything tended to be a double.

While everyone was settling into their chairs around the table dad asked, "Who needs another drink? Mara, your glass is almost empty. Sue, Melissa, more wine?"

"Actually," I spoke up first, "Maybe we could just get water? For me and Mara anyways."

The sexy goth pouted and drained her glass, "Thish ish really nice though."

She'd been quiet for the last half hour or so and hearing her slurring like that told me she'd had more than enough. Both Melissa and Susan noticed as well.

"Mara are you ok?" Melissa asked. "Amber's right, you should drink some water."

"Fine," Mara pouted again.

As dad took the empty glasses I whispered to him, "You're pouring doubles again dad. She's had too much."

"I didn't," he protested. "I was careful Amber. Anyways I'll get some water."

Mom had Tracey helping with the food so they missed that exchange. Normally I'd be pressed into helping as well, but I got a pass since it was my guests we were entertaining.

A few minutes later the food was all on the table, me and Mara had glasses of water, Sue and Melissa had more wine, dad had another beer. And Tracey got a glass of wine since it was dinner and we had guests.

The food was ok, I didn't think it was anything special but mom was proud of it. It was home-made tourtiere and mom would claim it was an old family recipe but I was positive she copied it out of a magazine when I was younger.

Sue and Melissa both dug in and seemed to be enjoying it. Or at least they politely pretended to enjoy it. Actually I realized Susan probably had it before, mom tended to make it every so often when she wanted to impress people. Mara on the other hand was acting a little off. She picked at hers and had a couple small bites, but she didn't seem to be interested in eating.

I knew my three friends skipped meals regularly, and I knew why. But Melissa and Sue both handled their business earlier in the week, even Lily promised to do that too, so all three of them would be able to eat tonight.

Mom noticed as well and asked, "Mara? Is there something wrong with the tourtiere?"

"Nah," Mara replied as she made a dismissive gesture with her hand. "S'good, but I don't eat this sort of thing. I tasted it though, s'nice."

Me and Susan and Melissa all sort of exchanged glances with each other, but they didn't seem to know what was going on either. I was still blaming my dad for making the drinks too strong, but there wasn't anything we could do about it now.

My anxiety started creeping upwards again. It felt like this nice quiet family meal was going to get awkward, between mom being uptight that one of my friends was apparently turning her nose up at mom's favourite recipe and dad over-serving drinks.

Everyone else was still eating, but the conversation had sort of died. Mara sat back in her seat, she wasn't even drinking her water now, she just sort of looked around as if she was bored and drunk. Melissa and Sue both looked uneasy, and I had a feeling all three of us were starting to think maybe it'd be best to get Mara home. Or at least get her away from my folks.

That's when she suddenly looked at my dad and gave him a wide sloppy grin, "Y'know? You remind me of this guy I met in Pompeii. Caecelius? He was all right. And so are you. You're all right."

For a few seconds it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone had stopped eating, everyone was staring at Mara.

She seemed oblivious to the attention as she leaned towards my dad and in a conspiratorial whisper that wasn't the least bit discreet she added, "His wife though, Metella? Total. Buzzkill."

"Mara?" Melissa said in a quiet anxious voice. "Are you feeling ok? Maybe you need to go lie down?"

The cute goth giggled, "Mara's not here right now. She passed out about twenty minutes ago."

I felt a shock of fear go through me, and I was positive Susan and Melissa felt it too. If that wasn't Mara then it had to be Lily and oh no this wasn't good.

Susan suddenly looked at my dad and asked, "Mr. Dubois what was in those drinks you were serving her?"

Dad looked just as stunned as mom and Tracey. He shook his head, "It was just vodka. Vodka and Red Bull."

"Oh crap," Melissa almost facepalmed. "Mara can't have caffein! She must be having a reaction."

Mom looked pale, "Should I call an ambulance?"

"I'm fine!" Mara insisted as she made an exaggerated dismissive gesture. "It's all good. I'm just catching up with Caecelius here."

Susan shook her head "No Mrs. Dubois she doesn't need an ambulance. I think we should get her to lie down though."

Me and Sue and Melissa all got to our feet as we moved to help Mara. Or Lily. Or both of them.

"We can put her in my bed," I suggested. "Let her sleep it off in there?"

Sue and Melissa both nodded, and the three of us pulled Mara to her feet. We almost made it out of the dining room when mom let out a yelp. I looked back and saw mom dad and Tracey all staring wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

Mara's tail was waggling around hanging out from under the hem of her dress. And I realized her horns had become visible too.

"Uh," Melissa grimaced. "It's the caffein? Allergic reaction? She'll be fine once she sleeps it off!"

"What she said!" I stated, then I quickly guided us all away from the dining room and over to the staircase.

Mara or Lily didn't put up a fight but as we dragged her up the stairs she asked, "Where are we going? What's the rush? I wanted to talk to Caecelius back there. You know, he looks really good for being two thousand years old."

"Yeah I'll let him know," I told her as we got her into my room. Soon she was laying on my bed and she definitely looked drunk or high or something.

Susan asked quietly "Is she really allergic to caffein?"

Melissa shrugged, "No idea. I just know she quit drinking it after the whole reincarnation thing."

"Lily?" Susan asked as she looked at the tripping half-demon on my bed. "Are you ok? Are you allergic to caffein?"

Mara or Lily giggled, "It's not good for demons? So we avoid it. No cola, coffee, tea, any of that stuff? But we didn't have any of that tonight."

Sue sighed, "You did. Those drinks Mr. Dubois made were full of caffein. It's an energy drink, you probably had the equivalent of three or four cups of strong coffee."

I added, "And probably six ounces of vodka. Dad makes everything a double."

Lily giggled again, "Well that's not good."

"So what do we do?" Melissa asked. "Lily can you use magic to get the stuff out of your system?"

"What magic? Who's Lily?" Tracey asked from my bedroom door. "And what the hell Amber? Why's your girlfriend got horns and a tail?!"

This time I actually did facepalm. "Tracey we really need some privacy right now ok?"

She ignored me as she came into my room, her eyes fixed on Mara's horns.

Lily was definitely drunk and almost seemed giddy as she grinned, "Hey Tracey! Wanna be a succubus?"

"No!" me and Susan both said to Lily at the same time.

My little sister's eyebrows shot up and she demanded "Wait don't I get a say in this?"

Me and Susan did it again, we both looked at Tracey and gave her a stereo "No!"

Melissa sat down on the edge of my bed and said in an apologetic voice, "Sorry Lily. You're not allowed to sign any contracts while you're drunk. That's one of the rules."

"Oh," Lily frowned, "I'm sure there's a good reason for that. Sorry Tracey, maybe next time."

My sister looked like she had a hundred more questions on her mind and I wasn't prepared to deal with any of them. Fortunately Susan picked up on my impending panic and stepped forward.

"C'mon Tracey," Sue said as she put an arm around my sister's shoulders. "Let's go back downstairs. I'm sure you and your parents have questions, and I'll answer what I can. Amber and Melissa are going to stay here and help Mara recover."

"Thank you!" I whispered at Sue while she led Tracey out of my room.

Then I slumped into my chair and asked Melissa, "What do we do?"

She shrugged, "Stay with Lily, maybe get her some more water, and hope it wears off sooner rather than later."

I was about to respond when there was a faint snoring sound from my bed. Some time in the last couple seconds Lily had passed out completely.

"That works too," the tall sexy blonde said with another shrug. "Let her sleep it off."

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