“… to meet you too, Pete. I have heard lots about you.” Charlotte smiled demurely as her hand shook mine. I blinked a few times, once again finding myself on my back in my hospital room, Charlotte still dressed in her nurse scrubs and Philippa smirking from her place next to her.

 

“We will have to get back to your city another time.” Her disembodied voice sounded in my mind, “But I’m glad to finally be able to read you”

 

“I’m looking forward to it.” I thought back, suddenly realizing that the glowing knot of excitement and happiness in my senses was, in fact, coming from the beauty shaking my hand. The tingle of that kiss still teased my lips, and her mind giggled lyrically as I unconsciously ran my tongue over it. “I still have questions about ‘The Club.’”

 

“We will catch up soon, I promise.” Charlotte’s voice went on as her fingers let go of mine. “And I will tell you everything. But do yourself a favor, be careful around Marco if you see him again before you see me. I don’t trust him.”

 

She turned her attention back to Philippa, “You’re right, he is a charmer.” She said with a giggle, nodded to me with a smile, and then turned to help doc Matthews with whatever it was that he was doing. There was a staggering amount of casual flirting being done by the nurses in this hospital, and the doc seemed completely oblivious to all of it. I couldn’t tell you why I thought that was so amusing.

 

Philippa’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. “You’ll be taken down to the physiotherapist after visiting hours,” she said, her lips still curled up in an amused smirk as my eyes left Charlotte’s impossibly attractive rear and flicked back to her. “So, once doctor Matthews has finished, I’m going to help you dress into something more appropriate, and, as soon as visiting hours are finished, an orderly will be up to take you to your appointment. Sounds good?”

 

“And I’m gonna get my eyes on that package” Her mind finished for her.

 

“Sounds like a plan.” I said with a growing smile, easily flirting back with…

 

“Jimmy… dammit. Don’t forget about Jimmy. You are NOT going to fuck a girl he likes.”

 

“I hate to bring this up, sir. But he has gone after girls you have liked in the past.” Jeeves pitched in.

 

“Shut up, Jeeves.”

 

“Yes, Sir.”

 

My eyes flicked between my guests as the minutes ticked by. Charlotte, now readable, was struggling to concentrate on anything that doc Matthews was saying. Her eyes kept flicking back to mine with a mixture of excitement, relief, and amazement. Despite my unassuming looks and vulnerable position, the discovery of my powers and the sight of my walls and the city beyond it consumed her thoughts. It wasn’t sexual, but that kiss had unlocked something, there was a bond between us, a closeness, an intimacy even. It was as new to her as it was to me, and both of us seemed to be enjoying the glow of it. The fact that I was more powerful than she was able to properly comprehend, gave me an air of mystery and superiority that piqued her curiosity in just the right way. She was intrigued.

 

Philippa, on the other hand, was wet. She was veritably soaking; she could feel her wetness coating the insides of her thighs with every movement. It occurred to me that while Becky’s concern over my wellbeing had limited the effects of my powers on her, and Charlotte was, as far as I could tell, pretty much immune to them. Philippa had no such luxuries and had been growing increasingly attracted to me as time went on. Living with and feeling the effects of her almost uncontrollable arousal every time she was near me. She was a seductress at the best of times, enjoying the build-up, the tease, and the anticipation that, for her, made the inevitable marathon sex session all the better. Her eyes were burning into me with a hunger that I could scarcely quantify.

 

The doctor was also distracted. If he didn’t find a suitable gift for his wife, he would end up on the couch again. He really hated that fucking couch. 

 

After another few minutes, Charlotte and the doc seemed to have finished their tasks and said their goodbyes, Charlotte flicking her eyes to Philippa and back to me with a knowing grin before following Matthews out of the room.

 

My eyes followed them as they left before turning back towards Philippa. I watched as she locked the door behind them and walked back towards me. She was almost vibrating in arousal, stopping at the side of my bed with some folded clothes in her hand. It didn’t even occur to me to wonder where they had come from, or if they would fit my new body, my attention was pulled elsewhere. Her eyes burned with hunger; her scrub top peaked on her chest over her diamond-hard nipples, and her legs ground together to scratch an itch that she knew wouldn’t be scratched today, not by me anyway.

 

“Right,” she said with a sly grin. “Time to get you naked.”

 

I arched a playful eyebrow at her. It was hard not to let that kind of arousal rub off on me, and I could already feel my resolve concerning Jimmy faltering. What’s more, I was starting to feel more confident; confidence around women was never something I had felt before, but knowing how she was feeling and her thoughts towards me was an edge that I didn’t have in my old life.

 

“I am all yours.” I smiled back.

 

She moved towards the bed, leaning over to release the side guards. As she drew the sheet back, her breath washed over my ear as her lips drew closer. “I’ll remember you said that” she purred as she slowly revealed my body from beneath its coverings.

 

Contrary to what I thought she would be most interested in, her eyes immediately went to – of all things – my arms. She traced the contours of the new muscles that I had not yet seen, following the lines down to my strong hands, unconsciously licking her lips as they traveled back up to where they disappeared under my robe. She was studying me, from head to foot, literally.

 

Only when a trickle of arousal teased her thigh, dribbling down her leg did her eyes move to my groin. The hardening bulge wasn’t quite at full mast yet, but it was certainly visible under the loose garment. She couldn’t seem to keep the moisture on her lips--it was needed elsewhere--and her tongue darted out once again to try to wet them. “Now, until the Physiotherapist gives us the all-clear, we have to do this under the assumption that you still can’t move safely,” She said as calmly as she seemed to be able to, her eyes never moving from my manhood. “Do you remember the routine from your bed bath with Becky?” I nodded but said nothing. She smiled back, her eyes finally moving back to mine.

 

Without another word, she shifted her weight, placed her hands under my hips and shoulders, and lifted, rolling me onto my side as I reached out to grip the safety rail on the opposite side of the bed.

 

 “Oh, now that is a nice ass.” Her mind purred as her fingers untied the strings holding my gown closed. “I wonder how it looks when it clenches, pounding into little Becky just as he unloads… fuck!” Another grind of her thighs rubbed another trickle of arousal into her skin as my robe fell loose. She let me roll back, stood herself upright, and pulled the garment off my arms. “Holy shit!”

 

Without the aid of a mirror, I couldn’t really see what she was looking at. But her eyes widened as they wandered lustfully over my torso, I could almost feel the tingle on my skin as her gaze drifted over my chest and up to my shoulders before traveling south. I flexed my hardness as soon as her eyes met it, and her breath hitched in her throat. “Becky, how the fuck did you manage to squeeze all of that into your mouth, you lucky bitch? Gotta say though, it looks just the right size to fill up your pretty little pussy.”

 

Images started filling her mind, memories fondly revisited. It would seem that Philippa and Becky were much closer than I had thought. Philippa lounging in her recliner in her bedroom, her legs splayed over the arms, and Becky, her arms bound behind her, lapped hungrily at her wetness. Philippa had been the one to introduce her to her bisexuality but had been impressed at the speed and gusto with which Becky had taken to licking pussy. Philippa had been more than happy to tie the little submissive to her bed, spread eagle, and return the favor. She could almost feel Becky on her lips, the tangy taste, the heat, the throbs, and spasms on her tongue as her pet came on it. Looking down at my growing length, her mind ablaze with images of tasting that tang off me after I had pounded her girl into madness. And watching my ass flex and tense as I emptied those heavy-looking balls into her sweet little sex.

 

Philippa swallowed hard, forcing her eyes back to me. She was pretty sure that climbing on and riding me to wild abandon would get her fired. She hadn’t been as clever about it as Becky had, she hadn’t booked the time. It would only be a few minutes until she was missed. Moreover, she had heard the strangled whimpers of Becky’s orgasms with her own ears, Philippa knew that she was considerably louder and, when lost in the moment, didn’t have the self-control to smother her screams. Having seen my cock and the body she would be looking down at, she knew there would definitely be screams, loud ones.

 

She could, however, make me want her.

 

“I’m going to try to sit you up a little to get this T-shirt on now.” She said with a quivering breath and another hard swallow. She could feel the pulse throbbing in her throat, the sensation so strong, I could almost feel it as well. Leaning forward again, she hooked an arm underneath my neck and rested a hand on my shoulder blade, lifting me into a sitting position and conveniently placing her chest only inches from my face. I could smell the faint scent of her sweet perfume, which I couldn’t help but inhale. She smirked to herself as she watched my eyes look down her intentionally loosened top, the edges of her white lace demi bra that peeked into view contrasted her olive skin perfectly. Her smirk faltered a little as I blew a warm breath from my nostrils, letting it follow my eyeline over her chest and watched the blossom of goosebumps radiate over her skin. Her fingers flexed on my back, those perfectly manicured nails digging softly into my skin as she tried to regain her composure. Her free hand slipped the shirt over my head, and I stretched my arms through the right holes before she pulled it down my back, her nails dragging over my skin as she did. The shirt was pulled straight, and I was laid back down, slowly, her breasts inches from my face.

 

This is the part she had been waiting for. She moved a little further down the bed, unfurling the folded grey sweatpants and white tight-form boxers and placing them next to my feet. Her hands moved onto my legs, casually drawing from just above my knee and squeezing as they traveled down. She was exploring me, tracing the outline of the muscles under my healed skin, caressing each fading scar, flexing her fingers into every sensitive nerve. She wanted to feel me, but more importantly, she wanted me to know she was feeling me. For such a simple act, it was indescribably erotic.

 

She finally reached my feet, dragging her nails over the arches before hooking the boxers over each of them, then sliding my feet into the legs of the pants, slowly drawing them both up. Her fingertips grazed over the tops of my legs for the entire journey until they reached my hips, her fingers only inches from my swollen balls and engorged manhood. She flicked her eyes up to mine, a glint of mischief flashing behind them before she looked back down to my groin. She straightened the bottom hem of the boxers, fingers tickling the sensitive skin of my inner thighs, each meticulous touch of her fingertips, sending a shockwave of desire coursing through me.

 

She lifted her hands, tugging the clothing towards her and lifting my hips, slowly sliding the boxers and sweatpants over my ass, putting pressure in all the right places, and reaching out a finger of each hand to stroke teasingly along the length of my shaft, her hot breath splashing across the sensitive skin. I couldn’t help myself, a soft but low moan escaped my lips as she finally covered me up, her mind sang in triumph. She wanted me to want her, and she certainly succeeded in that regard. Letting me lay back down, she winked up at me, then, looking back down, patted my cock through my pants. “Don’t worry, big boy,” she smirked, “We’ll be seeing each other again, real soon.” Her eyes flicked up to mine again. “You too, Pete.”

 

She stood herself up, blew me a kiss, and sashayed out of the room, leaving me breathing heavily and with an annoyingly hard erection tenting in my pants.

  

 

******** 

 

 

“Pete! You awesome specimen of humanity,” Jimmy beamed as the door swung closed behind him about half an hour later. “How the fuck are you doing?”

 

“Jimmy! You mediocre example of sentience,” I joked back, glad for being able to distract my arousal in time for his visit. “I’m good, I’m even dressed.” I finished with a smile.

 

“No more showing your ass off to the nurses, eh?” he chuckled. “So, what are the chances of there being no news today? I can’t take any more surprises!”

 

“Didn’t you hear me? I’m dressed!” I laughed. His arched eyebrow and his faltering mind told me that his banal and easy banter was hiding some extremely fragile nerves. “Nothing to report,” I smiled warmly. “I’m still good.”

 

“You seem to be in a better mood, too.” He beamed, relieved that the previous day’s revelations were more than just a hopeful dream washing over him. “So, this is a flying visit, I’m told you have places to be.”

 

“Physiotherapy,” I nodded. “Hopefully they can give me the all-clear, and I can finally get out of here.”

 

He arched an eyebrow at me. “There are three stunningly good-looking nurses fawning over you and tending to your every need. You are the only heterosexual man I know who would think that is a bad thing.”

 

“True,” I said with a humorous shrug. “But the view sucks.” I nodded up to the ceiling.

 

“Ah.” Jimmy nodded as he caught my meaning. “Well, if you do manage to get out of here soon, you might be interested in my news.”

 

“I’m all ears.”

 

“Uncle Bob has given us the lofts.” He said with a beaming smile.

 

It is worth, at this point, explaining something about Jimmy, something I had pieced together from half conversations and broken thoughts. Jimmy’s parents had died when he was a child, but by all accounts, they were incredibly popular and well-liked people. Their friends, despite not being able to take Jimmy in, had always kept in touch, looking out for him and helping out where they could. Uncle Bob was one such person. He wasn’t related to Jimmy in any way at all, in fact, Jimmy wasn’t even sure how he had known his parents before their death, but he had taken Jimmy to football practice, let him practice driving in his car and hooked him up with decent accommodation when Bob learned that Jimmy would be attending this University. Bob was the definition of a good guy.

 

Jimmy had introduced us in the early days of our friendship after already regaling Bob with tales of how he would have failed his course if it wasn’t for me. As far as Bob was concerned, that was good enough for him.

 

More relevant, however, was the fact that Bob owned and operated the Queen’s Head. The Queen’s was the local student bar; it was the closest one to campus and one of the few specifically designed to cater to the tastes of the local student population. It was only some archaic law that stopped Bob from being able to change the name. Jimmy had told me once that Bob had wanted to change the name to ‘The Queen’s Legs’, just so he would be able to say that the Queen’s legs are about to close. But that sounded more like a Jimmy joke rather than any real business idea; even I had to admit it would be pretty funny though and would make Bob and his bar a local legend.

 

The lofts were a failed experiment on Bob’s part. Unlike most landlords, Bob didn’t live in some apartment above the bar, so he had tried turning the vaulted and empty upstairs of the building into student accommodation. He had failed miserably, but he ended up with two enormous loft-like apartments that quickly became the envy and desire of every student who knew about them. Filled with top of the range appliances and amenities, the open plan apartments were stunning, but had, as far as I was aware, always been occupied. Bob has promised Jimmy that as soon as they became available, Jimmy would get the first offer. Apparently, that day had come.

 

“It’s all settled,” Jimmy went on. “They are fully furnished, so you don’t have to worry about packing or moving your shit, and the first few months rent has already been taken care of.”

 

“Wait... what?” I blinked a few times. “Where did that money come from?” The lofts weren’t just known for their size and luxury, they had the price tag to match. “And how are we supposed to afford all this?”

 

“Don’t worry about it,” he replied with a smile. “Family and friends discount on the rent, and he is letting us off the first few months on the condition that we help out around the bar every now and then, and you keep helping me to not fail.” He finished with a chuckle.

 

It sounded like a hell of a deal.

 

The conversation about our new living arrangements went on for a while, as did the one about the starting of classes. By the end of the chat, everything from a study schedule to which house parties we would be attending had been hashed out.

 

“Anyway,” Jimmy went on, “I met up with some of the old crowd last night. They are all pleased to hear about your recovery, they’re looking forward to the welcome home party.” He smirked.

 

I nodded, only half paying attention, the idea of living in the lofts was already pulling my lips into a smile, and with only a few weeks until classes started, it would be a great time to get in and get settled.

 

“Just think of it,” he went on. “Partying in the bar, then instead of having to find a cab or walk home, we can just drag one of the girls upstairs to our very own apartments.” I chuckled but couldn’t help but notice the absence of one particular name in that sentence.”

 

“Girls?” I arched an eyebrow, “and what about your fantasy nurse?”

 

“Philippa? Who did you think I was talking about?” I held his eye for a few moments. “Okay, okay, so my track record doesn’t lend itself to monogamy, but we’ve talked, and as soon as you are out of here, we are going on a date.”

 

“Oh, really?” I smiled, trying to hide my confusion at her earlier actions.

 

“Told you, I can be a one-woman man, not having had any pussy since…”

 

“Lil Miss Irony.” I finished his sentence with a chuckle.

 

“Exactly. Oh, ye of little faith.” He wagged his finger as he rose from his chair, the 30 minutes since his arrival having flown by. “Err… one more thing before I head out.” Jimmy said, swinging around with that shit-eating grin he always wore when he was about to say something to make me uncomfortable. “Olivia asked about you.” 

 

Olivia. Now there was a name that I hadn’t thought of since I had woken up. With a smile and a nod, I watched Jimmy leave the room. I closed my eyes, retreated into my bunker, and pulled up the memory on the big screen, losing myself in it in moments.

 

The last time I had seen her was about a week before the accident.

 

********

 

“Dude, I am telling you… she’s interested!” Jimmy repeated with an air of playful exasperation.

 

“How can you possibly know that?” Jimmy was my best friend, the only person I could spend any large amount of time with before considering homicide, but my god! He could keep on! He’d make a statement like that without even the slightest amount of what I would call evidence, then refuse to even try to explain how he knew. 

 

“Just trust me,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “To everyone else in the room, that shit is obvious.”

 

My eyes flicked up from my place at our table to the brown-haired beauty, talking to her girlfriends at the bar. As often happened with Olivia, she seemed to know exactly when I was looking, and her eyes turned to meet mine. Even from across the room, there was no missing the teasing smile that pulled on the corner of her lips and the playful, almost seductive draw on her drinks straw before she went back to her conversation.

 

“What am I supposed to say to her?” I asked with a sigh, taking another sip of the vodka and coke before leaning back into my chair.

 

“Just ask her to dance.” Jimmy replied with a smile.

 

“I can’t dance.”

 

“So?”

 

I blinked at him a few times. “What do you mean, so?” I finally asked, deciding that blinking wasn’t sufficiently demonstrating my level of confusion and settling instead for a frown. “How can I ask her to dance if I don’t know how to dance? That’s like asking to take her for a drive without having a license… or a car.”

 

Jimmy rolled his eyes again with another smile. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. No guy knows how to dance, and the ones that do took lessons… lessons taught by women. Just take her to the dance floor, let her move to the music,” his voice had taken on a wistful, far away quality as he spoke. “And you just let yourself move with her. There’s nothing to it.”

 

“I don’t know.” I said cautiously

 

“Alright, just go up and ask if she wants a drink.”

 

“She already has a drink.”

 

“Fuck me!” Jimmy drawled, reaching up to massage the bridge of his nose. “You’re not making this easy.”

 

“Tell you what.” I said with something approaching confidence, “If you can tell me exactly why you think she likes me, I will go up there and talk to her, right now.”

 

“You really don’t see it do you?” He said, his hand dropping back to the table

 

“Apparently not.”

 

“Fine. Look at her.” My eyes once again moved towards the bar. Olivia was standing next to one of the barstools, her hips and body facing towards me, but her head turned to the side in happy conversation with her friends. “Now, count how many seconds it takes for her to look at you.”

 

“That’s not fair, that girl seems to always know when I’m looking at her.”

 

“No…” Jimmy said, his face cracking into a smile, “It’s because she looks at you – and only you – at least as much as you look at her.”

 

Right on cue, Olivia’s eyes flicked to meet mine. This time, however, instead of a cute little smile, she turned to face me. I could feel her attention on me. She tilted her head to one side with a playful grin, holding my gaze and returning my stare… Then winked.

 

The flush of red shot across my cheeks in seconds, and my gaze faltered. Olivia’s little giggle, the last thing I saw before my eyes fell back to Jimmy. “There.” He said with a triumphant laugh, “Now, down your drink, go to the bar for a new one, and while you’re there, offer her one as well. Then, no matter what her answer is, talk to her!”

 

“Err…” I tried to swallow the lump in my throat as I reached for my half-empty glass, “About what?” 

 

“Who gives a shit? Ask her how her course is going, or how she’s been, tell her she looks nice… fuck, talk about the weather! Just – say – something!

 

I lifted my glass to my lips, barely feeling the burn of the Jimmy-sized vodka portion in my drink. I let the charcoal liquid slide down my throat and, with a determined nod, stood and started walking toward the bar. 

 

Olivia was beautiful, the classic girl-next-door kind of look that made my knees go weak. Her light brown hair had just enough of a wave to it to no longer be called straight, and streaks of almost caramel color punctuated her locks. The light seemed to play in the color before bouncing out into the world, doing things that I would never be able to adequately explain. 

 

If her hair was mesmerizing, her eyes were outright dangerous. I’d spoken to Olivia quite a few times before, the first of which being at Jimmy’s now infamous ‘best buds’ party after the first year’s exams. But every time I looked at her, I seemed to get lost in those brilliant pools of hazel. Olivia – at least in my mind – never looked at me, she looked inside me. As if those eyes could peel back all the layers of defenses that I had built since childhood to reveal each and every one of my secrets. It was like I was being studied, and yet, there was no place I would rather be.

 

I was almost halfway across the room when she saw me coming. Her pink stained lips were curling into another smile, her form-fitting jeans and low-cut V-neck top clinging to her body as she took a single step away from her friends – almost as if she was making room for me at the bar. Twenty feet to go. My eyes met hers, and I felt the first twitch of a smile spread onto my face. I could be funny when I wanted to, right? I mean, girls like a sense of humor, or so I had been told. Maybe the weather line wasn’t such a bad idea, make a joke out of it, break the ice. Just take a deep breath and…

 

A hulking mass of jock blocked my view of Olivia before I lost my focus, a small crowd of guys surrounding the girls. By the time my eyes found her again, her attention was on the new arrivals, a friendly smile on her lips as she and her friends started to laugh and joke with their new admirers. I wheeled left and headed to the bathroom. Not quite missing the disappointed look that she shot my way as I abandoned my plan, a look I wouldn’t recognize as disappointment until months later as I re-watched this memory from the bunker.

 

Looking around my bunker as the memory faded from the screen, I noticed a door that hadn’t been there before. I stepped through it, instinctively knowing where it led and spent the next few hours on a balcony overlooking the magnificence of my city. Thinking about my life, how it had changed, the opportunities I had missed out on… everything. Watching the bolts of light rocket between the towering buildings of my metropolis, I couldn’t help but feel that the old Pete had been killed in that crash.

 

Just like Moe had.

 

And a new Pete, with new abilities and a new personality, was about to step out into the world. But first, the physio…