I did my best to keep my eyes off of her while she hunted her clothes down. It wasn’t easy, let me tell you. She was humming to herself while she paced around my room on tiptoe, eyes glued to the floor. Totally nude without a care in the world. I closed my eyes and counted, struggling to maintain my composure.
“Jack? Are you okay?” I heard her voice just a few inches away from my ear.
I opened one eye, then shut it quickly, seeing as she just had her clothes in her hands. “I’m fine, really. Just trying to be respectful.”
She gently took my chin in her hand and tipped my face upwards. “Open your eyes, Jack. Please.” When I did, I saw her smile. “I want you to listen, and listen well. You are a total sweetheart, and I really like that about you. However. I don’t want to just date you for a while and move on. I think you’re cute and sweet and handsome, and all that other good stuff, yes. I also think you’re worth sticking around for. I also think you’re worth not only getting to know, but to be with. Like, on a more permanent basis.” I could see her pupils dilate as she started breathing a bit heavily. “I don’t know if it’s my power or something else, and I don’t think I care too much, but I’m wanting to stay with both Beth and you. Like, for serious. I don’t know how else to put it, but something tells me I belong here.” She stepped back, planting her fists on her hips, and I could see every bit of her illuminated by the light coming in from the window. “Be respectful of me, yes. But remember also that I want you to see all of me. Enjoying the view doesn’t equate to being disrespectful. As long as you’ve been invited to do so, that is.” She smiled and dressed herself under my gaze.
I sat there on my bed for a long moment, my mind running like mad, struggling to fit this new information into my worldview. It wasn’t easy. Hell, just the fact that I had a (maybe?) girlfriend was so far outside the realm of my experience that I was already struggling to fit her into things properly. And now this?
I was sure I’d die of information overload.
But for the moment, I was alive and healthy. I figured it’d be smart to dress and get ourselves to the gym, so that is precisely what I did. I threw some clothes on and checked that she was ready, then opened a door to the Wendy’s down the street.
“Hungry? My treat. I know I am.” I steered us into the restaurant.
“I could eat something, sure.”
We ordered food, then ate and walked as we talked. She told me that Jennifer was so upset with William that after fussing at him, she stopped speaking to him. I simply shook my head in wonder. I had, after all, agreed to the additional workload. Zack had been a little let down that I hadn’t been in in a couple days, as he was really hoping to continue his training. I smiled inwardly at that. I’d never felt useful to another person like I had here with the Cloud. Hell, the only other person in my life who even accepted me was Lab, and now I had a whole group of people? I didn’t even know how many people were even in the Cloud. I resolved to ask William when I saw him next.
As we reached the Gym, we had long been finished with breakfast. We threw our trash in the bin outside and walked in.
Bethany looked surprised. “Jackson? Why are you walking in here? I thought you were going to, you know, pop in.”
“Hi Bethany. We just got to talking, you know? Next thing you know, we’d walked all the way here.” I smiled sheepishly and shrugged.
“Well, that’s up to you, I suppose.” She came around the counter and held her hands out to Anna. I took a couple of steps back to give them room. “Hi sweetheart. Did you two have a good night?” She kissed Anna and raised her eyebrow suggestively, making me snicker.
Anna turned cherry red. “Well… I think you should ask him if we had a ‘good night’.”
Bethany turned to face me, an appraising look on her face. “Oh?” She walked right up to me, her hands on her hips. She planted herself not two inches from me and looked up into my eyes. “So did you? Did you have a good night with little Anna?”
“Uh… Well, I’d say so. We watched some TV and then passed out.” I shrugged. “I think that’s a good night.”
Anna put her arms around Bethany’s waist from behind, laughing. “That’s exactly it, honey. We watched TV and passed out.”
Bethany turned to face Anna. “Seriously? I thought you-”
Anna silenced her with a kiss. “Relax. He’s an absolutely perfect gentleman. I’ll tell you all about it later.” She looked up at me, seeing my raised eyebrow. “If that’s okay, Jack?” I saw Bethany’s confused look as she mouthed the name.
I blinked rapidly, spinning it over in my mind. If the two of them were serious, and she wanted to be serious with me, didn’t Bethany have a right to know if we were ever…intimate? “Sure. Makes sense, I guess. Don’t take this the wrong way, Bethany, but I am seriously in the dark over here.”
“What do you mean?” She looked at Anna. “What does he mean?”
“Again. Later.” Her face lit up. “Why don’t we talk it over at dinner? Jack can come over tonight and I can cook that fried chicken you like so much?”
Bethany’s eyes got wide and she smiled. “Are you for real? Like, seriously? Jack, you’re in for a treat! Her fried chicken is the best.” She bounced on the balls of her feet.
Anna cleared her throat. “Sweetheart, Jack is my name for him, okay? Just a head’s up.”
Bethany clapped her hands to her mouth, her face going pink. “Omigod. I’m so sorry, Jackson.”
I laughed and waved it off. “It’s okay, Bethany. Don’t stress over it. I’m certainly not going to. Just let her have that one, ‘kay?”
Bethany nodded and headed back behind the counter. “Head on in, you two. Jennifer is waiting.”
I nodded and led the way to the elevator, feeling slightly tense. Anna must have noticed.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Jack? You okay?” She pushed the down button.
“I think so? I don’t know how to take all this. The situation between the three of us, I mean. Relationships in general are new ground for me, and this is far outside of what I usually see. I’m not complaining; far from it. It’s just going to take me time to wrap my head around it, is all. And… I dunno, Anna. Just getting a bit overwhelmed, too.” I ran a hand through my hair as we entered the small box.
She wrapped her arms around me, laying her head on my chest. “It’ll be fine. I promise. Beth and I will make sure you’re okay and ready to take whatever steps you need to be comfortable. She gets a bit excited and acts before thinking sometimes. That’s all. Come on.” The doors opened and she took my hand, lacing our fingers together as she led me to the workout floor.
Why did that feel so good?
My thoughts were interrupted as I heard counting coming from what seemed like an entire stadium. We shared a curious look and walked in, only to find a crowd of people surrounding someone, counting what must have been reps.
“...twelve! Thirteen! Fourteen! Fifteen! Sixteen! Seventeen! Eighteen! Nineteen! Twenty!” I heard a loud clank, and the crowd clapped and cheered loudly.
“Holy shit, that’s crazy! How much was that?”
“Nineteen hundred? I dunno, man.
My eyes got wide and my breath caught. “Nuh-uh!” I ran to the edge of the crowd, shoving people to the side as I got to the front.
“What the fuck, dude?” I put my hands on my hips.
“Huh? Oh, hey, Jackson! Nice place you got down here. Why didn’t ya tell me you had heavier weights?”
I put my face in my hands. Of fucking course that bastard made his way in here. “Lab, why didn’t you leave me a note or something? Don’t you think this is the kind of information I’d want -no, need- to know?”
“Hey, it’s the door guy. How does he know the new guy?” Murmurs rippled through the crowd as Anna slipped through to stand beside me.
“Oh, hey, Labrador! Glad to see you down here, finally. Did Bethany give you any hassle?”
“Nah. Little sweetheart that she is even let me draw the sample myself.” He turned to me and planted his fists on his stocky hips. “And I didn’t leave a note because I didn’t know that you were part of the Cloud. Remember? No talking about it and all that jazz? You kept your lips clammed up, and you know I keep mine the same. Dipshit.” He shook his head and grinned at me.
“Fucking bastard. I love you. You know that?”
“Bah. You know, they keep telling me that I’m the Bearer of Iron.”
“I’ve been saying that for three years, Lab. Three of ‘em. A man just doesn’t get hit by an old farm truck, bounce off of it and the pavement, only to dust himself off without a scratch. You slid at least ten feet that day.” More murmurs swept through the crowd.
“I just have tough skin! That’s all.”
One of the people in the crowd tapped me on the shoulder. I’d not seen him before. “Dude. How do you know him?”
“We’re roommates. He took me in three years ago, and has been my only friend ever since. Well… Until I came here, anyway.”
“No way!”
I nodded and smiled. “He’s a good man. You’ll all come to love him, I’m sure.”
I heard someone clear their throat behind me. I flinched involuntarily. “Well. If we’re all done gawking at the new guy, I think we have exercises to do, yes?”
I turned slowly, seeing most of the crowd disperse. “Hi Jennifer. I literally just got here. Didn’t know Lab was part of the Cloud until just now. I’ll head on over to my training area, then.” I started to move, but she caught my arm, pulling my attention to her face.
She searched my eyes for a moment. “Are you okay, Jackson? This is the second time we’ve exhausted you.”
I nodded. “I’m fine, Jennifer. I promise. I’m learning the extent of my power, and working to raise that level. That’s all.”
“As long as you don’t neglect your body, I won’t fuss. I just wish William had spoken with me beforehand.” She released her gentle, if ironlike, grip on my forearm.
“I promise. I’ll take care of both and learn the last bits of cybersecurity. I’m nearly done with the first part of the course. With what I know so far, I think I might be able to take care of the gym in a few weeks.”
“If you’re sure. I won’t fuss as long as I see the truth of your words. Go. Train.” She waved me off, then turned to face Lab.
I didn’t envy him in the slightest.
I reached my corner and snatched up a staff, taking my stance for the kata. Taking a deep breath, I launched into it, as Jennifer gave me minor corrections here and there during my second run-through. Forty-five minutes later, I stopped, panting heavily. My arms felt like lead weights.
“Why are you stopping? I need you to do it again.”
“I won’t make it through another kata, Jennifer. Not completely.” I leaned heavily on the stone staff.
“Then fail in the middle.”
My eyes went wide and my belly knotted up. “I, uh… I don’t think so. That’s a bad idea.”
She stepped up to me, her face a blank mask. “Explain yourself.”
“I need to know my limits, right?” She nodded. “Here is my limit. Physically? I would fail about two-thirds of the way through. Mentally? I’d go nuts for having not finished. Give me a half hour or so, and I’ll be able to go through it one more time at least.”
“I understand, Jackson. In the meantime,” -she turned and cupped her hands around her mouth- “Labrador! Get over here!” She stood there, hands on her hips as Lab jogged over.
“You bellowed?”
She swatted him with a stone-wrapped hand, knocking him prone. “Get up. I need to see how strong your punches are. With Jackson here, we can get a fairly accurate measurement.”
Lab stood, wobbling slightly. After a moment, he shook his head and blinked. “Damn. I’ve not been hit that hard before.” He looked over at me. “I ain’t punching him. I’ll kill him.”
“Not him. His doors.”
Realization washed over me. I nodded and made a steel security door, like I had for Zack. Lab nodded and balled up a fist, then punched a hole clean through it, as if it were paper.
“Got anything sturdier, bud?” He grinned.
For the next half-hour or so, I made door after door. Steel, wood, stone, you name it, I made it, and he put a fist or a foot through it. By the end of it, Lab had to stop, as his hand had swollen to the size of a small football.
“Jackson? Got anything stronger?”
“Uh… Just one thing is left in my head. I don’t even know if I can make it.”
“Give it a shot.”
I nodded and took a deep breath, letting the image and the internal workings fill my head. A moment later, I felt an incredible drain on me and looked up as I fell to the ground on my butt.
I’d done it. I’d made a bank vault door.