[Spirit of Lust 2] Chapters 675 & 676.

Chapter 675: Revealing the truth.

Maria wasn’t very subtle in excusing herself to give us some space, but the smirk on her face and the laughter she was holding told me she wasn’t happy to walk away.

“Wait, wait… Are you serious?” Isabelle asked Fernanda. “That’s you? You’re JustColors?”

Fernanda covered her face with her hands and groaned loudly into them. “God, you remember my comments, too?”

“Of course I remember!” Isabelle told her. “We read them all! I’m usually the one replying, but even Oliver started spending more time on his phone after we started getting more comments.”

“But how did you… Oh, forget it. Not like it was hard to figure out. Ugh!”

I smiled sheepishly at Fernanda. Really, I blurted it out without thinking when I should’ve just kept it to myself. Asking her didn’t achieve much beyond embarrassing her, and that was never my intention. And of course she’d be embarrassed. Fernanda used those comments to open up to strangers on the internet and admit that she was going through tough times, that Cake and the songs managed to cheer her up for a while.

“I’m sorry. But… Like I’ve said before, it really does mean a lot to us that you enjoy what we do. Comments like yours make it easier to continue working after, well… After reading the more unpleasant ones.”

Fernanda smiled, but an awkward silence settled between the three of us. I didn’t know what else to say, and I was fairly sure it was the same for Fernanda, but I would bet that Isabelle was instead restraining herself from saying wherever she had in mind to avoid making Fernanda more uncomfortable. That was when Sarah and Alice came over to save the day.

“Oh? What do you have in there?” Sarah asked, seeing the picture in my hands.

“Oh! Holy…! That’s incredible!” Alice praised, then turned to smile at Fernanda. “Grace and Diana told us you wanted to do this, but… My God! How did you get it done so quickly?”

“And she made me one as well,” Isabelle said. “Seriously, I want to know how you managed.”

“Um… I pulled two all-nighters,” Fernanda admitted shyly. “Had an unhealthy amount of energy drinks, then passed out after I was done.”

“Hey, come on… You didn't have to give it to them TODAY,” Sarah said, still eyeing the picture. “I’m sure they could’ve survived another day or two.”

“But I wanted to. A present isn’t the same if it’s not on the proper day,” Fernanda asked. “Besides, I’m… used to it. Well, to one all-nighter, not two. I don’t think I’ll be doing that again,” she said, giggling.

“Good to hear,” I told her. “I’ll be right back. I’m gonna take it to the van. Don’t want it to break by accident. Again, it’s amazing. Thank you so much.”

Fernanda grinned. “No, it’s no problem.”

I went down a floor and into the underground parking lot while carrying the picture. Before I got it inside the van, I looked at it one more time. It was such a weird sensation. Pleasant, but weird. I mean, it really was me. Cartoon-like, or anime-like, but still me. Cake looked fluffy, too. I don’t know how Fernanda managed that. Somehow, since the last time I saw her drawings, she’d gotten so much better that my limited knowledge of art fell short. I looked at it, and instead of understanding it, I was just in awe. But it was true that I didn’t want something to happen to it, so I opened the van, set it inside and closed the door.

I was just about to go back when I turned around and saw Fernanda coming out of the elevator and walking up to me.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her, tilting my head.

“Um… I don’t know,” she said, looking just as puzzled. “Grace and Diana told me to follow you. They… said you had something else to tell me?”

Oh for the love of…! Really? I had so many questions and things to complain about regarding this. I mean, were they seriously throwing me into this all of a sudden? Just like this? Did Diana really…? Well, if they sent her to follow me, then they were all in on it.

“...” Well, might as well take the plunge. “Well, I’m really happy that you came here. I’m not used to celebrating my birthday, and this is the first time I’ve had so many people with me. I’m really glad I can count you among them.”

“No, no. Thank you very much for inviting me,” she told me.

“But beyond that, I don’t have anything else to say.”

“R-Really? Then why…?”

I smiled sheepishly at her. “They’re probably trying to hook us up.”

Fernanda stared blankly for a solid two seconds. Then she narrowed her eyes. Then, right after that, her eyes went wide as her jaw dropped.

“W-Wait…! Huh!?”

“I’ve come to like you, Fernanda. Not just as a friend, but as someone I’d like to have something more with.” I put my hands in my pockets, not because I was trying to look cool and aloof but because I felt awkward and didn’t know what to do with them. Regardless, I kept going. “I have for a long time, but I’ve done nothing about it because it didn’t seem appropriate. Now, the girls seem to have given their green light.”

I don’t know how the words came so smoothly out of me when I could feel my heart in my throat and yet thundering in my ears at the same time. I swear, if I tried to turn my head I’d see the world spin.

“Um…! Um…!”

“I know. I’m sorry to blurt that out all of a sudden, but I see no other way to approach this. You know I’m seeing six other women, so even if I really like you, I… can’t really bring myself to try to convince you to accept my terms. Flirting and the like would just feel… wrong.”

That sobered her up. Any shyness and shock she felt was brought down by that very appealing prefacing. It was what I was hoping for.

“...” Fernanda fidgetted a bit while keeping her eyes on the floor before she looked up at me. “Why… Why DO you date so many girls?” she asked with genuine interest.

“Mmm… A few reasons, some of them more valid than others,” I said with a soft chuckle. “First of all, I’d need to let you in on an important secret. I don’t mind telling you, and over half the people upstairs know about it, but if you start telling others I’ll have to deny everything.”

She narrowed her eyes and looked suspiciously at me. “What are you talking about?”

I opened the passenger seat door and then the glove box to take out my… tools. Some masking tape and a black marker. I cut some masking tape and taped it to the opened door, then wrote the runes for Stillness and stepped away.

“Try closing the door,” I told Fernanda. 

Still suspicious and confused, Fernanda did as I asked. She gave the door a gentle push… and noticed that it wouldn’t budge. She pushed harder and the door still wouldn’t close. I tore the masking tape from the car and asked her to try again. The door closed like it normally would.

“W-W-Whaat…?”

“That’s half the secret. Magic exists, and I can use some.”

Well, no going back now.

************

Chapter 676: It’s not great, but it’s honest.

I am very much aware that this isn’t a great way to seduce a woman. Or, well, a way at all. There are no sweet words, no skinship, no loving promises… Just weird shit right off the bat that should have her questioning my sanity. But this is no normal relationship she’d be walking into.

Back when things first started with Mila, Grace and Sarah, none of us were aware of what was happening. We knew things were weird, but we didn’t jump into conclusions and screamed MAGIC or SPIRIT OF LUST. Things were happening and we didn’t understand it. Now, though, I do understand it. I couldn’t, wouldn’t, even attempt to bring anyone else into this without first explaining what was going on with me.

“Magic… is real?” Fernanda was stunned, but there was little to no incredulity in her voice. I thought there was even a bit of interest, but the poor girl was just bewildered.

I nodded. “And this is the other part of the secret. Nearly a year ago and without me noticing, I was possessed by something. Someone. A spirit. A magical spirit, not a ghost. I’ve learned since that her name is Frey and that she means well, but in possessing me, we’ve become… tangled. Her magical powers are mine to use, but I also need to feed her the energy she needs to survive. That we both need now, actually.”

“Energy?”

I sighed. “Frey calls herself a Spirit of Lust. Meaning…”

“Ah. S-Sexual energy?” she inferred.

Yeah, Fernanda is pretty genre savvy. She’s catching on quickly.

“Exactly. Energy born from sex. And well, as you can imagine, her powers are also… sex related.”

Fernanda swallowed and turned her head back to look at the elevator. Then, with some worry in her eyes, she asked, “Then… The others… What are…? How?”

“What are they? People I love dearly. Also free, if that’s what has you worried. I haven’t forced anyone into this. That said… I won’t lie and say these powers haven’t had an influence. At first, they made me more alluring without me realizing it. I’ve learned to turn it off, in a matter of speaking, but it’s also more than that. The girls don’t mind sharing, and they even enjoy it, but these powers may have had something to do with it. It’s… hard to tell how much of it is magic and how much is their own preferences.”

Fernanda seemed to relax at that. “So all the girls know?”

“My girlfriends, yes,” I said.

“Who else?”

“My mom and my sister. Thomas, too. And Luke Allen.”

She smiled weakly. “I was wondering why a big shot like him was here. Does he… No. No, I won’t ask.” Fernanda shook her head, and that apparently made her dizzy. “It’s… a lot to take in.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Why tell me all this?”

“Because I like you and it’s only fair that you know.”

“And you’d trust me to keep that secret?”

“...” I sighed. “As these powers developed, I started to gain the ability to read people’s feelings, sometimes even read minds. There’s also something even rarer than that. Sometimes I see someone and get the strongest feeling that… she and I would be good together. Like we’re compatible. I got that feeling when I first met Diana. And… I also felt it when I met you.”

Fernanda chuckled awkwardly. “Not with the others?”

I answered with my own awkward smile. “No. My powers weren’t developed enough when I met them. At that time we just… took our chances at happiness, I guess.”

“...” Fernanda took a deep breath and began to pace around, never going too far before returning to the same spot. “I… I don’t know what to say.”

“Which is fair,” I said. “I know I’m not making a good case for myself, but I really do like you, so it’s not something I can hide.”

“I… I thought I’d be happy to hear you say you like me, but I’m just… I don’t know what I’m feeling right now. I don’t know if I’m feeling anything.”

“Do you think I’m crazy?” I asked her.

“It’d be easier if you were,” she said, giggling.

“Probably,” I said, grinning back. “Hey, you don’t need to give me an answer now. I know it’s a lot to process. It’s a different matter if I got it all wrong and you don’t like me, obviously, but I hope you feel the same way I do. And if all I’m saying is too much… Then I understand.”

“...” I could feel the storm of awkward and conflicting feelings inside Fernanda. Happiness, worry, confusion… and a dash of disappointment? 

Shit. Well, it really was as far from a romantic confession as you can get. The girls were probably hoping for that and I did something else entirely.

“We… better go back,” she said. “I think… I think I need some time.”

I nodded. “I’m sorry to throw all this on you.”

Fernanda shook her head. “No, I’m glad you were upfront with me. Finding out later would’ve been… harder. Grace, Sarah and Diana dropped hints before, but I don’t think I was expecting… this.”

“Would you go back first?” I asked her, rubbing the back of my neck. “I’d like to think for a minute.”

She chuckled. “And I don’t want to think for a while. Don’t be too late. You’re still the birthday boy.”

At least she didn’t seem too upset. I smiled and nodded at her before seeing her go back to the elevator.

Okay, here comes the regret. It was difficult to think of what else I could’ve said, but I already wasn’t liking my own words. Mostly it was that hint of disappointment I felt from her that hit me the hardest. I suppose I could’ve read her mind to find out what it was, but it didn’t seem appropriate, either.

Somebody please remind me. How is it that I got myself six girlfriends when I’m like this?

When I went back to the party, the first thing I saw was that Mila and the others had taken Fernanda aside to talk. From the looks on their faces, it didn’t seem like too serious a discussion.

“Hey, what happened?” Thomas asked me as he and the guys approached me. “Fernanda came back and the girls immediately kidnapped her.”

“Did you guys fight or something?” Kevin asked me.

I shook my head. “No. Just… I told her a couple of secrets of mine. Things she should know.”

“You have secrets?” Kevin asked me with a smirk.

“I’m three leprechauns in a trenchcoat,” I told him.

“Please, you’re two at best,” Mark said.

True.