Chapter 10: T-Mobile and Realizations...

"Ah, yeah, can you please put the cell phone away?"

"What? It's not bothering anybody!"

"It's bothering me, so please step outside. I shouldn't have to ask twice, and this isn't high school." Professor Lyons was a slight man, older and soft-spoken. His comb-over, high pants and buttoned-to- the-collar short sleeve shirt gave him the look of a NASA engineer from the early sixties.

The muscular youth grunted in disgust. His phone was still flipped open, and he was still texting. "Man, people keep sayin' that shit here."

"What, they keep having to remind you you're not in high school anymore? There's a shock," Alex snorted. He sat in the next aisle of desks over, just one seat back.

Glaring at Alex, the other student loomed out of his desk to use his greater size to advantage in an attempt to intimidate. "Oh, you want some of this?"

"I want better dialogue out of you first," Alex remarked dryly.

"Please leave my class," Professor Lyons said with a more firm tone. He clearly wasn't big on confrontations like this, but after three classes of obnoxious behavior from the guy, he couldn't ignore it anymore. "I'm going to have you dropped from the roster. There's no more reason for you to stay."

"I need this class!" the student roared. Lyons instinctively took a step back.

"You could always transfer across town," Alex offered.

The offending student turned on Alex. "Fuckin' little shit, you want a piece of me?"

"No, I want you to leave. We all paid to be in this class." As he spoke, he saw Professor Lyon getting on the phone at the front of the classroom. He was doubtlessly calling security. Alex remained in his seat. Better keep T-Mobile Boy distracted so Lyons doesn't have to deal with him, he thought. Probably took everything the poor guy had in him to go this far with it. That said, Lyons had stepped up to the problem now, and Alex felt a need to help deal with it.

"I don't see nobody else complaining." T-Mobile Boy waved his hand around. Surely enough, no one else had said anything, but they were all watching the train wreck unfold.

"Well, clearly I'm the only one dumb enough to try to use words with you," Alex shrugged, "but that doesn't really make much difference."

"You wanna go, asshole? I'll tear your fuckin' head off and shit down your neck!"

"No," Alex said, doing his best to stay steady and calm. He kept his hands flat on the desk to prevent them from trembling. However, his helmet was in easy reach, which would make a decent weapon if this did get crazy. "I want you to leave so we can finish class. This isn't High School."

"Mother fucker!" T-Mobile boy roared, throwing up both his hands and then hurling his cell phone to the ground. It smashed into a dozen pieces.

Alex looked down at it, then up at him. He couldn't resist: "You broke your little phone," he deadpanned.

The face in front of him twisted in rage. "Punk ass faggot bitch, Imma break you if I see you outside!"

"I'm not going to get in fights outside at lunch. That's childish. This is a college."

T-Mobile Boy's muscles flexed and his arms waved around in building anger. "You better fuckin' walk the fuck away from me," he demanded, "or—"

"If you were going to attack me, you'd have done it already. And then you'd be arrested, and probably go to jail and get bounced out of school altogether. Clearly you aren't that stupid. Just leave. Nobody here cares."

There was a long moment in which T-Mobile Boy made a show of trying to restrain himself. Alex sat through it, mainly wanting to drag this out until campus security got there, but he needn't have worried. The other student finally turned back to his desk, grabbed his knapsack and -- after shoving his textbook and notebook off his desk -- began to walk out. Professor Lyons was already off the phone and conveniently several steps away from the door.

When the storm had passed, the professor took a long, deep breath and then slowly released it to steady himself. He wasn't the only one. Finally, he turned back to face the class, specifically Alex. "Folks, things like that really shouldn't happen here. But if they do, you need to let me handle it."

Alex held up his hands apologetically. "I'm sorry, professor."

Lyons took another deep breath and shook his head. "That's alright, just... don't do it again," he said. With that, campus security arrived, providing another brief interruption.

As they talked, Alex thought to himself, I've seen that dipshit's girlfriend. Morons like him don't deserve hot ass like that. I should find her and fuck her brains out. His mind was flooded with the image of her bent over the hood of her car, one leg held in the air by Alex as he took her from behind. She might decide she could go out and find someone better after she's had a good...

...holy shit, why am I thinking like this?

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

School was easier than work had been the day before. That was a bit of a surprise, given that there were dramatically more young, attractive women on campus than there were in the office -- perhaps not per capita, but certainly in raw numbers. There wasn't the air of formality here, either, nor a business casual dress code. It was an overcast morning -- Seattle often was by late September -- but it was warm enough that there were still summer fashions to be seen and enjoyed.

That said, Alex was at least capable of thinking about things other than what the women around him were wearing, how much fun it would be to crawl all over them and so forth. He was still getting stared at and unnecessarily bumped into. He was getting that even now as he left his philosophy class -- where two different girls just had to tell him that his dealing with the loudmouth had been really hot -- and wandered over to the Student Center to kill the next hour between classes. Clearly, he was still catching many an eye, but now it was easier to get over.

He had to chalk it up to the marathon of supernaturally powered sex he'd just had. Alex had lost track of all the orgasms Lorelei had given him last night, let alone the pair of times she'd gotten him off this morning. It had certainly done a lot to clear his head and relieve stress. Amid everything else in his mind was a profound feeling of gratitude for all that...

...but also a sense of trepidation about where it was all going.

"I know you had something to do with that," he had said to Lorelei before he left. He was dressed, busy cleaning up from breakfast, and utterly mortified.

"With what?"

"My mother," Alex frowned sourly.

"Oh. Yes. Perhaps a little. Don't tell me you don't like how she looks."

"That's not -- that's not the point! Just because I like something doesn't mean I want it!"

Lorelei's mouth spread into a slow smirk, and she said, "I think what you mean to say is that just because you want something doesn't mean you'll take it. I know very well what you want, master. More than you'll admit to yourself."

Alex's jaw clenched. He didn't want to be mad at her. Didn't want to have a hostile relationship. But this...

"Alex," Lorelei ventured, "I have not harmed your mother in any way, nor done anything to her to which she would strongly object. You wanted her to ignore my presence. In arranging this, she does fall somewhat under the sway of my powers, and that has some... side effects. But as I have said, she is unharmed in any way. Like you, she's a good person. In fact, as your mother, I have her to thank for everything you are and have done."

"She is fitter now. More confident. And yes, as you noticed, sexier." Lorelei just had to dab teasingly at the corner of her mouth with one finger. "She seems quite happy."

Fuming a bit, Alex pressed, "She wouldn't object strongly?"

Lorelei tilted her head thoughtfully. "Like anyone, Michelle would doubtlessly not appreciate being deceived or manipulated, but... I have every reason to believe that if our situation were brought out into the open for her, she would eventually come to terms. At worst, she might be a bit shocked or embarrassed at what has occurred, but she would adjust without even slight trauma. I believe she would even be happy for you."

They looked at one another for a long, tense moment. He didn't seem any more at ease. Lorelei's own confident demeanor faded a bit until she finally said in a soft, calm yet almost pleading voice, "I cannot lie to you, master."

That cracked Alex's anger. He sighed, trying to release the rest. "You keep calling me that, but I don't really feel like I have a whole lot of control here."

Her sly, seemingly affectionate smile returned, and she reached out to caress his cheek. "You offered trust and allowed me to keep some secrets. You had to know I'd be at least a little naughty. Afterall, it is part of my nature." Before he could open his mouth to speak, Lorelei asked, "Master, will you be late to your first class?"

Her question had him headed out the door, of course. Despite his overwhelming desire to drag her upstairs and fuck her senseless until she had confessed whatever she had done (or, part of him wondered, simply make her cum until she said, "You're welcome"), his mind screamed at him that he needed to hang onto some normalcy in his life. He couldn't spend all day every day impaling his willing partner -- though, given her ability to keep him going, he couldn't really articulate why not.

No. There was Lorelei, and despite how real she might be, there was also reality. Alex needed reality. He needed to stay grounded.

He needed to tell that thin, brown-eyed brunette with the ponytail behind the snack bar that she was smoking hot, and that he looked for her every time he came in, and that if she thought he was being creepy he was really sorry and could think of a half-dozen great ways to make it up to her.

Stop it.

He paid for his breakfast sandwich and soda without saying much to her, though it was weird how she seemed happy to see him and never broke eye contact until he walked away. Alex wandered outside and found an open spot at a table alone. He doubted it would be hard to find a stranger who'd welcome him to her table, but even that creeped him out a bit.

Someday, he might get used to pretty women fawning over him like this. He might even get to like it. No, he had to admit, he would definitely like it. But Alex didn't want it to go to his head or begin to think that he was entitled to that sort of attention because he was somehow inherently awesome. The fact was, it was all just because he'd had a run-in with the supernatural...

...and, as Lorelei had warned him last night, he might well have more.

That was an unsettling thought. He had no idea who those people who'd kidnapped her and Rachel were, and Lorelei didn't seem to know, either. At the very least, she hadn't brought the subject up. But what if it happened again? She was weaker now than before. What if there were others who knew how to abduct angels and demons? Wouldn't she be more vulnerable than she had been when it first happened?

What if being with her endangered his mother? Or his friends?

He was still getting used to Lorelei, and that was a secret, one-on-one arrangement. It couldn't last like that. He couldn't do that to her. If they were really going to be... friends, at least, she had to be able to come out in the open. Do things in public with him. Meet his friends. Meet Mom.

None of them would want him to have to hide anything. Oh, he doubted that he'd be telling his friends about the whole demon-sex-slave thing, of course, but they should at least know he had a... girlfriend? Friend with (astounding) benefits? Sex demon?

I should just tell them the truth and then let them figure out I'm not fooling, he mused, but that wasn't practical at all.

Sticking his head in the sand was similarly impractical.

He pulled out his cell phone, checked the time, and then made a call. As he waited for a connection he spotted a rack containing various flyers and campus announcements. It included a copy of the current course schedule. Being only a week into the school year, it was still early enough to petition for changes. He grabbed one and started methodically going over his options.

The other end of the phone picked up. "Your mom."

"No, your mom."

"What's up, Alex?"

"How much does it cost to enroll at that kung fu school you've been going to, Drew?"

"Hundred twenty-five a month, plus you gotta buy gear. But you can go almost every night of the week if you want. Why, are you finally thinking of going?"

"Yeah." That price would hurt. He could cover it for at least a couple months at the expense of the new computer he'd been saving for... but this was too important.

"Good. What changed your mind?"

"I, um... kinda got into a scuffle the other night while I was out alone, and I realized what an incompetent 'tard I am."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just got a little shoved around, but they won't be bothering me again. Close call, though, y'know? Kind of thing that makes you think."

"Well, you know nobody turns into an instant bad ass overnight, right? I mean that takes years, if ever."

"I hear you. What's the address and when's a good time to go by?" He jotted down the details, said thanks, and hung up. Then he turned back to the course schedule.

Life had gone crazy, and would with all likelihood continue to do so. Lorelei may have been bound to protect him, but he had no interest in hiding behind her. Moreover, he had no interest in her coming home one day to find him carved up and stuffed in the refrigerator because he filled the role of "helpless love-interest."