The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Richie jogged, feeling the burn, and was eager to make it contagious. The Cowie home, his girlfriend’s family home, was a quarter kilometer down his morning run. She needed to run. It was healthy. It was fun. It was something they did together. Harper really could lose some weight. He smiled, pumped his legs harder, and cut across her driveway and lawn to reach the front door.

Lilith, Harper’s little sister, looked so much like his girlfriend, minus the excess weight. She was Richie’s hope, because Lilith shared a great big cup size with Harper. Cowie DNA suggested that the weight would come off where it wasn’t appreciated. Hips, ass, and titties with a slim waist: the dream was real. Lilith had big blue eyes and thick warm lips. They were rimmed with bags and shivering respectively. Her dark hair was tied up in the half-assedest ponytail Richie had ever seen. He liked it. She wore slippers and a robe thick enough to stop bullets; it reached the floor.

“Hello Lovely’s sister!” Richie said with a great big smile. “You look like hell warmed over. Enjoy your birthday?”

“I’m told I did,” Lilith yawned. She leaned on the door jamb sipped from a clear teacup with the bag string dangling over her pale fingers. “You guys ditched early.”

Richie tutted. “We’re college adults, can’t be living that high school kid life anymore.”

“So you went back to your place for sex?” Lilith asked.

“Lily!” her mom shouted, “Close the door!”

“In a minute!” Lilith said. “Richard’s here!”

“Then tell him and close the door!”

“God, I wish I had someone to take me to bed that night,” Lilith said, sweetly. She blew on her tea before she took another sip.

“I had my hands full,” Richie smirked. Lilith laughed and looked over her shoulder. She shushed Richie and shook her head.

“I would’ve in heartbeat but shh! What if Harper hears you?” Lilith hissed quietly, but took the compliment well.

Richie sighed. “That’s who I’m here for. Get her running, fit, full of fresh air and confidence. Life is good and we can make it better. Like I said, we’re not kids. Nineteen years is enough time to go without taking things seriously.”

“You’re still 18 like me. Harper’s the one who had to buy our beer,” Lilith said, nitpicking.

“And that was a lot a lot of beer. Happy birthday!” Richie said, with his smarmiest smile. “In case you forgot me saying it.”

“Thanks,” she said. “I didn’t. I’d hug you, but the tea is warmer.”

“I know where I get my hugs from. So where’s Harp?” Richie asked. “Gotta get moving. Beautiful morning.”

“There’s frost on the fucking lawn,” Lilith said. “I wouldn’t go out in that. They have treadmills indoors now.”

“Yeah, but they’re at gyms,” Richie said. “Can you imagine having to talk Harper up for the long drive before the workout? This way we can get going as soon as I see my girl.”

“I don’t think you’re going to see her. She’s back in bed,” Lilith said. “She’s angry at you.”

“What?” Richie asked. “Why? Things were great yesterday morning.”

“How great?” Lilith asked, brightly smiling.

“None-of-your-business great,” Richie said.

“So, a 3, maybe a 4?” Lilith said. “Not bragworthy?”

“Lil!” Shouted her mom again. “It’s freezing!”

Richie and Lilith ignored Mary.

“Hardly. So Harp’s angry? Did she tell you why?” Richie worried.

“No, but I can guess,” Lilith gossiped. “You’re here to make her run off her big butt and she’s pissed at you because her big butt isn’t disappearing fast enough. Oh, and for checking out Perla’s smaller perkier ass.”

“Perla?” I frowned. “I haven’t seen her since prom.” Which was the only time Richie had ever seen Perla and Harper act cordial to each other. If there was anyone Harper hated it was the former cheerleader. Perla had mocked girls who couldn’t score a date and Prom was the first time Harper had ever had a date. Richie too, for that matter. Though, if Perla had mocked him in high school, he hadn’t noticed.

“She crashed the party,” Lilith said. “And you looked at her from behind.”

“I look at a lot of girls from behind,” Richie frowned. “Harper’ll point them out from time to time. She pointed out your butt to me before.”

“Mine? OK, that’s kinda sweet, but she wouldn’t do that when it’s far too early in the morning and she’s feeling gross,” Lilith said. “I wouldn’t push her.”

“I push her and she pushes me,” Richie complained. “Let me go get her.”

“Mom’s not going to let you go unsupervised into Harper’s room,” Lilith said.

“She knows we…?” Richie gestured expressively with his eyes.

“Oh, she knows,” Lilith laughed.

“Well, good,” Richie said. “Then can you go get Harper? We go running every morning. It’s our thing.”

“No, it’s something you dumped on her once you started going to college,” Lilith said. “Once summer was over and you had to see her in the company of skinnier girls. She hates having all of those college girls she has to compete with.”

“Harper!” Richie shouted into the house.

“Not this morning Richard!” Mrs Cowie shouted back.

“And that’s that,” Lilith said, finishing her tea.

“Tell her I…”

“You love her?” Lilith smirked.

“I wish she was out here with me,” Richie said.

“Oh yeah...” Lilith said, rolling her eyes. “Much better...” Lilith shook her head.

“We’ve never L-worded yet,” Richie frowned. “I’d rather not make our first time be through an intermediary.”

“Lilith! Get that boy off my step and close the door!” Mary shouted again.

“OK Mom!” Lilith shouted back over her shoulder. She looked into Richie’s face and then past him to the street. “Zita!”

Lilith’s voice shot like a bazooka over the lawn. Richie frowned and turned. He saw Zita, Lilith’s best friend, jogging in place on the sidewalk. She waved. Zita was a short girl, athletic, black, with a pretty face, wavy shoulder length hair and a form fitting red track suit. Her perfectly white sneakers bounced up and down on the sidewalk. Her ears and nose glittered with rings and studs. Her sports bra kept her boobs from bouncing uncontrollably.

“What’s up Lil?” Zita shouted.

“Richie’s lost his running partner!” Lilith replied. “I’m tagging you in!”

“Well hurry up Richie! I gotta go fast if I want to get my last four kilometers in, shower, and still get the bus!” Zita beamed.

“Tell Harp to text me,” Richie said. “Happy birthday again, Lilith.”

“Go,” Lilith said. “I need more hydration and caffeine.” She closed the front door in Richie’s face. He shrugged and jogged across the lawn to fall into stride beside Zita.

Normally, he’d be out on the sidewalk, jogging with Harper, as Zita The Flashed by him. This time Richie was able to keep up. He hadn’t really pushed himself in the six months he had been running with Harper. Zita had much shorter legs than Richie, but she had no trouble keeping up with his pace.

What she had was much more in the tank. They ran down the subdivision, across the highway, by the little coffee shop, and planned to run back. Richie was puffing like a steam engine.

“You gonna die on me?” she asked.

“Can I buy you a coffee?” he said, hoping for a moment.

She looked at the cafe and put two fingers to her carotid. She tilted her head. “OK, but we gotta run back as soon as we’re done.”

“Sure,” Richie said. He held the door for her. He bought their coffees and they grabbed a little table in the far corner. She sat down but her heels were bouncing like she was loaded with energy.

“Thanks,” she said, sipping and fanning her lips.

“Coffee’s hot,” Richie explained.

“Really?” Zita said, eyes growing wide and smile turning aghast. “You’re so learned, wise man.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” he said. “You look great.”

“Thanks. You look good too,” Zita said. “How are things with you and Harper?”

“She’s in a mood,” Richie said. He made an effort not to blame PMS. “I think she ran into someone she hated at Lil’s birthday and is using it as an excuse not to go running.”

“A cheat day every couple of months isn’t the worst,” Zita said.

“Is that what you do?” he asked.

“Fuck no!” Zita said. “But I don’t have a boyfriend. Gotta run this ass hard enough to get one.”

“And I’m taken,” Richie said, mocking himself with false confidence.

“Yeah, the good ones are always taken,” Zita said, with a moment of honesty that caught Richie off-guard.

“Damn,” Richie said. “I didn’t know girls would even want to date me, before Harper.”

“We probably wouldn’t have,” Zita said. “You needed to grow up. Get laid.”

“Well, I did that. Or at least the get laid part,” I said.

“Yeah,” Zita said, blushing. “Thanks for the coffee.”

“You said that,” Richie said.

“I mean,” Zita put the cup down, “I’m finished. I’m ready to go. You wanna stay and finish off yours? I’ll probably see you with Harper tomorrow.”

“Oh, yeah, no, I’m finished too,” Richie lied. He wanted to run with someone more. He tossed a two thirds full cup in the trash as he followed her out and ran with her. He faked it, until he said goodbye at the intersection before his house. He let himself huff and wheeze the rest of the way home.

“Hey brat,” Nat said, when Richie bumped into his elder sister as he staggered in their front door. Nat was two years older than him and in her junior year at college. She looked like Richie, tallish, freckled, brown haired, and approaching athletic. She was dressed in weather inappropriate cut off shorts and a white top.

“Hey homewrecker,” Richie said, picking at the thing Nat hated most about herself. She had basically no girlfriends left, because of stealing boyfriends.

“Oh god, you smell like you actually worked out this morning,” Nat said, not rising to take the bait. She waved her hand in front of her nose. “You didn’t kill your girl, did you?”

“She quit so I ran with Zita,” Richie said. Nat gave him a crooked look. “It was Lilith’s idea.”

“Whatever,” Nat said. “Don’t break Harper’s heart, just because you can land a prettier girl.”

“I’m not you,” Richie said, and went up to shower as his sister drove off to campus. “Harper’s worth a lot more than one pretty girl.”

“Just don’t be an ass,” Nat said. She unlocked her car with her clicker and raced across the walkway to get to the heater. Nat wasn’t going to wait for her brother, so Richie was going to have to take a bus. He went up and got a shower.

No texts from Harper by the time he had got to school. He cut through the East building to the cafeteria. He was usually only here this early because he came with Harper, or got a ride with Nat. He hadn’t done either and so zombied to school an hour before first class anyways. He looped the dorm kids getting their breakfasts. Sometimes Harper would grab a smoothie. She wasn’t there. He bought her favorite anyways. At least it was healthy.

He cut to the cafeteria and caught sight of Caitlin, a redhead scratching her hair with the eraser of a mechanical pencil as she poured over a textbook. She was cute, dark green eyes, and a whole buckshot of freckles. Her ears weren’t pierced and she wasn’t wearing makeup. She had on an unzipped hoodie over a loose pink t-shirt. She wore black jeans.

Richie stepped up behind her, pulled his straw until the base was half in half out of his smoothie. He slurped hard. She jumped out of her seat.

“Motherfucker!” she said, laughing for a second. Her pretty face got dark as Richie sat across from her.

“Hey Cait,” he said.

“I hear Harper took the day off,” Caitlin said. “I didn’t expect to see you until after classes.”

“She took the day off?” he frowned. “I thought she just didn’t want to go running. She’s not sick, is she?”

“Not that I know of,” Caitlin said.

“You look like hell,” Richie said. “Half a smoothie?”

Caitlin accepted the cup from Richie’s hand and took a deep drink. She made to give it back. “Finish it.” he said.

“Yeah, big spender on that Burger King salary,” Caitlin said. “But thank you.”

“Yeah, no worries,” Richie said. “What’s wrong?”

“Have you been talking to Jason?” Caitlin asked. Jason had been Richie’s best friend. Caitlin had been Jason’s girlfriend through high school. It had been Caitlin who had flushed out Harper to hook up with Richie for prom. He, Harper, and Caitlin had stayed local, but Jason was a genius. He was off at MIT on a full scholarship.

“Not since January,” Richie said, frowning. “I should get a hold of him. Shit.”

“Long distance is hard,” Caitlin said.

“What happened?” Richie asked.

“I,” Caitlin sighed. “At the party on Saturday. I danced with some guy and he kissed me.”

“Oh,” Richie said. He didn’t know what to do. He saw Caitlin everyday. He wasn’t not talking to Jason, but… They weren’t even in the same time zone.

“What would you do?” Caitlin said.

“If I went dancing and a guy kissed me?” Richie asked, trying to be aloof. Caitlin smiled.

“Hey, I know a few guys if you want to give it a try,” Caitlin said, waggling her eyebrows. “I just mean, if you fucked up, would you tell Harper?”

“Harper’s right here,” Richie said, metaphorically. He frowned. She hadn’t even come to school today because he had looked at another girl’s butt? Richie sighed. “I don’t know. If it was just the one kiss, and I regretted it, and I wasn’t going to do it again. I might not. Why hurt her?”

“That might be good advice,” Caitlin said, but she clearly disagreed. “I’m gonna see Jason again after exams. That’s only… six weeks away. I just… I haven’t gone forever with… um kissing and stuff...” She trailed off as her cheeks flushed.

“I know you guys had sex,” Richie said.

“Not like I know about you and Harper!” Caitlin defended. “It’s like the only action I get is her bragging.”

“You know, before Harper,” Richie leaned forward. “I managed with just me.”

Caitlin gave Richie a flat stare. “Sure,” she said. “Look, like I said. The only action I get is vicariously through her.”

“Oh,” Richie said, leaning back and flexing. “You’re welcome.”

Caitlin laughed. “Right, thank you so much.”

“Too bad you’re friends,” Richie said. “I like you and I like Jason. I’d take you in but Harper said she’d only have a threesome with someone she liked but didn’t know.”

“She said Gabrielle Xu,” Caitlin said, referring to the pop singer. “She has terrible taste in music, fyi.”

“Yeah, but great taste in women,” Richie said.

“You get the tickets?” Caitlin said. “She’s still sulking thinking that the concert’s sold out.”

“Yeah, backstage,” Richie said. “And, thanks for not spoiling it.”

“Like I said,” Cailtin sighed. “The only action I get. And I’m gonna be hearing about that night for weeks.”

Richie was worried by the end of the school day. Worried and guilty. He had texted Harper on the hour as he had done since she had missed the run. He felt needy and pushy but he knew Harper wanted the attention. She hadn’t responded at all.

The guilt came from the frustrated anger. He’d also been checking out Caitlin all day. Caitlin seemed oblivious, like Caitlin didn’t know she was cute, or maybe that over-attention was just her baseline. Harper was over the moon the days she caught someone checking her out. Which was much more common than Harper believed she had any right to. But she hardly noticed it unless Richie got protective.

Richie wanted to ditch work. That was normal. Burger King at its most hectic was boring for him. Lay shit on the meat, close the bun, wrap, next. He worked 8 pm till 4 am. He wasn’t going to ditch work. Which meant he had to get half of that night’s sleep before the shift. He went straight home from chem lab.

One last text and he slept with his phone on the pillow. He wasn’t woken up prematurely. He showered, pulled on his uniform shirt and stepped into black pants he hoped were clean enough.

“Nat! Can you drop me off at—”

His sister threw her car keys into his chest. He caught them on the rebound.

“Seriously?” He asked.

“To work and home,” Nat said. “You go joy riding again? You end up dead.”

“Right,” Richie frowned. He was as good with other people’s stuff as his sister was with other people’s boyfriends. “Thanks.”

He parked in the lot across the street from the restaurant. He pulled out his phone. He dialed Harper. They’d talked on the phone once since they had started dating. They texted near constantly.

“Yo!” Lilith’s cheer answered the phone.

“Lil? Did Harper leave her phone somewhere?”

“Yeah, on the couch while she went to shower,” Lilith said.

“I’m about to go into work, tell her I called. I won’t get a break before midnight so, I hope we can put this behind us tomorrow,” I said, frowning. “Is she OK?”

“She will be once she pulls the showerhead out of her cooch,” Lilith smirked.

“Lil!” Richie laughed when he heard Lilith’s mother scolding the daughter again.

“Anyway, good, I hate being in the dark,” Richie said.

He jumped, startled, by the knuckle rapping on his window. He was shocked to see Perla. The rich girl from high school who Harper hated and who had never given Richie the time of day. She was bent over, wearing a buttoned yellow shirt. Her nametag dangled down from her breast pocket. ‘Alice’s Diner’ was stitched in on the other side of her shirt. Richie only saw the slopes of her brown breasts.

Richie rolled the window down.

“He-ey! Hi!” Perla said. She was a bright smiling Latina with very wavy long hair and yellow brown eyes. She wore pink lipstick that stood out a bit too much. “We never got to talk on Saturday.”

“Talk?” Richie said. He swallowed because his voice had cracked. “Talk about what? Where?”

“At the party,” she said. “I hadn’t seen you since high school. I thought everyone was up and gone.”

“You barely saw me at all in high school,” Richie said, guardedly. Lots of their classmates were still in town at the college, but many more were off somewhere else too. Richie hadn’t kept tabs on any of the in-crowd’s circle of friends.

She laughed a laugh manufactured to confuse Richie. She was gorgeous. She was even better from behind. Harper had been pissed Richie had checked Perla out because Why should good asses happen to bad people? Maybe, he forgave Harper a bit.

“Alice’s?” he asked.

The smile came off of Perla’s lips as she looked down. She blushed but had steel features when she met Richie’s eyes again. “Yeah, I wasn’t expecting Papi to start charging rent.”

“Harsh,” Richie said. Though, he’d imagine that his father would act similarly if Richie wasn’t still in school. “Anyway, I have, uh, work in a minute.”

“Oh,” Perla’s face fell. “We should get together when we have time to catch up.” She tapped her lip and smiled. “Tomorrow! It’s a date!”

“What?” he said. She walked around his car to a new black Jetta in the spot next to him. She waved after she fastened her seatbelt.

“Fuck,” Richie said, frowning. He lifted up his phone. Still on, “Oh, shit. Sorry Lilith. I—”

“A date! With Perla?!” Harper shouted, hyperventilating. She hung up. Richie headbutted his steering wheel and heel punched it four times. He shoved his phone in the glove box. Otherwise he’d get fired by the end of the night for how often he was distracted. He slumped across the street. Traded in his sneakers for his terrible work shoes at the small cubby lockers in the breakroom.

“You look terrible.” Oksana was a year older than Richie, doing the same thing he was, paying for school with a job that she didn’t have to take home with her. She had dark brown hair, soft features, never any makeup, and hardly ever any jewelry. The nondescript uniform shirt did its best to make her into a formless drone, but she still had huge tits and everyone knew it.

“Girlfriend troubles,” Richie said.

“Tell me about it,” Oksana said. “Bitches be crazy.”

“You looking to try an all meat diet?” Richie asked. “Because you wouldn’t be the first girl today who insinuated she wouldn’t mind trading up.”

Oksana laughed. “God no! You’re like the best guy I know, but hell no! Even if bitches be crazy, bitches don’t be boys.”

“Yeah,” Richie said. “Can’t argue with that logic.”

“Well cheer up,” Oksana said. She dropped down into the seat next to Richie and put on a pair of ugly black flats to match Richie’s expendable sneakers. “You got hours of contributing to a national obesity epidemic to take your mind off it.”

“You’re a true friend,” Richie said. The problem was, the job took his mind off of nothing. Even when the late rush hit and his order screen was overfilled, he was still little more than a sandwich making robot. His mind was stuck on Harper.

Why did she have to get so jealous? He was excited to be her boyfriend. He wasn’t trying to fix her by asking her to run every morning. Since he had started, he had become a better boyfriend just by burning off the bad feelings with a run each day. Harper cheered up when they ran together, too. It was just that first block from her home that was a constant struggle. Plus, Richie tried to not check out every pretty girl he came across. He felt guilty just for even pretending that was a point in his favor. He was surrounded by gorgeous women who were rooting for Richie and Harper. Did they all have to claim they were envious?

Yeah, Lilith looked like Harper but shy the extra weight. The Cowie sisters were curvy, sure, with big eyes, bigger tits, imagination-triggering lips, and adorable smiles.

Yeah, Zita’s ass ran by them every morning. That girl was a total meathead jock. She wasn’t a body builder of muscle either. How could a hard body look so invitingly soft?

Yeah, Caitlin’s eyes were hypnotic, her freckles adorable, her dimples distracting. She was the skinniest of his female circle. A little elf with flowing red hair. It wasn’t Richie’s fault that truly hot redheads were that hot!

Yeah, Oksana had tits that could make a Burger King uniform look scandalous. She had long legs and looked great with no makeup and messy hair. She ate lunches at BK and still had her figure.

No, he didn’t have any excuse for the gorgeous Perla.

But… Harper and Lilith shared great features and Richie loved brightening up Harper’s bright smile with compliments of her skin or her lips or her hair. Of course, on her worst days, Harper was worried he was making her run to turn Harper into her sister.

But… Harper straight up pointed out Zita’s ass four mornings out of five. “Look at that! Richie!” she’d whisper. “No seriously, look!” And on day five? “Just run, Richie!”

But… Harper and Caitlin were best friends, now. They’d been kinda friends in high school, the fact that Jason’s loser friend had needed a date had sent Caitlin seeking out Harper for Richie. Caitlin was the one girl Harper never ever minded Richie looking at, even when Harper was under her cloud.

But… Harper didn’t even know Oksana. Harper never came by the BK since she and Richie had started dating, Oksana had gone to the other high school. Harper couldn’t get mad at Richie for Oksana… Right?

But… Harper didn’t really get mad. She got lost in herself. Richie wanted to bring her out of it. She was awesome when she was awesome. He was pissed he left his phone in the car. The order screen started to clear. Richie barely noticed as he wrapped another Double Whopper.

“Hey hey!” Oksana ducked from the front to the back. She had her headset on. “Do you need first break?”

“Nah, later’s better for me,” Richie said.

“Jimmy?” she asked their coworker manning the fryer.

“Yeah, anything to get me away from Unhappy Cloud over there,” Jimmy laughed.

‘What?” Richie asked.

“Cool, I’ll tell Flo,” Oksana said, naming their manager.

“You need to cover over here, Rich,” Jimmy said. “No way in hell Flo’s putting Frank on the fryers.”

“What? Why the fuck not?” Asked the drug addict toasting buns.

“Yeah, soon as the screens are clear,” Richie agreed. He sighed. Maybe he’d even eat here today. He had tried to keep the same good eating habits Harper aspired to, but he was craving the half-gummy onion rings he was going to be deep frying. It wasn’t out of petty insignificant revenge at all.

He tagged in Frank, crossed the kitchen as Jimmy grabbed his soda cup for a refill. He had made his own chicken burger and peaced out like lightning to pair cuisine with a cigarette. Richie had to pay slightly more attention working the fryers than he did wrapping burgers. It kept him out of his brain for a bit, though it was ticking by 1 am on Monday night (Tuesday morning, whatever.)

Time to lean, time to clean. He kept his hands busy but he was still worried.

“I know it says chicken tender sandwich, but you know what I’m getting and Frank’s on burgers.” Oksana poked her head back in. She stood up straight and pressed her headset. “Welcome to Burger King, what can I get for you tonight?”

“Why do you guys keep ragging on me?” Frank moaned.

Why does Flo not just fire you instead of putting you on one half-shift a week? Richie kept it to himself but mugged for the black domed security camera. Its blinking red light was like a nodding head. He shrugged and got back to work. He dropped a basket of fries before zigzagging between stations to put together the veggie burger and chicken tender medley sandwich Oksana would want.

“Hey, Richie.” Flo came down from the office. “I need to head out early tonight. Take your break with Oksana so I can send Frank home?”

“Sweet,” Frank said, looking forward to leaving.

You get four hours a week and she’s cutting it to three and a half, idiot.

“Cool,” Richie said. He didn’t order food. He and Oksana headed back as soon as Flo could put a headset on and Jimmy could tie his apron. Richie grabbed a sandwich and plastic tub of carrot sticks and celery from his bookbag and sat across the tiny table from Oksana.

“I’m reconsidering you over bitches. Maybe you can be a girl.” Oksana teased him for his healthy snack as she chomped into her burger.

“Nah, can’t manage the mood swings,” Richie said.

“No one can,” Oksana said. “Things bad bad with you and…”

“Harper.”

“Right, I was going to say Piper, I think,” Oksana said. “Normally, I’m just envious of you. I’d kill for a girl like her.”

“Thanks,” Richie said. “I needed someone to talk her up. I’ve been circling the drain since this morning.”

“Yeah, well,” Oksana said. “Don’t show weakness, or I’ll go full lioness and take down your water buffalo.”

Richie frowned.

“Gazelle better? Zebra?” Oksana asked.

“I’m just being an idiot,” Richie said. “Things’ll look better eye to eye.”

“I’m sure they will,” Oksana said.

Richie almost believed it. When he went back to work, it was just Jimmy, Oksana, and him in the restaurant. It was nice, they could tell terrible jokes they wouldn’t’ve dared with Flo there. Talking and stupidity cleared his head for the back end of his shift. He was cleaning up, Oksana was done first, she came over in her civvies and poked him.

“Wow!” he said, turning and smiling at her. She’d just ditched the uniform shirt and was wearing a black tank top now.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, titties.” Oksana rolled her eyes while she smiled. “I’m heading out, watch me out to my car?”

“Yeah, sure,” he nodded. “You know, as a guy, I’m more likely to get jumped going to my car?”

“Yeah, because you’re too dumb to ask a friend to make sure you’re not sexually assualted,” Oksana diagnosed. He hung out in the jamb of the store’s back door as she crossed the street to the parking lot Richie had also chosen. She waved. He waved back. There wasn’t much left to do, plus the morning maintenance guy was parking as Oksana drove away.

“Later Jimmy,” Richie said, hefting his bookbag as he and Jimmy crowded in the break room while the breakfast crew started their morning.

“See you… Wednesday?”

“I’m working tomorrow,” Richie said.

“Not me,” Jimmy said.

“Thursday then,” Richie said. Jimmy, walking home, went for the front door. Richie headed for the back. He was grabbed by the chest and slammed into the wall next to the back door.

“Hello Lovely!” he said, beaming as he let himself be womanhandled.

“You,” she said, forcing a smile. “I’ve been an asshole.”

“You OK?” he asked.

“I’m this good.” Harper looked both ways and unzipped Richie’s pants. She fished his cock out of his fly as she knelt down for him.

“Oksana was right!” Richie said, as he was sexually pounced upon en route to his car. It was a joke that he couldn’t share. Harper stopped with her breath on his cock as she looked up.

“Who?” Harper asked.

“Sorry,” Richie said.

Harper rolled her eyes. “Your mysterious work wife then?”

“She’s the one into wives,” Richie replied.

“I know, I ambushed her at the mall once,” Harper said.

“Why?”

“Because I was worried.” Harper’s admission of crazy jealous girlfriending was undercut by the two handed handjob she was performing at the moment.

“Well you shouldn’t be, maybe,” Richie said. Harper frowned at the maybe. It had been a vocal filler brought on by sexual attention. Not that he had even noticed it. Richie was leaning back, head against the wall, looking up at the security light. A security light next to a black plastic dome. He frowned, there was a small red flashing diode. Difficult as it was, as Harper took his cock in her mouth, he saw the red light stop its strobe and stay bright. “Maybe we should go somewhere there isn’t cameras?”

She stopped. He took a deep breath but she was just frozen with her hands unmoving and half of his foreskin inside her lips. “Harp?” He reached down and touched her hair. He couldn’t move it. She was rock solid. “Harp!” And he was stuck, with his cock tightly in her hands and trapped by the pressure from her mouth. “Harp!” He looked panicked. He reached for her neck, couldn’t feel her pulse. Her skin was implacable like warm porcelain. “Harper!”

“She’s caught between moments.” A woman’s voice slipped like silk across the parking lot. Richie looked up to see her. She was well-dressed with almond hazel eyes, wild black hair, and displayed, if small, breasts. She wore a black sweater, pentagonally cut from the neck to her cleavage, and a matching rumpled skirt that swished across the asphalt. Diamonds glittered in her earlobes. White gold necklaces spiderwebbed her throat and chest. Her eyes were darkly shadowed and her lips were vividly red. She walked, hips swinging, to approach Richie and Harper.

Richie quickly used both of his hands to cover the view of Harper’s mouth around his cock.

“She’s a giving woman, your girl,” the stranger said.

“What’s going on?”

“I cast a spell; I’d been hearing your frustration all day,” she smiled. The smile repelled Richie at first but he met her eyes and the fight oozed from his spine. “You can call me Morwen, Mr Jackson.”

One substitute teacher in grade six had once called Richie ‘Mr Jackson’. He shook out some cobwebs and narrowed his eyes at her. “Give Harper back to me.”

“On the contrary, Mr Jackson,” she said.

“Why do you know my name?” Richie demanded.

“I no longer perform sales cold,” Morwen declared. She slipped a hand into a fold of her skirt and reached forward to Richie. She closed her fist strategically to accommodate her dagger pointed red fingernails. “You’ve seen all day that valuable and beautiful women were ready for someone like you. You spent that time suffering at the whims of your Ms Cowie.”

“Everyone has bad days,” Richie said. “If you don’t want to see one of mine, let Harper go.”

It was a lie. This situation was so strange and impossible. If Morwen had verbally begun acceding to Richie’s bluster he would’ve barked out apologies. Then Morwen’s fingers opened.

Six little kidney beans sat in her hand. They were Crayola colored, red, blue, green, purple, brown, or yellow. He started laughing.

“And what? I toss them later and climb the beanstalk to steal gold from a giant that wants to grind my bones to make his bread?” He laughed until he coughed for lack of oxygen.

Morwen waited as Richie took slow breaths. Hard laughing had reminded him of how tightly his frozen girlfriend held his cock.

“That would just be a waste,” Morwen said. “Without the right fertilizers,” the word slipped from her tongue like the euphemism it clearly was, “you’d just have a garden that performed worse than if you had spent twenty dollars for seeds at Walmart.’

Richie took a deep breath. He had questions but he didn’t want to be baited.

“Know, these are seeds of devotion, desire, and debauchery,” Morwen smiled.

“Which one’s which? Is red debauchery? Can I have six of those?” Richie asked.

“Clever, a bit of humor always makes such tedious work as business more agreeable,” she said. “They all contain their flavors of devotion, desire, and debauchery. The colors are simply an artistic bent of mine, to everyone else they are simply white, powderable, dissolvable. You and me, we see the colors. It wouldn’t do for you to mistake which beverage you have flavored.”

“What?” Richie had said.

“You’ll learn. Feed them to the objects of your desire. Choose the women for whatever you wish and these will assure you that your new loves’ll be happy to have been chosen. All for your lovely Miss Cowie and an end to her constant frustrations.” Morwen showed the beans clearly under Richie’s nose.

“She’s not mine to sell,” Richie said, seeking an excuse.

“Not according to her,” Morwen said. “Do you recall when we met Saturday night?”

“What? You’re one of Lil’s friends?” Richie took a soothing deep breath. “It doesn’t surprise me that she’s in some witch’s coven. It really surprises me witchcraft is real though.”

“Frighteningly real,” Morwen agreed.

“So, I give you Harper for magic beans?” Richie said.

“That is the price,” Morwen agreed.

“I should discuss this with Harper,” Richie said.

“We did,” Morwen said.

“Happy 18, Lil,” Richie had hugged his girlfriend’s sister and handed her a four pack of tallboys.

“Oh my god! A gift I actually want!” Lilith slammed back into Richie tightly hugging him.

“You know I bought them, right?” Harper asked. “And please stop humping Richie’s leg, puppy girl.”

“Yeah, with his money though, right?” Lilith stuck her tongue out at Harper. She literally humped Richie’s leg three quick times. “Zita! More beer!”

“No more beer Lilith!” Came the morose voice from across the living room. Lilith ran off. A half dozen high school guys puppy-dogged after her. The wake of simps cut through the crowd. There were a good bunch of college kids here too, Harper’s invites mostly. Mary was out and it was Lilith’s birthday. Caitlin attempted to wade over to Richie and Harper but the redhead got caught by a swaggering pretty boy.

“Should we go over and save her?” Richie asked.

“It’s Caity,” Harper shrugged. “If she didn’t want attention would she have forced her ass into those jeans?”

“I guess not?” Richie said, happily smiling. Harper rubbed his head. There was a crash across the room. Richie turned to see Lilith on the ground as three boys helped her up.

“If anyone can save herself, it’s Caity…” Harper continued. Richie was glad Lilith was OK as the menagerie of high school drunks continued out of sight. “What are you looking at?”

“What?” Richie hadn’t even noticed the curvy brunette beyond the kerfuffle. She was at the front door bent over distractingly in an almost-short-enough-to-pay-off skirt. He relaxed. No doubt Harper was about to make a lovely crude comment.

“Ugh,” she grimaced. “Of course even you too. Let’s go.”

“Harp?” he asked, but she had hooked a right and he rushed after her, forgetting the brunette. They cut through the crowds and ended up on the back step. There was another girl, swirling a wineglass, leaning on the railing and watching the clouds. Morwen. Though Richie wouldn’t learn her name until the time between moments. She was dressed less flashily on Saturday, still in black. A turtleneck, jeans, and knee-high boots.

“You OK, Harp?” he asked as she sat down.

“I love your necklace,” Morwen said, to Harper. Harper picked up the little silver charm of a harp that had been mostly under the neckline of her shirt. She dropped it on her breasts and hummed.

“Thanks,” Harper said.

“Harp?” Richie asked.

“Can you get me a drink, Rich?” Harper leaned back. “No more alcohol. There’s Pepsi in the fridge.”

“Sure,” he said and went back inside.

“He’s going to get me a Diet,” Harper said, sighing.

“That’s not what you asked for,” Morwen said. She smiled. “Morwen.”

“Harper, Lilith’s sister.” Harper gestured inside with her head. If Morwen wasn’t one of Harper’s she was one of Lilith’s. Or a friend of a friend of Lilith. Lilith was less choosy about who found out about the party.

“Harper Cowie?” Morwen asked.

“Yeah,” Harper nodded. It seemed Morwen was only a friend of a friend at best. “Welcome to my backyard.”

“Your parents’ backyard,” Morwen corrected.

“Well, I’m not going to get my own place until Richie…” Harper frowned. “Or will that be Richie’s place?”

“Your boyfriend?” Morwen asked. She said ‘boyfriend’ weirdly, like she had wanted a better word but that as all she had.

“Yeah,” Harper said, defensively. She looked up Morwen and down a rival. “He’s taken. I’m taken.”

“You belong to him?” Morwen smiled.

“Yeah, I belong to Richie Jackson,” Harper declared, proudly.

“Is there room for another?” Morwen asked. Harper’s face reddened and she smiled. Lionesses and she-wolves often smiled, or at least pulled back their lips baring fangs.

“Not while I’m here,” Harper said.

“Agreed,” Morwen nodded. “I think I’m done here for tonight.”

She left, cutting through the lawn and the Kinnison’s backyard to leave via Maple Street. Harper smiled to see her go.

“Hey,” Richie said, coming out the back door. “Here you go. Lose your new friend?”

Harper reached up and took the cold can of Pepsi. Pepsi, not Pepsi Max or Diet Pepsi. Real sugar. Harper put it down on the step. “Let’s go to your place.”

“Really? I don’t think Lilith’s in any condition to handle things in there.”

“Yeah, but it’s not my house, it’s Mom’s house. You are mine. I’d rather handle what’s mine,” she stood up, smiling. “Don’t you want to handle what’s yours?”

Richie sat in his sister’s car. Magic beans sat in the cupholder. He blinked a few times before he turned the key. Frowning, he remembered to pull up his zipper before driving. Nat’d kill him if he didn’t go straight home.