The blank look on Jessica's face that slowly melted into a look of confusion before it morphed into a mask of angry determination nearly made me howl with laughter. I realized she didn't think I was serious.
"I'm can't go out with you. You're already with Kelli for god's sake," she nearly yelled.
"Why not," I responded with an overly confident nonchalance. "I am not interested in you romantically, and going on a date with me would be great practice with absolutely no downsides. We will have a wonderful time, you will see what it is like to be out with a woman, and Kelli will be free to go out with Paul, because she is dying to get to know him."
"Wait, what do you..." she began, and I could see the confusion settle in on her once again.
"Look Jessica, I am going to tell you some things and you need to keep an open mind to hear them. Can you do that?"
She nodded to me that she could, and I placed my hand on the side of her face so that her attention was completely on me.
"I can't go into all of the details, because that would just be dirty porno creepy, and because some of it involved Paul, and that would be his story to tell, not mine."
I paused to let that sink in, and then I took a deep breath and continued on with my story.
"Like I said out there a while ago, I did not realize that I was or could be in love with Kelli until midnight on New Year's. I was taken completely by surprise. But she had some friends she needed to say hi to, and I wanted to dance some so we split up for a couple hours."
"I found Paul there in the basement of your house, and he had been treated quite badly by a couple of, well I'll just say it, a couple of heartless bitches, and the same intuition that let me know I needed to talk to you tonight told me to talk to him. You still with me?"
She had moved to sit beside me on the counter and we held hands because both of us felt the need for mutual support.
"So, Paul and I talked, we danced, and he was a perfect gentleman. I restored his faith that there were women out there that could appreciate a nice guy, and he restored my faith that there were still good guys out there that could appreciate everything a girl had to offer, not just her tits and ass."
"I made it clear to him that I was not seeking a long term relationship, but that I did find him attractive, and we completely enjoyed the short time we had together. My feelings told me that I had helped pull Paul back from an emotional brink that would have crushed him, and left him a much lesser man, and I was thrilled that I could do that for him."
"So you two..." and Jessica's questioning face made me laugh yet again.
"Yes, we..." I replied in jest before continuing. "But that is not what was important. A few days later, as Kelli and I talked about our relationship we came to some conclusions. These were due to some things that I can't and won't explain right now, but that are related to what I am."
I indicated my ears and my tail for her so that my message would be clear, and then I rolled on with my impromptu bathroom confession.
"For whatever reason, there will be other people in my life that I will feel compelled to bring to my bed, other than Kelli. She knows this, and we both understand that they may share my body with her, but they will never have all of my heart. That is hers and hers alone. I think Paul is one of those I needed to be shared with."
"Hearing you say that is confusing as hell," Jessica replied, while shaking her head. "But strange as it is, when you say it, it makes a weird kind of sense."
"It does make sense, and I can assure you that even though it makes perfect sense, I am still bat-shit crazy."
The laughter was coming more frequently between us, and I could see the beginnings of a bond forming between Jessica and me. Like Ali, this was a bond of friendship rather than romance, and my heart soared with joy for my new friend.
"So Kelli and I came to a rather unconventional decision. When it was possible, I would share any extra bedmates I brought into our relationship. And that brings us to tomorrow."
"I think I see where this is going," she said, and jumped down to wash her face one more time. "So tomorrow I go out with you, for practice only right?"
"Yes, for practice only. Though I think we will hold hands and do other things that people who are attracted to each other do on a first date. And if you are good, you might get a good night kiss."
"And Paul will be going out with Kelli?"
I nodded to her before replying with a grin, "I hope so, but if he does, my guess is he won't make it home until sometime the next morning."
The shocked look on her face gave way to another fit of giggling and we both took a few more minutes so that Jessica could look presentable.
"And in that case, he most certainly will have had a goodnight kiss, or five," and both of us lost control and laughed out loud. "Now we better get out there before they send in the rescue squad to find us. Plus we can't miss your brother's second set. He seemed to think it was going to be spectacular."
Jessica was finally presentable, and was also in a much better state of mind as we made our way back to our group. I slid in next to Kelli, and put my arm around her, kissing her soundly just because I could, before I leaned over and leaned my head against hers.
"Jessica and I are going out on a date tomorrow," I whispered to her, and I was surprised that all I got from Kelli was a raised eyebrow. "You're ok with this? Before I tell you why?"
"First off sweetie, I saw how she looked at us just before you had us switch up dance partners, and even I could tell that something was up. I also felt your concern as you took her to the bathroom to freshen up. I figured that she might be somewhat confused, and unlike us, did not have the benefit of some well-placed magic to help things along."
"Is this going to be a sexual thing," Kelli asked after a moment's pause. "Or is my instinct that she just needs a push to get her heart and mind looking for the same thing what is going on?"
"Yeah, the latter is about the long and short of it. I'm not attracted to her like that, and I am not getting a feeling that she needs that kind of relationship with me, or us really. So it's just a date, to practice dating. The good news is you get to take Paul out tomorrow, if he wants to go," and I giggled a bit at the almost sinister grin that appeared on Kelli's face.
"You're right. That is something that I am looking forward to," she replied, and then her face took on a somewhat more serious look. "Are you sure you are ok with me doing that?"
I didn't answer Kelli right away, and I let my mind recall all of the talking she and I had done right after New Year's. We had talked about what my being the Aspect of Love would mean for us, and how we would deal with it. We both came to the conclusion that a complete sharing of everyone I would eventually get involved with was the only way to make things work. It was the most logical and elegant solution that we could come up with, but there is definitely a difference between theory and practice.
Now that we were rapidly approaching the practice part, I had to think on things for a minute before I could answer her. No matter how I looked at it, however, Kelli going on a date with Paul, and most likely taking him to bed, was more than ok with me. Just like going out with Jessica for her to practice felt right, so did both of us taking this next step with Paul.
"Yes," I answered, with a conviction that I now felt both intellectually and emotionally. "I can't explain it, but it feels right. And you should have a marvelous time both in and out of bed. Though I hope that you both will save some for me for after I get back."
I almost lost control at the shocked look on Kelli's face, and we both laughed together, realizing a new level of comfort and understanding in our growing relationship. We probably would have continued on with our little discussion if the lights in the Tavern hadn't chosen to dim at that moment. It appeared as if Paul and his group's second set was about to start so Kelli and I settled down and got ready for act two.
The bar didn't bother to announce the group this time, but let them just break into the first number of the second set, and as before, the mellow sounds had everyone there swaying to the music in no time. Yet again, I was impressed with how good these guys were even though they had only been playing together for a short time.
I had a warm feeling inside as I listened to the flow and movement of their music, and I was glad that the budding instincts and powers involved in my transformation had led me to Paul, and had pushed me to give him advice about being his own person. The beauty that was on display tonight was all their work, but I was content knowing that I had a small hand in moving them to this path.