[Spirit of Lust 2] Chapters 556 & 557. (Patreon)

Chapter 556: Blueprints.

Alice’s grievances over eating inside the van were alleviated by the presence of the table. The thing was at just a bit below chest level, but it worked well to keep the bags of fast food there. And despite wanting to eat inside, the girls were still very careful not to leave any stains or the like. I wasn’t eating, though, at least not while I was driving.

We went to the hotel and parked somewhere nearby since we would only be stopping by for a minute or two. I admit I felt some shame when parking the van took me more time and effort than it should have. With Alice there it was like my teacher was watching me flunk a test while silently judging me. She wasn’t actually judging me, but still, it felt awkward.

“It’s your first time driving a vehicle this big, Oliver. Relax,” she told me, giggling. “You do need more practice, though. Hm. And maybe so do I. I’m not too used to driving these, either.”

As we stepped out of the van, we saw Diana already walking towards us. Before even glancing at the van, though, the thing we came to show her, she came up to me and gave me a tender hug.

“Congratulations on your graduation,” she told me, kissing me on the cheek. “I’m sorry I couldn’t go.”

I chuckled. “Thank you. And don’t worry about it. We didn’t stay long, anyway.”

She let me go and proceed to hug and congratulate everyone else, too. Diana’s proper like that. Only then did she move her attention to the new van, eyeing it from side to side.

“So your mom gave you this as a graduation gift?” she asked.

“A little much, right?”

“Maybe, but when you consider you’re moving out of the house through your own means…”

Mmm. That’s right. I hadn’t thought of it like that. One could almost see it as a moving away gift as well.

“It looks great and it’s probably the most useful thing she could give you. Be sure to take care of it, alright? Don’t rely on Alice all the time.”

I nodded. “I will.”

“If she lets you,” Sarah told me. “I get the feeling that van will end up with a turbo at one point or another.”

“Wha…!? Sarah, please, I’m not a maniac! Is that how you guys see me?” Alice pouted with arms crossed.

“Hey, by the way,” Diana continued. “I know this is sudden, but when I asked Luke if I could have a couple of minutes to see you, he wanted me to ask you if you had a moment to see him, too. All of you.”

I blinked. “All of us?”

Diana nodded. “The construction company sent him the preliminary plans for the house and he wants you to check them out with him around, if possible. He says that if you have any complaints or changes you want to make he can let the company know immediately. If you can’t, then he’ll email you the plans.”

I looked back at the girls. “What do you think?”

“That there’s not much time left until we have to start university,” Grace said. “I know Mr. Allen said this company was fast, but I think we should also hurry up with making our decisions.”

“I’m with her,” Alice said. “And we’re already here and in no hurry to be anywhere else. What do we have to lose?”

Everyone seemed to be in agreement with them as well.

“Alright, then. You’ll join us, right? I mean, I need your opinion on the bar I’m building for myself and no one else,” I teased her.

Diana chuckled and shook her head. “Only if I’m not needed anywhere else.”

She took us to Luke’s office, the same place where we’d talked just the other day.  He welcomed us with his usual cheer.

“Ah, please come in, everyone. I apologize for the mess. I’ve been moving things here.”

He did say he was making this place his main office now. His empty bookshelves were no longer empty, he had more tables and cabinets that matched his desk and there were boxes, full and empty, pushed against a corner of the room.

“Sorry to intrude…” Noelle said softly. Her shoulders were stiff and she was looking all around. Yeah, it was awkward to be invited into someone’s office for the first time.

“No, miss. I apologize for calling you so suddenly. Diana, please stay with us. I’m sure Oliver wants you to see this, too.”

“...Very well.”

I could also tell Diana felt a bit uncomfortable, likely because she still had stuff to do and it felt wrong for her to be pushing them aside for personal matters.

As Luke turned his computer screen towards us (it was a fairly big screen for a desktop computer) and opened the blueprint files, he took the opportunity to also congratulate us on our graduation.

“This is the start of a new stage of your life for all of you,” he told us. “I do hope you’re all able to adapt quickly. But before that you have your vacations. I recommend enjoying them to the fullest.”

“We’ll try,” I told him.

“Please do. Ah, there we go. Take a look. This is what your house may look like unless you want to make some changes.”

We all studied the first blueprint on the screen. It was a draft of the house from the outside, with notes that said the material used on each part. Three floors and a facade of fieldstone. A small porch at the front entrance and a balcony slightly behind it on the second floor. There was another balcony on the back-left side of the third floor. A detached garage to the right and a pool in the backyard. The roof tiles were of classic clay.

Two staircases would be right at the main entrance on the first floor. The kitchen and dining room shared the same space (I believe they call that a kitchen-diner?) and it would be to the right of the house along with the living room while the library and the bar would be to the left. There was an empty space in the middle, with two small restrooms also in it. An exit at the back would lead to the backyard and the pool.

The second floor would be practically all bedrooms. There were eleven bedrooms and two bathrooms. Four of those bedrooms seemed smaller than the others, so I assumed those would be guest rooms. Then, aside from one bigger room in the middle, the others were pretty much the same size.

Now the third floor was a bit more interesting. The gym would be there, since I’d likely have to stop going to my usual place since I’d be too far from it. It would also have Noelle’s game room right across from it. Another, larger bathroom would be there too, with another empty room to its left. Spaces left for us to give it whatever use we’d need, I suppose. Then there was the music room, a place for me to play music without bothering anyone. Soundproofed, of course. And then behind it… a place labeled ‘The hidden room.’

I swallowed. “C-Can they really do it?” I asked Luke.

“Of course! A door looking like an inconspicuous shelf. Taking advantage of the soundproofing, your ‘special room’ will be right behind your music room. It seems the large pond nearby makes building a basement difficult and the team advises against it.”

It had everything we asked for and more. Mila’s special room, Grace’s library, Sarah’s pool, Alice’s garage, Noelle’s game room, Diana’s bar and my music room. Plenty of bedrooms and plenty of space, both inside and outside.

A project of this size made me doubt the team could finish it all on time, but… Well, let’s just say I never had any reason to worry.

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

Chapter 557: Oliver, alone.

So I was now officially out of school, and it felt weird. It wasn’t even 1:00 pm and I was back in my house with nothing to do until later in the day. I drove the girls back to their houses and they all had their own things to do and people to meet. One last meeting with people they’d probably not see often again, if ever. 

Like I said, the people I wanted to keep in contact with weren’t going far, or anywhere, really. I was one of the few lucky ones in that sense. Isabelle was out as well, hanging out with a big group from her class and mom had gone back to work, having only asked for permission to leave for our graduation ceremony.

It was only Cake and I in the house as I lay on my bed and Cake lay on top of me, and I felt seriously weird. No homework to do, no test to study for, no school event on the horizon… People I’d only just started to know I’d no longer see again. That last part was surprisingly painful now all of a sudden. 

I suppose that for all my talk of not caring about graduating, leaving school still left a small hole. Years of routine suddenly gone, and I wouldn’t know what was truly coming my way until after summer vacation.

“The only thing that’s staying the same is that I’m still working at the coffee shop,” I told Cake as I scratched behind her ear. “And even then I’ll be taking new shifts for a while. And soon enough I may have to quit to work at Luke’s hotel.”

I had a shift that day at 6:00 pm. Maria asked me to go to help the new girl, Mr. Carlos’ daughter, and I have to admit I was more than a little nervous about it.

There was something about her that it was hard to explain. We hadn’t spoken much, and being honest I had way too much on my plate to think about her all the time. But now that I had to work with her… I found myself feeling somewhat excited, and it worried me.

I… liked her, superficially speaking. She was attractive, had a gorgeous figure, a beautiful face and an exotic air about her. Certainly my type, no doubt about that. Despite that, I had no intention of… pursuing something with her. Too many reasons not to. She was the daughter of a man I knew, my relationship with Diana was still fairly new and she was only just settling in with us, I was already satisfied with the relationships I had and, most importantly, I barely even knew her. And yet… when I saw her… I don’t know if it was simple lust or something deeper, but I felt something from her that was similar to what I felt from Diana when I first met her. A vague impression that… that she and I would be good together.

We had talked about that with the girls before. I had told them about this and we theorized that maybe it was part of my powers, a hidden trait that had yet to fully develop in the way my mind-reading had.

…

That was another thing, too. Developing my own powers. I remember I used to be scared of them at first. Scared of having them, but also scared of losing them. They were the reason I was receiving attention from the girls I liked, and that was both fortunate and painful. I liked it, but knew that these powers were the only reason I was even in their radar.

I try not to think about it too much now, but even if I know the girls don’t only like me for the sex, it’s impossible to deny that magic is a pillar of our relationship. Who knows if I’ll have them forever. Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. But the fact was that I needed them to support my relationship with the girls.

I think I remember telling Mila once that I saw worth in honing a skill, any skill. This was back when she was wondering what to do for her future. So… If I follow my own advice, there should be worth in honing my ability to use magic. At this point it was a part of me, not just something borrowed. It seemed like the responsible thing to do.

What will I be able to do? Where can we take these abilities? In what direction? I admit I found myself excited thinking of these questions.

Cake was licking the back of her paws as I wondered about all this stuff, and it ended up giving me a stupid idea. “Do you think we could make you talk if we used magic?” Cake meowed, and I decided to believe it was only in response to me talking and not an actual answer. “Forget it. Terrible idea. We’d never shut you up.”

How much time went by while I was thinking all this? An hour? Two? Nope. Only 15 minutes.

“...I’m bored,” I muttered to myself.

When was the last time I had a moment like this? Nothing to, and nothing I wanted to do, either. I considered sitting up and playing a game, but wasn’t really feeling it. I could play the guitar or practice more with the bass, but I wasn’t in the mood for it, either.

…

But I had nothing else to do, and sometimes you have to force yourself to do things even when you’re not in the mood. If I wanted to one day make music my job, I’d have to get used to it.

…

My job? Hmm.

Instead of grabbing my guitar, the bass or even the ocarina, I grabbed my phone and began to search. I was getting better at improvising and even had a few original pieces that had come from that, but I still knew very little about theory. I knew Hyogen University didn’t have the best music courses, so why not start some independent studies ahead of time? With the power of the internet, there were many places to learn from.

Ended up spending the whole afternoon doing that. Felt productive.