Awakenings 32

My Summer Project Part 2: Awakenings

-- Prologue: Suddenly I See

"Suddenly I see / This is what I wanna be..."

"In less than a day, I went from sandwich duty to scientific immortality. And she did it with a kiss and a tennis skirt."

-- Francis "Frankie" Hollis

"WAIT!" Bobbi said, stopping suddenly. "Shit, I almost forgot to tell you."

Frank halted mid-step, his heart skipping. "Tell me what?"

"I had my staff check for existing patents on those two ideas you gave me. If nothing turns up, we're filing under your name as primary. Since you don't work for the company that shall not be named, I'll help you negotiate your royalties. Oh, and we should loop in your dad when he's back."

Frank blinked, stunned. "What?"

"They're your ideas, Frank. You deserve the credit," she said matter-of-factly. "Also... how'd you like to join my team? We'll wait until after the patents are filed so it doesn't complicate the royalties. But you'd start part-time, since you're still in school. Your first-year salary alone should cover grad school."

Frank just stared at her. "What?"

Bobbi smiled, kissed him again, and turned, continuing down the hall as if she hadn't just flipped his entire life upside down.

Frank scrambled to catch up.

Holy crap... Today is turning out way better than how it started. I don't think anything else could possibly top this.

---

Francis (Frankie) Hollis followed the astonishing Dr. Bobbi Baxter down the hall toward the conference room, his thoughts spinning.

A storm of emotions tumbled through him, colliding like waves in a gale. Logic tried to take over... there was a big meeting ahead... but his attention kept wandering to the gentle sway of Bobbi's hips beneath that tight tennis skirt.

Frank hadn't planned to host. He hadn't even planned to stay past lunch. His original Saturday itinerary? Attend the meeting, then hit up his friend John's party and hook up with the teasingly flirtatious Susan Williams. But as the saying goes,

The best-laid plans of mice and men...

Life had curveballs... and that morning, one was thrown fast and low. Ted Hollis, his father, got a call: Grandma had taken a fall. Though her injuries weren't life-threatening, they required hospitalization, and Ted and Cathy (Frank's mom) left for Mt. Prospect as soon as Bobbi arrived.

"Francis," Ted had said, gripping his son's shoulder. "You know this project better than anyone. You've got this. Be gracious, take care of everyone, and don't let them drink all the good wine."

And just like that, Frank was in charge.

-- Chapter 1: Head Over Heels

"Something happens and I'm head over heels... I never find out till I'm head over heels..."

"It wasn't the sex. It was the gravity. The way she looked at me like I already mattered."

-- Frank Hollis

The house on Lower Genesee Lake, with its twenty acres of private woods, beach, and guest-ready layout, was impressive... perfect for impressing the committee and the representative from the Pine Run Trust. After all, the future of 150,000 pristine acres on the Door Peninsula hung in the balance.

Bobbi Baxter had arrived early. Frank hadn't known what to expect. Certainly not her.

Petite, maybe five-two, she was three years older, with sun-kissed blonde hair, ocean-blue eyes, and legs that wouldn't quit. But it wasn't just her looks. This was Dr. Bobbi Baxter: Vice-Dean of Sciences, AI Director at Caltech, Pine Run Trust President, tech prodigy, literary brain, and total knockout.

She should've been intimidating. She wasn't.

She was funny, sharp, playful. Disarming. And she seemed genuinely interested in what he had to say... not just about life, but about tech, design, systems. About him.

And then there was the sex. Or, more accurately, the spellbinding blur of lust and connection that happened in the guest cottage... a spontaneous fusion of minds and bodies that left him reeling. They'd made love. Not just once. And he hadn't felt this way about anyone before. It wasn't just physical. It wasn't even just emotional. It was something deeper, and he didn't have a word for it yet.

Her entrance through the patio doors a few minutes ago, made him blink and his stomach flip. She looked amazing, the sight of her, sunlit, smiling, casual, drove his thoughts wild.

"Frankie?"

Focus, Hollis,

he thought.

Get it together. You've got a meeting to run.

But his gaze was drawn to her again, zeroed in on the sway of her hips as they walked toward the conference room.

"YO! Earth to Frank!" Bobbi's voice broke the spell. She grinned. "Where am I going?"

"Shit... sorry!" Frank flushed, hurrying to open the door. "Here. Conference room."

His mind was a whirlwind... passion, purpose, panic, possibility all tangled together. Frank had always been a dreamer, but this wasn't a fantasy. It was happening. And he was at the center of it.

She'd changed everything. Bobbi was a force of nature... a black hole, maybe, pulling him into her orbit, rewriting gravity as he knew it. The life he woke up to wasn't the life he was living now. And maybe that was the point.

He opened the door and stepped inside.

Time to show them who Frank Hollis really is.

-- Chapter 2: Ain't That a Kick in the Head

"Like the fella once said, ain't that a kick in the head..."

"Nothing prepares you for the moment you realize your conference room used to be a porn set... and your weekend guest might want to stream the footage."

-- Frank Hollis

Bobbi stopped short as she stepped into the massive room, her eyes wide with wonder.

"Jesus..." she murmured, nearly breathless. "This place just keeps getting better and better. How big is it?"

"Forty by eighty feet," Frank replied with a touch of pride in his voice. "This was Dad's pet project when we moved in."

It was the largest room in the house by far... possibly larger than some apartments. Towering windows stretched from floor to ceiling along the lake-facing wall, the blackout curtains drawn back to reveal Lower Genesee Lake shimmering under the early afternoon sun. Boats glided across the sparkling blue surface, and the breeze carried the sound of distant laughter.

The room's original purpose was a mystery... possibly a ballroom, maybe even a studio. Whatever it had been, the Hollises had transformed it. A massive projection screen dominated one end, matched by a cutting-edge digital projector at the other. Rows of plush theater seats... salvaged and modified from a closed local cinema... lined the room. Today, though, the space had been reconfigured with a sleek conference table and rolling chairs.

"It didn't always look like this," Frank added, watching as Bobbi set her bags down on the table.

"Oh?" she asked, glancing back at him with curiosity.

Frank smirked. "You want the full story?"

Bobbi leaned against the table and crossed her arms. "Always."

Frank's memory pulled him back, vivid and a little absurd.

The day they first toured the house, this room had been something else entirely.

He'd stood in the doorway with his parents and Mari, staring at rows of props, furniture, lighting rigs, and strange soundproofing. There were set pieces from different decades, camera mounts, and what appeared to be... very clearly... sex toys scattered across a shelf.

"Mom?" Frank asked in disbelief.

Cathy's voice was a low whisper. "Shit, Frankie... I think this was a porn studio."

"Mom... what?" he stammered.

She didn't answer, just shook her head slowly, scanning the racks of lube and lingerie like she was assessing ingredients in a recipe.

Across the room, Mari stood silently... back to them. When Frank stepped closer, he saw the sly grin on her face and the massive pink dildo she was holding. She stroked it with two fingers like she was examining a museum piece, before grasping it with her hand and stroking it. Her palm rolled over the head in practiced motion before sliding down the shaft. Mari sighed, her hand stroked the garish looking cock while her other hand gripped and squeezed the base of the shaft. Her fingers traced over the large balls before cupping them. Mari sighed...

She rolled her palm over the head with each upward caress of her hand. Her other hand wrapped around the base. She sighed..

"Hey, sis, whatcha doing?" Frank whispered into her ear.

Mari jumped, startled. She spun around, holding the toy between them before hiding it behind her back with a guilty smile and a light flush on her cheeks. "Just exploring," she muttered and vanished out of the room.

Their mom, ever the pragmatist, spoke up from the center of the room.

"Ted," she said, voice echoing in the space, "renovate the hell out of this room. Add whatever you need to the budget." She glanced at an array of sex toys as she walked toward the entrance. "And for the love of God, don't make me explain this to the Knights of Columbus wives. We're not turning it into a confessional booth either."

Frank chuckled softly at the memory. "Dad didn't even blink. Said he had the perfect vision for the space."

Bobbi laughed. "I love your mom. Did she really say that?"

"Oh yeah. And when dad asked if he had an open budget, she said, 'Yes, dear.' That was all he needed to hear."

Bobbi circled the table slowly, taking it all in again.

"Was there... anything left behind?" she asked, a wicked gleam in her eye.

Frank raised an eyebrow. "Define 'anything.'"

Bobbi flashed him a wry grin.

Frank's mind flickered to the night Mari brought him an SSD drive.

He paused, then added, "I came back later. I figured maybe I'd find something worth salvaging. I found some flash drives and SD cards. Mari came back too, with her backpack."

"She wanted souvenirs?" Bobbi asked, smirking.

"Yup. Grabbed a few of the toys. She was disappointed, though."

Bobbi raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"She said the strap-on, the double-ended dildo, and a couple of big ones were missing. Thought maybe Mom took them."

Bobbi let out a wicked grin. "Did she?"

Frank laughed. "I think so. A week later, I saw the double-ended one under Mom's side of my parents' bed when I went in to grab a notebook."

Bobbi gave a delighted, throaty laugh. "Amazing. And what was on the cards?"

"Raw footage... tons of it. Unedited clips, full scenes, multiple takes. Some of it's hot. Mari found an SSD with rough cuts of full movies."

Frank hadn't told anyone what happened after he and Mari started watching the movies on that drive. How she removed her pajamas and then his. How she sat on the floor, using that pink dildo on herself, its thick girth stretching her as she rapidly plunged it deep until she came. Then how she climbed onto his lap, sweaty and wet. Her hot, velvet sheath engulfed him. How intense his orgasm was when he filled her. Mari shuddering, eyes rolling back into her head. And then how his Mom almost caught them, opening his door just after Mari had scooted into their shared bathroom. How her blue eyes sparkled as she gazed at his flagging, dripping cock and told him he should lock his door.

"Frank?"

"Ah.. yeah?"

Bobbi's eyes gleamed. "We should watch them sometime. Can we stream them to the TV in the cottage?"

"Sure," Frank said, then wondered what she'd say if she knew what happened when Mari had brought him the drive that night.

But that thought disappeared as his gaze dropped to the strange tech Bobbi was assembling on the table... an elegant, circular device surrounded by sleek gear.

"What's all that?" he asked.

Bobbi looked up, catching his stare. "Part of my mobile holographic projection system," she said. "Mind if I pin some sensors to the walls and curtains?"

Frank nodded. "Go for it. The curtains stay open most of the time, just for the view. But we usually close them during presentations."

"Then let's flip that today," she said with a grin. "Close them for the meeting, and open them at the end for a dramatic reveal. Let that lake punch 'em in the face on their way out."

"I like it." Frank grinned. "You good in here? I'll go make you some breakfast."

Bobbi stood and walked to him, placing a hand on his cheek. With the other, she reached up and gently tugged his earlobe, pulling his head down... a move that felt startlingly familiar.

His mother did the exact same thing.

Bobbi kissed him softly. Not hungry or possessive... just warm. Grounding. Her forehead pressed to his.

"Francis Hollis," she said, her voice a whisper full of strength. "You're going to crush it today, just like you did this morning."

She giggled at her own double meaning, and Frank smiled, tension slipping from his shoulders.

"You be you. That's all you need. You're the biggest cock in the room... figuratively, and probably literally."

"I measure with my thighs. You're more than qualified," Bobbi added with a wry grin.

Frank snorted a laugh.

Bobbi kissed him again, just a little longer this time, then released him and turned back to her work.

He stood there for a moment, watching her, feeling that mix of awe and confidence rising in his chest again.

You be you.

That's what his mom had said to him that morning.

I wonder if she and Bobbi would get along. Actually, I'm a little afraid they'd get along too well.

Frank walked back toward the kitchen, lighter on his feet and ready for whatever the rest of the day would bring.

-- Chapter 3: Strange Magic

"You're walking meadows in my mind, making waves across my time..."

"I'm not lost in lust. I'm caught in something deeper... and I don't know how to climb out."

--Dr. Sister Rayna Simons

Dr. Sister Rayna Simons pulled into the roundabout drive of the sprawling lakeside mansion on Lower Genesee Lake at precisely 1:30. She parked her dependable old Corolla in one of the shaded spaces halfway up the circle, killed the engine, and sat in silence, staring at the house.

"That's not a house," she muttered. "That's a damn mansion."

She gazed at the two-story building with a mix of awe and trepidation, trying to identify the architectural style before other, more intrusive thoughts crept in. Flipping down the vanity mirror, she inspected her reflection: heart-shaped face, big brown eyes, pink shadow above her lashes, lips shimmering with gloss.

"What was I thinking?" she asked the woman staring back. "I never wear makeup like this."

Tilting the mirror, she glanced down at her blouse... tight, her breasts tugging at the buttons.

You're disgusting.

You're alive.

Rayna's eyes sparkled as she looked at herself.

"Am I really doing this?" she whispered. She leaned back in her seat and sighed.

"I hardly slept last night."

Frank had haunted her dreams again. And again, and again.

She grinned. "He came a lot... and so did I."

Rayna chuckled to herself. "Lustful," she said out loud. "That's the word. A lustful ache so deep it's consuming me."

Her thighs shifted, instinctively pressing together. The friction did little to ease the throbbing pulse between them. If anything, it made it worse.

Ted and Cathy will both be here... Am I really going to try and sneak into his room like some hormone-crazed teenager?

She wasn't a teenager. She was a nun. A scientist. A woman who once believed she'd mastered her desires. And none of this... not the heat in her belly, not the flush creeping up her neck... was supposed to feel this good.

But it did. God help her, it did.

She'd rationalized it all before. She wasn't technically celibate... her Order didn't demand it, and hadn't been since her quiet, years-long affair with Sister Maria. They weren't a couple; Maria had other partners, it was only about sex. They had shared a house, and a deep affection that sometimes turned into long nights of whispered confessions and slick thighs under tangled sheets. But Maria never awakened what Rayna was feeling now. Not like this.

Not this ache. This... hunger.

Even a weekend of unrestrained pleasure with Maria hadn't dulled it. If anything, it had stoked it into a bonfire. When she confessed as much, Maria had smiled knowingly, running her fingers along Rayna's ribs.'You need to be fucked, Ray.' Maria had said, her face slick with Rayna's juices. 'Thoroughly. By a man. Preferably your precious Frank. But at this point... any man might do. I know a guy who'll sell his soul to be with both of us.'

Rayna hadn't argued. Couldn't. She was too busy imagining it... not in vague fantasies, but in vivid, graphic detail: Frank's broad hands gripping her hips. His voice breaking when she took him in. The pressure. The stretch. The heat of it.

She looked down.

Her skirt had ridden up around her thighs. The crotch of her yellow thong was visibly damp... soaked through. She could feel the air against the wet fabric, clinging to her like a kiss.

My soul says stop. My body screams now.

"Shit," she muttered. "Shouldn't have touched myself on the way here." But then her fingers brushed over the damp lace, circling her nub pressing up through the fabric. Her body shuddered.

Stop this. Think of the order.

Think of his cock. Think of how you came screaming his name in the woods.

Rayna shook her head, her expression caught between shame and resignation.

"This is a bad idea. I should drive away, call Ted, and say I can't make it."

She looked back in the mirror. "No. I came for a reason. I can always leave early. But I need to see what happens."

Unfastening a couple more buttons, she parted her blouse and caught a glimpse of the smooth swell of her breasts.

"In for a penny, in for a pound, Mama always said," she smirked. "I'm going to get some this weekend. Maybe Frank. Maybe... my hairbrush. God, I hope it's Frank."

Rayna closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath.

"I'll just say hi, stay professional... keep my eyes above his waist." She snorted softly. "Yeah, right."

She reached for her purse, grabbed a tissue, and dabbed at her inner thighs.

Just then, the familiar rumble of an old BMW rolled in beside her. Out stepped Dr. Thomas Ricter... colleague, academic sparring partner, and occasional pain in her ass... with a grin that could melt frost off a windshield.

Or maybe Tom,

she thought, eyeing him.

He's cute too.

Tom popped the trunk and turned toward her car just as she opened the door and stepped out. His gaze dropped... and froze.

"Damn," he muttered under his breath.

Rayna's caramel-toned leg extended from the car, her skirt still bunched at her waist. His eyes followed the smooth line of her thigh to the bright yellow thong that framed her mound.

"Crap."

She stood without noticing his stare, busy adjusting her blouse. Tom felt his cock stiffen as he caught the full view... Rayna's long, bare legs, the flash of panties, the curve of her hips. He ducked behind his trunk lid just as she stepped to the rear of her car, smoothing her skirt back down.

"Hello, Ray," he said with practiced ease, closing the trunk. "You're a sight for sore eyes. Looking fantastic. How's my favorite nun doing on this beautiful day?"

"Very well, thank you, Brother Tom," Rayna replied, her voice low, husky from too little sleep and too many thoughts she couldn't share.

They embraced... a friendly, professional hug, yet something about the way their bodies pressed sparked heat under her skin. Unsettling. Electric.

Rayna flushed, not from embarrassment but from something much deeper. Tom's eyes lingered on her chest. She knew it. She felt it. And she didn't mind.

She wanted to mind. But the warmth it sparked said otherwise.