The first thing I notice is the extremely strong magic vibe, muchstronger than the background level back at Mrs. LaRouche's. Then ithits me. Of course... It's one thing to have a general, nebulous beliefthat magic exists; it's a whole other thing to KNOW magic exists. Thereare people in this building who know for an undisputed fact that magicis alive and well in another universe. That certainty is power to me;direct, focused power. There are also likely people who work there whohave heard rumors,. I took her hand as we entered the cottage and again it was cold. “I need to warm you up, Girl” and with that flipped a switch and the gas fireplace lit up and cast it’s glow into the room. We sat on the sofa and I held Wendy for several minutes without speaking. Turning my face towards her, I kissed her lightly on the cheek and she returned the kiss. For the next several minutes we exchanged light, soft, tentative kisses, all of them between her neckline and eyebrows. We were nervous.“You have. We sat on the floor side by side and watched the dynamics of the room for a little, occasionally commenting on some surprising pairings that were being temporarily created by the tides and eddies of the party. I slipped my arm around Missy, pulling her closer to me. She rested her head on my shoulder, her hand resting casually on my knee."We're nearly alone again," I said softly to her. "Are you still afraid?"She turned to look up at me briefly, and then relaxed back against me. "Not yet," she. For that, you're dead wrong.We were just having fun, the two of us. I might have lied to her when I told her that all my friends couldn't make it. They could, but as all bros do, they stuck to what I said.I had made a joke about her, then she retorted with an insult of her own. It was fun like that, and it felt comfortable as usual. We always had such jokes. She giggled, got up and ran. And I chased her.I managed to catch up with her in the water, and she laughed out loud.When I turned her.