Chapter 13: Morning After and a Family Feast
Morning light spilled across the kitchen like honey, golden and thick, catching the edges of the enchanted appliances and setting them aglow. The air smelled of coffee and something yeasty drifting over from Rick's bakery two streets away, and the ocean beyond the sliding glass doors shimmered with the faint residue of last night's bioluminescence, as if the sea itself was still waking up.
Mike stood at the counter, his shaggy grey hair sticking up in twelve different directions, his reading glasses perched on his nose as he wrestled with the espresso machine. He was wearing an old Blackhawks t-shirt and pajama pants with little sailboats on them, and he looked so gloriously, mundanely dad that Mandy felt her heart squeeze with affection.
"You're going to break it," Casey said, not looking up from the fruit she was slicing. She was wrapped in a silk robe that had definitely seen better decades, her silver-streaked hair loose and tangled around her shoulders. "That machine cost more than your first car."
"It's not broken. It's just... temperamental." Mike jabbed at a button with his thumb. "It beeped at me. I don't appreciate being beeped at by a coffee maker."
"It's beeping because you're pressing the steam wand button instead of the brew button. You're using it wrong."
"I am using it my way."
"Which is wrong."
"Which is alternative."
Mandy watched them bicker with the comfortable exhaustion of twenty years of marriage, a grin tugging at her lips. This was the rhythm of her family, the familiar call-and-response of her parents' love. They had been doing this for as long as she could remember—Casey being right, Mike being stubborn, both of them secretly delighted by the other's presence.
Beth came bounding down the stairs, her short blonde hair still damp from the shower, wearing an oversized t-shirt that said "I'M NOT A VAMPIRE, I'M JUST ALLERGIC TO PEANUTS" in bold letters. Calista followed behind her, looking like she'd just stepped out of a fantasy novel—silver hair flowing, pale skin luminous, her tall, ethereal frame somehow making even her simple sundress look like elvish couture.
"Morning, family," Beth announced, making a beeline for the coffee. "I need caffeine before I can function as a human being."
"You need caffeine before you can function as a banshee," Calista corrected, gliding past her. "A very pretty, very loud banshee."
"Same thing, different vibes."
Mai padded in from the deck, completely naked, her athletic body gleaming with the moisture of her morning swim. She grabbed a mango from the fruit bowl and bit into it like an apple, juice running down her chin, utterly unselfconscious.
"Morning, all," she said around a mouthful of mango. "Water's lovely today. Bit of a current, but nothing too serious. I saw a sea turtle."
"Morning, Mai," Mandy said, trying not to laugh. "Lovely as always."
Felicity followed her in from the direction of the bedrooms, fully dressed in a practical button-down and jeans, a stack of plates balanced in her hands. She was the only one who seemed to have put actual thought into her appearance, and she set the plates down on the table with the careful precision of someone who had been the oldest of five children.
"I've got the table set," Felicity said. "Mike, are you going to beat that machine or should I call Bruce to fix it?"
"I've got it," Mike insisted, but his voice had taken on a slightly desperate quality. "It's just—the button is in a stupid place, and—"
"MOVE."
Casey deposited the fruit bowl on the counter, slid past her husband, and had the espresso machine running in under four seconds. The rich scent of coffee filled the kitchen, and Mike stared at the dripping liquid with the resigned acceptance of a man who knew he'd lost but was pleased by the result.
"I was about to figure it out," he said.
"Of course you were, dear." Casey kissed his cheek and moved to the table. "Everyone sit. We've got a big day ahead."
The family—if you could call this sprawling, chaotic, found-and-biological-and-everything-in-between thing a family—settled into their seats. Mandy slid into her usual chair, next to where Felicity was already nursing a cup of tea. Beth flopped down opposite her. Calista arranged herself with feline grace. Mike and Casey sat at opposite ends of the table like the king and queen of a slightly dysfunctional court, and Mai finally pulled on a pair of shorts and sat down with her third mango.
The sound of footsteps on the stairs made everyone look up.
Ben appeared first, wrapped in a white sheet that he'd draped around his shoulders like a Roman senator, his dirty blonde hair mussed and his grin sheepish. He was trying very hard to look casual and failing miserably.
"Morning," he said, scuffing his bare feet against the floor. "Hope I'm not late for breakfast."
Behind him, Jess emerged, looking like she'd rather be anywhere else. The sheet was wrapped around her slim frame, cinched at her waist, and her dark hair was a tangled mess. Her usually sharp, composed features were flushed, and she was studying the floor tiles with the intensity of a woman who had just realized she was attending a family breakfast in a bed sheet.
There was a beat of silence.
Then Casey's eyebrow arched, slow and deliberate, and she looked from Mandy to Ben to Jess and back again. A smile spread across her face, warm and amused.
"Well," Casey said, her voice rich with satisfaction. "Looks like last night was eventful."
"Mom," Mandy warned.
"I'm just observing. No judgments here." Casey gestured to the empty chairs. "Sit. Eat. Jess, there's coffee in that pot, and I won't tell your supervisor if you have some."
Jess's flush deepened, but she managed a stiff nod. "Thank you, ma'am."
"Ma'am? I'm Casey. Or Mom, if you're sleeping under my daughter's roof." She paused. "I'm flexible."
Ben laughed, an awkward, pained sound, and scampered to a chair. Jess hovered for a moment longer, and Mandy caught her eye, giving her a small, reassuring nod. Jess's tension eased, just slightly, and she slipped into the seat across from Mandy, tucking the sheet around her like armor.
"Okay," Beth said, breaking the silence, reaching for a pastry from the basket Felicity had brought. "So we're all just going to ignore the fact that our mother is perfectly comfortable with the fact that my sister had sex last night?"
"I'm not ignoring it," Calista said sweetly. "I'm celebrating it. Mandy got some, and from what I could hear through the walls, it was very enthusiastic."
"Through the walls?" Ben's voice cracked. "You could hear through the walls?"
"The walls in Shiv's house are very thin," Calista said, unbothered. "And you two weren't exactly quiet. Jess, darling, you have a lovely voice."
Jess let out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob, burying her face in her hands. Mandy reached across the table, prying one of Jess's hands away and intertwining their fingers, her thumb stroking over the back of her palm.
"Sorry," Mandy said softly. "They're a lot."
"No, I'm not sorry at all," Jess said thickly, peeking through her fingers. "I just... this isn't how I pictured meeting your parents."
"Trust me," Casey said, taking a sip of her coffee, a wicked glint in her eyes. "We've had much weirder mornings." She exchanged a look with Mike, who had gone very red and was examining his bagel with intense focus. "Last time we visited the girls, the hot tub in the backyard—"
"Casey," Mike warned.
"I'm not saying anything! I'm just acknowledging that our family has a... history of things being complicated." Casey's smile was warm, unembarrassed. "You're fitting in fine, honey."
Jess let out a slow breath, a tentative smile crossing her features. "Thank you."
The breakfast settled into a rhythm, the chaos finding its flow. Mai devoured another mango while simultaneously trying to describe the sea turtle she'd seen to Felicity. Beth and Calista argued about the merits of a particular camera angle for her gallery show. Mike finally got his espresso machine working and sat down with a triumphant smile and a mug of something that smelled like burnt caramel.
Mandy's hand remained tangled with Jess's beneath the table. Ben's foot found her calf, stroking up and down in slow, rhythmic movements. She felt warm and safe, surrounded by the people she loved—all of them, in their own messy, complicated way.
"So," Casey said, slicing into a bagel, the cream cheese melting against the warm bread. "I heard there was a deck involved last night."
Mandy felt Jess stiffen beside her. She also felt Ben's foot pause in its stroking.
"A deck," Casey repeated, her voice innocent. "Someone mentioned something to me about a deck. And a beautiful woman. And a meaningful connection being made."
"MOM," Mandy said, the word coming out as a half-laugh.
"I'm just repeating what I heard. I'm not implying anything." Casey shrugged, taking another bite of bagel. "I'm just saying, my little girl had a very busy night, and I'm proud of her for being open to new experiences."
Mike choked on his bagel. It was not a subtle choke—it was a full, hacking, throat-clearing gasp that sent crumbs spraying across the table. Casey patted his back, not taking her eyes off her daughters.
"Dad's fine," Mandy said. "He's just never been okay with the idea of me having sex."
"I'm fine," Mike wheezed. "I'm great. I'm so proud of my daughter for—for being open to—" He took a deep breath, visibly steeling himself. "New experiences. And for—for making connections that are meaningful to her. And for being happy." He looked at Jess, and his expression softened, vulnerability flickering beneath the awkwardness. "You seem like a good person, Jessica. My daughter talks about you. When she calls."
Jess's eyes widened. "She does?"
"All the time," Mandy said quickly, squeezing Jess's hand. "I mean—not like—but, yeah. We talk. It's good."
"For a girl who says she's awkward, you're not so bad at talking," Casey said, winking at her daughter.
The conversation drifted, as it always did, into the safe and mundane waters of planning. Rick's bakery—the new Miami location—had been open for three months, his sourdough winning over the neighborhood already. They'd swing by to say hello, maybe grab a few loaves for the gallery opening tonight. Beth's show, the makeup one for the gallery that was still recovering from the Petra fiasco, needed someone to help hang the pieces.
"I need you to carry some things," Beth said to Ben. "You're the only one here who looks like he works out."
"Mai's here," Ben said, earning a snort from Mai.
"I work out, but I'm not carrying your tripods. I'm carrying my own camera gear. And I'm not nearly as strong as you, mate."
"Mate," Ben echoed, grinning. "You've been here long enough to start calling people 'mate'?"
"I'm from England, darling. I was born with 'mate' in my mouth."
"Your father's English, your mother's Japanese-American—"
"Both of them, absolutely right." Mai grinned. "I get the best of both worlds: the politeness and the cutthroat ambition."
"You're not cutthroat, Mai," Felicity said gently, "And your mom raised you here in the States."
"I could be cutthroat, if the right dragon was involved."
The banter continued, light and easy, as the morning stretched on. But beneath the surface, something was churning. Mandy felt it first as a warmth in her chest, a slow-burning heat that had nothing to do with the coffee and everything to do with the woman beside her. She glanced at Jess, and their eyes met.
There was something in Jess's gaze. Something hungry.
Mandy looked around the table. Mike was looking at Casey with that particular expression—the one he wore when she was about to do something he couldn't entirely predict. Casey's eyes had gone dark, focused on her husband. Calista had stopped mid-sentence, staring at Beth.
Beth, who was biting her lip, her cheeks flushed.
"What?" Beth asked. "Why is everyone staring?"
Mandy tried to answer, but the words got caught in her throat as a wave of sensation washed over her. It was like being submerged in warm water, the heat sinking deep into her bones, pulsing through her bloodstream. She felt her body respond, arousal blooming sudden and intense, a flush spreading across her skin.
Residual magic. It had to be.
Alban's spell in the courtroom—it hadn't fully worn off. It had settled into the very air of the house, waiting for the right moment to strike. Maybe it was the intimacy of the gathering. Maybe it was the love and laughter. But whatever the trigger, it was taking hold, wrapping around every person in the room like a silken thread, pulling them together.
Jess's hand tightened on Mandy's. Her voice was a whisper. "What's happening?"
"I think," Mandy managed, "we're about to have a very weird morning."
Ben's foot found her calf again, but this time there was nothing casual about it. It pressed insistently against her skin, working its way higher, sliding along the inside of her leg with a clear intent. Mandy heard her own intake of breath, sharp and audible.
"Okay," Mike said, his voice strained. "I'm just going to—"
"Mike," Casey interrupted, her tone low and intimate. "Come here."
Mandy watched, half-dazed, as her mother rose from her seat and, with a look that could only be called hungry, pulled her husband into a kiss that was anything but casual. Mike's hands came up to cup her face, and in the space of a heartbeat, they had devolved into a heated mess of tangled limbs and mumbled words.
Against the kitchen counter.
Calista let out a soft sound, her silver eyes glazed, and turned to Beth. "I think we should—"
"Yes," Beth agreed, her voice barely a whimper. "God, yes."
Mandy didn't see what happened next, because Jess's mouth was on hers, fierce and demanding, hoarse and wanting. The sheet—her only barrier—fell to the floor as their tongues tangled, and Mandy lost herself in the taste of the woman she'd thought about far more than she'd ever admit aloud.
The room dissolved into chaos. Moans spilled through the air, mixing with the clatter of plates pushed aside and the scrape of chairs against tile. Mandy broke away from Jess's lips, gasping, and turned to see Felicity caught between Mai and Mike—Mike's hands sliding up her shirt as Mai kissed a trail down her neck. Felicity's face was dazed with pleasure, a silent scream caught in her throat.
"Mike, you've got to help me," she gasped.
Mike looked up from her neck, his eyes dark. "I've got you."
"Oh, fuck," Felicity whimpered.
Mandy's legs nearly gave out as Jess's hands found her ass, squeezing hard. "You're so wet," Jess murmured against her ear. "I can feel it. I can feel you drippping."
"Stop talking, just—" Mandy gasped as Jess's fingers found her cunt, slipping inside her folds. "Oh, fuck."
"The kitchen," Mai moaned, and Mandy looked up. Mai was naked now, straddling Mike—who had somehow lost his pajama pants entirely—sliding onto his cock with a desperate, hungry grace. Casey watched, grinning, her hand moving between her own legs. Felicity stood beside them, completely nude, her hand on her own clit, her eyes wide.
"I knew you had it in you, Mikey," Casey said, her voice amused despite the panting. "You always did know how to please a girl."
Mike grunted—a deep, animal sound—his hips bucking up into Mai. "Not now, Case, I'm busy."
Ben appeared at Mandy's side, his hand sliding under her shirt, finding her breast. She arched into his touch, and Jess let out a low growl, pressing her body against Mandy's from behind.
"If you're going to share, I want to watch," the agent murmured.
"Sharing is caring," Mandy managed, her head spinning with pleasure and magic and the sheer, overwhelming sensation of it all.
Beth and Calista had disappeared into the living room, and the sounds drifting over were unmistakable. Calista's passionate cries echoed through the house, a high, melodic sound that wrapped around the rhythm of Beth's name gasped like a prayer.
"Fuck," Beth gasped, her voice breaking. "Fuck, yes, Callie, right there—"
Calista's laugh was a throaty, delighted sound. "There?"
"Right there—don't stop—"
The kitchen groaned with the weight of what was happening. Plates toppled and shattered, crackers scattered across the floor. The coffee pot had long since stopped dripping, a forgotten casualty in the storm.
Mandy found herself pinned to the counter. Ben was behind her, his cock pressing against her wet folds, begging for entrance. Jess was in front, her mouth on Mandy's, swallowing her cries.
"Please," Mandy begged, breaking away from Jess's lips. "Please, he's, just, fuck—"
Ben pushed inside her. Mandy cried out, her body arching, and Jess shoved her thigh between Mandy's legs, providing pressure on her clit as Ben began to thrust. The sensation built and built, driving her ever toward the edge.
"Oh, god—Jess—Ben—fuck—"
"You close?" Jess murmured, her hand moving down to stroke Mandy's clit with a practiced rhythm. "Come on, baby, let me feel you come."
It was too much. Mandy shattered, her body convulsing as orgasm ripped through her, a howl escaping her throat. Ben's grunt was triumphant, his hands gripping her hips hard enough to bruise. She was still trembling when Jess's mouth found her again, kissing her through the aftershocks.
Across the room, Mike's shout rang out, followed by a string of curses. "Oh, god—fuck—Mai—"
Casey watched them, a satisfied smile curving her lips, one hand buried in her own cunt. Felicity stood beside her, breathing heavily, watching with wide, fascinated eyes.
"How does it feel?" Casey asked her, her voice husky. "Watching my husband fuck your friend?"
"H-Hot," Felicity stammered. "Really, really hot."
Casey smiled, slow and wicked. "Would you like to help me?"
Mandy watched her mother—her beautiful, gray-streaked, wonderful mother—pull Felicity into a deep, passionate kiss, guiding the younger woman to her knees. Casey's moan was low and throaty, muffled by Felicity's eager mouth.
The world was burning, glorious and obscene, and Mandy was at the center of it all.
---
It ended, eventually. Like all magic, the spell wore off, fading like a dream upon waking. The occupants of the beach house slowly returned to themselves, blinking in the aftermath, surrounded by the wreckage of their frenzied morning.
Mandy lay sprawled on a pile of cushions in the living room, Jess sprawled across her, covered in a thin sheen of sweat and sticky with the evidence of their activities. Ben sat nearby, back against the wall, his hair looking like it had been through a hurricane. Calista was curled into Beth's side, both of them looking thoroughly debauched. Mike had made it to a chair, his face a mask of utter bafflement.
Felicity was tucked against Mai, who had found her shorts at some point, though they were hopelessly tangled.
Casey was the first to stir. She pushed herself upright, looking around the room with a slow, dawning comprehension. A grin spread across her face, wide and unrepentant.
"So," she said, her voice dry. "That was Alban's lingering spell."
"Residual magic," Mandy confirmed, her voice hoarse. "I should have known. The courtroom—it was strong magic, and the spell didn't fully fade. It was just... waiting."
"Waiting for what?" Beth asked, her voice equally hoarse.
"Waiting for the right conditions. A gathering, probably. A convergence of people and emotions that would create the right kind of energy." Mandy rubbed her forehead. "I'm amazed I didn't notice it earlier."
"To be fair," Calista said, stretching out on the couch like a satisfied cat, "you were a little distracted last night."
Jess made a sound that might have been a laugh, might have been a groan. "This is not how I planned to spend my Saturday morning."
"You're part of the family now," Casey said, patting her arm. "This is what family does."
"We don't all have orgies every time we gather," Mandy pointed out.
"No," Casey agreed. "But we'd interfere with the mortgage payments if we did."
Mike let out a long, slow sigh. "I need a shower. And maybe a therapist."
"You don't need a therapist, Dad," Mandy said. "You just need to accept the fact that our family is weird."
"Your family is weird," Mike grumbled. "I'm just your father."
"You're literally married to it, sweetheart," Casey chimed in.
"Weird," Mike repeated, but there was no real anger in it. Just a kind of bewildered, affectionate acceptance.
"So," Mai said, her voice bright, shattering the contemplative silence. "That was fun. Sorry Rick wasn't here. I could have used a good stretch from him."
"Mahi!" Mandy swatted her arm, but she was laughing. "Behave."
"I'm serious! He's got that baker's strength. Kneading dough all day." Mai made a noise of appreciation. "I bet he gives excellent shoulder rubs."
Casey burst out laughing, and the tension broke, dissolving into a wave of shared, chaotic joy. Jess looked around at the assembled family—the naked, disheveled, laughing family—and slowly, her smile became genuine.
"I think," she said slowly, "I really do like you people."
"We like you too, honey," Casey said, reaching over to squeeze her hand. "You're welcome here, anytime. And I mean that."
"I appreciate that." Jess paused. "Though I might need a little warning next time."
"Where's the fun in that?" Beth asked, grinning.
They all looked at each other again, still tangled, still disheveled, sitting in the wreckage of what was supposed to be a simple breakfast. And slowly, the laughter built again, until they were all howling, clutching their sides.
"What time is it?" Mandy finally managed, wiping tears from her eyes.
"Time doesn't matter," Calista said dreamily. "We're family. We're together. We have no shame."
"Speak for yourself," Mike grumbled, but he was grinning too.
Mandy leaned back, taking them all in. Her parents, her sisters, her friends, her lover, her boyfriend. The chaos was temporary. The shame was nonexistent. But the love—the love was real, and it filled her to bursting.
"Okay," she said, pushing herself to her feet with a groan. "Who's hungry? I'm starving."
"I'm always starving," Mai said, hopping up eagerly.
"Then let's eat," Mandy said, offering a hand to Jess and pulling her upright. "And maybe this time, we'll try to focus on the food."
She looked around at her family—all of them, messy and broken and beautiful—and smiled.