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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

Las Lindas and other products set in the same universe are all owned by Chalo/Chalosan and SoulKat.

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Chapter 3: Reading Minds

Beta-Reader: Ant0nius

It's been a few days… that things had gone particularly pleasant on my end. And definitely Hope's too.

Sure, most of the time we talked either at the end of shifts or after the workday was over and… it wasn't the same as the first two days we interacted. Either because Shin was around and the Gazelle Prime tended to behave awkwardly around him, as if she was worried about something when he was within the same room as us, or because she had little time to spare during lunchtime due to her own shift forcing her to leave hastily all the time.

For a while I genuinely thought that something really bad had happened to the two when they broke up, even though Shin was utterly convinced that wasn't the case when I asked. In fact, as I brought that 'unrelated' question up, he seemed to instantly know what was really driving me to learn about this very aspect of his past.

"I suppose you have noticed how Hope is hesitant around me, right? That's why you've been asking so much about the time we were together, right?"

I slowly nodded. "Yeah, I just can't connect dots. You're not the kind of guy that lies about this kind of stuff but… Hope really seems uneasy around you. As if something horrible is going to happen whenever she is around you."

"That's..." The blond paused and spared me a nervous look. "I think it's connected with my girlfriend. She and Hope have never seen each other… eye to eye. And things got worse after a visit in the past which resulted in… a heated exchange."

And I couldn't learn more about it because, with one of the craziest things Shin had ever told me, it had been classified by the government as a classified incident that was best to not spread to the public. Very odd to hear about this kind of 'classified incident', but even so that Shin sounded so serious about this being a thing. I didn't press on it, I just could tell it was only going to leave me with a headache with how experienced the guy was in shifting away from direct confrontations when he wanted. I even kept it away from Hope. I could tell the topic wasn't one she was comfortable about and the last time I had a talk with her about difficult subjects proved to be incredibly… Well, intense.

And, for some time, I just remained unable to learn more about what kind of issue had originated between the two women… but what really drove my curiosity to wonder more on this affair was another thing: I never met Shin's girlfriend… ever. Shin barely spoke about her and I had some loose details about this individual like she had a little brother, she was taller than Shin and had red-hair. That's all and… I almost didn't recognize her when she ended up passing by to wait for Shin.

I mean, I respected Shin as a good friend and an amazing guy… but I was also given proof that the guy had some tremendous luck when it comes to girlfriends. First Hope and now… her. Stepping into the shop with a quiet outlook, the red-haired Bear Prime spared me a dull look with her light-blue eyes before asking a simple question.

"Is Shin here?"

Before I could provide her with an answer, she decided to take a few steps inside the shop and sit by one of the available chairs on the side of the entrance. I was baffled both by her attitude, which many would have defined as quite rude… but also awed by her beauty. In terms of looks, she heavily matched with Hope. Her fur was a sandy-blond with a small star-like yellow patch by her forehead. Her red-hair was combed in a rear-twin-tailed style and her previously-mentioned eyes showed no signs of general emotion beyond pure stoicism. She was wearing a simple blue hoodie with the word 'Prime' written in the middle of it, a pair of black mini-shorts that were then followed by white thigh-highs and red shoes. This woman was the purest example of thiccness expressed through her legwear and well-endowed chest. I was just stunned for a while, but I managed to regain my composure despite the unusual coolness I was subjected to. I've met just a handful of Primes, but this was the first time I had seen someone so... detached from social interactions.

"S-Shin is going to be here in a few minutes. He had to check a few things with our-"

"Your suppliers, yes," The redhead interrupted, sparing me a calm look. "You are John Bukharin, Shin's newest assistant."

I slowly nodded at that last bit, trying to make sense of that unexpected interruption. "Yes but… I'm sorry, but why did you ask if you already knew where he was?"

Her lips twitched… in discomfort? I just couldn't tell on the spot what kind of emotions she was flashing with these gestures, except to assume that it wasn't a pleased reaction.

"I didn't know it… until now," The girl admitted. "I'm Naerie Xiong, Shin's girlfriend."

My eyes widened at the sudden introduction and I nodded. "Nice to… meet you?"

"Yes," Naerie curtly answered. "Yet, I believe I should make it clear that I know you are still doubting about the way I know about Shin's current predicament."

"I didn't-"

"You thought about it," The young woman interjected again and… it didn't take long for me to realize the implications of this very discovery.

"You can read minds," I affirmed with a surprised tone, getting a nod out of her. "W-Wait, why would you even want to tell someone like me about it?"

"Because you have a secret to keep and I don't think you wish for that to be revealed to Shin and others," The redhead flatly answered, further stunning me on the spot. "A visitor from another dimension, you were the victim of a fairly unusual car accident and… you have no recollection of what ensued after that."

"Yes," I replied tightly. "So… you just can read my mind and-"

Before I had the chance to finish my skeptical question, the Bear Prime did something that outright baffled me. She reached for the lower edge of her shirt and… pulled up. It had been a passing thought whenever she was keeping a bra or not, due to how 'free' her chest looked within that hoodie. And Naerie definitely got wind of it as she calmly confirmed this theory, she could read my mind… and her breasts were amazing. One thing that I failed to mention about Primes is that their fur was relatively short and, from a certain distance, looked like normal skin due to how their biology worked. My gaze was instantly taken by her large tits and… I frowned at the bizarre circumstance altogether.

"You just… don't mind?"

Maybe it was a silly assumption, but she really didn't give a reason to believe she was into it. In fact, Naerie looked… chill. Neutral.

"No. Not with you."

My frown deepened, feeling confused over that specification.

"Why?"

"You don't plan to do anything but watch. Shin already vouched you are a good person, and I can tell you are now worried that mentioning this event to him would hurt your friendship," The young woman explained. "And, admittedly, you wouldn't be the first one to see a form of my nudity that way."

...Oh?

"You don't sound like you are fine with it," I pointed out and she hummed at that genuinely curious comment.

"I… don't love it. But I don't mind it. I guess I took part of this from my mother," Naerie elaborated, looking down at her exposed boobs. "She can be quite… brazen."

"I see." I said quietly while nodding. "Still, you should probably-"

"I will not catch a cold. Not with this temperature," The redhead interjected smoothly, but still proceeded to comply with what I had been thinking of saying. "Alas, I can see your point in just not 'tempting Murphy' about it. Plus, any customers might get… the wrong idea."

"Thank… you. For your consideration," I remarked truthfully and, for just a moment, I think I saw the shadow of a smile on her face. The mere thought had me pondering how her smile would look on her face.

"I have given it a try, but I was told that I can't muster a 'genuine' smile on the spot. Those that I tried with told me I was too… awkward about it."

"Got it," I replied with a small smile, glancing behind her as I saw a familiar silhouette appearing by the door. "Oh, he's-"

"Here," Shin happily greeted before sporting a surprised look. "Oh Naerie. I thought we were going to go out after the first shift."

"We still are. And good morning."

As the blond returned the greeting, I decided to inquire more about it.

"You two are going out after the first shift?"

Shin gasped. "Oh Gods, I forgot to tell you, didn't I?"

"Yes… but I guess that happens when you are busying yourself that much."

"He does that a lot," Naerie added, further expanding the blush appearing on the guy's face.

"Oh..."

"It's alright. It's a slow day anyway," I pointed out while smiling at him. "Just… get something to keep track of anything you have to do or say. You're really showing some issues with doing that on your own."

"I will try and… thank you, John."

I nodded. "You're welcome."

And thus, I was soon going to spend another day on my own at the shop… while also enjoying a pleasant conversation with Hope.

Or so I thought that would become a pleasant one but, as I would soon learn and due to recent circumstances, that wasn't going to be the case.

"So, I met Shin's girlfriend earlier today."

Until that moment, the conversation with Hope had been fairly calm and smooth like the first two days. With Shin leaving out with Naerie after the first shift, I was left to enjoy an unbound Hope with no reasons to worry about her suddenly pulling back from certain topics. It was fun talking left and right, with a sprinkling of fake-flirting and some verbal jabs thrown left and right with some moderation on both sides. Then, I brought up this discussion and… things took a strange turn as the Gazelle Prime's smile felt a little less genuine and more forced.

"O-Oh really? How was… she?"

"You could have told me she is a mind-reader," I replied with a fake offended tone. "She cut me through a good part of my comments."

A sheepish look appeared on the girl's face. "Yeah, sorry…"

I could tell that Hope wasn't exactly focusing on the subject itself and that it was tied to the reason Shin brought up about their 'bad blood'. Which is why I saw fit to hit her with something that would draw her attention out and lessen the unease she was currently experiencing.

"And then she showed me her breasts."

Her reaction was instantaneous as her green eyes glowed in surprise and interest, while her whole body struggled to fully react due to her previous reluctance. No sound left her mouth and yet her lips parted in a way that suggested she had a lot to say about it and… then she blinked.

"She… did?"

"Yes. I was skeptical about the whole thing and she picked a stray thought I had whenever she was wearing a bra or not and… bam, I got a front seat to her melons."

Hope blinked some more, her curiosity and her unease clashing within her mind as her hesitation was quickly displayed by her face and… then she huffed. "You're- You're making me back down from talking about boobs. You really are a bastard."

"And you are a dummy for feeling frightened by this thing. She is not here, and she definitely didn't look ready to set up a deadly ambush just to come back at you… for something."

Her lips twitched as Hope bashfully scratched the back of her head. "It's… more complicated than that."

"I can tell," I argued. "But that's not something I'm asking you about now, isn't it? I thought we both agreed that if you have anything you don't want to talk about, we would pull out from that topic. Same for me."

She blinked. "But?"

"No, we're talking about breasts!" I retorted jokingly, snatching a half-amused snort from Hope. "Come on, we both know you're interested in that. And seriously, don't tell me you never considered talking about that part of Naerie or more."

…

"I thought I was the pervert here, Johnny. Don't… steal my gig," The Gazelle Prime replied cheekily, giggling as I shrugged at her. "You know what? Sure, tell me about her glorious titties."

"Her fucking massive tiddies?"

She nodded, grinning eye-to-eye. "Her super-stuffed milkers."

"Oh, her Honker Bonker Doinky Boinkies."

"Of course I meant her fucking fabric stretching wind flapping gravity welling sex mounds, y-you dumbass."

We were soon cracking at that insanely depraved exchange of expanding terms for boobs. It was childish, it was terribly cheesy to some extent but… it did the job and snapped Hope out of her own reluctance when it came to discussing this topic. So, the next segment of this conversation was about me and Hope sharing a comparison to try and give her a proper grasp of what Naerie's tits looked like and how big they were.

"I guess the apple doesn't fall that far from the tree. I think those are close to Ambar-sized ones."

I blinked at that reasoning, caught off-guard by that 'unit of measure'. "Who's Ambar?"

"Naerie's mother. She is really nice and helpful but… fair warning, don't get too comfy around her."

I frowned. "Why not?"

"She is-"

"Brazen?" I guessed, remembering what Naerie had said about the woman.

Her lips twitched. "Sorta. I would say she is a step or two above that but… I doubt you will meet her anytime soon or in a situation where you will be there for a long time."

I was confused about this last bit, but I merely shrugged at it. Hope really seemed genuine about not going too deep about this topic as this fear was… for me. But as this subject came to an end, a new one replaced it and brought a new situation for me to think about.

"So, are you free tomorrow?"

I paused, thinking about that unexpected offer and realizing one thing.

"Tomorrow's Saturday."

"Yeah duh! I need you for a mission since I feel like I can trust you to help me with this thing."

"And that is?"

"Pegging- No wait- John, I'm kidding- I don't want to-"

The mere mention of that terrifying practice had me trying to pull away from her, with her hands instantly grabbing my hand and pulling closer to her to prevent my escape.

"Yeah no- that's not happening, Hoppers!"

"I was just joking, I actually want you to help me with shopping tomorrow."

"I… what?" I stopped with my attempt to bail the conversation as soon as I heard that. "Why me?"

"Because! Anyone else would just think of this as a chance to have risky public fun."

"...But?"

"But I really wanna get some clothes. I really need to replace some of my stuff since I don't fit in these anymore," Hope explained sheepishly. "Plus, I need someone to give me some fair blunt judgment about my fashion style."

"I don't want to bring up any stereotypes but… I'm a guy and I really don't fit with Fashion at all."

"Well, I don't need a fashion designer but a friend giving me advice," The young woman said while reaching my shoulder with one hand, and then giving me a caring smile. "And if you want, I can flash you a few times."

"I… I thought you were against getting too frisky in this situation."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't say no to get a reaction or two out of you, my pesky little cunning and also perverted human buddy," The girl argued giddily. "And… it's not like I wouldn't say no if you peeked. The problem is touching and more."

"How about I just struggle on the fashion issue rather than making it any more complicated on myself?"

Hope could only giggle at that reasoning and soon we had our first friendly hang out and were ready to enjoy together.

Things were about to get quite interesting very soon… except the reasons for that would be far from what I could have imagined on the spot.

AN

Let's welcome Naerie and… Oh boy, there is a double entry next time. Quick reminder that some characters will be frequent such as Hope and Naerie, while others will come up at times or in specific situations that will focus on them.