He could resist you, you know that. That’s what makes this so special. You’re ${character.name}, and you’re a telepath, a strong one. The minds of most people are open books, to you. You can read their thoughts, even bend their wills to yours. It takes a conscious effort to shut them out, most of the time, a constant cacophony of mundane chatter that you ignore like conversations in a crowded room.
But he was different. You met by chance, at a meaningless party for the sort of tiresome people you normally tried to avoid. He was attractive enough, in an ordinary way: dark-haired, with piercing green eyes and a serious, intense demeanor. But when you tried to touch his thoughts, the way you always do, you met a shining wall of resistance, the natural resilience of a truly strong mind. You didn’t even know his name, until he told you himself: ${What is his name?}. You started to talk with him, really talk. His words were intoxicating, precisely because for once, you didn’t know what he was going to say. But by some stroke of good fortune, he actually seemed attracted to you. You couldn’t be sure, couldn’t see what he was thinking, but that made it even better. You asked him out, and he accepted.
You meet him several times after that, doing the things that ordinary people do. You go to dinner, watch movies, go dancing. You take any opportunity to spend time with him, this fascinating, opaque enigma. You find yourself genuinely enjoying his company.
And then finally, he invites you in.
You’re in his small, well kept apartment, sitting beside him on the couch. Your eyes meet, and then your lips touch, and then…
And then his defenses drop, and his mind opens to yours. He’s like you, you realize. Another telepath. You feel a sudden rush of sensations, jumbled thoughts and raw emotions, as his consciousness floods into yours. Your minds merge, and you hear his inner voice for the first time, clearly in your thoughts: