Natural Consequences (22 page)

She stopped. She turned to face them. “There’s no such thing as
One and Only, either,” she told them. “There are seven billion people on this planet. You can find more than one person who’s right for you.” She paused. “I’m not supposed to tell you that, either, but fuck it.” The angel turned and led the stunned young women on toward the tables.

“Anyway, you’ve got to remember that he’s committed, too, and that neither of his commitments are with normal chicks. Lorelei’s got her needs, and it’s not all freaky sex stuff. I’ve got my needs, too. The worst part for me is that my job means I can’t
keep anything close to a regular schedule, so I just drop in on them whenever I can. But my biggest need is for trust… ‘cause like I said, there’s a mountain of shit I just can’t say or do or keep him from doing, ever.”

“So does that mean you can’t tell us, either?” Onyx asked.

“Pretty much,” Rachel shrugged. “Anyway, I’m not the one you need to negotiate anything with.”

Onyx turned her head suspiciously. “Do we need to negotiate with Lorelei?”

“You might,” Rachel warned.

Onyx shared another wary glance with Molly. “Any advice on that?”

Rachel’s mouth tightened. She looked the women over. “Promise not to take this the wrong way?”

“…okay?”

“Fuck her,” the angel shrugged. “I did.”

* * *

“So you’re twenty-one now,” Amber said, looking sidelong at Drew.

“Yeah,” he confirmed.

“Like for really-really,” Amber pressed.

“Like my ID actually matches my birth certificate,” Drew nodded, and then cast an accusing, sarcastic glance at the other two men standing around the table. “Unlike
some
dudes here,” he added.

Amber’s eyes turned to Wade. He merely shrugged. “Underage drinkin’ don’t even rate a mention on my list of crimes,” he said before having another sip.

“So this is an even bigger birthday for you than it is for Alex, right?” Amber asked Drew. “Lotta guys would be set on getting completely plowed tonight.”

“Well, I might later, but,
uh…” His words trailed off as a couple of women in not-so-realistic police costumes walked by, their eyes on him as they passed. “There are better things to do at a party like this than just getting drunk.”

“My
guys!” yelled out a female voice. Drew and Wade staggered slightly as a blonde angel leapt upon them from behind, throwing an arm around the shoulders of each tall young man. “How the hell are you?” Rachel asked. She planted a sloppy kiss on Wade’s cheek, and then another on Drew’s. “And happy birthday, sexy thing,” she added, hugging him tightly.

“Hi, Rachel,” the guys said simultaneously.

“Hey, Rachel,” Jason began, “this is—“

“Jason!” Rachel yelled happily, hugged him, and then pushed him back. She nudged him with the same hand that held her half-consumed drink. “Now you remember the rules. No theological trolling
me, ‘kay?”

“Okay, deal,” he agreed. “Anyway, I wanted you to—“

“Oh, shit, before I forget,” Rachel interrupted, “you guys remember Molly and Onyx, right?” She gestured back between Drew and Wade at the pair of young women standing behind them. Murmuring polite hellos, the two quietly took up spots around the table. “Molly just told me the most badass thing ever,” Rachel said with excitement. She jabbed her finger at Wade’s chest. “Did you guys know they make strapless dildos now?”

Molly bit down on her lips and tried not to laugh out loud as Onyx turned and buried her head in her companion’s shoulder. In spite of all he’d seen and done and survived, Wade found it in himself to blush.

Amber tugged at Drew’s sleeve. He and Jason leaned in together to hear her ask, “Is she drunk?”

Both men snorted. “Nnnoo,” Drew whispered slowly, shaking his head. “She’s just being herself.”

“I cannot fucking
wait
to get one,” Rachel continued.

“Rachel!” Jason tried again.

“Yeah, hon?” she asked, turning to face him. Her brow furrowed. “Hey. You look different.”

“Rachel,” he said, gesturing with one hand to the woman in combat fatigues beside him, “this is Amber.”

“Hi,” waved his date. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Rachel’s mood faltered. “Hi,” she said, fairly staring at Amber.

“I’m here with Jason,” said Amber, offering her hand.

The angel shook Amber’s hand, locking onto her with a guarded stare. “Right,” Rachel said. “Jason’s… date.”

Amber noticed. Anyone could. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” Rachel answered, shaking her head, though her tone and the tiny frown on her lips said otherwise.

“You sure?” Amber asked.

Rachel blinked quickly, realizing now how she stared. The
crowd distracted the others, but both Jason and Amber had Rachel’s full attention. “No, it’s… don’t worry about me,” she said. “Nothing I can explain anyway. Just weird.” She frowned again, tried to fight it, and only half succeeded. “Welcome to the party,” she managed. “Jason’s awesome.”

“Yeah,” Amber said, smiling at him. “I’m getting kind of sweet on him.”

“You are,” Rachel confirmed.

“Hey! Birthday boy!” Drew yelled out.

“What up, birthday boy?” Alex answered. He arrived with Lorelei on his arm, though he released her so he could share a hug with his best friend. Lorelei looked on appreciatively, though her gaze soon settled on Rachel.

The angel’s
face set in a somber mood unfit for celebration. Lorelei questioned her wordlessly, offering a simple tilt of her head. Rachel frowned and waved it off.

Wade banged on the table. “A’right, now that we’ve got y’all here,” he began, ensuring he had everyone’s attention. “Ah know better than to give a long speech or expect ev’ryone to stay together at a deal like this. Y’all got better things to do than to listen to me.”

“Kind of an interesting exercise, actually,” quipped Molly. Onyx swatted her arm, but Wade took it with a grin.

“
Mah people have a tradition,” declared Wade with feigned gravitas. He raised his cup.

Alex gave Molly a conspiratorial nudge. “This tradition is like two minutes old,” he said loudly enough for everyone to hear.

“Shuddup,” Wade countered without lowering his cup or relaxing his deliberately puffed-out chest. “It’s a tradition among mah civilized, cultured Southern brethren—”

“Hillbillies!” coughed out Jason.

“—who are taught somethin’ called
manners
, unlike y’all heathen savages of the Pacific Northwest.”

“You were born in Tacoma!” protested Drew.

“Hey!” Onyx countered. “Don’t be mean.”

“Thank you, miss,” Wade bowed, then resumed his stance.

“Nobody deserves to have something like that aired out in public,” Onyx finished. She flashed Wade a comforting smile. “Don’t worry, Wade. It’s not your fault.”

“Are y’all quite finished?” Wade asked. His eyes swept the group, settling on Rachel. “Okay, I
know
you got somethin’ to say.”

The angel tore her eyes
off the newcomer leaning against Jason. “No,” she shook her head. “No, go on. Your people have a tradition.”

Standing behind Alex with her arms draped affectionately
around him, Lorelei found herself far more concerned with her other lover. Their eyes met. Again, Rachel just shook her head.

“Yeah. A tradition y’all could’ve been
done with five minutes ago an’ gone off to dance or get schnockered or whatever the hell y’all got in mind, if y’all hadn’t kept interruptin’ me.” Wade held his cup high and puffed out his chest once again. “But here we are now. We ain’t even gotta talk about what we been through lately. Ain’t gotta say thank yous or your welcomes. ‘cause we’re all pals. Old an’ new,” he added, nodding to Onyx and Molly, and then to Amber.

“An’ so ah just wanted t’ make sure we all got t’gether for a couple minutes to give a toast to both Drew, turnin’ twenty-one finally as of yesterday but who gives a shit about details as long as he’s legal here,” Wade said, gesturing to Drew with his cup. “A fine gentleman who’s still gracious enough t’ slum it with folks like us even though he could surely find more sophisticated company.”

An uncoordinated but happy round of “Happy birthday, Drew” came from the others, their cups raised as Drew accepted it all with a smile.

“An’ we also wanna say happy birthday to Alex, who for some fuckin’ reason thought he could be born on
goddamn Halloween an’ never ever have anything creepy or spooky or weird happen to his ass,” Wade grinned. Alex hung his head in mock shame. Wade then added, calling out loudly above and beyond the group to a crowded hall of disinterested partygoers, “An’ Alex is
totally
twenty-one today in case any state, local or Federal authorities might be listenin’!”

Amber winced, but she drank the toast along with everyone else. She felt Rachel’s gaze and hoped she hadn’t somehow given anything away. Wanting to hide from it somehow, she turned to Jason and asked the first thing to come to mind: “When’s your birthday, anyway?”

“Two days before Christmas,” he grumbled. “And yes, that still sucks even though I’m Jewish.”

“Aw, poor thing,” Amber chuckled. She leaned in to kiss him on the cheek.

“Babe, I gotta go for a bit,” Rachel told Alex, abruptly putting her emptied cup down on the table. “Duty calls.”

Alex tilted his head curiously. “Everything okay?”

She shrugged. “Can’t say.” She moved off, only to find her arm caught by Lorelei not five steps later. “Please don’t,” Rachel said.

“You are troubled,” Lorelei observed quietly. “What is it?”

“Leave it alone, Lorelei.” Her voice dropped and her shoulders sagged. “Please.”

“What bothers you?” She watched as Rachel’s distress flashed across her face. “Is it Amber? You were staring.”

“I can’t talk about it. I just can’t.”

“You don’t have to shut me out, Rachel,” Lorelei pressed gently. “You can tell me anything. I am not mortal.”

“No, but everyone else here is,” Rachel countered. “It might be okay for me to tell you what’s up, but you turning around and interfering doesn’t make it any less my fault if…” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Lorelei. That’s not fair. It’s not even about trusting you. I do. I love you. But I’ve got my duty.”

Lorelei watched Rachel for a long breath. “What am I to do?”

“Just carry on?” Rachel asked. “Don’t worry about it. The sun’s still gonna come up tomorrow and we’ll all still love each other. Let me do my thing and I’ll be back when I can. No drama. It’s his birthday,” she shrugged. “Trust me. Anyway, you need to talk to the witches.”

“About?”

“I dunno,” Rachel said. “You’re all hot, bi and partially available. I’m sure you’ll think of something.” With that, she turned and disappeared into the crowd.

Lorelei scowled, naturally dissatisfied with Rachel’s lack of answers. She stood alone on the dance floor, considering the situation.

Trust what?
Lorelei wondered.
Trust her judgment? Trust her ability to handle whatever is wrong? Or trust her to follow Heaven’s ethics of allowing mortals to stumble and fall on their own?

That Rachel’s concern had something to do with Amber seemed reasonable, but Lorelei couldn’t be sure. Rachel’s reaction neither confirmed nor ruled out Lorelei’s
suspicions. She knew Rachel’s could read people at a glance, but she also knew that such information was often incomplete or seemingly random. Rachel’s heart was every bit as big as one might imagine of an angel, too. For all Lorelei knew, Rachel saw some family tragedy in Amber’s recent past, or an undiscovered health defect… or something dangerous to Lorelei, Alex and their friends.

Trust did not come naturally to demons.

Love and the ritual binding them both to Alex compelled Rachel to defend him if he faced true danger. Lorelei had faith in her own abilities. She could never call Alex helpless, either. Her jaw set firmly as she fought with herself to put her love over her instincts, and found she could not entirely do either.

Lorelei had to trust Rachel to handle this, whatever it was, and to wait until she explain
ed herself… and until then, Lorelei could at least expand her options and her resources. Rachel had just encouraged exactly that, whether she knew it or not.

“No, really, Alex,” Onyx goaded him, “you should totally tell Amber how we first met.” She leaned in toward him from across their table. Her grin said all sorts of teasing things.

“Oh, this sounds good,” Amber smirked.

“I did!” Alex protested. “We met in a photography class
. That’s the truth.”

“Yeah, but it’s not the whole truth, is it?” Molly countered.

“C’mon, Alex,” pressed Onyx with wide, innocent eyes, “you can tell the story. It’s not like you did anything silly. Or desperate. Or middle-schoolish.”

“Aw, tell me!” Amber asked.