Seers (22 page)

You don’t have any presets.”

“I’m fine with anything.” He answer was short, but still polite.

“Okay.” She shrugged, and looked at us in the back. “Any requests?”

“Nope, anything’s good.” Aaron spoke a little too quickly, and I got the distinct impression that he was trying to seem carefree.

But I knew him too well—he was just as tense as I was.

“You’ve done everything else,” I told her, my eyes belaying my pleasant tone, though she was the only one to catch it. “Why don’t you choose?”

She grinned at my reaction, her black lipstick stretching.

“Okay.”

Knowing what she was going to pick, I silently prayed that Patrick didn’t mind hard rock. Then again, he wasn’t actually old, 166 K • • •

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right? So maybe it wouldn’t bother him too much . . .

Tonight was shaping up to be just the disaster I’d imagined.

Surprising me at first, Lee stopped on a completely unfamiliar station. There was no pounding bass or ear-splitting screams. But all too soon her ulterior motive became clear, and I fought the urge to growl aloud. Big Band love songs. Perfect. As if this night couldn’t get any more awkward . . .

Catching the mood of the music, Aaron reached across the empty seat between us to take up my hand. I sent him a thin and somewhat shaky smile, hoping that he wouldn’t read too much into it.

His shoulders relaxed marginally, and I watched as his aura slowly lost some of its purple color, to be replaced by blue contentment. “You do look beautiful,” he whispered. He bit his lower lip, and then leaned in to kiss me again. For real this time. There was nothing cursory about it, or habitual. It was deep and sincere, and when he finally drew back I could feel the blush on my face. A blush that only deepened when Aaron glanced out his window, and I was clear to steal a fast look in the rear view mirror—and meet a pair of tight blue eyes.

As soon as Patrick realized I’d caught him staring, he flashed me a quick smile. It was meant to be that oops, sorry, don’t mind me kind, but there was nothing reassuring or real about it. It was more like the I know I shouldn’t have looked, but I couldn’t help it kind, and a split second later he was focused back on the road.

I cleared my throat and stared out my own window, nibbling on my thumb nail—until I tasted the clear nail polish and quickly pushed my hand—the one not in Aaron’s grip—back into my lap.

The drive was awkward, but I had hopes that the date would only go uphill from here. The beginning was always the worst, right? It only made sense.

I wonder why I didn’t quite believe it.

Lee had chosen perhaps one of the most romantic restaurants possible in a fifty mile radius. It was an Italian place with lots of

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candles, soft music, and fake ivy crawling over gray stone walls. It was like the cherry on top of this nightmare sundae, and I had to dimly appreciate her dark sense of humor.

We had to park in virtually the farthest corner of the lot, the restaurant was so popular. Once the car was stopped Aaron opened his door and quickly walked around the back of the car to get mine for me. He took my hand to help me out, and then continued to hold it tightly, our fingers intertwining out of habit.

Patrick—carefully keeping his eyes away from mine—stepped out of the car, and then rounded the hood lithely. He held Lee’s door for her, but didn’t offer his hand. That didn’t seem to bother Lee, who grinningly exited the car and straightened her black top.

Once the doors were closed and locked, Lee started leading the way, and Patrick hurried to walk beside her, hands in his pockets.

Aaron and I fell into step behind them, and I took this opportunity to pinch my eyes closed and pray for a miracle.

Unfortunately, we navigated the parking lot in perfect safety, and I really doubted that I was going to come down with a serious illness in the next couple of minutes. It looked like I was stuck here. Lee was going to regret this.

Panicking only a little, we entered the restaurant, waited to be seated, and then in minutes were being led to a quiet table for four, set against a back wall. I sat next to the wall, frowning briefly at the fake ivy an inch from my face. A strand of plastic leaves had never offended me before, but tonight was a first on many fronts.

Aaron sat next to me, and Lee sat across from him—leaving Patrick the last seat, directly opposite me. He sat slowly, and I could tell from the way he blew out his breath that he would rather be anywhere but here.

I could understand that.

He reached absently for his leather bracelet, spinning it slowly around his wrist. I tried to remind myself not to watch every little thing he did.

We deliberated a while, and then finally placed our orders.

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Aaron actually let me speak for myself, which I was grateful for.

Some breadsticks were deposited in little baskets on the table, and our server promised to return with our drinks in a moment.

Lee—looking completely unaffected by the havoc she was wreaking—reached for a breadstick and took a large bite. “Mmm, these are so good,” she told us, her eyes lingering a little longer on me than anyone else.

Aaron followed her lead, if for no other reason than to break the ice.

I sighed, and reached for one in the basket in front of me—the same breadstick Patrick reached for at the exact same moment.

Our fingers brushed, but he was quick to pull away. “After you,” he insisted lowly, and I hesitated only a second before snatching it quickly away. Aaron was just turning, and I didn’t want him to see my hand hovering that closely to Patrick’s.

While I nibbled on mine, though, I couldn’t stop myself from looking up through my lashes. Sure enough, Patrick was staring at me, slowly chewing his bite of breadstick. Though I knew it was wrong to acknowledge it, I could feel the warmth of his legs, just inches from mine beneath the table. I knew he was noting the same thing, just by the way his chewing slowed and his eyes grew even more serious.

Luckily, our drinks arrived at that moment, and it was the distraction I needed to escape his eyes.

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Twenty

All in al, dinner went wel. There wasn’t a whole lot of conversation, and Lee and Aaron did most of the talking. Patrick only spoke when asked a direct question, and I wasn’t much better. But somehow, we made it through. Lee and I both insisted on paying half the bill, and it was expensive enough that the boys didn’t put up much of a fight. Aaron did insist that we do something else though, so he could in some way pay me back. Lee liked the idea. For the record, Patrick said nothing.

As we made our way out of the restaurant, we had to pause in the lobby area for a large group of young couples to enter. We stood back away from the door, pressing against the wall to let them through the small path. Aaron was in the lead, and he leaned back into me to avoid getting hit by a woman’s swinging purse. His lean in turn caused me to push back—right against Patrick’s hard chest.

My whole body tingled, and I heard Patrick’s rapid intake of breath right above me. I wondered wildly what that meant, even as I tried not to get too comfortable there. His bare arm brushed mine as Aaron pulled gently on my hand, oblivious to what was going on behind him, but hoping to make it through the doors before anyone else came through.

The lights weren’t very bright, but our eyes had had plenty of time to adjust. So I found it a little odd when my eyes played a trick on me. As I was walking through the open double doors, I thought I saw a man with a black aura just entering.

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As soon as the night air hit my skin I twisted around, trying to catch sight of him again, to prove to myself that his black aura was real. But all I saw as the doors moved to swing closed was the boisterous group we’d had to wait for, and an older couple—a man and woman—both with harmless blue and pink auras.

“What is it?” Patrick asked lowly, right beside me. He’d seen my hesitation and sudden swerve of interest, and I could feel him tensing.

Deciding I’d mistaken the older man’s blue aura for black, I just shook my head, and turned my attention back to walking.

Aaron’s grip on my hand was firm as he led the way back to the car, Lee and Patrick right behind us.

Patrick didn’t question me, but he was silent and frowning when we reached the car. I felt stupid for causing that brief scene, and I hoped he’d forget it, and not let it ruin the rest of the night.

There were plenty of other things that could do that.

Once in the car, Lee suggested we catch a movie.

I opened my mouth to protest, knowing I couldn’t survive that much longer, but Aaron was already agreeing it was a great idea.

Patrick mutely started the car, and my mouth clamped shut.

We stood outside the theater for a long time, trying to choose which movie to see. Patrick didn’t care, Lee wanted a chick flick, and Aaron wanted action. I expressed a desire to see a new horror movie. I hated scary movies, and Lee knew it, but it sounded better right now than any other option. Plus, it would give me an excuse to scream.

I got a few weird looks from Aaron and Patrick, but it was starting in three minutes, so debate time was limited. Lee almost looked happier about this turn of events than if she had gotten her way, so she wasn’t complaining. We hurried inside, bought our tickets, and then took our seats in theater seven.

There weren’t very many other people in the theater, and we were able to get good seats in the middle. Lee orchestrated everything so I was wedged in between Aaron and Patrick, and there

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wasn’t time to move because the lights were already dimming.

It always took a while to grow used to the subtle glows of peoples auras, and being in an otherwise dark room made them that much harder to ignore. I tried to focus on the previews, but we hadn’t even been sitting a full minute before Lee leaned over Patrick to ask me if I wanted to come with her to the bathroom.

I gave her a nod, excused myself to Aaron in a whisper, and then stood. Patrick stood at the same time, pushing back against his seat to make room for me to slide past. I think he was hoping to avoid our touching, and I inwardly thanked him for that, even though I was mildly disappointed. Or maybe I was grateful because I knew that disappointment was a bad thing for me to be feeling.

I followed Lee slowly out of the dark theater—even darker because the first preview had just ended, and the screen was black.

I blinked against the brighter light in the wide hall, and stepped around a pile of popcorn that had been spilled.

“So, how are we enjoying the night?” Lee asked, not bothering to keep her voice low. Even though the corridor was deserted, I sent her a scowling look.

“All right, you’ve made your point. Can you knock it off?

Please?”

“What point was that?” Lee questioned, a finger tapping her chin in mock confusion.

I ground my teeth together, then admitted it in a burst. “I’m attracted to Patrick O’Donnell. Are you happy now?”

“Uh-huh.” She grinned, and pushed into the empty bathroom.

“Now the real question is, what are you going to do about it?” She stepped up to the mirror, taking in her appearance with a careful eye. She brushed a finger over some of her eye shadow in an effort to touch it up.

I threw up my hands. “What? What am I supposed to do?” She twisted around to face me, leaning against the counter.

“Personally? I don’t know. But that thing that you and Aaron have been lacking? That’s exactly what you and Patrick have.” 172 K • • •

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“And what would that be?” I asked, trying to sound snappy.

Lee’s smile only grew at my attempt to sound upset. “Chemis-try. And girl, do you and Patrick ever have it.” I shook my head at her, and then moved to the nearest stall.

It wasn’t until we were both washing our hands that my resolve to be silent snapped. “Okay,” I rounded on her, shaking my wet hands into the sink. “So it’s not like that changes anything. Aaron and I have been together for a long time—I can’t just end that.”

“Why not?” She moved for the paper towels. “You’re not happy. And Aaron deserves better than half-commitment.”

“I love Aaron.”

“There are different types of love,” Lee reminded me, for the first time tonight sounding gentle. It wasn’t the ha ha in your face tone she’d been using, anyway. “Look, I only did all of this because I’m your friend. You were in denial. I was just helping you open your eyes.”

“Patrick doesn’t like me,” I blurted without thinking. “I mean, we might have a tentative friendship, but reading anything else into it is just silly.”

“Why?”

“Because I really don’t know anything about him. His past.

What if he’s, you know . . . already taken? What if he likes someone else?”

Lee just stared at me as I finished drying my hands. She waited until I’d tossed the used towel into the overflowing trash to finally speak. She was a fan of the dramatic pause.

“Kate,” she said frankly. “He hasn’t been able to take his eyes off you all night.”

I swallowed hard and looked down, pretending to straighten my necklace.

“Honestly, watching him watch you—and vice versa—has been driving me crazy. The way he looks at you . . . it’s so honest.

So . . .” she searched fruitlessly for the perfect word, before finally shrugging. “At the risk of sounding corny, all right, it’s adoring.”

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“As in, he adores me?” I asked, unable to keep the shock out of my voice. Her word choice was just so . . . un-Gothic.

She bristled, looking uncomfortable with the seriousness of the conversation. “Look, I just mean that you owe it to yourself, Aaron, and Patrick to do something, okay? Because just as this night has been torture, your whole life is going to be that way unless you start really thinking about what you’re doing.” I sighed, finally lifting my head to regard her. “You know, in a very weird way, I can see that you’re doing what you think a good friend should do. But now, I would really appreciate it if you let me take the lead on my life, okay?”