Page 33 of The Friend Zone

There’s triumph in my voice, there’s no way this wannabe fortune teller can find a spin for that.

Her smile widens. “But is it just one man? I said three marriages. Maybe it’s three guys. The runes of love never lie.”

The runes of love might never lie, but since these look suspiciously like the pieces of a word game that has caused countless fights in my family, I doubt they know my future.

Wait a second. C, R, J? Could that stand for Cole, Ryker and Jagger?

Jesus.

If this is a coincidence, it’s not funny. My heart clenches painfully at just the notion that wants to force its way into my head.

This is how fortune tellers make their money; they say stuff that’s vague enough that each of us can find some meaning into it. Our minds are geared to try to explain the unexplainable and to solve riddles. Case in point, I immediately thought about three guys with those initials.

Even wanting to give Madame Svetlana the benefit of the doubt, that prediction isn’t going to come true. It’s impossible.

Cole just sees me as a friend. He isn’t attracted to me to the point that he went out of his way not to kiss me at the Rush Week Fair.

Ryker doesn’t date.

And Jagger… yeah. I don’t even want to think about him right now.

Thanks to Ryker, my night has gotten better and I don’t want to spiral back into the hurt feelings of a couple of hours ago.

I slap the twenty bucks on the table. “Thank you for your time, Madame Svetlana.”

RYKER

C, R, J?

I’m not going to state the obvious, but damn. I don’t have time to think about it too much however—like are we all her soulmates? But how is that possible? She would have to break up with each of us eventually, if she was to marry three times.

Madame Svetlana’s voice snaps me out of my dilemma. “Your turn. I give a free reading to you too, handsome young man.”

I’m about to refuse, but she just called me handsome, so what the hell. Let’s see what the fortune teller has to say.

“Give me your dominant hand, palm up.” She instructs me the same way she did with Bay earlier. “Hmm, interesting.”

I shift in my seat, too curious to wait another second. “What? What do you see?”

The old lady smiles, revealing a gold tooth I hadn’t noticed before. “Sticks and stones. That’s what’s your success is tied to. And ice.”

Bay snorts next to me, rolling her eyes.

“I see huge success in your future, but happiness?” the fortune teller’s intense eyes look at me as if they could see deep into my soul. “Happiness is a different matter. It’s right there,ready for you to grab it. There’s only one thing you’re missing in order to have it.”

I can’t help my curiosity. “What is it?”

“You’ve been betrayed before too, like your pretty friend. Since then, you’ve closed your heart to love. You need to learn to trust again.”

Easier said than done. “Yeah, that doesn’t come naturally to me, especially these days. Like you said, I’ve been burned before.”

To my surprise, Madame Svetlana shakes her head. “I’m not talking about others. You have to trust yourself and your instincts. Trust your heart and don’t be selfish. Possessiveness and distrust are the things that could get in the way of your happiness.”

The prediction hits home more than I would like to admit. It’s true that since the scandal that ruined my college career in South Carolina, I have been blaming myself. I should have seen the coach’s daughter’s manipulative schemes from miles away.

That’s why I made that resolution to stick to hockey until graduation, avoiding any emotional involvement with anyone. “You say to trust myself,” I ask. “What about possessiveness? What does that have to do with anything?”

The fortune teller drops my hand. “Madame Svetlana gives you predictions. They’re intended as guidance. It’s up to you to choose the right path. Now, choose a love rune.”

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