Page 5 of Jack of All Trades

He looked out of the window to see the same scene he’d fallen to sleep to and the night skyline and the twinkling stars of the city buildings.

Chest heaving with his panting breaths, he slid to the floor and padded to the bathroom, closing the door quietly.

In the mirror, he was shocked to see how pale he was, eyes reddened in fear. Jack looked at his hands, stared at them, wondering what the hell the dream was trying to tell him.

Not that he’d ever had a premonition before, but those in his family had. They spent time over their breakfast each morning, analyzing their dreams, picking apart every part of them for hidden meaning.

Sitting on the lid of the toilet, Jack continued to stare at his hands, the dream still thick in his memory. A gentle snore came from the other room, and Jack recalled the growl. It was at that moment he realized it was him. He’d made the growling sound in the dream.

Jack was sure his family would spend hours going over the details of that dream. Wishing he could call them, ask them to tell him what it could mean, how to help him. That, however, would not happen. It would give them false hope that his powers were coming in at long last.

If only he could believe that, but that wasn’t the way it felt. There was something dark in him, and he’d suspected that for years. Dark, menacing, but powerless, that’s how he’d felt for most of his life.

When he got back in bed, his phone vibrated, and he checked to see he had a message from one of his regulars.

Looking forward to seeing you tonight.

A client, sex, transactional sex. That was what his life had become. Jack thought crazily that at least his family had given him good looks to barter on even if he hadn’t received their powers.

Lying awake the rest of the night, Jack worried about the dream until he couldn’t think about it any longer. His head hurt. His chest hurt from the way his heart had tried to pound right out of his chest. After a shower, he dressed in an old T-shirt and his loose jeans, knowing he’d be doing splits and contorting all over with the roofing job.

When he got his shoes, however, he noticed the hole in the left's sneaker sole. Frowning, he cursed under his breath and made a note to pick up a new pair. He went through shoes a lot, walking all over the city.

After he was dressed, he left to head to the bus stop. He needed coffee, but refused to wake his roommates in making a pot of the cheap coffee they kept in the apartment's kitchenette.

The Rocky Mountain Java Company made the best coffee in the city, so once he got off the bus near the studios, he walked to the business and saw people at tables, on laptops, and quietly sipping their morning brew.

Stepping up to the counter, Jack waited for only a moment before a blue-haired server turned and said, “Welcome to Colorado Java Company.”

Her lashes were bespeckled with glitter, and Jack wondered how she kept it from falling in her eyes but didn’t think on it long. His need for coffee was too great after the terrible sleep he’d had and the job ahead of him. “I need a double shot, fat-free, caramel latte with cold foam, please.”

“Very good,” she said, writing his order on the pad. “Size?”

“The biggest you have.”

“That kind of morning?”

Her eyes, well, they sparkled too, like they already had glitter in them she didn’t notice. Smiling despite his morning so far, he said, “Yes. And it’ll be that kind of day too. The guy I’m working for is…not pleasant.”

“Oh? Shame. I love my boss. He’s the best. Maybe get a job here?”

Not that he wouldn’t like it, but it wouldn’t pay as much and would take that much longer to get a car, so he could quit going through shoes like they were tissue paper. “I’ll think about it after this job is over.”

As she turned to start his order, pulling out the large cup from below the counter, she said, “If you do, just ask for me, Nina Nile.”

“Are you the…manager?”

She nodded happily. “Just promoted last week. And you, excuse my forwardness, would bring in the guys and the girls.”

He felt his face heat like they were pouring the hot coffee directly on it. “Uh, thank you.”

“Shy too. Sweet.”

After getting his coffee, he paid and left a tip in the jar before heading back outside, glad it was much warmer than the previous day.

He was still smiling as he crossed the street to get back to the bus stop. Pondering how nice it would be to work there, making coffee instead of giving blow jobs and working on top of rickety roofs.

Maybe he’d consider it in the future. After he finished the roof and…made a little more money.

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