Page 63 of Switch!
“That’s the boy who…”
“Yeah.” Jesse takes a deep breath before he continues. “I even knew her name. I said it before she ever did.”
“Are you sure you didn’t read it on her name tag?” Colin asks delicately.
“I suppose I could have. Or maybe someone else working there said her name and I overheard it subconsciously. Doesn’t really matter, because I was right. She was Caleb’s girlfriend.”
“You asked her? And she confirmed it?”
“Yup.”
Colin’s mouth drops open. “Wow. What are the odds?”
“Slim to none,” Jesse replies. “Of all the places I could have chosen to eat…”
“That’s wild,” Colin says. “How did the conversation go?”
Jesse sighs. “It was rough. I tried to comfort her as best I could. I even talked to her boss so she could go home early. That went almost too well, as if I knew him well enough to say just the right thing.”
“So not fair,” Colin says in mock exasperation. “I’ve wanted psychic powers my entire life, and you just wake up with them? Quick! Read my mind. What am I thinking?”
“If I could do that,” Jesse says wryly, “your birthday wouldn’t have been such a disaster.”
“They’re nice blinds,” Colin says, looking at the sliding balcony door with a barely concealed grimace. “It was a very practical gift.”
“Which would be great if we were lesbians.”
Colin gasps theatrically. “Are you stereotyping our spiritual sisters?”
“That’s whatyousaid at the time.”
“Oh. Right.” Colin slides a little closer. “I do like how much privacy they afford us.”
Jesse dodges a kiss so he can keep talking. “You haven’t heard the weirdest part yet. At the end, when I was saying goodbye to Caleb’s girlfriend, she asked my name and I made one up.”
“How come?”
Jesse shakes his head. “No clue.”
“What did you come up with?”
“Travis Anderson.”
My skin tingles as he says my name. Or to be more accurate, goose bumps race acrosshisskin. Jesse even raises an arm so his boyfriend can see.
“Spooky!” Colin says. “Why did you choose that?”
“I’m not sure. It just came to me.”
“Huh.” Colin trades orange chicken for fried rice, his brow furrowing in thought as he chews. After swallowing he says, “Past life?”
“You know I don’t believe in that sort of thing.”
“Then maybe it was a defense mechanism. As difficult as Caleb’s death is for you now, you’ll move on a lot quicker than the people who knew him. If you were worried this girl would track you down and overwhelm you with her grief, you shouldn’t feel bad. Dealing with that isn’t your job.”
Jesse frowns. “Seems kind of cold.”
“Not really. It’s practical. You have to be ready emotionally for whatever your work throws at you. Other people need your help. If you get too hung up on the bad stuff—”
