Page 57 of Just Dare Me
Dominique narrows her eyes. “Your consideration does you credit. I vow that youwilltouch this dress. In fact, you’ll wear it. You’ll wear them all. It gratifies me sexually to see other people wear my clothes.”
I shoot a glance at Nora, which is a big mistake, because the look on her face is so absurd that I comethisclose to ruining this bizarrely sacred moment with a belly laugh.
Still clutching me, Elle says, “Your accent.” And then she switches effortlessly into fluent French, because of course she does. Ivy league education, remember? I don’t know what she’s saying, but Dominique responds with an intense energy. Their conversation whips back and forth, until Dominique gestures at Jay and, returning to English, says, “And you know others like him? You can find me another Jay?”
Pulling away from me, Elle looks at Jay with a sigh. “Alas, m’Lady D, there might only be one Jay in existence. But what if I told you that when we say we want a guy like Jay, what we really mean is that we want tolookfor a guy like Jay? And if the fun is in the search, then we don’t want to get there too quickly, do we?”
After contemplating that deep proverb, Dominique offers her hand to Elle. “I admit, I am bewitched by you. Tell me more. Tell me everything.”
Elle takes her hand. “Oh! Sit with me at dinner. We’ll have a broad range of personalities to observe. The first thing we need to do is identify your type.”
“Ah. Simple. The type that will worship me.”
“That’s my type, too! But look, there’s so many differentwaysof worshipping.”
As Elle leads her away, prattling on, caught up in her own visions of glory for their future escapades, Dominique stops to look over her shoulder at Jay. It’s a complicated, wistful, rueful look. A farewell look, if ever I saw one. Ever so slightly, she bows her head to him. Jay straightens, facing her with solemn formality, and bows his head. Then, in true Jay fashion, he gives her a great big smile.
To my shock—and I’m sure this is a once-in-a-lifetime sighting, like spotting a leprechaun—Dominique’s lips melt into something placid and almost smile-like. The slight softening of her features gives her a surreal, otherworldly beauty. Heaven help the guy who someday gets her full smile.
As soon as they’re out of earshot, Nora shoots me a spooked look, as if she’s just seen a ghost. “What. Just. Happened?”
“I’m not sure. I thought they’d click, but…”
“That was not a click. That was the Big Bang.”
“No, that’ll come later, trust me.”
“We should get our seats,” Jay says. “People are starting to gather.”
I groan. No putting off the inevitable any longer. “Save me a spot. I got one more total crap job to do before we can start.”
When I find Nick, he’s sitting on a log near the creek, staring at his hat, turning it around and around in his hands. It’s odd to see him like this. Nick has never seemed much of a contemplative type. But what the hell do I know? He’s lived through so many lifetimes; I’ve only just begun my one and only. No wonder he’s always treated me like such a baby. The way I’ve acted sometimes, I can’t say I blame him.
“You think I can’t hear you breathing?” he says.
I plop down on the log next to him. “Just tell me you guys were only close friends, Nick. Tell me you weren’t in love with my great-grandma.”
He raises his eyes to the woods with an absent stare. “I was.”
The way he says it, with so much feeling—I instantly lose my edge, softened by pity. I decide to forget all the snarky comments I had prepared to shield me from the awkwardness; instead, I just sit quietly.
“There’s a lot of reasons why the different species of the underworld can be so incompatible. Most of those can be overcome, if two people want to try hard enough. But the difference in our lifespans—there’s no overcoming that. It’s a cruelty of nature.”
“So you walked away?”
He gives a derisive laugh. “Sure. I got as far as downtown. I’m strong, but not strong enough, I guess, ’cause here I am. Still caught in her orbit.”
“Mom says that happened to a lot of people.”
“It’s true. A place like Detroit, it grabs hold of people, and they don’t know why. Pass it off as nostalgia. Most of ’em never realize that the soul of their city is an actual person, living and breathing.”
“I’d never heard of that kind of thing before tonight.”
“That’s because it’s not something most believe in anymore. Like faith, or an urban legend. You can’t see it or prove it. You either believe in it or you don’t.”
“And you do?”
“Beliefis not the right word for me. Not anymore. For me, it’s as real as destiny. Did I fall in love with Detroit, or with Dottie Davies, or are those the same thing? Yes.” He takes a deep breath, then lets it rush out. “And now that her power has been passed on to her great-granddaughter, am I destined to love her, too? Yes.”
