Page 42 of Redemption
He nodded thoughtfully. “I feel that.” He said before taking a small sip of champagne. “What about you?” I asked. He smiled with narrowed eyes. “Well, I shouldn’t be telling you this, but recently I discovered I'm a psychic.”
I laughed. “Oh really?”
He put up his hands defensively. “It’s true, I swear.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, prove it.”
“Well, I knew your name was Sophia before I even sat down.”
I stared blankly for a few moments, then said, “Wow, you really are psychic!”
He held up a finger to his head with his eyes closed. “I sense you aren't convinced.”
This got another laugh out of me, and he opened his eyes. “You are an artist.” He said.
I nodded, surprised. “Good guess, that's true.”
He leaned in, looking more serious, cupped his hand around my ear and said, “It wasn’t a guess.”
“What are you two talking about?” Emma and the other blond looked over. His hand was on her thigh as she clutched his bicep. Dan finished the rest of his glass and spoke before me. “My friend Connor is psychic. No doubt he's blown Sophia's mind by now.” I looked at Emma and rolled my eyes.
“He guessed I was an artist.” Emma's face lit up with excitement. “Do me!” she said.
A wicked smile curved on Connor's face as he looked at Dan, then he leaned back in his seat. “I need to let my abilities recharge, but you two should try. “Guess what my job is.”
Emma giggled and put a finger to her head and closed her eyes, mimicking him.
“You too, Sophia. Let's see how smart you are.” He said. Reluctantly, I closed my eyes and pressed my finger to my head, almost mockingly, but stupidly, I actually tried to feel for ananswer. We both opened our eyes and Emma said, “You work at a fast-food restaurant,” then burst out laughing.
“No,” he said, unamused. “What about you, Sophia? What's your answer?”
I just guessed the most likely thing. “You are a businessman.”
He set his empty glass down and leaned forward, clapping slowly. ”Imagine that. You're psychic too.” He rubbed his chin, looking at me quizzically. “Who knows, maybe by the end of the night, you will be back at my place telling me everything you know.”
There was that serious shift again.
“I don't know about that,” I said just as Dan spoke. “Alright, ladies, finish your drinks and let's go dance.” Emma cheered, drank, then set down her half-finished glass. Unlike her, I could use all the confidence I could get. I downed my drink and followed them to the dance floor. I didn’t know exactly how to dance with another person, but a quick look around revealed no one else here did either. Suddenly, I felt an overwhelming sense of calm as I followed Connor to the dance floor. It was as if I were floating after him, like I was surrounded by water. Calm, soothing water.
Gabriel
My brother finally answered, I had been calling this bastard all day.
“Damien! Where the hell are you?” I held my phone in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other.
“Gabriel, how have you been? It’s been a while,” my brother said casually.
“Shut up. Where are you?” I yelled.
Silence.
“Talk!”
He laughed under his breath. “Do you want me to shut up or talk? I don’t understand.”
“I’m not going to ask again. I want you to tell me where you are.”
“You seem a little distraught. Is something bothering you?” I took another long swig, the burning in my throat a welcome feeling. I could practically hear him smirking on the other end.
