Page 24 of Elanie & the Empath
But when I hit the last note, Elanie leaped to her feet, her hands bracketing her mouth as she howled, “Woohoo!” Suddenly the only thing that mattered was her fist pumping the air when I took a bow and her laughing applause when I stood back up.
Until she turned away from me and toward the tall and handsome bionic striding her way. With a coffee cup in each hand and an obnoxiously cocky smirk on his face, he flipped his jet-black bangs off his forehead and sat down next to her. Where he belonged and I didn’t. Of course.
As Freddie walked up for his turn at the mic, I dropped off the stage and warily accepted the bright green and steaming shot he held out for me.
“Sem,” Freddie said, clinking his shot glass with mine. “How in the stars will I possibly follow that?”
Girding my loins and more than ready for a little buzz, I knocked back the shot. It tasted like flaming licorice and burned my throat a little, but it wasn’t half bad, all things considered. Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I pointed my chin toward Elanie. “Is that the boyfriend?”
Freddie followed my gaze. “Aye, that’s Blake. I haven’t met him myself, but I can’t say Sunny is a fan.” His eyesnarrowed at me as his suspicion prickled over my skin. “Why do you ask?”
“Because she could do better,” I muttered, even though I shouldn’t have.What was in that drink?
Warmth seeped from the hand Freddie placed on my shoulder. “I may not be an empath like you,” he said, his fingers squeezing. “But I have a feeling she’ll figure that out soon enough.”
9.ELANIE
“Hey,babe. I brought you that special drink I was telling you about.” Blake set a Starflux cup on the table in front of me. “I’m calling it ahappleccino.”
“Thanks,” I said, not meaning it when the deeply unpleasant fumes of his concoction hit me. He leaned in to kiss my cheek, and I wondered why his lips felt so dull against my skin. Bionics didn’t have siblings, but I imagined that was what being kissed by one might feel like. And why wasn’t I excited to see him? Shouldn’t I be excited to see my boyfriend?
“Hi, I’m Doctor Semson.”
His smooth voice behind me tickled my auditory neurofibers. Andthatwasn’t dull, the sparks skittering over my neck and down my arms.
Sunny squeezed my knee under the table while we watched Dr. Semson extend a blue hand toward Blake.
Gingerly, Blake put his fingertips in Dr. Semson’s hand and pressed down. Almost a shake? To be honest, I wasn’t sure what it was.
“Uh, hi,” he said. “I’m Blake. Elanie told me she’s beenseeing you. Seems weird to me, a bionic seeing a doctor. Especially a Portisan, right? But hey, thanks for the lube suggestion.”
Mortified, I shot to my feet while Sunny coughed on her drink.
“Come on, Blake.” I clutched his hand before he could say another embarrassing word. “We should go.”
“See you tomorrow, darling,” Sunny said, dabbing her lips with a napkin as I tried to usher Blake to the door.
“Wait.” He dragged his heels and pointed back at our table. “You forgot your happleccino.”
While he swiped the cup from the table, Dr. Semson met my stare and walked smoothly across the room to bring it to me.
I commed him.
he commed back. His lips quirked, and it did something strange to my belly, like a thousand tiny wings fluttering.
Where did that come from?
That quirk spread into a lopsided grin.
And what was that? The way his voice dropped? That little twinkle in his eye? Were we…flirting?
“Thanks, man,” Blake said when he reached us.
But I barely heard him. Because when I took the cup from Dr. Semson, my fingers accidentally brushed over his.
“Anytime,” he replied, looking only at me, still smiling. “Have a nice night.”
Biting my cheek, refusing to smile back even though my mirror neurons were firing at max capacity, I turned around.On my way to the door, I commed,
