Page 1 of The Reading

Prologue

There were eight of them, and they were drunk.

Granted, most of the people that came in here were drunk, but it wasn’t often that I had this large of a crowd. Usually, it was a couple of friends, looking for a fun time. It was rare that I got someone in here for a serious reading, but I didn’t mind. The ones that did come in here for genuine guidance always left me feeling bereft in some way. People wanted yes or no answers, and that wasn’t how this worked. With the God-given miracle of free will, we were in charge of our futures more than we realized.

The happy group was made up of a couple of pretty brunettes, a set of cute blonde twins, a captivating redhead, a black-haired beauty, a sweet platinum blonde, and a wavey, walnut-brown-haired lovey. They were an attractive group, and they were also drunk off their nut.

Ah, Las Vegas.

Adorning my customary smile, I said, “Welcome, Ladies.”

The redhead started to glance around the room. “Is there enough room for all of us?”

“We can make room,” said one of the twins. Though they were identical twins, this one had some pigment missing from her left eye, easily setting them apart from one another.

“There’s plenty of room,” I assured them. “Please, make yourselves at home.” It took a few seconds, but once they were all settled, I asked, “So, what brings you to my humble shop?”

“Do you do voodoo spells? Like a voodoo priestess?” the black-haired beauty asked.

Though my lips twitched, I was able to manage to hold in my laugh. “Uh, no,” I answered. “Voodoo is not my specialty.”

“That’s a shame,” the other twin muttered.

“May I ask why you are looking for a voodoo priestess?”

“My friend over there-” I turned as the brunette with brown eyes pointedto the platinum blonde. “-found her fiancé screwing her sister a few weeks ago, so we’re out for revenge.”

“That would do it,” I agreed.

“We came to Vegas, so that she can screw her way into forgetting all about him, but it’s not quite working out like we’d hoped,” the walnut-brown-haired lovey added.

“It’s like we’re attracting nothing but douchebags, and that’s not helping anyone,” the brunette with amber eyes chimed in. “So, we’re going with Plan-B, which is where you come in. We need to cast a spell on Cortland Culpepper.”

“Who in the hell names their kid Cortland, anyway?” the redhead huffed.

The walnut-brown-haired lovey snorted. “Her first clue should have been when he didn’t pass the toilet paper roll test.”

“There is that,” the black-haired goddess agreed.

“I’m sorry? The toilet paper roll test?” With my interest peaked, I just had to ask.

The brunette with the brown eyes got comfortable. “Yeah, so…if you want to test if a man measures up to his…promises, then take an empty toilet paper roll and have him try to stick his dick in it.”

The twin with the pigmented eye joined in. “If his dick can’t slide through, then he’s good because he’s got girth.”

“However, if it slides through, but comes out the other end, then he’s still good because he has length,” her twin added.

“What if it slides in, but doesn’t come out the other end?” I asked.

“Then his wife loves him very much, and he should be grateful for that,” the redhead answered.

“Indeed,” I muttered, trying not to laugh my ass off.

Ignoring her friends, the platinum blonde asked, “Well, if you’re not versed in voodoo or can cast spells, what can you do for us? I don’t want to feel like this was a wasted trip.”

“I can tell you what I see,” I answered. “It’s not much, but it’s all I can do.”

“Not much?” the brunette with amber eyes snorted. “That’s a hell of a lot more than we can do.”

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