Page 31 of Devour

“Fairly recent development,” Asher said with a smile. “Haven’t brought him around any friends and family yet. Not that serious yet.”

Asher’s eyes drifted across the table, subtly hinting at me to look over. Ember had her fingers splayed and her hand turned outward in the universal look-at-the-shiny pose. The one all engaged people did upon getting engaged, while showing off their engagement ring to their friends. Whew. Engaged.

“Well, sorry for insulting your fiancé,” I said with a chuckle.

“I kinda had that coming,” Garrett said.

“Congratulations, truly.”

That much I meant. Ember offered me her hand, and I squeezed her fingers while smiling back at her. From what I heard, this guy made her happy, which was all I wanted for my friends.

“Must be weird, seeing both of your best friends in relationships now,” Garrett said in a failed attempt at conversation.

“Deacons can marry,” the three of us answered in unison. Gosh, I loved my friends sometimes.

“However, I will not be marrying anytime soon since Priesthood is still on the table.”

“Or maybe you’ll meet the right girl,” Garrett said in yet another failed attempt at engaging me in conversation.

“No.” I dismissed his suggestion with a shake of my head and a polite smile.

“You’re young.” Garrett continued, trying to be supportive and assuring. It did not have the desired effect on me.

“And gay.”

Yeah. Never felt the need to say anything unless I intended to be with that person. Which meant never admitting anything to Asher despite his assumptions. Nor did I bother to broach the subject with Ember. Heck, I never even said the words aloud to Rhory, but, of course, he knew. For… obvious reasons.

The whole table got really quiet. Also, for obvious reasons.

“Jesus Christ,” Garrett muttered.

“Please, don’t take Lord’s name in vain,” I said, mostly to make him equally uncomfortable.

Right around then, I realized I was in a terrible mood. Downright grouchy, and sassy to boot. The grouchiness made sense. I hadn’t heard from Rhory and that ate at me more than it should. The sassy, well, that was almost as if I were channeling—wait a minute.

Addressing the table, I said, “I think I’ll visit the bar. Be right back.”

Then I stood and left to do just that. I walked to the bar, slowly. Sat on an empty stool and ordered a glass of water, calmly. Then waited, patiently.

Rhory was the mind reader, not me. I attempted to level the playing field by mastering the ability to guard my thoughts. I would never be able to know or sense things the way he did. But sometimes, I’d get an inkling around him. Something that alerted me to his presence, the same way someone sensed rainfall before the storm clouds gathered. And I had an inkling now.

I swear, if I find you here, you will be in a world of trouble with me. He was here somewhere. And if he was close, now he would know I knew.

My patience was rewarded a mere moment later. At the other end of the bar, I spotted him, only from the waist up. Rhory had on a sheer, long-sleeve black top and (what I had since realized was) a leather collar. Since I last saw him, he’d also switched back to red, but a deep magenta with a purplish undertone. It suited him.

How odd to see him from afar, especially when Rhory looked very similar to how he’d appeared when I first met him. Then I noticed him talking to Bill, who I knew to be happily married. He was not someone who should flirt with a stranger in a bar.

Time for the power of Christ to compel him. After a quick sign of the cross over my glass of water, I walked it over to Bill and dumped the contents on his head. Instant holy water. He could thank me later.

“The fu—”

Bill did not finish his sentence because he was a god-fearing man. And I also happened to be the deacon of his parish. His lovesick gaze broken, Bill looked from me to Rhory, then back again. More than likely, I did not appear amused, and I wasn’t.

“I’ll see you on Sunday, Bill.”

And he left without a word.

“Why’d you exorcize my date?” Rhory whined. He even pouted for added effect.

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