Page 48 of The Chosen Two

I stare after him, until long after he disappears. With a loud huff that echoes in the dojo, I cross my arms and follow after him. In to the kitchen. Where he’s making coffee.

George gets out the half and half and sets it on the counter. “I need to know what is going on with you. You need to tell me the whole story, or as much as you know, as calmly as you can, in a way I can actually follow, without having to hot-wire my brain first.”

I take a long look at him, my face set like an angry teenager’s. It’s impossible for me to see where the line is between personal and professional. But I can’t solve it alone, and this is kind of what he’s here for. I take a deep breath, sit down, hug the fresh cup of coffee to my chest, and let it all spill out. “Okay, so…Jake is acting weird, or was acting really weird, then got kind of normal again, but then we…had an eventful evening, but afterward we had a big fight, and that’s when I heard the names that the shadows whispered about and—”

George holds up a hand to stop my ramble. “Hi, again. Do you know how to talk slowly?”

Once more, I roll my eyes and take a deep breath. “Not right now, I don’t!”

“Okay, tell me about how Jake has been acting.”

I blush. How am I supposed to talk about all the kinky sex we’ve been having and how mind blowing my orgasms have been? And I’m supposed to be complaining about it? “Well, he’s just been more…affectionate…since he came back from Vegas.”

George furrows his brow and takes another sip. “I don’t understand the problem.”

I blurt out, “He’s been super horny and sexually insatiable, okay?”

George chokes on his coffee and grabs a napkin to wipe the dribble off his chin. “Okay…got it. Okay… So, he’s…more affectionate.” He seems to gag on the word as I nod. “Anything else?”

“Um, crueler? About anything not having to do with sex, that is. Actually…” I think back to the dripping the candle wax. “And maybe more adventurous too.”

George’s face looks strained, as if he wants to ask me details but decides he can’t deal with them, so he gets up and starts to pace instead. “Okay, so he’s more affectionate, but cruel…and,” he twists his head and scrunches his eyes closed before choking out the word, “adventurous. Anything else with Jake?”

I shake my head. “I can’t think of anything.”

“Okay. What happened next?” He sits back down.

“I found out he cheated on me, and I got so—”

“I’m sorry, what? Jake cheated on you?”

“I mean, I guess not technically, but he went to a strip club and got private lap dances a few nights in a row because I wouldn’t have sex with him.”

His face shows no emotion aside from the slight red tint his cheeks take on.

I toss my head back and screech, “This isn’t what he’s normally like, George! I’m telling you whatever they did to him in Vegas changed him.”

“Okay, fine. What happened when you found out about the stripper?”

“I punched him, then stormed out, and went for a drive.” I see George’s eyebrows raise “That’s when I saw the weird shadows in the park and heard the whispers, so I parked and got closer to hear them.”

Pulling a pad of paper and a pen out from a drawer near where he sits, he is poised to take notes. “Okay, you said whispers. So there was more than one shadow? Was it in the shape of a person? Did they stop whispering when you got closer?”

“No, I pretended not to notice them, and the shadow was more like a big blob. But with sharp edges, just not any specific shape.” I peer over George’s pad to see his notes, that is, until he pauses and arches an eyebrow at me. I sit back down and sip my coffee. “Anyway, I heard them gossiping about how the chief, whoever that is, should try taking Jake again because it didn’t work the first time and how some other women thought it just would take more times, but Mel disagrees. And no matter how hard I try, I can’t for the life of me remember the other names! Damn it!”

George stares into my face with slightly squinted eyes. His look reminds me of the expression Dr. Grant would assume when examining my symptoms while diagnosing an illness. Like father like son. “Isn’t your memory usually better than that?”

I toss my hands up in the air. “Yes. Thanks for the reminder!”

He stares a second more before jotting something down and moving on. “How do you know they were talking about Jake? Did they say his name?”

“No, they were saying things like how the husband of the guardian should be special in order to win her. Something like that.”

He stops writing and rests the pen under the cleft in his chin. “I mean, I can’t say they’re wrong there. The husband of the guardianshouldbe special…whether he is or not.” He trails off as he takes more notes.

I blink hard and stand so I can return to pacing around the room. Better than getting distracted.

But my motion is too much for George. “Please sit back down.” Once I’ve glared at him and collapsed back in my chair, he continues. “As promised, I looked into what the shadows could have been. There are some freaky options out there, but I think the most likely culprits are hikey sprites. I had no idea they were such gossips though. Can you tell me what happened this morning?” He looks into my eyes, and it shows this isn’t just for professional purposes.

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