Waiters stood, attired in pressed black pants and crisp white shirts, ready to carve tender pieces of meat for the guests. The opposite wall was lined with large, brightly colored fruit: apples so red that they appeared painted, grapes larger than my thumbs, watermelon with bright pink flesh in stark contrast to the black seeds, all emitting a mild sweet smell that mixed pleasantly with the candles.
The back wall had been turned in to an ice bar, where more waiters stood ready to wow attendees with their mixology skills. I grabbed Penny's arm harder than I intended to, evidenced by her audible gasp, and steered her in that direction.
"Penny and I are going to get drinks," I called over my shoulder to Donavon and Erik, dragging a protesting Penny behind me. Thankfully, neither boy followed.
"What can I get for you ladies?" a smiling bartender with orange eyes and messily-styled blonde hair asked as we approached.
"Something strong," I replied shortly. Penny gave me a worried look.
"Just some wine for me," she told the bartender without looking at him. “Are you okay?” she asked me.
“Fine,” I snapped.
Penny flinched at my harsh tone. I pinched the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger and took several deep, calming breaths.
“I’m fine, Penny,” I promised in a much softer voice. Penny relaxed, and gave me a weak smile.
“We’re going to have a good time tonight,” she assured me, placing one hand on my arm.
The boy who’d taken our order juggled bottles filled with brightly colored liquors around his back and over his shoulders, adding only a splash from each to the chilled glass on the ice bar in front of me. When he finally finished his show, he added two cherries and handed me my drink with a gallant bow.
“Thank you.” I smiled appreciatively, and watched while he poured Penny's wine with significantly less fanfare.
After the bartender handed her the goblet, Penny and I moved to the side of the room to make way for those waiting to be served behind us. I took the first sip of my purple drink, and exhaled blissfully as the liquor burned my throat. Calm washed over me, and I sighed. Penny watched me closely, observing the tension leaving my face, and chanced talking.
“Tal?” she asked hesitantly.
“Hmmm?”
“Are you getting back together with Donavon?” She spoke quickly, trying not to lose her nerve to broach the topic.
“What makes you think that?” I asked, sipping more of my drink to cover my unease. Were my confused thoughts projecting that loudly? I wasn’t exactly considering getting back together with him, but I’d been thinking about him a lot lately.
“Well, I mean, he was in your hospital room every night while you were ...sick. And then today when he came over to my booth, it seemed like you guys were pretty friendly. And then he showed up in your room tonight......” she ticked off.
I watched Penny gulp her wine, choking slightly when she tried to swallow the huge mouthful. Her eyes remained on my face, like she was trying to read my answer before I gave it. I sipped my drink and mulled over her words.
“I don’t know, Penny,” I said finally. “I’m not really thinking about dating him again, but he’s been so nice to me, and I think that maybe we could at least be friends.”
I let my gaze wander over the crowd, feeling uneasy at the way Penny’s intense stare was boring in to me.
“Just friends?” she pressed gently. “I see the way you two look at each other, Tal. I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.” I turned to face her.
“I know, Penny,” I promised. “I’m not stupid. I’ll be careful with him.”
“Good.” Penny visibly relaxed and sipped her wine, more carefully this time.
Penny’s question gave me a lot to think about. Could I ever trust Donavon again? Even just as a friend? I thought that I could forgive him, even move past what he’d done, but would I always doubt everything that he told me? Would I ever really believe him when he said he loved me? Had he told that girl, Kandice, that he loved her, too?
Even as I pondered the cosmic questions of trust and love, I thought about how much Donavon comforted me, how much we’d been through together. He understood how much being a Hunter meant to me and how devastated I was to be stuck here instead of finding Ian Crane. Penny hadn’t known me in the years following my parents’ deaths. She couldn’t understand how much Donavon had helped me. Now that I was vulnerable and lost again, he was here for me.
I was racking my brain for a new topic to lighten the mood when I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning to face the welcome distraction, I found Captain Alvarez standing beside me.
"Natalia, Penelope, I hope that I am not interrupting anything," he greeted us. His face was already beet-red, making it obvious the purple drink in his hand wasn’t his first.
“Of course, not, Captain,” I replied, grateful for his intrusion.
“Great! I was curious if I could ask you two a favor?” he asked conspiratorially.
“Sure, anything for you,” I matched his sly tone.
“I was hoping that you ladies might be able to get all the basic background information on a couple of students for me? Natalia, Director McDonough tells me that you have been working with Operative Latimore here to learn our Crypto system.”
“We would be happy to,” I replied with false enthusiasm. I was more than a little dismayed that the task he was requesting wasn’t more interesting. After a week of sifting through personnel files, I wasn’t exactly eager to explore more.
“That won’t be a problem,” Penny agreed.
“Wonderful. I will have the list of names sent over in the morning. Natalia, if you could just come to gymnasium after you have the information, that would be great.” Before I could reply, someone caught his eye across the room.
“Senator Bosica!” he called exuberantly to a man with neatly trimmed gray hair turning away from the bar. “Tomorrow, Natalia.” He winked over his shoulder to me as he retreated.
“Looks like Erik found a friend,” Penny snorted, pointing across the room to where Erik stood in deep conversation with Ursula. She rested one perfectly-manicured hand on his arm as they spoke. Her navy cocktail dress clung tightly to every curve of her body, perfectly emphasizing her feminine assets. The white tips of her nails gripped Erik’s arm harder as he said something that made her laugh, and I noticed that the tiny flowers painted in the corners of her nails matched the color of her dress. Her closeness to him irritated me. I couldn’t hear what they were saying above the dull hum of the other conversations taking place throughout the room, but their body language suggested that they knew each other.
“Down, girl.” Penny laughed, putting her hand on my arm. I’d absently taken several steps toward where Erik and Ursula were standing. “They’re just talking.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “I just wish she’d stop touching him.”
“I wouldn’t worry, Tal. She’s not the one that he rushed to see this morning,” she pointed out.
“Yeah, you’re right,” I agreed, still unable to tear my gaze from the duo. “Wait, how did you know that he came to see me this morning?” I asked suspiciously.
Penny drained the rest of her wine glass. “He told me. I saw him at the fair before you got there.” She smiled smugly, and I wondered how much of our encounter Erik had divulged.
My skin tingled just thinking about the way he’d touched my cheeks and kissed my forehead. “I’ve missed you so much,” he’d said while he’d held me. My pulse kicked up a notch and I was slightly breathless, like I’d just sprinted up the stairs to my bedroom.
“So, rekindling my relationship with Erik is acceptable then?” I asked.
Penny shrugged, an amused smile tugging the corners of her mouth up. “Call me biased, but Erik never cheated on you.”
I gave a short, humorless laugh; she had a point. Erik might be a flirt, and rumors of his conquests fueled the gossip mill at Headquarters, but he wasn’t the one that I’d caug
ht with another girl.
Thankfully, Mac announced that dinner was to be served, and asked us to take our seats before I had a chance give Erik and Ursula any more dirty looks. I found my place card between Janet and a Senator from New Hampshire, whom I’d met once or twice. He and I exchanged pleasantries, but he was much more interested in ogling the woman on his left. That suited me just fine; after witnessing Ursula throwing herself at Erik and contemplating my future with Donavon, I wasn’t in the mood for small talk.
Penny was seated directly across the table between Captain Alvarez and, to my dismay,...Ursula. Penny kept trying to dodge the Captain’s wild hand gestures that accompanied his stories.
“You should have seen the look on the poor guy’s face when I morphed from the dog he was petting into a naked man!” he exclaimed loudly, throwing his head back as he roared with laughter. As he did, his left hand sent Penny’s water flying off the table. The glass slowed its flight just enough for Penny to be able to catch it before water and ice ended up all over the unfortunate waiter standing behind the Captain. I guess that Ursula’s close proximity was lucky after all; Telekinesis came in handy on occasion.
The waiter gave Penny an appreciative smile as he wiped at the stray drops that had sloshed on the table and her arm.
“Nice catch, Penelope,” Janet laughed. For his part, Captain Alvarez seemed oblivious to the near-accident he’d caused.
Donavon and Erik were next to each other, several seats down on the other side of Janet. Their unlucky seating assignments made me wonder who had made the seating chart. At least Erik wasn’t sitting next to Ursula, I thought. I decided to keep one ear on their not-so-friendly conversation. Then, I glanced around the long table, searching for Henri. To my utter astonishment, I saw him sitting between Griffin and Cadence. Guess she’d finagled an invite after all.
Cadence looked pleased with her fortune at being seated next to Henri, and she was taking the opportunity to talk his ear off. I concentrated all of my strength towards my sense of hearing, and was able to hone in on their conversation. She was attempting to flirt with him in hopes he’d put in a good word for her with Captain Alvarez. Lost cause, Cadence, I thought. Flirting with a guy who has a boyfriend was unlikely to yield positive results.
“How are you feeling after last night, Natalia?” Janet asked quietly, drawing me out of Henri and Cadence’s conversation.
“Not too bad. Worried about Ernest,” I admitted.
“I’m sure that he will regain his memories,” she said. She smiled when she spoke, but the expression failed to reach her eyes. Janet didn’t really believe that Ernest would ever regain his memories – she just said so to make me feel better. While I appreciated her attempt, the confirmation that Ernest was unlikely to get better further deflated my mood.
“I hope so,” I whispered as a waiter placed a plate full of food in front of me.
Dinner consisted of a Cornish hen stuffed with wild mushroom rice and green beans on the side. I picked at my hen and tried to pay attention to what was going on around me, but found my mind constantly wandering.
Would Ernest ever be whole again? Could he regain his memory on his own? Did I want to get back together with Donavon? If so, why did Erik’s presence affect me so much? If it had been Donavon that Ursula was fawning all over, would I have reacted the same way? Erik said that he missed me, but did that mean he still wanted to be with me? Would I ever come home early from a mission to find Erik in bed with another girl?
My inner musings left me with more questions than answers.
“That fork is real gold, dear,” Janet said gently as she closed her hand around my fist.
“Huh?” I looked down, confused, at our hands and found the gold fork wrapped tightly in my fist. I was grinding it into the plate. I guess I’d gotten myself a little worked up.
“Excuse me, miss? Are you still eating?” I looked up and recognized one of the waiters from the meat carving stations. I released the fork hastily, as though it were on fire. Nodding my head, to too embarrassed to speak, I felt the heat creep up my neck and color my cheeks.
The waiter replaced my picked over hen with piece of pumpkin cheesecake topped with cinnamon ice cream. Managing to choke out a “thank you,” I dug into my dessert.
Dessert was a long, drawn out affair, complete with coffee drinks heavily laden with bourbon. I tried my hardest to keep a pleasant look pasted on my face even though I desperately wanted nothing more than to get out of the opulent room. Not a moment too soon, Mac finally stood and thanked everyone for coming inviting those who were interested to stay for a nightcap. I quickly said goodbye to Janet and bee-lined for the exit.
I made it as far as the door before I felt Erik’s hand on my shoulder.
“Walk you back to your dorm?” he asked hopefully.
I glanced around, looking for Penny. In my haste to leave, I’d temporarily forgotten about her, but now I thought that I should really tell her I was leaving.
“Donavon is occupied being the Director’s son,” Erik continued coolly.
“I wasn’t looking for Donavon,” I snapped.
For his part, Erik appeared nonplussed by my annoyance at his having drawn the logical conclusion. He offered me his arm. I hesitated briefly before looping my own underneath his crooked elbow. A grin lit his face as we exited the building together.
“Are you coming tomorrow to show all those Hunter-wannabes how it’s done?” he teased as we walked across the damp grass.
“I would love to, but I’m not sure if Dr. Thistler would like that. She seems to think that physical stressors bring on the seizures.” I rolled my eyes to indicate how absurd I found the notion.
“Are they any closer to finding a cure?”
“According to Dr. Thistler, every day they get a little closer.”
“Well, don’t worry about being replaced – you’ll always be my partner.” He winked down at me and stomach dropped as I read way too much into his words. The way his body brushed against mine while we walked made me always want to be his partner – just not his Hunting partner.
“Sure about that? Earlier tonight, it looked like you’d found yourself a new Telekinetic.” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. I hadn’t meant to bring up watching him with Ursula.
“Jealous much?” Erik laughed.
“No,” I snapped. “I just noticed that you two were awfully friendly.”
Erik’s laughter died in his throat. “I’ve known Ursula for a long time. We have a close mutual friend. Sometimes, we all meet up in the city,” he said awkwardly, taken aback by the intensity of my accusations. He wasn’t the only one. I hadn’t meant to get so angry, but seeing Ursula touch him infuriated me, and Erik making light of the situation didn’t help.
An uncomfortable silence fell between us.
“How do you like being back at school?” Erik asked finally, breaking the mounting tension.
“Eh, it’s okay. I can’t wait to get out of here.” I choked over the lump that had formed in my throat, thinking about Erik with another girl.
“Really?” he gave me a skeptical look.
“You think that I’d rather be here twiddling my thumbs than out there with you guys doing something that matters?” I asked, not quite sure what he was implying.
“No, it’s just ...I don’t know. Never mind,” he mumbled.
“It’s just what?” I demanded. He didn’t answer. Mentally, I reached out to him. Anger clouded my mind like a haze. “You think that I’m here playing house with Donavon?” I said incredulously, releasing my grip on his arm and coming just short of actually shoving it away.
“When you left, you two weren’t even on speaking terms,” he mumbled. “And now you two seem awfully chummy. I mean he was in your room when I came over tonight. And he was pissed when he realized that I’d come to see you this morning.” I could tell that he regretted bringing up this topic before the words even left his mouth.
“Not that it’s
any of your business, but Donavon and I are friends. I’ve been going through a really traumatizing ordeal and he’s been here for me!!” I was practically shouting. “I don’t have time to worry about dating Donavon, or you for that matter. He at least understands that.”
“Hey, I never said I was looking to date you, Talia. I’m just looking out for you because I thought we were friends, too.” Erik’s temper flared as he hurled the angry words in my direction. The word “friend” stung as though he’d physically slapped me across the face.
“Fine!” I yelled, my voice wavering with the effort of keeping my tears at bay.
“Fine,” he shot back.
Kicking off my shoes without bothering to pick them up, I took off at a dead sprint for my room. When I got within several feet of the door, it burst open, and I flew through without missing a beat. I took the stairs three at a time and heard the door to my room fly open, slamming against the doorjamb as I rounded the corner. As soon as the door banged shut behind me, and I heard the lock engage, I collapsed to the floor in a pile of damp red silk. Tears of humiliation burned the backs of my eyes before streaking ugly black mascara rivers down my flushed cheeks.
Chapter Fifteen
The next morning, I woke with eyes so swollen that I couldn’t for a second trick myself into believing that the previous night had been a bad dream. My ruined dress was lying in a crumbled heap on the floor of my bathroom. I kicked it aside as I rummaged through my medicine cabinet, trying to find the cream that Gretchen ordered for me in the city. I found it and rubbed the cream all over my eyes, cringing against the burning sensation that accompanied the reduction in swelling.