“He’s meeting us downtown. He went ahead to The Rooftop to get a table, so we can watch the parade from there,” Henri answered.
“Oh, I love The Rooftop!” Ursula squealed, clapping her hands like a child who’d just been told that she was getting a new puppy.
“Well, let’s go then,” Erik declared. He held his hand out to me, and I debated whether to take it. With Ursula and Cadence around, Donavon would be sure to hear a blow-by-blow account of our interactions. But we weren’t dating, so it wasn’t like I should feel badly about holding Erik’s hand, right?
Sensing my hesitancy, Erik let his hand drop; but I caught the flicker of hurt that crossed his features before he turned to start walking. Throwing caution to the wind, I grabbed his fingers and laced them with mine. I’d deal with Donavon later.
The Rooftop was a bar on top of the Woffard Hotel in the center of D.C. The sidewalk out front was lined with people eagerly waiting for their turn to ride the elevators to the twenty-first floor. Instead of leading us to the back of the crowd, Henri walked to the large man guarding the velvet-roped entrance. They exchanged several brief words, and then the man unhooked the rope and waved our party through. We boarded the glass elevator, and I watched as the city streets and their inhabitants grew smaller the higher we ascended.
When we exited the car, a perky blonde with wide magenta eyes greeted us.
“Name of your party?” she asked pleasantly, already glancing down at her electronic clipboard while she waited for Henri to reply.
“Should be under Reich, but I think my boyfriend is already here?” Henri answered.
The hostess ran a finger down the tablet until she found Henri’s name and then nodded, confirming that we were on the list.
“Yes, he is. Follow me,” she gestured, turning to lead us through a throng of well-dressed partygoers.
The space was open, and a light wind ruffled my hair as I clung to Erik so that we wouldn’t get separated in the crowd. A ring of black leather booths decorated the perimeter of the bar, and she led us to one overlooking 15th Street below. A beautiful blonde man with delicate features and warm brown eyes sat in the center of the rounded bench, sipping from a glass of wine.
“Frederick!” I exclaimed, breaking free from Erik to greet Henri’s boyfriend.
“Hi, sweetheart,” he kissed my cheek when I slid around the semicircle to sit next to him. “How are you feeling?”
“Good,” I assured him, giving his hand a small squeeze. “It’s so good to see you,” I added. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed hanging out with him. Frederick was a gentle, easygoing guy and had a way of putting everyone around him at ease. He was the perfect complement to Henri’s more rigid and controlled demeanor.
“Thanks for getting the table,” Henri said, sliding around to Frederick’s other side.
“Sure.” Frederick gave his boyfriend an affectionate smile, and I felt the need to look away from the personal exchange.
The others filled in the empty spaces, Erik sitting next to me with Penny and Harris on his other side. Ursula plopped down next to Henri, while Cadence sat awkwardly on the end, looking unsure why she was here. I shared her sentiments; why had she come?
“Cadence, this is Frederick.” Henri gestured, introducing the two. Frederick extended his hand and Cadence tentatively shook it. “You know everyone else, right?” Henri asked his boyfriend. When Frederick agreed that he did, Henri flagged down a waitress and ordered several bottles of the featured Festivis Day wine and several appetizers for us all to share.
Despite Mac’s warning, I sipped my wine while everyone talked around me. I promised myself that one or two glasses would be fine, and I’d need it if I was going to put up with Ursula’s flamboyant attitude and Cadence’s not-so-subtle death glares.
My friends began a lively debate about the floats that would be in the parade. It surprised me that Ursula and Frederick seemed to know each pretty well; their teasing and easy banter suggested that they’d known one another for some time. They were about the same age, I reasoned. Maybe they’d been in school together?
“So, how are you really feeling?” Erik asked once everyone else was preoccupied.
“I’m okay; no more seizures or anything like that,” I assured him.
“Good......did you talk to Donavon about what happened in Nevada?” Erik’s turquoise irises shone with concern.
“Yeah. I asked him about the transfusion, and he said that he didn’t want to tell me because he didn’t want me to feel like I owed him anything.” I looked uncomfortably at my hands clasped in my lap. Erik pried one hand free and began tracing the lines of my palm.
“And do you, you know, feel like you owe him?” Erik’s tone was tense, like our relationship hinged on my answer.
“No, of course not. He did save my life, but it’s not like that,” I quickly assured him. I didn’t feel like I owed Donavon anything, except maybe the truth about Erik.
”You didn’t tell him about us?” Erik guessed, reading my thoughts.
“No. I was going to, but I don’t know, Erik. Things are so complicated right now.”
“I see. You’re having second thoughts about us.” He pulled his hand back and stared off across the bar at the crowd of people on the dance floor. Equal parts frustration and hurt radiated from his body.
“NO! That’s not what I mean. I want to be with you, but I want to be friends with him, too. He’s been helping me so much, and we’re working together.” I touched his forearm tentatively and willed him to look at me.
“So, are we friends, Tal? Is that what you want?” he demanded, refusing to turn to face me.
“Erik, please - that’s not what I meant! I like you as more than a friend. I just need some time to tell Donavon,” I begged him. Why was nothing coming out right? It was like my thoughts were jumbled and I couldn’t form the right words.
Erik sighed and then finally turned to face me. But whatever he was about to say was interrupted by Harris.
“Would you two quit being so serious? The parade’s about to start,” he declared, climbing over me and Erik to get a better view of the street.
Sure enough, the entire crowd at The Rooftop was making their way to the railing, all clamoring to see the spectacle.
I turned around and leaned over the back of our booth as elaborate floats and fire baton twirlers marched down 15th Street. Speakers began blasting the National Anthem, and off-key singers added their own accompaniment.
“I’m sorry, Tal. I don’t want to push you into something that you’re not ready for,” Erik sent, lightly running his palm up my spine. I shivered, goosebumps erupting all over my skin when he touched me.
“You’re not. I do want this. I just think that Donavon should hear about it from me, and not someone else.” I wiggled around to face him, turning my back to the sword jugglers and waving politicians now delighting the crowd. Pinned against the booth, underneath Erik, I blushed at the intensity of his gaze. He wasn’t watching the parade either. He slowly leaned down and kissed me softly. Not caring whether anyone was watching, I kissed him back, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“Get a room,” Ursula called, playfully throwing a cheesy French fry that bounced off of Erik’s back. Startled, Erik pulled away, but he didn’t look the least bit embarrassed.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, mortified that she’d called us out. I smoothed the silk of my dress back in place and sat back on the bench. I could feel her eyes on me, and I chanced a look in her direction. Her expression was unreadable, but she was projecting a sadness that I didn’t understand. When she said that her friend had dated Erik, had she really been talking about herself? Surely not; I quickly dismissed the thought.
The others settled back into their seats once the parade ended and resumed drinking from their wine glasses. Erik rested his arm over my shoulders, his fingers skimming my bare skin, and I found it hard to concentrate on the conversation. I, too sipped from my wine glass, but was careful not to overi
ndulge. When Ursula ordered shots of bright red and blue layered liquors, I politely declined. To my surprise, Erik did, too. I glanced down at his barely touched wine and realized that he hadn’t really been drinking at all. It was unusual for him since he was normally the one leading the drunken charge.
After three rounds of the spirited shots, everyone, except Erik and me, was drunk. The conversation turned to gossip of mutual friends and people I didn’t know, so I leaned against Erik and played the role of observer. It was nice to be away from school, Mac, and Donavon. As I listened to my friends, I forgot about my own problems. I found myself smiling as they recounted drunken tales from past nights out, and embarrassing school memories. I was reminded that there was life outside of Toxic; a whole world existed beyond the perimeter of the campus that I’d been confined to for the better part of a year.
When Penny got up to use the bathroom, Ursula managed to finagle her way next to Harris and talked him into yet another shot. She trailed her perfectly painted nails – today the same bright red as her dress – up his arm when she spoke, and I had an urge to kick her. Watching her flirt with Harris was almost as infuriating as watching her flirt with Erik.
As Penny returned to the table, she stopped short when she saw the way the two were canoodling, narrowing her eyes at Harris. Pain and regret contorted her features into an ugly grimace as she took a seat next to Cadence. Incensed on Penny’s behalf, I waited for Ursula to take a drink, then forced the glass to tip until the contents poured down the front of her dress.
“Oh, my God!” she exclaimed, jumping from the booth.
I met Penny’s eyes across the table, letting her know that it had been me. Her hand flew to her mouth as she tried to suppress a fit of drunken giggles.
“Tal!” Erik exclaimed in my head. “I can’t believe you did that!”
“Sorry,” I said sheepishly, though I wasn’t sorry at all. Sure, it had been a mean thing to do, but Penny was upset and I didn’t like it. And maybe I was still a little miffed about the way she’d taunted Kenly, and about her hand on Erik’s arm at the dinner.
Despite Erik’s comment, he was also trying to hide his amusement as Ursula blotted uselessly at the front of her ruined dress. The only other person who seemed to realize what I’d done was Cadence. She eyed me suspiciously across the table. I met her beady gaze boldly, daring her to say something. Cadence pursed her lips and kept her mouth shut.
Ursula excused herself to tend to her dress. Penny glared at Harris, but he was too drunk to notice that she was upset. Well, this was shaping up to be a super fun day.
“Tal, she’s a really nice girl. Give her a chance,” Erik chided. “She’s just a flirt; that’s who she is.”
“Sorry,” I sent back. This time I really did feel bad; the trick had been petty. Impulse control was definitely something that I needed to work on.
“Do you guys want to go somewhere else?” Frederick asked, picking up the last bottle of wine and emptying the contents into his glass.
“Yeah, let’s go get some real dinner somewhere. I think we need to soak up some of the alcohol,” Henri agreed, glancing at the pile of crumpled napkins that Ursula had used to sop up the spilled wine.
Once Ursula returned, we made our way through the thinning crowd and descended back to street level. Frederick navigated our way through the pedestrians on the sidewalk, ducking into a place called the Old Crow several blocks away. The restaurant was packed, but most of the people were dancing, so we were able to get a table and order dinner.
Ursula wiggled her way next to Harris, but when she went to sit in the chair next to him, she missed and fell to the dirty floor in an ungraceful heap. The one glass of wine had gone straight to my head, and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud as I stared at her sprawled on the ground.
“Damn, Ursula. Are you okay?” Erik rushed to her side since Harris was oblivious to the fact that she’d fallen. Erik grabbed her upper arm and hauled to her feet. Then his eyes narrowed on me.
“Come on, Tal. The first time was funny, but that was just mean.” He gave me a pointed look.
“Erik, I swear that wasn’t me!” I sent. It really hadn’t been. The chair had seemed to disappear beneath her, causing her to misjudge its position. I hadn’t used telekinesis to move it. Wait, disappear and reappear? That was light manipulation, Cadence’s specialty. I looked in her direction, but the blank expression on her scrunched features gave no indication as to whether she was the one to play the nasty trick.
“Ursula is just drunk,” I added silently to Erik. He didn’t look completely convinced of my innocence, but he couldn’t argue with my statement. Ursula was clearly drunk, and she was laughing hysterically now that the initial shock had worn off. Erik helped her into the fully visible chair, then made his way around the table to sit next to me. Clearly irritated, he refused to look at me. Feeling guilty for something that I didn’t do, I silently flipped through my menu.
The rest of dinner was uneventful. Erik’s annoyance with me didn’t last through our drink orders, so I quickly forgot that Ursula had managed to fall off of a chair that hadn’t been there. Penny and Harris were once again chatting comfortably, and I figured that she must be drunk enough to forget her earlier irritation.
Since Cadence had consumed enough alcohol to drown a cat, I figured that her guard would be down. I tried to read her mind, but - amazingly - her walls were still firmly in place. Despite that, her feelings apparently couldn’t be contained; and all of a sudden I was overcome by a fierce hatred. Cadence’s loathing burned deep inside of her. No concrete images leaked through, only a collage of colorful emotions: white fury, red rage, and black guilt. Normally she was able to smother the flames, but the alcohol seemed to weaken her resistance. I started coughing, hastily reached for my water glass, and brought it to my lips. The cold liquid was like a shock to my system, severing the tenuous connection to Cadence.
“Tal? You okay?” Erik asked, concern lacing his every word.
“Huh? Yeah, fine,” I mumbled, between gulps of water. Maybe I’d been a little quick to discount Cadence. She’d made it obvious from day one that we weren’t friends. I’d written off her dislike since it seemed to stem from jealousy, but now I wasn’t so sure. While I couldn’t be positive that her hatred was directed at me, the intensity and depth of it were alarming nonetheless. I needed to have a closer look at both her and her brother’s files.
Erik continued to watch me through dinner. He knew that something had upset me, but he didn’t pry. I made weak attempts to reassure him that I was okay. And I really was as long as I stayed in my own head.
I stole glances at Cadence, but didn’t open my mind back up to hers. I’d seen her in class and in training on her own, so I knew that she was incredibly focused and calculated. Watching her now, I realized that she carried those traits through to every task. When she cut the meat on her plate, she did so with surgeon-like precision. She chewed every piece of food exactly the same number of times as the one before it. Every third bite she took a drink from her wineglass. Each move that she made was perfectly timed and deliberate.
I tried to envision her as a traitor. I conjured up images of Cadence skulking in darkened alleys and having clandestine meetings with men in trench coats. I envisioned her hiding in a broom closet in the Crypto Bank, waiting for an opportunity to tiptoe into an empty computer lab and hack into the system. Admittedly, my imagination was running a little wild, but her brother was currently imprisoned for aiding the escape of a Coalition Operative. Maybe she shared his ideals? Maybe he’d gotten her involved with Ian Crane? I definitely needed to take a second, much closer, look at Randy and Cadence Choi.
After dinner Frederick suggested that we all stay at his house since Penny was no longer fit to drive.
“I really can’t. Mac made me promise that I would be back at a decent time. I can drive,” I added, noting the way that Penny was leaning on Harris for support.
“Are you sure that’s
a good idea?” Erik asked hesitantly. “I mean, you aren’t really allowed to drive......”
“I know, but I think that Mac would be less upset if I drove than if I stayed in the city,” I pointed out. I wasn’t entirely sure that was true; he would probably have preferred that I’d been responsible enough to demand one of my friends stay sober.
“How about this: I’ll take Talia back and you guys can stay at Frederick’s. Henri, I’ll come get you tomorrow?” Erik offered.
“You don’t have to do that. I don’t want to cause you any trouble,” I muttered, although I secretly liked the idea of spending the ride alone with Erik.
“It’s no trouble, and I’ve barely had anything to drink, so I’m good,” he promised me. “That cool with everyone?”
Only Cadence looked like she wanted to protest, but Ursula didn’t give her the chance.
“Totally,” she declared, “let’s pick up some more wine on the way back!”
After I made sure that Penny would be okay if I left her, as if the puppy dog eyes she was making at Harris weren’t enough of an indication, Erik and I said our goodbyes. Then he took my hand and led me back to the hover garage. The streets were still filled with people, and I wished that Mac hadn’t placed such strict rules on my outing. Yet even as I thought it, I realized that I was exhausted. It was late, and we’d been partying all day. My bed sounded more appealing by the minute.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Did you have fun?” Erik asked once we were airborne.
“Yeah, I did.” I smiled at him across the darkness. The muscles in his forearms twisted as he maneuvered the vehicle through the air, and a lock of dark hair curled over his forehead. I wound my fingers together in my lap to keep from reaching over to push the strands back.
“What?” he asked, tearing his eyes away from the sky when he felt me staring.
“Nothing,” I said hastily, feeling my face color with embarrassment.
“Admiring the view?” he teased.