Killing Time OST – 20c – Dinner

<< 20b – Dinner

I wished we could have chosen a shorter meal. When Vexx and I discussed the evening earlier this week, he convinced me to go with my usual seven courses birthday dinner as it gave us more time to get everything we needed. I would have opted for that minus, six courses, and only have cake this year.
Things went swimmingly – quite a surprise, I must say – up until the third course.
“So, which of you girls will fight for my bouquet?”
Emma and I looked at each other. It was bad enough that my birthday dinner turned out to be all about Naomi’s upcoming wedding without the slippery conversation topics. Emma blushed with unspoken desires which only decoupled my tension. Whether her interest for my dad was genuine or proportional to the size of his wallet had yet to be confirmed. I knew she was hiding something behind that too perfect and timely blush, but one thing was for certain: Emma didn’t deserve to step into my mess of a family.
“We’re in no hurry,” my dad said as he wrapped an arm around his date’s shoulders. I relaxed a bit. It might be silly on my part but I’d rather leave Emma with memories of wishes unfulfilled then making her a widow. I couldn’t deal with the ‘bonding with you step-mom over a funeral’ that would ensue.
“You two, on the other hand…”
“Dad!” I scolded while Vexx coughed out a piece of fish. He drank some water to soothe his sore throat. I absentmindedly rubbed his back. I should have warned him about my dad. But then, he should have expected something like this after the giant bed.
My father, unabashed by the stir his comment sparked, chewed on a bite of salad until Naomi’s laugh receded.
“I’m not getting younger and I need someone else to spoil.”
Vexx nearly drowned in his glass.
Why would my father ask such questions if he knew I had nanobots in my head preventing me from loving anyone?
“You won’t get any if you kill my boyfriend, you know!”
“Well,” Naomi handed a napkin to Vexx, “if he can’t survive your dad, he won’t father strong children.”
“Vincent isn’t a sperm donor!” I snapped. Naomi’s crooked smile turned to surprise and I knew I had made a mistake.
I acted out of character. Very out. Old me would have teased Vexx too, not instinctively defend him; fake care created a lag.
And as soon as that thought crossed my face, my cover was blown.
My dad looked worried and I felt twice as worse. This was why he had asked about my love life for all those years. He had been looking for this slip.
I wanted to cry, to strangle him, to tear out of the skin that bore his mark, to fight like a broken toddler, to yell like a Viking on the war path.
We stared at each other, knowing very well the other knew.
“Of course he isn’t,” Naomi laughed, shaking Vexx gently. I had dragged her into this. Because I wanted her to help my lies. What a mistake! Or was she in on it?
Vexx squeezed my thigh; he knew too. My father reached for his watch.
Not his usual one.
“Down!” I pulled Vexx with me and covered both our heads. A dimmed flash seeped through the protection of my lids and arms. I heard Naomi stumble backward and Derek grunted. They hadn’t been fast enough.
I reached under my chair and pulled the Desert Eagle out of its hiding place. A plasma bullet zinged an inch from my head. Vexx yelped. I shot back by reflex, hitting Emma straight between the eyes. Naomi yelled.
“Not after the wallet, then.”
“Lor! What’s happening?” Naomi cried. She fumbled around, blinded by the mini flash grenade. She eventually found Derek’s hand and he wrapped her in his arms.
“Stay down!”
I vaulted over the table. The front door was wide open. I ran only to see my dad enter his car. It started rolling before the door even closed. I aligned the tires but my instinct told me to duck. The bed, half dissembled to get it in the house, exploded. Nothing overwhelming, just enough to kill whoever would have been sleeping on it.
He had suspected a problem with my nanobots. Not enough to compromise the asset I was before first hand confirmation, but he had planted the contingency plans.
“Lor?” Vexx yelled from the door.
“I’m alright.”
I rolled myself off the driveway and joined him. The plasma bullet had burned a part of his hair, melting a section of his artificial face in the process. I angled his head in the light despite his protests; he seemed otherwise unharmed.
“We can’t stay here,” he whispered.
“I know,” I sidestepped him to return in the house. I grabbed my direct line to the FBI in the lobby’s dresser. “Join me at safe house four,” I said as soon as Gabriel picked up. “I’ll explain.” I hung up before he started asking what happened and how I knew about the safe house.
“You sure we can trust him?” Vexx asked.
“I’m sure we have no choice.”
I selected an old blouse I kept in the entrance closet and ripped off the sleeves. Naomi and Derek could be moles. They could also be innocent. I’d let the FBI figure it out. Vexx grabbed my arm before I returned to the kitchen where Naomi sobbed.
“I programmed a hack for the FBI database.” I stopped and turned around. “I can have the mainframe uploaded to their server. Don’t know how much use it’ll be now that we’re out, though.”
Bye bye leverage, hello increased chances of my father paying for what he had done. “Do it.”
Vexx ran to the basement while I explained what I could to Naomi and Derek. Or rather, while I told them I couldn’t explain anything right now and that if they wanted to be safe, they had to let me blindfold them. They were too traumatized to resist.
By the time I guided them to the basement, Vexx had packed a few things. He handed me my ‘Alice’ face which I gladly put on. I sealed the door to the house, leaving only the sewer access: if Dad didn’t already know about this room, we might be able to keep it under his radars.
After a silent walk in the sewer – that beat arguing with Vexx while half-naked and tied to a table on the awkwardness scale -, Naomi and Derek cuddled on the backseat ofAlice’s car. Vexx dropped our luggage in the trunk. I took a couple of deep breaths by the driver’s door.
No doubts. No fear. No return policy. No refund.
Shopping for trouble sucked.

21a – Nerves >>

Killing Time OST – 20b – Dinner

<< 20a – Dinner

The rest of the week went by while we prepped for the night. I wasn’t the only one who had to be taught how to lie. High quality microphones, disguised as flowers, snuck up in my centerpiece in the hope of recording enough of my father’s voice to engineer any verbal password the mainframe’s files would mention. Retina scans hid all around the room to maximize our chances of getting a shot clear enough to make contact lenses. The BluePrinter chose an empty, broken then reconstituted wine bottle as its new home so it could snap a picture from the wine rack. A radio frequency analyzer perched itself in the chandelier in case a chip besides the standard ID transmitted an identification code of some sort.
Julia received precise instructions regarding the wine glasses so they wouldn’t end up sterilized before we could pull off prints and DNA samples. She fought it and, ultimately, Vexx had no choice but to pump a virus in her system. The first version of it caused the robot to over-salt every single dish, a pretty obvious sign someone messed up with my cook’s interface. Version 2.0 of the ‘Glass Protection Program’ proved free of side-effects.
“I can reverse engineer blood, saliva and hair samples that Merrilyn Tech’s system will accept as long as we get your dad’s DNA make-up.” He didn’t say it but I knew he could also confirm if my ‘dad’ and I really were blood relatives. I might ask him to do it though I would have preferred to get the truth from the liar’s mouth.
While Vexx busied himself with the super spy retrofitting of my dining room, I began my quest for the perfect sound track. Finding something that I could play during dinner and use as a catalyzer for my mood proved an impossible task; no one would let me get away with playing the Devil’s Trill during the first service.
Eventually, it hit me; I didn’t have to play the song to everyone.
From that point on, the process significantly sped up. I would play the traditional Mozart for my guests and listen to something else in my head. Combined with the conversations, the required multi-tasking to handle all the auditory input should help me avoid the sore spots the evening was sure to poke.
After much thought, I settled for the greatest hits of James Bond movies soundtrack.
On the night, Naomi and Derek arrived first, as I hoped they will. Naomi stuffed a bottle of champagne in my hands as soon as the door opened wide enough to admit it.
“Oh! You shouldn’t have.” I meant it; she gave me same bottle every single year, chronically forgetting I had no love for bubbly. I hugged her nonetheless and thanked her fiancé as well though he had nothing to do with the gift.
When I presented Derek and ‘Vincent’ to each other, I could swear Vexx lost a few inches. Deflated, almost. He had nothing to be ashamed off but Derek was unnaturally stunning and it took its toll on the most confident minds.
“I’d take you over a million-dollar worth of cosmetic implants any day,” I murmured in Vexx’s ear as soon as Naomi turned her back on me. His eyes widened and he mumbled something along the lines of ‘I’d take you too.’
Vexx found his assurance somewhere between entering the living room and Naomi’s latest tale of dress fitting. She spent a good half hour babbling about wedding stuff before the doorbell interrupted her flow. She was in great shape tonight which meant she’d be perfect for the role I assigned her: distraction.
“Andrew!” she shrilled before I could greet my dad. She sidestepped me to hug him. “And who’s that charming lady on your arm?”
“Now playing Garbage – The World is Not Enough,” the chip in my head announced while my dad introduced Emma to all of us. I shook her hand and by the time I made my way to my father’s hug, I knew ‘what to conceeeeaaaalll’.
“You look beautiful, kitten,” my dad said. He planted a kiss on my forehead. “Happy birthday.” He stepped aside.
In the courtyard, two delivery robots held the biggest bed I had ever seen. It had to be at least twice a king-sized bed. A kingdom-sized bed, complete with four posts, drapes, an army of pillows and a big bow resting on the eiderdown.
“When I heard this one was sticking around, I figured that your troubles sleeping might be caused by the lack of space.”
I scraped my jaw off the floor and faked an overwhelming amount of enthusiasm by running outside and pulling Naomi behind me. We jumped on the bed, laughing. I checked the robots from the corner of my eye to make sure the added weight wouldn’t overwork their hydraulics. Naomi lay down and I followed suit, using her excitement to simulate my own.
“Oh my gosh! This is so perfect,” she moaned. “Wait!” She jumped off the bed and ran back to grab Vexx. “Come on!” She pulled on him until he followed, the rest of the party trailing behind them. She pushed him onto the bed by my side.
“That’s not heart-warming at all,” Derek smirked. Naomi stood by his side and frowned.
Vexx slid an arm under my head and one around my waist, his eyes glaring at me until I wrapped myself around him as well. Putting on a daring face for me, wasn’t he?
“Way better!” Naomi pushed my hair around and then, towered over us, an expecting hand opened toward Derek. He put a small camera in her palm. “Now kiss!”
I almost protested but Vexx’s insistent look and my father’s glowing smile convinced me I had to go through with this. I pressed my lips against Vexx’s. “Die Another Day” was an oddly appropriate soundtrack. And that damned flash wasn’t coming.
“Put some heart into already!”
Vexx pulled me closer and slipped his tongue between my lips. I gave in for lack of a better option. This felt awkward on so many levels. Kissing never felt out of place in any situation I could recall.
Which are all pre-nanobot removal.
“Now, it’s perfect!”
By the time we emerged from our kiss, everyone was cheering. We rolled out of the bed and let the other walk a few steps before we followed them inside.
“Dicey situation number one: overcome,” Vexx whispered.
My jaw tightened.
So that was what it felt like to be kissed to avoid trouble.

20c – Dinner >>

Killing Time OST – 20a – Dinner

<< 19c – Inception

“You’d think an assassin leading a triple life would be more confident about her lying skills,” Vexx laughed when I put the phone down without dialing for the second time. His derision didn’t help my situation at all so after a menacing grunt, I moved my operations upstairs. Getting the unwanted audience out of the equation was probably a good idea even without taking the nasty comments into account.
Nightshade and Alice didn’t qualify as lies in my head. They came closer to make-up: smartly hiding a part of me to reveal only a specific set of strengths. I arranged situations to my advantage and omitted key elements from conversations every now and then; I made sure I had a reason to be in Subcutaneous Wonders and didn’t say I was canvassing their security.
I led everyone to believe I went on a long vacation with my boyfriend, which wasn’t entirely false since my surgery did put me out of touch and Vexx accompanied me through it. By most standards, we were a couple if not by romantic ones. I manipulated the truth when Naomi asked me how my time away from society was.
Everyone did that. Even the apostles did. It was as old as the world.
Vexx had a point though; an outright, ‘make up a whole story’ lie wasn’t too far out of my league. However, something about further darkening myself – the real, original ‘Lorelei’ persona – annoyed me. I didn’t want to have my dad over for my birthday and there was no way I could manipulate that truth to justify inviting him for dinner.
So, I froze.
I asked Julia to brew me some chamomile before I made another attempt away from Vexx’s smirk. At first, I had tried to stick the phone call duty on him; it made perfect sense that my new boyfriend would organize me a surprise birthday dinner.
But damned him, he saw right through my plan – which didn’t help my confidence to pull this off.
When he realized I wanted to avoid lying, he went postal. He launched himself into a symphony of ‘how are you supposed to make it through dinner if you can’t even lie to them on the phone?’ Even Frogster croaked its approval so I had little choice but to bow.
My relaxing infusion in hand, I decided to call Naomi first. She didn’t stab me in the back which made her a less risky test drive.
She picked up after the first ring and gobbled up my story about wanting to be at home after a long vacation abroad. Less than a minute later, she promised she’d be there with her boy toy of a fiancé. She sounded a bit distracted but I chose to ignore the fact that it facilitated my lying. I hung up, convinced my irrational fear had completely waned.
That was, until I started dialing my dad’s number.
The lump in my throat forced me to put the phone down. The world spun and I steadied myself on the corner table. After a moment, the deafening marching band of questions and accusations faded in the back of my head.
So many things needed to be said, so many secrets to bring to light, how could I push through them all long enough to add yet another lie to this pile of shit?
After a couple of deep breaths, I decided I was ready for take whatever-the-number. I hardly had any choice if I wanted this mess to ever become a fading memory. It was a clear case of ‘dike it all or drown’.
Black and white; I was good at that.
“Hello honey!” my father said as my brain caught up with the mechanical dialing of my fingers. “I was about to go have dinner with Emma. Wanna join us?”
His enthusiasm wiped my mind clear for a second.
“No, thanks. I feel like spending some time at home these days. In fact, I’d like to have a small birthday dinner this year. Here.”
“Oh! Good thing you called now. I wanted to send the invites tomorrow. Just you and me then?”
The sheer thought contracted my muscles. “No. Vincent will be here. And Naomi with Ian. You can come with… Emma, is it?”
“Great,” he didn’t sound as enthusiast as when our conversation started. I held my breath. “Are you sure you’re okay, kitten?”
I cleared my throat – great tell, Lorelei, way to go – and jumped on the explanation closest to reality. “It’s the nightmares. They’re particularly real and overwhelming these days.”
“Oh! Why don’t you come back to your old bedroom for a few weeks?”
I cringed. I had done that a couple of times in the past, back when the presence of my dad nearby soothed my worries instead of feeding them.
“Thanks Pa but I yearn to be in my things.” I bit my lower lip, waiting for the reply. If he insisted, I’d hang myself for sure.
“If you say so.” Deception seeped through his tone. “See you Saturday at seven then.”
“Yes!” And now the finale. “Love you Pa!”
“Love you more, honey.”
I forced myself to wait for him to hang up before I slammed the phone back in place. I couldn’t count this as a victory. Not in a thousand years. In a face-to-face conversation, my body language and facial expression would have screwed me thrice over. And not the pleasant, filled with moans way.
I couldn’t do this.
“What would Nightshade do?”
I turned to Vexx leaning in the doorframe of the secret stairs.
“Stretch and try it again?” How could I practice lying to my dad? With a lifelike hologram?
“And?”
I cocked an eyebrow, swallowing back an outburst of annoyance at the last moment. He was my friend. My rare, desperately needed friend. And he seemed to have a plan to get me through this. I couldn’t afford to alienate him.
But what the hell did he want me to say?
“And?” he murmured in a tiny microphone. It burst in my head and with it, the very conclusion he wanted me to reach.
She’d find the perfect song.

20b – Dinner >>

Unforeseen Dives – 20b – Omen

<< 20a – Omen

Rebecca and I followed Casey to the PR department. On the way, he outlined the strategy behind my coming public appearances. For the most part, we would counter the negative effects of my last press conference by turning me into a miracle. Though I didn’t think my enduring sanity was that impressive, I rejoiced for two reasons.
First, it would hopefully be the end of headlines and gossips along the lines of “PSI Hero Soon to Be a Raving Loon”. They weren’t flattering and stressed my mom.
Secondly, and that was what mattered the most, it would motivate prompt divers to show themselves. I controlled my abilities so quickly that I questioned my doctors to find out why I was the first one successfully living with prompt diving. It turned out doctors only cured illnesses they have studied and their case studies were all too far gone to cure when the doctors found them.
They tried to catch cases before they developed. Twenty percent of psychics have the gene but never show the symptoms. Prevention was thus impossible. They surmised that the stress of the New York bombing dives triggered it in me. Before me, doctors didn’t have sane patients to work with.
If prompt diving hadn’t been such a taboo, the cure would have been discovered a while back. I needed to fight that ignorance so we could help more psychics. We also had to find telepaths who were willing to enter the very intimate relationship that allowed them to teach “the wall” to us.
We were almost at Casey’s office, discussing my talk show appearance at the end of next week, when Amy caught up with us. Casey blushed and subtly hid behind Becky and me when we turned toward the secretary. She caught her breath before speaking.
“Gosh, you’re hard to find! Aaron wants you in his office. Now.”
“Any idea what it’s about?” I enquired while we walked.
“As if he’d tell me. All he said was ‘We’re putting the new department to the test. Fetch Agent Parker and Lowe immediately.’” She shrugged and parted from us when we reached her desk.
“Watcha doing, puppy dog?” Rebecca poked Casey who followed us silently. Amy’s departure combined with Becky’s taunt finally pulled him out of his thoughts.
“I’m keeping myself informed so I can arrange Miss Parker’s schedule.”
We entered Aaron’s office to find it a bit crowded. Aaron was sitting behind his desk, his jaw so tensed he might break some teeth. To his right stood Daniel who appeared calm. However, since Daniel always appeared calm, he wasn’t a good indicator. I noticed only the tiniest shift of his weight between the left to the right leg and back every few seconds. There were also two unknown FBI agents, complete with suits filled with muscles and bulging over holsters.
The real clue to the reason of our presence here was Maeve, one of the Oracles. Sitting in a couch, her muscles were still shaking though most of her composure held against the shock. Small beads of sweat glued light strands of brown hair to the nape of her neck. Her blue eyes didn’t settle on anyone in particular but scanned the room slowly. Besides those details, she was relaxed and sat casually.
In my eyes, it only meant we were too deep in shit for her to appear traumatized. It seemed she could say one of the most famous Oracle quote: “If fear takes hold of us now, we might as well kiss the world goodbye.” Circa 1938.
I hoped I read Maeve’s expression wrong.
“Thanks for joining us.” Aaron snapped when we walked in. “What is the loudmouth doing here?”
“He makes sure he can work our schedule so we can do whatever you have in mind and still make Cassidy’s public appearances.” Rebecca answer stiffly.
Aaron shrugged and motioned for us to sit with Maeve. We did, quite uneasily.
“I called you so Agent Fraser can share her omen. You’re to start investigating it as soon as you leave this office.”
Daniel winced; Aaron was again outstepping his bounds by assigning agents. This hardly seemed the moment to correct him.
Aaron signaled for Maeve to speak. She inhaled slowly and spoke with a level voiced.
“Hard times are coming. Really intense waves of deaths. It’s coming really fast. I suspect it’ll start in a matter of weeks. Probably reach its peak in a matter of months. I couldn’t see the source but I know it’s not a natural disaster. It’s human violence.”
I assimilated the information pretty quickly and turned to Aaron and Daniel.
“How big an investigation team are we talking about?”
“The two of you and occasional FBI support.” Aaron seemed surprised that I asked.
“To stop a war? Are you nuts?” Rebecca snapped.
“Mind your tone, Agent Lowe. Until you get me solid proofs, we’re not engaging more manpower to chase the dream of a might be war.”
All the readers in the room blanched. The masses still doubted our efficiency and we were used to that. To be doubted by the very people paying you hit hard. They believed in us enough to finance PSI but not enough to take the words of an Oracle for solid proof. They had pursued stranger leads in the past and still would if it came from a non-reader.
In silence, all the readers stood and walked out of Aaron’s office, Daniel included. Aaron recognized our mood and had the brilliant instinct to keep his mouth shut. We were convinced trouble was indeed coming and we’d prove it.
In the corridor, Rebecca grabbed my elbow. I looked in her direction and saw Maeve, connected to my partner’s other arm.
“There’s something more.” Maeve beamed in my head through Rebecca. “Something I’d rather not share with them just now.” I heard how “them” encompassed all the non-readers in her mind. “It feels like a non-reader versus reader war.” The three of us tensed, body and mind.
“And we lose.” She added.

21a – Party >>

Unforeseen Dives – 20a – Omen

<< 19b – Training

I folded the invitation and slid it back inside the envelope.
“People could comprehend the reason of your absence. Don’t force yourself if you don’t want to come.” Daniel placed a hand on my shoulder, a gesture that said he cared about my well-being even if he was my boss.
“First, the slashing thing happened ages ago. Second, and more importantly, Wayne wasn’t himself when he attacked me. Now he’s back. I wouldn’t miss his party for the world.”
“You are a truly amazing woman.”
“I am also another black sheep who won’t spit on a brother.” I smiled.
“See you Sunday afternoon then!”
We parted ways. I needed to get to the gym. Rebecca closed her locker as I walked in to change. I shimmied into my training pants as fast as I could and traded my glasses for lenses.
“Ready to nail those guys?” She asked with eagerness in her tone.
“Sure thing!”
“Let’s flatten them!” Her hand raised in a high five and I slapped it with enthusiasm.
In the gym, Swan and Ian, the two army trained telepaths we had faced a week before, were ready for a brawl. Total victories had been in their favor last time. Today would be different by a mile. Or two. In fact, they probably wouldn’t win unless they attacked within the first ten seconds.
Asking Rebecca to teach me to build a wall around my brain had been the key. When we talked about it to researchers on prompt diving, they told us they had tried it in the past but the patients were so far gone that learning had been impossible. It made me even gladder I hadn’t buried my condition until I went nuts.
I couldn’t hold the wall up every of my waking hours like Rebecca did. However, with minimal concentration, I maintained it during about an hour before I flinched. I tried to lengthen that time span every day.
When the wall was up, I didn’t dive. Unfortunately, when it came down, the Ocean made up for the lost time and I plunged instantly. The good and the bad news would cancel each other out but apparently, my newly trained concentration muscle also helped me control my forced dives.
In the past week, I had learned to take advantage of that. I released my wall to do controlled dives. Once integrated to our fighting techniques, my new skill rendered Becky and me virtually unbeatable. Today, we were putting ourselves to the test.
We faced our opponents squarely. All four of us smiled then fell into fighting stance. Rebecca and I maintained physical contact so she could shield my thoughts while I dived. While we paced in circle, measuring our opponents, I swiftly hit the Ocean.
Rebecca wanted to attack the guy on the left first, Swan. That led to defeat. We chose to wait for them to attack: defeat. If I attacked the guy on the left, though… The analysis went fast. I saw the whole sequence of moves leading to victory.
Becky hooked her arm in mine. I pushed to roll onto her back. Landing on the other side, I quickly used momentum to throw a spinning kick. Swan grabbed it. I knew he would. It left his partner’s flank vulnerable. Before Swan thought about letting me go, I used his hold as support and sent my other foot smashing Ian’s abs. He expected Becky to jump him, not me. He bent under the shock. Rebecca barely reached to grab his shoulder and throw him over her on his back.
Swan had released me and fell back in defensive stance. Not that I cared. I reached over my head and jumped backward. Becky caught my arms in midair, powering my back flip. I landed on Ian and grounded him while he tried to catch his breath. I wasn’t heavy but my locks were decent. Rebecca downed a surprised Swan with a quick spin in the legs.
Thirty seconds tops and it was over.
“We never had a chance, did we?” Ian chuckled, looking over his shoulder. I was pressed against his back. “Not that I’m complaining.”
I released him and helped him up. Applause resounded in the nearly empty gym. Our coach was proud of us but he wasn’t the clapping type.
“You don’t play soft, do you?” Casey teased as he reached us.
“Only one way to get tough.” Rebecca answered.
“I heard our Cass is getting there.”
“Wanna test her?”
“Sure!”
“So I’m a circus freak now!” Despite the tone and words, I smiled and closed in on Rebecca. “Here are the rules. Casey, try to surprise me. Rebecca, shield me and listen in on my dive.”
“I want the two guys as neutral party.” Casey objected.
“Where’s the trust?” Rebecca smirked. I could hear the two telepaths through her contact with me. They were listening in. I dived and smirked too.
“Go ahead, Casey.”
“Well, I’m here to ask you if you’re ready for a press conference. We’d like to share your progress.” He walked towards me as he spoke. “We don’t want the people to play too long with the idea you’re a freak. It’s better to make you a hero again.”
As he reached me, he leaned forward. Rebecca swiftly stepped behind him and pulled his arm into a painful lock.
“Hey!” Casey yelped. Swan and Ian laughed, bringing a quizzical expression of Becky’s prisoner’s face. Swan took it upon himself to explain.
“She dived and thought: ‘He’s going to talk to me about the media circus then look like a clown by attempting to kiss me, completely forgetting that Rebecca saw it coming through me. Since she loves to make him suffer…’”
“She’s really good, man. You shouldn’t doubt her.” Ian said, patting Casey’s shoulder as he headed out of the gym. Swan did the same, adding to the humiliation.
“Got the point. Are you going to let me go now?”
“Not sure. I think submission suits you.” Rebecca commented.
I decided not to get between them. I planted a kiss of Casey’s cheek and headed back to the lockers.

20b – Omen >>