Tidbits and Taste Tests
It was different than
it had been with Andromeda. Instead of an immediate burst of light, I felt like
everyone was moving through molasses. As I stared at our clasped hands I again
saw that blue light zing around or through our grip. I focused on the light and
it grew and changed until it became the burst of energy I’d expected, and time
returned to its predetermined speed.
Once again I was
momentarily consumed by the glow and I tightened my grip on Mathis. I could
have sworn Andromeda was holding my other hand, so I gave her a comforting
squeeze, too. Once the light faded and I’d blinked it from my eyes, I gave
Mathis a toothy grin. He returned it, plus a wink.
“You two are already
bonded, then?” he asked.
We nodded.
Andromeda looked at
her hands. “I saw you both light up, but it felt like you were holding onto me
at the same time.”
“That happens with a
new bond anywhere in the world,” Mathis explained. “I’m taking Theory II this
semester, so I get some more details they don’t hand out in elementary and high
school. Not to mention a thousand extra pages of writing and three times the reading.”
I looked at
Andromeda as worry blossomed in my chest. How were we supposed to tell him we
already weren’t a normal trio and he might be in danger? Welcome to the group!
Andromeda was
already in motion, as I was coming to realize she often was. “Let’s get off
campus. Unless you can’t?”
Mathis shook his
head. “I shouldn’t. I have a few more classes through the end of the day; I’m
running late for Psych 201, actually. I’m never late, but for some reason I
couldn’t convince myself to leave on time.” He chuckled and ran a hand through
his beads and braids. “I guess this was why.”
I put a hand on his
shoulder. He didn’t send any tingling sensation through my hand like Andromeda
did when we touched. Instead, he felt like a soothing breeze. I expected he was
experiencing something, too, because his eyes went distant for a moment. I also
realized then that despite his handsome face and my pansexual nature, I wasn’t attracted
to him the same way I was to Andromeda. With her it had been so immediate; I
knew I would be consumed if I didn’t have her. But Mathis… I didn’t know what
to think.
“How do I find you?”
he asked.
Andromeda took his
phone and entered her contact information. She also warned him not to share it
with anyone, anyone, and he nodded
reassuringly.
“I’ll be able to
leave around 4:00 and I’ll text so you can send me an address. I have a covered
scooter, so no highways.” His legs engaged and he blew us each a kiss as he
disappeared. I was sure if he was using his own legs instead of mechanical ones
that he would have been skipping or jumping with excitement.
I felt like jumping
myself and expressed a few toe-bounces. Andromeda rolled her eyes
good-naturedly. “He seems nice,” she agreed. She lowered her voice, “But I don’t
know how sweet he’ll be when he learns we’re both Channels.”
“We’ll find out
after 4:00.” I hugged an arm around her shoulders and she pulled up her phone.
“No new texts in
that account I set up,” she said. “Not that I was really expecting any yet.”
“And I doubt the
Feds will let you know they’re on their way in a text.”
She glared at me.
“They’d probably
call.”
“You’re not taking
this seriously.”
“You’re taking it
too seriously.”
“Am I?” She
pretended to consider it, bobbed her head a few times and then slapped my
shoulder. “I don’t want to be vivisected or stuck performing for experiments in
a secret underground lab for the rest of my life, so if we get caught, I’m
blaming you. And also leaving you to rot if I can escape.”
“That seems fair,” I
agreed.
We left campus and
grabbed a seat on another auto-bus. It wasn’t heading the right direction to
get back to my place, but Andromeda was leading the way and seemed to have a
plan. I wasn’t as familiar with this area since I only came for the occasional
shopping or restaurant date with friends when they were in town.
Andromeda leaned her
head against my shoulder as she stared out the window. I wondered what was
going on in her mind, but didn’t want to press. She did have me thinking,
though: we knew nothing about one another. It would be nearly impossible to
plan for safety if we didn’t know our weaknesses. Despite what she thought, I
was scared. Dr. Bjork had scared me. The blue light I’d seen, twice now, scared
me. I didn’t like being scared.
“Do you feel
anything when I touch you?” I asked.
Andromeda twisted
her head to look up at me. “Like what?”
“Like, anything?
Energy? Tingles?”
She laughed and
looked back out the window. “Insatiable, aren’t you?”
“Different question:
when you shook Dr. Bjork’s hand, did you see anything? Like a blue light?”
Andromeda leaned
away so she could see me better. “No, it was a normal handshake. What blue
light?” She looked concerned.
“I’m not sure,” I
answered. I ran a finger down the fabric of the seat in front of me. “I’m still
processing, but I’ll let you know.”
Andromeda looked
skeptical and confused, but didn’t press the issue. Part of me appreciated her
for that, and another pointed out that she didn’t know me well enough to press.
“Unrelated to either
thing, I promise: do you have family around here? Brothers and sisters?
Cousins? You graduated, but with what degree?”
“You are all over
the place. My brother lives in Georgia – the country, not the state. His trio
operates in the mining industry. My mom travels with my dad on his transport
runs. We get together some place relatively in the middle every year or so. And
my degree is in nautical archaeology.”
I blinked.
“I thought I was
going to be helping my dad more, but by my last year when we both knew that
wasn’t in the stars, so just figured I’d finish to have the piece of paper.”
“Huh. The more you
know.”
“Let’s get off here.”
I jumped up to leave the bus with her close behind. I shaded my eyes and looked
around to find we were in the usual shopping district I frequented. The stores
were all individual, but there was plenty of shade to walk from door to door
and the center held various snack foods and seating. She grabbed my hand and
dragged me toward a used book store but before we went in, she stopped to check
her makeup in the glass. We walked most of the aisles but she didn’t find
anything she wanted, and she vetoed my find of gourmet sexual positions for
lovers who love to cook.
At the next store I
realized she was up to something, but, just as she didn’t before, I didn’t press.
We goggled at and experimented with various kitchen gadgets and even though I
rarely cooked, I lusted after a set of fancy cutting boards that cost more than
three months of rent.
Time for the next
store. This time, she pulled me into a narrow alley between buildings and
kissed me thoroughly, but I could tell she was eyeing the entrance. I angled us
so that she could see better and was rewarded for my actions. Good deeds should
be selfless, but there’s nothing wrong in accepting gifts.
Andromeda checked
her makeup in the glass again and once inside looking at discount clothing, I
sidled close and said, “Are we being followed?”
“Maybe?” She had a
slight tremble in her voice that surprised me.
“Who do you think it
is?”
“Blue hat, blue
polo, white shorts. I saw him on campus and he was on our bus and has visited
all of our stores so far.”
“It’s a college
town,” I reminded her. “Could be perfectly innocent.”
She glared at me and
I moved to another rack of clothes to get him into my view.
"Andromeda looked skeptical and confused, but didn’t press the issue. Part of me appreciated her for that, and another pointed out that she didn’t know me well enough to press."
ReplyDeleteThis is a really good insight and something we run into in psychotherapy. Cold reads and professional instincts aren't perfect. You have to be careful how you poke around in someone's head, because a spoken misstep loses way more than you could have gained by getting it right.
Also, I am really enjoying learning the rules of this universe!