The Conduit The Gryphon Series

CHAPTER 8

I had a plan. I was fairly certain it was an asinine plan, but it was all I could come up with it, so I was gonna own it. Since my head versus rock incident Alec had called, texted, and stopped by repeatedly to check on me. In his latest text he asked me out for dinner. I couldn’t deny that I wanted to see him again, plus I needed to try out my empathe ability in the big, wide world. (Well, not the big world; more the Podunk, isolated world — but still.) The worst that could happen was me being unable to hold back the emotions that invaded me, then having myself a fun little freak out in front of the cute boy. Heck, I might even lose control of a few bodily functions in front of him. That’d be swell. If things went that route, my plan was to claim food poisoning and run like that rumored panther was chasing me. See? I had a plan.

I inhaled a shaky breath to calm my nerves and exhaled through pursed, freshly glossed lips. I had scoured my closet for the right ensemble for tonight. I wanted an outfit that said, “I like you, but I don’t know how much yet. So, I want to entice you without leading you on.” Nothing in my closet fit that description. There was no choice but to call in Kendall’s keen fashion sense. She dressed me in a pair of blue jean capris and a loosely fitted canary yellow tank top with lace trim at the neckline. Then she came at me baring her tackle box full of hair pins, combs and other frilly paraphernalia. I repelled her by holding up her only known weakness — a scrunchie I fully intended to use to pull my hair back. She hissed and retreated to her perfectly quaffed shadows. I checked out my reflection in the mirror. Nice and casual. No way could Alec get the wrong idea.

“CELESTE! Your boyfriend’s here!” Gabe bellowed from the bottom of the stairs.

Gabe Garrett, you are a monumental pain in my…

I did my best to ignore his flare up of foot-in-mouth disease and focused instead on bracing myself for whatever the night would hold. I flung the bedroom door open with as much courage as I could muster, and headed downstairs. An unforeseen problem developed as soon as my feet touched the polished wood stairs. I began envisioning all sorts of terrible scenarios. What if I read Alec’s emotions and found out he didn’t like me? Or that he’s only after “one thing”? What if half way through the night he decides I’m a totally goober and I just so happen to be plugged into his emotions at the moment he makes that discovery? Worse yet, what if he’s only using me to get closer to Kendall? It wouldn’t be the first time that happened. I hadn’t even thought about the consequences of knowing exactly what he was feeling! Why did I think I could pull this off?!

By the time I reached the bottom of the stairs I had worked myself up into a state of sweaty, frazzled panic. Worse yet, I couldn’t will myself to round the corner into the foyer. I was stuck at the bottom of the stairwell with my legs sending a message loud and clear; this is going to be unpleasant. Therefore we have decided against going. Thank you very much for the offer, but no.

Idle conversation from the other side of the wall. “What are you lifting twenty-four/seven? You’re really bulking up. I almost didn’t recognize you.”

“No, I haven’t been hitting the weights any more than usual. Must just be from working out with the team.”

Listen to them, chattering away while I’m stuck mid-panic attack. I knew I was being ridiculous. If my stubborn, lead feet wouldn’t budge I was just going to move them manually. I grabbed the corner of the wall in a white-knuckle grip and hoisted myself around into the foyer in one big swoop. Alec and Gabe stopped and stared.

“Everything okay?” Alec asked, his eyes wide and alarmed.

I didn’t know yet…was it? It might take a second before it hits. I wasn’t feeling anything. Nothing rushed over me. The rule must apply to other people, too! The emotions would only come to me if I reached out for them. Relief flooded me — immediately followed by embarrassment.

I still had a grip on the wall like I was bracing myself for some sort of natural disaster. With the hold I had it was impressive I didn’t crack the plaster. I quickly let go, adjusted my posture and crammed my hands into my pockets.

“Sorry. I…thought I left my flat iron on upstairs.” I stammered. I’m an awful liar.

“And it caused the second story to explode? What is with you lately?” Gabe’s dark brows pulled together as he frowned.

I tittered a weak laugh to make light of it. “Yeah, funny, huh? Hi, Alec.”

The unanswered questions that played across his face made me glad I didn’t have to feel his emotions right then. The expression he settled on was equal parts amusement and confusion. “Hi. Nice entrance.”

“Like that? Wait till you see my dinner show.”

Gabe turned to Alec and clasped a hand on his shoulder with enough force to cause Alec to wince. “You know, no one will think badly of you if you decide not to go through with this. We know how she is and would totally understand.”

I glared daggers at him.

“I’ll take my chances.” Alec winked at me with a crooked grin.

“Whatever, man. Your funeral.” As Gabe passed me, he noticed my evil eye and answered it with a toothy grin. My rebuttal was an elbow to his ribs, which hurt like I rammed my funny bone into a brick wall. I grabbed my elbow and grimaced in pain. Gabe laughed.

With my brother gone, Alec moved in closer. He put a hand on each side of my head and did a mock examination, turning my head this way and that. He then turned his attention to my left arm. Gently lifting it up, flipping it over, inspecting it and then dropping it back to my side. He repeated the pattern with my right arm, and paused to dot a kiss to the elbow that was smarting from hitting Gabe.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Making sure you’re still structurally sound after your head trauma.” He held my hand in both of his for a moment, before reluctantly releasing it. “You seem good.”

“I’m feeling better. But thank you for the clean bill of health.”

He looked into my eyes intently. “You’re good? Really?”

I could feel myself blushing under his intense stare. I broke our gaze and looked away as I pushed a loose lock of hair behind my ear. “Yes, I’m really okay. How’ve you been?”

Alec filled me in on his activities over the last few days. I’ll be honest, I completely tuned out. Despite my earlier fears, curiosity got the best of me. I opened myself up to whatever his psyche would tell me.

It came so subtly I almost missed it. My palms dampened, my heartbeat sped up a bit, and a fresh blush colored my face. He liked me, and I was feeling just how much. Guilt plagued me, because I didn’t know if my feelings matched his. Truth be told I’d only ever had one boyfriend. His name was Owen. We met in art class and I fell for his soulful brown eyes and easy smile. Right about the time in our relationship when we were thinking of exploring “second base,” my Dad died. Owen tried to comfort me and be there for me, but I completely shut him out. When I found taking care of my family left no time for anything else, I broke up with him. Since then I hadn’t dated at all. I didn’t know if I was ready for another relationship, or not. I definitely didn’t want to hurt Alec like I had Owen.

Yet as I stood there, deeply immersed in these borrowed emotions, I couldn’t help but revel in how nice it felt. This level of enamored infatuation made me feel alive again, even if it wasn’t my emotion to hold on to. As I looked at Alec the feelings of adoration accentuated all his finest attributes. His crystal blue eyes twinkled like that of a mischievous little boy. The afternoon light filtering in through the window emphasized the red in his hair. If I kept plugged into him like this I was going to have no choice but to stretch up on my tiptoes and gently press my lips to his.

But I didn’t.

Instead I closed the valve on the emotional spigot that flowed from him and went back to my own infuriatingly indecisive feelings.

“…it came out blue, which was weird. But I think I can live with it.” Wrong moment to tune back in. I had no clue what he was talking about.

“Blue’s not bad.” I interjected, hoping the answer would fit somehow.

“Absolutely. Blue is totally workable.” His eyes crinkled as he grinned. I gave an internal phew and vowed not let my mind wander like that again. “So, are you hungry?”

“Famished. Let’s eat.”

***

The Old Shamrock Grill located on Gore Avenue was more bar and less grill. Sunlight had no place here. The lone window at the front of the narrow establishment had a blackout curtain over it to keep out the offending light. It was only seven o’clock, yet within the confines of these walls darkness was a permanent resident. Regulations on smoking hadn’t reached this corner of the world. A thick haze of nicotine hung heavy in the air. An old juke box in the corner played a song from the eighties that I had heard my Mom hum a few times. I think the musician was the prince of something, though I had no idea of what. On the scuffed up wood floor, couples swayed. There were maybe eighteen people there, which wasn’t a bad turn out for a town the size of a postage stamp. We were the youngest people there by a good twenty years.

My apprehension eased when I found that, just like with Alec, no emotions invaded me. I was free to relax. We took a seat at a tattered, round table and ordered a couple of burgers with sodas. As we waited for our food Alec filled me in on his life back in Nashville.

“I’m actually an intern at the station right now, which means they work me to death and pay me pretty much nothing. But I’m hoping when I get my degree they’ll keep me on. Maybe even start paying me enough that I won’t need to have three roommates just to make rent.”

“Cozy.”

“Nope, not at all. But it’s better than living on campus.”

“Easy on the horror stories, that’ll be me in September.” The waitress arrived with our burgers and we dug in.

“No, it really is a good experience. It can just get kind of crazy. Don’t expect to have any kind of privacy while you’re there. But you’ll meet some cool people and have a lot of fun. What school are you going to?” Alec asked through his mouthful.

I paused to swallow a huge bite I’d taken. “Rhodes College in Memphis.”

“I heard that’s a really good school. Beautiful campus.”

“It looks beautiful in the pictures.” I grabbed my napkin and wiped a mound of ketchup off my face. “I haven’t seen it in person yet.”

“Have you picked a major?”

I grabbed the salt shaker to season my fries. “I want to be an art teacher.” Alec gave an appreciative nod as he slugged down his drink. “So, how are you liking being in front of the camera? Is this a permanent change?”

“I never wanted it to be, but I’m enjoying it. It’s exciting. I get to interview people, hunt for leads, even save the occasional damsel in distress.” He met my eye and graced me with another of his charming grins. I felt myself blush, but doubted Alec could tell in the dim lighting.

“What’ve you learned about the fabled panther of Gainesboro?”

His eyes sparked at the mention of his story. He wiped his mouth and then leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table. “It’s really getting interesting. There have been three different sightings. Two of them were hikers in the mountains. One in broad daylight. They got a really good look and swear it’s a black panther. The third sighting though I’m convinced is a hoax.”

“Why’s that?”

“It was at a house on the outskirts of town, right at the base of the mountains. A little boy, I think he was like eight or nine, says he saw the panther. According to him he woke up and it was staring into his room with its front paws pressed up against the glass of his window.”

I imagined waking up and seeing a gigantic cat with razor sharp teeth staring at me. The bed would need new sheets. “That would be terrifying!”

“Yeah, it would be if it actually happened. But last time I checked panthers aren’t really known for their peeping habits. Not to mention, I scoped out the house out. With the height of the window the panther would’ve had to stand on its hind legs. That’s just not realistic for a panther on the prowl. More likely, the kid heard some gossip about the sightings and made up a story to get attention.” He gave a dismissive shrug. “Either way, until I get some actual pictures all the sightings are alleged. Now if I could get some actual footage, my producer at the station would love that!”

“You might even get promoted up from intern to…hmmm, what’s a step up from an intern? Janitor?” I teased.

He grinned and threw his napkin at me. “Laugh all you want, freshman. You’ll be in the intern trenches before you know it.”

“I know.” I raised the back of my hand to my head in a melodramatic gesture of despair. Then, trying to sound casual but failing miserably, I asked. “How long do you think the story will keep you in Gainesboro?”

“Like having me around, do ya?” Alec wiggled his eyebrows at me.

My mouth opened but only, “I…uh…um…” came out.

Alec laughed and rose from the table. “You think about it. I’m going to go take care of the bill. Maybe you can have an answer formulated by the time I get back.”

As soon as he walked away I smacked myself in the head for being such a doofus. It was a good thing Alec was a cool guy that didn’t seem fazed by my Celeste-isms. I settled back into my chair and waited for him to come back. Gazing around the bar, I reveled in how nice it was to be out having a normal evening. I hadn’t even thought about my new ability.

Until now.

Room full of unsuspecting people chock full of all sorts of emotions. I couldn’t help but wonder what it would hurt to take a little peek. In an incredibly bad move, I started with the bleached blonde woman in stonewashed jeans grinding against her boyfriend on the dance floor.

Whoa! That’s not pretty! She has some plans for that guy! I quickly snapped off the connection. Unfortunately, not before I got a mental picture that I really didn’t want.

Feeling a little gun shy, I decided to go a less traumatizing route. Our waitress seemed like a safe choice. She looked exhausted and was covered in a sheen of sweat. Her emotions were pretty straightforward; she felt overworked and underpaid. The man behind the bar became my next target. He was incredibly stressed and suffering from a sharp pain in his abdomen. Judging by the level of his anxiety, I was betting it was an ulcer. He should really have that looked at.

I looked around for someone else to aim my ability at. The man leaning against the bar looked promising. He was definitely on the prowl. His tan cowboy hat was pushed down over his eyes. His shiny blue shirt was unbuttoned to the middle of his chest and a shock of black chest hair sprung out. A thick gold rope chain hung around his neck, but vanished into his mass of body hair. His tongue fiddled wildly with the toothpick protruding from his mouth. He probably thought it was sexy. It wasn’t. It was gross. His head bobbed along to the music as he scanned the room.

Maybe I could find out who he’s planning to hit on and warn them. I giggled, then opened up the channel to the cowboy.

The emotion that hit me wasn’t his. My head whipped toward the door. It came from out there. My heart clenched in someone else’s crushing terror. Whoever it was didn’t know if they would live or die.

My chair clattered to the ground as I sprang up.