Chapter 14

Eileen discovers something about Astaire and her visions, and her relationship with Cadeyrn takes a new turn.

    I learned something about Astaire.
    We'd just finished practicing at the Brotherhood underground gym. Usually, he went home- or somewhere- afterwards without changing, but this day, he'd had some sort of appointment, so he changed in the unisex locker room, not far from me.
    I pulled a blouse on over my bra, my back to him. "My friend, I grew bored of the Saints a long time ago."
    "Don't give up on them so easily. I mean, they've got to beat the Falcons."
    "Maybe."
    "Have a little faith in your Saints," he joked mildly.
    I turned around (fully dressed) with the intention of showing him that I was rolling my eyes. But he caught me off guard.
    Astaire was pulling on a T-shirt over a thin cotton undershirt. Before the tee came all the way down, I caught a glimpse of a finely sculpted, rock-hard body beneath those clothes. Damn-
    "I guess that wasn't as funny as I thought." He hadn't noticed my staring, and I had failed in my attempt to de-humor him. The things I could do to a body like that-
    I tried to scoff. "Not really."
    He was putting on a dress shirt. Why did the man wear so many shirts? "Are you okay?"
    I snapped back into the present. "Yeah."
    He shrugged, chuckling lightly. "Want coffee? I've got a half hour before my appointment."
    "Sure."

    We went to the break room on my floor. "I've been having these weird visions," I mentioned as we sipped our beverages.
    "Tell me about it," he said.
    I noticed that he said "it," not "them." And his tone of voice suggested that he'd meant it as more of a conversation filler. I told him about the visions anyway.
    Astaire didn't respond immediately. He just sipped- no, downed- his hot chocolate. He never drank coffee- it was too bitter for him.
    "Well?" I asked. "You've been waiting for me to develop precognition since we met. I figured you'd be excited."
    He answered slowly, without looking directly at me. "They aren't precognitive visions if you have them while they're happening."
    I frowned. "Then what are they?"
    Then he looked me in the eyes- and lied. "I don't know."
    "Are you going to tell me what I missed?"
    "Yes."
    I waited.
    "But not yet."

    That night, Dawn and I met Cadeyrn and his friends at the Arrow Café in the Quarter. No one was more surprised than I when he Introduced me. "Deandre, Bastiaan, Lora, this is my girlfriend, Eileen and her friend, Dawn. Eileen and Dawn, these are my friends Deandre and Bastiaan, and Bastiaan's girlfriend, Lora."
    I shook each of their right hands, smiling. "Girlfriend?" I said as an aside to Cadeyrn as we found a table. "I've been promoted."
    Cadeyrn just kissed my cheek.
    We exchanged pleasantries over drinks. Then, as we consumed more alcohol, we opened up, loosened up a little more.
    "Y'know, Eileen," Deandre said, "my boy didn't even tell me when y'all hooked up? Musta been trying to keep you for himself."
    "What Deandre means," Bastiaan added, his smooth Jamaican accent rounding out his words, "is that we're glad to have finally met you."
    "Same here," Dawn said. "'Leen, why did you keep this such a big secret?"
    "I know you like surprises," I answered sarcastically and more than a little snidely.
    "Wow," Lora said. She was also Jamaican. "You're just as vocal as our Cadeyrn."
    Bastiaan put on a mock stern face. "What are your intentions for our son, Eileen?"
    We all laughed as the waiter finally brought our dinner. "About time," Cadeyrn remarked after the waiter left. "Now y'all have something to wash that alcohol down with. You're all drunk as hell."
    "That's the most you've said all night." Deandre's smirk couldn't hide it- he was concerned.
    "Oh, really? I've got two more words for you."
    "Cadeyrn," Lora warned gently. "We're enjoying ourselves."
    I took Cadeyrn's hand in mine. He gave me a soft smile.
    "What's wrong?" I whispered.
    He didn't respond, just listened to our friends as they talked amongst each other. After a while, he pushed his drink away from him. "I'd better stop," he joked. "You kids are gonna need a designated driver."
    That caused an uproar with Deandre and Bastiaan, and before long, we'd all forgotten about the incident. When it was time to leave, Cadeyrn and I took my car, and Bastiaan and Lora drove Deandre and Dawn home. I smiled to myself.