I had to reach out with my power, latch onto that place with my mind, then I had to pull it toward me close enough I could just step into my intended destination.
While the theory was easy, the actual doing of it was hard, which mostly has to do with my confidence.
In the living area, we started small, and Carrick tried to get me to bend distance from the stone fireplace to the piano. It was so hard. I tried many times with failure, and then once, I somehow latched onto the piano, and as the distance between us started to warp and the piano started moving toward me, I got scared and let it go.
But Carrick kept me pushing, and, by the end of the night, I was able to move around his condo in short distance bursts. The biggest victory was verifying that bending distance wouldn’t kill me, and thus I could travel with Carrick that way.
I explain all of this to Rainey and Myles, to which they demand a demonstration. I give in, not reluctantly, because I’m proud of being able to do it and want to show off a bit for my friends.
Setting my hot chocolate down on a table, I uncurl my legs and push up from the chair. Giving them a grin, I note, “This is why I’m laying off the alcohol. I need full concentration and sharpness to do this.”
Rainey and Myles sit up, eyes wide with excitement. I stare at the sliding glass door that leads into the houseboat, and I focus. I reach out with my mind, call upon the power within, and I grab hold of the door. I then reel it in, slowly at first to make sure I have a good hold, and then I give a hard, sharp yank to bring it right to my feet. I step out of one plane onto another, and boom, I’m at the door.
Rainey claps like a maniac and says, “Do it again,” while Myles shakes his head in amazement. I flash back to my chair, where I do a low bow and receive more applause.
Laughing, I drop down, tuck my feet up and take my cup back in hand. After a long sip, I look at my friends.
“I miss Adira,” I say softly.
“Me too,” Rainey says, and Myles nods.
“It makes me value friendship and love so much more.”
“So much more,” Rainey affirms softly, gazing down at her cup. Myles’ gaze wanders off over the water.
“I think I’m in love with Carrick,” I say, not quite intending for it to come out that way, but now it seemed to segue well.
Both of their heads snap my way, mouths wide open with shock for a moment. Then Myles scowls, and Rainey shakes her head in sympathy. “Oh, Finley… I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?” I ask, confused by her reaction.
“Yes, sorry,” she repeats. “I mean… he’s so detached and controlling. He clearly doesn’t have the ability to return affections.”
“But he does,” I counter. “We’ve um… become affectionate.”
At first, my innuendo doesn’t penetrate, but then Rainey’s eyes widen. “Oh… affectionate.”
“You mean you’ve had sex?” Myles asks because he’s not good at figuring innuendo out.
“Yes, we’ve had sex,” I snap. “But it’s more than sex.”
“For you,” Rainey says hesitantly. “But what about him?”
A smile comes to my mouth, unbidden but reflective of the tiny bubble of joy inside of me that I’ve been carrying because Carrick has been clear that this is more than just sex.
“He cares for me,” I tell her. “I don’t know if he loves me, but he cares deeply. And I’m not sure I can put it into words correctly, but there’s a connection between us that goes far beyond us being intimate. I don’t know if it has to do with fate or the prophecy, but it is real and palpable, and it can’t be denied. We both feel it.”
“Oh, wow,” Rainey says, now her tone awash with wonder. “Maybe you two are destined, like it’s written in the stars or something.”
I grin at her. My romantic, sweet friend.
“I don’t know what it is,” I chuckle. “But Carrick knows something about how this is tied up in our fate.”
“Well, what is it?” Myles asks, his tone skeptical.
“He doesn’t want to tell me right now. He said he has a good reason, but that he will at some point.”
Myles scoffs and turns slightly away. He’s never liked Carrick, and I’m sure he is distrustful of his motives still. I want to reassure him, but I’m not sure I can do that. Not that I don’t trust Carrick and his holding onto information at this point, but because I don’t know how much time I have left on this earth.
In other words, I need Myles’ support on other things, not my love life.
As such, I change the subject very quickly, although I know Rainey will hit me up later tonight to talk about this some more. We’ll wait until Myles goes to bed, and then I can really dish with her about Carrick and my feelings. Maybe she’ll even be able to get Myles on board with this after, but I can’t worry about my friend not liking my…