I watched Selene pepper the invisible ghost with questions, and tried not to think about Vincent. Nothing changed. He was still my friend and someone to talk to.
“He’s hot though and gives good hugs,” I muttered to myself and sighed. “Vincent’s hot, so what? Would I love to have a sweaty, hot night with him? I’d be dumb not to. But am I going to? No. I won’t break up his shitty marriage. I can keep it in my pants and control the urge to run my fingers through his hair. There will be no accidental vagina slips onto his dick from me.” I nodded, feeling like I gave myself a good talking-to and everything would be ok now.
Hot air blew against my neck, and I yelped.
“Fucking ghosts! Stop being so rude!” I twisted on the bench and leveled the empty space behind me with the meanest glare I could muster.
“That was just the wind this time. But all the others are now gossiping about your vagina accidentally slipping onto a dick.” Selene broke the stare down, and I turned back around so fast my back cracked.
“I was just giving myself a talking-to. Not a big deal.” I stood and led the way back to the car.
“They’re taking bets now on how long your talking-to will last. And now I’m supposed to bring updates.”
“Ghosts suck,” I sighed and couldn’t make it into my seat fast enough.
Chapter Seven
Vincent
“Figured I’d find you here.” The seer himself plopped beside me on the training mat at headquarters.
“I doubt youfiguredI was here.” Phillip Griffin KNEW I was here. The forty-year-old blond-haired man shrugged.
“You did good today. The world won’t know that you saved them, but we do.” Phillip saw all possible futures and straddled the lines to the ones he deemed best. A real-life puppet master, super genius, or gambler, depending on who you asked. He orchestrated the greatest powerhouses in the world. Griffin Enterprises and the Hero Society. And I trusted him with my life. I never changed the timeline for myself, but I did for the greater good. Tragedies were part of life; I couldn’t stop every one. But I did my best.
Needing some space, I had been walking along a dam-made lake two years in the future and saw six jackasses setting up explosives along the big dam to hold the area for ransom. Pay money or be flooded.
“They were going to flood the area even if they got paid. You saved thousands of lives. It was the right call.” Phillip’s words eased the tension in my shoulders. I’d stayed awake many nights wondering if I made the right choices in other timelines. Between Phillip and Dorian, the two seers of the heroes, I had some insight.
“Thanks.”
“Wanna talk about her?” Despite him not saying a name, I knew who theherwas. I glanced at the male and rolled my eyes.
“Don’t you know what I’ll say?” I joked but decided to talk about it to someone. Phillip knew percentages of futures; none of them were solidified. Anything could change the course. Hence why I typically leaned in the gambler side of his nicknames. Phillip gambled with futures.
“The future is never set in stone.” I wasn’t the type that talked about my feelings to people. However, Phillip knew it all and saw it all.
“It’s a mess, and I’m trying not to think hard about it. We’re friends, and nothing will change.” At least that was my plan. Keep everything how it was before meeting. I stretched my hands to my toes and relished the sweet burning sensations in my legs.
“It’s quite the mess indeed. But she’s kind and caring. You deserve someone like that.” Phillip twisted his torso before leaning over to stretch as I did. His fingers wrapped around his arches, whereas mine barely touched my feet.
“She is that, and more.” He’d get no arguments from me.
“What if it was worth it?” He slowly rolled his upper half up and tilted his head from side to side. I glanced at the two female heroes jogging on the treadmills, then back to Phillip.
“I won’t change things for myself. You know my rule.”
“Do you remember mine?” he countered, and I shook my head. I’d heard him say it before, and I wasn’t sold.
“That you are a gambling man, and you’ll always bet on love.” Love. Most of the time the word caused me to run. No one loved me, and obviously I sucked at giving it. “It’s not that serious. She’s beautiful and kind. We can be friends.” I tried to shut down the conversation because it made me want to whisk myself back to 2023 and see her. Suddenly, like I’d been smacked in the head, it hit me.
“You’re plotting, aren’t you?” I shifted to narrow my eyes at him.
“I don’t need to. You’re doing marvelous on your own. But I’m always around if you need a friend.” He slapped me on the shoulders as he used my body to push up. I groaned and fell back to the mat. His parting words churned in my head as I finished stretching, showered, then walked to the park instead of home.
Chasity was in a weird mood, like she was trying to prove that our marriage worked somehow. She ordered takeout, touched me nonstop, and gave me constant compliments. Years ago, I looked forward to the moments Chasity snuggled close on the couch. When she whispered how much she loved me taking care of her. Later on, I realized it was because she wanted to keep me in her sharp manicured claws.
I reached into the mailbox and sighed as I sat on the bench.
