‘Him.’ Lorelai nodded towards the bar.
‘James? Nice. Do you think you’ve got a chance?’
‘Ofcourseyou know the bar staff here. And yes, I reckon I’ve got a chance. The drinks were free.’ Lorelai blushed as she took a sip of her Coke.
‘Excellent work! Go back and talk to him. Find out when his next break is.’
Lorelai glanced over at James. He was serving someone else but he kept looking over to where she and Joanie were standing.
‘Is it really that simple?’ Lorelai’s confidence wavered. ‘I might have got the wrong end of the stick.’
‘Lollie, don’t make this complicated. He likes the look of you, you like the look of him. That’s it. Itisthat simple and it doesn’t have to be any more than one cheeky kiss.’
‘It’ll always be more than one cheeky kiss.’ Lorelai sighed.
‘He doesn’t know that and he doesn’t have to know that.’ Joanie knocked back her shot of champagne and then downed almost half of her martini in one gulp.
‘Slow down! I’m not carrying you home tonight!’
‘I’m single now,’ Joanie said without an ounce of sadness. ‘I may not be coming home at all.’ She handed Lorelai her glass and danced away, disappearing into the crowd.
Lorelai took Joanie’s advice and asked James when he would be getting a break.
Twenty minutes later, she found him in the alley round the side of the club. It really was that simple. James clearly wasn’t there for conversation because he said two words to her before pulling her close and those words were, ‘Come here.’ All signs of nervousness had left him and Lorelai wondered if that wasbecause his confidence didn’t lie in his chat, but in what he was capable of physically.
Lorelai knew then that had she been interested in James, it would never work out between them. She longed for conversation in a relationship more than she longed for anything else, and that only made her think of Grayson. He was curious about her, was always asking her questions about herself, wanting to learn about who she was as a person. She remembered how surprised he had been when she had told him that most men disappeared when she took anything physical off the table. Lorelai felt a sudden wave of guilt, as though kissing James would be a betrayal towards Grayson. She quickly pushed the thought away. She was doing thisbecauseof Grayson. He was the reason she wanted to find out more about her ability. She needed that knowledge if there was to be any future for them.
James’s lips were warm and soft, his kiss impatient and hungry. It took a few moments for a vision to appear and then Lorelai saw James riding on a bicycle, barely any older than he was now. A second later, a car sped through a stop sign and ploughed straight into him. As she watched him fly off his bike, Lorelai felt all the breath leave her body. She heard the thud as James’s broken and lifeless body hit the ground, and the screech of the tyres as the car sped off. Lorelai’s mouth was suddenly dry and she groaned.
‘I know, I know,’ James whispered, mistaking her groan for one of pleasure. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer into him but she didn’t want him near her. She didn’t want to be touched or caressed. She wanted to be alone and to regain control. Seeing death felt so intrusive, like her mind was no longer her own. James was leaning in for a second kiss but she pulled back, grimacing.
‘Is everything OK?’ James said, confused.
Lorelai didn’t know how she managed to keep it together, but she did. She took a step back, tipped her head to the side and looked up at James. ‘More than OK. But you know what they say. You can never have too much of a good thing.’
She turned and walked away before James could respond. She concentrated on walking slowly, when all she wanted to do was run home. She could still hear the sound James had made when the car had hit him. She’d remember that noise always, and she already knew it would become the soundtrack to her next nightmare. She stifled a sob, knowing she needed to keep going. For her, and for Grayson.
Lorelai made her way back inside. She spotted Joanie dancing on a podium and began walking towards her. As she made her way across the dancefloor, she was intercepted by a skinny man dressed all in black, wearing skull earrings. He took her hands and began to dance with her. She hesitated for a moment, the images of James’s death still lingering, and then she relaxed into moving with him, ready to take a plunge into darkness again.
The more she allowed him to spin her around, the closer he got to her, and eventually he kissed her. The image that Lorelai saw was simply of an elderly man, asleep in a bed, who never woke up. The stranger pulled back from their kiss, and he was suddenly swept away from her by a group of people she assumed to be his friends. Lorelai stood for what felt like a lifetime, the crowd around her gently jostling her. Her breath caught as the two different deaths flashed in front of her. Shesqueezed her eyes shut, but she could still see every detail, and she felt hot and queasy.
Eventually Lorelai opened her eyes, and saw Joanie looking at her in concern from one of the podiums. Joanie clambered down onto the main dancefloor and beckoned her over. Lorelai made her way towards her friend.
‘Are you OK?’ Joanie had to shout to make herself heard over the music. ‘How’s it going?’
Lorelai took a breath to steady herself. ‘Two kisses down. I think I could manage a couple more before I’m done for the night. It’s… I’m… I’m starting to feel it, you know…’
Joanie looked at her with sympathy. ‘You sure you don’t just want to go home now?’
‘No,’ Lorelai said quickly before she changed her mind. ‘I need to do this for a bit longer.’
These two kisses had wounded Lorelai, just as she knew they would. But she’d discovered she had a steely resolve and was strong enough to endure such awful visions, if the reason to do so was important enough.Grayson. But not just for Grayson; for herself too. She felt stronger, more determined, and dare she say, more hopeful for her future. It was also a relief to learn that not everyone would die a horrific death, only she would never know who would and wouldn’t. It wasn’t a lot more new information, but it was a start.
‘Joanie!’ A tall man with a closely shaved head, wearing a silver silk shirt grabbed Joanie around the waist and pulled her into a hug.
‘Ofcourseyou’re here! Lorelai, this is my friend Darren. Darren, Lorelai.’
Lorelai waved a hello, and Darren leaned in to kiss her cheek.
