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“I thought rock stars liked to party?” I counter, gesturing toward the groupies at the edge of our circle who keep flashing their tits at him.
He makes a snort-chuff sound and waves his arm in the air. “Gettin’ too old for that.”
“Wasn’t aware there’s a cut-off,” Wrath says.
Dawson wags his finger about two feet from Wrath’s face. “You two aren’t over there, either.”
Somehow Trinity makes sense of his word jumble. “We’re an old married couple.” Trinity giggles and rests her head against Wrath’s chest. “Come on, let’s see what card you pull.”
Shelby shuffles the deck again before setting the cards between them face down. Biting the tip of his tongue, Dawson studies the cards with the intensity of a gambling addict choosing his lucky lottery numbers.
Finally, he pulls a card and hands it to Shelby.
I catch the quick downturn of her mouth when she scans the card. To me it just looks like a man lying face down with ten swords poking out of his back. Backstabber? Well, fuck. The universe sure has a nasty sense of humor. Must by why Shelby’s forehead’s crinkling with apprehension.
“Well, how am I gonna die?” Dawson asks.
Given the card, I wince at his question.
“We’re not predicting your death,” Shelby says in a stern tone she doesn’t use often. “Gosh, that’s morbid.” She lays the card in front of him. “Ten of Swords. It’s a card of betrayal. Not death.”
I swear Dawson’s eyes are about to bug out of his head. Hopefully, they don’t roll into the bonfire.
“Well, shit, Shelby.” He whistles. “This is downright spooky. What’s it mean? Give me the full story.”
“What was your question?”
He flicks his gaze toward me and then Wrath briefly. “What should I work on next? That’s kinda what I had in mind.”
“Kinda could have clouded the reading.” She gently runs the pad of her finger over the shiny surface of the card. “The man’s been betrayed by people close to him, causing him great emotional pain.”
Well, this got uncomfortable fast.
I dare to sneak a look at Wrath, praying he won’t crack a joke. Shelby’s livelihood for the next couple months depends on Dawson’s tour.
Wrath’s face is stone-cold blank. I catch movement under their blanket. Trinity’s pretty focused on him. Maybe he’s not listening to our conversation at all and just trying not to come in his pants.
“Like the picture suggests, he’s been stabbed in the back by people he trusted.”
Gotta give it to the cards on this one. Having your girlfriend cheat on you with your best friend and then participating in the kidnapping of your opening act is about as close as a man can get to having ten knives shoved in his back without feeling the bite of an actual blade.
“If that ain’t on the nose,” Dawson mutters.
“Sorry.”
“No, go on.”
“Career wise, it could mean working too hard or colleagues gossiping about you.”
“No doubt about that.” He takes a long pull from his bottle of beer. “What else?”
“Well.” Shelby studies the card and taps her finger against her chin. “You have to accept the situation in order to move forward. Things can only improve from this point, you know?” She taps the corner of the card. “See here, the sun is rising. A new day. New chance to start over. Ten is also connected to a new life cycle so a new beginning of sorts.”
Dawson’s hanging on every word. I can’t tell if Shelby’s making stuff up on the fly to ease the sting of the card or that’s really what she sees. Either way, it’s entertaining as hell.
“Thank you, Shelby.” Dawson grabs his beer bottle and moves closer to the fire.
“My turn?” Trinity asks, crawling out of Wrath’s lap. She and Shelby stare at each other, then Dawson for a few seconds, then shrug at the same time.
“Come on over.” Shelby pats the blanket in front of her and picks up her cards again. “Want to try a three-card reading?”
“Whatever you’re in the mood for.”
Shelby shuffles her deck slowly, careful not to let any cards escape. Finally, she lays them out and has Trinity pull three and leave them face down. One by one, Shelby turns them over. This time, she smiles as she studies the cards.
“Is it good? That one looks a little scary.” Trinity taps the first one—a leaning towering inferno.
“Past.” Shelby taps the card. “The Tower represents abandoning truths we’ve held for a long time. Discarding the old ways and taking on new beliefs.” Her gaze shifts briefly to Wrath. “Major changes in the foundation of a relationship.”
Trinity wrinkles her nose and turns toward her husband. “Do we still technically count as newlyweds?”
“Maybe.” He sits forward, showing more interest in the reading now.
“The present.” Shelby moves to the next card. “Two of Cups.” Her lips curve into a serene smile. “This is nice. See how connected the two of them are? It’s about the power of two people coming together. Bonding.”
