"It's something."Franklin crossed his arms over his chest and waited.Anyone else in the pack would've been squirming by now, but his glares had never had the same effect on Elvin.
"At first, I didn't get it.How could my best friend for most of my life turn into a major dick overnight?Then the second time he showed up, you were all smiles and soft looks until he left, then you went back to threatening everyone within an inch of their lives if they so much as breathed the same air as you.And now he came back, and you're ready to rip his mother's throat out.I'm enjoying this.Or I'm not because you've been such a dick lately, I want to strangle you, but you know."He grinned again.
Denial rested on Franklin's tongue, but what was the point?No one knew him as well as Elvin did."Something isn't right.Apart from Axar talking to thin air, I mean."
Elvin straightened, gone was the grin and the teasing."Not right how?"
"When the man touches him, he follows.He protested, said he wanted to stay, wanted to finish his drink, but his body moved as if out of his control.Not jerky or anything, all motions were smooth, but it was if his mouth and eyes said one thing and his body another."
Elvin's eyes shifted, and Franklin cast a look around.No one was watching them.
"Like...mind control?"He shuddered.
Did Franklin believe in mind control?He wasn't sure.You could never be sure when it came to psychics, though."Not sure.He seems to have control over his mind, but not his body."
"Creepy."
"Yeah."Talking to empty air was creepy too."And he liked the color on the walls; said the previous one made him nauseous in the morning."
Elvin's eyes were wider than Franklin believed he'd ever seen them."But...It's been a decade since we repainted.There is no way he could've seen the previous one in the morning."
"I know."Franklin rubbed his neck."Let me know if he comes back."Though since the visits had been about two months apart, the odds of him coming back tonight were minimal.
* * * *
Chapter 4
October
Franklin was behind the bar, slicing lemons in preparation for the night.Saturdays were normally busy, but it was stormy outside, so he wasn't sure if there would be a lot of customers.
"Chann toppled over a crate of beers in the storage room."Elvin was grinning from ear to ear.
Franklin groaned."How much was ruined?"
"Only a couple of bottles, but he dropped it right on his big toe.It's turning blue."Elvin cackled like an evil witch.
Shaking his head, Franklin went back to slicing lemons.Shifters healed fast, so the toe would most likely be okay before the real crowd trickled in.
Someone moved through the sitting area, and Franklin looked up, expecting to see Chann hobbling toward the bar, spitting and cursing, but it was Axar.He was sweating, his hair wet at the tips, his cheeks flushed, and he was panting.Despite the wind, it looked as if he'd run here.
He was wearing a thick, green, long-sleeved sweater but no jacket.A Christmas sweater with gingerbread cookies all over and the text:Tech support, I'm here to delete your cookies.
Franklin dropped the knife and grabbed a glass, which he filled with ice water and held out to him before he could say anything.
Axar kept panting, too out of breath to form words, but he nodded and forced a smile before downing half the glass.
"You look hot."Franklin wanted to reach over the bar and feel his forehead.Could psychics overheat?
"Sweaty, but I had to take the chance when it arose, and I have nothing underneath, so I can't strip."
He hadn't so much as pushed the sleeves up, but Franklin's mind presented him with an image of Axar walking around shirtless.He pushed it away."Roll up your sleeves."
He couldn't interpret the expression flitting over Axar's face."No."
Fine."Drink more water."
Axar did, and it shouldn't please Franklin as much as it did.He forced himself to go back to slicing lemons.
