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I showed up there five minutes after my shift ended. The coffee shop was perfectly ordinary, nothing dark or sinister. Hardly the stereotypical rendezvous for a drug transaction. I spotted Alec sitting at a table in the back, but someone was with him. Not wanting to interrupt, I stood in line to order a mocha.
Alec's companion was a young man, younger than him even. Eighteen, if I had to guess. And he was beautiful. He had swept his thick, dark-blond hair into a short ponytail at the nape of his neck, and his face was all clean, strong lines. When he smiled at some comment of Alec's, perfect white teeth showed against the tanned skin. I expected to see this guy in an Abercrombie & Fitch ad soon.
Or maybe not, since he too was apparently wasting his life away. Alec reached into his pocket and gave the guy one of the telltale bags. Happiness and relief shone on the golden boy's face, making him look - if possible - even more attractive. He left. Angrily gripping my drink, I took his chair and forced a cheerful attitude.
"Hey," said Alec in greeting, clearly in a good mood. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you. You look hot, as always. "
"Thanks. How's it going?"
"Awesome, now." He grinned broadly. "Fabulous day." He leaned toward me. "So? What did you think?"
I set my cup down heavily and acquired some little-girl wonder. "You were right...it was amazing. It was like I was..." I decided a lack of words was better than trying to describe something I hadn't experienced. He was only too happy to help fill in the blanks.
"Better than ever? Who you were meant to be?"
"Yes," I said breathlessly. "You - you've got to give me more."
"Can do." His hand reached into the magic pocket. One of the lethal bags appeared, and that ugly feeling snaked down my spine. He held the crystals teasingly out of my reach. "You know, they get better the more you do it. You up for that?"
I stared at the bag longingly, then up at him. "Don't you have more than this? I mean, I want that one...but it's not going to be enough. I need a lot of this."
"Slow down. You don't want to take more than one bag."
"I know that, but this is good for what, a day or two?"
His eyes glinted. "Big plans already, huh? Most people don't get quite so fired up this fast."
I chewed on my lower lip, not wanting to raise any alarms. Assessing my self-inventory, I tried to think of something nonsexual the ambrosia would have affected. Alec's earlier visitor gave me the answer.
"It's weird. I know this guy at a modeling agency, and he always gives me the runaround. But I saw him yesterday when I took this...and it was like, I don't know. He couldn't get enough of me. He wants me to come back for some major shoots." I gripped Alec's arm. "I don't get how this could be doing it...maybe it's coincidence. I don't know. But I want more. I think I need it to make this gig work out. You've got to help me. Or take me to wherever you get this. I'll pay. I'll do anything."
His face told me I had said exactly the right thing.
"It's not coincidence," he told me smugly. "And I'll get you more."
I exhaled with palpable relief. "Promise? Like a big supply?"
"I promise. Here, take this one."
"What do I owe you?"
"Nothing."
"Come on! They can't all be free." My hold on his hand changed to something softer and more suggestive. "I told you before...I'm happy to pay...however you want..."
He sighed, regarding me wistfully as he briefly ran his fingers over my hand and then pulled away. "I know. You want a big batch of it? That you'll have to pay for. I'll take you to the guy who gets it for me, and you can pay him."
"What'll it cost? How much am I going to need?"
Something unreadable flashed in his eyes. "You've already got exactly what you need. Can you meet me tomorrow night?"
I hesitated. Carter had said we needed some prep time before I faced the supplier, time in which I had been told to arrange the meeting with him. This was too soon.
"I'm busy," I told him, trying to put heavy regret into my words. "What about the next night?"
He didn't seem happy about that, just as he hadn't liked the delay in me drinking my first batch. But where his urgency had been underscored with an eager curiosity last time, he now displayed an almost panicked anxiety. I wondered just how demanding his master was. "Sooner would be better. You aren't going to be able to go that long anyway, not if you want it this bad already. "
I stayed firm. "I don't have a choice."
He agreed after a little more wheedling, and we set a time and place to meet in two days. As I stood up, he warned me, "Call me sooner if you can't hold out, okay? Here's my cell."
"Okay, thanks."
"Hey," he called as I started to walk away. "Good luck with the shoot."
For a minute, I didn't remember what he was talking about. Then I recalled my alleged modeling gig. I smiled and thanked him, chuckling to myself as I left. In all of the lies I'd just told him, there had been a kernel of truth.
I did have a photo shoot. Tonight was the night Bastien and I were going to take the pictures for Seth.
CHAPTER 16
I rang Bastien's doorbell for the third time and then glared peevishly at the house. Where the hell was he? I was a little earlier than our agreed meeting time but not significantly. I gave the door a petulant kick as I imagined Bastien "held up" in the arms of some panting housewife.
"He's not here," said a cool voice nearby. I looked over and saw Dana standing there, a small leashed dog by her feet. It looked like the product of a tragic accident at the cottonball factory.
"Nice dog," I said.
"My sister's. I'm taking care of him for a few days. You want to walk with us?"
No, but I had promised myself the other day that I would pick Dana's brain to figure out how I might aid Bastien, and this seemed as good an opportunity as any. Besides, he'd kill me if he knew I'd passed up a chance for "reconnaissance."
I fell into step beside Dana and the fluff ball, congratulating myself for the hundredth time on being smart enough to choose cats over dogs. Tutu - yes, that was his name - pranced along daintily, small tongue hanging out. His beady black eyes peered everywhere as he trotted merrily, but otherwise seemed oblivious to the wet sidewalk dirtying his tiny white feet.
"How's your rally going?" I asked after we'd exhausted dog topics.
"Excellent. I'm surprised you haven't heard about it in the news. We're getting a lot of press."
"Haven't paid that much attention to the news."
She told me the date and time. "Think you can make it?"
"I think I'm working that day," I said automatically.
Dana gave me a knowing look. "Tabitha, I get the impression you're not entirely settled on that issue."
You think? I looked away, again fighting the mental battle of speaking my mind versus causing trouble for Bastien. I finally opted for something that sounded vaguely like the truth.
"I just think...there's a lot of different ways to look at it, that's all."
"It's okay to be unsure, you know."
That was astonishing, coming from her. "Is it?"
"Of course. That's why groups like the CPFV exist. To help you see the truth of an issue."
I repressed a snort. I'd thought for a moment she might startle me with a display of open-mindedness. I let the silence collect again.
"So," she began after a moment, "what do you believe then?"
"Er, on what? Homosexuality? Or homosexual marriage?"
"Either."
My opinion was simply that people wanted who they wanted, end of story. There was no regulating love or saying it was wrong. But Dana's views on that were religiously based, and I of all people knew better than to argue the right or wrong of faith.
"I'm just not sure people choose who they're attracted to," I explained, not exactly attacking her question head-on. "So, I guess, it seems weird to me to talk about 'helping' or 'changing' people who can't really do anything about their natures, regardless of whether that nature is right or wrong."
"So you think homosexuality is inborn?" That sweet voice couldn't entirely hide her scornful surprise.
"For some people. I think there are those who engage in...uh, same-sex activities for the fun of it, but for others, it's biological."
