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“Wait a second, where did you get all this stuff? You weren’t meant to leave the house.” Rainer looked at her with an accusatory expression.
“Um… I just… found all this stuff… somewhere. In a cupboard.” She knew that she looked as guilty as sin, but it didn’t feel as though Rainer wasreallyannoyed with her. “A cupboard that you haven’t opened for years.”
Of course, Esme had left the house. You didn’t just find sage and sandalwood growing on trees. She’d actually been very obedient while she’d been staying at Rainer’s place. It had only felt right. Rainer had been so kind and caring during her stay, that she wanted to repay him with respect.
Only problem was, she’d also wanted to surprise him with this tarot reading. So that meant sneaking out while he was at work. Esme had been pretty sure that he’d be alright with it, though. He was more understanding and easy-going than she’d first thought.
It had been a real treat to have someone feeding her and looking after her for a couple days, a nice vacation from the reality of her — admittedly limited — responsibilities. Plus, there was that thrill, the thrill of getting to know someone new. Someone… interesting.
The only thing that had surprised her was that she hadn’t told him about the situation with TwistOfFate43. She didn’t want him worrying about it. Plus, the more she thought about it, the more she convinced herself that it was just some wacko who didn’treallyknow where she lived. She’d just block him on Twitch and get back to a normal life.
Rainer chuckled. “Ah yes. My forgotten, sacred, ritual cupboard. Of course that’s where you found all this.”
Esme had prepared a small ritual area for him. Esme looked at her handiwork — an incense burner, and some deep, dark fabrics thrown across the bed. She’d lain out a simple tarot mat, and she had a deck laid out next to it.
Rainer kept his house pretty neat and tidy, but that was quite easy when he didn’t spend much time here. From what Esme had picked up, he spent the majority of his waking hours at his garage. This was just a place to sleep and, sometimes, eat.
His bedroom had had no real personality. Now that it was decked out like a new-age shrine, it had plenty.
“Come take a seat, pilgrim,” she said, gesturing toward the bed.
You’re about to go to bed with Rainer Ortiz.
“You’re not gonna cast some kinda funky spell on me, are you?”
“Of course I am. You’re going to be obeying my every whim by the end of the session.”
“Sounds pretty fucking kinky.”
Okay, well now Esme’s heart was pounding like a drum. He had to know what kind of a reaction a sentence like that would elicit from her, right? He had to know how deeply she was crushing on him, how hard she’d been crushing on him for months.
“Take a seat,” was all that she could say, trying desperately to stop her cheeks from burning, hoping that he wouldn’t stare at her cheeks too hard.
Like the way he was staring at your other cheeks a couple minutes ago.
They sat opposite each other on the bed, with the tarot mat between them. It was a nice, big bed, plenty of space for two people. And obviously, Esme’s brain wentthereagain.
“So, what’s the point of this, exactly?” Rainer asked. There was something infuriatingly sexy about his obvious cynicism. She was determined to show him that this wasn’t all just some kooky nonsense.
“It can have all sorts of points,” she said, shuffling the cards carefully. “It depends what you’re trying to get out of it. Some people believe that a higher power — something like God, or angels, or fate — controls which cards come up. Some people don’t. Some people believe that the cards themselves are trying to tell you something. Some people believe that the answers are all inside you, and that the cards are just a tool to facilitate self-realization.”
“So… what do you think?”
“Fate.” It was a simple word, but it hung between them for a moment. The silence that followed was thick and complete.
You bumped into him in the club. You bumped into him on his bike. Now you want to bump into him in another way…
“Fate is bullshit.”
“You’re entitled to think that, but I think you’ll find that the cards have something else to say.” She finished shuffling the cards and placed the deck to the right of the mat. “Most people come to the deck with a question. Do you have anything you want to ask?”
Rainer was silent for a moment, then he folded his arms. “You know, seeing as I’m doing this, I might as well ask an actual question that’s on my mind. Fuck it.”
“Yeah, throw yourself into it. What have you got to lose?”
“Right. So. Dear tarot cards: should I stand for election to be President of the Drifters?”
Esme was taken aback. While she’d been staying with Rainer, he’d said a couple of times that he had no interest in running the club. Maybe he wasn’t quite as certain as he’d implied.
