Free Winging It by Deborah Cooke Page A

‘He has a concert here on Saturday, at this club …’
    ‘I know. Knightshade.’ She watched me carefully, and she knew I had ducked her question. ‘Did you message him?’
    ‘Once. Last summer.’
    She looked a bit annoyed. ‘Didn’t he answer you? Didn’t he get in touch about this weekend?’
    ‘Yes and no.’ I put down the cup. ‘He sent me a short answer last summer.’
    ‘Blowing you off,’ Isabelle muttered into her coffee. ‘Guys!’
    ‘I think he’s busy.’ I tried not to think about Jared being amused by high school girls who send him messages just because they’ve kissed him once. ‘And, you know, that’s fine.’
    Isabelle’s eyes gleamed. ‘Is it?’
    ‘The thing is, I need to talk to him about that book on the Pyr he has. I need to look at it again. Reference, you know.’
    Isabelle started to smile. ‘Uh-huh,’ she said and I blushed.
    ‘So I wondered whether you would take me to the concert Saturday.’
    It wasn’t smooth, but maybe it would get the job done.
    I probably looked as hopeful as a puppy.
    Isabelle’s smile widened. ‘Just to talk about the book, of course.’
    I blushed even more. ‘Look, I’m trying to not be pathetic about it. You could help.’
    ‘Try harder,’ Isabelle said teasingly.
    I had to be red enough to glow in the dark. She reached across the table and squeezed my hand. ‘I wish he’d gotten in touch with you, Zoë. I thought you two had some magic.’
    ‘Me, too.’
    Isabelle sighed. She looked out into the falling snow. ‘Why is it that guys just don’t get it?’
    I was surprised by her despondency. ‘How’s Nick?’
    Isabelle grimaced. ‘Oh, he tells me he has a girlfriend.’
    ‘You.’
    Isabelle shook her head. ‘Teresa, I think is her name.’ She widened her eyes slightly and sipped her coffee.
    I was appalled. ‘No way! You two are made for each other.’
    ‘Nick seems to think that love, romance, and sex are all the same thing.’ She shook her head and looked unhappy. I couldn’t help hearing my dad’s warning about Jared. He couldn’t be right about guys, could he?
    Isabelle sighed again. ‘I think maybe he’s just not ready.’
    Nick is hot and fun and the life of the party, the jock everyone wants to be – or be with. I could see him having tons of friends and going to lots of parties.
    But a girlfriend who wasn’t Isabelle?
    The idea bummed me out even more than the reality of my parents’ trashed relationship.
    I took a big swig of hot chocolate and it burned all the way down. ‘Maybe he’ll appreciate you more after he’s been with someone else.’
    ‘Maybe.’ Isabelle didn’t look as if she believed that. She pulled out her tarot cards and began to shuffle them absently.
    I love her tarot cards. They’re huge, each card more than twice the size of a normal playing card. And the illustrations are beautiful. Isabelle seems to always pull a card that has meaning for the situation at hand, and I love watching her do what she does.
    Maybe because she always tries to explain it to me.
    Maybe because it fascinates and mystifies me. How could pieces of cardboard – even ones with great illustrations – give a glimpse of what the future will be? If there’s a portal or a dimension or a sense that allows a person to peer into the future, shouldn’t I be aware of it? The Wyvern is supposed to be able to see past, present, and future simultaneously, but I had no such prophetic abilities.
    Maybe I was hoping that it was contagious.
    Because Isabelle certainly had that power.
    Or maybe it was in the cards themselves.
    She glanced up at me without drawing a card and smiled. ‘So, what else is new, other than the fact that guys are jerks? Maybe that’s not even new.’
    It was likely to be the best intro I’d get.
    ‘Well, I wanted to talk to you about this ring.’ I dug it out of my pocket, then placed it on the table between us. Isabelle caught her breath at the sight of it. ‘My mom said Rafferty sent it to me