Free Soul Catcher by G.P. Ching

took a drink in an all too obvious attempt to delay giving her an answer. Didn’t Bonnie know Ethan was gay? Duh. She was making him uncomfortable. He decided to save the guy the embarrassment of turning her down.
    “I’ll dance with you, Bonnie,” Dane offered. “I think Ethan was just about to get something to eat.”
    Bonnie looked at Ethan impassively, then gave Dane a hint of a smile. “Of course. Thank you.”
    He offered his hand and led her onto the dance floor. When they reached the center, Bonnie’s arms wrapped around his neck, and Dane noticed Ethan looked less than happy about the situation. Of course, now he was alone without anyone to talk to. Dane hadn’t thought of that.
    “So how is life outside of Eden?” Bonnie asked flatly as they swayed between the other couples.
    Dane raised his eyebrows. “Boring and shallow. I’d rather be here any day.”
    “You’ve got to be kidding? Sometimes I’d like to chew my own arm off to get out of this place.”
    “Honestly? You’d rather be studying for a calculus final than learning how to mix an herbal cocktail capable of blowing a demon’s head off.”
    Her lips parted and a tiny laugh lightened the air between them. “Well, Abigail’s class is pretty interesting. Sorry to be such a butt about it. I think I’ve just caught cabin fever. Not for long though. Lillian says she thinks Abigail is going to send us on a mission.”
    “Us?”
    “Well, all of the Soulkeepers.”
    Dane’s ears grew hot. Not him. She was talking about the real Soulkeepers. He swayed silently, staring at the wall behind her shoulder.
    “I’m sorry. How rude of me. I know you want to be part of this,” Bonnie said. “But honestly, I’d like to switch places with you sometimes. I miss having a normal life. School and...boys.” Her eyes darted toward Ethan, who was leaning against the snack table watching them.
    Clearing his throat, Dane decided to broach the subject with her. “Are you, um, interested in Ethan? Because I’m pretty sure he’s gay. I mean, he’s told everyone.”
    “I know he says he’s gay, but he’s only, like, nineteen. Maybe he just hasn’t been introduced to anything else. People can change, you know.”
    He frowned. “I don’t think that’s how it works.”
    Her fingers toyed with the back of his hair. It tickled a little. “Here’s what I think. Sexuality is a spectrum. You’ve got heterosexuals on one end and homosexuals on the other, but then there are people kind of in the middle.”
    “Aren’t they called bisexual?” Dane asked.
    “Yeah, I guess. Well, those people can change, right?”
    “I guess.” Dane shrugged.
    “So, maybe Ethan has just limited himself. Maybe, if the opportunity presented itself, he’d, er, change his direction.”
    “Huh. Okay. Well, good luck with that.”
    He pushed a strand of her red hair behind her ear. The way her freckles peppered her nose was cute. The sprinkling of brown dots reminded him of a doll his sister once had, which made him think of his mother and how disappointed she was when he took off that evening.
    “How about you?” Bonnie asked. “Is there anyone special in your life?”
    Dane took a moment to answer. “No, not really. I used to date this girl named Amy, but there wasn’t a hell of a lot there to work with. I’m not sure why we dated each other, exactly. I guess because people in town expected it.”
    “Oh, how sad.”
    He shrugged. “Not really. I don’t think about her at all anymore. We never, um, you know, got very serious, so.”
    She nodded. “Yeah, Sam and I haven’t dated too much either. It’s hard for guys to understand that we are two different people, but we never want to be apart. Our condition is weird for outsiders.”
    The song ended. Dane lowered his arms. “Thanks for the dance.”
    She nodded. “I think I’ll go get a drink.” Her eyebrows waggled. She wandered off toward Ethan, who glared at Dane expectantly.
    “Sorry, buddy, I tried.