Free Smoke and Mirrors - Hollywood Knights One by L.B. Clark

stopped pacing, staring out through the
half-open blinds. Then she turned to me and nodded. “Please,” she
said.
    “Done,” I promised, giving her another quick
hug.
    I wandered back into the living room and pulled
Elizabeth’s vacant chair up behind London’s, placing it so the
chairs were back-to-back. I put my hands on London’s shoulders and
straddled the empty chair, leaning down to murmur in his ear,
telling him that I wanted to take a peek at his and Elizabeth’s
future. He nodded to let me know that he’d heard me, and I rubbed
his neck and shoulders while I concentrated on the information that
Elizabeth wanted.
    The seer thing is hit-or-miss at best, but the
glimpses I caught of their future didn’t include anything like what
I’d seen in my read of Chris. Mostly, I just saw a lot of
happiness—for all three of them.
    Satisfied, I leaned in close to tell London, “Thank
you.” I found Elizabeth, told her the happy news, and padded into
the kitchen to retrieve a battered package of cigarettes and a
cheap lighter from the junk drawer. Then I ducked back through the
living room and out the sliding glass door onto the back deck. I
plonked down in a deck chair and lit up, inhaling deeply and
letting the smoke out slowly as I listened to the unfamiliar sounds
of the countryside drift through the chilly night air.
     

Chapter Seventeen
     
    I hadn’t quite reached ‘Zen’ when the door slid open
again. I looked up to find Parker closing the door behind him. He
turned and gave me a smile.
    “I didn’t know you smoked.”
    “I pick it up; I put it down,” I said with a shrug.
“I don’t smoke much these days because if Dylan smells it on me, it
makes her sick.”
    Parker nodded. “I’ve been trying to cut back because
Lori doesn’t like it.” He looked thoughtful for a second. “You mind
if I bum one?”
    I handed him the pack and the lighter. “Trouble in
paradise?”
    “Something like that.”
    “What’s wrong?” I asked as I shifted in my seat to
face him.
    “I’m not Seth Webber,” he said. He took a drag and
let it out before he continued. “I thought we were good, you know?
And then Seth came back into town, and she has her head so far up
his ass it’s amazing she can see anything at all, much less
me.”
    “I noticed. I’m sorry.”
    Parker shrugged. “I get it, though. I mean, he’s
everything I’m not, and probably never will be.”
    “Don’t say that.” I took another drag while I
thought about what else to say. “Look, Lori is young…”
    “She’s the same age I am.”
    “Shut up. I’m talking,” I said. He looked chastened,
even though there hadn’t been any heat in my words. “I’m not sure
if you’ve noticed, but boys and girls are fundamentally
different.”
    He laughed. “Yeah, I noticed.”
    “Guys your age are okay with casual dating and
flings and one-night stands and just about anything else that
doesn’t feel like a noose around the neck. Girls your age…they
still believe all the fairytale-princess bullshit. They want the
whole deal.” I made air quotes as I added, “Happily ever after.” I
sat up and leaned forward, toward Parker. “As a general rule, girls
Lori’s age don’t do temporary or casual or even less-than-perfect
very well.” I took a drag on my cigarette and blew out a smoke
ring. “Give it fifteen years or so and the tables will turn. She’ll
be looking for something low-stress, and you’ll be looking for a
picket fence.”
    “So I’m wasting my time.”
    I shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
    He continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “And I’d be a
pathetic loser to sit around waiting for her to get over him and
take up with me again.”
    “Would you? You’re the only one who can make that
call, Parker. What anyone else thinks doesn’t mean diddly shit.
What you think and how you feel about it is all that matters.” I
settled back in my seat and wished there were enough light to look
him in the eye. “I’ll tell