“The necklace won’t work. I’ve been wearing it all day. I need something you’ve been touching lately. I need to feel your- your essence, or your spirit I suppose you could say…”
“I could give you my nipple ring.”
“Um.” Isaac dropped his facade for a split second, too short for me to read the emotion on his face. “That’s okay.” His voice was a couple of notes higher than usual. I fought a smile. It was refreshing to see Isaac flustered for once. “Give me your hands.”
I tried to wipe my palms discreetly on my cargo pants. If Isaac noticed I was sweating, he’d make some salacious comment about it. I might have known how to keep my libido under control, but that didn’t mean it was easy. In fact, it was hard in more ways than one.
Isaac traced the lines of my hands with delicate fingertips. My heart leaped. He touched my palms as though they were fragile, the pads of his fingers feather-light, like he was scared of breaking me. And as I closed my eyes to savor his touch, I was afraid that he could.
“Okay, I think I can work with that,” said Isaac. He snatched his hands away, and like that, the spell between us broke.
He shuffled the cards again. He was so dextrous. So quick. I could see why he made a good thief.
“This is going to be a basic reading. I’m tired.” Isaac fanned the deck to me. “Pick a card. Any card that speaks to you.”
I was a firm believer in the paranormal. I wasn’t willing to write off tarot cards as outside the realms of possibility — I considered myself religiously agnostic, so I accepted that anything could be true. Nonetheless, none of these bits of cardboard spoke to me.
“I’ll have to charge extra if you want to take over ten minutes,” said Isaac.
Hiding a smirk, I picked a card from the middle of the deck. All in all, Isaac made me pick three cards. I lay them in front of him.
He rubbed his hands together and slowly flicked them over.
He turned over The Fool first, upside down. I knew that meant something, but I hadn’t studied tarot since high school and I couldn’t remember what that was supposed to be.
“Ahh,” said Isaac softly. He looked up at me, his eyes keen and penetrating. “That’s interesting.”
“What is?” I asked.
“We’ll have to see what the other cards say first,” he said, nodding wisely. I hid a smile. Now he was maybe laying it on a bit thick.
Next came The Lovers. I blanched. I knew that tarot cards probably meant nothing, especially when they were read by a non-believer, but judging from the way Isaac shifted in place, avoided my eyes, and scratched behind his ear, he was as uncomfortable with this coincidence as I was.
I was starting to think this might have been a mistake. Curiosity had gotten the best of me. I should never have bothered Genesis at work.
“Huh,” said Isaac. Was he still acting, or was that genuine surprise in his voice?
The last card he turned over was the Ten of Cups. I couldn’t remember what it was supposed to mean, so I couldn’t tell if Isaac’s gasp was warranted or not.
“What now?” I asked.
“Now I read for you. Are you ready for this?”
I nodded. My eyes were attached to the figures entwined on The Lovers card.
“Remember, you’re giving me the authentic experience,” I said, attempting a small smile.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Every one of my readings is authentic.” Isaac smirked and tapped the first card he had turned over. “You got The Fool in reverse.”
“What does that mean?”
“The Fool represents new opportunities,” said Isaac. “But reversed, it also signifies worry. These cards are saying that your past is filled with stress.”
I rolled my eyes. No wonder people bought into this. “Everyone’s past is filled with stress.”
“Have you had any new opportunities lately?”
“Not unless you count getting fired as an opportunity.”
“This card is telling you that if you get an opportunity, you should take it. Don’t be afraid of failure. Don’t let whatever is holding you back right now keep holding you back… This is a romantic spread, but I know you’re not seriously pursuing anyone, so-”
“How do you know that, Genesis?”
He met my eyes seriously. “The spirits told me.”
“Well, the spirits should have told you that I’m satisfied with my current love life.”
Isaac squinted at me. He wasn’t listening to the cards or to my words. He was reading me, studying my body language. I had no respect for him as a tarot reader, but I had to admit: he was a good con artist. I tried to remain impassive, unreadable.
“The spirits made it seem like you didn’t have time for a relationship. You’re too busy hunting ghosts.” A cheeky smile tugged the corners of Isaac’s lips up, and Genesis disappeared for a moment. I was once again face-to-face with my new… Friend? Coworker? Arch-rival? “Maybe the cards are saying you need to get laid.”
“The cards are saying that, are they?” I said.
“It’s not my fault you picked these three cards out of the whole seventy-eight in the deck!” Isaac closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he looked back at me, he was Genesis again. He cleared his throat and tapped on The Lovers. A ray of setting sunlight glinted off a large citrine ring on his middle finger.
“The next card we see here is The Lovers.” He scratched behind his ear — a remarkably Isaac thing to do — but his face stayed soft and serene. “There’s love in the stars for you.”
“I doubt that.”
“Or lust, as the case may be.” Isaac arched an eyebrow at me, and the look in his eyes — pure temptation.
My mouth was dry. I couldn’t say anything. I nodded silently to indicate Isaac should continue speaking.
“The second card you drew should represent your current opportunities.” He stared at the card without saying anything for a beat too long. I was about to say something when he finally broke the silence. “The Lovers can symbolize duality and compromise. Forces in opposition coming together.” He laughed tightly. “I guess that means you should team up with a ghost, right?”
The suggestion offended me. “I would never team up with a ghost.”
“Well, the other thing it symbolizes is…” He scratched behind his ear. “Is y’know. Love. And when you combine that with The Fool…”
It felt wrong to be talking about this with Isaac: gorgeous, charismatic, utterly-inappropriate-for-me Isaac. “Uh….”
“Are you interested in anyone right now?”
My heart was jackhammering out of my chest. Yes. You.
“I screw around with Elliot sometimes.” Although not so much lately. Our fling had withered when I’d gotten engrossed by the recent events at the Cressley. I hadn’t thought about Elliot’s dick in weeks. Not since I met Isaac.
“I didn’t know you and Elliot were- Well, that’s nice,” said Isaac tightly.
“We aren’t. Not lately, anyway.” Things were tense between Isaac and me now; the air like overstretched elastic. I wished I knew how to ease some slack into our conversation.
“I’m giving you a reading as though you were a stranger.” Isaac cleared his throat. “I should tell you to act on your feelings for someone and open up to them. It could be a friend, a lover, a family member… But this card is usually romantic in nature.”
“What would you tell me if you were reading for me as though I’m not anyone else?” I asked before I could stop myself.
Isaac grinned. “I’d say that these cards are bullshit, and the advice I’m giving you applies to literally anyone.”
I should have anticipated his answer.
“But Genesis would tell you that you’re at a point in your life where it’s important you open your heart to affection from others.”
I couldn’t open my heart. I had things to do, and I refused to be distracted.
“What’s the last card?” I asked. My words were harde
r to get out than I expected. Damn, Isaac was good at his job. He was an expert cold-reader. How much could I hide from him?
“The Ten of Cups,” said Isaac. “This card usually symbolizes fulfillment in relationships, happiness, security-”
I snorted. Unlikely.
“These three cards, together, tell a story,” said Isaac-as-Genesis. “The Fool tells me that, right now, you’re in a situation where happiness and love are within your grasp.”
“I’m not interested in happiness and love,” I said. “I’m interested in catching ghosts.”
“Have you considered asking one on a date?” asked Isaac with a smirk.
I rolled my eyes.
Isaac’s face darkened and his eyes widened, focussing on something behind me. “Oh shit,” he said.
I glanced over my shoulder. There was a cop giving us a severe look, striding down the street toward us. I blanched. I’d never been in trouble with the police before — despite how law-adjacent ghost hunting could be, I was careful.
“Is this illegal?” I hissed at Isaac.
“Only without a permit,” he said lightly. He was gathering his tapestry by the corners, folding it sharply around his stuff. He looped it up into a kind of sack.
“Do you have a permit?”
“Obviously I don’t have a permit, Roman.” He leaped to his feet. “Gotta go!” I glanced behind me at the cop, who was now narrowing his eyes at me.
My mind seemed to speed up and slow down at the same time. I had only a split second to decide whether I should run after Isaac or whether I should stay.
I had to stay. I hadn’t broken any laws, but running from a cop could land me a bullet in the back or, if I was lucky, arrested.
“Meet me at Starbucks in half an hour?” said Isaac.
“Which Starbucks?” I asked, but he was already dashing away.
I yelled after him. “There are 227 Starbucks in the city!”
***
Isaac texted me the location of the Starbucks in question after a few minutes. It was about a ten-minute walk from where we had been sitting together for the reading. The cop had half-heartedly pursued Isaac without acknowledging my existence any further. A lucky break.
By the time I got to Starbucks, Isaac was already there, cocky grin wider than usual. I made my way through the throng to his table. It was loud in here, full of people in suits catching up for post-work coffees. Conversations from the tables around us crashed over each other, a cacophony of sentence fragments I couldn’t piece together.
“That was close,” I said as I lowered myself into the seat across from him. I was slightly too large for the seat; I felt cramped and conspicuous.
“Nah,” said Isaac. His eyes shone, and an amused smile threatened laughter. “I’ve had closer. God, it’s been a while since I’ve been chased by the cops.” He shook out his shoulders and grinned. “I needed that.”
“You needed to get chased by the police?” Who needed that? It bewildered me.
“Yep,” said Isaac brightly. “Do you want anything from here? My treat.”
“Your treat?”
“Yeah, I made a decent amount of cash today. We could hang out. We could talk about ghosties or whatever else you like to talk about.”
“Ghosties.” I shook my head. But getting something to eat and drink didn’t sound so bad, come to think of it. It had been a long day. Rupert and Lillian were little help — although they rarely were. Rupert was obsessed with me calling a priest, and Lillian didn’t argue with Rupert.
Phantazm had been more fruitful. Elliot bought me a state-of-the-art EVP recorder with live listening capabilities, and he got himself a new thermal imaging camera to set up at the crop circle.
I ordered a peppermint tea, and Isaac got a ridiculous cookie-flavored frappuccino with an excessive amount of cream and powdered chocolate. The drink was almost as big as his head (although not as large as his ego).
I dipped my teabag in the boiling water and gestured at his frappuccino. “That thing will make you sick.”
“It’s worth it.”
I wrinkled my nose.
“It’s gotta be better than that protein powder you drink.”
“You’ve never seen me drink protein powder,” I said defensively.
“Do you drink protein powder?”
“Well, yes,” I had to admit. “But-”
“And I bet it tastes disgusting?”
“There are plenty of flavors-”
“And none of them taste as good as this.” Isaac dipped his finger in the cream, scooped up a generous amount, then slipped it into his mouth. He sucked his finger slowly, his lips curled into a smile.
The sight transfixed me.
I might have been a man with an important job to do, but I was still a sexual man. I found it impossible to watch an attractive man sucking his finger without arousal tugging low in my gut.
It was unfortunate that in this case, that man happened to be Isaac.
“I’m surprised that you wanted peppermint tea,” said Isaac. “I could have got you something more expensive. You seem like a fancy coffee guy-”
“I’m not. I don’t drink coffee. I don’t want to become dependant on it.”
Isaac gaped at me. “That’s madness. This is the twenty-first century. Humankind itself is dependant on caffeine.”
“There’s caffeine in green tea.”
“Hardly any! I knew you had to be some kind of alien.”
“Well, don’t tell Elliot.” I hid a smile.
“Right, he’s the alien guy.” Isaac shook his head. “He’s interesting. How long have you two known each other?”
“Since college.”
“Wow.” He looked at me, impressed. “I never went to college.”
“You’re very intelligent, anyway.”
“Anyway?” He narrowed his eyes. His tone was defensive. I had put my foot in my mouth. “The smartest people I know never went to college.”
“I know. I mean, I never actually graduated-”
“You didn’t?”
I shook my head. “It wasn’t my scene. I dropped out to hunt ghosts, believe it or not.”
“Oh my god.” Isaac’s face split into a grin, animosity gone. “That’s the worst reason to drop out of college I’ve ever heard.”
“Hey,” I said defensively. “At least it’s an interesting reason.”
“How did your parents handle it when you dropped out?” asked Isaac. Thank god he had finished sucking his finger now, although he was sucking up his drink with a straw — only slightly less distracting.
“Dad was furious. Nana wanted me to be happy-”
“Nana?”
“My mom. A year after I left college, she left him.” And thank god for that. She had always been quiet during his outbursts — demure and patient with him. At the time, I had resented her for it. Once or twice, I thought I hated her. But as an adult, I learned I hadn’t been the only one struggling with his abuse.
“Are you still in touch with them?”
“I’m in contact with Nana, but she moved back to Fiji to be with matavuvale — our family. I don’t get to visit as much as I’d like.” It was hard on both of us. “I don’t know or care where my dad is, but an educated guesser would say he never left Washington.”
“Does she ever visit you?”
“She’s come here twice.”
“I take it you don’t let her stay at the Cressley?”
“Family stays with me.”
An expression of surprise crossed Isaac’s face. “It’s strange to think of you with a house.”
“Where did you think I lived?”
“I don’t know. I never thought about it. I assumed you were always at the Cressley. Hey, maybe you’re the ghost!”
“I’m not at the Cressley right now. And I’m pretty solid. See?” I poked him in the arm and immediately regretted it. Any time I made contact with Isaac, no matter how brief or casual, a sharp electric current jolted between us.
He grinned. “Well, there goes that brilliant theory of mine.”
“You should leave this up to the experts.”
“So explain something to me, Roman,” said Isaac.
“What do you need me to explain?”
“I get why you dropped out of college. It sounds boring as hell. But why did you become an expert ghost hunter?”
“You know how everyone goes through a supernatural phase when they’re a kid?”
“I suppose yours never ended,” said Isaac wryly.
I chuckled. “You could say that. I stopped believing in tarot cards and magical crystals pretty early on, but ghosts were different. Parapsychology is fascinating. As a bonus, nothing could have pissed off my dad more than me dropping out to hunt supernatural forces.”
“So you do all of this because you’re petty?” Isaac raised his eyebrows.
“I’d like to think there’s more nuance than that.”
“If you don’t believe in magical crystals, then why am I wearing this?” Isaac tugged my necklace out from underneath his shirt. The flash of collarbone he bared made me glad I was seated. I might have gone weak at the knees.
“You’re wearing peridot on the off-chance that I’m wrong,” I said. “I always know I might be wrong.”
“How open-minded of you.”
“What about you?” I said. “Why are you a phony street psychic? There must be some backstory there.”
All of a sudden, Isaac’s sparkling eyes hardened. “That’s a long story, and I don’t want to tell it.”
“Okay,” I said, drawing back quickly. “I’m sorry I brought it up.”
I sipped my tea in silence while he scooped the last of the whipped cream from the sides of his cup. It was hard to avoid noticing how dextrous his mouth was, it was impossible to see that flick of his tongue against his fingers and not think about the other things that tongue could do.
“I like acting,” Isaac said at last. “Back in the past — the past that’s none of your business — I was a theater kid.”
I recalled the theater kids from my high school. I hadn’t been part of that clique — or any clique — but I remembered what that group was like. My first crush had been on a drama kid. Like Isaac, he had been loud and overconfident, with long, luscious hair. Unfortunately he was straight — or so he said back then. According to Facebook, he wasn’t straight anymore. If only his sexual awakening had come earlier...
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