Within seconds, I’m out.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Kellan
Beatrix looks adorable, napping next to me in the back of the Uber. I have never had a woman make me feel such an extreme range of emotions before. I simultaneously want to get her naked so I can have my way with her, but also just snuggle up next to her, fully clothed, and enjoy her presence.
But there’s also the not-so-great way she makes me feel. She doesn’t believe in a big part of who I am. I don’t know how to change that, and I’m not sure it’s my job to anymore.
We arrive at the Meriton, and I gently rouse her. “Beatrix?”
She stirs slightly. “Huh?”
“Are you going to be okay from here?”
Her eyes open halfway. “Where are we?”
“We’re at my place. The Uber can take you home.”
“My place is too far,” she says sleepily. “Can I stay here?”
“You mean in the car? I’m not sure the driver will like that.”
“I’m so tired.”
I smile down at her. “Come on, then.”
I tell the driver to charge for the full fare and then help her out, leading her over to the door to my building. It’s almost like the whole crutches incident all over again.
Beatrix doesn’t say anything, and I’m surprised she doesn’t trip over something, since her eyes are mostly closed.
We ride up in the elevator, and I wonder what other people would think if they saw me dragging a half-unconscious woman back to my apartment. I’m not in the habit of bringing someone back this drunk.
Inside, I pick her up and carry her to my bedroom, gently lowering her onto the mattress. I pull a lightweight blanket over her and retrieve a glass of water and an empty bowl. God knows how she’s going to feel in the morning.
I get a spare blanket and pillow from the cupboard and make myself comfortable on the couch in the living room. Well, as comfortable as one can be when you’re six-foot-three and lying on a piece of furniture at least a foot shorter than that.
I stare at the ceiling, wondering how I got here.
I also never have women in my bed without me there with them.
I’m not sure I’m going to get much sleep tonight.
***
I must drift off, because the next thing I know, I feel the gentle weight of a body lying on top of me.
The sun is just coming up, making Beatrix’s hair glow gold as her face hovers over mine. Her lips move closer, until they land softly on my cheek. I instinctively move my head to face her, and our mouths join. She tastes minty and sweet, and her lips are perfect, as if they were designed for me specifically.
I wrap my arms around her, pulling her tight against my chest. She responds by tugging me upwards, as if wanting to stand up.
I raise an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”
“It’s tomorrow, and I still want to kiss you.” She entwines her fingers with mine and drags me towards the bedroom.
“Are you sure about this?” I check.
She responds with a smiling nod.
“Okay, then.” I take over and slowly undo the zip on the back of her dress. It falls to the ground before we get to my bed, revealing a black lacy bra and panties.
She pulls down the braces that were looped over my shoulders and hastily unbuttons my shirt. We fall down onto the bed, and I press myself on top of her.
“My darling Queen Bea, you’re going to be the death of me.”
She giggles in response. “No more talking.”
***
A couple of hours later, we emerge from a cocoon of bliss. I’ve never really cared if a woman stuck around after a night together, but I don’t want Beatrix to leave today.
“Do you want to go out for breakfast?” I ask, looking at my watch. “Although, I suppose it’s almost brunch.”
She looks up at me. “I can leave if you like. You don’t have to pretend to want me here.”
“I’m not pretending anything. I really do want to spend time with you.”
“Are you sure?”
“I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t.”
“Then yes. That would be lovely. How are you feeling? Are you hungover?”
“I actually didn’t drink that much yesterday. Maybe only two or three beers.”
“What? How did I not notice that?”
I grin. “Because you were busy downing enough alcohol for the both of us.”
“I didn’t embarrass myself, did I?”
“You mean you don’t remember doing a striptease to the chicken dance?” I ask with a straight face.
Her eyes widen. “What?”
“I’m kidding. You didn’t embarrass yourself at all. You were really cute.”
She beams. “You were pretty cute yourself.”
“You don’t regret any of this?” I check.
“No! Never. And while you might not believe me, I wasn’t so drunk that I forgot everything about last night. I still remember you turning me down for that kiss, mister.”
“I just wanted to make sure. I didn’t want to be the only one to remember our first kiss.”
She traces a finger along my chest. “You say it like you haven’t had a million first kisses already.”
Yes, but this is the first one where I might also want that person to be my last kiss.
The thought catches me by surprise. I knew I liked Beatrix. A lot. But did I actually consider her a long-term prospect? A forever prospect? We still hardly know each other.
She gives me a funny look. “What are you thinking? I know there’s something going on in that head of yours. You have very expressive eyes.”
“I was just thinking about how you feel different. In a good way. And I won’t be forgetting our kiss in a hurry.”
“Me either,” she says, barely above a whisper.
I lean over and give her another. I haven’t been this happy in a long time.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Kellan
As we sit down at a café in Paddington, Beatrix tilts her head to the side.
“How many of these have you done before?”
“How many of what have I done before?”
“These post-coital outings with women.”
“Would you believe this is the first?”
She raises an eyebrow. “I don’t believe you.”
“You know, I’m not sure why you insist on thinking I’m lying all the time. I don’t lie. I do have women over, and I don’t always kick them out at midnight, but if we have breakfast together, it’s always at my apartment.”
“I guess I should feel special then,” she laughs.
“You should,” I say meaningfully.
She blushes and hides behind the menu. “What’s good here?”
“The brioche. And the poached eggs. But everything is pretty good, so you can’t go wrong.”
“I like the sound of the eggs. And a flat white.”
“Nice.” I summon the waiter, and we place our orders. Now that Beatrix has nothing to focus on apart from me, she seems to realise she can’t escape.
“Have you ever been in love?” she asks.
I’m about to make a joke of it but change my mind.
“I’ve cared deeply about people, but no.” Our eyes connect, and I almost say out loud until now. But I’m not completely sure if I do. It’s way too soon to tell.
“You mentioned your parents don’t support your…skill. Do you think that has shaped how you approach relationships?”
“Probably. And it seems like your view of relationships would be affected by what happened with yours.”
“Well, yeah, I’m more cautious than I possibly would have been otherwise. It’s hard not seeing any good long-term examples of couples who worked out.”
“But you know they exist, right? I’ve seen it with my grandparents and parents. Even though my parents aren’t my favourite people, they’ve been together for over thirty years, and they don’t show any signs of fading.
”
“Do you think their religion keeps them together?”
“I’m sure it plays a part. But it’s not the only reason.”
She suddenly gets up and comes over to my side of the table to plant a kiss on my mouth. It takes a second for me to respond, but I do. When she pulls away, I grin.
“What was that all about?”
“You just looked so delicious sitting there that I couldn’t help myself.”
Yep. I’m definitely in love with this woman.
And then I pull myself up. Don’t get ahead of yourself, Gallo. She doesn’t believe in what you do. Tread carefully.
The feelings swirling around my chest are almost too much to bear, so I pretend I need to check something in my wallet. I frown.
“What’s wrong?” Beatrix asks.
“Oh, I just don’t have any cash left, which is weird. I got out a whole bunch before we went to Oktoberfest yesterday just in case I needed it, but because it was a cashless event, I would have assumed I’d have some left. I’m sure I wasn’t so drunk that I don’t remember spending it on a bunch of random food and drinks afterwards.”
She furrows her brow. “You said you only had a couple of beers. I, on the other hand…”
“…were adorable,” I finish. I shrug and tuck my wallet back in my pocket. I must have spent it on something that did take cash at the event.
“So, where do we go from here?” she asks.
“Where do you want to go from here?”
“I…I don’t know. We can’t let anyone at the office know about this, otherwise we could get in trouble.”
“Even Charlie?”
“Well, maybe I’ll tell Charlie, but she knows how to keep her mouth shut.”
“Do you want to keep things casual?” I swallow, my mouth suddenly dry. “Or…exclusive?”
She smiles. “I’m up for exclusive if you are. But that’s easy for me. What about you? I’m sure it will be a bit of an adjustment to turn down all those women who throw themselves at you.”
“I don’t care about anyone else but you right now.”
She plays with the salt shaker on the table. I’ve never seen her look so cute or nervous. “Let’s do it, then.”
The waiter brings our food over. I start eating, feeling totally content.
Beatrix is gorgeous, smart, and wants to be in an exclusive relationship with me.
I can’t believe she’s mine.
***
Beatrix
After we eat, Kellan drives me home. I’m really trying to reconcile his soulmate matching with logic.
“When did you discover you could…you know?” I ask.
“I was quite young, actually. Maybe eight or ten? There was this nineteen-year-old girl, Danielle, who lived next door, and she used to babysit me. One night, she was talking to her boyfriend on the phone and they got into this big fight, and she hung up on him. I went over to see what was wrong and she started crying, so I tried to tell her everything would be okay. She was very sweet and understood my intentions, but she took my hands and told me very earnestly that I wouldn’t get it until I was her age.
“And that’s when I got a flash of someone. I was a bit freaked out, naturally, and pulled my hands away, but then when I made contact again, the vision came back. It was a guy with long hair and a scar on his eyebrow, and he was dressed all grungy. Danielle could see something weird was going on, and asked me about it. I described the guy and she laughed, saying she loved long hair and hoped he was a real person.”
“And he was?”
“Yep. He ended up moving into the house across the street about six months later. I saw the two of them together, and I told Danielle he was the guy I saw in her vision. She thought I was joking, but I knew it was true. They’re still together now.”
“Okay, so let’s just say you can predict soulmates. That means the future is pre-determined.”
“Does that matter?”
“Of course it does! What’s the point of doing anything if it’s all going to happen anyway, regardless of what I choose?”
“Who says you don’t choose it?”
“Now you’re just playing with semantics.”
“So before you met me, you thought you had total free will?”
“Well, yeah.”
“All right, let’s talk about that for a second. You didn’t choose when you were born, or who you were born to, and you didn’t really start making independent decisions until you were, what, two or three years old?”
“And?”
“Then every decision you made after that was either influenced by your previous decisions or imposed on you by someone or something you had no control over.”
“I don’t know if I agree with that.”
“But it’s not as farfetched as it seems, right? That even if you were able to objectively see the outcome of your next decision, you would pick the same choice every time, because you are in that particular headspace at that particular time based on all your previous decisions and experiences.”
“But there’s no way of proving that!”
“I think you know it to be true. You just don’t like it.”
“In that scenario, it still doesn’t mean the future is mapped out. It just means my life in this current manifestation at this very moment is the way it is because of the past.”
“Yes, but is it so hard to extrapolate that perhaps I’m able to tune into a person and see the future based on their previous decisions leading them to their future soulmate?”
I don’t say anything. My brain is struggling to accept that Kellan is the real deal. That he’s been telling the truth all along.
But I haven’t yet had a single piece of evidence prove that he isn’t who he says he is. Well, apart from him not being able to predict my soulmate, but I feel like there are other factors at play there. And I know how much it would mean to him if I accepted him completely.
I reach out and rest my hand on his leg.
“I want you to know that I’m finally convinced. I believe you can predict soulmates.”
He quickly turns to face me, almost driving us into a ditch. “Really?”
“Yes. As a scientist, I would be remiss if I didn’t accept something just because of a pre-existing bias.”
He laughs. “I love how nerdy you are, even when you’re trying to be sweet.”
I slap his arm playfully. “Don’t make this more difficult than it already is. I’m telling you that I accept you. All of you.”
He pulls the car over and grabs my face, kissing me deeply.
“I adore you, Beatrix Mackenzie. And I can’t wait for us to embark on this crazy life adventure together.”
TWENTY-NINE
Beatrix
Kellan drops me at home, although not before we engage in an extended make-out session in his car. I feel like a teenager again, all giddy and excited.
When I glance at the windows and notice they’re starting to steam up, I pull away, laughing. “I better go. The neighbours will call the cops on us soon.”
He reluctantly lets go. “Are you sure you don’t want to come back to my place again?”
“I would love to, only I’m still hungover from last night, and I have a big week of preparation for Singapore, so I should really get some sleep.”
“Who says you won’t be sleeping at my place?” he asks, smiling.
“You know sleep would be highly unlikely.”
He kisses my neck one last time. “True. Okay, I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”
I head inside, floating the entire way. I can’t believe how happy I am. Who would have thought that I would have ended up with someone like Kellan Gallo?
I get out my phone and call Charlie.
She answers on the first ring. “Hey! What’s up?”
“I just wanted to check in. How are you today?”
“I’m good. I’m just getting ready for a big date.”
“What kind of date? With Gavin?”
I hear the disdain in her voice. “No! Why would it be with Gavin?”
“Um, because you were both looking pretty cosy last night. What happened?”
“We were both drunk, Bea. Haven’t you ever made out with someone while drunk just for the fun of it?”
I think about how I asked Kellan to kiss me while I was drunk and he refused. And even if he’d agreed, that probably would have been the first time I’d have ever done that.
“You know what? No. If I kiss someone, even if I’m drunk, it’s because I’m serious about them.”
“You know, for someone so scientific, you sure are romantic.”
“I don’t think those two things are dependent on each other.”
“Do you think love is logical and easily clarified?”
I’m quiet for a moment. “Actually, no. Charlie, I have news.”
“You’re sleeping with Kellan.”
“Okay, I suppose it’s not news, then.”
She shrieks. “Oh my God! You are? I was just trying to get a rise out of you. Wow! Was he everything you imagined?”
I’m not normally one to kiss and tell, but I can’t help it. “And more,” I say shyly.
“I’m so proud of you, babe. So what now? Is it going to be awkward at the office tomorrow?”
“I hope not. We agreed to date exclusively.”
“Wow. That’s big. Who suggested that?”
“He did.”
“I’m really happy for you guys. And Bea, I would normally say this to the guy you’re dating, but in this case, I feel like I should say it to you. Don’t break his heart. He may look like the kind of guy who can handle rejection, but looks can be deceiving.”
“I know, Charlie. I’ll do the right thing.”
“Shit! I have to go. I’m running late! We’ll finish this conversation later.”
“Wait! Who are you seeing? It’s not Elijah, is it?”
She snorts. “No way! I’ll tell you tomorrow. Bye!”
I hang up, bemused. It appears that both Charlie and I might finally be lucky in love.
What a difference a couple of weeks makes.
***
The Singapore trip is now only two and a half weeks away. I am so grateful Kellan was able to secure that deal with Marina Bay Sands. It was almost the same price as the original nowhere-near-as-nice hotel I’d hoped to use. But even with the accommodation sorted, it feels like I don’t have enough time to do everything. Apart from finalising the conference schedule with the hotel, I have to liaise with everyone giving presentations and ensure my own speech is suitably polished.
Mind Reader Page 13