by Anthology
“Wait until you see the back of the church.” Her grip tightened on my arm, her heels clicking against the sidewalk as we walked down the quiet street.
It’s amazing how the sound of Bourbon dies as you drift away. After forty feet, the street grew hushed with just a few people wandering toward their destinations. We walked arm in arm, moving closer to the light of the church. As we approached Royal Street, the back came into full view.
I stopped dead in my tracks, entranced by the sight before me. Fiona walked one step before I caught her by the arm, dragging her back. “Wow,” I whispered.
“It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?” She looked at me for a moment before taking in the sight in front of us.
“It’s unexpected.” Standing before us was a giant statue of Jesus surround by white lights. The shadow of the figure was cast against the back wall of the church. It was as if Jesus was calling out, saying a prayer for the sinner before him. Extending his arms to reach the crowd on Bourbon Street. They probably needed the prayers the most. I started to laugh. The hilarity of the situation wasn’t lost on me as I looked down at her.
“What’s so funny?” she asked, looking up at me with her eyebrows knitted together as they formed a V.
“It looks like he’s praying for the lost souls on Bourbon.” Sliding my hand into hers, I gripped her hand, giving it a quick squeeze. “Don’t you see it?”
She smiled, her forehead relaxing as a smile spread across her face. “I never thought about it that way. Maybe he is.” She shrugged, resting her head on my arm as I looked back at the statue.
“Show me more, Fiona.” I moved the hairs the wind had blown onto her face away from her eyes. “Show me the beauty you see in this great city.”
“Gladly,” she replied, moving her face into my touch. “Let’s go to the square and people watch a little. It’s one of the most interesting places in NOLA.”
As she began to walk, she tripped, starting to fall forward. I moved quickly, grabbing her by the arms and pulling her upright. Her breath caught as her eyes widened and she looked at my face. Our lips were centimeters from each other. I could smell the whiskey on her lips as I inhaled.
I lingered, not wanting to move as her face softened. She opened her mouth, ready to say something, but I didn’t give her the chance. The woman had intoxicated me more than the drinks. I couldn’t go any longer without a taste.
As I held her in my arms, staring into her eyes, I placed my lips on hers, softly at first. Honestly, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to be kicked in the balls for kissing her. Her actions throughout the evening said she wanted me, but I didn’t want to be brought to my knees by her in the middle of New Orleans.
Her lips tasted of sweetened whiskey just as I imagined. I swiped my tongue across them as I kissed her. My touch was tentative to start, but with each second that passed, my need for her increased. I pulled her to my chest, crushing my lips against hers and devouring her mouth.
Her kiss stirred something inside me. It wasn’t just my cock that was calling out to her, but something deeper. The only sound was of her breath as I kissed her with more passion than I had ever kissed another woman. I pulled her closer to me, and her chest rubbed against mine while our tongues tangled together.
She was an amazing fucking kisser. Not too much tongue, just the right amount of lip, and she wasn’t trying to eat my face off. I pulled away, resting my forehead against hers. I was as winded as if I’d run a mile, but I hadn’t. The sheer pleasure of kissing her had me struggling for air.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“I’m not.” She looked up at me, her face hidden in the shadows.
I placed a kiss against her forehead, releasing my grip on her back slightly. As she straightened, she gained her footing again. Her blinks were slow as she smiled at me. Maybe she was in a trance like myself. “Let’s go. I know exactly where I’m taking you next.”
“Where?” I asked as she pulled me forward, holding my hand.
“There’s an old woman in the square. You have to meet her.” She turned around, giving me a quick smile. The way her face lit up when she spoke made me feel warm inside.
Seeing her happy was different than how I had met her. We were both down in the dumps, looking to drown our night in the bottom of a liquor bottle. The night was now shaping up to be so much more than I ever imagined. “An old woman?” I asked as we walked on the side of the church, heading toward the square.
“You’ll see,” she said, keeping her eyes forward as she laughed. The sound of it gave me butterflies and hope for what would come next.
“This should be interesting,” I mumbled. A genuine chuckle burst out of me.
“It’ll be enlightening,” she replied just as we entered the square.
It wasn’t what I expected. In my mind, I had seen a space filled with people, brightly lit, and teeming with life. I had been dead wrong. There were maybe twenty people walking through the square. It was hard to see much of anything as I looked around. Directly in front of us there was a park surrounded by tall, black wrought-iron fencing. A few tables were set up near the front of the church where the light was the brightest. It was quiet as people spoke in whispers and hushed tones.
“This is the square?” I asked, totally unimpressed.
“Well, yeah. During the day, it’s full of life. Artists set up around the square, hanging their artwork on the fence. People sit on the steps of the church and sip their coffees and watch the city go by.”
“And the old woman?” I asked, looking around and zeroing in on an old woman sitting at table with a sign that said “Fortune Teller”. I never believed in someone being able to tell me what was going to happen in the future. It was a clever way to swindle someone for twenty dollars.
“Right there,” she replied, pointing to the gypsy woman sitting at the table I had spotted.
“Really? A fortune-teller?” I looked down at her.
She smiled as she bit her lip. “You have to sit with her and hear what she has to say. She’s amazing.”
“They always know exactly what to say to make you think they know. They’re scam artists, Fiona.”
She squinted, the smile on her face transforming into a grin. “Humor me, please.”
“If you give me another kiss, I’ll let her tell me my future.” I thought it was an even exchange. At least I’d have something to look forward to while I listened to her drone on with a pack of lies.
“You got it, Sam. Now?” she asked, standing on her tiptoes as she moved her lips toward mine.
“No,” I said, holding her by the arms. “Afterward. If it’s horrible, you’ll owe me more.” I smiled, hoping she’d agree. I wanted more than a kiss. Being able to feel her body against mine sent goose bumps across my skin.
“That’s fair. I’ll wait here.”
“What?” I asked as my mouth fell open. “You have to come with me.”
“Oh no. No one else can know your fortune. I’ll wait here on the bench where you can see me and I can see you.”
I pulled her face to mine, letting my lips linger over hers. “You owe me big-time for this, Fiona.”
“You wanted the New Orleans experience. Voodoo and magic are part of the charm. She just may surprise you, Sam.”
“Big,” I repeated, brushing my lips against hers before I released her. “This’ll be quick.”
“Okay,” she whispered, holding on to my hand as our fingertips touched until our bodies were too far apart and our connection was broken.
I walked slowly. Dreading the next five minutes of my life. Listening to an old woman as she hustled me would be agony as I stared at her. Before I approached the table, I turned around, giving Fiona a quick glance. She gave me the thumbs-up with a giant smile on her face. Why did I think I was being set up?
Chapter 3
Fortunes Be Damned
“THAT’LL BE FIFTY dollars, sir,” the old woman said with a smile.
“What?” I aske
d, looking at her with the most confused look. I thought I heard her wrong. When did the price of a few words skyrocket? Growing up I’d see fortune-tellers at the carnivals and never did I see a sign that read fifty dollars. Fiona better give me more than a kiss for the price of this bullshit.
I looked over the old woman’s head and glared at Fiona. She tipped her head back, bursting into laughter. I could see her body shaking as her smile grew wider. Even though I couldn’t hear her giddiness, I could see it. She was pleased with herself.
“A reading is fifty dollars,” the woman repeated.
I shook my head, reaching in my back pocket for my wallet. “Here,” I said on a sigh, kissing that fifty goodbye for no good reason.
Instantly, I pushed that thought from my mind. There was a good reason. Kissing Fiona was the reason. I’d do more to touch her lips again. To feel the warmth of her against me and the sweet smell of her breath as it cascaded across my face.
“Give me your hands,” she asked, placing her palms up as she waited for me to comply.
I rubbed my palms against my jeans before setting them against hers. She flipped them over in her tiny hands and moved in closer. The table had a couple candles scattered about to help give extra light. I didn’t see a need for the additional illumination. It wasn’t like she was really seeing someone in my palms. I looked at them enough in my life and they never said a fucking word.
“Ah, I see,” she mumbled, tracing the long line that hugged the ball of my thumb. “This is your life line. It’s very long, longer than most I’ve seen.”
“Okay,” I replied, unsure of what else to say.
“You’re going to live to be a very old man.”
“Lucky me,” I muttered as I tried not to fidget in my chair. The entire situation made me feel uncomfortable. I don’t know if it was being swindled out of the money or the lies she was trying to sell me.
“I can tell that you’ve had your heart broken.”
I wanted to interrupt her because, really, who hasn’t had their heart broken at some point in their life? Most of us meander through our days, mending a broken heart, and looking for someone or something to give us hope for the future. If there was a person on this planet who had gone through life without heartache, they were the luckiest person in the world.
“What else can you see?” I asked, waiting to hear what fantastic bullshit she’d weave. I glanced at Fiona. She sat on the bench with her legs crossed. Her elbow was on her knee as she rested her chin in her hand. She watched us with a grin on her face. When I caught her eye, the corner of her mouth turned up a little more. She raised her eyebrows, giving them a quick wiggle.
The woman traced my love line, stopping at specific points. “It was recent and crushing,” she replied, rubbing a small circle in the center of my palm. “The love was long and deep, but it ended suddenly.”
I swallowed hard, taking in her words and how close they were to being accurate. It had been hours since I’d thought about Izzy. Spending time with Fiona, I didn’t have the time or the urge to think about her. Fiona did that. Wiped Izzy from my mind and replaced her with laughter and happiness.
“She will not be your only love,” the fortune-teller interrupted my thoughts. “Someone else will enter your life. Open yourself. Love is close by,” she whispered.
My stomach dropped as my eyes flickered to Fiona. She hadn’t moved. Her smile had disappeared, but her eyes stayed locked on me.
“How close?” I asked, buying into her words. Maybe it was the magic of the evening and spending time with Fiona. I knew she probably repeated the words to dozens of people every day, barely varying from her script.
“You must open your heart for you to accept what is right in front of you.”
Could she… Did she know? There’s a possibility that she saw us as we entered the square hand-in-hand. Her back was to us, but she could have caught a glimpse as I pulled Fiona into my arms.
“I see a change in careers coming too. Your job is no longer fulfilling, and a major shift will happen.”
“What type of change?” I asked without thinking. I went from being cynical to asking her to explain her answer. Almost hanging on her words, I could feel myself buying into her statements.
If I had sat in this chair hours earlier, before Fiona sat down on the barstool next to me, I wouldn’t have believed a word. But with Fiona waiting across the square from me with so many possibilities on the horizon, I felt myself wanting to believe.
“You need to break free from your past entirely. Starting over in a new city with a job that gives you pride. Something that will bring you peace…”
I sat there, letting the old woman’s words sink in as I stared at Fiona. Was this my chance at happiness? Did fate step in and put Fiona at my side tonight? I had never believed in fate or some grand plan, but tonight I questioned everything.
I didn’t feel there was anything back home for me. Izzy was the one person who kept me coming back for more, but now there was nothing. No reason to stay in Florida, or near Tampa, for that matter. I could go anywhere.
I didn’t pay attention to the rest of her reading. I was too lost in her previous statements. Izzy was my past, and I needed to move toward my future. Shit happens all the time. How I move beyond it is what makes the man.
My future was in front of me.
“Do you have anything else you’d like to know, child?”
I blinked, sucking in a breath. “Um, have I met my future?” I didn’t know what else to ask. The simple fact that she had worked her way inside my brain and made me believe was shocking and a little disturbing. What the fuck was I doing asking her a question when I didn’t want to buy into her words?
“It sits before you, ready to be taken. The real question is, are you willing to open your heart and move beyond your past? If the answer is no, your future will escape you.” She gave me a smile minus a few teeth.
I didn’t move or respond. Staring across the square, I looked at Fiona. Was she my future? I know what you’re thinking. I thought the same thing. There’s no way I could have these thoughts only a few hours after meeting someone. I don’t know if it was the old woman or Fiona who worked her way into my thoughts and made me doubt my heart.
Fiona seemed relaxed and carefree. There was a kindness to her. A side much like my own, caring and warm. I was drawn to her. It was something I hadn’t felt from another person in years. Wanted. It’s something we all want to feel. For once, I had it. Maybe I was reading her body language wrong or I had mistaken her kindness for a tourist for more than it really was, but I felt something there.
I wasn’t about to fall to my knees and profess my love, but I wanted to spend more time with her. I didn’t want to spend the weekend in the bars, wallowing in my sorrows and drowning them at the bottom of a liquor bottle. I wanted to explore this city, get to know Fiona, and see if I was crazy or not. Love at first sight wasn’t something I bought into. But lust at first sight? Sure, why the fuck not?
“Thank you,” I said as I stood from the chair.
“You’re welcome, child.” She gave me a quick nod of her head and waved.
As I walked toward Fiona, she stood and gave me a small smile. Clutching her hands in front of her, she bounced on her feet, rocking back and forth. “So what did you think?” she asked as I approached.
I shook my head, unable to stop the smile that crept across my face. “It was interesting.”
“Does that mean you believed her?” Her eyes grew wide as her smile grew larger.
I shrugged. “I don’t know what I believe.” It was the truth too. Maybe I’d had more to drink than I thought.
“When I’m feeling down, I always go see her. For some reason, she makes me feel better. She gives me hope. Even if she’s full of crap at least I walk away with a new outlook on life.”
“So you think she’s full of shit?” I arched an eyebrow, wondering if two people had just duped me.
She shook her head as she reached
out and touched my arms. “No, I don’t think it’s all nonsense. Lately, her readings have given me more hope. She’s typically pretty close to the truth.”
I set my hands on her waist, pulling her closer to me. “Did she warn you about your heartbreak?” It was a shitty question to ask. Bringing up the reason she was so sad when I met her tonight. But it was valid.
“She did. It was the one thing she told me that I never bought into.” Her eyes dropped to the ground. “I was madly in love with my husband and thought he felt the same. I didn’t allow myself to believe what she said about the relationship coming to an end due to betrayal.” Her shoulders sagged.
“Hey,” I said as I touched her chin and forced her eyes to meet my gaze, “I didn’t need a fortune-teller to tell me how my heart would be broken. I knew it would happen, but I refused to believe it. Sometimes our hearts don’t allow us to believe what our mind already knows.” I moved forward, placing my lips on her forehead.
She wrapped her arms around my waist. “This is the first night in a long time I’ve felt like myself again. I don’t want to talk about sad things. I want to enjoy the city and the man in front of me,” she said as she peered up at me. “I don’t want to waste another minute of my life being sad, Sam.”
“Well, then,” I replied, moving my lips closer to hers, “I think you owe me something, as per our agreement.”
“I do,” she whispered against my mouth as her eyes fluttered closed.
Without wasting another second, I kissed her as I cradled her face in my hands. I inhaled her whiskey-laced breath and the city fell away, growing quiet as we connected. I brushed my thumb across her jaw, feeling her body shudder against me.
The way she responded to my touch was mind-blowing. Never in my life had I had someone react to me as she did.
I wanted her. More than I could remember wanting someone in my whole life. I never believed in love at first sight. I always thought Izzy was my soul mate, destined to be with me for my entire life. But in that moment, as I kissed Fiona, something shifted inside me.