The shriek from the pirate on the floor interrupted whatever reply Molly or Onyx might have offered. “My hand!” he shouted. “You’re stepping on my hand!”
“OhmygodI’msosorry!” blurted Snow White as she lifted her foot.
“Aw, fuckin’ Christ I think it’s broken,” whimpered the pirate.
“Don’t blaspheme,” grunted Rachel. She raised her cup to her lips, then brought it back down and looked to her side. “Hey! Don’t give me any shit,” she fairly snarled, seemingly at nobody. “He’s insured! You were gonna have to stop him from driving home drunk and mowing down some trick-or-treating kids, anyway, and you know it! Now he’ll dry out in the ER all safe-like, so get off my ass!”
The fratboy in the Starfleet uniform directly in front of her held his hands up innocently. “Woah, why you yellin’ at me?” he asked.
“I wasn’t talking to you!” Rachel snapped at Starfleet guy. She glanced at his date. “Wow, you are seriously ovulating, chica,” she warned Snow White. “I’m not sayin’ you shouldn’t take this guy home, but do some family plannin’ shit before you get nasty, ‘kay?” Then she looked back at the Starfleet guy-or rather at the air right in front of him. “What?” she asked indignantly. “I’m helping people!”
“Uh, Rachel,” Molly broke in, daring to put a hand on the angel’s shoulder, “who are you talking to?”
“Co-workers,” Rachel grumbled. “Anyway, we all got our drink on? We should bounce. C’mon,” she gestured, leading the witches away from the bar and moving toward their table.
“So, look, I know what you wanna talk about, and there’s nothing to it,” Rachel explained as they moved. “I don’t suffer from jealousy. I can see right into his heart, and yours. I’m not worried about losing him. I knew going into this that he’s doomed to freaky sexcapades. I’m not even bothered. Honestly, if my responsibilities didn’t keep me here, I’d say he and Lorelei and I should move to LA so he could get a job making porn. He’d be great at that.”
Her audience glanced at one another and burst into laughter. The suggestion itself was one thing, but Rachel’s utter sincerity was another.
The angel was not bothered. “I can already tell looking at you how committed you are to one another. I’m not worried about either of you deciding that he’s your One and Only True Love and you have to have him for yourself.”
She stopped. She turned to face them. “There’s no such thing as One and Only, either,” she told them. “There are seven billion people on this planet. You can find more than one person who’s right for you.” She paused. “I’m not supposed to tell you that, either, but fuck it.” The angel turned and led the stunned young women on toward the tables.
“Anyway, you’ve got to remember that he’s committed, too, and that neither of his commitments are with normal chicks. Lorelei’s got her needs, and it’s not all freaky sex stuff. I’ve got my needs, too. The worst part for me is that my job means I can’t keep anything close to a regular schedule, so I just drop in on them whenever I can. But my biggest need is for trust… ‘cause like I said, there’s a mountain of shit I just can’t say or do or keep him from doing, ever.”
“So does that mean you can’t tell us, either?” Onyx asked.
“Pretty much,” Rachel shrugged. “Anyway, I’m not the one you need to negotiate anything with.”
Onyx turned her head suspiciously. “Do we need to negotiate with Lorelei?”
“You might,” Rachel warned.
Onyx shared another wary glance with Molly. “Any advice on that?”
Rachel’s mouth tightened. She looked the women over. “Promise not to take this the wrong way?”
“…okay?”
“Fuck her,” the angel shrugged. “I did.”
* * *
“So you’re twenty-one now,” Amber said, looking sidelong at Drew.
“Yeah,” he confirmed.
“Like for really-really,” Amber pressed.
“Like my ID actually matches my birth certificate,” Drew nodded, and then cast an accusing, sarcastic glance at the other two men standing around the table. “Unlike some dudes here,” he added.
Amber’s eyes turned to Wade. He merely shrugged. “Underage drinkin’ don’t even rate a mention on my list of crimes,” he said before having another sip.
“So this is an even bigger birthday for you than it is for Alex, right?” Amber asked Drew. “Lotta guys would be set on getting completely plowed tonight.”
“Well, I might later, but, uh…” His words trailed off as a couple of women in not-so-realistic police costumes walked by, their eyes on him as they passed. “There are better things to do at a party like this than just getting drunk.”
“My guys!” yelled out a female voice. Drew and Wade staggered slightly as a blonde angel leapt upon them from behind, throwing an arm around the shoulders of each tall young man. “How the hell are you?” Rachel asked. She planted a sloppy kiss on Wade’s cheek, and then another on Drew’s. “And happy birthday, sexy thing,” she added, hugging him tightly.
“Hi, Rachel,” the guys said simultaneously.
“Hey, Rachel,” Jason began, “this is-“
“Jason!” Rachel yelled happily, hugged him, and then pushed him back. She nudged him with the same hand that held her half-consumed drink. “Now you remember the rules. No theological trolling me, ‘kay?”
“Okay, deal,” he agreed. “Anyway, I wanted you to-“
“Oh, shit, before I forget,” Rachel interrupted, “you guys remember Molly and Onyx, right?” She gestured back between Drew and Wade at the pair of young women standing behind them. Murmuring polite hellos, the two quietly took up spots around the table. “Molly just told me the most badass thing ever,” Rachel said with excitement. She jabbed her finger at Wade’s chest. “Did you guys know they make strapless dildos now?”
Molly bit down on her lips and tried not to laugh out loud as Onyx turned and buried her head in her companion’s shoulder. In spite of all he’d seen and done and survived, Wade found it in himself to blush.
Amber tugged at Drew’s sleeve. He and Jason leaned in together to hear her ask, “Is she drunk?”
Both men snorted. “Nnnoo,” Drew whispered slowly, shaking his head. “She’s just being herself.”
“I cannot fucking wait to get one,” Rachel continued.
“Rachel!” Jason tried again.
“Yeah, hon?” she asked, turning to face him. Her brow furrowed. “Hey. You look different.”
“Rachel,” he said, gesturing with one hand to the woman in combat fatigues beside him, “this is Amber.”
“Hi,” waved his date. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Rachel’s mood faltered. “Hi,” she said, fairly staring at Amber.
“I’m here with Jason,” said Amber, offering her hand.
The angel shook Amber’s hand, locking onto her with a guarded stare. “Right,” Rachel said. “Jason’s… date.”
Amber noticed. Anyone could. “Is something wrong?”
“No,” Rachel answered, shaking her head, though her tone and the tiny frown on her lips said otherwise.
“You sure?” Amber asked.
Rachel blinked quickly, realizing now how she stared. The crowd distracted the others, but both Jason and Amber had Rachel’s full attention. “No, it’s… don’t worry about me,” she said. “Nothing I can explain anyway. Just weird.” She frowned again, tried to fight it, and only half succeeded. “Welcome to the party,” she managed. “Jason’s awesome.”
“Yeah,” Amber said, smiling at him. “I’m getting kind of sweet on him.”
“You are,” Rachel confirmed.
“Hey! Birthday boy!” Drew yelled out.
“What up, birthday boy?” Alex answered. He arrived with Lorelei on his arm, though he released her so he could share a hug with his best friend. Lorelei looked on appreciatively, though her gaze soon settled on Rachel.
The angel’s face set in a somber mood unfit for celebration. Lorelei questioned her wordlessly, offering a simple tilt of her head. Rachel frowned and waved it off.