Page 14 of Head Over Feels
Igroaned. “I’msorry,Cal.Again.Iwas an ass.Iknow you told me it was karma, the wayJaimemade fun of me for wanting to be a pet massage therapist, and you’re probably right.Notto mention the paybackI’mgetting almost every timeIopen my apartment door.YouknowI’mtrying to be a better person.Iwill not make fun of you or tell people about you without your permission.Ipromise.”
Calsighed again. “Iknow.You’veevolved, andIneed to remember that.”
“Youshould.You’vebeen the one poking at me all this time to become a better human being.”
“It’sbeen a lot of work, let me tell you,”Calsnickered.
“Laughit up, you jerk.Tellme about your dreams.”Ishut the car door but didn’t turn the ignition.
“Right.So, ever sinceIwas around thirteenI’vehad dreams that come true the next day.Notevery night, and 99% of the time they’re just stupid stuff, like whenStevewas showing off for some girl at a bar and he tried to juggle three beer bottles.”
“Hedidwhat?Whenwas this?”Iwaved a hand, even thoughCalcouldn’t see it. “Youknow what, never mind.Keepgoing.”
Callaughed. “That’snot even the worst one.I’llmakeStevetell you.”Hesobered. “Solast nightIdreamed you were standing in the lobby of some sort of business.Therewas a long counter and the walls were white.Youwere wearing black scrubs and a gray jacket.”
Istared down at my black scrubs and gray jacket.Youknow that feeling when your entire body gets goose pimples all at once?Calhad never seen me in this outfit.
Ittook effort to tune back into what he was saying. “Therewere three other people there, a woman and two men.Oneof the men said something to you, and you dropped your brochures.Theywent all over the floor, and you left in a hurry without picking them up.”Hepaused. “That’sallIsaw.Itold you most of my dreams are about minor crap.”Hehuffed. “Andusually people thinkI’ma crackpot.Orif they don’t, they aren’t impressed because my visions are like this one, whereIdon’t get enough information to help you avoid it.”
Okay, it sounded like people had been buttheads aboutCal’spsychic abilities.WhichmeantIneeded to be a good friend first and deal with whateverCal’sdream might mean for me second.Lookat me being all mature and stuff.
Isaid, “Thanksfor telling me.I’mnot saying it’s easy to wrap my brain around all this, butIappreciate your trusting me with it.”
“You’rewelcome.I’msorryIhesitated.”
“No,Icompletely understand.”Iblew out a breath. “Thatlobby could be anywhere, but it sounds likeI’mgonna run into someone who threatens me or something?”
“Yeah, that was my take too.Andin my dreamsIcan’t see the faces of peopleIdon’t know.SoIcan’t describe the other people in the room for you.”Hepaused. “Um, do any of your ex-dates work at a vet clinic?”
“Noooo.Well, not thatI’maware of.”But, crap, who else would be angry enough to threaten me?
Ilifted my chin and straightened in my seat. “Okay, well,Istill need clients, soI’mgoing to stick to the list of stopsI’vegot planned out.Andif someone’s going to be a raging jerkI’llbe alert for the signs andIcan leave.Thanksfor giving me the heads up.”
Ifyou’d asked me yesterday,Iwould’ve saidCalwould be the last person to tell me they were psychic.Iguessed today would prove whether his dream was real or not.
Icouldn’t decide which outcome would freak me out more.
* * *
Ionly had a short drive to my first stop, which meantIdidn’t have much time to dwell onCal’sdream.Vision.Whatever.Still, whenIgot out of the car my nerves were one twitch away from overload.Iclutched the brochures to my chest, focusing on not dropping them.Ihoped my hands weren’t sweating.
I’dtimed my arrival at the pet resort for mid-morning, after most of the daycare and grooming dogs would’ve been dropped off.I’dlearned a lot in the last week asI’dvisited vet clinics, grooming shops and pet resorts around theAustinarea.TheBark&PurrPetResortwas the only one inBentOak, whereIlived.I’ddeliberately not visited them before now becauseIwanted to practice my sales pitch on less important targets.ButnowIcould speak confidently about my services, andIhoped today would be the start of an ongoing referral relationship withBark&Purr.
Thelobby was gorgeous, with rust-colored metal accents setting off the white plaster walls.Whitewalls were very common,Itold myself.Theydidn’t mean this was the placeCalhad dreamed about.
Eitherway,Iwas grateful the lobby was empty of customers.Behindthe counter were a brown-haired woman with a ponytail and a curly-haired blond guy.See, only two people.Thiswasn’tCal’sdream.
Boththe man and the woman greeted me with smiles.Theblond guy looked familiar, butIcouldn’t place him.Heappeared to be having the same issue with me based on the furrow between his eyebrows. “Hi, there.Howcan we help you?”Hestudied my scrubs as if they would give him a clue.
Timefor my spiel.Icould do it in my sleep now. “Hi, my name isFelixOlwin.I’ma certified pet massage therapist.Iwanted to ask ifIcould drop off some brochures in case you have a client whose pet might benefit from my services.”
Tomy relief the blond man smiled. “Oh, cool.Wehaven’t had a pet massage therapist around here before.”Thatsounded positive.
BlondGuyextended his hand for my brochures.Iwalked forward, holding them out, just as another guy appeared from around the corner.
“What’sthis?” he asked.
Ididn’t have any trouble recognizinghim. “Oh, crap,”Isaid, staring in horror.
