***
"Holy shit, you can Place Travel," Lynn shrieked in my ear hours later as she threw herself on my bed where Mouse had been when I fell asleep.
"What?" I said groggily, too tired to pry my eyes open.
"Krista called a powwow this morning to tell us about your newest freak-ass gift," she said, pushing on my shoulder to wake me. "Is it true you really fell from the top of the Empire State Building?"
"Uh-huh," I mumbled with my eyes still shut.
"Holy monkey balls. I bet that was insane."
"You could say that," I said, yawning. "What time is it?" I asked, finally opening my eyes. The light through the French doors made me squint as I peered at her.
"Just after ten," she said, sitting cross-legged beside me.
"I thought you had a rule about waking before noon?" I asked, blocking the sunlight with my forearm. "And why are you so chipper? If I didn't know any better, I'd say your body has been taken over by body snatchers."
"I can be pleasant," she said, smacking my arm. "What? I can," she said when I snickered. "Now, are you going to get your lazy buttface up out of bed and tell me about last night, or do I need to push you out of bed?"
"Fine," I said, dragging my body up so I could lean back against my headboard. "Hey, before I forget, do you and Robert want to double tonight?" I asked.
"Sure. Where do you guys want to go?"
"Um, I'm not sure. We kind of forgot to talk about that part. I guess maybe dinner and a movie," I answered, yawning again.
"Sweet. Now stop stalling and tell me about your new talent."
"Fine, bossy mossy," I grumbled, launching into a detailed explanation of everything that had transpired the evening before. I omitted my trip to Rome from the discussion, pretty sure if Krista found out I would be in deep shit.
"And you don't need, like, recharging time?" she asked when I finished.
"Nope. The traveling doesn't sap me at all. If anything, it seems to energize me."
"That's pretty sweet," she said.
"Yeah, it just adds to my cool factor," I quipped, ducking out of reach as she took a swing at me. "Did Haniel say anything about sending you guys back out?" I asked, changing the subject.
"Nah, I think they wound up sending someone else since you required babysitting," she teased, rising from my bed. "I better hit the road. I have several jobs I need to finish up today before we go out tonight," she added.
"What, no more babysitting?" I said rolling my eyes. "Do you need any help?" I added. She worked as a freelance graphic designer and had a wide spectrum of clients that ranged from web designs to cover art for books. She was responsible for all the covers in Krista's Dark Night novels. Before she and Robert had left the last time, she showed me a few things and let me help her on a couple of her projects.
"Not today, but I have a big job booked next week that I would really appreciate your help with."
"Sounds like a plan, Stan," I said, giving her a wave as I headed to my bathroom to get ready.
After the excitement of the night before, the morning and afternoon dragged along in a lackluster kind of way. Krista spent the majority of the day trying to catch up on her writing, while Mark worked all afternoon poring over papers students from his summer class had turned in. I spent the day holed up in my room on my MacBook, pulling up places I would like to visit. I memorized details from the pictures that would help me in my travels. After the fiasco in Rome, I decided it was imperative that I never land inside a building again. I now understood why Emrys had taken me to the alley in Shanghai. I'm sure it was considered rude to land on your friend's lap.
At five o'clock, I finally closed up my laptop and dressed for my first-ever double date. I was a little apprehensive that my friends and Emrys wouldn't hit it off, but I figured it couldn't be any worse than Haniel's reaction to him.
"Don't you look nice," Krista proclaimed when I entered the living room.
"You mean you like this better than my normal tanks?" I asked, pointing at the delicate white blouse with black stitching I had found at the back of my closet. I'd paired it with a pair of black jeans and a less-scuffed-up pair of black boots. My hair hung down my back like a curtain of black that shined in the light from the multiple brushings I had given it. Eyeliner lined my eyes, making them appear more exotic and bigger. A touch of clear lip gloss from a tube I found buried at the bottom of a drawer in my bathroom coated my lips, making them glisten in the light.
"Just a bit," she teased.
"Don't get used to it. I miss my tanks already," I threatened.
The doorbell rang before she could reply.