Fifth Vision of Destiny - Brett (6 page)

“I love you,” Brett murmured when she looked
straight at him, and was relieved when she answered with a small
smile, soon followed by a moan just as quiet when Leo picked up his
rhythm.

Brett clutched her hips, forcing Lisa to
become still. Leo’s hands covered Brett’s and their fingers
entwined, holding Lisa tight between them as Leo’s rhythm increased
yet again. Every push of his cock inside her was the most intimate
caress against Brett’s dick; every slide back, and it was just
Lisa’s flesh around him, slick and smooth.

Catching Leo’s gaze over Lisa’s shoulder,
Brett said the words again, hoping that Leo understood he meant it
for both of them. Leo grinned, mouthed the words back, and twisted
his hips on the next thrust, drawing gasps from both Lisa and
Brett.

Lisa’s eyes were tightly shut now, her mouth
open on a near-continuous moan that slid against Brett’s
skin—against his mind and heart—like a loving caress. He kept his
eyes on her, on her chest, heaving with those shallow breaths she
didn’t need, watched her press back against Leo behind her, her
head tilted to one side in clear invitation. Leo pushed inside her
one last time at the same time as he bit her, his eyes never
leaving Brett.

Brett couldn’t have said which of his two
lovers came first: Lisa cried out, her body contracting around both
their cocks, at the same moment as Leo’s dick jerked against
Brett’s, spurts of come cool against it. It didn’t matter who was
first, which of them set off his own orgasm. The only thing that
mattered was that the three of them were there, together, sharing
this, and even when their bodies separated, when they fell forward
and blanketed Brett, he held them close and cherished the
moment.

Lisa’s lips brushed against Brett’s earlobe,
in a caress or kiss, he first thought, but then he heard her
whispered words.

“Maybe… maybe some day I’ll manage to say it,
too.”

She spoke so quietly, for a moment he wasn’t
sure he had heard correctly. As the words replayed through his
mind, though, he realized what she was saying—and what she was
trying to say. He kissed her temple, breathing out into her hair,
“It doesn’t matter. I know you do.”

And he did. He really did. He always had.

* * * *

After what Brett had confessed to her, Daisy
was more anxious than ever to see him pull out of the vision. She
hoped he was seeing what he needed to see to believe in his own
happy ending. And if she didn’t close the window completely,
leaving a wide enough gap that she would hear anything he said when
he ‘woke up,’ it wasn’t exactly by accident.

It seemed like the longest vision yet, but
Daisy remained behind the window the entire time. The voices of her
friends in the other room had quieted down, and they were talking
softly. She let the words wash over her without trying to
understand what they were saying. For now, all she wanted was for
Brett to find happiness.

When he finally took a deep breath, like
breaking through the surface of the water after a long dive, Daisy
breathed right along with him, her hand already tugging the window
open wider.

Looking up at Woods, Brett observed him for a
few seconds, then cleared his throat. There were two bright spots
of color high on his cheeks. “You saw it all, didn’t you?”

Of all her friends who had gone through this
so far, Brett was the first one who had asked Woods if he had
shared their vision. Daisy wondered what he had experienced that
could make him blush about what Woods had seen.

“I did,” Woods said, his voice flat and
expressionless.

“Even the more… intimate parts?” Brett
insisted.

Woods shrugged. “Sorry. That’s the way it
works.”

Brett’s hand clenched on the arm of his
chair, and his voice rose a little higher in pitch and volume. “You
didn’t tell us you’d see everything we did!”

“Would it have changed your mind if I
had?”

For a moment, Daisy couldn’t understand why
Woods was so detached, why he was answering almost as though he
were bored by the conversation. And then she realized: he had done
this before. Out of the hundreds of people he had given visions to,
surely Brett wasn’t the first one to realize that Woods had shared
his vision of the future. He must have been asked the same question
before, which meant that his answers weren’t new either.

A few seconds passed. The harsh, angry lines
of Brett’s face softened again, fading along with his anger, until
he finally asked, more quietly now, “Will it really happen?”

“As far as I know,” Woods replied, still calm
and cool.

“But I don’t even like men!” Brett blurted
out, leaning forward in his chair as though by being closer to
Woods, Brett could convince Woods of the truth of his words.

Woods’ smile was kind rather than amused.
“Well, I wasn’t in your head, but it seemed to me that you liked
him a lot. You did more than like him, I think.”

Daisy blinked very slowly, then frowned. Were
they talking about Mike? She had been certain Mike had just been
teasing him, but now she wasn’t so sure anymore.

“I did, didn’t I?” Brett said very quietly, a
bit of awe and wonder coloring his words. He shook his head, his
eyes widening a bit in incredulity. “Damn. And I loved her just as
much.”

Her?
Daisy was more confused now—and more than a little
guilty about her eavesdropping, but she couldn’t make herself close
the window again.

Brett moved away from Woods, coming to stand
by the banister and clutching it with both hands. “And they were
both vamps, for crying out loud!” he said very loudly, as though
addressing the ocean at his feet. “How in hell could I possibly
fall in love with two vampires?”

“Brett?” Woods said cautiously “Are you sure
you want to discuss this with me?”

“Who else is there?” Brett turned back toward
the house and gestured at the window. “If I told any of them they’d
think—” His eyes widened when they met Daisy’s. His mouth fell
open, and he lowered his arm. “You were there,” he said, quieter
now, his voice shaking a little.

Stepping onto the balcony, Daisy drew the
door closed behind her and leaned back against the glass. “I’m so
sorry,” she mumbled, and meant it. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I
was just worried about you.”

Brett shook his head. His eyes seemed a
little unfocused, as though he had been contemplating something
that wasn’t really there. “No, I mean… In my future. My vision.
Whatever this was. You were there. When I bought the rings,
you—”

“Brett?” Woods cut in warningly. “Remember,
the more you talk about it, the faster you’ll forget.”

Looking at him,
Brett raked his fingers through his hair in a furious gesture.
“Maybe I do want to forget,” he said almost mutinously. “Maybe it’d
be better if I did, so I don’t freak the hell out.”

His burst of laughter took Daisy by surprise,
and she stared at him, at the same time curious and a little
worried. She had never heard Brett sound so maniacal. So lost,
too.

“
Damn,” he stopped laughing as abruptly as
he had started. “
Damn
. Vampires.
Two of them.” Shaking his head, he turned an incredulous look
toward Daisy. “Can you believe that?”

She didn’t quite know how to answer. She gave
him a hesitant smile, and a just-as-tentative, “You never do things
halfway.”

Brett blinked very fast and lunged forward,
catching Daisy’s shoulders in both his hands and holding just a
little too tightly. “You… you said that!” he said very fast. “In
the vision, I mean. You said…” Letting go of her, he pressed his
fingers to his temples and shut his eyes tightly as though to
concentrate. “It’s fading. But you were there.” He opened his eyes
again and looked at her—at her stomach. “You were pregnant
and—”

A jolt of fear and excitement coursed through
Daisy. It was her turn to clutch at Brett’s shoulders. “Don’t tell
me!” she asked, practically begging. “Please. I don’t want to
know.”

Looking vaguely apologetic, Brett touched her
hand gently, comfortingly, until she let go. “I’m sorry. I just…”
He chuckled, but it sounded forced. “This is just so… strange. It’s
like I’ve been shown this person, and I know he’s me, but at the
same time I have no clue who he is.” He turned towards Woods at
that, as though seeking confirmation.

Woods stood, and nodded gravely. “He is you,”
he said. His eyes flickered toward Daisy, and he seemed to pick his
next words very carefully. “He is the person that your experiences
and encounters will shape you to be.”

Brett lowered his eyes to the floor, and for
a moment he looked lost in his thoughts—in his memories, maybe.
When he looked up again, he seemed a little calmer. “I think… I
think I kind of like future me. He looked like he knew what he
wanted.” He grinned as he finished, but his gaze, when it found
Woods’, was hesitant again. “And he had it, too. Didn’t he?”

“It certainly looked like it,” Woods said
cautiously.

Suddenly, Brett’s eyes widened, and he
snapped his fingers. “On the edge!” he exclaimed. He started
patting his shirt and pants pockets frantically, pulling a slim
spiral-bound notepad from his back pants pocket, and a pen from the
front of his shirt. “I have to remember that,” he muttered, as
though to himself, as he clicked the back end of the pen with his
thumb and set the tip to the paper. His hands were trembling. “I
should write it down, and their names so when I meet them
I’ll…”

Woods took a step or two backwards when
Brett’s voice trailed off, and Daisy glanced at him, wondering why
he seemed so wary all of a sudden. She understood when Brett’s
voice rose again, filled with panic.

“I can’t remember their names! How could I
have forgotten already? I loved them! I mean, I will love them. Or
do I love them already? It’s so damn confusing!” He started raising
a hand to his hair, but stopped when he noticed the notepad still
in it. “What was I even writing?”

“On the edge,” Daisy said quietly, hoping to
calm him down. “You said you wanted to write ‘on the edge.’”

If anything, her words appeared to confuse
Brett even further. “But on the edge of what? What does it
mean?”

Daisy glanced at Woods, but if he knew, he
didn’t look like he wanted to tell Brett. “I don’t know,” she said
gently. “You just said you wanted to remember it.”

“On the edge,” Brett repeated. He licked his
lips as though tasting the words, then frowned. “It sounds…
familiar. But I’m not sure if I heard it before or if it’s left
from the vision.” Turning to Woods, he made a pleading gesture
toward him. “Sam, do you know—”

Woods shook his head, hands raised palms out
in front of him in a defensive gesture. “Don’t ask me.”

Brett practically glared at him. “But I
forgot their names! Don’t you remember them?”

If Brett’s agitation troubled Woods, he
didn’t show it. “I do. But I’m not going to tell you.” His tone
remained perfectly level, to the point that Daisy herself felt some
indignation on Brett’s behalf.

“Don’t be rude,” she admonished Woods,
crossing her arms and stepping forward to glare at him. “He’s
asking a simple question.”

Woods continued to appear unperturbed.
“Suppose I tell him,” he said calmly. “He’s so agitated, he’ll talk
about them and forget again. And ask me again. We could spend all
night playing that game and still get nowhere. Been there, done
that, believe me.” Turning to Brett, he clasped his shoulder.
“Didn’t you say just a minute ago that you’d rather forget?”

Brett appeared to deflate. “I did,” he
conceded. “But… It really will happen? I… I was happy, wasn’t I?”
He pushed his fingers through his hair, making it stick up at odd
angles. “I remember that. I remember they loved me. Really loved
me. They will, won’t they?”

His voice and eyes held the same pleading,
the same hint of desperation that Daisy had seen in him earlier,
when he had admitted he had never truly been in love, and she felt
bad for him all over again.

“They will,” Woods said more kindly now.
“Whether you remember names or not.”

“Names?” Brett’s eyebrows shot up, right
along with the pitch of his voice. “Plural? I will love more than
one person?”

Woods cast a slightly frustrated glance
toward Daisy as though to take her to witness, and now she could
understand why he didn’t want to answer Brett’s questions. Brett
seemed to be forgetting faster and faster.

“Brett?” Daisy cut in softly, drawing his
wild gaze to her. “You look parched. Maybe a drink would help your
thoughts calm down?”

He blinked several times before nodding, the
tip of his tongue running between his lips. “Yeah,” he breathed and
repeated the word again a little louder. “Yeah. I think it’d help.
Thanks, Daisy. For…” Once again, he looked like he was reaching for
words, for a memory just out of his grasp. He soon gave up and
shrugged, offering her an apologetic grin. “I’m not sure what. But
it feels important. So, thanks.”

Smiling softly, Daisy shook her
head.
“You’re welcome.”

She opened the window for him, and tapped his
shoulder affectionately when he passed by her. He gave her a vague
smile and went inside; his steps wavered slightly, as though he
were a little drunk.

When Daisy looked back at Woods, he stood at
his now customary spot against the railing. He glanced toward her,
and it was as good as an invitation to join him as he had ever
given her.

Tightening the shawl over her shoulders, she
went to stand next to him. Her elbow brushed against his on the
banister, and she shivered, although it had nothing to do with the
cool night air. Woods was looking out at the ocean again, but she
kept her eyes on him when she asked, “Does it happen often that
they forget it all just moments after they see it?”