Jackson twisted his face in a mock laugh and slapped his knee. Sarah ended the call with, "Ok I'll call you later. I love you." She pointed a finger at Jackson. "Not a word!" He pretended to zip a zipper across his lips. She took his sarcasm as a sign that he felt better. He didn't press her to leave again. He really did need to sort through this with her.
"Are you sure she isn't a vampire?"
"Positive. She smelled amazingly human, only more so."
"Maybe she has some scent masking thing."
"What, like a cloaking device? That's ridiculous. Plus she felt warm, real warm."
"Oh, yeah. Are you sure you locked eyes with her?"
"Absolutely."
"Maybe she had some kind of contacts that blocked you."
"Hmm, do you think? That would account for the specks swirling too, wouldn't it? And the incredible color." Jackson lost concentration in remembering her.
Sarah jumped up and exclaimed, "You have feelings for this woman!"
"What…? No!"
"Yes, you do. Don't think for a minute you can bullshit me on this."
Jackson stood without saying a word. He poured another drink, gazed into the glass for a moment, then guzzled the contents and refilled it. He started for his seat, then turned around, grabbed the bottle, and brought it with him. Sarah grinned widely.
He snarled at her and sat down.
"Mayyyybe… she's your soul-mate and that is why you cannot influence her."
He flopped his head back. "Kill me now, please. If you're gonna get all happily-ever-after on my ass, I'm outta here."
"All right, all right, then you tell me. What do you feel about her?"
"I feel like she fucked with my head."
"Exactly! And why do you think she had that ability? If there wasn't something special about her, you would have said, 'This is not worth the effort' and moved on. You know that."
She had a point. He would have liked to think his ego had caused the rage, but he knew it was something much more complicated. Even while driving the redhead home, he could not get Elisabeth out of his head. Her eyes, her hair, those legs, the way she moved, her full, rich voice, but mostly that feeling when their eyes connected. It seemed as if she could see his soul. "Well, it doesn't matter. I don't even know her last name."
"If it is meant to be, you'll find her again."
He scowled at her. "You're an idiot."
Jackson felt a little more at ease. He still felt guilt-ridden over the redhead, but comforted himself by picturing her counting the money, thinking fondly of the great night at the casino with that sexy guy whose name she couldn't remember. Her biggest problem now would be explaining things to her boyfriend, who was probably still nursing his wounds.