Read Online Transcendence by C. J. Omololu - Free Book Online Page A

sorry. Drew, this is Kat’s little sister. Cole, is it?”
    I nod. Drew smiles at us, his bright blue eyes crinkling at the edges. “Good to meet you. Francesca would be lost without your sister.”
    “Not true,” Kat says. She looks away and smiles, but the red that creeps up the back of her neck says volumes, and suddenly I know what’s up, although it’s so obvious I can’t believe I didn’t figure it out before. She totally has a crush on him.
    “We should go,” I say, apparently the only one uncomfortable in the slightly awkward silence that has descended on the room.
    “Right,” Kat agrees, looking around for her bag. “We should go.” She grabs her things and we walk out the front door, Kat turning around and making an extra effort to wave to Francesca and Drew through the glass. They’re so wrapped up in each other I don’t think they even notice we’re gone.
    “What was that all about?” I say, once the door is shut behind us. “I was standing right there. I’m not a complete idiot, you know. I can dress myself.”
    “I know,” Kat says, giving my clothes another look. “But Iwasn’t wrong, was I? I mean, you’d never wear any of the stuff in the shop, would you?”
    “Not really the point,” I say. I look at the storefronts as we walk. All of the stores are closing things up for the night. “Where are we going that’s so important?”
    “Just here.” Kat steers me into a dimly lit old café. These kinds of places have been totally off Kat’s radar until recently. Now all the old things are cool again, and everyone wants a piece of the “authentic” San Francisco. This one has been here for decades, the walls lined with dusty trophies and black-and-white photos of movie stars from generations ago.
    Kat pushes a plate of biscotti toward me after she orders our drinks. “I thought you might be hungry,” she says, fidgeting with her bag. “My treat.”
    I bite into a chocolate one and realize how hungry I am. “Thanks,” I say, instantly suspicious. Buying biscotti and hanging out at cafés isn’t part of our usual routine. Either she’s getting worse at hiding things or I’m getting better at figuring them out, because all of a sudden I know that she has a secret. And that it’s a big one.
    I sit up straighter. “Did you get a tattoo? Because you know Mom and Dad are going to kill you if you did.”
    Kat laughs, showing her perfect white teeth. “No,” she says. “Not yet, anyway.” She glances toward the door. “This is a different kind of something.”
    She’s staring over my shoulder when I hear his voice. “Hey, Cole.”
    I turn to see Griffon standing behind me. He looks exactly as I remember him—brown curls, broad shoulders, and amber eyesthat are so intense I have to look away. I don’t trust myself to speak, but I manage a weak smile as he sits down in the empty chair. My heart is racing, and I can feel my cheeks getting hot. I’m starting to feel lightheaded, like I’m spinning around way too fast, and the last thing I need is to have a vision right here in front of them both.
    “Check it out!” Kat says loudly, with a little squeal. “Griffon lives in Berkeley, of all places! I was
so
lying when you asked about him the other day.”
    I clear my throat, looking everywhere in the café but at him. “I have to … um …,” I stammer as I push the chair back and walk as quickly as I can to the safety of the bathroom in the back of the café. Locking the door behind me, I force myself to breathe normally and try to organize my racing mind into something resembling rational thought. I lean against the sink and stare into the mirror until the panic starts to recede. I’m not having a vision. I’m just freaking out.
    Griffon is here. In San Francisco. He shows up unannounced in photos that were taken days before we met and thousands of miles from here. Just when I think I’ll never see him again, he appears right in front of me, and my first response is