Read First Vision of Destiny - Alicia for Free Online Page A

and
love she could feel in every touch, she was filled again with that
unexplainable yet deep certainty. This was the right thing to
do.
    “Alicia?” he murmured just as she was
drifting into sleep. “Will we be OK?”
    She pressed her lips to his shoulder,
caressing satin-like strength. “I think…” She frowned to herself.
That wasn’t right. “No, I know we
will be.”

    * * * *

    The kiss only lasted for a second, just long
enough for Daisy to take a sip of wine. Alicia’s eyes remained
closed when Woods pulled away. She wavered for an instant before he
gently took her elbow and guided her into the iron chair just a
foot behind her. He placed the other chair across from her and sat,
forearms resting on his thighs as he leaned intently toward her,
watching her for a few seconds. He then closed his eyes too and
bowed his head as though in prayer.
    “Did they start?” Lydia asked, her voice very
quiet just behind Daisy.
    Daisy didn’t take her eyes off Alicia and
Woods, answering with a nod.
    Lydia touched her arm. “Come on, let’s leave
them to it.”
    With reluctance, Daisy followed her back to
the dining room where her friends were gathered around the
table.
    “You knew, didn’t you?” Mike asked. “About
the kissing part?”
    Daisy couldn’t quite tell if he was amused or
annoyed. He had always been good at hiding behind masks. She
shrugged.
    “I knew. I didn’t think it’d stop anyone who
truly wanted to do this.”
    She let her questioning eyes glance around
the group. They seemed to have settled down since the initial
revelation.
    “It’s just a kiss,” Rachel said. “We’re all
adults here.”
    Her words would have carried more weight if
she had not blushed as she finished. Joan patted her back. They had
been best friends since high school, and while Joan was the most
daring of the two of them, Rachel was always at her side whenever
they did something.
    “ Just a kiss? Easy for you to say!” Brett
shook his head as he filled his glass, then two more when they were
extended toward him. “He’s a guy. I don’t kiss guys!”
    “Could be worse,” Jack said, tongue in cheek,
and waited for Brett to look at him questioningly before he
finished. “He could have been ugly.”
    They all laughed at that, even Brett, who
raised his glass to Jack before taking a long drink. “Even so, I
think I’ll need a few more drinks if I’m going to do this.”
    “What about you? Will you do it?” Lydia
asked, looking at her boyfriend with some surprise. Jack only
shrugged.
    Across from them, Mike was teasing Brett,
asking with the deepest serious if he wanted some practice before
he stepped on that balcony. Brett groaned and covered his face with
his free hand, causing the people around them to laugh. They all
knew Mike was gay; he had come out to them three years earlier
during a party very much like this one. The first person he had
ever told, however, had been his childhood friend Brett. If that
revelation had cost him Brett’s friendship, he had once confided to
Daisy after a few too many drinks, he’d never have found the
courage to tell anyone else.
    Daisy surveyed the table as her friends
continued to chat, now divided into two groups. In a moment, she
would pull more food from the fridge, and maybe another bottle or
two. For now, though…
    She left her empty glass on the table and
returned to the living room, unable to stop herself. As she stood
in front of the French doors, looking out onto the balcony, she
couldn’t help but wonder what Alicia was seeing. She and Woods
hadn’t moved since Daisy had left them there. In the pool of light
cast by the living room chandelier, however, she could see tear
tracks on Alicia’s cheeks. Something tightened in her stomach, and
her hand came to rest on the door handle before she knew what she
was doing. She stopped when Alicia’s lips curled into a faint
smile. With some difficulty, she let go of the handle. What was
Alicia seeing, she wondered,