Chapter 9
Gabriel
Gabriel had practically grown up with sand between his toes and had enjoyed many days at the beach throughout his life, but the day with Drew quickly became his new favorite.
After their meal, they raced back down to the water like two kids, then sprawled in the sun to dry themselves and warm.
They kicked a soccer ball around, tossed a frisbee, and spent an hour lying on their towels, basking in the warmth and pleasure of the day.
Drew had brought a book with him and read while shielding his eyes.
He really was unlike everything Gabriel expected from a professional hockey player—or any athlete.
Gabriel knew he worked out every day in the early mornings, and every now and then had calls with his manager or other staff members from Boston.
Other than that, he seemed remarkably normal.
He was very down-to-earth and seemed curious about the world and introspective.
Without meaning to, Gabriel had found himself mentally evaluating Drew as a potential partner. They hadn’t really discussed any romantic or sexual interest in each other yet, and Gabriel didn’t want to get ahead of himself, but it was hard not to.
He felt so seen when he was with Drew, or even when they were texting.
When he was at camp, he wanted to tell Drew about his day.
Now that they were together, he didn’t want to leave Drew and go back to his own world.
Drew was polite to strangers, he could carry on a conversation with anyone, and he had a sort of gentle masculinity to him that Gabriel found very appealing.
Drew was also incredibly sexy.
Gabriel found it difficult to not stare at Drew’s body while they were at the Lake.
The hockey player had an impressive physique, sculpted by years of professional athletic, and had tattoos on one shoulder.
He probably knew he was hot. You couldn’t be that hot and not know it.
But if he knew, he didn’t have an inflated ego about it, and he wasn’t constantly checking himself out, either.
As they lay on their towels, separated only by ten or so inches of sand, Gabriel imagined what it would be like to be in bed with Drew.
He imagined Drew’s deep voice whispering commands and praise into his ears.
He imagined Drew’s strong, callused hands on his body.
He hadn’t seen Drew’s cock, but he had seen its impressive outline through his wet swim trunks.
It was large, and Gabriel flushed as he imagined what it would be like to take that cock inside of him.
“Are you close?” Drew said, and Gabriel blushed furiously, wondering if Drew had someone read his mind and knew the filthy things Gabriel was thinking. Or—he glanced down at himself in horror—maybe there was physical evidence of his arousal.
Thankfully, his cock remained respectably soft.
“Close?” he asked.
Drew marked his spot in his book with his finger. “To being ready to go.”
“Oh,” Gabriel said. He pushed himself up onto his elbows. “Yes, I think so.”
They packed everything up and hiked back to the car. It was past midday, and the sand was very hot. Gabriel blasted the AC in the car; they waited to get in until it had cooled a bit, but they still sweated and fanned themselves when they got in.
Orion’s beaches extended inland along the harbor.
A bridge went over the harbor. Gabriel took the bridge; they were now north of the Dunes and the edge of the State Park, and headed back to the coast. The road they followed was narrow, with trees and houses on one side and more cottages and the Lake on the other.
Gabriel stopped his Jeep at his parents’ little cottage with the cedar shingle walls and the dark roof. It faced out towards the beach and had simple landscaping in the yard.
“You can come in,” Gabriel said.
The cottage was cute and cozy on the inside, very beachy with framed photos on the wall of Gabriel and his family.
Drew paused to look at them and smiled. The pictures had changed throughout the years.
Even this year, though Don and Laurel weren’t living in the cottage, they had made sure to update the photos.
Gabriel went to find his tarot deck in his room.
“You look like your siblings!” Drew called from out in the hallway.
“We really do, don’t we?” Gabriel said, coming back with a Tarot deck in hand. He held it up. “Tarot cards!” he said. “Want to do the reading here?”
“Let’s do it.”
Gabriel led Drew to a cozy living room with white furniture. “You can sit wherever,” Gabriel said. “Don’t worry about getting furniture wet. I can guarantee you it’s seen worse. Do you want something to drink?”
He brought them both ice-cold beers and then joined Drew on the couch, close enough that he could feel the warmth of Drew’s body, though they weren’t touching.
“There are a bunch of different ways you can read Tarot,” Gabriel explained.
“You can follow a traditional spread, or you can read them your own way. What matters most with Tarot, and with most things that are witchy, are your intentions. That’s one of the things I like about witchy shit.
It can really be adapted to whoever is doing it. ”
He showed Drew some of the cards, explaining the Major and Minor Arcana briefly.
The Major Arcana were the named cards; the Minor (or “Lesser”) cards were the unnamed cards.
Major Arcana included cards like the Fool, the Hanged Man, the Hierophant, and the High Priestess, while the Minor Arcana included cards like the Cups, the Wands, and the Pentacles.
“There are many different types of Tarot decks, too,” Gabriel continued, “but most of them are based on the Rider-Waite deck.”
“They’re beautifully designed,” Drew said, admiring the artwork on the cards.
“They are,” Gabriel agreed. “I have a few different decks. We could get you one from Irma’s store, later, if you wanted.”
“Do you believe what the cards say?” Drew asked. “I’m curious. I’m not trying to be skeptical or offensive with that question.”
“It’s not offensive,” Gabriel said. He thought about his answer before speaking.
“Tarot reading, and real divination in general, aren’t like what you see in the movies.
It’s not like I’ll pull a card and it will say exactly what’s happening next in your life.
Like I said, it’s more about your intention.
I guess that you could say that the cards offer suggestions, or maybe guidelines for your own thinking.
Then, you have to trust your own judgment and critical thinking to figure out what they mean for you. ”
“I like that, actually,” Drew said.
Gabriel shuffled the cards. “When I read cards, I like to pull three. The first one represents the past circumstances of a specific situation, the second card represents the current circumstances, and the third card represents where things are going. The first two help me understand where I’ve been and where I am, and the third helps me understand what might be next. ”
“And does it always make sense?”
Gabriel smiled at him. “Somehow, yes, it does.”
“The skeptic in me says that’s confirmation bias, but I’m putting the skepticism aside.”
“I want you to cut the deck,” Gabriel said, and Drew did.
“Before I read, I like to set an intention in my reading, like a focus. For instance, am I going to be reading about my career? About my personal life?” He looked at Drew. “What do you want your focus to be?”
“Is it too broad to think about life generally?”
“Probably not, as long as we know that’s what we’re focusing on. I might need your help in interpreting some of the cards, because some of them might resonate with things I don’t know about you.”
He started shuffling again. When a card didn’t settle with the rest of the deck, he picked it out. When he had three, he laid them out, facedown, on the coffee table in front of them.
“How do you pick the cards?” Drew asked.
“I let the energy guide me,” Gabriel said. “If a card sticks out, literally, or if I feel drawn to it intuitively, I pick it. It always seems to work. Remember, it’s about your intention.”
“Let’s see the first card.”
“Just to confirm,” Gabriel said, “the first card represents where you’ve been coming from. Your past, basically.”
“Recent past or big-picture?”
“We’ll see.” Gabriel flipped the first card. The artwork displayed a red heart pierced by three swords. Gabriel laughed. “The Three of Swords,” he said. “See what I mean?”
“No, but hopefully I will after you explain.”
Gabriel cradled the card. “Each card has two meanings, which are often similar to each other but in the inverse. The upright meaning, like this, and the reverse meaning.”
He rotated the card upside down.
“Upright, the Three of Swords is often known as a heartbreak card. It represents emotional pain, separation, or grief. In a reading like this, it could represent that you’ve had a recent heartbreak, something that you’re still holding onto, and which could be holding you back from moving forward in your journey. ”
“You’re making that up,” Drew said with a laugh. “There’s no way it could be that accurate.”
“I’m not making it up. You can look it up online if you don’t believe you.”
“No, I believe you. I’m just surprised.”
Gabriel looked thoughtfully at the card. “I’m always surprised at how the cards resonate with me. Maybe it’s because we, as people, are hardwired to see patterns in things, or maybe there really is something magical about them.”
“It’s nice to think there might be some magic in the world,” Drew mused.
“I agree,” Gabriel whispered.
Drew took the card and inspected it. He seemed lost in thought for a moment, and Gabriel let him sit with whatever his thoughts were.
“Ready for the next one?”
“I’m not sure if I’d say I’m ready, but let’s do it.
Gabriel flipped the second card. “This is the Hermit, reversed,” he said.
“Reversed because it’s upside down?” Drew asked.
“That’s right.” Gabriel handed the card to Drew.
The artwork on it resembled a fantasy wizard in a gray robe, holding a staff and a lantern.
“When the Hermit is reversed, it can represent a time of isolation that may have gone too far. It can mean that you are lonely, or refusing to face the truth about some necessary changes that need to happen in your life.”
“This is eerie.”
“Is it resonating with you?”
“Almost too much.”
“What do you think it means, so far?” Gabriel asked.
“You’re the one reading, aren’t you? Do you have an interpretation?”
“I do, but I want to hear what you think first.”
Drew looked down at the cards. The Three of Swords and the Hermit, reversed. Heartbreak and isolation.
“I think it tells me that I did have my heart broken. What Quentin did hurt, and I think I rightfully needed to take some time to heal from it. But I also think, like I guess the Hermit is saying, I may have gone too far in isolating myself while I’ve been trying to heal.
Maybe in coming here to let myself heal, I wasn’t thinking about fixing my problems, but about avoiding them. ”
Gabriel placed the card on the table next to the others.
He liked Drew’s interpretation of the cards, and he didn’t think Drew was too far off.
It was hard to be “wrong” with your reading of Tarot cards, because they were so largely based on your intentions and the energy you brought to the deck.
Some people thought that made the cards inaccurate or fake, but Gabriel thought that it made them more powerful.
“I think that’s a good interpretation,” he said. “You’re getting the hang of Tarot. It’s pretty straightforward, isn’t it?”
“I guess it is,” Drew said. “I like it. It’s very interesting, though I’m not sure I believe in it.”
“It’s a hell of a coincidence if it’s not true, and I don’t believe in coincidences,” Gabriel said firmly.
“Don’t you?”
“No. I believe there is something more powerful out there than chance. I think there’s Fate, or that the Universe itself has power.”
“Interesting,” Drew said. Gabriel could tell Drew didn’t fully buy it, but he also wasn’t throwing out the whole idea. “Let’s see what my future holds.”
Gabriel flipped the last card and smiled to himself. Whenever he did a reading, especially one like this, he felt a thrill of inexplicable energy. It was a confirmation for him of bigger forces working in the Universe, forces that he couldn’t understand, but he could appreciate.
“Oh, Drew,” he said. “This is a good reading. This is the Fool.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“It is, trust me. You could say that the Fool is the main character of the Tarot. The Fool is going on a journey, basically. When he appears in a reading, it usually represents some form of new beginning. It basically means a blank slate. You’re starting over, and whatever is next has the potential to be better than what came before.
Drawing this card encourages you to embrace the unknown, whatever it could bring. ”
Drew nodded slowly. “Well, shit.” He looked at the three cards set up on the table. “So, taking these three together, what would you say this reading is saying to me?”
Gabriel frowned at the cards, thinking it over.
“Because the first card was about heartbreak, I think it’s safe to say that this is a love reading.
” His heartbeat quickened as he said it.
“You had your heart broken recently and needed to take some real and justifiable time to heal. The Hermit Reverse tells us, though, that you may have gone too far in withdrawing to heal, and that you might now be isolating yourself from new opportunities—new opportunities that the Fool encourages you to embrace. Your journey begins at the end, with the Fool, which is the first card in the Tarot deck, appearing at the very end. You’re starting a new beginning here, Drew, and I think you should embrace it. ”
His cheeks flushed as he said it. He hadn’t embellished or changed anything of what he had read.
Though he had his own reasons for wanting Drew to embrace a new beginning, he hadn’t let that guide his thinking or his words.
That would’ve been dishonest, and Gabriel respected the occult too much to do anything dishonest with it.
His intentions were pure, and he hoped that Drew saw that.
“The Fool is about new beginnings,” Drew whispered.
“And taking risks,” Gabriel added, just as quietly.
“Am I the Fool?” Drew said, looking up at Gabriel. Their faces were very close. Gabriel could almost count Drew’s long eyelashes.
“You’re the Fool, but not a fool,” Gabriel said. “At least, I hope you’re not.”
“Would it be foolish if I kissed you right now?” Drew said, and Gabriel’s heartbeat, which was already racing, thudded against his sternum.
“No,” he said. “It would be perfect.”