Page 10
Story: Petty AF
“Wait. Let me try again.” Okay, so I had the capacity for normal speech. Good to know. I stood straight and fisted my hands at my sides. “I’m sorry.” Yes! “That you are an asshole who dishes out criticism but can’t take it.”
Damn it!
Deaton tightened his arm around me again. “Maybe you should stop now.”
“I’m trying!” I hissed back.
“Try harder.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who got cursed.”
“River.”
I heard the warning in his voice, but I truly couldn’t help myself. “What? So, this is my fault now?”
“Please stop talking.”
“I’m trying!” I repeated, my voice quiet and desperate. “It just keeps happening!” Did he really think I wanted this? “Do something!”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I don’t know. Bite him.” What? No. Fucking hell. Yeah, it would be satisfying, but we didn’t need an assault charge on top of everything else. “Never mind. Don’t do that. He probably tastes bad anyway. Like turnips and regret.”
Did turnips taste bad? I’d never actually eaten one. The more I panicked, however, the pettier my thoughts became, and the faster they spilled from my lips.
Joss arched an eyebrow at me. “Did you just call me a turnip?”
“No, I said you probably taste like one. Gross,” I added, just in case that hadn’t been clear. “You know, you’re kind of pretty, which sucks since you’re such a dick.” Oh, my god. What the hell was wrong with me? “I hate you.”
Wonderful. Super mature. Loved that for me.
“We need to leave now.”
I jerked around to gape at my date. “What? No. I can’t leave like this. He has to fix me!”
“I’d listen to him,” Joss interjected, and he sounded almost bored, as if he had lost interest in the game.
Only, to me, this wasn’t a game. “You listen, you arrogant, entitled, st—”
Deaton grabbed me by the back of the neck and spun me around, slanting his mouth over mine to end my tirade. The sudden press of his lips sent a jolt through my entire body, silencing the destructive chaos inside my head.
My anger, the warlock, the fact that hundreds of people stood watching, it all vanished from my mind as I leaned into him, giving myself over to the moment. I had already broken all the rules anyway.
One more couldn’t hurt, especially when it felt so damn right.
four
~ Deaton ~
WhileIhadbeenthinking about kissing River all night—as well as all the reasons I shouldn’t—I hadn’t planned it. Sure, I could have gotten the same results by placing a hand over his mouth, but at that point, I had been acting on pure instinct.
My gods, what an absolute clusterfuck.
To be fair, a part of me wanted to let him keep going. Under different circumstances, his colorful and creative comebacks would have been funny as hell. It had also been damn satisfying to see Joss Weller taken down a peg or two.
The warlock had spent years hiding behind his regent title. He intimidated and manipulated, or in River’s case, weaponized magic to get what he wanted.
Sometimes, he did it just to be an asshole.
Damn it!
Deaton tightened his arm around me again. “Maybe you should stop now.”
“I’m trying!” I hissed back.
“Try harder.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who got cursed.”
“River.”
I heard the warning in his voice, but I truly couldn’t help myself. “What? So, this is my fault now?”
“Please stop talking.”
“I’m trying!” I repeated, my voice quiet and desperate. “It just keeps happening!” Did he really think I wanted this? “Do something!”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I don’t know. Bite him.” What? No. Fucking hell. Yeah, it would be satisfying, but we didn’t need an assault charge on top of everything else. “Never mind. Don’t do that. He probably tastes bad anyway. Like turnips and regret.”
Did turnips taste bad? I’d never actually eaten one. The more I panicked, however, the pettier my thoughts became, and the faster they spilled from my lips.
Joss arched an eyebrow at me. “Did you just call me a turnip?”
“No, I said you probably taste like one. Gross,” I added, just in case that hadn’t been clear. “You know, you’re kind of pretty, which sucks since you’re such a dick.” Oh, my god. What the hell was wrong with me? “I hate you.”
Wonderful. Super mature. Loved that for me.
“We need to leave now.”
I jerked around to gape at my date. “What? No. I can’t leave like this. He has to fix me!”
“I’d listen to him,” Joss interjected, and he sounded almost bored, as if he had lost interest in the game.
Only, to me, this wasn’t a game. “You listen, you arrogant, entitled, st—”
Deaton grabbed me by the back of the neck and spun me around, slanting his mouth over mine to end my tirade. The sudden press of his lips sent a jolt through my entire body, silencing the destructive chaos inside my head.
My anger, the warlock, the fact that hundreds of people stood watching, it all vanished from my mind as I leaned into him, giving myself over to the moment. I had already broken all the rules anyway.
One more couldn’t hurt, especially when it felt so damn right.
four
~ Deaton ~
WhileIhadbeenthinking about kissing River all night—as well as all the reasons I shouldn’t—I hadn’t planned it. Sure, I could have gotten the same results by placing a hand over his mouth, but at that point, I had been acting on pure instinct.
My gods, what an absolute clusterfuck.
To be fair, a part of me wanted to let him keep going. Under different circumstances, his colorful and creative comebacks would have been funny as hell. It had also been damn satisfying to see Joss Weller taken down a peg or two.
The warlock had spent years hiding behind his regent title. He intimidated and manipulated, or in River’s case, weaponized magic to get what he wanted.
Sometimes, he did it just to be an asshole.