Page 43 of Horn in My Side

“We’re working on it,” Kap assured her. “Anyway . . .” He let out a loud yawn. “I should hit the hay.”

“Thanks for stopping by,” Jasmine said. “I’ll see you around?”

“Definitely. You owe me for yesterday,” he teased. “As always, I take payment in food.”

She laughed. “How about I make you some leche flan?”

“Deal. Have a good morning, guys.” He gave them a quick, two-finger salute, then pivoted on his heel and trudged off.

Once they were alone, she turned to Mal. “Sorry again for panicking earlier.”

“It’s fine. You’re fine, Jasmine.” His claws brushed her cheeks as he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “You’re right—we didn’t really discuss what would happen after our third date.”

“No, we didn’t.” That ominous feeling wiggled its way back into her chest once more. “Like I said, we should see where this goes and not worry about what’s to come.” She swallowed the lump in her throat and put on her best smile. “Enjoy each other’s company.”

“Right. And I want you to know you can be honest with me, Jasmine. And I promise to be honest with you.”

“Of course.” Jasmine wasn’t quite sure where that remark about honesty was coming from or what it meant, but it sounded like a good idea.

“Why don’t we finish breakfast and get ready for work?”

“Sounds great.”

Jasmine had to admit, Mal’s eggs and toast were decent, and she ate more than she usually did at breakfast, perhaps to make up for her increased activity from the night before.

After she went back to her place to change into a fresh set of clothes, they made their way to Main Street.

Mal convinced her to stop at Brew-tique, and when they arrived at the front of the line, Minerva gave a quick glance at their clasped hands but said nothing except to ask for their order.

However, once they slid down to the pickup corner, the witch gave Jasmine a knowing wink.

“One large black coffee for Mal, one flat white for Jasmine!” Gary called.

Mal grabbed the coffees from the counter and handed Jasmine hers, then threaded his clawed fingers through hers as they headed to the door. As Jasmine made a grab for the handle, however, it jerked away.

“Ooops! ’Scuse—Jasmine!” Arms wound around her, enveloping her in a cage of candy-sweet perfume, voluminous wavy brown hair, and a cloud of shimmery dust.

Leila.

The pixie pulled away, but held on to Jasmine’s shoulders. “Oh my goddess, I haven’t seen you in ages! Why haven’t you been back to spin class? You’re so right, by the way—after two or three more classes, I got the hang of it.”

“Er, great to hear.”

“And—Oh.” She paused, looking Mal up and down. “Val, right?”

“Mal,” he corrected.

Her bright gaze flicked down to their linked hands.

“I can see why you never called me. But, don’t worry, I’m not jealous, I’m thrilled for you, Jasmine.

” She encased Jasmine in another hug, sending another haze of shiny particles into the air.

“See? I’m so excited, I’m getting dust all over you.

This only happens when pixies are genuinely happy.

So, will you please come back to spin class?

I promise, no more hot gargoyle bartenders afterwards. ”

Mal tensed beside her, and she gave his hand a comforting squeeze. “Er, I’ll see if I can make it work, okay?”

“Great! All right, I need some coffee or I’m gonna die. See you around.”

“See you, Leila.” She tugged at Mal, dragging him toward the door. Before they could exit, however, she heard Leila’s distinct voice calling her name. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the pixie hold her hand up in a semicircle, fingers a couple inches apart as she mouthed “legendary.”

Jasmine choked on her coffee.

“Jasmine? Are you okay?”

“I’m . . . fine . . .” She cleared her throat and nodded her thanks as she took the napkin he offered. “Went down the wrong pipe.”

Once they arrived at the shop, Jasmine proceeded with her morning routine downstairs while Mal finished breakfast duties upstairs, then they went to the office to feed Clawdia.

Bowl in hand, she went over to the pen and she barely had time to open the gate before she was hit with a burst of happy emotion, but also that distinct pang of hunger, like she hadn’t just eaten a huge breakfast that morning.

She quickly let the hatchling out and put the bowl down, not wanting to further delay her.

“She’s awfully hungry this morning,” Mal observed.

“Oh, I almost forgot to tell you.” She relayed what happened the previous night when Clawdia told her about the fire. “It’s weird. It was, like, at first she communicated with pictures and emotions, then it was, like— bam —I could actually feel the heat of the fire.”

“Hmm, sounds like you’re gaining more control of your magic.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, it’s the only explanation. I’m so happy for you, Jasmine.”

“I wouldn’t even have discovered my abilities if it wasn’t for you.” And for that she would always be grateful. “One more thing . . . I also finally posted a picture of her online.”

“Really?” A genuine smile spread across his face. “That’s great, Jasmine. How did it go?”

“Actually, I’m not sure. I posted it right before I heard the sirens. Let me see . . .” Taking her phone out of her pocket, she opened up the Picstagram app. “Let’s see . . . Oh my.” She pressed the phone to her heart.

“What’s wrong?”

Waving the phone at him, she burst out, “Five hundred thousand hearts!”

He steadied her hand. “What?”

“You and Clawdia broke the internet,” she laughed. “Oh my . . . all these comments.” Despite scrolling and scrolling, she still hadn’t reached the end. “They all want more pics.”

“Then you should give it to them,” he encouraged. “Don’t be afraid to share her. She’s really special.”

“She is.”

As if sensing that they were talking about her, Clawdia padded away from her empty food bowl and pawed at Jasmine’s leg. “All done?” she asked as she picked her up.

“Why don’t you play with her for bit?” Mal suggested. “I noticed she’s not sleeping as much as she was when she first hatched. Some extra activity would benefit her.”

“But what about the shop?”

“I’ll take care of things out there, don’t worry.

” He scratched at his chin. “I’ll work on casting a soundproofing spell in here, at least, so she doesn’t get bothered by the noise outside.

And I’ll have to expand her cage soon. In a couple of months, once she’s strong enough and you’ve got her trained, you’ll have to let her out of here. ”

“I know.” It was not something she was looking forward to.

“But we’ll worry about that later.” He leaned down and planted a kiss on her temple, then tickled Clawdia’s chin, which made her trill in excitement and squirm in Jasmine’s arms. “Take your time.”

Jasmine decided not to worry about the future—Clawdia’s anyway—and enjoyed her time playing with the little hatchling.

Over the last three weeks, Clawdia had seemingly grown into her own personality—spunky, a little bit naughty, but definitely sweet.

Jasmine also spent a few minutes doing some training until Clawdia simply didn’t respond to treats anymore, indicating she was ready to go down for a nap.

After letting her inside the cage, the hatchling curled up into her blanket and closed her eyes.

“Thanks for taking care of stuff out here,” Jasmine said to Mal while making a beeline for the counter. She noticed that a bag of canine treats had fallen from the shelf, so she changed her course.

“No problem.” He came up behind her. “By the way, I wanted to ask you something.”

“What is it?” she asked absent-mindedly as she put the bag back in its rightful place.

“Will you have dinner with me tomorrow night?”

She chuckled and whirled around to face him. “Dinner with you?”

“Yeah.” His expression was dead serious. “It is our third date, and since you didn’t ask me out, I thought I’d do the asking this time.”

“You don’t have to—”

“I know. But I want to.”

Oh Mother Goddess, she was going to turn into mush right here, between the bags of grimalkin litter and kelpie treats. “Yes, of course.”

“Good, I’ll pick you up at seven. I’m gonna go to the back office.”

Her heart fluttered like a nervous hummingbird as she watched him lumber away. And to think she’d thought her initial crush on him was bad, but now . . .

Get a grip, Jasmine , she told herself. For goddesses’ sake, you’ve already had sex with him.

Oh, and what delicious sex it was. She would have to focus on that for now. Just sex. Respectful, hot sex, she corrected. Enjoy each other’s company in and out of the bedroom, and at the end of it all, shake hands and walk away.