Page 9

Chapter

Nine

brIDGETTE

S hayla and I were leaning over the counter, enjoying a cup of tea as we watched a group of four girls who looked to be in middle school browse through the shop, giggling as they moved around. There was a lot of pointing and whispering among each other.

“I remember those days,” I murmured as I blew on my tea.

Shayla groaned. “Oh man. Remember when we went to the discount store after school? The things we would find there. Hours of pure entertainment.”

As they ‘oohed’ and ‘ahhed’ over the gemstone collection, I watched as one of the girls picked up one of the prettier pieces of amethyst and slipped it into her pocket.

“Oh, that’s bold,” Shayla muttered as she inhaled the fragrant tea. I hummed my agreement. A second later, I felt a tingling under my skin as the shop’s wards activated. The amethyst reappeared on the shelf, and I grinned as the girl looked down at it, confused.

She patted her pocket, then darted a startled look my way. I gave her a little wave, allowing pretty purple sparks to dance across my fingertips. Her eyes grew wide as she realized she had been caught in the act. Immediately, she turned and started whispering frantically to her friends. She began to drag one of them by the arm while the others complained loudly. Eventually, she won the battle, and as they headed for the door, I called out to them.

“Bye, ladies! Come back soon!”

Once the door closed behind them, Shayla let out a snort. “I love it when you do that.”

I sighed, then straightened up and turned to lean my back against the glass case. “I just hoped she learned her lesson. I’d hate for her to try her five-finger discount in another store and ruin her future.”

“I have no doubt that she learned something today,” Shayla laughed. She straightened up next to me and nudged my shoulder with her arm. “So, tonight’s the big night, huh? What are you going to wear?”

My heart sped up the way it did every time I thought about my date tonight, but I ignored it the way I had been all day. I glanced down at my clothes and grimaced, thinking about what my mother would have to say. “This, I suppose.”

Shyla took in my black jeans and lace top. “It’s nice enough, but I’m surprised you would be so… casual. What gives? Wait! You’re not trying to do the minimal effort thing in order to turn him off, are you?”

I eyed my friend speculatively. “Do you think that would work?”

All I got was a perturbed look and a “Girl” in a get real tone. With a sigh, I pulled the phone out of my pocket, opened it up to the text message Logan had sent me as I had been getting ready for the day, and handed it over.

“Are you serious? He actually told you to wear jeans and to braid your hair. Is this some kind of sex kink?”

It was my turn to snort, then I couldn’t help but glance over my shoulder to make sure my mom wasn’t around to hear me, even knowing good and well that she wasn’t, but old habits died hard. “No, I think he wants to take me out on his motorcycle. He was riding one the first time he showed up at the shop.”

“Oh. I don’t know if I’m disappointed or not. It doesn’t mean that he’s not kinky in other ways, though, right?”

“Shayla!” I laughed and gave her a shove that barely moved her. “What’s with you lately?”

“Well, one of us should be enjoying a little something. Kink is healthy as long as you’re both consenting adults.”

“Well, you could be getting something if you stopped playing hard to get with your professor,” I said slyly, hiding my grin behind the rim of my cup. I watched the tip of her ears darken, the only sign she ever gave away that she was embarrassed about something. I gasped. “What happened? Tell me now before I shock you!” I held out my hand and let the sparks dance on my fingertips again.

“Nothing happened. Today I got a B on one of my exams. I was so pissed! Then I saw that he wrote a note telling me to see him after class.”

She was practically mumbling into her tea, and I was getting impatient, so I zapped her on the arm. “And?”

“Ouch, bitch! That hurt!” She rubbed her arm but didn’t continue, so I reached out again in warning. “Okay, okay! Damn impatient witches. When I met with him, he told me I could get extra credit to make up for the B by helping him in his office a couple days a week.”

I almost choked on my own spit when I inhaled another gasp. “What does he want you to do?” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “Does he want sexual favors?”

Her ears got dark again as she shook her head. “No. I think he wants me to organize his files or something.”

“Do you think he just wants to spend more time with you until the semester is over? You won’t be in his class anymore, right?”

“Nope. No more Professor Hotty after this semester.”

I squealed in excitement. “I bet that’s what it is! He wants to spend time with you the only way he can. I bet that as soon as he’s no longer your professor, he makes his move.” I watched her closely, then narrowed my eyes. “And you do too. Did he say as much?”

“Yes and no. He may have alluded to it.”

“I know we have joked about it a lot, but do you want that?” I wanted my friend to be happy. She had been so focused on her academics and wanting to become a lawyer that she hadn’t so much as flirted with a guy or girl since middle school. I knew she had a crush on her professor, but I wouldn’t allow him to take advantage of her if she wasn’t a willing participant.

It took her a long minute to speak as she seemed to be carefully mulling over her words. Finally, she said, “I think I really do.”

“Good. Then I am happy for you and will stand by any decision you make. And if he fucks up, you have a witch for a best friend who won’t hesitate to give him warts or something to make him look hideous.”

Shayla laughed. “You don’t believe in harming others, remember?”

I nodded. That was true. I stood by the law that to cause harm, bad karma would return to the person threefold. It had been taught to me by my grandmother since I first learned how to light a candle with my magic. It didn’t necessarily mean that the exact thing would happen to the caster, but negative energy was harmful in such a way that it could affect the mind, body, and spirit. “True. But I could make hair grow on his butt, or make his dick shrink.”

She laughed even harder, nearly spilling what was left of her tea. “Isn’t that the same thing?”

I shrugged. “I’ll think about it. I’m sure there’s something. Maybe I could curse his pillow to always be warm and lumpy.”

Shayla was nearly doubled over in laughter when Mortimer jumped onto the counter and started yowling angrily.

“What the hell, dude,” Shayla said, as she held her chest and took deep breaths. “What’s your problem?”

I scooped him up and scratched behind his ears with one hand as I carried him over to his cat tower in the corner. “I have no idea what’s gotten into him lately. The last few days, he’s been acting agitated. Almost like something is pissing him off. I can’t figure out what it is, though.”

I opened the container of treats and shook out a few for him. He yowled, but then started munching with his yellow eyes narrowed at me. “I wish I knew what you were trying to say, buddy. If Grandmother were here, she’d know.” I sighed, then turned to walk toward the front door. It was time to close the shop for the day. Most days, I would stay open a little longer just for something to do, unless I was just too tired or hungry. But Logan would be coming to pick me up in about an hour, and I still needed to freshen my makeup and braid my hair.

Shayla picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. “I’m going to head out so you can get ready for your date.” She walked over to where I was flipping the sign around to close. “Call me when you get home. Unless you aren’t alone. Then call me in the morning and tell me all about it.” She wiggled her eyebrows at me, making me blush. She pulled me into a hug, squeezing me extra tight. “Have fun on your date and enjoy the ride.”

I shoved her away as she giggled at the double meaning of her own words. “Yeah, yeah. Go home and think about all the rides you’ll be taking once this semester is over. Love you!”

“Love you too, Bridge!”

I locked the door behind her and took a look around the shop. Oohs, Ahhhs, and Orbs, was brightly lit from the late afternoon sun shining through the window, making the gemstones around the open space glitter brilliantly. It was beautiful. It made my heart happy being in the space with all my fantasy figurines and witchy items. I thought about how one day I might be able to pass it on to my own daughter, if I ever had one, and that made me think about Logan again.

With my heart racing in anticipation, I slowly walked through the shop, adjusting things here and there, humming to myself, doing my best to calm my emotions. I knew it was perfectly natural to be nervous about a first date, but this wasn’t just my first date; it was my first date with my fated mate. After tonight, nothing in my world would ever be the same again. Good or bad, I was facing the future. All I could do was my part to make it the best future possible.

I took off my apron and hung it on the hook before flipping off the lights. Low, ambient light would continue to filter through the shop, but anyone looking in would see that it was closed. It didn’t take away from the wonder or beauty. If anything, it added to the mysterious possibilities that could be found inside.

I climbed the stairs to the small apartment above and opened the door to my private quarters. There was a kitchen that was one step above being termed a kitchenette, with a bistro sized table against the far wall. Just past the kitchen was my sitting area. I made it as homey and inviting as possible with bright jeweled tones and several decorative pillows. There was always a throw blanket tossed over the settee waiting for me when I settled down with a book. I didn’t own a TV, not because I didn’t enjoy binge watching shows on one of the many streaming services, but because it would have taken up more space than I would have liked.

One thing about my small apartment that I was grateful for was that the bedroom was completely separate from the rest of the space. I could close the world out and hide under a blanket if I needed or just wanted to. With the dark purple blackout curtains on the window, I often did just that. I had to get up early to open the shop on most days, so when I was closed on Sundays and Mondays, I liked to sleep in as much as possible. At least when I didn’t decide to open out of pure boredom.

I walked to the closet that I wished was bigger and dug through it until my hand landed on cool, smooth leather. If I were going to be riding on the back of Logan’s motorcycle at night in the mountains of Tennessee, I would be wearing a leather jacket for warmth.

I tossed the jacket on the bed and went into the bathroom to take a good look at my face. I hadn’t worn much makeup today, going with the bare minimum that wouldn’t get me in too much trouble with my mother. I decided that a touch up with mascara and a little smoky eyeshadow would be needed, along with some lip stain that wouldn’t rub off when we had dinner.

Once I had completed that task, I picked up my brush and started smoothing out any tangles in my hair. With how straight it was, there were usually few snarls to worry about. Then I quickly began to plait it into a French braid. Once I had it secured with a hair tie, I heard my phone ding right before I heard a knock at the back door below.

Slipping my phone out of my pocket, I checked the time before opening the screen to see a text from Logan.

Logan: I’m out back

Me: I’ll be right out. Just give me five minutes

I tossed the phone back down and looked at the heels I was still wearing and thought about how impractical they would be on a motorcycle. I didn’t have a lot of flat shoes, but I did have a pair of low heeled black leather calf boots that would match the jacket I’d picked out.

I quickly pulled on some socks, slipped my feet into the boots, and zipped them up. Then I picked up the jacket and pulled it on, taking a long look at myself in the mirror. As I stared at my reflection, I forced myself to breathe slowly and deeply. I looked good. Not like the usual version of myself, but still really good. Kind of edgier, I supposed, with all the leather. It was a look I could get used to.

I shook out my hands, letting go of the tension that had been building in my muscles as the anticipation had grown over the last few hours. I grabbed a small cross-body bag that was hanging on a hook in the closet and dropped my phone, keys, and wallet inside before zipping it up and sliding it over my head. With one last glance in the mirror, I headed to the door.

It was time.