Page 4 of Stalked By Shadows
He headed for the door with me following at a more subdued pace. He let me out and then locked the door behind us. At least it would be close enough to walk to. I thought the entire way, contemplating the cobblestone streets and narrow alleyways we passed, about what to say to a man I’d never met but often fantasized about. Funny the turns fate throws our way.
The shop was about two blocks from the apartment. A hole in the wall really, as it was attached to a row of shops and up the stairs into a narrow space. The sign “Simply Crafty” would have been invisible dangling from the overhang if not for the large chalkboard sign on the walk which read: “Tarot Readings” and pointed upward. In smaller print was written: “Schedule a ghost or graveyard tour.”
“He reads cards too?” I asked as we headed up the weirdly narrow, short stairs, which led to a large set of double doors and a smaller inner door.
“Skylar does, and she’s in today. Sky rents a little space from him on hot days so she doesn’t have to do it in Jackson Square,” Lukas replied. The shop was half a block from Jackson Square and the Cathedral, which I found an interesting location for a wicca shop. Maybe the witches liked the challenge of having the Catholics so close. Or maybe it was a ‘keep your enemies closer than your friends’ sort of thing with the church. “She often closes the shop on nights Micah is running tours.”
The air conditioning was a blessing when we entered the second door into the small retail space. It smelled like incense, fabric, and old books. I had a moment of feeling nostalgic for the library I’d grown up hiding in as a kid. Of the two of us, I’d always been the bookworm, spending hours sitting on a beanbag in the corner reading Dune or something else with elves and fairy tales. It was an oddly sweet memory I would have completely forgotten if not for the smell.
A pretty girl stepped out of a side room when we entered the shop, her smile wide. Her brunette hair was styled up, looking silky and shiny, more like a hair model than I’d ever seen a girl’s hair look in real life. Her makeup was heavy, but not off putting, and the summer dress clinging to her hips and small chest showed enough of her body without flaunting anything.
“Skylar,” Lukas greeted. It wasn’t until my brother leaned over to kiss her cheek and she arched up to meet his lips that I noticed the slight Adam’s apple in her throat. Interesting. At least I didn’t have to ask about pronouns since apparently my brother knew her pretty well. “This is my brother Alexis,” Lukas said after he stepped away.
“Call me Alex,” I told her.
“I expected the two of you to look more alike.” She was a tiny thing, maybe five-feet, five-inches in heels. I felt like a giant next to her at six-foot, two-inches. “The beard is nice though.” Skylar rewarded my brother with another wide smile. “Nice to know what you’d look like with a bit of facial hair. Not bad.”
“Too much work for me.”
“Bet it feels nice on the skin…”
“Behave, imp,” Lukas said as he squeezed her hand. “Alex makes the beard work. Sort of like not-quite-homeless chic. I need to get him scheduled with my barber before he starts scaring the masses.”
She laughed lightly. “Hush. He looks fine.” She looked at me. “You’re adorable, honey. Don’t let Mr. Metrosexual tell you how to be no mans.”
“I’m a strong independent psychopath,” I promised her. “No mans required.”
Lukas interrupted. “We’re here to see Micah. Is he here or did he step out for a minute?”
Skylar waved her hand, dismissing his serious tone. “Oh, I know all about that. How about a reading?” She asked when she turned to me. “On the house.”
“No,” Lukas affirmed.
“I wasn’t offering a reading to you,” she protested. “I want to look into his cards.”
“No,” Lukas said again. “He doesn’t need that in his head.”
“I won’t tell him anything bad.”
“You don’t need to tell anyone anything bad, Sky. It’s always all over your face. You’d be the world’s worst poker player,” Lukas informed her.
“Thank you, miss,” I told her, stopping Lukas before he could really hurt her feelings. “Maybe another time. I sort of need this job, and my brother has been nice enough to help me find it. He doesn’t want me distracted when I’m supposed to be helping Micah.”
“So respectful,” Skylar t’sked at me. “Let me grab Micah. He was dragging up an order of boxes.” She vanished through a doorway before I could protest.
I glanced back at Lukas, his expression something I don’t think I’d ever seen on my brother’s face. Longing. “You into her? ‘Cause you know I’ve got no problem with that.”
Lukas sighed. “You might not, but the department would, and that’s a hurdle I don’t need right now. How about you work on settling into this job and let me worry about me?”
I put my hands up to ward him off. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
“You are,” a voice said from the doorway. “Is this where you are meant to be?”
I turned back that way and was surprised by the young man standing there. The eyes I knew instantly. Even without the kohl and stylized wigs of fluorescent pink. The rest of him wasn’t really what I expected. He was still on the smaller side, maybe five-foot, six-or-seven inches. Lithe but toned in a pair of skinny jeans and a fitted T-shirt, that read ‘Simply Crafty Witch.’ His hair was a pale, chestnut brown with gold highlights, long enough to pull back in a small ponytail, and his face freckled, a dash of them across his nose and cheeks—I’d never seen an Asian with freckles before and found it compelling. He was more pretty than handsome, and very Japanese despite the crystal-clear blue eyes. High cheek bones, a small heart-shaped mouth, and a delicate nose in a longer face, balancing the slanted eyes encased in dark lashes and porcelain skin.
Memorable, I thought. Not only the eyes. My dick did a whole stand-up routine that left me grateful that I’d worn jeans snug enough that nothing showed.
“Is that an existential question?” I asked him. “To be or not to be? Lukas is the smart one,” I said before realizing it was probably a stupid thing to say to someone who was offering me a job, to call myself not smart. “I mean, book smart. Philosophy and all that. I read a lot, but mostly fantasy and sci-fi…”