Page 67 of Witchful Thinking
“Are you a mind reader, or what?”
“Call it a merman’s intuition. Talk to me.”
Lucy held back a smile. “This thing might get messy.”
His hands wrapped tighter around her body. “This thing might be fun.”
A small hope buoyed in her chest. They had the rest of July and August to figure out what was going on between them. She wanted this fleeting time with him. Lucy wanted the perfect summer she was denied when Alex walked away from the Grove immediately after graduation. For once she wanted to be completely selfish and have this moment with him for as long as she could hold on to Alex. She’d somehow caught this merman, and she wasn’t letting him out of her grasp. Let the wish work for you.
He kissed her nose, then her eyes, and then captured her lips again. He whispered against her skin words as ancient as the Earth’s waters. She sighed blissfully.
“So, what’s next?”
“Well, I was thinking about touring the Grove. Checking out the Medusa carousel. Maybe head over to Bruce’s Arcade. I’d like some company.”
“Okay. It’s a date.”
“You wish.”
“I do. I really do.” Alex ran a finger along her cheek. “I’ll make you some tea in a while. We’ve got to take care of that voice.” He kissed her forehead and held her tight. Lucy nestled into him, capturing his scent, the brine and salt of the endless ocean.
Chapter Eighteen
Guess who just went viral!” Callie thrust her phone in Lucy’s face. A witch didn’t make the front page of the Freya Grove Press website without really, really trying. And Lucy did it by accident.
“I am not drunk enough to deal with this right now.” Lucy peered at the photo of her and Alex kissing on the phone screen. She pushed it away. They were caught offstage mid-embrace, his hands firmly planted on her ass. If she wasn’t so embarrassed, she would admit that they looked good together. Sirena refilled her flute from the pitcher of mimosa mix on the table, then slid it back to her. “Drink up.”
“You made the Precious Moments page,” Callie sang.
Lucy snatched up the glass. Bottoms up. She emptied it in four gulps, then held it out. “More. Please.”
Sirena filled her glass again. Lucy downed the second glass even faster. The bubbles tickled like popping stars cascading down her throat into her stomach. Mimi’s Diner, a mainstay of Freya Grove, was rolling out their Sunday Brunch Special. Since Ursula was swamped with wedding planning for the summer, they’d made plans to treat themselves to their bottomless brunch.
By the time their French toast and bacon arrived, Lucy was going to be passed out. Oh well. Callie could feed her brunch like they gave Shadow treats underneath the table. Lucy groaned. When was the last time she’d fed their cat? The wish had taken up so much time in her life that she didn’t even have time to take care of her familiar.
“It’s not that bad.” Callie enhanced the image and then turned the screen toward her. Lucy pushed it away. She didn’t need to see her behind in HD.
“Everyone’s going to see it,” Lucy countered. “Everyone’s going to ask about Alex.”
“Why is that a bad thing?”
Everyone would ask the question she was scared to answer. Is he going to stay?
Lucy lowered her voice. “It’s not real. It’s my wish.”
“You don’t know that. A wish only works but so far,” Sirena said. “You don’t know where the wish ends and you start.”
Being with Alex was a fantasy from her wildest thoughts. The way he fell apart in her arms and pulled her down into the depths of pleasure haunted her. Mercy. She didn’t want this wish to end too quickly.
“Speaking of wishes, how’s everything going with you two? Is anything happening?” Lucy asked.
Sirena finished her drink, looking over at other tables. Callie held up her phone, scrolling with her thumb. Were they really ignoring her? Lucy waved her hand in front of them. “Hello. I know I’m not speaking Klingon! What’s going on with you two?”
“I’ve been going to the wrong class for the last two weeks,” Callie said. “Before you say anything, it wasn’t my fault. They switched the times on me.”
“So, I may have hooked up with a kitchen god,” Sirena said slowly. “I don’t know. I have to check my mythology book. He might just be a demigod.”
Lucy blinked. She looked at Callie, who shrugged and toasted her sister.