Poor Little Witch Girl Read online

  "I'm-"

  "Afraid of sounding crazy?" she provided. "I know that feeling." She smiled again. "I'm looking for a gift. Every Halloween, I give an occult book to a friend. Please help me pick one out." She gestured with her head.

  She seemed harmless.

  "All right," I replied. What else could I say? If I hadn't already looked suspicious before, trying to flee from her now would certainly do it. I took the book she had selected. It was one of our cheesier books.

  "You want to give her this one?" I asked.

  "Not necessarily. I grabbed it quickly before you could flee. I don't bite, at least not on the first date." She gestured with her head again, and to my chagrin, I found myself following her back to our section on mysticism and occult. She turned to me and held out her hand. "I'm Raelyn," she repeated.

  I took her hand. "Lyra."

  "That's a beautiful name, Lyra," she said.

  "So is Raelyn."

  She shrugged. "It used to be just Lynn, but I thought that was boring, so I had it changed. You have the most striking aura, especially now that it's not muddled with your friend's."

  She looked around the shop. "Gay friendly."

  "Yes," I said. "The local community has been very supportive."

  She turned back to me. "Is she your friend, or your more than friend?"

  "Best friend," I said.

  "I thought she looked straight," Raelyn said. "But sometimes I'm wrong." She turned her gaze back to me. "You, now..." she smiled again, setting her hand on my arm. It felt good, and I didn't shrug her off. She looked me up and down. "I see connections, one to the woman scowling at me. What is this other one?"

  "Our other business partner."

  "Another best friend?"

  "Three of us against the world since high school."

  She continued to examine me. I fidgeted but didn't pull away. "I don't see a single hint of any romantic entanglements. How serendipitous for me."

  "You're very confident."

  "People make life too complicated. You're cute. You like me. This is simple."

  "What makes you think I like you? I don't even know you."

  "You like what you see," she said. "And your aura has climbed halfway up my arm as we stand here, touching."

  I pulled away from her immediately. She laughed lightly. "Didn't it feel good?"

  I thought about it and didn't say anything.

  "Come on, Lyra," she prompted. "Didn't it feel good?"

  "Maybe it did," I said. "That's not our most popular book."

  "So that's how it is, hmm? I'm not looking for the most popular book. I'm looking for over the top ridiculous."

  "Oh, then you want this one." I stepped past her to the bookshelf. I took her first choice from her and replaced it on the shelf before pulling out another. It was called Witchy Brews, and it was all about magic potions. They were really alcoholic drinks. Some of them were vile, but a few were pretty good.

  Yes, Felicity, Jaime and I had worked our way through each and every one.

  I handed the book to Raelyn. She took it from me and laughed at the title then began paging through it.

  "They're listed alphabetically," I said. "My favorite is called Nightshade."

  She flipped through to the appropriate page and read the ingredients. "I imagine two of these, and you're dead for the night."

  "About that, yes."

  She smiled, again, and I realized just how easy a smile she had. I realized just how alluring a smile she had, too.

  "This is perfect. I'll take it." Then she stepped closer. "And you."

  "I don't think so."

  She set her hand flat against the center of my chest. "Dinner."

  I could have pulled away, but I didn't. I could feel our auras tangling, and it felt good.

  "My treat," she added. "Anywhere you want to go." She glanced over at Felicity, and I followed her gaze. Jaime had appeared as well, and the two were openly watching us, not even hiding it, their gazes hard. "They don't seem to like me." She turned back to me. "Why is that?"

  "They don't even know you."

  "That's my point. And besides, everyone loves me." She looked back at my friends. "But their auras are filled with anger and... hmm... protection." She looked back at me. "Oh. They think you need protection from me. Oh. Lyra." She looked crestfallen, her smile fading, and she physically slumped. "I'm sorry." She thrust the book at me and turned to flee.

  I felt like I'd kicked a puppy.

  She got three steps to the door when I called out, "Do you like Thai?"

  She froze in place then turned her head, looking over her shoulder at me. There was a tentative smile. "I love Thai."

  "That's too bad," I said. "There's no good Thai in this neighborhood."

  She stared for a moment, and I laughed. "I'm teasing. It's around the corner." I held the book up. "Did you still want this, or was it just a ruse to make me help you?"

  "No ruse," she said. She smiled, turning fully. She reached out, but instead of taking the book from me, she took my arm, leading me back to the corner. Felicity and Jaime watched, both scowling.

  "Felicity," I said. "Jaime. This is Raelyn. Raelyn, my business partners and best friends, Felicity and Jaime."

  "If you hurt her-" Jaime started to say.

  "You'll, what?" Raelyn asked. "Skewer me?"

  "No," Felicity said. "Jaime hasn't a violent bone in his body. I, however, will find you and run you over with my car. Repeatedly."

  "Felicity," I said in warning.

  "No, no, Lyra," Raelyn said. "So fierce. It's good to have such close, loyal friends." She looked back at Felicity. "I will return her safe and sound to your protective embrace."

  "You're not leaving with her!" Felicity said to me.

  "Dinner," I said.

  No one said anything else as Raelyn paid for the book. Jaime bagged it for her but instead of holding it out and flirting with her like he would anyone else who came in, he set it on the counter, refusing to touch her. Raelyn picked up her bag, smiled, and then tugged me towards the door.

  "Lyra," Felicity called out. "What's the password?"

  I turned to her. Years ago, when we both started dating, we had arranged passwords. We had several. Avocado meant everything was green, just fine. Lemon meant I was nervous. Apple meant danger. Apples were red. Well, most apples were red, anyway.

  "It's fine, Felicity," I said. "Honestly."

  "Wrong answer." She nudged Jaime, and the two of them were around opposite sides of the counter in record time. They rushed past us and blocked the door, crossing their arms. "You're not taking her," Felicity said to Raelyn.

  "My," the woman replied. "So fierce. Do you always vet Lyra's dates so thoroughly?" But she released my arm.

  I stepped forward, straight to my best friend, and whispered in her ear. "Avocado," I said. "But if I'm not back by ten, call the cops."

  "This is a bad idea, Lyra. You don't know her."

  "She seems sweet. Trust me, Felicity."

  She nodded, but I could tell she wasn't happy. She nudged Jaime, and the two stepped aside. Raelyn stepped to my side, gathered my arm, and we stepped out of the shop.

  * * * *

  "Whatever did you tell them?"

  We had walked to the restaurant. It was a simple, neighborhood Thai restaurant, but the food was excellent, and there were always tables available.

  "Tell whom?"

  "Are we really going to play games, Lyra?" she asked. She walked fingers up my arm. "I don't mind games, of course, but is that really what you want?"

  "I told them you're a witch."

  She smiled. "Ah. Well, that's going to make this a lot easier."

  "Make what easier?"

  "I won't have to hide what I am," she replied. She picked up one of the menus. "What's good?"

  We negotiated the meal. I told her my favorites, and she picked two of them to share between us. The waiter returned with the tea. Raelyn poured for us then set the pot aside and picked up h
er cup, holding it between us. "To... new beginnings."

  She waited for me to lift my own cup, and we clinked glasses before sipping.

  "I thought it was bad luck to toast with anything other than wine or champagne."

  "It's never bad luck to toast. It is only bad luck to toast for bad things."

  I wasn't going to argue with that.

  Together, we each set down our cups. Raelyn captured my hands before I could set them in my lap, and I found us holding hands while we stared at each other.

  It felt nice.

  "You're awfully aggressive."

  "Does that bother you?"

  "That depends."

  "On?"

  "Whether no means no."

  "No means slow down," she said. "Doesn't it?"

  "Not always," I said. "But I suppose often enough."

  "Are you telling me no?"

  I thought about it and shook my head, and her smile broadened. "Good." She squeezed my hands. "Tell me something about yourself I can't guess."

  "When I was a young child, my family had a dog named Freddy. Freddy didn't like me very much, but I was enamored of him. I figured he didn't like how often I hugged him."

  "What kind of dog?"

  "I don't know. Something small."

  "He didn't like you because you're a witch," Raelyn said matter-of-factly. "I bet you do better with big dogs."

  I didn't say anything.

  "Little dogs find us intimidating. Big dogs don't care."

  "I'm... not a witch."

  She frowned, released my hands, and leaned away from me. "I thought we weren't going to play games like that," she said. Her disappointment was obvious. She picked up her tea and looked away.

  "I'm not," I said in a small voice. "I mean... Yes, I see auras, but that's all. I don't cast spells or wear a pointed hat. I've never ridden a broom, and if I have warts, I'm not going to admit it."

  She turned back to look at me. "Did you want a serious conversation about it?"

  "I'm not a witch," I said sullenly. "I'm not."

  "All right. You're not a witch. You have an aura that proclaims you to be a witch. You see auras. You're attracted to me but can't explain why-"

  "Sure I can. You're hot."

  She laughed. "Thank you," she said after a moment.

  "Even Felicity called you a hottie, and she's not a witch."

  "You may remain in denial if you want. So I will rephrase what I said earlier. Little dogs don't like people with an aura like ours. Big dogs don't seem to mind. And cats are cats. They couldn't care less about anything as long as you give them tuna."

  "What about other animals?"

  "It varies with horses. Death witches scare the crap out of most animals -- except cats. Most horses seem to be fine with the rest of us, but some are pickier. I don't have a lot of experience with other animals, although I suspect I'm more afraid of creepy crawlies than they are of me."

  "All right," I said. "Your turn."

  Until our food arrived, we went back and forth, sharing little tidbits of our lives. Neither of us shared anything deeply revealing, but I slowly learned a little bit about her and she about me.

  It didn't take me all that long to realize something simple: I liked her. She was smart and funny. I thought she was beautiful, and so it was especially endearing to learn she snorted when she laughed.

  I learned simple things. Her favorite color was turquoise. She worked as a recruiter. "What kind of recruiter," I asked.

  "It varies," she replied. "I am usually given very specific details as to the type of person wanted for very niche roles."

  "I bet you're very good."

  Our food arrived. We each took a sampling of the two entrees, spread over rice. She tried each and then smiled at me. "You were right. These are good."

  We focused on our meal for a few minutes, then I said, "May I ask you a question."

  "Sure."

  "Are you as confident as you seem?"

  She smiled and sipped from her tea for a minute. "Yes and no. Look, I've got a mirror. But I know looking good isn't everything. The thing is, life is short, and my philosophy is simple. Grab it by the horns and don't let go. I find that if I act as if I'm going to get something I want, it tends to be a self-fulfilling prophecy far more often than if I play it cool."

  She shrugged. "And putting the cards out there at the front cuts through the bullshit. You don't have to wonder whether I'm going to kiss you goodnight. You should assume you'll trundle off to your bed with your lips thoroughly kissed."

  "And you're so sure that's going to happen?"

  "Why act otherwise? Why be tentative? You can say 'no'. But you haven't even attempted to discourage me. You're a little put out by my forward attitude, but you haven't tried to wrest control from me, either." She shrugged again. "It's not that I'm pushy. I just choose to believe in the best possible outcome and act as if it's a forgone conclusion."

  "That seems like setting yourself up for disappointment."

  "At least I'll have tried, and I'm amazingly resilient. For us, even if you turn away and only give me your cheek, we'll have had a nice evening with good food and lovely conversation. At least I'm having a wonderful time, and I think you are, too." She leaned closer. "If your aura is any indication."

  "Does it-" I broke off and started over. "Does it look different than earlier?"

  "Quite a lot different. You're far more relaxed, so the scared little touches of black are gone. You've had food, so the brown grumbles of hunger are gone." She grinned. "And everything is tinged with orange."

  I immediately began to blush. Orange could indicate many things, but I knew in this case, it was lust.

  She grabbed my hand. "Oh please. I'm showing more orange than you are."

  Her aura did have a decidedly ruddy hint to it. "You can see your own aura?"

  Raelyn shook her head. "No, but I can tell my own emotions." She patted my hand. Then she leaned back, dug into her purse, and pulled out a credit card.

  Ten minutes later, we were on the sidewalk, each of us holding a paper bag with our share of the leftovers. Raelyn took my arm and tugged me back the way we had come.

  "Raelyn, I need to tell you something."

  "Oh, confession time. I love it!"

  "Not a big confession. I'm not inviting you to my bedroom tonight."

  "I could change your mind," she said. "But it's a school night and all that."

  "School night?"

  "You know what I mean." We walked slowly along. "I want to see you again. Friday."

  "We're open until nine on Friday nights," I said, "and I already told Felicity and Jaime I'd take the late shift."

  "May I come hang out with you?"

  "I'm not inviting you to my bed Friday night, either."

  "Oh, tough nut to crack," she said. We glanced at each other. "I'm enjoying your company, Lyra. I'm not looking for a quickie."

  I didn't know what to say about that, and we walked quietly for a while. She brought me to the front of the shop. We had a separate entrance that went straight to the apartment, but I didn't want her to know about it. I turned to her, but she said, "Invite me in."

  "Raelyn-"

  "I intend to kiss you, Lyra, and I don't want to do it out here. Invite me in."

  "Would you like to come in for a minute?"

  "I'd love to." She beamed at me.

  I fumbled with the keys for a minute, but I let us in then hurried to turn off the alarm, hiding the touchpad with my body while I did so. When I turned around, Raelyn was right there behind me, having set her things down somewhere on the way.

  "I had a lovely evening, Lyra."

  "I did too."

  "Still afraid of me?"

  "Nervous. Not afraid."

  She stepped closer, crowding me, but not quite pulling me into her arms. I hadn't turned on many lights, but I could see her eyes clearly. She was smiling, a smile that filled her entire face. She was holding her arms a little away from her body, bu
t then she stood like that, and I realized she was letting me make up my own mind.

  I stepped closer, not even a half step. We weren't quite touching, but I felt I had lobbed the ball back to her side of the court.

  She didn't disappoint me. She took my step as permission, and her hands went to my waist. She pulled me the rest of the way to her until our bodies were pressed together. Then she wrapped her arms around me, one coming up to rest at the back of my head. With that, she guided my mouth to hers, both of us closing our eyes at the end.

  I began to tingle the moment our lips touched. And then I knew, I just knew she was doing something with her aura, too, caressing me with it. I melted against her and moaned.

  The kiss went on, and on, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination.

  She wanted me. And to be fair, I wanted her.

  But finally she pulled her mouth from mine.

  "Wow," we whispered together. I opened my eyes and looked up at her. "Wow," I repeated.

  She began patting my body. I tried pushing her hands away, but she grinned at me then found the pocket that held my phone. I stopped resisting when she pulled it out. Then she discovered it was locked. She handed it to me and I unlocked it. A moment later, I heard her purse ring. Then the ringing stopped and she handed my phone back to me.

  "Walk me out," she said. "I'll see you Friday, Lyra."

  Minding the Store

  I collapsed into the easy chair upstairs. Jaime had paused whatever they were watching the moment they heard the apartment door open, and the two of them tracked my progress then stared at me, waiting.

  I didn't say anything.

  "Well?" Felicity said. "What did she want?"

  "Me."

  Jaime snorted.

  "She's a good kisser," I added. "My legs are still weak." I smiled. "It was just dinner. Other than getting me into bed, she doesn't appear to have an agenda."

  The two exchanged a look. Then Jaime said, "She's dangerous."

  "We don't think you should see her again."

  "Everyone is dangerous," I said. "Every guy you ever date could be a serial killer. Jaime, you could go out with someone who is a rampaging homophobe just looking to haul you somewhere and slit your throat."

  "That's ridiculous," Felicity said.

  "She's nice," I said. "She's sweet with a refreshing attitude. I like her."