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Unbelievable. I clamped my mouth shut and crossed my arms. “Idiot,” I mumbled under my breath and stepped around him. Unfortunately, I should have held my breath. A wall of Axe body spray assaulted me as I passed him. Gag.
“Can you believe that idiot?” a deep, rumble of a voice asked once I’d hit the fresh air of the hallway.
I snorted and tried to cover it with a laugh, but it was more of a snort-cough. I coughed to cover up the snort-laugh-cough.
Andrew chuckled and held open the door for me.
Wow. No guy had ever done that for me before.
He matched his stride to mine as we exited and crossed the quad. I stared at his Chucks and long legs in worn jeans as we walked along together, trying to think of something to say.
“How was the party on Saturday?” he asked.
“Okay.” I shrugged.
“Sorry we didn’t show up. Tate’s pla
Tate’s Halloween parties were legend. His family owned a summer house near Marblehead, a gigantic stone, Gothic place with a wide lawn leading down to the rocky beach.
Or so I’d heard. I’d never been invited to his parties before — neither had Sam, but she knew every detail.
“Not into Halloween?” I asked, hoping to sound interested but not desperate.
He shook his head. “It’s okay. I get a little tired of all the mayhem downtown every year. Same witch hats and vomit in the streets gets a little old after a couple of decades.”
“Are you from here?”
“Yeah. Well, kind of. I grew up here, but my dad insisted I attend private school in Boston, so I spent most of the year with my dad in the city. I think he really just wanted me out of Salem.”
My eyebrows rose in a silent question.
“Long, boring story. Really boring fighting parents kind of story.” His voice had changed and he didn’t meet my eyes.
There was more, but we’d reached the campus center where I was meeting Sam. I reached inside my bag and offered him his pen.
“Keep it,” he said with a smile. “Consider it a gift.”
I smiled and thanked him.
Maybe not weird, but Andrew wasn’t typical.
Saturday felt more like summer than the first day of fall. A hazy sun and humid air greeted me on my morning jog around campus. Jogging was girl code for walking and drinking coffee with Sam. I sipped my extra-large ski
“Everything was about the odds and percentages of relationships working out. He offered to show me a spreadsheet.”
“Sounds like a keeper. No second date?”
“Maybe. He was a pretty decent kisser.”
“You kissed him?”
She rolled her eyes. “Sure. Statistically, the odds were in his favor he’d be a good kisser.”
“Math is weird.” I laughed and picked up my pace.
“Good Goddess! What’s with the actual jogging?” She caught up with me. “We don’t really run, remember?”
“I thought maybe we could benefit from some physical exertion.”
“You need to get some action. And soon.”
“Me ru
“What’s going on with Wildes? My intuition tells me he likes you.”
I’d already told her about our chat after class, and of course she had witnessed the smudging incident. “He’s had chances to ask me out and hasn’t yet.”
“He seems shy. Maybe he’s been waiting for you to make the first move?”
“In what fairy tale does the princess ever make the first move?”
She stared at me blankly.
“Right, you wouldn’t know.” I sighed.
“You’re just in a slump. You should come to the Mabon celebration tonight.”
“Lots of dating material amongst the old and patchouli scented?”
“Probably not, but some gratitude and apple pie might help.”
“Nah, but thanks. I’m going to stay home and study.”
Sam asked me to go with her again after di
I pulled it out and walked over to the trash can, fully pla
I had nothing to lose. Andrew had landed in the friend zone. There had to be a guy out there somewhere between Gropemaster Hamilton and Nice-but-Elusive-Wildes.
I opened up the package and poured the contents on my desk. Reading over the instructions, I decided it seemed simple enough. I was supposed to cleanse myself to be in the right mindset. Smudging counted as cleansing, so I skipped that step even though I hadn’t showered today or changed out of my jogging clothes. It wasn’t like I’d worked up a sweat this morning or anything.
I still wasn’t sure why pink peppercorns, but decided to step out of my skepticism box. After I made a circle with them on the desk, I put the love potion oil on the red votive candle while thinking of what I wanted in a man.
Smart.
Fu
Chivalrous.
Cute, but not a narcissist.
Kind.
Fit.
Andrew’s story about Allison had made me laugh, but I put a saucer under the candle just in case. After the smudging incident, I didn’t want him to discover me in the middle of a love spell induced fire.
While the candle burned, I kept reading. I was supposed to have something personal if the spell was intended to work on a specific person. Next to the candle was the pen I’d borrowed from Andrew earlier in the week. I could use that. Was it personal enough? Was Andrew my intended target? I imagined myself with a bow and arrow aiming it straight at his chest. Nothing to lose. I put the pen inside of the circle and lit the candle. I repeated my list, adding in dark hair and pale skin.
All that was left was a piece of red ribbon and the heart pendant, which were to be worn out in public, preferably at a large gathering of people. According to the instructions, if I dropped the charm, my love would appear.
By magic!
At least the silver heart was pretty. I strung it on the ribbon and set it in my bowl of other jewelry.
I didn’t feel anything different. No gust of wind burst through the window. Nothing tingled or stood up on end. The oil and the candle made the room smell nice, but that was about it. Sighing, I texted Grace to come down when she was ready.
I crumpled up and threw away the spell instructions. I didn’t know what to do about the candle and peppercorns and hoped she wouldn’t notice if I turned off my desk lamp.
Three episodes of David Tenant as the Tenth Doctor and a giant bowl of popcorn later, the candle sputtered out with a blue flame and a few sparks, leaving the room in darkness except for the glow from my laptop. Grace and I both jumped.
“What the hell!” She glanced at the desk, and then at me. “What kind of candle was that?”
“Some random candle Sam had lying around,” I answered nonchalantly, hoping she wouldn’t notice the peppercorns and pen.
“Well, I think it’s a sign to call it a night.” With a yawn and a stretch, she peeled herself off my bed.
When she opened the door to leave, loud voices carried inside from the hall. One of those voices was Sam’s. The other two voices were male.
No.
No.
No.
One of the voices belonged to the owner of the pen currently sitting on my desk.
Crap!
There wasn’t time to slam the door shut and pretend I wasn’t here.
I leapt out of bed and swept the candle, pen, and saucer into my drawer, scattering warm wax and peppercorns everywhere. I was on my hands and knees picking them up when I heard Sam’s voice.
“Maddy? Are you in here? I just saw Grace leave. Hello? Why is the room dark?” She flipped the switch to the hideous overhead fluorescent light, which hummed and flickered to life.