Lib Novel Page 24
We walked around the town square until our ice creams were gone and all that was left were hours of small touches and conversation. I learned about Jordyn’s job, her coven, and her life in this town, and I told her about all of my misadventures job-hopping around the world.
Jordyn shivered and broke the now-comfortable silence. “It’s getting a bit late. Maybe we should call it a night?”
“Sure.” I smiled but internally begged for time to slow down and for the few blocks to Willow’s café to become miles long.
It was getting late, and I would have to be up before the sun to help open for the morning rush, but more than anything, I wanted to listen to the pretty witch beside me talk about everything under the sun and stars.
We paused in front of Witch’s Brew Café, each of us calling the other’s bluff. I rocked on the balls of my feet, refusing to be the first to say good night. And lucky for me, Jordyn spoke first. “When was the last time you went on a date?”
My feet faltered, hovering over the cement for a second, before I took a step forward, continuing to stroll down the sidewalk with my hands clenched in nervous fists in my pockets.
“Does this count as a date?” I peeked at her sideways.
“I mean, I thought it was obvious, but now I’m second-guessing myself,” she hedged with a huff of laughter and reddened cheeks.
“No. It’s definitely a date, then.”
I loved the way she tucked a lock of her glossy brown hair behind her ear when she was nervous. She cleared her throat. “Did you have someone before you moved here?”
We walked through the shadowed gaps between streetlights. They had been designed to look like lanterns and cast the street in a warm orange glow.
“Uh, yeah, back when I was a dog groomer in Springfield.”
“You were a dog groomer?”
“Only for a week.” I shook my head. “The job didn’t stick to me nearly as well as the fur did.” That garnered a little chortle from her, and it made me stand a little taller. I liked making her laugh. “One of the girls there and I went out a few times. Nothing serious.”
“How long ago was that?” She toyed with her rings like she knew it was an invasive question to ask but couldn’t help but ask it anyway.
“About two months ago. When’s the last time you went on a date?” I regretted my question the moment it left my lips. Willow had told me that Jordyn had been keeping to herself since her ex had passed, and the tension between us felt thicker than before.
Jordyn didn’t immediately answer, but when she did, it was vague. “It’s been a long time.”
I left it at that. The last thing I wanted to do on a first date was dredge up painful history that I wasn’t sure I was supposed to know yet. We passed Midnight Market again, the place now booming with evening locals. Most of the tourists had disappeared the closer it got to midnight, while all of the locals had started coming out of the woodwork. It looked like the cast of every haunted mansion was roaming the streets, but instead of paid actors in makeup, it was real-life monsters, demons, and vampires.
Distant howls filled the air, and I stepped in closer to Jordyn on instinct.
“Don’t worry.” She clicked her fingers, and a blue flame danced in the palm of her hand. “They’ll leave you alone if they don’t want to get turned into a corgi.”
I gaped at the flame in her palm. “You can do that?”
She weighed her head from side to side with a mischievous smirk. “I could try.”
I let out a little snort as I watched the dancing light.
“Here.” She held the flame toward me. “Touch it.”
I looked at her warily. “I’m not going to burst into a fireball, am I?”
“It hasn’t happened yet.” She moved her hand closer to me. “But I have a salve for burns, just in case.”
She winked, and I held up my hand, nervously moving my fingers closer.
“I’m trusting you,” I said.
Her crooked smile widened.
Curse that adorable smile! I relented, brushing my fingertip across the dancing flame. To my surprise, it was cool. My finger prickled, the feeling like Pop Rocks dancing across my skin and up my arm giving me goose bumps.