“I’m surprised they finally got around to fixing the hinges,” I commented, remembering the screeching scream of a sound that the sliding door used to emit.
Immediately, the woman looked up from her desk. She paused her tapping of sky-blue fingernails as she grinned. “What a surprise! I didn’t expect to see you here tonight, Lu. It’s Friday. Shouldn’t you be out, living up the greatest years of your life or something?”
She winked from below her tight black curls to assert the sarcasm in her tone. Faith was the one who got my sense of humor during coven meetings. At the very least, she pretended to. A little flighty, Faith was also always kind enough to anyone so long as they didn’t cross her. Then, all bets were off.
“Vadika is out of town with her family,” I replied in explanation.
“Aw, that’s too bad.”
I shrugged. “What are you doing here so late?”
Her eyes widened with enthusiasm. “Reorganizing.”
“Reorganizing?” I looked around her chaotic mess of an office.
“Not in here, silly. Or at least, not completely. I left for a few weeks during the summer, and now, my entire cataloging system on the Norse mythology is in shambles,” Faith complained—or tried to. Her voice still sounded a little too delighted at the mishap. “At this rate, I’ll never get to the French Revolution. I was hoping to have that reshelved by the Samhain. I was also thinking about starting another book club here. Good idea? Bad idea?”
I shrugged. “Decent idea.”
“This year, I figured it could be themed. You’d come, wouldn’t you?”
Pressing my lips together, I watched Faith pace back and forth with energy. “Of course.”
“Fabulous.” Her hazel eyes glittered.
I resettled myself against the wall as I watched her work until she finally paused, leaning back against the edge of her desk.
“Don’t let me keep you if you have stuff to do,” said Faith, peeking up from where she double-checked the slip of paper inside the next book and made a note. “I plan on heading out in a bit, so I’m not going to ask you to help me. Not yet, that is. Unless you need something?”
“Nope,” I said. “Just sort of …”
“Procrastinating?” Seeing that she had gotten that mostly right, she nodded. “Go. I’ll see you tomorrow, right? And on Tuesday, if you haven’t already marked it down, make sure to come early! I think that Celeste is going to teach us how to make her apple pie before our Mabon ritual.”
Celeste made her famous apple pie each fall. It was always crisp, yet gooey and perfectly spiced. We’d been on her about teaching the recipe for ages, even if we were going to have to make do in Gertie’s slightly cramped kitchen.
“Sounds good. Have a nice night, Faith.”
“Happy studying.”
I gave a final wave, which Faith gleefully returned, and I moved around the circular library space until I made it to the stairs. Spaces were grouped by volume. Each floor from the basement archives upward got quieter as you climbed.
I turned left to the second floor. It wasn’t that I was a habitual creature, but after the past few years, I had found exactly where the perfect spot was in the library.
On the second floor, there were no distractions, no matter the scenario. I could get work done, lounge, and hide away from the rest of the people who were also likely cramming for an exam, all at the same time.
The spot where I rarely ever had to interact with anyone was in the back corner by the large, curved window. An oversize table was set there unceremoniously but created plenty of room to stretch out.
Only tonight, someone was sitting in it.
My footfalls nearly froze before I noticed exactly who was sitting in the seat beside the one I usually filled. I walked around the other side of the table with purpose until I looked the table stealer in the face.
“What are you doing here?” I couldn’t help the words that came out harsher than intended.
No matter their venom, my words didn’t seem to faze him in the slightest. As I held a pencil in hand, his one foot was casually propped up in the chair beside him, enhancing the entire devil-may-care facade he was putting on.
“Fancy seeing you here.”
“I told you I was going to be here,” I grumbled, looking around the space.
