“It’s okay, really,” I tell him and mean it. It was nothing a little magic didn’t fix right up. “Better than any icebreaker I probably could have come up with.”
Duncan’s eyes widen. “An icebreaker? You mean you were going to come talk to me?”
I roll my eyes. He’s by far the most handsome person in this room, despite the whole ‘I can’t really see people’s faces’ thing. “Obviously.”
I watch as Duncan’s body seems to relax. One moment, his shoulders are practically touching his ears and now, they slowly fall back down to their rightful place. It’s almost like it was hard for him to believe that I would want to come talk to him. That’s interesting and something for me to keep in mind.
“C’mere,” I say, putting a hand on Duncan’s elbow and leading him down the bar so we can sit while being out of the way for people to order their own drinks. The bar curves, ending against the wall. We have our own little corner down here. The perfect place to chat.
We sit down and I finally take a look at my drink. When I ordered the Festive Fuzzy Nuzzy, I had no freaking clue what I was ordering but I’m pleasantly surprised. It’s warm, which is lovely, and smells like chocolate and peppermint. Maybe it’s a spiked hot chocolate? The whipped cream on top is pink and has little sprinkles in it.
I bring it to my mouth and carefully take a sip. Yep. Spiked hot chocolate. Jesus, this is delicious.
“Oh, umm. You have umm,” Duncan starts to murmur. There’s a brightness to his cheeks that I find absolutely adorable, his voice a little high pitched and unsure. “Let me just…” his voice trails off as he brings a hand to my face.
A flutter of something unnamed ripples through my belly as Duncan touches my nose, wiping a bit of whipped cream from the tip. The gesture is so soft.
“Thanks,” I say, looking down at my drink with a little smile.
“No worries.”
We both take a drink, like we need a reason to not talk. Things feel somehow perfectly in sync yet achingly awkward at the same time. We just need to find our footing.
“So,” I say, looking over at Duncan. “It’s no secret everyone here is part of the paranormal world. What’s your deal?”
“My deal?”
“Yeah. Are you human?”
“Oh! Right. Yes, that’s what you mean. Umm, I’m a wolf.”
I can’t distinguish his face but there’s something about him that screams wolf. Yes. I can see it. He might be a bit timid and unsure, but the way he squares his shoulder and holds himself. It makes sense.
“I’m a mage,” I tell him before he can ask. “I’m still really new to all this.”
“To masked balls? I’m new to them too,” he says quickly, like he needs me to know this isn’t his usual scene.
“I mean, this is my first ball, but that’s not what I meant. I meant I’m new to the paranormal. I was a bit of a late bloomer. Only came into my powers recently.”
“Oh,” he says, his cheeks heating. “Right, that makes sense. Sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” I say, reaching over and placing my hand on his wrist. There are those sparks again. I give it a little squeeze before going back to my drink.
Duncan nurses his drink, staring down at the bar like he doesn’t know what to say. I can’t tell if he’s just nervous or awkward or is trying to think of a way to walk away.
Okay, so the whole point of this ball is to meet people. As much as I’d like to stay and talk with Duncan, maybe it would be best if I drift off and talk with some different people. Can’t put all myeggs in one basket, even if that basket is making my heart pound inside my chest in ways I’ve never felt before.
“Hey, I absolutely adore your suit,” someone says, sliding next to Duncan. “It’s designer, right?”
“Yeah,” he says with a nod, starting to explain.
I suddenly feel weird. I don’t know if it’s jealousy or what, but my stomach clenches in a sour way. Duncan is wearing a designer suit, something I would never be able to afford in a thousand years. It seems important to him based on this conversation. Maybe things were so awkward because we’re just not meant to be.
With Duncan distracted, I use this as the perfect time to slip away. I move through the crowd until I find one of the little booths set up. I duck into the Christmas tent and am greeted by a handsome gentleman sitting at a table. There’s a crystal ball in the middle of the table and he’s shuffling a deck of cards.
The tarot cards have a magical enchantment to them, helping the dealer to truly read fortunes for whoever is drawing the cards.
Awesome!
