He really is cute. Not as cute as Mr Tentacles, but I like the colour of his eyes.
They were the warmest colour of coffee, and they shone like caramel syrup in the sun. He had a smile that made subtle dimples form in his cheeks, with nice brown hair, a slightly hooked nose, and was only five foot eight – which was perfect because it meant he wouldn’t tower over her. His social media showed nothing alarming. He had a few photos of his daughter, not many even though it said he had full custody, and it was obvious he was very active in her life.
They’d recently gone to Cronulla beach, and both had come out as red as tomatoes. Skylar could only imagine how much it stung later, despite their grins, and how she could have helped soothe their skin with special ointment.
“He does seem kind,” she grumbled, almost sucking in bubbles. “He works as a manager at a busy mechanic, has his own car, and likes to eat food from different cultures.”
He went to the gym, not that Skylar cared much nor neededhim to be fit as a requirement, but it was a mini bonus. It showed he took care of himself and had healthy habits – which was much better than her.
His only flaw was that he was outdoorsy, which was the complete opposite of her. There were a couple photos of landscapes from when he went hiking or visited interesting places all over Australia. But her favourite image was one of him hiking his thumb at a metal concert stage behind him with a grin.
“Ugh. I hate this.”
It’s so stupid that this is what the world is coming to. What happened to meeting people naturally?Then she pouted.I guess people have to go out to do that.
And she only left her house to get food – she didn’t have the time nor energy to cook – or for work.
“What’s so wrong with being single?”
She said this, even as she hovered her thumb over the ‘start message’ button to say hi. Her phone pinged as a message popped up from Oliver, and she squealed, almost dropping her cracked and definitely no longer waterproof phone into the water, but she just managed to save it from certain death.
Sitting up, her hands trembled as she read the message.
O: Hey. I’m kind of new to this dating app thing, but I thought I’d just throw myself into the fire and say hello.
Freaking out, Skylar slammed her thumb on the power button to put her phone on standby with her heart pounding. The water simmered around her like power was emanating straight from her skin, revealing how it rippled off her due to her emotions.
She didn’t want to answer.
She looked around her bathroom with eyes so large they threatened to pop right out of her skull. It felt like he’d sensed she was staring at his profile!
The length of her clawfoot bathtub was up against the wall, and on the opposing side, she found the mirror. Her make-up was smudged from her rushed attempt at removing it, and she had raccoon eyes from her eyeliner.
“Is it weird to answer while I’m naked?” She groaned and tapped the end of her phone against her forehead. “I’ve never done anything like this in my life.”
Any of this. The last twenty-four hours had been an utter whirlwind, and this time yesterday she’d had a tentacle in her pussy.
A crash came from outside her door.
“What was that?” Thankfully finished with her bath, she quickly got out of the tub, wrapped a fluffy green towel around her body, and poked her head out. “Who’s there?”
Nobody answered, and with the long hallway brightly lit, she could see no one was there. On the ground in front of the thin, long hallway table, a glass vase with dried black roses had smashed against the floorboards and faded-red hallway carpet.
Skylar listened out for any movement and conjured just enough magic into her right hand that she could give a person a little shock. It wasn’t much, nothing like a taser, but it was the only self-protective magic she knew how to do.
It sparked a little wilder than usual, and she squealed when it managed to reach the metal door handle and snapped back at her.
“Ow! Fuck!” she screamed, cupping her aching, electrified hand when her spell backfired.
Clutching her wrist, she crouched down and groaned while clenching her eyes shut. The pain was excruciating, zinging all the way down to the sensitive bones in her hand until it reached her elbow.Ow ow ow.The lights surged in reaction, and Skylarscreamed when the one above her burst, shattering more glass in the hallway.
Tears welled in her eyes as she waited for the temporary pain to dissipate. She frowned down at her hand, then up at the shattered glass bulb.
“What is going on? I’ve never shattered a bulb before.” Or zapped herself this badly.
Her defensive spell was usually weak and never sparked more than an inch from her hand – and she was careful to never touch anything with it. This had reached over a foot to the door handle!
Knowing there was no answer, she stood and sighed at the mess. “Shit. I hope I don’t step on any glass.”
