The car ride was different from the bar’s lively energy—quieter, charged with something unspoken. I stole a glance at Liam, who seemed content staring out the window, his profile outlined by the flickering lights passing by. He didn’t press me for more conversation, and he didn’t try to fill the silence, which was surprisingly relaxing.
I rested my head on his shoulder and tried to commit his scent to memory. I closed my eyes, and before I knew it, the car had stopped, and I was home. Liam paid the driver before I could protest and I murmured, “Thanks,” while stepping onto the sidewalk.
He followed, standing close enough to feel his presence but not crowded, then asked, “Can I walk you up?”
I shook my head, a small smile tugging at my lips. “The rule still stands. I’m not sleeping with you.”
“Even if you changed your mind, I wouldn’t let you.”
“Uh-huh. Sure.” Though even as I mocked him, I could tell it was true. Sadly, it had crossed my mind to invite him inside, but things would get awkward if I rushed him into bed and he forgot who I was mid-stroke. I stuck my key in the lock and opened the door, the thought of us spending the night together a lingering battle I knew better than to let win.
“Scouts honor,” he replied, holding up two fingers, his expression mockingly serious.
My laugh came easily, cutting through any awkwardness. The moment stretched as we stood there, his tall frame towering over mine, his hands tucked back into his jacket pockets as though he were restraining himself.
“Well, good night,” I said, my hand resting on the doorknob, but just as I was about to step inside, something stopped me. Iturned back, closed the space between us in a single breath, and kissed him.
It should have been soft, fleeting, and innocent, but instead, this kiss felt like its claws were sinking into my heart. My fingers brushed the curve of Liam’s jaw, my lips pressing against his with a desperation I didn’t mean to show, and he kissed me back just as ravenous. I wanted more than one night. I wanted to know what it would feel like to laugh with him again and to kiss him without the weight of magic pulling the strings.
But as I felt the threads of my spell unwinding, my heart sank. I knew this was all we would ever be. In less than a minute, Liam would forget me. The memory of the night would remain, but I would be erased from it like I’d never existed.
I pulled back and looked into his green eyes, committing every fleck of gold and every unspoken desire to memory. It was the last time I'd see him look at me like this.
“Thank you for tonight,” I said softly, my voice trembling despite the small smile I forced to my lips. “I really enjoyed it.”
“Me too,” Liam replied, his brow furrowing slightly. “Can I see you again?”
I cupped his cheek, my thumb brushing against the faint stubble as tears stung my eyes. I couldn’t answer him. Not truthfully.
“Goodbye, Liam,” I whispered, letting the weight of the words settle between us before stepping inside and closing the door. I leaned against it, my chest heavy and my heart aching. My fingers trembled as I pulled my phone from my purse to look at the time.12:02.
The spell was done. My magic was gone for an entire year. I should have felt rejuvenated, like a flower finally kissed by the sun after too long in the shade.
But all I felt was regret.
The lingering ache refused to fade as I stared down at my phone. I scrolled to Dahlia’s name, my lips pressing into a thin line. My sister had meddled tonight—she had to have. It was the only explanation as to why my chest felt tight and for why Liam’s touch lingered like an ember refusing to die.
I hovered my thumb over the call button, hesitant to reach out this late. Whatever Dahlia had done to me, I wanted it undone. I needed this feeling gone before it consumed me.
LIAM
Ispent the next week trudging through work in a fog. Every time I tried to focus on my tasks, my mind drifted to Holly. My gaze would wander to the dancing game in the corner of the bar or to the rows of tequila bottles, and suddenly I'd be drowning in memories—her laughter, the way her lips brushed against mine and the electric spark that had followed. I wrestled with myself constantly, knowing exactly where she lived but unwilling to show up unannounced and risk coming across as a total creep.
At night, I stuck to my routine—throwing myself into every aspect of the bar, making the rounds with staff, and greeting regulars. But instead of scoping out potential candidates to fulfill the absurd bet my brothers had devised, I found myself scanning the crowd for brown hair and blue eyes. Each night I left without seeing her, the pit in my stomach grew heavier.
By the end of the week, Amber, the only person in the bar besides Ralph who had met Holly, had enough. “I’m tired of your moping.”
“I’m not moping,” I barely glanced up from the inventory sheet I’d been staring at for the past hour. I’d struggled and failed to track how many bottles we had on hand. Countingturned into thinking, which turned into remembering and every time I thought I’d dug myself out of the Holly rabbit hole I realized I’d fallen back in.
“Moping, sulking, drowning in sorrow—whatever you want to call it,” Amber crossed her arms and leaned against the counter with a dramatic sigh. “You’re basically a walking cliché of ‘my heart was broken,’ except your heart can’t be broken because you just met the girl.”
“I never said my heart was broken,” I muttered, the words feeling heavy in my throat as I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. And I didn’t just meet Holly. Fate threw my college crush back into my life at an impossible moment. But I didn’t tell her that.
“Well, you’re acting like it,” Amber stepped forward and set a hand firmly on mine, forcing me to meet her piercing gaze. “You know where she lives. Either go find her or let whatever this is go. Those are your choices, Liam. But the clock is ticking. You’re running out of time to win this bet—and let’s be real, your brothers definitely haven’t played fair.”
I frowned, finally paying attention and looked up at her. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, please.” Amber rolled her eyes, the exasperation in her tone impossible to miss. “The first week they sabotaged every girl you talked to by telling every single girl at the bar you had herpes. Don’t even get me started on week two’s rumors. They want you to fail, and I’m starting to think you do, too, because if you like Holly as much as you clearly do, you’d have made a move by now. Unless you want to give all this up.”
