I hand her the cards for her to be the dealer and she shuffles them with magic, the cards floating in the air, leafing between one another.
“What did you want to be when you grew up?”
I blink at her. I was expecting something cutthroat, like how many people have I killed, or if I have bodies buried in the backyard, or even worse, why I tricked her into this arrangement in the first place.
I don’t think she’s ready for the truth and I can’t risk losing her.
“Things were a little different when I was a boy. We didn’t dream big, you know? Becoming a part of Oz’s night crew was the first time I ever let myself think that I could be more than a farmer or a rum runner. But…”
“But what,” she asks, leaning closer, the cards now in her hands.
“But I thought airplanes were fascinating. I think if I wasn’t some poor boy from the swamps of Louisiana, I’d want to be a pilot.”
Ember smiles at me, not saying anything about my dreams as a boy as she deals the cards. She seems lighter the more that we play. I win this round, and she seems irritated from losing but waves her hand in a way to show it’s my turn to ask for a secret.
“What is the worst thing you got in trouble for while growing up?” I ask her.
Her cheeks tint and she bites her lip and shakes her head.
“I do believe a very beautiful, smart witch told me the pillar of friendship is honesty.”
She gives me a look with no heat as she bites her lip.
“This stays between us?” she asks.
“I’ll pinky swear it,” I say, holding out my pinky finger. She laughs, but wraps her pinky in mine, before huffing a breath.
“I set the town church on fire,” Ember says under her breath.
“I’m sorry, what was that?”
“I was twelve, and I didn’t do it on purpose. Iris and I spent a lot of time around town escaping our homes, her mom had just passed and my mom and grandma aren’t easy to deal with.”
“Why are your mom and grandma difficult?” I ask.
“They just don’t get me,” she says sadly, shaking her head. “But that wasn’t the secret you won. Anyway, we went to the church at night that everyone said was haunted. My elemental magic was pretty fickle then. I thought I saw a ghost orb and well, fire just kind of slipped out, lighting the drapes behind the pulpit on fire,” she says with a grimace.
“Gorgeous and an arsonist, a woman after my own heart.” She shoves my shoulder and I don’t know what possesses me, but I poke her side and she immediately laughs.
“Oh no. No no no,” she says and I tickle her side more, her head is thrown back, her laugh is wild and she looks free, happy even.
Our eyes lock, and it’s almost like she can’t believe she’s having fun with me. The moment is broken with a knock on the door.
“Goon squad is ready to go, War. Hurry the fuck up,” Samantha says.
I stare down at Ember and she looks up at me, not in disgust but in curiosity.
“I should go,” I say, even though it’s the last thing I want to do.
Ember’s breaths are fast as she licks her lips, her gaze going to my mouth. Would the witch want to kiss me?
I can’t help it as I place a finger on her bottom lip rubbing the flesh. Her soft lips part and her pupils dilate as she looks at me. I can smell her arousal, and I’m so close to leaning down, kissing her and seeing what it feels like, when Samantha pounds on the door three more times. “Don’t keep them waiting.”
Ember shakes her head, like she’s been broken out of a spell and my hand falls.
“Right, yeah. Thanks for playing,” she says, gathering the cards acting shy.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
