Hailey scoffed.“That’s not saying much when half of them are in our coven.”
Bootsy shoved Hailey playfully, knocking her backward into the sand before turning back to Ria and the gossip she so clearly desired.
Ria glanced between her phone and Bootsy’s eager face.“Umm, I don’t know if I’m supposed to reveal that.Isn’t there some kind of witch-client confidentiality?”
“You’re not her doctor,” Kelly said.“I don’t think HIPAA applies to magic.”
“True…” Ria hedged.Still.Something was nudging at her to remain quiet about Lissa’s identity.It was probably the confidentiality thing.A holdover from her marketing days where NDAs were sacrosanct.Whatever the reason, it certainly wasn’t a desire to keep these other women’s hands off her girl.
Client!She corrected.Lissa was just a client, and she had no claims on her.
So why couldn’t she bring herself to say the name?Maybe it was the spell making sure she didn’t accidentally send Bootsy chasing after Lissa and distracting her from her destined love.Yeah, that was probably it.
“I don’t think I should say,” Ria stated, firm in her decision.“I don’t even know much about her anyway other than she’s an artist of some kind.”
“Oh, no,” Hailey groaned.“Please tell me her name isn’t Lexi?”
Ria cocked her head.“No.Not Lexi.Why?”
“That girl’s a hot mess,” Hailey replied, leaning back on her elbows, her hand brushing against Kelly’s.“She has a new ‘true love’ every six months or so.You don’t want to dip your toes in her ocean of crazy.Only a nutjob would date her.”
“Good to know.”Ria made a mental note to avoid any Lexi’s she came across.“So what do I do?Do I go to Pride with this woman?”
“I don’t see why not,” Jess said.“As long as you’re not attracted to her yourself, then it’s just a witch helping a client.”
“Right.And I’m definitelynotinterested in her.”Ria hoped the others didn’t notice the unnecessary emphasis she put on the word “not.”She couldn’t even tell at that point if she was trying to convince them or herself.
“Well, there you go,” Bootsy said.“It’s settled.Maybe I’ll see you there.I never miss the Portland Pride Parade.”
“Lucky,” Hailey whined, tossing a shell into the ocean.“I have to finish cleaning out my classroom this weekend.I thought I had a few more days, but the administration mentioned they want to fumigate or something.”
“I can help,” Kelly offered, louder than Ria thought the soft-spoken woman was capable of.
Hailey turned to Kelly, eyes bright and wide.“Really?I’d like that.”
“Of course,” Kelly replied, her voice dropping back to barely audible levels.“I’m always happy to help.”
Ria glanced back and forth between the two witches and wondered how strongly the coven enforced that no dating rule.
Leaving them to their shy glances and smiles, she tapped out a quick response to Lissa, confirming she’d be happy to join her.
“Done,” she announced, slipping her phone back in her pocket.“Now I need to figure out what to wear.I’ve never actually been to Pride because I don’t love crowds.What do people normally wear?”
The girls all glanced between themselves and grinned.
“My dear,” Bootsy said, slinging an arm around her shoulder, “we are going to have so much fun with this.”
Chapter Ten
Lissa
Damn,thesepastiesitch,Lissa thought, trying her best not to scratch her nipples in front of a thousand people.She didn’t remember them being so uncomfortable in previous years, but maybe it was her sober status that was the problem.At 11:00 a.m.on Pride weekend, she’d typically be six margaritas in.Since she thought it best to keep a cool head around Ria, she’d painfully ignored all the “cheap drinks” signs as she made her way to the riverfront.
It may be silly they hadn’t carpooled, given they both had to make the two-hour drive from Seacliff, but Lissa was grateful Ria hadn’t asked or offered.Trapped in a car with nothing to do but talk would have tested Lissa’s resolve.They wouldn’t be five miles out of town before she cracked and confessed she just wanted Ria’s marketing secrets.Then the whole thing would blow up in her face.She wasn’t ready for that to happen yet, so when Ria suggested meeting at the south entrance, she was more than happy to agree.
Now, if only the pasties would stop chafing her nipples, she might be able to enjoy herself.She and Daria always went balls to the wall for Pride, so it was strange being there without her.Though Daria had actually been the one to insist Lissa needed to be alone with Ria, practically doing a tuck and roll once they got into Portland.She said she’d find her own way back to Seacliff and vanished into the crowd before Lissa even had the car turned off.
Which was why Lissa was actually getting to enjoy people watching for the first time ever.The crowd was nothing more than a sea of rainbows, and something about the celebration always made Lissa’s gay little heart happy beyond belief.Small children ran around with rainbow capes, laughing and playing while their parents chased after them.Vendors wandered around selling flashing rainbow hair clip-ons and fake tattoos.One woman who was essentially naked, save for a thong and some body paint, danced through the crowd sprinkling fairy dust on everyone.
