They all watched him, and when Tilly joined them, taking a glass of apple honey wine, she sighed.
"We're really odd," she said.
Bess nodded. "Thank God for that," mimicking her thoughts.
"Cheers," Ursula said, raising her glass.
"Can I have some wine?""No," they all said to Bess's eye roll.
"Last day of summer school tomorrow, right?" Tilly asked, and Bess nodded.
She didn't say what she was thinking or feeling. She couldn't get the words past the knot in her chest. Because tomorrow would also be the last day that Jeremy looked at her like she was his to look at.
Bess tapped her pen against the notebook propped in her lap as she sat on a concrete bench in the high school's courtyard. It was her lunch period, and she had successfully avoided Jeremy for two days, answering his texts with simple responses and excuses. He came to the coffee shop when she was working, but she hid in the stock room until he left.
He left her a squat, cream pumpkin with a note.
I know you're shutting me out. Here's a pumpkin that grew in our backyard in the middle of July to woo you. Maybe there is some magic here.
-Jeremy
She'd seen him at her locker five times. Five times he leaned against the metal, handsome and hopeful, and every time shealmost gave in and walked up to him with the smile he so easily pulled out of her.
But they weren't real smiles. None of this was real.
Crystal, with her magic returned and a new sense of power that surrounded her, simply said, "Darling girl, love from a man can be one of the most exciting adventures for any woman. But only if it's honest."
Then she told her what she must do to break the hex, and after her shock came acceptance.
And then two days of avoidance.
When she felt someone's gaze, she looked up to see Jeremy Bracker's blue eyes on her, something in them that even across the courtyard could make her stomach dip. She lifted a hand with one side of her mouth tugging up.
She couldn't help it.
She couldn't stop how much her stupid heart felt where this boy was concerned, even knowing the truth.
Once he was standing in front of her, her standing and looking up into his eyes that were saying things, she felt a frisson of uncertainty and fear at what was about to happen.
"You've been avoiding me." His voice wasn't angry, accusatory. No, it was understanding. Like he knew what was coming.
"You're pretty smart for a jock," she joked.
He smiled sadly.
She looked down at her boots.
Fingertips gently tipped her chin up. Should a teenage boy's eyes seem this deep? Should they contain this much emotion?
"I-"
"Don't," he whispered. It was gentle but strong, and she closed her mouth against the words they both knew she was about to say. "I know you believe that I'm hexed or whatever. And that you won't listen to reason."
She frowned and he smiled, running a thumb over her cheek.
"And I also know that I can't convince you of my feelings, so I'll let you go."
Her heart clenched. A fist had taken hold and firmly squeezed, making her want to gasp in both fear and pain.
