“No, I just wanted to tell you what Max did last week.” I pull her back to my side and drape an arm around her shoulders, turning her so she can’t see Jessa.
“Oh God. What did that idiot do now?” she asks, as we tumble into a fit of laughter. Max is always doing something a little reckless or stupid. I could say just about anything, and she would believe it.
When we get it together, Bridget says, “Sammy, I saw her. I know you are just trying to keep me from seeing her with someone else, but I’m fine. Seriously, I am.”
I offer her a half smile, and she kisses my cheek, whispering in my ear, “If you want her, you probably shouldn’t let her kiss Max.”
The words stun me momentarily. I whip around toward the kissing booth, and sure enough, there’s Olive. She’s leaning in, hanging on every word my little brother spews. Tension boils beneath my skin. He knows I’m interested, even if I didn’t admit it last night. Jealous rage isn’t an emotion I’ve ever felt until this very moment.
Shaking out my arms, I take ten self-assured strides in their direction, arriving in the nick of time to intervene. Before Ihave time to think, my hand slides between their faces, lightly touching Olive’s lips as I attempt to separate them. Watching the rage vibrate through her is a sight to behold. Something about pissing her off turns me on, just a little.
Words are exchanged, then to no one’s surprise, she yells, stomps, and runs off with her lady gang. I didn’t expect her to actually jump into my arms and run off into the sunset with me, but I needed to stop that kiss, consequences be damned.
“Thought you weren’t interested, big brother,” Max says, coolly.
“You fucking know I am.” My finger jabs into his chest. Why the hell is his chest so built? I might break my finger from the damn concrete wall that is his muscles.
Max laughs. It starts as a slow chuckle but ends up as more of a bent-over hyena cackle. “I wasn’t actually going to do it. I planned to kiss her cheek, you know.”
“Well, even that is too close for my girl.” As I spit the words out, the realization of what I just said spreads across my face. “Shit, too far. I don’t know what she is, but she's off-limits,” I backpedal, trying to reel the words back in.
I barely even know this person, and I don’t prescribe to the whole thrill-of-the-chase thing, but it’s like a switch was flipped within me the second I laid eyes on her. I could have been dating all these years, but instead I’ve spent my time mostly avoiding it and casually hooking up every once in a blue moon. No one has ever measured up to the picture of love my parents painted, and I’ve accepted it. Until now.
“Jesus. Let’s grab a beer. Maddox, cover my spot,” Max hoots toward his hockey teammate, tossing an arm over my shoulder and nudging me toward the beer tent while grabbing Bridget’s hand to drag her along.What was I thinking? I should’ve stayed home.
nine
Olive
Let's Talk Tarot
“Wait, so she was in love with him but she left?” I twist the bottle I’m holding in my hand, and the cool condensation coats my skin.
“I mean no one actually knows for sure. But we were always told that he knew she was a witch and he let her escape.” Meg slurps her drink a little too aggressively. “It’s kind of poetic I think, less about her leaving and more about what he sacrificed so she could be free.”
“It’s kind of sad though, she probably wanted him to come with her.”
“I disagree, he was probably a douche. It’s that whole, if he wanted to he would, thing. I bet the jerk off left her all alone and scared.” There’s Ari, always the one to call the man on his bullshit. “But none of it matters, let’s talk about your dating life, Ollie.”
And that’s my cue to leave.“Actually, I’m pretty tired. I think I’m going to head home.”
Ari and Meg begged me to stay, even offering to bring the party back to my place to keep the girls’ day going. But I want to be alone. There’s only so much sulking I can do in front of my friends before I turn the night into my own personal pity party. I don’t have a reason to be sad—mad maybe, but not minutes from spiraling out.
I push my way out into the night air, letting its crispness wash over me. The fall sun begins to set, illuminating the festival in the glow of the streetlights, and casting eerie shadows over Mage Square. Voices echo all around with the chatter of families making their way to cars and the hoots and hollers of young people just starting to get rowdy.
I’ve never been afraid of the dark. Maybe it’s the fact that the girls and I’ve been discussing a brokenhearted witch all evening, or maybe it’s the general ambiance of Mage Hollow that’s making the air crackle with anticipation. Either way, there’s a buzzing, a shift in the feeling I normally get when walking home alone.
With each step I take, my mind drifts back to how much Sam confuses me. He says he wants a date, to pursue things with me, yet I know deep down it won’t last. If he’s as nice as everyone claims, he will inevitably get tired of my inability to open up. Once he gets to know me, he’ll be like all the others. I wish I could just let someone in without the fear of disappointing them taking over. Or the knowledge that they want me for reasons that have nothing to do with me at all.
I’ve never been very trusting when it comes to love. My parents always made me feel like love was conditional.
Win this crown, Olive, and I’ll buy you a pony.
Stand up straight, Olive. You’re embarrassing us.
Marry a man with money, Olive. Don’t you care about your children’s future?
I guess their words just sit in my mind like a reminder that if I do give my heart away, it’ll get stomped on and sent back to me in pieces. It’s not that I don’t love my parents dearly, but the pressure that comes with being their daughter is suffocating at times. I’ve only ever made one decision that was just for me—choosing to come here and pursue my career goals over my mother’s wishes. While in some ways taking that first step has been freeing, it’s also been uncomfortable. I don’t know if I’m brave enough to disappoint them in any other ways.
