“Yeah, it sucked, but she was, like, ninety, so… You want to see my kitchen? That’s where all the magic happens.”She turned, and I followed quickly behind.
“Ninety?”
“Not literally, she was old though. If it’s not too cold, I want to show you my garden,” she added.
“It’s getting kind of dark. We might have to wait for me to appreciate anything outside.”
Eisley and I knew better than anyone that being outside in the dark was dangerous. You never knew what was out there.
Her eyes flicked nervously over me and nodded. “I forget how early the sun goes down in the fall. First thing in the morning I’ll take you outside, we’ll pluck some tea leaves, and prep them for drying. By the time you leave, I’ll be sending you home with a jar!” She bounced on her feet as she continued through the house, finally leading me into the kitchen.
“Woah!” The room looked like a TV set.
“I know, right? I’ve put the most money in here. You know since it’s my studio.” She pointed to the ring light standing tall in front of the kitchen island.
“How did you find all this stuff?” I walked around the room, admiring all the black and green vintage appliances and decor.
“A lot of it was custom-made. Some of it, I did myself. I’m really proud of it.”
“You should be. This is all impressive, Eisley. I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks.” She swept a tendril of her dark lazy curls behind her ear. “I know people don’t really get it, but—”
“Who cares? I love your videos. And if it’s paying for you to live your best spooky life, more power to you.”
“You watch my videos?” Her chestnut-colored eyes lit up.
I nodded and then couldn’t resist teasing her. “The ‘suited for work’ ones.”
“Stop!” She laughed and came over to me to smack my chest again. Her hand lingered on my pectoral. “They aren’t that bad. Mostly a lot of talking.”
“Just talking?” I raised my eyebrows skeptically. I had actually seen her NSFW videos, and they were a lot more risqué than just talking.
“Well, mostly. There are some where I show a little skin.” Her cheeks flushed and she looked away. “But that’s just a small part of it. You wouldn’t believe how much people pay me just to chat.”
“I can imagine, you’ve always been a great linguist.”
She rolled her eyes and finally took her hand off my chest. She reached behind me for her tea kettle and went to the sink to fill it with water.She put it on the stove and turned the burner on.
“You watchWitchful Drinking? I’m hoping to be at a million followers soon.”
“How could I not? I need to be up on all the hot new tea in the tea world. How would I know what was in season and what wasn’t without your streaming channel?”
“Right? That means so much to me that you watch my stuff. I feel like we haven’t really talked much since you’ve been away at school.”
“I think we’ve both been pretty busy.” I leaned on her island, and she walked to the other side and did the same, looking into my eyes.
“Well, now that I have you here all weekend, I want to catch up. What have you been up to?”
I snickered.
Oh, the stories I had for her.
“Not much. Just studying, working out, hanging with the new friends I’ve made.”
“Friends?”
I lowered my gaze, and my glasses slid down the bridge of my nose. I stared until she broke eye contact and looked away. We both knew what she was actually asking.
