“I know,” I say with a chuckle.
After finishing off the cotton candy, he leads me to a far corner. “I need to use the little turtle’s room.” I chuckle and let him go to the restroom. The date is winding down, but a huge part of me wants to take him to my room. Before I can contemplate how I’m going to get this shifter stud in my bed, a curious sight catches my eye.
Compelled by an unseen force, I walk into the neighboring tent. It’s a kitschy, stereotypical fortune-teller’s booth, but the smoke assaults my nose. For some reason, I feel like I’m supposed to talk to whoever is here. My roommate is an actual divination witch, so why am I bothering with someone who’s presumably a fraud, a literal carnival act?
“Welcome, my child.” A woman saunters in from behind a curtain, holding a smoking pipe. She appears to be of Chinese descent, and part of her hair is silver. “Have a seat, and I’ll doyour tarot.” She sits down, and I notice the cards sprawled about the purple table. “If you dare.”
I shrug, still unsure why I’m here. The puffs of smoke and costume jewelry should make me not take this seriously. Yet, for some reason, my instinct is telling me to at least hear her out. It’s all just for fun, right?
After taking a seat, she points at the fan of cards. I point to one, and she turns it over. “Ah, the lovers.” My mind immediately goes to Gordy and his sexy body, and the woman gazes at me. Can this pipe-smoking woman read minds?
“Your match, your love, is one of great power.” She has no idea how right she is. Or does she?
“Do one more,” she instructs. I pick a card, and she turns it over. Her demeanor changes when she sees it. “The tower,” she mutters.
Why am I suddenly freaked out? She’s a carnival act, for cauldron’s sake. But I preferred when she was coyly addressing my love life.
“Wh…what?” I ask.
“You might face serious danger soon.” What? She gazes at me and puts her pipe down. “Keep your ears open, young one. Listen with all the senses you can. Only then can you find your radiant ruby light.”
My heart beats faster at her serious tone. How did she know about my dreams of a warm, red glow? Is she a genuine witch? I don’t dare to stay and find out. With a simple nod, I get up and leave the tent, and head for the bathrooms. I need to find Gordy and move on with the rest of my date.
It was just a corny carnival act. It was, at best, a coincidence. It was nothing to take seriously. I won’t dwell on pipe-smoking women who think they can do tarot.
***
An hour later, I’m down the road from Boysen House. I don’t want to introduce Gordy to my aunt and my coven as the guy I’m dating. They already know him as the big mage I’m low-key obsessed with, which is a fair assessment. I just don’t want a house full of nosey witches in my business. Especially since Gordy and I haven’t taken things to the next level. Does he want that?
I gaze at him in the dark. His silhouette is divine, and I hate that he’s forced to wear a coat nearly all the time. What I wouldn’t give to take a closer look at his shell and sexy tail. It’s the end of my first genuine date with a guy I like, and a million thoughts buzz in my brain, most of them lust-filled. After all, I have my own room…
Gordy clears his throat and rubs his hands on his thighs. “Well. Um, I had a great time tonight. I don’t suppose there’s any chance you can drive me across town to my place, is there?”
My shoulders sag. “Right.”
“Unless, of course, you don’t want the night to end just yet.”
That simple sentence has my cock perking up. I shake my head rapidly, and he turns to me in the dark. “I could, like, come over and play video games with you.”
Video games? Not ideal, but it gets him in my room, and a boy’s gotta start somewhere. “Okay,” I reply.
“But I don’t think I wanna see the rest of the Boysen witches, right now.”
I frown, but he continues, “Not that I’m ashamed, it’s just…it’s all so new.”
On instinct, I lean over and bring his face in. Our mouths meet, and it’s so quiet, so perfect, so pure. It’s a sweet kiss to seal a date that I hope isn’t ending soon. After massaging his mouth with mine, I pull back. “We…can…take it slow.”
He gazes at me with heat and replies, “How about this? You go inside, and I sneak in through your window so we can hangout some more. Play video games all night until you kick me out.”
Never. Stay with me indefinitely, Gordy Lee. “Good plan,” I whisper. With a chuckle, he gets out of the seat, a turtle sneaking off into the night.
Several minutes and one fast shower later, I’m lounging on my bed texting Gordy. I don’t want him to wait too long, but he insisted I finish my nighttime routine before he sneaks in. I’ve never had a boy in my room before. Then again, no one’s wanted me the way Gordy does. All these first times at the ripe old age of twenty-five, and I’m hoping to make more tonight.
After he confirms he’s coming over, I take a quick moment to clean up my room. My bed needs to look inviting. I stack all my controllers and games onto my one chair and push it underneath my desk. If I set the room right, then Gordy will have to realize what kind of activity I want to end my date. I swiftly dash to lock my door, hoping the girls are all asleep at this hour.
When I hear a light rapping on my window, my heart skips a beat.
I open the window and beam at Gordy. “I’ll leap in,” he says with a whisper. After moving out of the way, he does exactly that, and now I have this big turtle stud in my room.
