Page 29 of Poet & Protector

A key. I found an old brass key. Its head was ornately decorated with scrollwork and flowers. Perfect…Except, maybe not. The key was a good find. Too good. The smart move would be to ignore the key and look for something less interesting. It was the only way to make sure I lost the bet and removed any chance of Mason and I kissing.

But my rational brain had taken the day off because instead of leaving the key in the dirt I shifted into human form, grabbed it, and jumped up.

“Hell, yes!”

At the same moment I heard Mason shout from the opposite corner of the garden. “I win!”

We stared at each other then crossed the space that separated us, meeting in front of the reflecting pool.

Mason had one hand behind his back, hiding whatever he’d found. “You first.”

I showed him the large brass key.

“Huh.” He leaned forward and inspected the key in my open palm. “That’s very cool.”

His disappointed tone made me certain I was the winner and my heart tried to launch itself out of my chest. I didn’t know if I could go through with the bet. Kissing Mason was the worst kind of idea. It would be humiliating…or not. Both possibilities unnerved me.

“What did you find?” I asked, waiting for him to seal our fate.

He grinned and pulled his hand from behind his back.

I stared in disbelief at the object he held out me. “You found a snow globe?!”

It was small, easily fitting into his palm. The transparent sphere was smudged but inside I could see a miniature sign proclaiming, “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas!”

It was definitely a contender for best object. But so was my key.

My pulse was rapid firing again and I tried to blank my mind, unwilling to even consider how I really felt about winning or losing this bet.

“I mean, it’s cool, but it is a plastic one,” Mason said. “It would be better if it was glass. Plus, the plastic is cracked and the liquid leaked out. My snow globe doesn’t snow anymore. Your key is prettier. And it’s got the whole mysterious antique thing going on. It might be haunted.”

“Yours is pretty solid retro camp,” I countered, alarmed he might be about to hand me the win. “And it’s from Las Vegas. It’s probably cursed.”

He shrugged. “True. So?”

“I’m willing to call it a tie if you are.”

I couldn’t argue my key was any better than his snow globe and a tie was the safest decision for both of us. We saved face and we didn’t have to revisit my reckless wager.

“I hate ties,” Mason grumbled. “But you’re right, it’s definitely a tie. So, what do we do? There’s no winner.”

I thought about it while my heartbeat settled down. “How about this? We’re each responsible for our class write-up of the objects we found. I’ll do the rose bush and the key. You do the pool and the snow globe. Since we did four instead of three, we can lobby Ms. Castillo to give us the extra credit even though it wasn’t exactly what she asked for.”

“That’s a good idea,” he said. “Fair, efficient, with just a hint of manipulation as a fun twist.”

“Mason.” I huffed out a breath. He was so ridiculous.

“I hate to tell you this, Nev.” He stepped toward me. “But you’re smiling again.”

The air suddenly felt a few degrees warmer.

I was smiling and I should have left it alone, but once again my mouth had other ideas and ditched all reasonable replies.

“Whatever. You’re smiling, too, and I know it’s because you’re off the hook and don’t have to kiss me.”

“No, it’s not!” Mason objected, his brows drawing together.

“Oh, so you wanted to lose?” I taunted. Goddamit, why couldn’t I let this go? “For someone who claims to hate ties you agreed to ours very quickly.”