Chapter 25 Magic 101
Everett
That shower was torture. The minute she walked out of the bathroom, I slammed the water to freezing to take care of the raging hard-on I had.
I don’t know what I was thinking when I offered to touch her naked body like that.
It took all of my restraint not to take it further, but I know she has to start seeing me as more.
For me to have a real chance with her, I have to show her the man I really am.
Walking back out into the living room, I find Claire sitting on the couch with her knees tucked underneath her. Her gaze quickly shifts to me and then diverts to somewhere else in the room.
“You good?”
Sitting up slightly, she runs her hands down her face. “I think we need to talk and put some guidelines in place,” she says.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, the town thinks we’re married, and that shower was confu—that shower was interesting.
And I’ll be honest, I don’t really know how to act around you here.
On the one hand, I like flirting with you and kissing you and touching you, but then on the other, I know we need to focus on getting home. I don’t know what we’re doing.”
Her brow knits together as she talks, and I smile at how cute she is when she’s a little flustered.
“If we were in New York, what would you want to do?”
“That’s not a fair question because this isn’t New York and we’re both wearing rings on our left hands.”
I stare at her, contemplating what I want to say. If she’s saying she thinks we should give us a real chance, then I’m in. Sign me up. But, if she’s setting me up to tell me she thinks we can’t have more moments like we just did, I don’t want any part of that plan at all.
“Four years ago, what happened after I walked away?” I ask, sitting next to her.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Her head tilts to the side, and a memory seems to play behind her eyes.
“I think it has everything to do with what you’re asking me.”
“I don’t know. I focused on dance and my family.”
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Fine, I’ll go first. I considered turning around and asking you out on a real date, but I knew that’s not what you wanted, and I was leaving, so I didn’t. I’ve regretted that decision every day since.”
“Oh.” Her mouth falls open. “Why?”
“Because nothing has ever been like it was when we were together.”
“We hated each other back then,” she argues.
I shake my head and chuckle. “No, you hated me. I…well…I definitely didn’t hate you.”
Her mouth parts, and her eyes get a little glossy.
“I didn’t hate you,” she says quietly. “You were, and some might argue still are, mildly infuriating and way too cocky for your own good, but I didn’t hate you back then.”
She hesitates for a second, and my heart expands behind my ribcage.
“So, what happened after I walked away?” I push.
She shakes her head.
“Claire, you can tell me. I can handle it.”
“I cried,” she admits, her eyes finding mine.
“You cried?”
“Yes, I closed the door behind you, and then I cried for the rest of the night while I ate a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream and watched 10 Things I Hate About You.”
“Why?”
She leans against the back of the couch. “I don’t know…because at some point it started feeling like more than hook-ups, and I was sad you were leaving.”
“I’m sorry I left.”
“It was a long time ago.” Her mouth twists and her shoulders rise slightly.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t know. I was too proud.
Too focused on dance, and you were moving to Texas.
Plus, I was under the impression you were only interested in being fuck buddies.
It seemed like a surefire way to be disappointed, and I didn’t think my heart could take it. I already had to say goodbye.”
I press my lips together, trying to hide the smile that’s threatening to break free.
“If I had known, I would—”
“You would’ve what? No. You were traded halfway across the country. It wasn’t like you could’ve just stayed. You know as much as I do that long distance wouldn’t have worked, and I was never going to give up living in New York, and you were never going to give up your hockey career to stay there.”
“No, I guess not.”
“Plus, I vividly remember telling you to call if you were ever back in the city, and you didn’t.”
I wince at her words, guilt climbing up my throat and catching my breath.
“I almost did, but when I found you on social media, you looked really happy, and I don’t know. I figured you’d met someone new, and because of what we used to be, I was scared I’d be rejected too.”
“You? Scared?”
“I don’t know. I told you I struggle with expressing my emotions.”
“Hmm,” she hums. “So, what does all this mean? I know we’ve kind of been playing along with this whole marriage thing, but—”
“I don’t think we have to think too hard about it. The kiss earlier felt right, so I did it. The shower felt right, so I offered. If something feels forced, we don’t have to do it.”
“But do we need rules or something? Parameters?”
I chuckle.
“Nah, rules didn’t really work before. I think we just give into the magic and see what happens.”
She bursts out laughing, covering her mouth with her hands.
Moving closer to her, I pull her into me, hugging her tight. Her body seems to relax a bit in my embrace, and I kiss the top of her head. “You ready to look through these books?”
“Yeah, let’s do it.” She pulls back, and I stand, walking across the living room to where the brown paperback sits.
Picking it up, I walk it back over to the coffee table.
“Do you want some wine?” she asks, standing. “I think this might be easier if I had some.”
“That sounds good.” She disappears into the kitchen, and I pull out Magic 101 For The Modern Witch.
“What are we looking for?” I call, skimming the table of contents.
“I don’t know. Anything that looks familiar.”
Claire walks out with two glasses and hands one to me. Joining me on the couch, she picks up one of the history books and starts flipping through the pages. We sit in silence for a few moments, sipping our wine and reading.
“Looks like Sugarplum Park has quite the history in mining rare gems.” She flips the book toward me, showing me a chapter titled “The Great Gemstone Rush.”
“Didn’t you say Stella handed you a crystal in the cab?” I ask, and she turns it back around and continues to read.
“Yeah, Cami said it was called apatite. It’s the blue stone I was looking at this morning. Why?”
“Crystals and gems are the same thing, right?”
“Maybe.”
Turning the pages, I stop at the section on crystals and begin to read.
“This says apatite can help people manifest things and reveal truths,” I say, looking up at Claire.
“Mmhmm,” she says, not looking up from her book. “Did you not hear Cami say that earlier?”
The wheels begin to spin in my head, and she slowly looks up at me as she sips from her glass. “You said you told Stella you wondered what it would be like to get a second chance with me while holding it.”
“Did I?” Her eyes shift back down to her book. I can’t believe I hadn’t put it together before.
“So, that would mean…the crystal made you tell the truth, and by saying all that, you manifested being here married to me.”
“Maybe.”
“No, not maybe. That’s definitely what happened.” A wide grin erupts across my face.
“Stop looking at me like that.” She shakes her head. “I knew it. I knew I’d never hear the end of it if you put that together.”
She sips her wine, and my heart blooms in my chest.
“What does that being the truth have to do with getting us home?”
“Because I think the crystals are the answer.”
“What?”
“Think about it. Stella gave you a crystal that brought us here. When I told Ginger you wanted to be an Etsy witch…” She lets out a little snort, causing me to chuckle too. “Stop, I think I’m onto something.”
“Sorry, go ahead.”
“Ginger said it sounded like you had been hanging around Cami too much. Cami sells crystals, and the coffee shop is named Citrine Brews. Isn’t that one of the crystals she tried to sell us?”
“Oh, my god.” Claire squeals, grabbing my arm. “And she and Stella said the same thing about giving into the magic.”
“Right.” I nod. My eyes find her hand, and she pulls it away. “Stella also said to give into the spirit of the town, and if its history is rooted in mining gemstones, then maybe…”
“Holy shit, you’re right.”
“This says that they all have different purposes, so what if there’s one that could get us home?”
“Okay, but which one?”
“I’m not sure.”
Claire sets the books she’s holding down and moves closer to me, so she can read what I’m reading.
“Maybe it’s the apatite crystal,” I suggest.
“That doesn’t make sense though. I have one of those in my purse. If it would send us home, wouldn’t we already be back?”
“Not necessarily. You stopped telling Stella the truth when you put it down, right?”
She nods.
“So maybe we have to hold it and tell it what we want. Manifest getting back to New York, if you will.”
She blinks at me.
“Like a wish?”
“It seems like it’s worth a shot. Doesn’t it?”
She jumps off the couch and moves into the bedroom.
We finally have a lead. My pulse begins to climb as I wait for her return, and I take a few large sips of my wine. If she has this crystal, we could be home by morning. This whole thing could be over, and instead of focusing on getting home, we could focus on one another.
She walks back into the living room with her face turned downward and her shoulders slouched.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s not here,” she says, lifting the bag she’s holding.
“No?”
She digs in her purse. “I dropped my purse at the arena before the game. Maybe it fell out there?” She sits back on the couch and picks up her wine, taking a long sip. “Fuck, another dead end.”
“I don’t think so.”
“No?” Her eyes find mine. “If I don’t have the crystal, then I don’t think it’s how we got here.”
“I disagree.” I scoot a little closer to her and set my glass down. “What if your admission about being madly in love with me while you were in the cab—”
“That’s not what I said in the cab.”
“That was the gist.”
She laughs. “Do you have a point?”
“What if you holding it in the cab is what started all of this, and now we just need to find another one to end it?”
She rubs the side of her hand across her forehead. “I think it could be worth a try.”
“Me too. Tomorrow we’ll go to Citrine Brews and buy a crystal.”
“Yeah, okay.” She nods, tears welling in her eyes. “That sounds good.”
“Why are you crying?”
“It just feels like we might actually have a chance of getting back for the first time since we got here.”
Taking her wine, I set it down and pull her into me.
Fuck, I really hope I’m right.