Chapter 34
J ericho
A few days of total warmth is not something I know how to handle. A woman like Nora being all comfortable around me is not something I can handle either. I can deal with bitchiness, cold shoulders, or anything else I won’t catch feelings from.
I can deal with hot sex. But warmth is not on my know-how list.
We haven’t kissed since that evening when her douchebag ex showed up.
I haven’t even attempted to touch her. And not because I don’t want to.
I just want to savor this new sensation in the pit of my stomach—anticipation of something good.
Feels like I’m purposely starving myself before a delicious meal.
I’ve been finding excuses to come to her door, like asking for sugar or salt, which is ridiculous and we all know it.
Especially Moon. That old witch knows a lot, way more than she lets on.
Every time she opens the door with narrowed eyes, she’s scanning my brain for my intentions with her granddaughter.
She keeps calling me Steve. I tried reminding her of my actual name, but she seems to forget it instantly. She doesn’t forget to grill me with her eyes though, so I’m getting the feeling that she might not have any memory issues after all—she seems too sharp for that.
One of these days, I get a call from city hall with a summons.
Not knowing if it’s for good or bad, I show up prepared for either.
Turns out, their promise of approving that electrical permit in exchange for my snow-removal services was real, and I walk out of the building with a signed-off paper in my hands.
I bet Dick’s cousin didn’t feel pleasure signing it, so this paper feels extra special.
It will be a different story to close it when the work is complete, but that can take months or even years. And seeing as I’m not planning on selling the house anytime soon, I can deal with that.
During Nora’s days off, which are rare, she comes to my house with her witch brew coffee where I’m already waiting for her with bacon and eggs so we can share breakfast. And I go to the diner when she’s working.
Karina and Roman greet me like I’m a part of the diner’s entourage at this point, and it’s surprisingly comforting.
In the evenings, she’s been bringing colorful crystals to my house and placing them in odd spots, claiming they create a protective shield .
At this rate, soon I won’t have any unprotected surfaces, but I don’t dare move them.
She touches one black crystal she placed on the accent table by the door every time she walks in—like some kind of ritual.
As promised, she also did a sage-burning ritual to cleanse the house of the energies of its past inhabitants.
She said all the people who’ve lived here before me were good but very troubled, and she didn’t want the bad energy to rub off on me.
I sneezed for days after she stunk the hell out of my living room, but I kept my mouth shut with a smile placed firmly on my face.
All that witchy stuff seems to make her more comfortable and happy around me, and seeing her happy gives me the endorphins I lack in my life, so I’ll happily deal with them. I think if she started drawing pentagrams on my floor and performing sacrifices, I’d still let her.
We spend hours together like that, and yet we don’t kiss.
I can’t go on like this for long though; I don’t want her to get the wrong idea that I’ve friend-zoned her. I do want to be her friend, but I wish to be so much more for her.
The only problem is that I don’t know what I’m doing.
Despite what she might think, I have zero experience when it comes to relationships.
I had a girlfriend in high school and then one in college, and that’s about it.
After that, life put me on a fucking hiatus, switching to a different kind of being fucked over.
So now I’m already halfway across our yards toward Nora’s house, quickly losing confidence with every step as I’m getting closer because I have no clue how to be normal.
When I’m standing on her porch with two coffees in hand and a made-up excuse tumbling around my head like laundry in a broken machine, I’m ready to bolt back to the security of my house and wait for her to come to my place for our regular friend-zoned routine.
She opens the door in fuzzy socks, a plush pink sweatsuit, and a messy ponytail of fire, and just like that, I forget every single excuse I came up with for coming over here.
When I open my mouth to talk, a warm smile appears on her beautiful face making her look so delicious that all I can do is swallow saliva and pray it won’t choke me.
When I don’t say anything for a while, she asks in a sleepy voice, “You okay? ”
This is a valid question because I never bring her coffee in the morning in order to avoid Moon’s grilling, and usually I wait for Nora to come to me.
“Yeah,” I answer. “Just—uh. Thought I’d head into town. Got some errands to run. Figured if you weren’t doing anything, you know.”
She raises one brow, arms crossed. “I don’t.”
She’s not making it easy, enjoying my turmoil judging by her slightly twitching lips.
I clear my throat. “You know, like running errands.”
“What about running errands?” she echoes, biting the inside of her cheek.
“Yeah. Do you want to do that?”
At that, she starts laughing. I’d join her too if I wasn’t so mortified. “Jericho, are you asking me on a date?”
I blink. “No.”
She stares.
I swallow. “Sort of.”
She blows a loud breath out, trying to stop laughing. “You could have just said that.”
“Yeah.” That’s all I can manage.
“Yeah.” She’s chewing on the inside of her cheek, looking ready to burst out laughing again. “I’ve got a couple hours before I need to be at the diner,” she says, grabbing her jacket and boots. “Let’s go do your errands .”
After she’s donned her big puffy jacket and boots, she walks to my truck and climbs into the passenger side without waiting for my help.
I mean, she’s got a truck of her own and I’m sure she’s fine getting in and out of it, but I was hoping for this moment to get my hands on her.
Because I fuckin’ miss holding her in my arms.
When I get inside the truck, Nora has already switched the radio station to something country. With one leg propped on the seat, she taps her fingers on her knee, matching the music’s rhythm .
I’m holding the wheel with both hands like I just got my driving license. I don’t know what to say next, while Nora doesn’t seem to care. Am I putting too much thought into it? Do people behave this well on a date? Is this a date?
When I decided to ask her to come with me, I didn’t actually think it through. What sort of errands am I running?
I notice the hardware store to our right and quickly turn the wheel to the curb. Nora glances at me from under her lashes. “Need something to hammer?”
I choke on the words I was about to say and start coughing. My mind slips so easily into the gutter around her now, and her making this type of comment isn’t helping the situation. She might have meant it as an innocent question, but my brain hasn’t gotten the memo.
“Something like that,” I croak, unbuckling my seatbelt.
“All right,” she says, following my action. “Let’s get you some nails. I’m sure you’ve got a hammer of your own.”
A quick glance in her direction tells me she’s totally messing with me.
“Nora,” I growl, throwing my head back on the seat.
“Yes, Jericho.” Her voice is barely able to hide laughter.
I turn to her. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” She blinks innocently.
“You know what.”
“Don’t talk to you about your hammer?” Her voice gives way at the end, and she hides her smile behind her hand.
With a loud groan, I put my seatbelt back on.
“Changed your mind about the nails?” Her teeth show up between her lips. “Got your own after all?”
My hand shoots up and lands on her thigh. “Don’t,” I growl, making her laugh at my misery. The witch knows exactly what she’s doing.
“Why?” she giggles now. “It’s so fun to see your neck turn red.”
Shooting her a glare, I start the engine and take off toward the diner.
Coming to her like that without a plan was a bad idea, and the diner is a safe place.
People there will lighten my embarrassment by making some of their own.
I’m sure someone will end up causing some sort of drama.
And this time I hope it won’t be about me.