Chapter Fourteen
Lissa
Wet sand squished between Lissa’s toes as she strolled along the surf with Ria at her side.
She had chosen the seafood grill for its proximity to her place so she could suggest this intimate moonlit walk home along the beach.
Unfortunately, an uncomfortable silence had settled upon them shortly after leaving the restaurant, making the trip far from romantic.
Though it might actually be an improvement over the epic levels of awkward their dinner conversation had reached.
She’d done her best to act like nothing had happened and just pick up where they left off, but the easy way they’d hung out together at Pride was gone, replaced with something painfully tense.
Short of the blind date a few years back with a girl who thought talking in a baby voice was sexy, Lissa hadn’t had a more uncomfortable meal.
Right around the time Ria mentioned the lack of clouds in the sky, Lissa gave up any hopes she could get the witch to open up to her.
No good date ever involved conversations about the weather.
Now they didn’t even have the meal to make small talk about, and Lissa was about to lose what little of her mind she had left.
Was it possible everything she’d felt from their kiss was one-sided?
She wasn’t always the most astute when it came to women, but she could tell the difference between a pity peck and a heated embrace.
There was no way her panties had been about to burst into flames without sparks flying from both sides.
She snuck a peak at Ria out of the corner of her eye, but she might as well have been staring at a completely different woman.
It wasn’t just the fact that a bikini and body paint had been replaced with a stiff button-down shirt and tight bun, there was more to it.
Ria’s entire vibe toward Lissa changed, becoming more closed off.
Lissa had barely been able to get Ria to look her in the eye all night.
Maybe she deserved the cold shoulder—her intentions weren’t exactly honorable.
Not that they were entirely dishonorable.
Lissa genuinely couldn’t stop thinking about the Elixir Enchantress.
She should be turned off by the stiff librarian persona Ria was projecting, but all she could think about was how it would feel to be the one to loosen that bun and unbutton that blouse, revealing the naughty woman Lissa knew was in there somewhere.
Marketing secrets, Lissa’s brain reminded her. You’re not here for seduction; you’re here to get the information.
Damn, you are zero fun lately, her vagina replied.
But if she only cared about the knowledge in Ria’s head, then why did Lissa hide most of her glasswork in hopes Ria might want to go back to her place?
Why buy eggs to make her famous omelets for breakfast?
And why put on clean sheets? Specifically, the black satiny ones that were slippery and completely impractical but definitely set a certain mood.
Lissa could lie to herself, but the truth was her intentions weren’t honorable. She wanted to be with Ria, and she wanted the marketing plan, despite knowing the deception would break Ria’s heart in the end.
Of course, they would never get to that point the way things were currently going. Lissa hazarded another glance over at Ria, who was staring out at the ocean, her face void of any indicators about what might be going on in her head.
Fuck it.
There was only one way to get through the awkwardness—plow straight through.
“Okay, I can’t do this anymore,” Lissa blurted out, drawing up short.
Ria whipped her head around. “I’m sorry?”
“No, I’m sorry,” Lissa said, running her hands through her hair, likely destroying the artfully gelled side swoop.
“I’m sorry for whatever I did to make things so awkward between us.
I’m sorry I kissed you if you didn’t want to be kissed.
I’m sorry you threw up afterwards. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you how little I care about that.
I’m just altogether sorry, because I had such an incredible time with you at Pride, and somehow I messed things up.
I… I want to know how to fix it. How to get my friend back. ”
Ria blinked at her. “We’re friends?”
That’s what she singled out?
“I’d like to be,” Lissa replied, taking a step closer.
Ria smiled.
“I’d like to be more than that,” Lissa added, taking another step closer and brushing her bare foot against the inside of Ria’s calf.
The witch’s smile dropped, and she turned away from Lissa to resume her staring out at the ocean. “I like you, Lissa,” Ria said, her quiet voice almost drowned out by the crashing waves. “But I don’t think we can be any more than friends.”
“Why not?” Lissa demanded, swinging around in front of Ria to force her attention.
“Because you’re my client.”
“Oh, fuck that spell bullshit,” Lissa spat out. “For all you know the spell was supposed to bring me to you. Maybe you’re my destiny or whatever. We had fun together. I know we did. Are you honestly going to say you felt nothing when I kissed you?”
Ria’s gaze dropped to the sand.
“No, don’t do that,” Lissa commanded, capturing Ria’s chin to force her face back up. “Stop hiding. Look me in the eyes and tell me you felt nothing.”
Ria chewed on her lower lip, and it took everything in Lissa not to rescue that poor abused bit of sensitive skin. She could soothe it with her own lips, or preferably her tongue, if only Ria would stop being so damned stubborn.
“I felt something, okay?” Ria whispered, before yanking her face free. She took a few steps back from the surf and collapsed onto the dry sand.
Lissa crouched down in front of Ria, blocking out the distracting ocean so the witch could focus on nothing but her and this thing between them. “So then why pull away? Was it just embarrassment about the puke? Because I really don’t care.”
“It’s not that,” Ria protested. “Okay, I mean it was kind of that at first, but…” She trailed off and her eyes went glassy for a moment, like she was reciting something in her head.
“But what, Ria?” Lissa demanded, cupping Ria’s face to bring her back to reality. “Talk to me. I know we only met a little over a week ago, but you have to admit there’s something here. Something real that has nothing to do with magic. Stop hiding behind the damned spell and talk to me.”
Ria narrowed her gaze on Lissa’s face. Analyzing. Evaluating. Deciding. “Will you do something for me?” she asked after a long moment.
“Anything,” Lissa replied, shifting into a more comfortable position on the beach.
“Take your clothes off.”
Lissa nearly got whiplash from the 180 her brain pulled trying to process the sudden, drastic change in conversation. That was officially the last thing she expected Ria to say. Was she suggesting they…
Lissa glanced up and down the coast. Only a handful of locals knew about the hidden path that led to the chunk of beach near her place, and like most nights, the stretch of sand was deserted.
She turned back to Ria. “While I’m all for sentences that start with ‘Take your clothes off,’ would you care to share where this is headed? Just so we’re on the same page this time.”
Ria held Lissa’s gaze, the timid creature from their earlier dinner changing into something more like the woman Lissa had started to fall for.
“Come for a swim with me,” Ria urged, sitting up straighter, her confidence on the rise, apparently. “Afterward, we can talk about us. See if you still feel the same way.”
Lissa tossed a glance toward the ocean. “You do know that water isn’t warm, right? Summer or not, this is still the Oregon Coast, not Maui.”
Ria huffed and rolled her eyes. “I grew up here, remember? I know how cold it is. I also know it’s not quite as bad as you’re making it seem.”
Lissa toyed with her lip piercing; the gentle clacking had long ago become her familiar thinking soundtrack. She liked the idea of getting naked with Ria—dear God, did she like it—but her vagina had a very different opinion.
Don’t you dare put me in that water…
Now who’s being zero fun? her brain taunted.
“My place isn’t far,” Lissa offered, gesturing toward the tan cottage a few hundred feet away. “I’d be more than happy to take my clothes off inside. Where it’s warm. Where my nipples won’t turn into icicles. You don’t want to deal with tiny nipple daggers, do you?”
Ria laughed, then climbed to her feet. “Sorry, but it’s either swimming, or I thank you for a lovely, if awkward, evening and we go our separate ways.”
Lissa hesitated, her body warring between desire and common sense.
Ria unhooked the top button of her blouse, and that was all Lissa needed to jump to her feet and begin shucking off her only pair of nice black pants.
“How long do I have to stay in there,” she asked, pulling her lacy purple tank top over her head while ignoring the goose bumps popping up along her arms.
Ria paused with her skirt halfway down her thighs. “I’m not sure,” she said after a second. “Not long. I’ll let you know.”
Strange, but okay. Lissa could work with the whole sexy/strange combo. It kept things interesting at least, and Ria didn’t even qualify as the weirdest girl Lissa had ever dated.
Not dating, her brain reminded her. You’re only indulging this little request to put her in a better mood.
Oh, please, her heart replied. We’d do anything she asked just to see her smile.
Both of you shut the hell up, her vagina shouted once Ria started unhooking her bra. I’m missing the show.
Lissa stumbled as the thin bit of fabric that once covered Ria’s breasts fell to the ground. She hit the sand hard, pants tangled around her ankles.
Ria leaned over her and grinned. “I don’t think I’ve ever knocked anyone off their feet before.”
“I find that hard to believe,” Lissa replied, ripping the damned pants off and climbing back to her feet.
She couldn’t stop her gaze from settling on Ria’s chest. Her tiny rainbow bra at Pride had left little to the imagination, but it still wasn’t the same as the reality.
Another flush of heat pulsed between her thighs.
No, not pulsed. Pounded was more accurate.
Like the damned drummer from AC/DC was banging out “Highway to Hell” between her legs.
Ria gave Lissa a wink, then turned toward the ocean, slipping her pink panties off and leaving them just shy of where the surf came in. She walked straight into the oncoming waves, only turning around once the water passed her waist.
“Tease,” Lissa muttered, pulling off her own bra that was considerably larger than the scraps Ria wore.
She hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her boy shorts underwear, suddenly grateful she’d waxed that afternoon.
Ria might have been able to play it coy and dash into the water with a bit of modesty, but there was no hiding for Lissa.
She took in a deep inhale, glanced around one last time to confirm they were still alone, then dropped her underwear and kicked them off to land next to Ria’s. “The things I do for love,” she muttered.
Lust, her brain and vagina both corrected at the same time. Her heart remained oddly quiet on the subject, but she decided that was something to investigate another time.
Bracing herself, Lissa strode confidently toward the ocean and the incredibly beautiful—incredibly naked—woman waiting for her.