Chapter Twenty-One
Ria
“Shit,” Jason cried, setting his bucket down and rushing over to Ria. “Are you okay? I swear Rosy has never done that before.”
Ria wiped her face and glanced over to the smallest sea lion barking loudly at her.
“Um, what exactly happened?” she asked, taking the rag Jason pulled from his pocket and offered to her.
“It was the damnedest thing,” he said, shaking his head.
“She caught the fish between her teeth and whipped it straight at you. Never seen anything like it, and I’ve been working here for almost ten years.
” Jason looked between Ria and Rosy the sea lion who turned her back on them to dive under the water.
“It’s okay,” Ria replied, handing the rag back once the bulk of the fish slime was off her face.
The smell would take a bit longer to dissipate, but it wasn’t like she was going to be kissing Lissa again anytime soon.
Her mouth was closed for business until the spell was lifted.
At this point, if they slept together, they might jumpstart the apocalypse.
“Hey,” Lissa murmured, cupping Ria’s face in her hands. “Are you all right?”
There was so much concern and tenderness in Lissa’s expression that Ria was afraid she might attempt a comfort kiss.
Backing out of Lissa’s grasp, Ria let out a self-deprecating laugh.
“Yes. Seriously, I’m fine. I’m sure it was my fault.
This is what I get for wearing bright yellow,” she gestured to her tank top that now sported an unfortunate fish gut stain over her right boob. “Maybe they don’t like neon colors.”
“That is actually true,” Jason chimed in as he tossed the last of the fish to the sea lions. “They don’t love bright things in their environment. Rosy typically doesn’t have strong reactions though, but maybe she’s not feeling well. We’ll get her scheduled for a diagnostic just to be safe.”
He picked up the empty bucket and nodded toward the door for them to exit back into the prep room.
A pang of guilt shot through Ria that a poor sea lion might be poked and prodded all because of her magic misstep. “Oh, no, don’t do that,” she protested. “Seriously, it was completely my fault. I, uh, have that effect on animals sometimes.”
Jason eyed her warily, then shrugged. “I’ll let the pinniped manager know. She’s the one who will ultimately make the final call. Sorry your experience was ruined.”
“No, not ruined at all,” Ria replied, pasting on her most appreciative expression, despite her inner turmoil. “Thank you so much for letting us do this.”
“No prob,” he said, dropping the fish bucket in the sink. “You’ll tell Daria about this?” he asked Lissa. “Put in a good word for me?”
Lissa patted Jason on the shoulder. “I’ll do my best, buddy, but you know Daria. That girl cannot be tamed.”
“I know,” Jason replied, a dreamy look on his face. “A guy’s gotta try though, right?”
“Sure, dude. Fight the good fight.” Lissa paused, then added, “Maybe buy her some scones from Mixie’s up in Seacliff. She loves those things.”
Jason nodded, giving Lissa a bright smile, then guided them back toward the exit.
Stepping out into the intense sun, Lissa whirled on Ria. “Okay, I know the Rosy thing was a wild coincidence, and I know what you are about to say but—”
“Stop,” Ria interjected, holding up a hand.
“I don’t want to argue with you. You’ve made it clear you wouldn’t believe a spell was at work even if a docile sea lion vengefully chucked a fish at your face.
Although, I do believe in it so I’m not sure why I was the one who took that hit, but I digress.
” Ria took a deep breath and grabbed hold of Lissa’s hands, needing to get out what she’d come there to say.
“I like you Lissa, but we can’t keep on like this. I need to confess something.”
Lissa’s eyebrows shot up, and she blinked a couple times. “You need to confess something?”
“I do,” Ria replied. She took a deep breath, and then her words rushed out.
“I had an ulterior motive for agreeing to come here today. I don’t actually want to be friends.
I can’t be friends with someone as amazing as you, and I lied when I said it was because I don’t trust you after being cheated on.
I do trust you, Lissa, and I know you would never hurt me.
The only reason I’ve pulled away is because of the spell, but I think there’s a way past that.
The truth is I agreed to meet you because I wanted to ask you to do something for me.
Or, with me, I guess. Something you aren’t going to like. ”
Lissa had a weird, twisted look on her face Ria couldn’t decipher.
“Okaaay,” Lissa said after a long second.
“Interesting plot twist, but for now please continue. You know I’ll do just about anything for you, Ria.
Except going nighttime skinny-dipping again.
Pretty sure I’m still finding ice cubes in my vagina from that one. ”
Shaking her head, Ria suppressed a giggle at the visual. “No, nothing like that. I can guarantee you will be warm for this.”
Lissa took a step forward, closing the gap between them. “Then whatever it is, my answer is yes. If it will make you feel comfortable being with me, then yes. I’m in.”
Ria analyzed Lissa’s face. “Really? You don’t even want to know what I’m asking yet?”
“Of course I want to know, but Ria, I care about you more than you realize. Not to mention I sort of owe you a little blind faith and trust.”
Ria frowned. Why would Lissa owe her anything? Ria was the one who screwed up the poor woman’s life with her witchy whoopsie. Maybe the spell was stronger than she realized if Lissa was so smitten she felt like she was to blame for everything. All the more reason to get it lifted and fast.
“Okay,” Ria said, pulling out her phone. “I’m going to text you an address. Meet me there, out front, at ten a.m. tomorrow, and we’ll get this whole situation fixed.” Ria hit Send on the message and watched as Lissa pulled out her own phone.
Lissa scanned the text. “I don’t recognize this address. Is this someone’s home?”
“Yeah,” Ria replied. “It belongs to…a friend.”
Lissa tucked her phone into her back pocket. “In that case, I’ll be there. There are still some things we need to talk about, but if this is what you need from me to believe that my feelings are real, then I’m in. I’ll do whatever it takes so we can be together.”
“Ichanged my mind,” Lissa told Ria the following morning as they stood outside Cordelia’s home.
Putting her hands on her hips, Ria gave Lissa a dubious look. “What happened to ‘whatever it takes’? Come on, this is way less painful than skinny-dipping.”
Lissa frowned at the small cottage as the sounds of laughter wafted through an open window. “Honestly, I’d probably rather take my chances with the ocean.”
“What’s so bad about a roomful of witches?” Ria asked, eyes narrowing.
“Oh, nothing,” Lissa replied, backtracking so fast Ria half expected her to trip.
“Nothing wrong at all if you happen to be a witch. Which I am not. It just feels… I don’t know.
Wrong, I guess? You all believe in this; it’s your religion.
Would you feel comfortable going into a Hindu temple and taking part in a puja? ”
Ria wrinkled her brow. “I guess that would feel a little awkward. Maybe even disrespectful. But it’s not the same.”
Lissa raised an eyebrow. “How so?”
“You won’t actually be doing anything. We only need you to be here. You can lie on the floor and take a nap if that would make you happy so long as you do it surrounded by a coven of witches.”
Lissa sighed. “I guess that’s a little less awkward.
Definitely not the weirdest thing I’ve done.
Remind me to tell you about the time Daria and I attended the Monkey Buffet Festival in Thailand.
” Ria’s face paled and Lissa chuckled. “Don’t worry.
They don’t eat the monkeys or anything. I think you’d actually enjoy it. ”
Ria chewed on her lip for a second. “In that case, I’ll make you a deal. If you take part in this ritual, then I’ll visit Thailand with you and dine with the monkeys.” Ria blushed then added, “I mean, if you still want to even be around me.”
Lissa draped an arm over Ria’s shoulders. “This ritual isn’t going to change a single thing.” She paused, then added, “At least not for me.”
The phrasing seemed a bit odd, given Lissa was the only one whose emotions were currently altered, but Ria just smiled and guided her toward the front door.
“I’d like to apologize in advance for the coven.
Individually, they are some of the most wonderful women you’ve ever met, but all together they can feel like… a lot.”
Lissa grimaced slightly and twined her fingers through Ria’s. “Unless you have a room full of Daria’s in there, I think I can handle it. They aren’t going to hate me for not believing in witchcraft are they?”
Ria stumbled on the first step, but Lissa’s grip on her hand kept her from nose-diving onto the porch.
She hadn’t even considered that. Would the witches be okay with Lissa?
When asking for their help, she hadn’t exactly advertised that Lissa was a nonbeliever.
Ria herself wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about that rather important detail, given they had met because Lissa wanted a spell done.
She kept meaning to ask Lissa why she reached out if she was so firmly anti-magic.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Ria said. She raised her hand to knock when the door swung wide, and Cordelia stood on the other side grinning at them.
“We were wondering how long you were going to stand out here. We were about to start placing bets on whether you’d chicken out or not.”
The bubbly witch gestured for them to enter, and Ria squeezed Lissa’s hand tighter as she pulled her inside. If she had any idea what Ria went through to get the witches to agree to this, she might be a little less hesitant to participate, but Ria wasn’t about to guilt her into agreeing.