Chapter 5
Chapter Five
“Ahh, to what do I owe the pleasure of having such beauties join me for an evening?”
I rolled my eyes at Beau but leaned over the bar and smacked a kiss loudly on his cheek.
Beau was one of our best friends and completed our little trio.
We were the perfect foil for each other, Beau with his steadfast manner and dry wit, Luna with her kind heart and on point observations, and me…
well, let’s just say that I added a little extra flavor to the group – if you can believe that a group made up of a psychic, a witch, and a gay guy needed any more flavor.
“We’re just here for food, not drinks,” Luna said pointedly as she pulled up a barstool. I rolled my eyes and shook my head slightly at Beau, indicating that he could ignore that particular order.
Lucky’s Tiki Bar was the hot spot in a town that consisted of one main street winding along a rocky stretch of beach.
Space was at a premium here and Fins, the local general store, jockeyed for position with the ice cream parlor and the nail salon.
Beau had purchased Lucky’s just out of high school with the help of an inheritance and had transformed it into the best restaurant in town with a not-so-secret after-hours gay club in the basement.
Recently he’d acquired a new space at the other end of the strip, which he planned to transform into one of Tequila Key’s only upscale restaurants.
“We weren’t sure if you’d be here or at the new restaurant,” I said as I sat down, happy that Beau still saved us our regular spots at the long circular wooden bar. The restaurant was packed, and a line of people waiting to eat straggled out the door.
“We’re slammed this weekend so I need to be here. Construction is coming along nicely though,” Beau said as he made our drinks behind the bar. When Luna was looking at her phone, Beau poured a healthy dose of rum into my mojito and I gave him a quick smile.
“We can’t wait to come check it out,” Luna said.
“Yeah, and doesn’t your investor need to be here checking things out more often?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at Beau.
“You need to cut that man some slack. He’s very busy, you know,” Beau said, admonishing me for being annoyed that Cash hadn’t been back to Tequila Key but once since he’d left for Miami weeks ago.
“Excuse me? I am also a very busy person, I’d like to add,” I sniffed at Beau and sucked rum-soaked mojito through my straw.
“Busy being a pain in my ass,” Beau said sweetly before turning to help a customer at the other end of the bar.
“Yeah, like I’m a pain in the ass,” I scoffed, then turned to Luna. “I’m not a pain in the ass, am I?”
“Yes, but you’re our pain in the ass,” Luna said smoothly, studying the menu. “I think I’ll go with the blackened tilapia.”
Of course she would. My thoughts of a cheeseburger and fries were replaced with the sadness that was the salad menu.
“Sounds great. I was just going to get a garden salad,” I said nonchalantly, flipping the menu over while Luna laughed at me.
“Why don’t you get a bowl of chowder and a side salad? Something heavy and something light?”
“Good call.” I reminded myself that I was about to be prancing around naked on a beach in a very short time. One less burger tonight was not going to do much for the extra pounds that would be bouncing around on the beach later, but women have a way of deluding themselves about these things.
I found myself reaching for my mojito again.
What’s one to take the edge off?
“You need to not let those insecurities of yours kick in. Cash really does like you,” Luna observed.
“Listen, I can’t help if I’m weirded out by Cash not being around. He was all full court press and then poof! I’ve seen him once since then.”
“And how was that one time when you did see him again?”
My thoughts flashed to a tangle of limbs in my sheets, my body glistening with sweat while I gasped for air and Hank hid downstairs.
“I suppose it went well,” I admitted. Luna smacked her forehead.
“The man leaves a very pressing situation in Miami, spends forty minutes checking on Beau’s restaurant – one in which he’s invested heavily, mind you – and does not pass go until he’s wrapped around you for the rest of the night.
I wouldn’t get too worried about this,” Luna said, holding up a finger to signal Beau.
“When you put it like that…” I said, a blush creeping up my cheeks.
“What did I miss?” Beau demanded.
“Thea’s convinced that Cash has given up on her,” Luna said sweetly.
“Thea,” Beau cocked his arm on his hip and glared at me. “We’ve discussed this. You’re beautiful. The man is besotted. If you’re going to have a hot man like that as your boyfriend, you’d better get used to him being busy. His world doesn’t just stop because you waltzed into the picture.”
“I don’t even know how to waltz,” I protested, smiling a bit when I saw Beau make me another stiff drink.
“You did a damn good impression of it when you danced around Trace’s eager arms and landed in Cash’s,” Luna said, looking up from her phone.
“Hey now,” I began, but Luna waved me off.
“Beau, can we get blackened tilapia for me, and chowder and a side salad for this one,” Luna said, jerking her thumb at me.
“Really?” Beau raised an eyebrow at me.
“Yes, really.” I shot Beau a glare. It wasn’t like this was the first time I’d ever ordered a salad.
“Being all lovesick must have gotten to your appetite,” Beau said, moving away to enter our orders on a computer screen.
“Remind me why we’re friends with him again?” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. I was getting even more annoyed with where this evening was going.
“Free booze. And he’s easy on the eyes,” Luna said.
It was true. If I hadn’t known that Beau was gay since, like, forever, I’d probably make a pass at him myself.
His easygoing style struck a nice balance between high-end chic and casual surfer.
It worked for him and – judging from the number of eyes, both male and female, tracking his movements in the bar tonight – it worked for a lot of other people too.
“Truth.” I smiled at the server as he brought me my cup of clam chowder. I briefly wondered if I should have gotten a bowl, as Lucky’s clam chowder was legendary. “So, one more time, run me through what we’re doing tonight?”
Luna leaned back in her chair, crossing lightly tanned legs as she fingered the pentagram necklace that hung between her breasts.
“I’m going to teach you to cast a circle of protection. You’ll generally want to use this when doing any sort of spellwork or rituals.”
“Or what? I’ll burn the town down or something?” I joked and took another swig from my drink.
Luna turned her blue eyes on me, her face serious.
“You could. Or you could summon bad energy. Or cause a spell to be visited upon you threefold. It’s nothing to play around with.”
“Then how come you let me do a spell without protection?” I asked, shoveling another spoonful of chowder into my mouth, not caring how hot the soup was.
“Because the breaking spell was a minor spell, and the intent was pure. Typically you’re fine doing small kitchen-type magick like that. But when you start to get into rituals and bigger spells…a circle is needed.”
“So what you’re saying is not to get too full of myself because essentially the only magick that I’ve actually performed is akin to producing a quarter from behind someone’s ear? Lovely, got it,” I said, grumpy at the thought that my magick wasn’t anything special.
Luna laughed softly and wrapped an arm around me to buzz a kiss on my cheek.
“Everyone starts somewhere, my friend. Think about the first time you had a tarot deck in your hand – it’s not like you could have actually given a solid reading. Magick isn’t like in the stories…you need to learn and build on your skills.”
“You know I never liked school, Luna,” I said, watching a grimace cross Beau’s face on the other side of the bar.
A rush of anger hit me and I sat up, cutting Luna off with a wave of my hand.
Scanning the room, my eyes landed on the source of the emotion.
I cut off a curse as I looked into the eyes of a nemesis of mine.
Theodore Whittier. The town know-it-all.
And it seemed he had company.