3. Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Brixon
H idden in the shadows of the alleyway behind my little witch’s store, I wait for her and her cute little black cat she named Jinx to rush out of the back door.
This is my new routine. I follow, watch, and wait for my little witch to show me something to let me know that she is still in there. The only thing that reminds me of the girl I used to know so well is her cat’s name. It’s funny, like she used to be.
Now, this girl doesn’t even seem to know what fun is anymore.
Her store, The Natural Witch Apothecary, isn’t open seven days a week, but she works seven days a week. Tonight, she opened to have a little séance for one of her friends and stayed to do inventory for the last three hours.
Just like clockwork she barrels out of the backdoor, dropping her large bag of everything, and shuts the backdoor right after Jinx bounces out. She locks it, huffing at the cat as she grabs her bag putting it over her shoulder.
I watch for a bit as her ass moves back and forth in those damn black skinny jeans before I start following her like I have since we got back in town.
Last night I fell asleep watching her dance in her bedroom before she finally went to bed. I passed out and woke up at four am to watch her sneaking back into her own house.
I have cameras set up throughout her house and outside so I can keep an eye on her. More nights than not I never see her leave, but always see her coming back at odd hours.
I bought the house that was for sale next door to hers. I know she has seen me, and it’s been killing me since the moment I laid eyes on her that she has no clue who I am. It’s taken everything I have not to make her touch me just so I know whether I’m truly the only one cursed here.
The first time I saw her, our eyes met, and an overwhelming rush of emotions and memories surged through me.
These memories, which until two weeks ago had been completely forgotten, came flooding back. I know so much about her, far beyond what’s in her file. I recall intimate details she once shared only with me—her scent, her laugh, that maddeningly cock teasing smirk, even the taste of her.
Everything about her came back within a couple of days, every time I catch glimpses of her, a new memory surfaces.
I feel my phone vibrate in my jeans pocket and slip back behind a huge magnolia tree positioned where I can still see her walking with her cat.
Liams name shines bright on my screen.
“What?”
“You need to make sure you get here before the little witch does! I’m in the house with her friend Emily who just kicked the shit out of that chick that works at your girls store. I called one of our old friends who is on the NOLA PD. Oh, and an ambulance.” Liam rushes out.
“What the fuck! What happened?” I ask a little louder than I meant to.
I come out from behind the tree to see she has already turned the corner onto St. Charles Avenue. I start running back to take the long way around to beat her home.
“Emily found out the chick from your witches’ shop was fucking her boyfriend, Kevin. She actually caught them in the act, knocked the guy out with his own ashtray, then kicked the shit out of him, and his side chick! I really like this chick man. Just tell the little witch already! These chicks are badass!” Liam blurts out trying to keep his voice low.
“We already knew that. Fuck, the guy deserved it, we have seen him with three other women since we moved in last week, one of them being Brook. I’m not ready. I want to do this gradually and make her fall for me before I have to make her see me.”
“Listen, you remember everything about her, and we still don’t have a clue who she is. If she touches you, maybe she sees something, maybe not, but we can help either way. I don’t know if I believe in all this witchy shit, but I know this girl is what my whole task is supposed to be about. I have been watching her since we got here just like you have been Genevieve. She is a sassy little thing. I really like her bro.” I stop dead in my tracks at his words. Liam has never looked twice at a woman, let alone stalked one.
“Liam, are you sure she didn’t whack you in the head with an ashtray? I’m almost home by the way.” I reply, still a little out of breath from running.
I hang up the phone and continue moving swiftly again, turning my last corner as Evie crosses the last street before our block. She is walking directly towards me while looking down at Jinx.
She hasn’t even noticed me yet and I’m ten steps in front of her. She has no sense of security and walks the streets at night without a care in the world.
She notices the ambulance pulling away from her house just as they turn the lights and siren on.
“What the fuck!” She blurts out with wide eyes as she picks up her pace, ignoring my existence, again.
“Hi, Genevieve, right?” I ask as she is about to pass me by, almost as if I don’t exist. Instead, she stops and looks at me, tilting her head slightly as she takes me in.
“I’m sorry, do I know you?” she asks with furrowed brows.
She stares into my eyes like she can see every part of my soul while she bites the side of her bottom lip.
It takes me a moment to remember how to speak since all the fucking blood in my body goes straight to my dick.
“I’m um. Your new neighbor, or one of them. I’m Brixon.” I stutter out smiling as I reach my hand out to shake hers.
I watch her intently as I wait. She looks down at my hand and backs away a few steps, putting a little more distance between us. Good girl. Finally taking a precaution. She never liked touching people though.
“Oh, sorry, I’m a germaphobe. I’m Genevieve,” She puts her dainty hand with black nails up to her chest and I can see some of her ink peeking out from under the sleeve of her burnt orange sweater, “It’s nice to meet you Brixon. Do you know what is going on?” She points back behind me towards the police car.
“Yeah, well, your roommate kicked the shit out of her boyfriend and the chick they have on your porch. Your roommate screamed the name Brook, then my buddy, Liam, rushed over to make sure everything was okay. He’s with your roommate now.” I blurt out, not knowing what else to say.
She looks worried for a second and then chuckles slightly as she sighs, “Well, I was hoping we could have made a better first impression. Welcome to the neighborhood! Now that you’ve seen how we parade our crazy on the front porch, how are you liking our little slice of heaven?” she asks sweetly as she looks back at our houses like they are some sort of magical kingdoms, waving her hand back towards them, still trying not to laugh.
Jesus, she looks a little older, but she hasn’t changed a bit. Polite to a fault and still looks at everything like it’s magical.
“I absolutely love the views.” I reply, not taking my eyes off of her once she looks back at me. I see her neck blush slightly as she smirks while pushing a loose curl behind her ear.
“Has that line actually ever worked for you?” She raises her brows, giving me a look like nice try, but not even close to good enough.
I laugh at the fact that she hasn’t lost her feistiness.
“Sometimes, yeah.” I laugh, relieved when she continues laughing at my expense.
“I actually thought you guys might be a throuple.” She chuckles harder.
I stop laughing but try to let that one slide and continue to at least smile.
“God! No! That is a huge no! We are best friends who grew up together, more like brothers.” I explain.
I can’t believe she said that. I mean I can, cause its Evie. I chuckle slightly trying to keep it to myself.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it. Me and my roommate have been wondering since y’all moved in what the deal was. We have come up with so many different scenarios. Anyway, nice to meet you Brixon, but I need to make sure my friend, Emily, is okay.” She nods on the last word and starts to walk past me.
“Wait, um, would you mind giving my buddy in there a chance with Emily? Maybe check on your friend and then you could go and have a cup of coffee with me?” I reach out for her, but she backs away quickly, tilting her head at me again.
“Why would I do that?” She asks with that damn mischievous smirk.
“Because deep down, even though you don’t think you know me, you feel like you do.” I say matter of fact and watch her go into a full-on fit of laughter.
“You really are full of yourself, aren’t you?” She gets the words out between cackles and turns back to walk towards her gate, while Jinx stays behind curling himself around my leg as he purrs.
We got to know each other when I installed the cameras in her house over a nice can of tuna.
“I think your cat likes me if it’s any consolation.” I holler at her.
She stops midway walking through her cast iron gate decorated with fleur-de-lis spikes and an intricately sculpted trinity symbol in the center. She turns to look back at me, then down to her cat.
“He is a terrible judge of character. Come on Jinx or you will miss dinner.” Her voice sounds irritated as she huffs. She closes the gate behind her and rushes up to the porch.
The cat rushes forward, jumping the cast iron fence up to the porch with his human, or familiar, as the witches like to call them.
It’s funny how I remember everything about the witches now.
I watch Evie as she speaks to the officer holding the girl on the porch, before she leans down with a smile on her face. I watch her whisper something to the girl in handcuffs.
Whatever it is, it pisses the girl off enough to try to get away from the cop holding her arm to lunge at my little witch.
Evie’s face morphs into mortification as the cop gets a firm grip back on her arms. Then goes right back to that cute little smirk once his back is turned.
There she is; my little, spitfire witch.
The chick now being escorted to the police car, is Brook Haleigh. She is a known witch, thief, and what we like to call a community pet, who signed up for it. She fucks for status with the hope to find that one poor sap who will finally pick her. It never really happens for them; they are just willing toys in the Saints eyes.
We tailed her for a few days after Kevin banged her in the alleyway behind Evie’s store. She fucked eight different guys in three days, and half of them were at one time in the cemetery.
I’m not saying there is anything wrong with that, if you are into it. It’s fucking hot to imagine my little witch bent over an alter, but choose where you fuck a little more wisely. There are cameras everywhere that anyone could hack into at any time and leak to the internet.
People like Noah, who loves hacking shit and has a porn fascination. I have to admit, that bitch can take a dick. The video he leaked only got like a thousand likes but had a ton of funny comments on the porn site he posted it to.
All the cemeteries have cameras now because of all the vandalism. They are also closed to the public except on Sundays for family members only, unless you pay a guard to get in. I suppose it would cheaper than getting a hotel room.
I watch as the cop hauls Brook into the back of his car, then turns to look at me, giving me a nod before he gets into his car, taking off quickly.
Evie turns her head back towards me once they drive off, giving me that cute little smirk. She gives me a little wave before she turns to make her way inside the house.
My dick painfully bulges against my jeans. Fuck, this isn’t going to be as easy as I thought it would be.
I don’t know why I’m still standing here like an idiot just looking at her door. I guess I’m hoping she will come back out.
I smirk when I see the door open again, just to be let down. Instead of my pretty little witch, Liam is practically pushed out of the front door before it slams.
He comes down the white front steps of her porch, looking back, shaking his head.
“I see you met Evie.” I say as he comes out of her gate still looking dumbfounded.
“They thought we were gay… Do we put off a gay vibe?” he asks, looking as if his manhood just got mutilated.
“Did Evie say that to you too?”
“No, Emily said they thought we were all a throuple. Can you believe that?” he asks, looking down, still shaking his head in disbelief as he rubs the back of his neck.
“Well, we haven’t exactly been putting off the most eligible bachelor vibes. Maybe.” I shrug my shoulders.
I think about it for a minute, and the more I do, I kind of get it.
“Yeah, I guess setting up surveillance, keeping to ourselves, and not talking to any women, let alone the beautiful girls next door, might have put off gay vibes.” I confess, kind of feeling a little emasculated myself.
“She sure as fuck knows I’m not gay now!” Liams smile is ridiculous.
“Shit,” I chuckle, shaking my head, “what did you do?” I have to ask because there is no telling, and I need to know he hasn’t completely screwed me.
“I didn’t do anything, I swear! We were just talking; I complimented her and told her what a fucktard her ex is. Then she said that she has always wanted gay guy friends and hugged me. I couldn’t help getting a boner when she did. It’s been a couple of weeks man. She was still wearing the black lingerie and the trench coat she was surprising her boyfriend with, and, well, I’m in sweatpants. You know I hate underwear,” he points his finger at me like he has something to prove, making me crack a bit of a smile.
“No judgment, bro.” I put my hands up trying so hard not to die laughing at him right now.
“She backed away and was shocked. Then I just told her I wasn’t gay, and moved towards her, to kiss her, cause she didn’t believe me. Your little witch walked in just as I cupped her face and was about finally taste those pretty pink lips. She saw the shiner her ex gave her and wigged out on me, like I was the bad guy. You couldn’t stall her a little longer bro? I’ve never wanted to kiss someone so bad. Then having to stop when I was that close to her pouty, pink lips man. I’m gonna have blue balls for a fucking week no matter how many times I jack off.”
“I tried, but the look on her face when I said that you were in there with her… Wild horses couldn’t have kept her from saving her friend from you… Wait he hit her?”
“I watched it all happen man. I rushed over as fast as I could, but by the time I got to her front porch, Emily was throwing Brook out of her front door, and the now ex-boyfriend, Kevin, was knocked out cold upstairs. Don’t fuck with Emily.” He smiles wide at the fact that this chick is nuts, and he loves it.
“I’m surprised you let the guy live.” I taunt, knowing it probably wasn’t easy for him not to be the hero.
“I never touched him. The ambulance was all because of her.” He huffs, puffing his chest, with pride I think, as we start walking to our house.
I see the curtains move and realize the girls have been watching us stand out here like idiots.
“Wanna go watch them talk about us? We have probably missed all the talk of you and your grey sweatpants already.” I tease my best friend.
We make our way back to our front porch and I can’t help but look back over at her bay window one more time before I go in.
Sure enough, she is still trying to watch us. That’s my good little witch, you’re curious. That’s exactly what I have been waiting for. Now I just have to keep on her until she says yes, and finally lets me touch her.