by Wendy Cole
My eyes scanned the surroundings, catching sight of Rick’s familiar face. The same group that had gathered around the Ouija board, now circled a booth in the far back corner. I prayed no demons would pop out of it.
“Have you ever seen a troll?” Red asked, pulling my attention back to her.
I furrowed my brow. “Surprisingly, no.”
She smirked. “You’re about to. If you want to eat that is.” She pointed to the counter, the tiny woman stood behind it, looking very much fit to play the part. “Big Al is actually Alice, and she’s the grumpiest troll you’ll ever meet.”
I looked back to the woman who couldn’t have stood more than four foot four inches and barely cleared the cash register. “She doesn’t seem too intimidating.”
Red grinned. “I was hoping you’d say that.” She took my hand, shoving a twenty into it then rolling my fingers overtop the bill. “Get me a cheeseburger,” she paused, smile widening as an idea appeared to dawn on her. “Extra pickles.”
I shot her a funny look and shrugged. “Alright.”
She maintained eye contact, even after she started to walk away, then joined the group at the table.
I shook my head as I approached the counter.
Alice’s face swung up to me, reminiscent of an angry bulldog. “How many?” she grunted, mouth pursed.
“Two cheeseburgers, please.”
She turned away, walked over to the grill, and pulled two foil-wrapped wads from a plastic drawer above it.
I remembered Red’s request. “Oh! Sorry. One with extra pickles.”
Alice froze, each muscle stiffening, and you would have thought I’d insulted her mother by the way her head slowly turned to look at me. “No special orders!” She slammed the burgers onto the counter, then popped the register open with a loud bang.
I took a step back and revisited the urge to raise my hands out in surrender. She counted the change like it offended her, then slapped it down to join the food.
“Don’t steal my ketchup bottles! Don’t steal my shakers! And if you have to use the restroom, no bags allowed!”
I darted forward to grab the burgers like a mouse reaching into a trap. In that moment, Alice truly did resemble a troll, and I made a mental note to never order again. “Thank you.”
Another grunt left her chest as I turned to find the group laughing at me.
Red stood when I made it over, ignoring my glare as she forced me into the booth so she could keep the end. She sat back down, scooting over and squishing me between her and Rick. I rested my arms onto the table to try and make myself more narrow, but it still left me with the awkward feel of personal space invaded, strange bodies flush against mine from hips to shoulders.
I unwrapped my burger and eyed the contents warily.
“It’s good,” Red said around a bite of her own. “Trust me. No one would deal with her shit if it wasn’t.”
I took a large bite, setting in place a course of events that had me ravenously finishing it before I even said hello to anyone.
When I finally swallowed the last bite, I noticed Rick grinning down at me. “Someone was hungry.”
I took in his baby face, slightly stubbles jawline, and laughing light green eyes. My cheeks heated. “I guess I forgot to eat.”
Rick pushed his tray of fries in front of me and turned his attention back to the boy across from him. I stared at the offering. It was only fries, but the gesture struck a chord with me. It had been so natural as if he hadn’t even thought twice about it. Is this what it’s like? Having actual friends?
“Thank you,” I said, and something about my tone made him look back over at me.
“Don’t mention it.” He gave me a wink, then once again focused his attention elsewhere.
I listened in as I ate the salty snack. They were discussing politics. I had no idea what they were talking about, but the longer they debated, the more heated their words became.
I focused more on my food, not wanting to get involved, and made a mental note to avoid the subject altogether in the future. Then again, I had other things to worry about, like the whole extra fucking world I’d just discovered existed.
When their voices grew too loud, Red intervened. “Calm down! Jimmy! Just shut up already! Nobody agrees with you. You can’t force them to. Get over it!” She threw her wrapper down onto the table. “Can’t we talk about something else? Like the fucking demon that popped out of a piece of wood!”
A series of groans lit up the room. “Not this shit again, Red!” Rick said. “It didn’t happen, and you know it.”
“Amelia saw,” Red countered with a smug look on her face. Her eyes shot to me, and when I looked over so had everyone else’s.
I put three fries in my mouth then chewed them extra slow. Why would she do that? On the one hand, if I said I didn’t, I’d make her look crazy. I knew how it felt to have no one believe you, and I didn’t want to do that to someone I considered a friend. On the other hand, if I said I saw it, then I’d look crazy.
Everyone stared at me as I continued to chew. My eyes darted around the many faces, my time dwindling like the world’s most awkward hourglass. The potatoes were nothing more than a nasty mush inside my mouth, and I no longer had any desire to swallow them.
Large hands gripped my shoulders. “Did you miss me?”
I startled, sucking in a surprised breath that was more potato than air, then spluttered as I tried to dislodge it.
No one seemed concerned with my life. Their eyes all shot to the new arrival.
Red’s widened significantly. “That’s it!” she shouted, pointing a finger at Brady. “It was redder and less clothed, but he was definitively it!”
Brady rubbed my back, and my airway cleared. I looked back at him, and he grinned, the same one he always got when he was about to do something bad.
“Red. You sound insane,” Rick said.
Brady’s attention drifted to Rick and the close proximity in which I sat to him. The grin dulled, and I could have sworn I saw storm clouds gathering within his eyes.
“But it’s true! He’s a genie!”
Brady grimaced, then shot me an accusing look before turning a more frightening one towards Red.
She met his dark look head-on, not an ounce of fear in her tiny frame. “It’s true, right? Admit it!”
His eyes rolled towards the ceiling. Everything about him screamed annoyance, but his lack of verbal cues as to what he was thinking made me nervous. I held my breath and looked around to the many gazes fixed on him.
Silence fell, and I watched his attention once again shift to where Rick’s side met mine. He turned back to Red. “I need you to move,” he said, tone even.
Red held a determined expression. “Not until you admit it.”
Brady’s jaw clenched. Yep, he was definitely annoyed. Very annoyed.
“Red,” I said, my voice quiet, as if too much noise could detonate what felt like a ticking bomb. “You should move.”
“No,” she sang.
The bomb went off.
Brady burst into fiery red, and the demon was back, only this time, he was far less playful. He let out a roar, directing the sound at every other person at the table. They scrambled away, jumping up and out of the booth.
To my surprise, when I looked around, no other patron in the diner seemed to notice. Red still didn’t move an inch, too focused on the fact he’d proven her right.
The moment the rest of the booth was clear, Brady looked down at me. “Climb out,” he said, his voice once again that magical command.
I, of course, couldn’t argue.
I scooted around the crescent seat and out the other side where Brady stood waiting. He heaved a sigh as he gripped my waist, then returned to his normal appearance and looked around the scattered group.
“That didn’t happen. You’re all going to sit back down. The redhead is trying to trick you. She knows she’s lying,” the whole time he spoke, the group muddled back to their original spot
s.
I watched his eyes dart between each head like a fox counting a line of baby chicks. Then, his whole demeanor changed.
“Hi, you guys!” he said in a very sarcastic attempt at sounding chipper. “I’m Amelia’s boyfriend.” He directed at Rick specifically.
“You are not!”
Brady smirked at me, then looked back at Rick. “I’m Amelia’s boyfriend,” he repeated, his voice once again changed. “And I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to steal her for a while. She’s very clingy. If I spend too much time away from her, she goes a little,” he paused, then mock whispered, “crazy.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Clingy! Me! I opened my mouth, prepared to let him know every single vile thing I thought about him, but Brady cut me off too soon. “You want to leave with me, don’t you, Sweetheart?”
That evil, evil voice. “Yes, darling,” words tumbled past my lips, not one of them resembling what I’d wanted to say.
Darling? Darling! Who the hell even says that! I glared at the man beside me, and Brady shot back a smirk that let me know he was enjoying himself.
“Your wish is my command,” he said, but he’d forgotten one little detail.
Red, whose body squared into a protective stance, grabbed my arm and jerked me behind her. “Oh no, you don’t, genie boy!”
Brady rolled his eyes. “You’re very annoying.” With a flick of his wrist, the ground beneath Red’s feet shifted, sending us both off balance.
Red went sideways, just barely catching herself on the table, while I, not so miraculously, tumbled forwards.
Brady caught me with one arm, hoisted me against his chest like a parcel, then waved his opposite hand through the air. Blue light swallowed us whole, and I’d never hated a color more.
One second, I was at a diner, making friends, enjoying a rare ordinary moment. Then the next, I was kidnapped and transported to what could only be described as a cloud.
The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes, was that it wasn’t a cloud but a bed which happened to be outside. The moon hung full and bright, so much larger than I was used to seeing it, just in the distance. The sound of crashing waves had me sitting up, and sure enough, the glow of ocean foam reflected off a perfectly white sand. A canopy made of straw above offered a small semblance of shelter, and shaggy palms hung in various spots around the open sides, looking black in the contrasting light.
I looked down at the white sheets beneath me, then back to the fantastic view, and my chest swelled. It felt like a dream.
“I like it when you look like that,” Brady said, startling me.
I screeched, my head snapping to the left at the sound of his voice. He lay stretched out like a cat across the same white sheets. His equally white teeth seemed to glow brighter than the moon as he grinned at my reaction. My eyes roamed, traitorous assholes that they were, down the overly tempting length of him. He was fully dressed, thank god, but his shirt had been replaced by a solid white button down, and far too many of those buttons were failing to do their job. Further down, dark jeans wrapped him in sin, and his feet were bare. They were just as beautiful as the rest of him, and the fact only pissed me off more.
Men don’t have pretty feet. I’d seen feet. Feet weren’t sexy, but Brady’s feet…
I let out a growl and grabbed the first thing I got my hands on, which just happened to be a pillow. Brady’s eyes widened as the instrument of fluffy death came barreling towards his face, but his laughter as I hit him didn’t sound anywhere near as pained as I’d hoped it would.
He let me hit him for a moment, and his deep sexy laugh only made me swing harder. Then, in a move that was too fast to register, he grabbed the pillow away and pinned my arms above my head.
His upper half hung over me, his face level with mine, and those perfectly white teeth once again dominated my focus. “You’re the only woman I’ve ever met that would hit me for bringing them to a place like this.”
I scoffed. “Then why, tell me, did you bring me!”
His smile, if possible, widened. “Because you’re the only woman that would hit me for bringing you here.”
We stared at each other, him smiling, me glaring as I fought for a response to his stupid answer.
“That makes no sense.”
Brady tilted his head at me, and his smile softened. His gaze turned thoughtful, as if he were no longer looking at me, but through me. “I guess a lot of this doesn’t make sense, huh?” he asked softly. His right hand released my wrist, and his fingers lightly ran a path from my temple to where my head touched the pillow, trailing sparks that tingled across my skull. I shivered, and Brady’s look let me know he noticed the reaction.
“That,” he said, repeating the move for emphasis, “is real.” He watched me carefully, and that same shiver ran through me again.
Goosebumps rose along my skin, and my chest grew warm and full. My anger faded away, unable to compete with the other feelings invading my body like a foreign army. I took in our precarious position, the bed, the lack of any other intelligent life around us. This is not good. “I don’t want to…” I started, letting the words drift off as Brady’s fingers traveled down to my neck and across my collarbone.
He gripped my shoulder in a comforting motion. “I know, Sweetheart. That’s not why we’re here.” His words soothed me. “I felt bad after what happened in the lake. I lost control. I shouldn’t have let that happen.” He met my gaze, and his smile was gone, replaced by a somber look I’d never see on him. “There are things you need to know first. It wouldn’t just be…” He trailed off and looked away. “There’s a lot I have to try and explain to you.”
“Then explain it.” My voice shook. Inside, a far too, tiny part of myself was screaming at me to push him away, to not believe him, that he was a danger. But another part, a huge portion that only seemed to rule over my senses when he was around, drowned out that voice until I didn’t want to listen anymore.
Brady grimaced. “It’s not that simple.” He pushed himself away and rolled out of the bed. I watched as he descended down a small set of steps and onto the beach.
His shoulders and back were stiff, his strides long as he continued to walk another twenty feet before dropping down to sit in the sand.
I sat up for a better view of him, arms propped onto his knees, staring out over the ocean. In that moment, he seemed different, not scary, not threatening. Vulnerable. It could be an act. My rational brain wanted to believe that it was, but that other part of myself wasn’t buying it.
An ache formed in my chest. Something about his mood bothered me, and I had the sudden, deep need to change it, to fix whatever it was that was hurting him.
Against all intelligent thought, I stood up and followed the footprints he’d made until I was only a foot behind him. It felt awkward, standing there, staring at his back, not knowing what to do or say.
Without turning, Brady held a hand out. “Sit with me, Sweetheart.”
I chewed my lip as I stared at the offering. It bothered me that I couldn’t think clearly. It bothered me that my anger was gone, that I wanted to take his hand. That I wanted nothing more in that moment than to have a seat, be nice to him for once.
Brady didn’t comment on my long hesitation. He waited patiently, so still I couldn’t even see him breathing.
When I slowly reached forward and touched my fingers to his, I heard him gently exhale. He took my hand and held it loosely, his thumb trailing across the back of it as I lowered myself down beside him.
I took a long look out over the ocean, then met his steady gaze. Brady’s expression was as calm as it was unreadable. He didn’t speak and didn’t resume his earlier conversation. He just looked at me, and the oddest part was that I didn’t feel awkward under his heavy gaze.
“Brady?”
His lip twitched. “Yes?”
“Tell me the truth,” I paused and took a shaky breath. Why was I so nervous? What had changed? “Why do I feel…like this?”
Brady rested his chin on his bicep and let out a sigh. “I’m afraid if I tell you that, you won’t believe me, and it will just scare you even more.”
“Do you plan to keep it a secret forever?” I challenged. I needed to know. To understand. Maybe he was right. He probably was. I would be the first to admit I didn’t trust his big ass as far as I could throw him, which was not at all, with him being so magically fucking gigantic.
“You’re thinking about how you’re not going to believe me, aren’t you?” Brady asked, his voice dryer than a dollar store cake.
I tried not to laugh, but it proved too hard. A giggle slipped out, not the fake kind that made me sound like a dying animal, but a real one. It bubbled up, and the moment it started, it grew. Tears filled my eyes, and I couldn’t stop. The more I tried, the worse it became.
Brady watched me closely, his eyes calculating, his lips returned to that famous smirk. “I guess I was right,” he said.
I nodded my head as another peel of laughter had me leaning forward to bury my face into my knees.
Brady ran a hand along my back, and the feeling caused me to look at him. When I did, my laughter sunk back into the pit of my stomach.
“You’re beautiful,” he said, so reverently that to say I heard the statement felt too hollow a description. The honesty, the genuineness—I felt it.
My cheeks heated, and Brady’s smirk widened. He took a deep breath, shook his head, then looked away. “I guess it’s better to just get it over with. The sooner you know, the sooner you can accept it.” He looked back at me. “The sooner you accept it, the sooner I can stop feeling like I want to destroy the world and every other man in it.”
My eyebrows lifted at his change of tone, but I didn’t speak. It felt like whatever he was going to say would change my life, this whole situation, drastically. A part of me wanted to throw my hands over my ears and prevent any further damage, but the other waited on bated breath for him to continue.
