by Kiki Howell
“Yes, you did, but it’s not impossible to fix.” She leaned forward, onto her elbows. “Have you tried the counter spell? You said you knew one, that you were doing it backwards.”
Paige shook her head, tears pricking her eyes. “I do, but it won’t work. It won’t work!” She shouted the last, her frustration getting the better of her.
“What?” Gwen rushed down the stairs in her bathrobe. “What won’t work?”
Ember called from the top of the stairs. “Is this a house meeting or something?”
“Or something,” Paige yelled back. “I can cast the spell, but if my heart isn’t in it, if I still want him, it’s going to fail. I learned that from my dream too.”
Ember didn’t take a chair, but stood at the corner of the table. Her fingers kept tangling in a loose thread on her sleeve. “So, don’t. It’s okay now, isn’t it? We don’t need more magic, right?”
Gwen clicked her tongue and Summer sighed. “We can’t just leave him like that.”
Paige drank her coffee again. “Why not? I’ll keep my distance and maybe next semester, we can try again.”
“That’s not fair to him, Paige. He’s obsessed with you, isn’t he? How can he be happy without you?” Gwen scraped her chair back to sit down with her own mug.
Summer tried again. “You said your heart is conflicted, but what if we did it?” She motioned to all four roommates. “A circle. It’d be powerful, more than powerful enough to break what you cast.”
Paige tapped her foot on the floor, nervous. “I don’t know, and I don’t want to make things worse.”
“I’m with Paige,” Ember said. “We should...leave it be. Not try again.”
Gwen flipped her hair to look at the redhead. “You’re irrational. You have decided that there’s something wrong with the power, with how we used it, and it’s blinded you to everything good about it. But even if your fears are right, if we shouldn’t meddle, that’s just more reason to break the spell and put things back to normal.”
“I’m not irrational,” Ember muttered.
“Give me another week.” Paige leaned forward, closer to Summer and Gwen. “Let me...I don’t know, get over him.”
“You think you can do that in a week?” Gwen asked.
“I can try. If that doesn’t work, then we can try the circle. Deal?”
Summer cocked her head to the side. “You really want to do this by yourself?”
“No,” she admitted. “I’d love the help, but I made this mess, and I should clean it up.”
Nodding, Summer took her hand across the table. “A week. If you need help, even before then, we’re here.” Gwen put her hand atop their pair, adding her support.
Ember looked at their joined hands but didn’t approach. Paige chuckled. “And I know you’ll help me, if you have to.”
“That’s right.”
Pushing her chair back, she rose and gave Ember a hug. “I’ll try not to need it.”
“And no more?” she begged.
“Probably not.”
DROPPING INTO THE SEAT between Eunice and Ben moments before the start of class, Paige held out a coffee to each of them. “Black,” she said to Eunice, “and milk and sugar.” That was Ben’s.
“What about you? And what brings on the free goodies? I know it’s not a surplus of cash.”
Paige scoffed. “No kidding. No, it’s a thank you or truce or whatever. I know I’ve been kinda horrible to be around since the new year and I want to start over.” She turned to Ben, knowing Eunice had no hatchet to bury. “Friends?” she asked.
“Always friends.”
He didn’t say anything else and Paige racked her brain for something to say, something to open him up or make him dis her in a funny way. Something.
“Did you go anywhere over the holidays?” With her preoccupation and then the avoidance, she hadn’t gotten to talk to him about it.
“No. Just home.”
The wall was still there, and now that she felt it, Paige was ready to do whatever it took to break it down. Before she could start, Dr. Gonzales took the lectern.
Dr. Gonzales’ lectures used to be her favorite. Now she dreaded them, arriving as close to the start as possible and bolting while he wrapped up. Even then, there was no doubt that he gazed at her more than anyone else. Today, she was quick to split at the end of class.
Ben hurried after her, trying to keep up. “Whoa, where’s the fire?”
Chest heaving from her sprint, she gasped out a reply. “Doctor...awkward...don’t... I don’t want to...be alone with him.”
Ben perked up at that. “Really? I thought maybe...never mind. You grabbing lunch?”
She shook her head. “I’m making dinner for my roomies tonight and need to pick up a few things before our practical.”
“Oh, sure. Want company? Someone to carry?” There was no missing his eagerness. It shone in his broad smile and light step.
“Yeah, I won’t turn down a spare pair of hands.”
“Whatchya making?” He fell in beside her, his hand brushing hers twice before he laced his fingers through hers.
“Fried chicken. The chicken is in the fridge at home, but I want potatoes and celery for the salad.”
“Potato salad with fried chicken? Can I come?”
She hip-checked him. “No. I don’t have enough for you. I’ve seen you devour an entire twelve-inch pizza on your own.”
He blew a raspberry. “Damn. I’d hoped you would find that incredible, not hold it against me.”
She giggled. “Definitely not my idea of incredible.” She dropped her voice, muttering, “Not like magic or ghosts.”
“Ghost?” Ben asked, scuffing his shoe on a missed step.
“Um, yeah? The house is kinda...haunted. I think.”
“And you invited people to party there? Shoulda been a séance.”
Paige snickered. “No, I’m happy with the ghost where and how he is. No exorcisms necessary.”
“Still, a ghost. That’s cool. What does she look like?”
“Actually, it’s a he.”
“Oh, I just figured, all girls.”
“Yeah, being dead is nothing next to being the only male in the house.”
Ben glowered, his bottom lip jutting out.
“Oh, cheer up. It’s not that interesting. I bet there are tons of ghosts around here, all those witches.” She shuddered. Thankfully, so far, Jane had avoided execution.
“Didn’t think of that.”
Paige returned to campus with Ben, letting him carry the bag of potatoes. Eunice found them just as class was about to start.
“Hey, you guys get in a quickie?”
Paige’s jaw went slack and Ben laughed, but in a high, nervous way. “Haha, no. We went shopping.”
Eunice shrugged. “Whatever.”
After the practical, Paige took the potatoes from Ben. “Thanks again.” To both him and Eunice, she added, “See you tomorrow.”
Several times on the walk home, she looked over her shoulder, feeling like she was being watched. She jumped and dropped her bag when Geoffrey appeared. “Shit! Don’t do that!”
He shrugged. “Not much I can do about it.”
She bent to gather her things. Luckily, none of the potatoes rolled away. “So... why are you here?”
“Because of him.” Geoffrey pointed and Paige spotted Dr. Gonzales among a group at a coffee shop. Only, he didn’t have any coffee. “So, I thought I should watch for you.”
Giving herself a shake, she put him out of her mind. He was extraneous. Right now, she needed to get home and start cooking.
Closing the door behind herself and Geoffrey, she sighed in relief. “Anyone home?” she asked.
“No,” Geoffrey told her. “Not for another hour or more if Ember and Summer stay to study.”
“As long as they don’t stay too late.” Running water in a pot, she washed the baby potatoes, before moving them to the stove to boil.
She dredged the chicken and
heated the oil. The last piece slid into place when someone rang the bell.
“Dammit.” She held her tongs over the meat sizzling in the oil. “Geoffrey? Can you tell me who—”
Her words cut off as the door opened. Maybe Ember or Gwen had come home, joining whoever rang the bell. Turning the heat off, she flipped the pieces quickly and moved the pan to a cool burner. She was about to do the same with the potatoes when someone grabbed her by the waist. A flick of her wrist turned the heat off at least. They’d be fine until after she’d given the man holding her a piece of her mind. Whoever he was, he rubbed himself on her, hard and ready.
“Excuse me. Are you a dog to start humping me?” She fought to turn and shouldn’t have been surprised to find Dr. Gonzales, but she gasped all the same.
“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. And every time I see you, this happens.” He ground his hips against hers to make his point. “I’m left feeling certain you’re the only one that can make it go away, the only one I could want. The only—”
“Stop. Get off me.” She tried to push him away, but he clung on.
“Please, Paige. I know we can’t be together, not publicly, but I need you.” Hand on the back of her head, he pushed her face to his, lips and tongue seizing her mouth, claiming it.
Warm, firm and so very tasty, the fight drained out of her. Her hands slid from his chest up and around his neck to tangle in his black curls. “Jose,” she murmured when he stopped for breath.
“Paige. I need you.””
The cupboard doors banged, but Jose had kissed her again, so she didn’t notice or wonder about it. Geoffrey shouted at her, “Paige! Stop. Think!”
She blinked and broke the kiss. He was right. She had to fight this. Jose couldn’t be with her, and she needed to stay away from him if she was to have any luck breaking the spell.
“Paige,” the doctor whispered, leaning into her again.
She turned her head so his kiss found her cheek. “No, Jose. You have to go. You can’t be with me. You told me so.”
He paused, seeming to consider the possibility. “To hell with it. I’ll go back to nursing. Then we can be together.”
“No,” she said again, pushing. “You don’t mean that.”
He grabbed her breast, kneading it and pinching her nipple. She sucked air through her teeth while he fondled her.
“No. Stop.” Her cries were growing feeble and soon she’d give in entirely.
“She said stop.”
One moment she was wrapped in Jose, arms and legs, and the next he was bouncing off the fridge. Ben moved to stand between them.
“Get out,” he said in a deeper voice than Paige had ever heard him use. It rumbled, threatening, like thunder.
Jose shook his head, as though to clear it, and hurried to the door.
“Paige. Did he hurt you?” Ben asked, cupping her cheeks and looking deep into her eyes.
“Where did you come from? No, not hurt.”
He sighed and looked at the floor. “Good. I thought I saw him following you and worried.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed. “Thank you,” she said, sniffling. Great, the water works were back. She tried to stifle them, lock them away, rationalize. She’d been scared he would rape her.
No, that wasn’t it. She’d been ready to give in. Ben had saved her from herself. The tears weren’t sorrow or relief, they were shame.
“Shh. It’s okay, Paige. He’s gone.” Ben’s large hand stroked her back.
She sucked in a sobbing breath and wiped the back of her hand across her face. “Yeah. I’m okay.” A few deeper breaths later she turned back to the stove.
“Damn that smells good. You sure I can’t crash?”
The smile that came felt wrong with all the other emotions still warring inside her. “I can’t send you away now.” She turned the heat back on to finish the chicken.
“Sweet! How can I help?”
“Set the table.” She nodded toward the cupboard filled with plates.
“You got it.”
After several trips, he returned empty-handed. “Now what?”
“You can relax. I’ve got it. I’m okay now.”
His smile destroyed the tiny lie in that statement. “I’m yours to command.”
Paige put a hand on her hip and shifted her weight. “Is that right?”
He came closer, wrapping an arm around her. “Has been for a while.”
“Here.” She stepped aside and pointed to the large frying pan. “Put this back on medium and keep turning the chicken.”
“Yes, chef!” He jumped into place, which made her chuckle.
In the sink, she cooled the potatoes, stripping the skins from them in the icy water. Switching to chopping, she brushed past Ben.
“Thanks. This is much easier when I don’t have to stop to check the chicken.”
“Then I’m glad I’m here.” He leaned toward her and she blinked, unsure what he intended, but a moment later, she lifted her chin to welcome his kiss. His hands stayed on pan handle and tongs, but even so, thoughts of Ben and Jose swirled, confusing her and leaving her wanting.
He pulled back slightly. “You okay? I mean, you just—”
She settled back onto her heels, pressing her lips together and smiling. “Yeah, I’m better now.” After a heavy sigh, she added, “You better flip that.”
He cursed quietly before doing as instructed and taking the pan off the heat. “I think these are done. Damn, it smells good.”
“I’m about done here.” She turned the potatoes over to cover them with dressing.
“Does that mean more of this?” He slipped his hand around her.
“I don’t know. I’m really messed up right now.” He pulled her closer and she rested her palms on his chest. “That kiss, I-I’d like more, but...”
“No worries, Paige. Take your time. That was pretty intense, when I got here.” He leaned down, his nose nearly touching hers.
“Yeah, and it still is.”
He grinned. “Good. That means you’ll keep thinking about it. I’ll be here when you’re ready. You know that.”
She nodded, sniffing back the fear and frustration. “I do.” She hugged him around the waist, rubbing her cheek on his chest. “Thank you.”
“Geoffrey?” The new voice startled both of them.
“That’s Summer,” Paige whispered.
“Hi, Summer!” Ben called loudly and turned to wave.
“That smells amazing, Paige,” Ember gushed as soon as she came in on Summer’s heels.
“I hope Gwen isn’t far behind. It’s good cold, but better hot.” Taking Ben’s tongs, she transferred the chicken to a plate.
“Ben! Are you staying?” Ember came closer while Summer ducked out to share a word with Geoffrey.
It hadn’t occurred to her that with Ben here, they wouldn’t be interacting with the ghost. How difficult was that for him? It wasn’t a problem at the parties because Summer tended to split off with him, and aside from study groups, they rarely had people over. On the other hand, he had spent a couple months with none of them really interacting with him. Still, having spent the holiday with him, and seeing him pace the front entry or await her waking, she knew it wasn’t easy. Next time, she’d give Geoffrey more warning, and maybe Summer. She could duck out that way.
She didn’t get more time to think on it. Gwen arrived and dinner began.
Chapter Nine
ONE DRUMSTICK SAT on the plate in the middle of the table. Ben looked at Paige, then to the chicken, then back at Paige. Smirking she asked, “Summer? Why don’t you take the last piece?”
“Oh, I couldn’t I’m stuffed.” She dabbed at her mouth with a paper napkin.
“Gwen?” Paige picked up the plate and handed it to her.
“No, thank you. I’ll have a little more of that potato salad if there’s any left.”
Ben passed the bowl. “Not much.”
Paige held the plate out to Emb
er. “Ember? You want it?”
The red head looked at the plate and stretched out her hand.
Ben’s face fell momentarily, but he put his smile back in place.
Ember chuckled. “I’m just kidding. You go ahead, Ben.”
“Thank you!” He snapped it up, pulling the meat off in three quick bites.
Paige shook her head and stood up, setting cutlery atop her plate. “Summer, can I take yours?”
“No, I’ve got it.” Together they grabbed all the plates and took them to the sink. Geoffrey waited there. “That really was amazing, Paige. We should do this more often. Take turns.”
“That sounds good. Geoffrey, I’m sorry Ben being here leaves you out. I won’t do it often.”
“It’s not a problem. I mean, I understand why you wanted him to stay.”
Summer looked from one to the other. “Why?”
Paige looked at her feet. “I...had a close call this afternoon. Ben came to the rescue.”
“You needed a rescue?” Summer arched an eyebrow.
Paige licked her lips and looked to Geoffrey for a suggestion. How could she explain?
He shrugged. No help at all.
“It was Jose.” She took a deep breath. “I’m ready for that counter spell. Will you help me tonight?”
Summer smiled and put her hand on Paige’s shoulder. “Of course I will.”
A riot of laughter came from the dining room along with Ember shouting, “Ben!”
Paige and Summer hurried back, but they’d missed the moment. Ben had pushed back his chair and stood up. “With that, ladies, I’ll leave you. I must make a call in an hour or so.” He leaned toward Paige and kissed her cheek. “Thanks for feeding me.”
“Thank you.” She took his hand and squeezed it.
“Good night all!” Ben waved and Paige saw him out. “If you need anything, just say it.”
She leaned on the door. “I will. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yep. Gotta go before Mom calls.” Before he’d reached the sidewalk, his phone rang.
