He stared at me flatly before he grinned. He pushed my shoulder, knocking me back into the couch. “That’s probably what I sound like to Viney.”
I rubbed my shoulder. “Be gentle with me, Zach. You have to remember that you’re a blue ninja and must use your super powers for good and not evil.”
“I’m sorry.” He rubbed my shoulder a little bit before he froze, his arm still on me.
“Did Ian really walk with you after the tourney?”
I shifted uncomfortably and patted his hand. “Weird, right? It was weird. It all started with the jeans. And then everything else.” Drake in green liquid light. I scowled at the blanket before I took a deep breath. “Classes are over? I don’t even know what time it is.
Do you know where Drake is?”
“Polo practice.”
I winced. “Awesome. When does that end?”
“Let me check my Drake calendar.” He rolled his eyes.
Viney slammed in the door, glaring at me. “Are you still sick?”
I shrugged.
Zach pointed at her. “She would know. When does Drake finish with polo practice?”
She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. “Five-forty-five. Why?”
He shrugged and pointed at me. “Viney is a walking talking Drake calendar. She stalks Drake like I stalk Pitch. It makes us very empathetic. It’s really too bad that you can’t obsess with someone untouchable, it would make our threesome complete.”
Viney leaned over the couch to peer into my eyes, stopping two inches away from my nose. I stared at her smelling tiramisu on her breath.
“Hi, Viney.”
“You want to go see Drake? That’s weird.” She put her hand on my forehead.
I pushed it off and scooted away from her. “It’s not weird. I need to talk to him. I don’t want to see him, but I need to. I forgot something this morning, and I have to get it back.”
“This morning?” She looked so suspicious.
“I ran into Drake before classes. He gave me a muffin. Maybe the muffin was poisoned and that’s why I’m sick.”
Zach shook his head. “Drake made the muffins himself and I ate five. Chocolate black cherry?”
I nodded and felt my stomach lurch. Drake shouldn’t be making me muffins when he was so vile. Also, if he did make them, he shouldn’t give any of them to Zach instead of me.
“Let’s play video games until Penny has to go stalk Drake,” Viney said, picking up a controller. “What is this? Are you serious?” She made a face, but it didn’t keep her from pushing start. They did a two-player game, and Zach was as hilarious to watch as Viney.
I sat between them looking from one to the other while they bluffed and blustered, howled and screeched.
Professor Vale came in with more soup. I thanked her and ate while pointing out the dangerous bad guy that Zach clearly saw. It was fun and when I’d finished my soup, Viney turned to me and nodded seriously.
“You need to hurry if you’re going to catch him between his shower and dinner. Do you want me to come with you? I can show you where to watch for him.”
Zach wacked her shoulder. “Shameless, Viney. You’re going to freak her out.”
“Already freaked. No thanks, Viney. It will only take a few minutes.”
I got dressed in a short skirt and cute pink blouse before I waved goodbye and headed to the polo field. I wasn’t really up for it, not the way girls stared at me and whispered not so quietly about ‘Pukey Penny’. I smiled and tried to communicate my willingness to go all Penny Pukey on them, which seemed to work rather well, or they thought they’d catch my bug.
Anyway, I made it to the polo field but I felt drained and my hands trembled while I waited by the fence. A guy rode by on his stud, pulled up his horse and whirled it around towards me. I thought he’d trample me, but he pulled up right in front of me, his horse pawing and snorting while he smiled.
“Are you looking for Drake?”
I nodded while my heart pounded and I pressed myself away from the horse. The guy looked familiar, but he only whirled back around on his horse and pounded away into the stable.
I swallowed down nausea and fought the urge to leave. I took five steps away then forced myself back, walked away, and forced myself back. It was pacing and it was perfectly respectable. Drake came up to me on his prancing horse, sliding down beside me before I could run away screaming.
“Penny. Shouldn’t you be in bed?”
I stared at him. The last time he’d talked about me being in bed was at night with a star on his face. I swallowed and forced a smile. “Actually, I wondered if I could talk to you.”
“Of course. I smell horrible. If you’d like to wait until I shower we can go in to dinner together.”
I put up my hands, fending off that idea. My mouth watered at his ‘horrible smell’
because the scent of dark cherries was stronger than ever and his cheek had a streak of dirt on it. I reached up and rubbed it without thinking. The contact shocked me and him, his eyes widening and showing green while I froze, hand still on his cheek.
“You have some dirt.” I pulled my fingers away while he smiled all the way to his eyes.
“I do. A lot. Is that what you wanted to talk about? It’s a fascinating topic.”
I exhaled and chewed on my lower lip. This was going to be awkward. “This morning you saw me with Signore Ludi.”
He nodded. “I remember. He’s a friendly acquaintance of yours.”
I frowned and nodded. “Drake, I’m not very good at begging or blackmail. Is there anything that you want that I can give you to keep you from talking about what you saw?”
He stepped closer, putting his hand on my forehead and peering in to my eyes. “Say ah.”
I pushed him away. “Everyone already did that. This isn’t a feverish moment, at least I don’t think it is.”
“Don’t you want to throw up when I touch you?”
I stared at him. “Not any more than usual. Drake, I’m serious. The last time I saw Signore, he had a thing with Revere and I know that he says he went to a wedding, but Revere was always getting rid of anyone I got too close to, anyone I got too friendly with, so I think it’s pretty much impossible that Revere wasn’t involved with my only friend in the world leaving and not coming back. I know it looked a little bit…”
“Affectionate.”
I shrugged and nodded slightly. “It wasn’t, though.”
“Of course not.” He stared into my eyes. “You came all the way here, waiting for me just so you could ask me not to tell your step-father about your delivery man? Hm. And you’re offering me something in exchange, only you’re not sure what.”
“Within reason. Lollipops or foot rubs, nothing like…”
“Go to the dance with me.”
I stared at him. “The dance?”
He nodded. “It’s getting really irritating. I’ll show you.”
He led the horse around so I could see its other side and words shaved into it. ‘Be my prince and I’ll be your princess at the fairy tale Dance, -Corinne Bailey’
“Corinne Bailey, who is she?”
His lips thinned. “She’s the girl who broke into the stables and drugged my horse just so she could shave demon without getting mauled. Stupid boy, taking sugar cubes without getting a weasel to taste test them first.”
“Señor Mort is not available. What would hurt a horse would kill him.”
He shook his head. “Of course not. I’m talking about a different weasel, like Jackson.
I’m sorry to offend weasels everywhere. Anyway, will you please agree to go to the dance with me so that my horse isn’t shamed again?”
I swallowed and nodded. He held out his hand.
“Shake on it?”
I hesitated, fighting an overwhelming feeling of falling before I put my palm against his. “One dance won’t hurt.”
He smiled at me, leaning close before I pulled away from him and edged away.
“I�
��m going to go lie down. Thanks, Drake.”
Chapter 30
Mage
Witley cursed Penny. The whole school buzzed with it, the curse that was designed for one purpose, potent and clear: Penny could not have me. Physically her body would rebel at close physical proximity to me.
She’d looked terrible waiting for me by the fence, like a scared little mouse, but she touched me, well, the dirt off my face, but my cheek was quite clearly beneath that dirt.
If she could touch me then her protective counter spell was holding up, doing its best to minimize the effects of Witley’s curse.
I went in to dinner that night in time to see Viney confront Wit.
“Pathetic, Wit. Can’t get a guy on your own, have to take out the competition?” Viney glowered at Wit, her spiked wrists crossed over her chest matching her dark spiked hair.
She reminded me of a terrier about to take out a rat.
The rat was sleek and oily, glistening from her eyes to her sharp teeth as she tossed her lustrous black curls. “You care, why? Don’t pretend that you like the stupid little tart.
You should be grateful to me for putting her in her place.”
Jackson edged closer to Witley while Zach backed up Viney, his face stony.
Getting between two witches was extremely stupid. Grinning broadly, I walked directly to the center of the conflict.
“Ladies, ladies, there’s more than enough of me to go around.”
Viney glowered at me while Wit smiled sharply, lips curving as she glanced up and down my body appreciatively. Sometimes Penny accidentally looked at me and blushed.
“What are you doing, Drake,” Viney hissed.
“Being fought over, apparently. Witley, I have to thank you for whatever you did to Penny. She’s such a charmingly contrary creature. The more I pursue her, the more she retreats, but after your encouragement, she agreed to attend the dance with me. I’m so delighted, I could kiss you.”
Wit’s face went pale and Viney smirked. Zach raised an eyebrow and gave me a skeptical glance. Jackson stood beside Wit looking kind of blank and passive. He didn’t care. I studied Jackson because we still had unfinished business with the room he’d trashed.
Witley’s lips curled. “She’ll have a hard time dancing with you while throwing up.”
I smiled. “Do you think so? Professor Vale was quite certain that she would be perfectly fine.”
She clenched her teeth and glared at Viney. “That’s right, you need a dorm mommy to take care of you.”
Viney raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her skull t-shirt. “I think you need a dorm mother to take care of you if you can’t control your cattiness. Maybe Drake would like you if you weren’t so desperate.”
Witley clenched her fists while I purposefully stepped in front of Viney. I smiled widely at Wit. “I like desperate women. I like all kinds of women. You’re welcome to join my harem any time, Wit.”
I pulled a green knife out of thin air, the blade curved and delicate, like an over-size scalpel. Wit went pale, her lips twisting into a snarl before she whirled away, slinking out of the room. I put a hand on Jackon’s shoulder while I made the knife vanish.
“Did you eat, Jackson? Sit with me. I think we have a lot to discuss.”
Chapter 31
Witch
The next day was okay until I got into Pas de Deux, and Drake was standing there by the piano, talking to the pianist. I turned around and walked back into the dressing room. I sat on the bench and leaned over my knees. Would he really keep what he knew about Signore to himself? How could I touch him, let him touch me when I kept having an image of girls and him and…
I shook my head. I did not need to think about those things. It wasn’t any of my business. I sat there until Madame came and started lecturing me in French about how if I had a headache I should at least do it with good posture and real ladies do not make an entire class wait for them.
I gave her a smile and stood up, forcing myself into the studio. I went to the end of the bar, far away from where Drake was bending and stretching.
He ignored me, but I couldn’t help watching him, those muscles beneath the soft fabric, not tights like some of the guys wore shamelessly, but I’d seen him in so much less, felt his body on top of me dislocating my ribs.
When we moved into the center of the room, I waited for Drake to put his hands on my waist like all the other boys were doing, but instead, he stood behind me with his hands on his waist. I waited for a few minutes before I turned around.
“What are you doing?”
“Shh. No talking in ballet class.” His words were stern, but there was a glimmer of smile in his eyes.
I turned around and stood there stupidly waiting for another few minutes until he finally put his hands on my waist, firm hands holding onto my sides but instead of lifting, he just kept his hands there. Five minutes we stood there until we moved to the next position, which was him holding my hand while I stood on tiptoe and tried to keep my leg outstretched behind me in a beautiful line.
“Drake, you’re killing me. I’ve been holding my leg in the air for five hours.”
“You exaggerate. It’s only been two.” He glanced at me before he focused once more above my left shoulder.
“What are you…”
“Shhhh! No talking in ballet class!” Madame clapped her hands for emphasis and that was the last time I tried to communicate with my partner. Fine. If he wanted to act weird, I could handle that. I could double that. The next time he took a long time
grabbing my leg and lifting me above his head, I grabbed his leg and proceeded to lift it off the ground. Not him though. No. I was not going to get him over my head however irritated I was. He watched me blankly while his foot kept going up and up until it touched his ear then I put it down.
“Aren’t you going to lift me?”
I rolled my eyes. He was ridiculously flexible and his feet pointed beautifully.
After class I hurried to change then went into the hall, only brought up short by a girl with mascara streaked down her cheeks.
“Are you really going to the dance with Drake?” she scream/sobbed at me.
I glanced around and the hall was filled with people still as statues, waiting for the outcome. I took a deep breath. Signore. “Yes, I am. We’re going as friends.”
She started wailing and screaming about the injustice of life while I edged around her. I glanced up and caught Drake’s eye where he watched the proceedings with a great deal of satisfaction on his face. Well fine, I was pretty satisfied myself.
After the rest of my classes, including Business which I got through without actually talking to Drake, I stumbled into History to collapse beside Viney.
“Are you okay? Don’t puke on me.”
I pulled out a lollypop and unwrapped it, cellophane crackling satisfyingly. “No, just tired.”
She stared at me. “Are you really going to the dance with Drake?”
I winced. “I guess I am. I think he blackmailed me.”
She wrinkled her face up. “I didn’t think you’d want to talk to him after that whole thing with Wit, but now you’re going to the dance with him? It’s weird.”
“What thing with Wit?” My stomach tightened and I tasted bile. At least it wasn’t black cherry.
“Everyone knows what Wit told you about Drake. It’s…”
“Books open, please.”
I opened my book and refused to look at Viney for the rest of the class. Afterwards there was homework, lots of it because I’d missed an entire day. I headed to study hall and got to be glared at by Oscar who I kept picturing naked in orange lights.
He paired me with another guy who was remarkably picturesque, all long brown locks and large, soft eyes, with a mouth like genocide. He looked like a telenovela star who wouldn’t say much but wouldn’t have trouble seducing the entire cast anyway.
He wanted to teach me Italian, which was good because I didn’t know real Itali
an, just Ludi and our secret language. He’d lean forward and give me a definition after licking his lips and looking at me just so beneath his hooded lids.
Finally, it was time to leave. I was nervous when Viney and Zach waited for me at the entrance. What were they doing there?
“Guys, what’s going on?”
“We’re going with you to do community service.” Zach smiled slightly while Viney looked in pain.
“Seriously? I wasn’t going to go. I was sick yesterday, so I might still be contagious.”
Viney shook her head. “Professor Vale said you’re fine. Were you studying with Lester?” She made a face.
“What? He’s gorgeous.”
She shot me a bewildered look. “What are you talking about? He looks like a wildebeest. All that hair and meat, he’s like a…”
“Brooding Heathcliffe. I think he’s going to forget that we’re speaking Italian and carry me off to some cliff with perpetual lightning storms.”
Zach looked at me in confusion. “That’s the kind of guy you like? And what’s so great about perpetual lightning?”
“Well if I were the bride of Frankenstein, which would be cool, I would be in a constant state of perfect energy and regeneration with all the lightning.”
Viney groaned. “So you’re saying that Lester is the perfect monster to your monster bride. Now I understand you. Let’s go.”
She grabbed my arm and hauled me along while Zach gave me a sympathetic smile.
After letting her pull me down all those library steps and down the pillared hallways, I pulled away from Viney when I saw Drake’s green suburban.
“I don’t think…”
“What’s wrong, Penny? Are you afraid of me?” Drake stood in the shadows, leaning against the car door with his muscular arms across his chest.
“Should I be?” Yes, yes I should.
He smiled. “I promise to be on my best behavior. I’ll play chauffeur while you and Viney ride in the back, and then after we do Community Service, we’ll stop at the regular place and eat in our regular booths.”
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