Six Times a Charm

by Deanna Chase

  I nodded as Ernie squeezed me in another big hug. “Be careful,” I whispered.

  Ernie scampered out of the store while I glanced around the space to see how many frowning faces watched.

  When the excitement died down, Jennifer slid back over. “What was that about?”

  “Honestly, I have no idea.” I really didn’t want to talk about it. If we could just pick out my underoos and get the heck out of there, I’d be one happy camper.

  “All right. Now that that’s over, let’s find you some sexy little things that will blow Jack’s mind. You’ll look so hot he won’t be able to resist.”

  “I still don’t know why I let you talk me into this. He’s not going to see anything under my clothing.” Although, if my dream was any indication, maybe soon he would. That was one dream I wouldn’t mind coming true.

  “Rylie, Rylie, Rylie.” She shook her head in pity. “Are you serious? I’ve seen the way you look at him. If I poured steak sauce on him, it would be all over. Drool leaks out of your mouth whenever you catch a glimpse of him. And he ogles you the same way.”

  “He does not.” I chuckled. “What kind of steak sauce are we talking here?”

  Jennifer rolled her eyes, then swept me over to another display and snatched up coordinating lacy garments. I had a feeling I wouldn’t get much say in what I chose.

  But things were moving along nicely, and I figured in no time at all I’d be out of there and on my way to dream-date time. Until, in a flash, that all changed.

  Chapter 9

  How to Date a Werewolf Rule # 9:

  “Big Bad Wolf” is not a pet name.

  So many styles and so many sizes. With my head buried under a rack, I searched for my size, then Jennifer screamed.

  “Oh. My. God. Is Lily wearing a t-shirt that says Get a Mate Is a Fake?”

  “What did you just say? Ouch.” I whacked my head on the display on my way up. A nice goose egg would be an attractive accessory for a lovely evening. Maybe I could disguise it as a hat.

  “You heard me. Look. I can’t believe it,” she said.

  I scanned the area for Lily. My mouth fell open.

  “Unless my eyes are seeing things, yes, she is wearing the extremely clever expression across a shirt. I need to make her eat that shirt.” Lily wore a very noticeable bright pink shirt.

  “Do you think she copyrighted that slogan?”

  “Ugh. Very funny. Why is everyone following me while I’m trying to buy underwear? Couldn’t they at least do it when I’m buying, oh, I don’t know, say laundry detergent?”

  “I’ll say one thing, she’s clever. I’ll give her that. Maybe she should be in the marketing business. What did you say she does again?” she asked.

  “She’s a nurse.” I smirked.

  “What? She treats sick people? I hope I never end up in her hospital.” She winced.

  “I can’t believe her.” I threw down the bras. “She’s officially stalking me. Is she looking at us?” I diverted my eyes so she wouldn’t know I had spotted her. “Try not to let her see you looking her way. Please just let her go away.”

  “Oh, she just saw me eyeing her,” Jennifer whispered.

  “Damn. I hope she doesn’t cause a scene.” Lily had to be the person who followed us earlier. It wasn’t a coincidence she was here at the same time. It wasn’t as if she lived close by. No, I was convinced she had been in that dark sedan, following us all the way here. But did she really have a gun? My imagination had probably played tricks on me.

  Lily had a bitter smile plastered on her face. If the store employees thought my Uncle Ernie was bad wait until they got a load of Lily the Lupine.

  “You think she was the one following us?”

  “Had to be.”

  Lily strolled around the store, acting as if she didn’t know we existed. My gaze followed every move she made, since she now knew we were aware of her presence. I’d have to be on guard. She could make a move at any moment.

  She picked up a bra, set it down, then picked up a lotion from the round table in the middle of the store. She studied the lacy unmentionables with a menacing smirk on her face and, all the while, watched me from the corner of one evil little eye. Then she strutted to the back of the store, apparently ignoring us. I didn’t know what her next move would be, but it couldn’t be good. What did she want from me? I felt as if she wanted me to suffer, maybe feel her heartache.

  “Come on, we’ll ignore her. If we don’t acknowledge her, she’ll leave. You need to try on these bras. Now march to the fitting room.” Jennifer had amassed bras in her arms, one of each color and style.

  “What for? I told you my size. I don’t need to try them on. Plus, we don’t have the time. I want to get out of here.”

  “I know for a fact you say you’re a B cup when in fact you are an A cup.” She grabbed my arm and escorted me toward the dressing room. Lily was in the back of the store at that point, pretending not to notice us. She knew where we moved, though, as if she had eyes in the back of her head. Hell, for all I knew she did.

  “I’m a full A. Thank you very much. And I don’t even want to know how you know that little detail.” I pretended to be offended. To keep my delusion of being a B cup alive, I puffed out my chest. We’d been best friends for too long for her to not know my real cup size, and I knew it.

  She pushed me into the tiny dressing room and tried wedging her body in next to mine.

  “It is too small in here for you too. Wait outside,” I said as I shut the door in her face.

  She stuck out her tongue as the door shut. I shimmied out of my blouse and bra.

  Stuffed into the garments Jennifer chose, I yelled out to her. “Hey, this black one with the little pink ribbons really makes my boobs look bigger.” I studied my reflection, admiring the pretty black and pink bra. I didn’t have much to work with, but every bit of help I could get I’d take.

  “And, boy, do you need that.”

  “Argh.” I jumped back and hit the side of the little partition, almost falling down. “What the hell? What are you doing?”

  “That bra doesn’t help you much. The only help for you is a surgeon.”

  “You’re crazy, do you know that?” I held my shirt over my chest.

  Lily’s face peeked down at me from over the top of the adjacent dressing room. How the hell she’d slipped in there without us noticing, I’d never know.

  Jennifer burst through the door. “What the heck are you screaming about in here?” There was no need to answer her when she looked up to see Lily’s wild eyes staring down at us. Lily glared with her usual devilish smirk, clearly very proud of her feat.

  “Shoo. Shoo.” Jennifer swatted in the general direction of Lily’s face with a thong. She tiptoed, trying to reach the top, stretching as high as she could. I didn’t even want to know how Lily managed to climb up there.

  “Is everything all right in here?” The woman’s name tag read Beth and underneath Manager. Uh-oh. We would surely be kicked out of the store faster than I could say Miracle Bra. Beth tapped her foot and eyed us like we were insane. Heck, we probably were. She frowned and placed her hands on her narrow hips. She wore black pants and a black low-cut V-neck blouse, apparently the store uniform. Her hair and eyes matched the dark shade. Beth’s mouth was set in a thin line as she waited for an answer. Lily slinked away as if nothing were out of sorts.

  “Everything’s fine. I’ll take everything. And this one too as soon as I change into my clothing.” I pointed to the bra that I wore and then handed her every other garment in the room. Jennifer couldn’t complain about my lack of intimates now. I had plenty, thanks to nuttier-than-a-pecan-pie Lily.

  The door to my dressing room was wide open, and several people gawked. One woman grabbed her husband and escorted him away from the scene. Lily waltzed out of the store as if she never gave her actions a second thought—her mission accomplished. Apparently, she was on cloud nine after having embarrassed me. Jennifer looked down and walked to the
other side of the store. Far away from me.

  The manager rang up the items and stuffed them into a bag. I hotfooted it out the door.

  “Jen, wait up. It was your idea to go shopping in the first place.” I sprinted to catch up.

  She was already at the glass doors. She mumbled something and shook her head.

  Every noise or person made me jump. I expected Lily to pop out at any moment. To my surprise, she was nowhere in sight. It wouldn’t be long until she came prowling around again, though. I needed to be ready for her next time. I made my way out the door and smacked right into Martin’s chest.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”

  Jennifer turned around and watched us.

  “Hi, Rylie. What are you doing here?” he asked.

  “Um, shopping.” I gestured toward my bag.

  “Duh, of course. It’s just I’m surprised to run into you here.”

  “Yeah, well, I was doing a little shopping.”

  He looked down at the pink bag and I could have sworn he tried to sneak a peek at my lingerie purchase.

  “It was nice seeing you again,” I said.

  He beamed and I hoped he didn’t take the last part of the conversation literally.

  “It was nice seeing you too,” he said as I walked away.

  I waved over my shoulder.

  “So that was Martin,” Jennifer said as she opened the car door.

  As I plopped down in the car, I said, “Yes, that’s him. I can’t believe I forgot to tell you. He came in to see me today.” I threw my shopping bag in the backseat.

  “Who?” Jennifer climbed behind the steering wheel.

  “You know, Martin. Lily’s ex-main squeeze for all of two weeks. He asked me out.”

  “Get out. No wonder she’s following you. You’ve been trying to steal her man. What did he say?” She guided the car back onto the road.

  I looked around. So far no one appeared to be following us. “I am not trying to steal her man. I don’t think Lily even knows he was there to see me and ask me out. But, if she does, it’s because he told her. Or she has a wiretap in my office. Which, actually, wouldn’t surprise me.”

  “So he asked you out? What did you say?” Jennifer had resumed her mild-mannered driving persona. She steered the car onto the highway.

  “I declined, of course. I told him I couldn’t date clients. He wanted me to pretend he wasn’t a client anymore.”

  “Ouch. I can’t imagine being in your shoes. That’s a sticky situation,” she said.

  “Tell me about it. Poor guy. I offered to fix him up with someone else.”

  “Good luck with that,” she said.

  “Okay, I’m going to ask again, and don’t tell me it’s top secret. Why did you take a defensive driving course?” I asked.

  “Court ordered.” Jennifer didn’t take her eyes off the road.

  “And you didn’t share this little tidbit with me because? When did this happen?”

  “I was too embarrassed to tell anyone at the time. But I don’t care now, I’m over it. It was the last time my dad was in the hospital. I was trying to get there quickly like a good daughter. I should have known he was faking again. When someone expects responsibility from him, bam, a heart attack comes along.”

  “Oh. Sorry.” Maybe I shouldn’t have asked.

  Jennifer’s father was the reason she and I met. He took off when she was fourteen, leaving Jennifer’s mother to raise a teenager. That was the year we met. We attended different high schools, but met at summer camp when we shared a cabin. Even though my parents were still together, they were out there on a planet of their own sometimes, so I sympathized with her problem.

  ***

  After an uneventful trip home, we pulled into the parking spot next to our apartment. I fumbled with my cumbersome pink bags, and crawled out of the car. With any luck, Jack wouldn’t see me sneaking in with my sexy merchandise.

  Slamming the door, I moved around the car. A voice echoed down from a nearby balcony. I wished I didn’t recognize it.

  “Hey, Rylie. Did you buy a sexy little number to model for me?”

  The mere thought made my skin crawl.

  Our creepy neighbor, Phil, who always seemed to lurk around corners watching for any woman in sight, leaned over his balcony and ogled us. He was one strange character, and that was putting it mildly. One minute we would be alone, the next thing we knew, he would be there, leering and waiting with an offensive comment. He picked his teeth with his pocketknife while staring.

  “They make toothpicks and dental floss, you know?” Vile creature.

  “Don’t acknowledge him,” Jennifer said, slamming her door shut.

  I quickened my step and avoided additional eye contact with him. “I thought you liked bald guys? There’s your chance.” I twisted my lips into a sly grin.

  “Oh God, the thought makes me want to bathe in a tub of bleach. I like bald guys fine, just not that one.” She cringed.

  “He even dressed up for you. He only has one stain on his t-shirt.”

  “Sick. Not in a million years. I wouldn’t touch him with a ten-foot pole. I don’t want to think about it.”

  We turned the corner. He whistled as we moved out of sight.

  “All right, but if you change your mind, I’m sure he’ll be waiting for you.”

  Jennifer scowled. “All right, I’m changing the subject. You know a few witches. How about putting a love spell on him?”

  “Why does Phil need a love spell?”

  “No, silly. Jack. Place a spell on him, maybe then this curse of yours wouldn’t matter.”

  The emphasis on curse sounded condescending.

  “Yeah, I know a few witches. But a gypsy witch is what caused the curse in the first place. I don’t want to get involved in anything like that, thanks. Let’s change the subject. I have to get ready, you know. I need a lot of primping time. A girl can never primp too much.”

  She grabbed my arm and steered me toward the street.

  “Where are we going?” We passed the door to the apartment, and without saying another word, Jennifer guided me down the street.

  Finally, she said, “Well…I’ve been doing some thinking.”

  “Uh-oh. You have wild ideas when given ample time to think things over.”

  “We are right next door to a voodoo shop…”

  “What does that have to do with anything? Oh God. Tell me you don’t want to have a spell cast on Jack or put a curse on Lily? I won’t do it. I will have no part in it.”

  “No, no. Nothing like that.” She waved off the notion. “I was just thinking if there is a curse on you, maybe the voodoo priestess can help. You know, get rid of it. She has to know about curses.” She swung her pink shopping bags merrily as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

  I was glad one of us could be worry-free. I’d just been attacked while wearing my underwear, and we’d been chased by a mysterious driver—whose first name was probably Lily—who needed his or her license revoked, and may or may not have had a gun. Again, how she could be happy, I didn’t have a clue.

  “No way.” I shook my head to let her know her idea was out of the question. I broke free of her clutch and turned on my heel to make an escape. A couple passed and gave us funny looks.

  Before I could move more than a few steps, Jennifer jumped in front of me, blocking me. “At least try it. Walk into the shop. What can that hurt? Think of it like any other part of this fantastic place we call home. Like Cajun food or jazz music. You’re going on a ghost tour, for heaven’s sake. What’s the difference?”

  “It gives me the heebie-jeebies, that’s the difference. I’ve got plenty of supernatural things in my life—I don’t need to add another.” I snorted.

  “Voodoo is a religion, it’s not supernatural.” She held my arm again. “Rylie, you of all people should know these things. It’s your job.”

  “Is that right? Well, please forgive me for not knowing my job. When did you
become an expert?” I pulled free from her tight grasp. That was the second time she’d questioned my expertise.

  “I’m not an expert. I’ve just heard, that’s all. I can’t believe you spend your days around vampires, psychics, witches, and who knows what else. You’re a friggin’ werewolf, yet you won’t set foot into a voodoo shop? Stop being such a crybaby. Chicken.” She scrunched her eyebrows together, then smirked and I knew what was next.

  “You look ridiculous. Don’t even start doing that silly chicken dance. Actually, now that you mention it, you do kind of resemble a chicken.” As the words left my lips, Jennifer stuck her hands under her armpits to form wings.

  “All right, all right. I’ll walk in there and that’s it. Please just don’t do that stupid dance. And I’m certainly not performing spells or anything. So you can flush that notion right out of your little head.”

  “Thank you. I thought you’d see it my way.” She grabbed my arm yet again and yanked me back down the sidewalk. Her comment, although audacious, made me smile.

  Within seconds, I confronted my voodoo phobia and was in front of the slightly rundown building. I think the neglected look was mostly to set a mysterious vibe for tourists, and it

  worked. I’d always been a part of the dark side of the city, but I’d never messed around with voodoo. To be honest, I didn’t know a thing about it—only what I’d heard on television. Obviously, I believed there were those who possessed spiritual gifts, but there were also those who were crazy nut jobs. I was somewhat (okay, a lot) gullible, and didn’t want to become a victim of one of the frauds.

  Old, battered shutters enclosed the entrance and I paused before stepping through the doorway. Jennifer pulled me the rest of the way in. Chipped paint dotted the walls, and the hardwood floor planks creaked under my feet. Voodoo dolls, beads, candles and masks adorned the space. Books and other thingamabobs, their use I had no idea about, were displayed everywhere. The room was filled to the brim. I barely saw a vacant spot on any of the walls.

  Out of the corner of my eye, a beautiful woman appeared from the aisle next to us as if out of nowhere. Her wrinkle-free face concealed her age, yet she had the air of confidence and wisdom only age could bring.