A Touch of Water (Touch of Magic Book 1)

by C. K. Johnson

  “I’ll survive. See you later?”

  “Lunch?”

  “Sure,” I said, butterflies on the loose again like they’d drank Red Bull chased by a pixie stick. He was declaring us as a couple. I wanted to tell someone, but all I had was myself. Okay, next step, get a new friend and never show her anything magical.

  As if the universe sensed my need, Emily stepped up beside me in the lunch line and smiled. “Hey, how’s it going?”

  “Good, how are you?” I asked her. She looked like she had been getting better every day since I freed her of Caitlyn’s deep sorrow.

  “I’ve been good. Really good,” she said. “Mind if I eat with you today? I heard a rumor you and Caitlyn are on the outs.”

  “From who?” I snapped, annoyed it was already out.

  “Just around. Listen, never mind. I’m sorry I brought it up,” Emily said as she started walking away.

  “Emily, come eat with us. I want you to,” I said, waving her back. I met Tyler’s eyes, and he just nodded. The moment we sat down, he pulled Emily into the conversation and I couldn’t believe how fast lunch had flown by when the bell rang. I hadn’t seen Caitlyn anywhere, but I hadn’t looked.

  “That Emily girl seems nice,” Tyler said as we started for class.

  “Want to give me a hint about this weekend?”

  “What are your thoughts on squid?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Squid?”

  “Okay, squid is off the list. How about roller-coasters? I’ve heard there are some wicked ones up north.”

  “I’m okay with roller-coasters.” Next to squid, that sounded a lot more fun. Besides, we were landlocked; whatever we were doing with the squid, it couldn’t be that fresh.

  “Good, I’ll remember that for later.” He navigated opening the door much better today. “After you. Pirates?”

  “The last pirate place around here burned down.” I pulled out my notebook and flipped to an open page.

  “I don’t see how that would prevent us from dressing up like pirates and storming the college campus.” His eyes held a wicked twinkle.

  “I don’t own anything piratey.” I fumbled, hoping to get this idea nixed before it went too far.

  “That can be arranged, Matey.” He winked.

  The teacher cleared his throat and the class faced forward. This conversation was not going to end with me dressing up as a pirate. I pulled his notebook over and scribbled NO, not even if you wish it.

  He pulled it back and shook his head.

  Since you are Cinderella, how about a ball? he printed in small, neat block handwriting. His handwriting was better than mine.

  A ball? Where are you going to find a ball around here? I scribbled back.

  You’re questioning my skills?

  Yes, Mr. Piratey squid man.

  I’m hurt.

  The teacher started walking the row and Tyler slammed the notebook closer, drawing more attention to us than not.

  Tyler reached for his crutch and started fumbling with it, then raised his hand.

  “Yes, Tyler?”

  “Can I go to the bathroom?”

  “Yes, Tyler.” He shook his head.

  Tyler hammed up leaving the room. I waited for the teacher to pass before sliding Tyler’s notebook over to me.

  I want to know more about this ball, I scrawled, shutting it quickly before the teacher came back around.

  After fifteen minutes, I started to question whether Tyler was ever coming back. The bell rang, answering my question. The teacher seemed to think the same thing because he glanced at the door, then back at Tyler’s empty seat. “I’ll just bring his stuff to him,” I said, grabbing his notebook as I left.

  Tyler was nowhere to be seen. I pestered a guy in the hall to double check in the bathroom for me—nothing. I should have left his books in the classroom. It would have served him right.

  We didn’t bump into each other again until school ended. One look at Tyler’s face and I knew that what detained him had to have been bad. “Hey,” he said half-heartedly.

  “Hey. Got your books,” I replied and flipped my backpack around so I could pull them out.

  “Thanks. Sorry about not coming back. I just had to think about some stuff,” he said, forcing a half smile on his face.

  “Want to talk about it?” I asked, wanting to reach out and hold his hand. I hesitated, then went back to searching for his books.

  “Not yet,” he said, taking the stack and a couple of crumpled papers.

  “Okay, well, if you change your mind,” I said, nudging him with my elbow. That did not seem too presumptuous.

  His smile went up a little higher. He reached out and pulled me into a hug and my stomach flip-flopped. “I should be grateful. It could have been so much worse. And here I am wishing I could get everything back.”

  “It scared me.” It felt weird to say it aloud. I might as well have yelled it down the hall for how embarrassed it made me feel.

  “It’s all a little fuzzy. I can’t believe I forced you to go on a date with me.”

  “Yeah, that was weird. I figured you just hit your head too hard.” I leaned away. People were starting to smirk. “So, what about this ball?”

  “Ball?” His grin became mischievous again. “Just have to wait and see. Walk you to your car?”

  This isn’t a dream. He wants to walk you to his car, I thought as I pushed down an eek, followed by a logical letdown. “We’re on different sides of the parking lot.”

  “So you know where my car is?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

  “Shut up,” I said, softening my words with a smile.

  “See you tomorrow, Cinderella.”

  Chapter Nine

  “So, where exactly is he taking you?” my mom asked as again she pulled a tray of brownies out of the oven. My mouth watered as the smell of warm chocolate hit my nose. I contemplated snatching one, then pictured our romantic moment ruined by having chocolate smeared across my teeth.

  It might be worth it, I thought as my mom started cutting the brownies into neat squares. I could barely write straight on lined pages, and she could cut perfectly shaped brownies on the fly. Life wasn’t fair.

  “It’s a surprise,” I said taking a small corner piece.

  “Who will be driving?” she asked, her eyebrow raised in inquiry.

  His friends had been driving him to school but I hadn’t thought about it until this moment.

  “It’s his left leg that’s broken, not his right,” I mumbled. I should have offered to drive. How was this going to work?

  “Well, if he’s driving and he’s struggling at all, you drive, okay? And be home by midnight,” she said, interrupting my contemplation.

  “I’ll be home in time. It’s weird, isn’t it? I looked up everything, including the movies, and I still have no idea what he’s thinking. What if he means we’re going out to play baseball or something?”

  “Heaven forbid you play baseball. Besides, he’s in a cast,” she said, rolling her eyes in mock exaggeration.

  “Not funny,” I said, slipping a square off the plate.

  “Well, whatever it is, if you get uncomfortable, you know you can always call us and we can pick you up,” she said, meeting my gaze and holding it.

  “Yeah, I know. Tyler’s not that kind of guy though. He’s good.” I paused. “He calls me Cinderella.”

  Mom rested her elbow on the counter and leaned forward. “Cinderella? Do tell.”

  “Mom,” I said, then shoved my mouth full of brownie to emphasize that we were not going to talk about it.

  A knock at the door further stopped her. “Eese get it,” I mumbled through a mouth full of brownie as I ran to the bathroom to check out my teeth.

  Mom laughed as she went to the front door. I brushed my teeth and inspected them twice before going out to meet Tyler.

  Mom had already steered him into the kitchen and from the count of brownies left on the plate, he was already two in. He grinned and I laughed. �
��You ready to go?” he asked.

  “Any hint?”

  “And give away the surprise? I don’t think so,” he said, picking up his other crutch and starting for the door.

  I glanced back at Mom, who was trying to hide her amusement at the situation and failing. Why had I told her about the Cinderella thing? Because Caitlyn lost her mind. The thought snapped forward instantly. I followed Tyler out the door.

  The car was warm—really warm. Tyler clicked the heat up a notch and smiled at me. I smiled back and tried to calm my shaking nerves. It was our second date but felt like our first. Hospital dates shouldn’t count.

  “Warm enough?” he asked, his hand going for the dial again.

  “Yes,” I replied, maybe a little too quickly.

  He laughed. “I kept remembering how bad you were shivering as we drove up to that hike. I kept thinking if Jacob would just look over, he’d see it. He never did.”

  “I might have been half-shaking because I agreed to go on a hike,” I quipped, my smile getting bigger. I’d completely forgotten about being freezing. I’d been more distracted by the fact Melissa was sitting in the backseat than the fact my lips felt like they were turning blue. I’d forgotten, and he remembered.

  “Well, if it makes you feel any better, we’re not going hiking,” he said, flashing me a bad boy grin. It looked so good on him, but he’d already proven how sweet he was with one twitch of the heat dial. He might gain it back, though, if he didn’t tell where we were going soon.

  “So what kind of music do you like to listen to?” He flipped on the radio to some station that played only classical.

  “Not this,” I said, pushing a button. Folk rock band music flooded the car. “So that’s six. I wonder what’s on number one.” I reached for the button and hit it at the same time he went for it.

  The music of Orange Sweater, a local band, spilled out of the radio and he grabbed my hand. “How about this?”

  “I like this,” I said, though I had no idea what was playing. I wasn’t even trying to listen. My thoughts were still wrapped up in the sensation of him holding my hand. It felt good, safe, and pushed away some of my self-doubts about how this was going to work.

  “So what is your favorite color? Purple?”

  “Why do you say that?” I asked, glancing down at my black top. It seemed the safest bet, sort of fancy with light ruffles, but not too fancy.

  “You’ve worn a purple shirt three days this week.”

  I paused. “You paid attention to what color of shirt I wore,” I said, taken aback. I didn’t think guys did that. I didn’t even think Caitlyn bothered and she had been my best friend.

  “I don’t usually. I can’t help noticing you, and sometimes that includes what color shirt you have on.”

  “Easy, Charming. You’re going into stalker territory,” I said, trying to break up how serious the conversation was suddenly becoming. “And no, my favorite color is not purple. But my mother likes it.”

  “Oh, so what is it?”

  “I’ll tell you when you tell me where we’re going.”

  “I guess I’m just going to have to wait,” he said with a wink. I pretended to glare but couldn’t manage it for too long. He glanced over and squeezed my hand for a second. I blushed and squeezed back.

  “Joe’s Hot Chocolate Bar?” I asked. I could hear the music from inside the car as we parked. It sounded sort of cool. “Not quite following how this pertains to a ball or squid.”

  “Don’t bash it until you have it,” he said, winking. He got out, hobbled over, and opened my door. Okay, that was Prince Charming-like.

  The smell of hot chocolate, cupcakes, and muffins surrounded me when Tyler opened the door. My mouth watered as I caught sight of a gigantic chocolate muffin. It looked like a small cake. This was my kind of ball.

  “Your mom’s brownies are better,” he said, following my gaze.

  “Come here often?” I asked. I spotted a free table and practically ditched him to grab it before someone else could. The place was packed.

  “Sometimes. Their karaoke night isn’t too bad,” he said, nodding up front.

  The woman on the stage hit the chorus, and I swear for a moment, the air shimmered. I didn’t release my breath until she hit the third verse. “She is amazing,” I breathed out.

  Tyler looked at me and I blushed. I wasn’t sure how to say we must be witnessing some kind of magic. I cleared my throat and instead said, “She’s better than anything on the radio.”

  He quirked an eyebrow and turned his attention back to her. She drifted off on the last note, leaving a hush around what had been a noisy room.

  A skinny beanpole of a man stepped up to the microphone. “Let’s give it up for Kyra. We always love it when she can stop by during her travels.” He started clapping. In seconds, the room filled with clapping, whistling, and laughter.

  “Let’s welcome back, for his second time, Tyler, who’s performing a song he wrote called ‘Cinderella.’”

  More than a few people clapped. Chairs scraped as they moved out of the way so he could get through. I was surprised I could hear anything over the sound of my beating heart. Holy cow, I was at once thrilled and embarrassed. I leaned back in my chair and tried to appear casual despite the blood I felt rushing to my face. I must be a bright red by now.

  “Hey everyone, it’s good to see some of you again and see some new faces in the crowd. I promised my girlfriend a party, so I’m going to pick up the pace. It’s going to be hard following an act like Kyra. Let’s give it up for her one more time.”

  The crowd cheered again, though it didn’t take long for them to turn their attention back to him. I bit my lip and waited.

  No wonder he said he missed music. My boyfriend was amazing. His lyrics told the story of our hike in poetry, and though some small part of me panicked that he was telling the world what I could do, most of me was enthralled with how he viewed everything that had happened. I could see me through his eyes, and it was at once cool and scary. I could never live up to his Cinderella. Did he expect me to?

  I wanted the song to end and yet I didn’t. Movies did not do justice to this kind of moment. It was so incredibly cheesy, I wanted to smack him when he came back to the table, and at the same time, I sort of wanted to kiss him too. People were clapping before his last word faded. He grinned at me, then took a bow. I had been wrong: That bad boy smile fit him perfectly.

  It took awhile for him to get back to the table. Beanpole stopped trying to get people’s attention for the next act until Tyler finally sat down.

  “So how’d you like it?” he asked me. I glanced over to find he wasn’t looking at my face but staring at his hands. His cheeks looked as red as mine felt. I took comfort in that.

  “It was good. You’re really good. I can see why you miss it,” I said, careful to keep my eyes on his hands.

  “Thanks. If you stay here long enough, there’s a girl, Carly, and when she sings, everybody gets up and starts dancing.

  “Oh,” I said, glancing at the tight space and his crutches.

  “But she usually doesn’t get here until eleven,” he added, looking at his crutches, too. “The muffins are decent. Want one?”

  “Sure,” I said maybe a little too fast. He laughed.

  “Joe.” He raised his hand high and waved at Beanpole.

  The next thing I knew, Joe pulled up a chair. He didn’t bring it too close, allowing enough room for him to stretch out his long legs. “Good job, Tyler. I think that was your best yet. You gotta keep coming. We have people ask every time you don’t show.”

  “Well, the hospital was pretty insistent about me staying,” he joked. “So I was wondering if you could get us some muffins, as it’s a bit full tonight. I’ll have the strawberry cheesecake. What about you?” he said. His eyes meet mine again. I smiled, and muffins completely left my mind.

  Jimmy cleared his throat. “Menu’s up there. Give you a minute,” he said before getting up and heading for the c
ounter.

  “The Triple Chocolate Divine is good,” Tyler said, breaking eye contact to glance at the menu. “So is Where is my Kiwi.”

  That broke through. I glanced at the menu and started laughing. “I want See no Evil, Speak no Evil, Eat no Evil.”

  Joe came back with Tyler’s muffin and took my order, then disappeared. “So, I think I’ve earned knowing your favorite color,” Tyler said once I had my muffin.

  “Blue. Like when you’re staring into a deep lake and it looks so dark it’s almost black, but not quite.”

  “I’m going to go with blue.”

  I shrugged, not wanting to speak while my mouth was full of some combination of éclair and cheesecake. Whatever happened with us, I was going to keep coming back here.

  “Speaking of water, are you going to tell me about this water bottle thing you and Melissa have been getting cozy about?”

  “Patience. All will be revealed in due time,” I said, waving my fingers around in a poor attempt to sound mysterious.

  “Will ‘due time’ be by the end of your muffin?”

  “Sources say: No.”

  “How about by our next date?”

  “Tricky. And maybe,” I said, jabbing my fork into the side of his muffin. He retaliated within seconds and then tried to go back for more. I blocked his fork with mine.

  “What if I sang another song?” He edged his fork over.

  “Thank you for the song, but no.” I smiled and met his eyes again.

  “Lilly, what happened up there on that mountain? You told me a little bit, but I feel like there’s a lot I missed. I remember you grabbing my water bottle. Now you and Melissa are talking about one…” He trailed off.

  “I thought water might help you feel better,” I said lamely, watching his hands again. I couldn’t tell him more. Things were complicated enough. If I explained what happened to him, maybe I’d tell him what happened to Caitlyn and then what happened to Emily and then Melissa because I had been stupid and not thought it through. I still didn’t fully know how it worked.

  “I’m going to wait until you’re ready to tell me. But we both know something happened out there and leave it at that. I’m saving one of my wishes for the answer, just in case. In the meantime, do you sing?”