How to Date a Witch

by Rose Pressey

  I got her name from the form. It also stated that she was a witch. “So tell me, Gracie Edwards, what are you looking for in a date?”

  “I answered that on the forms. Can’t you find out there?” Her gaze was locked on me now.

  “Touché.” I read over her answers. “You want a handsome, rich, smart witch.”

  Well, it shouldn’t be hard to find one of those. Let me check my pocket for handsome, rich witches.

  “How soon can you find a date for me?” she asked, tapping her fingers against her purse. “Rich would be nice, but handsome is at the top of my list.”

  “Do you have a special event coming up?” Maybe I could get her to explain why she needed a date immediately.

  She stared as if I’d asked the question in a foreign language.

  “Yes… a party, yes, that’s it… a party.”

  Gracie didn’t sound convinced. I hoped she didn’t turn out to be another Lily. One of those was all I could handle.

  Her cell phone rang before I could ask more questions. After rummaging around in her purse, she pulled out her pink phone.

  “Yes,” she said as she answered. “I’m kind of busy right now.”

  Gracie had turned her head and lowered her voice. Was this a private call or was she just trying to be polite by not talking during our meeting?

  “Fine, I’ll be right there,” she yelled.

  She looked at me after she ended the call. My eyes were wide as I tried to hide my shock. I was pretty sure it wasn’t working.

  She pushed to her feet. “You have my info. Call me as soon as you have something for me. My credit card number is on the form. Just charge me for whatever the cost is.”

  As she hurried toward the door, I rushed around my desk. Exactly what I should say escaped me. Gracie marched out the door. As quickly as she had appeared, she was gone.

  Chapter 3

  How to Date a Witch Rule #3

  Wart remover isn’t an appropriate gift

  I had a lunch meeting scheduled at the Café Beignet. Unfortunately, Jack couldn’t go with me for lunch today since he had appointments. It was just as well. I needed the extra time to talk to the client anyway. Though I liked to show my clients that I actually had a boyfriend. It made it seem as if I knew what I was doing. I headed out the door and over a few blocks to the restaurant. The blue sky and fluffy clouds lifted my mood. I wouldn’t let anything get me down today.

  Over the past couple of days I’d noticed a woman following me, the one I’d seen outside my building this morning. She seemed to be every place I went. Even worse, she was always staring at me—fixated with eyes that almost seemed to glow a cat-like green. Luckily, she was nowhere in sight today. It could be a coincidence, but it had made me slightly paranoid. My neck hurt from constantly peeking over my shoulder.

  I arrived at the cute little café with its green-and-white-striped awning-covered entrance. Black iron chairs and matching tables sat on the front sidewalk. A tent menu board welcoming customers to try the daily special was by the entrance. I stepped through the door of the small space and looked around for my appointment. I was supposed to meet her here at eleven. I checked the time. It was exactly eleven on the dot.

  Sprinkled around the inside of the restaurant were the same-style iron tables and chairs as outside. The counter to order food was on the far right wall toward the back. A huge chalkboard menu hung on the wall behind it. I should order a veggie sandwich or something healthier, but I needed my meat. A werewolf had needs. I wished I could be a vegetarian, but it just wasn’t happening. I’d never heard of a werewolf successfully being a vegetarian. I had even tried it myself. I had lasted less than five minutes before I broke down in tears—a slobbering, quivering mess. Sometimes I was such a sad, pathetic display. But I digressed again.

  “Extra meat today?” the young man behind the counter asked.

  Had I come in here that often? At least I left the bread on the sandwich. I didn’t want the employees to think I was too weird.

  “Yes, please,” I said as I handed him my debit card.

  “Excuse me. Are you Rylie Cruz?” the female voice said from behind me.

  When I turned around, a dark-haired woman was standing behind me. She was about my height at five foot two. She wore red eyeglasses that matched her dress. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

  “You must be Laurie Peterson.” I stretched my hand out toward her.

  “Yes, it’s nice to meet you.” She scanned the room, as if looking for someone.

  “Would you like to have a seat? How about here at the table?” I gestured toward the one closest to us.

  “Sorry I’m late, but I’ve been in a rush all day.”

  We were the only people in the place. It was before the lunch rush so we’d have the place to ourselves for a bit. Laurie sat across from me at the table. I immediately pulled the paperwork out of my bag and slid it across the table toward her. Might as well get right down to business.

  “I brought the paperwork so you can fill it out.” I offered my brightest smile.

  Oddly, no one wanted to submit their info via the online form. I’d thought they’d be more convenient for people, but if they liked the old-fashioned way that was fine with me.

  Laurie nodded and picked up the papers.

  “This will get me more acquainted with you and help me find the perfect match for you,” I said.

  She flashed a wide smile. “I know exactly what kind of guy I’m looking for. I’d like a tall, handsome, rich witch. Oh, and with short dark hair and blue eyes. Smart with a sense of humor too. He should be really sweet.”

  She batted her eyelashes at me and I took that as the signal that she was finished with her laundry list of mate qualities.

  A woman sashayed by the table. “Don’t we all want a man like that, honey.”

  I tried to hold back my laughter. How was it that Laurie said almost the same thing as Gracie? Sure, who didn’t want a hunk, but that wasn’t the most important attribute.

  “Well, it’s good that you know what you like. I can work with that.”

  How would I find two rich, good-looking, successful witches?

  “I hope you don’t mind if we go ahead and order. I’m starving,” she said, peering longingly at the glass display of desserts on the counter.

  “Sure, what was I thinking? You need to order. I placed my order already. We can discuss the rest over our meal.” Now I felt bad for not waiting for her before I ordered.

  Laurie ordered a sandwich and drink. After grabbing our sandwiches from the counter, we went back over to the table to finish the discussion while we waited. I wasn’t sure what else to say now that I had her ideal guy info. Though maybe I needed to ask her if she had a second option. Just in case I couldn’t find a handsome, rich, smart witch. I mean, I would try my best, but I wasn’t a miracle worker. I had to work with the cards I was dealt.

  “Oh, you forgot a couple questions at the bottom.” I tapped the page with my index finger.

  She shrugged. “I guess I thought it didn’t matter what my favorite color and food is.”

  “Everything matters,” I said in a serious tone.

  As I munched on my sandwich and Laurie filled out the rest of the form, I looked around the café. Maybe I was really hungry, but the sandwich was extra delish today. Had they used a special sauce? I tried not to eat the whole sandwich in two bites. That might freak my new client out.

  The feeling of being watched washed over me. With the roast beef po-boy stuffed in my mouth, I peered out the window. The woman who’d been following me was standing right in front of the window staring in. Her gaze was locked on me like a laser. There was no denying that her attention was focused totally on me. Her dark hair looked wilder than usual, as if she’d been caught in a wind storm.

  I almost choked on my roast beef. Laurie followed my gaze over to the woman. Laurie released a little gasp. That was an odd reaction. The woman was scary-looking though, so I supposed it wa
s a bit startling.

  “Is it just me or is that woman staring at me?” I whispered.

  “She’s definitely watching you,” Laurie said. “What have you done?”

  “What do you mean? Do you know that woman?” I asked.

  Laurie met my stare. Her blue eyes were wide behind her bright red eyeglasses. Laurie nodded. “I don’t know her, but I know she is a powerful witch.”

  “How do you know that?” When I looked back at the window, the woman was still there. I’d been trying to ignore her for several seconds, but that was unsuccessful. Suddenly my sandwich didn’t taste nearly as good.

  “Her eyes glowed green. Only a powerful witch can do that. I’ve never actually seen anyone do it. I’ve heard about it though.”

  That was a little scary. So the glowing green eyes hadn’t been my imagination. Were the green eyes the result of a magic spell?

  “What do you think she wants? She’s been following me around for a couple of days,” I said.

  “Following you?” Laurie’s voice rose.

  Should I be worried that she sounded so panicked?

  I nodded. “Yeah, like I said, for a couple of days.”

  Laurie gave me another strange look and then she finally shoved the paper back toward me. “I’m sorry, but I really have to go. It’s been nice talking to you.”

  Laurie grabbed her bag and pushed to her feet. She almost tumbled to the ground she moved so quickly. She rushed toward the opposite door. I assumed she didn’t want to be close to the witch. She’d left her half-eaten sandwich on the table.

  “Don’t you want your oven-roasted turkey breast? I’ll be in touch,” I called out as she headed out the door.

  Laurie didn’t look back. I picked up one of her potato chips and stuffed it in my mouth. Nervousness always made me hungry. Why was Laurie in such a hurry? She’d only become that way after noticing the powerful witch. Should I be worried too? Something told me that maybe I should. Goosebumps covered my skin. Though I was hungry, I didn’t finish my sandwich either. I grabbed my bag and hurried for the door. I just hoped that the witch didn’t follow me from here. When I got to the door I peeked to my left and the right. Thank goodness there was no sign of her.

  As I hurried down the sidewalk, passing the old buildings with their iron balconies, I weaved in and out of the crowds. After narrowly missing a collision with a man on a bicycle, I tried not to break out into an all-out run. Yet I tried to hurry at the same time. I glanced over my shoulder. Thank goodness the witch wasn’t back there. I would have just stopped and asked her what the heck she wanted, but after Laurie had been so concerned, now I didn’t know what to do.

  Chapter 4

  How to Date a Witch Rule #4

  Don’t ask if she just flew in on her broomstick

  I made it back to the office in record time and with no sign of the strange witch. After a short time I’d given in and ran the rest of the way. I didn’t care who saw me racing down the street or what they thought. Still panting from the run, I hurried into my office and slammed the door shut, contemplating whether I should lock it. I supposed that would be going a bit too far. If Jack came over he would wonder why the door was locked. I would eventually tell him about what I’d discovered, but I didn’t want to worry him too much. I was just glad to be back at the office. Maybe this would all blow over soon and the witch would leave me alone.

  At least I had my comfortable surroundings. This was my safe haven. The little animal figurines that I collected lined the shelves by my desk. Framed photos of Jack, Jennifer, and my parents decorated the top of my desk.

  After collapsing onto the black leather chair at my desk, I clicked on my computer. Why would a witch want anything to do with me? Was she mad at me? What would cause her to follow me around? Laurie seemed scared. Was there more to this that she hadn’t shared?

  I decided to do a little bit of research on any witches who had used my services. I didn’t recognize the woman, but maybe another witch had sent her my way. I accessed the database and did a search for witches.

  Of course there were quite a few. I didn’t know where to start. None of the names stood out to me. There was one thing that popped into my mind though. Laurie had mentioned the witch’s glowing green eyes. I supposed that was a place to start. Eye color wasn’t something that would be listed in the profiles. Too bad I didn’t recognize the woman.

  There were only a select few I thought might have had a problem with my service. I supposed I could contact them, but what would I say? “Are you unhappy with my matchmaking skills?” Maybe I could do like a survey. It was doubtful that they would list that they had sent an evil witch after me though. “By the way, your service sucks, and I’m sending a witch to get you.” I would have to be careful how I approached this.

  Who did I know to help me with this? I had to ask around about the powerful witch. I was intrigued and I wanted to know more. I did a quick Google search, trying to unearth information about a witch with glowing eyes and her abilities. So far, all I found was that she was powerful and noticeable by the color of her eyes. Duh. I already knew that much. How she’d gotten that way and what it would lead to I wasn’t sure. That would require a little bit more investigating.

  I had more work to do now, but I would get back to this later. First I needed to find Gracie a date. Could the powerful witch have anything to do with Gracie? Gracie had shown up right after I’d seen the witch. It seemed like a big stretch to link the two, but anything was possible. I certainly wasn’t going to rule it out. Of course Laurie had seemed uneasy and surprised by the other witch’s presence. I would try to get more information from Laurie.

  As I tried to work, my thoughts kept coming back to the glowing-eyed witch. I tapped my pen against the desk and stared at the clock on the wall. Curiosity got the better of me and I wanted to know who would be mad enough to send a bad witch after me. What had I done so wrong?

  I was getting a little ahead of myself though. I didn’t even know that she was after me. Just because I’d seen her and she was staring didn’t mean she wanted to harm me. Maybe she was after another person, like someone else close to me. Jack? Who would send a witch after him? Okay, I definitely had to ask Jack if he knew any witches. In a casual way so that I wouldn’t make him worry. Who was I kidding? He would worry. Jack was a special vampire with powerful blood. It made him a target among a lot of the paranormal world.

  As I scrolled down the screen a little more, a knock came at the door. I jumped and embarrassingly screamed a bit. The door immediately flew open and my best friend Jennifer rushed in with a wild look in her eyes.

  “Are you okay? I heard you scream.” She closed the distance between us in two giant steps.

  I leaned back in the chair. “It’s been quite a day.”

  “Customers?” she asked.

  “Yes, strange ones,” I said.

  “Well, you have a few who seemed a bit cuckoo, if you know what I mean.” Jennifer made a twirling motion next to her temple with her index finger.

  I was well aware of what she meant, and I wasn’t going to argue with her on that one. She was completely right.

  After explaining the situation, I asked, “So what do I do?”

  “Well, you’re not even sure what she wanted with you. You only believe that it could be bad. Maybe she wants a date? Oh, I know, your mom knows things about the witches. You know, with that curse thing and all,” Jennifer said with a wave of her hand. “Give her a call.”

  “I don’t want to worry her. You know how she is. If she calls and I don’t answer within five minutes she starts calling hospitals,” I said.

  Chapter 5

  How to Date a Witch Rule #5

  Don’t ask her to cast a spell so you can have the winning lottery numbers. It doesn’t work that way

  Tonight Jack and I had a date planned. I dressed in my jeans that I’d bought on clearance at Nordstrom and my favorite white off-the-shoulder blouse. I had just put on my lip gloss when a
knock came at the door. I hurried over and let Jack in.

  “Hello, gorgeous.” He leaned down and kissed me.

  His hair looked a little damp still. He smelled of soap and slight musky scent. Of course I picked up on the scent right away with my heightened sense of smell. Jack wore tan pants and a light blue polo shirt. He flashed his bright smile at Jennifer and dimples appeared in his cheeks.

  “We’ll be back later, Jennifer.” I looped my purse over my shoulder.

  “I’ll be here.” Jennifer didn’t take her eyes off the TV. She was watching one of those Real Housewives of Whatever shows. I wasn’t sure which city.

  After dinner tonight I was going to tell Jack about everything that had happened earlier in the day. I was just hoping that we didn’t see the witch.

  Jack and I set off down the sidewalk, walking hand-in-hand toward the restaurant. It wasn’t that far, only a couple blocks, but I kept looking over my shoulder to see if the witch was behind us. This didn’t go unnoticed by Jack.

  “Is there something on your mind?” he asked. “You keep looking around. Are you looking for someone?”

  He knew what kind of trouble I usually found myself in, so he was right to be a bit cautious when he saw me acting this way. I wasn’t ready to explain everything just yet though. Maybe a glass of wine first.

  “Just looking around at all the people,” I said. “The sky is full of stars tonight.”

  He probably was suspicious of my answer already, but luckily, we had arrived at the restaurant. It was a cozy little Italian place. We had come to Franco’s quite often in the past few months. Jack had to supplement his meals with blood, but other than that, everything was just fine. He still enjoyed his favorite dish of lasagna.