got there first.
Anica always beat Lily whenever they met anywhere, and she’d done it again. But she hadn’t gone inside. Obviously she wanted a chance to chew Lily’s ass in private before they walked into the bar.
To fortify herself for this encounter, Lily had worn a short denim skirt, thigh-high boots, and a short-sleeved red sweater. A snug red sweater. Anica would never wear something so sexy in public, and Lily felt like proclaiming her individuality.
She had more than a chip on her shoulder. She walked up to Anica with a railroad tie balanced there.
Anica ruined the whole rebellion shtick by taking one look at her and grinning. “Hey, it’s your funeral. If you want to screw up your life beyond belief, that’s up to you.”
Lily stared at her sister. “Who are you, and what have you done with Anica?”
“Okay, I was upset at first, but I got over it.”
“What are you talking about? You were upset two minutes ago! I saw the way you were pacing. Pacing is never a good sign.”
Anica held up the cell phone in her hand. “I was talking to Jasper, and I needed to be outside so I could hear him. He’s getting more uptight by the minute, which is making me uptight, too. He’s convinced that because we’re holding the party at the Bubbling Cauldron, his parents are going to realize that I’m a witch and all Hades will break loose.”
Lily felt the railroad tie of belligerence slip from her shoulder. “I’m sorry, An. Do you want to tone down our plans? Eliminate the magic elements?”
Anica widened her eyes in disbelief. “Uh, no . The more Jasper frets, the more I want to do a couple of outrageous things. Like you said, nonmagical people won’t notice anything except cool special effects.”
“I must be rubbing off on you.”
“Too bad I’m not rubbing off on you.”
“See, see? You are upset with me.”
Anica sighed. “How can I be? I’ve seen the way you look at Griffin. I gave it my best shot last night but I had a feeling you’d cave. After you do magic, you’ll agree with whoever’s talked to you last, and that wasn’t me.”
Lily decided not to mention that talking hadn’t been the main mode of coercion. “It might work out okay.”
“It might. But if it doesn’t, I hate to watch you go through the same kind of agony I did with Jasper. Eventually Griffin will find out about the spell, you know.”
“Maybe not. Maybe I could put a moratorium on us having sex until the spell gradually wears off. In the meantime, we could do fun things together. We could bond the way couples do during that montage in the middle of a movie, where there’s no dialogue or anything, just romantic music.”
“Lily, you’re demented. You and I both know you’re not going to stop having sex with him.”
Lily thought about the way Griffin looked naked. “Yeah, probably not.”
“So he’ll get more and more attached to you, and then your conscience will bother you so much you’ll confess about the spell. He won’t be happy. I can vouch for that. Jasper was furious with me.”
“Because you turned him into a cat. Hel- lo. Griffin’s still very much a man.” And how. “So what does he have to complain about? I put a spell on him so now all he wants to do is have lots of sex with me. I’m good at sex. What guy would complain about an arrangement like that?”
“The guy who likes to believe he’s in control of his own destiny. And that’s all of them, by the way.”
Lily wished her sister didn’t sound so wise, so blasted right . Then there was the other teensy problem, the one Anica didn’t know about yet. Griffin showed signs of invading Lily’s time and space. She hadn’t figured on that.
She should have. Daisy would be with her night and day if Lily allowed it. But Daisy was a dog, so Lily could make her stay at the apartment while she went to work. Daisy didn’t have the freedom to show up whenever. Griffin did.
“I guess I’ll take it one day at a time,” Lily
Anica always beat Lily whenever they met anywhere, and she’d done it again. But she hadn’t gone inside. Obviously she wanted a chance to chew Lily’s ass in private before they walked into the bar.
To fortify herself for this encounter, Lily had worn a short denim skirt, thigh-high boots, and a short-sleeved red sweater. A snug red sweater. Anica would never wear something so sexy in public, and Lily felt like proclaiming her individuality.
She had more than a chip on her shoulder. She walked up to Anica with a railroad tie balanced there.
Anica ruined the whole rebellion shtick by taking one look at her and grinning. “Hey, it’s your funeral. If you want to screw up your life beyond belief, that’s up to you.”
Lily stared at her sister. “Who are you, and what have you done with Anica?”
“Okay, I was upset at first, but I got over it.”
“What are you talking about? You were upset two minutes ago! I saw the way you were pacing. Pacing is never a good sign.”
Anica held up the cell phone in her hand. “I was talking to Jasper, and I needed to be outside so I could hear him. He’s getting more uptight by the minute, which is making me uptight, too. He’s convinced that because we’re holding the party at the Bubbling Cauldron, his parents are going to realize that I’m a witch and all Hades will break loose.”
Lily felt the railroad tie of belligerence slip from her shoulder. “I’m sorry, An. Do you want to tone down our plans? Eliminate the magic elements?”
Anica widened her eyes in disbelief. “Uh, no . The more Jasper frets, the more I want to do a couple of outrageous things. Like you said, nonmagical people won’t notice anything except cool special effects.”
“I must be rubbing off on you.”
“Too bad I’m not rubbing off on you.”
“See, see? You are upset with me.”
Anica sighed. “How can I be? I’ve seen the way you look at Griffin. I gave it my best shot last night but I had a feeling you’d cave. After you do magic, you’ll agree with whoever’s talked to you last, and that wasn’t me.”
Lily decided not to mention that talking hadn’t been the main mode of coercion. “It might work out okay.”
“It might. But if it doesn’t, I hate to watch you go through the same kind of agony I did with Jasper. Eventually Griffin will find out about the spell, you know.”
“Maybe not. Maybe I could put a moratorium on us having sex until the spell gradually wears off. In the meantime, we could do fun things together. We could bond the way couples do during that montage in the middle of a movie, where there’s no dialogue or anything, just romantic music.”
“Lily, you’re demented. You and I both know you’re not going to stop having sex with him.”
Lily thought about the way Griffin looked naked. “Yeah, probably not.”
“So he’ll get more and more attached to you, and then your conscience will bother you so much you’ll confess about the spell. He won’t be happy. I can vouch for that. Jasper was furious with me.”
“Because you turned him into a cat. Hel- lo. Griffin’s still very much a man.” And how. “So what does he have to complain about? I put a spell on him so now all he wants to do is have lots of sex with me. I’m good at sex. What guy would complain about an arrangement like that?”
“The guy who likes to believe he’s in control of his own destiny. And that’s all of them, by the way.”
Lily wished her sister didn’t sound so wise, so blasted right . Then there was the other teensy problem, the one Anica didn’t know about yet. Griffin showed signs of invading Lily’s time and space. She hadn’t figured on that.
She should have. Daisy would be with her night and day if Lily allowed it. But Daisy was a dog, so Lily could make her stay at the apartment while she went to work. Daisy didn’t have the freedom to show up whenever. Griffin did.
“I guess I’ll take it one day at a time,” Lily
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