Page 38 of Until the Stars Fall

His hair smelled amazing, and just being near him put my whole body in a heightened state of awareness.

He elbowed me and raised his eyebrows suggestively. “A hot date with an alien from Messier 81? Come on, you can tell me.”

“No,” I said, bumping my shoulder against his. “Zola talked me into a ritual bath.” I’d asked her, was more like. After all the magic I’d been doing with Beck and on the spacewalk, I decided it might help me.

“Really?” He said it with an air of surprise.

“Yeah, why?”

He looked sideways at me. “Is it your first one?”

“Yeah,” I repeated slowly. “Why?”

“Your first one is always the best one. I mean you should only do it once a month, on the full moon—” He stopped himself. “Well, when we had a moon. I don’t know what the recommendation will be when we have three moons. But it can be transformative. I swear the first one she set me up with took years of worries off me.”

“Is that why you’re so charming and lighthearted?”

“Oh, so I’m charming, am I?” His eyes crinkled with mirth as he nodded, lit by candlelight. “That’s a nice compliment.”

“Don’t let it go to your head,” I said, lifting my chin. “It’s the same thing I told my alien friend on Messier 81 before I stood him up for a date with a hunky alien on Cygnus A.”

He put his hand over his heart. “The Gemma giveth, and the Gemma taketh away.”

I grinned at him. “Candle?”

He passed a candle to me, his fingers grazing mine too much to be an accident. My cheeks warmed. “Do you have any advice for a first-timer?”

“Hmmm, let me think.”

As I lit each candle and slipped it into place, he collected the spent ones and stacked them in the crate.

“She’s gonna give you a smorgasbord of awesome stuff to choose from to throw into your bath, with intention. So my advice is twofold. First, think about three intentional statements, positive statements like affirmations. It’s like a meditation. You’re not gettin’ in there to get your body clean, but to cleanse your aura and set intentions.”

I felt a flush color my face when he said “your body,” which embarrassed me, flushing me worse. He handed me another candle, and our eyes met, widening both of our smiles. My body was a waterfall of hormones walking around in a trench coat, masquerading as a girl, and this guy was definitely starting to make me have feelings.

“She’s gonna have you put things into the bath in threes,” he continued, “and each time you do, you’re supposed to say a positive affirmation with it.”

I laughed. “Like ‘I’m beautiful, I’m wonderful, and everyone loves me?’”

“But those are truths, Gemma,” he said, placing his hand on my shoulder as he got up for another crate of candles. “I mean you have to state intentions. They’re not quite the same thing.”

“Oh come on, sweet talker.” Really, go on. “Just give me an example.”

“Alright. Sea salt. That’s a good choice. You’d grab a handful of sea salt, and as you spread it into your bath, you say something like ‘I release all negative energy and associations from my aura.’ With the second handful, you say something like ‘I welcome only love and light into my aura.’ Then with the third handful”—he kneeled down beside me with the next crate—“you might say something like ‘Beck is the sexiest man alive.’”

I laughed so hard I snorted.

He affixed his face in a hurt expression, but his eyes twinkled mischievously.

“Aww, poor Beck.” I leaned over and rested my head against his shoulder for a second. “You said the affirmations can’t be truths. Do you need somebody to manifest that into being for ya?”

He chuckled, placing his arm briefly around me, squeezing me against him. “I need all the help I can get!”

“You really don’t,” I murmured.

He gave me a double take and raised his brows. “Wait, what?”

My whole body flushed hot. “Nothing.” He’s just your friend, Gem, just your friend. But the hormones rushing through me did not like the friend plan. I went back to my work.

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