Page 53 of School Spirits
Just as I’d hoped, she pushed her hand toward me so that I could get a better look. As she did, I caught her fingers.
Nothing. Not even the slightest tingle.
“Thank you, sweetheart,” she said. “I got it from one of those home-shopping shows. You know, the ones that come on late at night and make silly old ladies like me spend more than they should.”
I laughed harder than necessary, trying to cover my confusion. Nana wasn’t Prodigium, so Dex couldn’t be one either. But if that was true, what the heck was I feeling? No matter what everyone kept saying, I knew that little hum of magic when I touched him wasn’t just hormones.
I turned my head and looked at him grinning at his Nana, his silver bracelet winking in the sun, his coat just impossibly, stupidly purple.
Or did I just want Dex to be Prodigium because the idea of liking him was a lot scarier?
CHAPTER 25
Dex and I spent the rest of the afternoon playing video games. I’d never done that before, but it turned out all those years of training paid off in wicked hand-eye coordination. So while I couldn’t beat Dex at Dragon Slayer IV, I didn’t get totally embarrassed either. Once we’d slain dragons, we ate with Nana. Like her cookies, her spaghetti recipe clearly came from heaven, and by the time we left for the cave, I felt happier—and fuller—than I had in weeks.
Okay, so maybe Dex’s Nana seemed a little overly protective. But Dex was her only grandkid and all the family she had. That was probably normal. And Dex was normal, I reminded myself as we drove to the outskirts of town. In the dim blue lights of the dash, I studied his profile. Normal. I’d never thought that word could sound so appealing.
The cave was easier to find than I’d thought it would be. There were signs and everything. Granted, they didn’t mention Mary Evans or ghosts, but according to the legend, this had been where Mary and Jasper—the teacher—had met, and done…whatever. And, more important, where Mary had died.
Once we got there, Dex opened my door for me, holding out his hand. “Milady.”
The night was cold enough that I wished I’d brought a heavier jacket. Dex was decked out in a new purple jacket, a thick green scarf knotted at his throat. He looked warm and cozy, and I wondered if his jacket was as soft as it seemed.
Dex must’ve picked up on my longing, because he went to unbutton his coat. “Cold? You can have it.”
“No,” I said quickly. “It’s just…purple suits you. Which is good since you wear so much of it.”
Preening, Dex raised his head and pushed his shoulders back. “It brings out the color of my eyes.”
I didn’t giggle this time, but I did give him a playful shove as I moved past him and into the cave. Once we were inside, we turned our flashlights on.
“Well, this is…”
“Creepy,” I finished.
“I was actually going to go with ‘pants-wettingly terrifying,’ but, sure.”
“You really think Mary and Jasper used this place to get all…romantic?” Running a hand over the damp walls of the cave, I shuddered a little. “Because seriously, I wouldn’t even take myhatoff in here.”
“Their relationship was already pretty gross. Maybe they were going for some kind of grossness record.”
“Lovely,” I muttered, walking farther back into the cave. As I did, I had to crouch slightly. Dex had to practically fold in half. “Whoever used to hang out here, they must have been pretty tiny,” I joked.
Dex turned his flashlight on me. “Um, Iz, pretty sure they weren’t standing up,” he said, and I blushed.
“Right,” I said, trying to sound extra brusque so that he wouldn’t notice my discomfort. “Okay, so. Proof of the supernatural. Let’s find some.”
Kneeling down, Dex yanked a melted candle off a little shelf carved in the rock. “You think this was supposed to be sexy or spooky?”
I was never going to stop blushing. I was actually going to die of blood loss because there wasn’t any left to pump through my heart. It was all in my face.
“Nothing in this place is sexy,” I told him, and he laughed.
“Oh, come on, Izzy. Even you, Miss Anti-Romance, can admit there’s something just a little bit appealing about making out in a candlelit cave.”
“Bats live in caves,” I reminded him. “And where there are bats, there’s bat poop. Lots of it. Did you know there’s a cave in Mexico where they have a whole mountain made of guano?”
Dex leveled a fake-sultry gaze at me. “Are you coming on to me?”
