Page 99 of Witch You Would
My other fingertips traced the angular shape of his hip, the hard muscle of his thigh. He dipped a finger inside me, then another, as I stroked him harder. His thumb found my clit and caressed it, gently at first, then more firmly as I rode his hand. He sucked my nipple into his mouth and with only the briefest warning, I came, groaning his name as I shuddered and clung to him.
He left the shower just long enough to get a five-dollar vending machine condom. After rolling it on, he pushed me againstthe marble tiled wall and lifted me onto his hips. He slid his cock inside me, thrusting over and over, gripping my ass whileI wrapped my legs around his back. Another orgasm started like a wave rising toward the beach, ready to wash over both ofus. I came in a rush of pleasure that spiraled up through my stomach and down to my knees. Gil came right after me, stillmoving in and out slowly through the aftershocks.
The shower washed away any evidence of our fun. We rinsed off, dried off, and Gil finally got rid of his Leandro mustache.I hadn’t even noticed it was there.
We crawled under the sheets of his bed together, still naked. Before I could even start to worry about whether I’d be ableto fall asleep, I passed out. It wasn’t until four in the morning that I woke up and realized where I was. The walk of shameback to my room didn’t feel shameful at all.
It was one of the best days of my life.
The Desgraves Studio took up a big corner in The Roads, where old houses were either fancy or falling apart. Condo and office buildings stuck up in random places, towering over the oaks and banyans and gumbo limbo trees in the median. We had to drive through downtown to get there, and what a hot mess of traffic thatwas. Our van driver got stuck behind the trolley at one point, and started quietly shitting on the hour he was born in Spanish until finally he was able to zip around the bus and move.
The studio itself had a wall around it, with enchantments built right into the bricks and a wrought iron gate that openedautomatically. The building was a blend of old and modern, orange tile roof and limestone blocks and ivy on the outside, terrazzofloors inside sparkling with spelled gems, dark red-and-gray walls, and furniture straight out of some industrial glam catalog.
One of Fabienne’s employees gave us the tour. He took us through the public gallery space, with current exhibits from twocasters in residence along with pieces from previous students and instructors and others. An intricate mosaic by a Cuban-Syrianenchanter shifted as we passed, individual portions turning like gears within gears as ghostly flames danced across the surface.A carved wooden drum played itself, its echoes lingering so that the beats created their own syncopated rhythms and counterpoints,calls and responses. Last year’sCast Judgmentwinner had made tiny terrariums enacting the growth and death cycles of nearly a hundred plants, over and over, beautifulbut immensely sad.
Nothing I’d ever made or imagined making could compare to any of this. My abuela’s cookbook, the project I’d planned my imaginaryresidence around, felt super-boring and basic as I stood here. Part of me wanted to give up right then, accept that I wouldnever be this good and just go home. The rest of me wondered if I could level up enough in a year to make something that couldpossibly sit next to any of these exhibits.
I could almost hear my abuela saying:Intent and willpower are the most important ingredients, mija.To which Rosy added:Maaanifest!
After the galleries, we went through the studio spaces. Therewere big group ritual areas with different kinds of basic casting circles inlaid in the floor, and smaller soundproofed rooms covered in chalkboard paint from top to bottom, and lab-kitchen hybrids filled with equipment ranging from ancient-looking cast iron cauldrons to elaborate arrangements of tubes and glassware. There were even multiple “clean rooms” that required ritual cleansing before entering and after finishing.
The stockroom that took up the entire second floor could have fit five Espinosa’s inside, maybe more. They also had dealswith not only Frogtail, but a bunch of local companies with warehouses all over the city, so almost anything could be deliveredwithin twenty-four hours.
“You’re drooling,” Gil murmured as the guide explained the organization system.
“How are you not?” I asked.
“I didn’t say I wasn’t, I just said you were.”
I elbowed him gently and he pretended to be mortally wounded. Felicia shushed us like we were children; I stuck my tongueout at her when she turned around.
The third floor held the lecture spaces, which consisted of one big hall plus smaller rooms with different seating configurations.One of the medium rooms, I knew, was about to host a performance by Leandro Presto for a public school field trip. The producershad apparently organized it in advance, because paperwork and red tape; if we hadn’t made it to the final round, he stillwould have done it, but it wouldn’t have been recorded and integrated into the last episode. Presumably Charlotte would bedoing some charity-related thing, too, but I didn’t know what.
“Nervous?” I asked Gil.
“Excited,” he confessed. “It’s been a while. I love seeing theirhappy little faces, and getting sticky hugs, and being told how awesome I am.”
“That does sound nice.” Jealous? Nah, couldn’t be me.
“You should be my lovely assistant,” Gil said. “We can get you a pair of safety glasses and a mustache, too.”
I grabbed his arm. “Okay, but seriously? Could I? No mustache, but do you think I’d be allowed to help?”
“Probably? We can ask Tori, or Rachel, after the tour.”
If I hadn’t been bouncing before, now I was ready to pinball off the walls. I tried not to get my hopes up, because schoolstuff usually meant background checks and forms I hadn’t signed, but maybe...
The tour ended in a small gift shop selling branded shirts and charms and other random stuff I absolutely could not afford.I almost got a fridge magnet because it was one of the cheapest options, but I didn’t need a souvenir the way I needed thatmoney in my bank account. Also, I’d already spent my tiny souvenir budget on vending machine condoms because we couldn’t risksneaking out of the hotel to buy them at a store.
Worth it.
We got a quick break right before confessionals. The tour guide stayed nearby to answer questions, so after I gave up on mymagnet dreams, I talked to him. His name was Tyler, and he was more than happy to get poetic about how cool the studio was,how nice people were, how everyone encouraged each other, on and on. It sounded amazing, and I told him so.
Felicia had questions, too, but hers were about gallery space allocation, what kinds of events they hosted for residents, who attended those events, how long postresidency the pieces were retained, whether there was an in-house broker to handle sale negotiationsand contracts, how rights were handled for spells designed on the premises . . . Super business-focused, and honestly, impressively sharp. I wondered if Charlotte had given her tips on what to ask, or whether she’d come in with that specific business knowledge.
Gil caught me in the hallway right before our team confessional. “Rachel says you can do the thing.”
“Sweet!”
