Page 12 of January Blues
“Don’t you think I should be the judge of that?” I gave a flirtatious smile and his blush deepened.
“I’m nothing like you.”
“Cody, please. You are—“
“Don’t say cute! Or adorable. I hate that,” he muttered, covering his deep red face with his hands.
“Okay, I won’t if you don’t like those words. Doesn’t make them any less true. Since I’ve been here,” I said truthfully, leaning forward so he could meet my eyes. “Yours is the face I look for in the room. I just can’t stop looking at you. I want to count those freckles on your cheeks. To be able to run my fingers through that impossibly soft looking hair. I think you’re striking.”
“Oh. Um... wow. That’s—“
“Was that too much? Or not enough?”
Cody coughed. “Um… just right?”
I let out a small laugh and leaned back in the chair, watching as Cody’s eyes took me in appreciatively. “So, the question is, would you like to go on a date with me?”
“A date!” he squeaked.
“Yes. A date. I want there to be no mistaking what it is. Not dinner between colleagues or friends. A first date with the intention of getting more dates from you. I want to get to know every part of you, Cody.” He didn’t miss the heat in my expression or the lust in my voice. Getting Cody under me, or if he was willing, in me, would be the highlight of this month.
Alarm bells sounded in my mind at the joy I felt when his pupils dilated and he breathed, “yes, I’d love that.” I might just be in danger of a broken heart, too.
January 16th
Cody
FromtheminuteIopened my eyes in the morning, I knew everything was about to change, and I’d been right! Quill had asked me on a date! My crush on him was a little ridiculous, since he hardly seemed to know I was alive. It didn’t help that although he was supposed to work for both me and Austin, my colleague took up most of Quill’s time for tasks, ones he really should be able to manage himself and shouldn’t be left to an assistant. That meant I’d hardly interacted with him as much as I would have liked. Yet Austin’s demands on Quill’s time helped with the dating dilemma. I’d checked policy and since he wasn’t reporting directly to me, it wasn’t an issue.
I’d gone into the office feeling more like my usual self and everyone had noticed. “There’s the Cody I love!” Jacqueleen had called to me before she handed me my pass for the floor I had a meeting on. Mars Acquisitions took security seriously. My buzz of new power told me that Jacqueleen was wearing a glamor. I wondered briefly what she was. She could be a shifter, or a nymph. Vampires didn’t need to hide themselves. If the company had cleared her to work there, then that wasn’t my problem.
Having more magic was seriously cool. I spent the entire day just waiting for something to happen. I wondered if it was my new magic giving me a sense of knowing. Some witches were oracles. There were shifters with the ability to have visions and those who had precognitive senses. I’d heard there was a wolf that knew when people were lying. Such a cool ability.
Since I had never had any power, they had never tested me for any extra magical ability. I’d finally relented over the weekend and agreed to testing at the coven. Only once I’d successfully put my wards in place, with no help. It had shown me I was growing in power and needed to find out more.
The entire thing had been an ordeal that I was thankful I’d missed out on as a kid. I couldn’t imagine putting a child through all of that. Poppy and Oak had been tight-lipped over the results. I’d heard them talking quietly about how unusual the situation was, but they didn’t offer me any information. Just that I seemed healthy and my magic wasn’t causing me any harm. In fact, it seemed to be healing me and restoring my energy levels. I’d left more confused than when I’d arrived. I trusted my friend and High Witch. Poppy was everything a coven could want for in their leader. So when she said she needed to consult more people, to check the archives, I trusted she knew what was best for me.
Damon, of course, had disagreed and had left to do his own research. I’d barely seen him since, and I wanted to rip off the band-aid and tell him about my date.
As if summoned, I found him outside my apartment door. His eyes were brown today, a thick pair of glasses sat on his nose which had a bump, like it had been broken at some point. He was still my best friend. There was no mistaking his aura.
“Hey sweetness.”
“Damon!” I wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug before pulling back. “I was going to message you. I have some news.” My stomach flip-flopped over telling him I was going to date someone else. I worried about hurting his feelings and also losing the best friend I’d had in forever.
“Me too. Should we go inside, maybe order takeout?”
“Sounds good.”
We stayed quiet as we put in the order and waited for food. It was only when we were both picking at our plates that I spoke up. “I have a date tomorrow.”
“That new assistant at your office?”
“What?” I was pretty sure that my jaw was on the floor.
“Sweetness, someone arranged a hit on you, then you had all this weird shit going on. All the nightmares. I’m pretty sure you were leaving stuff out. So I’ve been keeping a closer eye on you. You two are always looking at each other.” Damon looked at me with a loving but frustrated look. I knew he thought I didn’t take my safety seriously enough.
My mouth hung open for a second, then I caught up. “No, we do not! I didn’t think he was interested in me.”
