by Rose David
“Well...” Nat raised an eyebrow, her eyes glinting. “I may have some dating news for you.”
I gasped. “You and Raj?”
She nodded, a grin spreading over her face.
Immediately, a picture of a shirtless Rajesh blipped into my mind. Was it uncool to think of your friend’s boyfriend with no shirt on? I pushed away that thought, focusing on Natalie’s bright face. I smiled. “Finally. I thought you’d never wake up.”
Nat made a surprised sound, then punched me in the arm. “You knew about this?”
“Dude. Everyone in the tri-state area knew about it.”
“Wow. Apparently, I’m kind of an idiot.”
“It’s all right.” I patted her shoulder. “I’m only using you for your looks, anyway.”
“Ha ha.” Nat bumped me in the knee with her guitar. “So, you want to hear my new song? It’s for tomorrow.”
“Totally. But what’s tomorrow?” I asked.
“Open mic night.” She smiled as she strummed the first notes. “I signed up last week.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
On Saturday night, I frowned at myself in the bathroom mirror, the mascara wand ready in my hand. “Third time’s a charm,” I sighed.
I leaned forward and tried not to pay attention to the scary caterpillar-thing crawling toward my face. A few swipes later, I had something close to the full, movie star eyelashes that Diana had given me. Normally, I would have given up by now, but tonight was special. Natalie was finally performing in public, at the open mic night Raj had mentioned at Wong’s a few weeks ago.
It would have been nice to think that I’d had some kind of master plan to make everything turn out okay, but truthfully, I was still kind of surprised that I wasn’t wrapped in my Hello Kitty robe tonight, camped out on the sofa and drowning in popcorn. After all my mistakes, it seemed like things were going to be all right. I was even going to camp this summer--Mom and Dad had told me over breakfast how impressed they were with my “new sense of maturity” and “willingness to compromise.”
I padded back into my bedroom, grimacing when I saw the clock. How long had I been battling that mascara wand? I only had a few minutes until Raj and Natalie came to pick me up.
My camera was still full of a month’s worth of photos, and I needed to clear the memory if I wanted to fill it back up with snaps of Natalie’s big performance. I hooked the camera up to my laptop and watched the images flicker across the screen as they transferred to my hard drive. I had hundreds of pictures to look over, though most of them would probably be too blurry to keep.
Even in the flurry of out-of-focus flowers and bananas that looked like severed fingers, one shot struck a chord of memory. As soon as I noticed it, the picture was gone, leaving me frowning at the screen.
The photo had barely flashed across my eyes, but I knew what it was. As if they had minds of their own, my fingers scrolled through the new photos, not stopping until they found the right one. I double-clicked the thumbnail, my chest fluttering.
Sean smiled at me from the computer screen, his cheek dimpling and his eyes shining. The light in his garage had been dim enough to set off the flash, so his face had an unnatural, almost heavenly glow.
I found myself smiling back at the bright collection of pixels, but then my brain kicked awake again. “Ugh, no. No, no, no,” I scolded myself.
Why was I sitting here, staring at a picture of someone who was probably busy sucking face with his ex-girlfriend right now? My finger hovered on the delete key, ready to send Sean’s photo straight to digital purgatory.
There was no reason to keep the picture. All I had to do was twitch my finger, and I could finally put the last few weeks behind me.
I sighed, staring into the screen for another moment before I snapped shut the lid of my computer. I could always delete Sean later. Right now, all I wanted was to go out and watch my best friend on stage.
Camera in hand, I headed downstairs.
#
I took a sip of my five-dollar latte, wincing at the sweetness. This thing was a cavity in a cup. Maybe Raj had had the right idea with ordering a plain black coffee.
“You’re not playing tonight?” I asked as we sat at one of the tiny tables.
He shook his head. “I’m in Fan Mode. Fans don’t play instruments. We just gawk at the people who do, and maybe throw some boxer briefs at ‘em.”
As Natalie walked up to the “stage” (really just a cleared-off corner with a curtain hanging on the wall), both of us shut up.
I had seen her perform the song yesterday afternoon, but somehow, it sounded even better with the sounds of espresso machines hissing in the background. Nat was only up there for three minutes, but I must have taken a hundred photos, my thumb stuttering over the shutter every few seconds.
When she finished, Raj and I cheered loudly enough for the other customers to give us strange looks.
Nat’s face was flushed with excitement as she joined us at the table. “How’d I do? Was it okay?”
“Are you freaking kidding?” I scoffed.
“It was awesome, dude,” said Rajesh. “You really ripped it in half!”
“Seriously. You were way better than everyone else who had played tonight,” I told her.
That last comment earned me a venomous look from a goth chick who had just finished a passionate acoustic cover of I Kissed A Girl on her black guitar. She looked ready to cast a spell on me, or at least dump her hot mocha all over my head.
Oops.
“Hey, are you guys hungry?” I whispered through an off-key performance of James Taylor’s, Fire and Rain. “I could use something greasy right about now.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
What is it about breakfast food that makes you feel so lazy? As I slogged down the sidewalk, I tried not to regret my decision to go home now, instead of hanging out at Natalie’s house with her and Raj. She lived barely a block from the restaurant, whereas I had a fifteen-minute walk home to look forward to.
Despite the heaviness in my stomach, I shook my head and plodded forward. Raj and Nat deserved some time alone. It was Saturday night, prime dating-time. Even my parents were off doing a dinner-and-a-movie combo.
Not me, though. I was going it alone, and proud of it. I looked around my quiet neighborhood, not a soul outside except for me. It seemed kind of brave and poignant: a lone girl confronting the darkness, forging her own path. (Never mind the sidewalk underneath my feet, or the brightly lit houses gleaming around me. It was the principle of the thing.)
I wondered if my dignity and independence might be tarnished if I undid the top button of my jeans. Damn those delicious pancakes.
Just then, a raindrop splattered onto my cheek like a sloppy kiss. Then another. I pulled the hood of my jacket over my head and quickened my pace. Soon, the rain was heavy enough to make me jog, even if it caused an ominous gurgling in my stomach.
One more block, I told myself. One more block and we’re home.
So I ducked my head and forced myself to keep trotting down the street. I had almost reached my own driveway when a stitch in my side forced me to stop. Panting, I stared through the rain at my waiting house.
And saw Sean standing in front of me.
He was soaked with rain, but he didn’t seem to notice. Music filtered out through the half-open door of his car. Even in the dimness, his eyes were as bright as searchlights.
How long had he been there? A part of me wanted to rush over, my aching side forgotten, and--
And what? demanded my more rational half. Leap into his arms? Kiss him for the sixth time? Yeah, right.
I approached like a skittish animal, leaving a careful distance between us. I had to shout through the music and the rain as I asked, “What are you doing here?”
“I’m an idiot.”
“What?”
“I said--”
“I heard you.” I smirked. “Don’t worry. I already know that.”
He took a step forward. “L
ayla, I’m sorry. I don’t know why I wished for Diana. I mean, I know why...” He shook his head. “It’s over, okay? The second the magic wore off, we both knew it wasn’t real.”
My mind swam with confusion, and I grappled for the first thing I could wrap my brain around. “Why did you kiss her on Thursday, Sean? What if I was crossing the street or something? Did you even think about that?”
I had meant for the words to come out like acid, but instead, they had a kind of wounded softness. My face turned warm with embarrassment, but I didn’t look away. I stared straight into his eyes, willing him to say something.
Not just something. The right thing. I hoped for it, even though I told myself not to.
“That’s why I called you. I knew you’d be pissed, but I had to see if you were okay,” he said, taking another step closer.
I didn’t back away, but I didn’t return the gesture, either.
“Listen, Diana kissed me. I ran into her after school. It was an accident,” he said. “I didn’t know it was going to happen, or else I would have run away or something.”
I scoffed. “Don’t give me a speeding ticket, Officer. I was just running away from a pretty girl.”
“Layla... I’m sorry.”
I crossed my arms. Shouldn’t I have turned him into a pink nematode by now? All I had to do was say the magic words.
But the way Sean stared made me feel all raw and see-through, and somehow, I couldn’t do it.
“Why did you ask for Diana?” I said, my voice small.
“Because I’m a moron.” He took a final step toward me, bridging the distance between us.
At some point, my hood had fallen back from my face, and I could feel cool water streaming down my neck, soaking into my shirt. I should have been shivering, but I suddenly felt a little too warm.
“After what happened with my parents, and then all that stuff with Natalie...” He sighed. “I wanted to forget about you, but I couldn’t. Not even with magic.”
“What? Of course you forgot about me. I know my magic worked last Sunday. I came by and...” As I tapered off, the memory of spearmint and fuzzy tummies trickled back to me.
He shook his head. “I got distracted, but it didn’t stop me from thinking about you. I’ve been trying to figure out what to say all week. I just didn’t know what to tell you that wouldn’t screw things up more.”
I blinked. Was that why he had been ignoring me? I’d thought Sean was in some kind of love daze, but really he’d just been worried about saying something wrong and making things worse between us. All I could do was gape at him, my thoughts hazy.
“Look, I don’t know what the perfect apology is. I can’t even come up with a decent wish.” Sean leaned down close enough for me to feel his breath on my skin. “But I know what I should have done, Layla. I should have wished for you.”
A shadow of a smile curled at my mouth, darting past my reserve. “Good answer.”
And then I was up on my tiptoes. My arms came up around his neck and our lips connected, jolting me like a crackle of lightning.
I had no idea how long we stood there, wrapped together as the rain pounded around us. When we finally separated, my knees were wobbly. Sean pressed his hand into the small of my back, and I leaned into him for balance.
Something dark and watery trailed across Sean’s cheeks, like dirt or ink or--
“My mascara.” I put a hand on face, sighing as it came away sooty. “I must look like a homeless hooker.”
He laughed and planted a soft kiss on my forehead. (Did that count as Number Seven?) “You’re beautiful,” he said.
“Hmm. I like that line. You should keep using it.”
“Although...” He pulled on an exaggerated version of his Thinking Face, letting the moment stretch.
“Oh, yeah?”
“I wouldn’t mind seeing you in a belly shirt sometime.” He grinned and leaned forward for Kiss Number Eight.
Just before our lips touched, I smirked and told him, “You wish.”
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It’s been a long journey getting this book out into the world, and as with any long journey, I’ve had a lot of help along the way.
First thanks go to my husband, Matt, for being there when I needed him and for making himself scarce when I needed that, too. Thanks to my family, always. As for readers, I couldn’t have had better. Jaimie, Marcie – you guys are the bee’s knees. There’s no way this would have happened without you two. I owe each of you 500 cupcakes, and then some.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rose David is a writer, artist, and pop-culture junkie. She lives mostly inside of her head, but when she isn’t doing that, she’s in Indiana with her husband, two dogs, one cat, and an occasional goldfish.
She wrote Sealed with a Wish just for you... But don’t tell the others. They’ll get jealous!
Come visit Rose on Twitter!
@TheRoseDavid