by Lissa Kasey
“Asshole,” I said without heat. “I don’t have a hero complex. I think you’re confusing me and you.”
He snorted and made his way to his bedroom, unbuttoning his shirt. “Right. Get cleaned up. I’ll walk you over and introduce you before your first shift.”
He vanished into his bedroom and the confines of his closet. I followed at a slower pace, making my way to the bathroom to shower, trim up the beard on my face, and make some sense of the rat’s nest on my head. I’d be meeting my number one favorite porn star of all time. Only he was no longer a porn star. How did one bring that up in a conversation? Or did I avoid the topic? Fuck, I was so bad at being human anymore.
I sighed and hoped that whatever happened, at least the job would work out. I needed something. Not for money, but to keep my mind from wandering to dark places that didn’t always want to let me go.
Chapter 2
By the time I emerged, clean and dressed in the nicest pair of jeans I owned and one of Lukas’s button-ups, I felt halfway awake and was sweating like a pig. “I’m going to melt,” I grumbled. “Dressing like this.”
“A manbun? Really, Alex?” Lukas asked when he saw me.
I felt my cheeks heat. “I need to cut it. And I’m already sweating without having a ponytail touching my neck.” At least the bun kept the ponytail from becoming a giant frizzy poof like a poodle’s tail. I’d been tempted to shave clean too, but then Lukas and I really looked alike, which was weird in a city that knew him well enough for shop owners to greet him by first name.
Lukas shook his head, stepped into his closet and then back out a minute later with a T-shirt in hand. “Wear this.” The shirt read: Witch Companion, and was in bright sky blue with a black cat on it. “I realize it’s not black and depressing, but it’s cooler, and since it’s from Micah’s shop, he won’t mind.”
I took the top, instantly liking the soft cotton feel of it. I stripped off the dress shirt, and undershirt, and slipped into the tee.
“Tuck it in,” Lukas instructed, looking me over.
I sighed and did as he said. “Better? I’d hate to look like a worthless slob or something.” He didn’t even acknowledge my sarcasm. Lukas had changed into a pair of jeans himself, and a pale purple button-up top. He wasn’t afraid of color. I’d spent years trying to blend in and avoiding color, so it was only natural that I gravitated toward the neutrals of the color spectrum.
“It’s good. You ready?”
Was I? Not really, but I had to go anyway, right? “Sure.”
He headed for the door with me following at a more subdued pace. He let me out and then locked the door behind us. At least it would be close enough to walk to. I thought the entire way, contemplating the cobblestone streets and narrow alleyways we passed, about what to say to a man I’d never met but often fantasized about. Funny the turns fate throws our way.
The shop was about two blocks from the apartment. A hole in the wall really, as it was attached to a row of shops and up the stairs into a narrow space. The sign “Simply Crafty” would have been invisible dangling from the overhang if not for the large chalkboard sign on the walk which read: “Tarot Readings” and pointed upward. In smaller print was written: “Schedule a ghost or graveyard tour.”
“He reads cards too?” I asked as we headed up the weirdly narrow, short stairs, which led to a large set of double doors and a smaller inner door.
“Skylar does, and she’s in today. Sky rents a little space from him on hot days so she doesn’t have to do it in Jackson Square,” Lukas replied. The shop was half a block from Jackson Square and the Cathedral, which I found an interesting location for a wicca shop. Maybe the witches liked the challenge of having the Catholics so close. Or maybe it was a ‘keep your enemies closer than your friends’ sort of thing with the church. “She often closes the shop on nights Micah is running tours.”
The air conditioning was a blessing when we entered the second door into the small retail space. It smelled like incense, fabric, and old books. I had a moment of feeling nostalgic for the library I’d grown up hiding in as a kid. Of the two of us, I’d always been the bookworm, spending hours sitting on a beanbag in the corner reading Dune or something else with elves and fairy tales. It was an oddly sweet memory I would have completely forgotten if not for the smell.
A pretty girl stepped out of a side room when we entered the shop, her smile wide. Her brunette hair was styled up, looking silky and shiny, more like a hair model than I’d ever seen a girl’s hair look in real life. Her makeup was heavy, but not off putting, and the summer dress clinging to her hips and small chest showed enough of her body without flaunting anything.
“Skylar,” Lukas greeted. It wasn’t until my brother leaned over to kiss her cheek and she arched up to meet his lips that I noticed the slight Adam’s apple in her throat. Interesting. At least I didn’t have to ask about pronouns since apparently my brother knew her pretty well. “This is my brother Alexis,” Lukas said after he stepped away.
“Call me Alex,” I told her.
“I expected the two of you to look more alike.” She was a tiny thing, maybe five-feet, five-inches in heels. I felt like a giant next to her at six-foot, two-inches. “The beard is nice though.” Skylar rewarded my brother with another wide smile. “Nice to know what you’d look like with a bit of facial hair. Not bad.”
“Too much work for me.”
“Bet it feels nice on the skin…”
“Behave, imp,” Lukas said as he squeezed her hand. “Alex makes the beard work. Sort of like not-quite-homeless chic. I need to get him scheduled with my barber before he starts scaring the masses.”
She laughed lightly. “Hush. He looks fine.” She looked at me. “You’re adorable, honey. Don’t let Mr. Metrosexual tell you how to be no mans.”
“I’m a strong independent psychopath,” I promised her. “No mans required.”
Lukas interrupted. “We’re here to see Micah. Is he here or did he step out for a minute?”
Skylar waved her hand, dismissing his serious tone. “Oh, I know all about that. How about a reading?” She asked when she turned to me. “On the house.”
“No,” Lukas affirmed.
“I wasn’t offering a reading to you,” she protested. “I want to look into his cards.”
“No,” Lukas said again. “He doesn’t need that in his head.”
“I won’t tell him anything bad.”
“You don’t need to tell anyone anything bad, Sky. It’s always all over your face. You’d be the world’s worst poker player,” Lukas informed her.
“Thank you, miss,” I told her, stopping Lukas before he could really hurt her feelings. “Maybe another time. I sort of need this job, and my brother has been nice enough to help me find it. He doesn’t want me distracted when I’m supposed to be helping Micah.”
“So respectful,” Skylar t’sked at me. “Let me grab Micah. He was dragging up an order of boxes.” She vanished through a doorway before I could protest.
I glanced back at Lukas, his expression something I don’t think I’d ever seen on my brother’s face. Longing. “You into her? ‘Cause you know I’ve got no problem with that.”
Lukas sighed. “You might not, but the department would, and that’s a hurdle I don’t need right now. How about you work on settling into this job and let me worry about me?”
I put my hands up to ward him off. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
“You are,” a voice said from the doorway. “Is this where you are meant to be?”
I turned back that way and was surprised by the young man standing there. The eyes I knew instantly. Even without the kohl and stylized wigs of fluorescent pink. The rest of him wasn’t really what I expected. He was still on the smaller side, maybe five-foot, six-or-seven inches. Lithe but toned in a pair of skinny jeans and a fitted T-shirt, that read ‘Simply Crafty Witch.’ His hair was a pale, chestnut brown with gold highlights, long enough to pull back in a small ponytail, and his face freckled, a
dash of them across his nose and cheeks—I’d never seen an Asian with freckles before and found it compelling. He was more pretty than handsome, and very Japanese despite the crystal-clear blue eyes. High cheek bones, a small heart-shaped mouth, and a delicate nose in a longer face, balancing the slanted eyes encased in dark lashes and porcelain skin.
Memorable, I thought. Not only the eyes. My dick did a whole stand-up routine that left me grateful that I’d worn jeans snug enough that nothing showed.
“Is that an existential question?” I asked him. “To be or not to be? Lukas is the smart one,” I said before realizing it was probably a stupid thing to say to someone who was offering me a job, to call myself not smart. “I mean, book smart. Philosophy and all that. I read a lot, but mostly fantasy and sci-fi…”
Lukas snorted. “Open mouth, insert foot.”
“Jerk,” I grumbled at him. He knew I didn’t people well.
“Somewhat of an existential question,” Micah said. “More a question to the universe than for you directly. You probably don’t know yet. We all get set in directions that curve and twist only to either find ourselves back where we started or in a place we never intended but fits us well.” He closed the door he’d come through and held out a hand for me to shake. “Micah Richards,” he said.
“Alexis Caine,” I replied back. “Just call me Alex. Nice to meet you. Thank you for the opportunity.” His grip was warm and firm, but didn’t last long. Practiced, I realized. Something I didn’t have enough of anymore. “I don’t know if you want to actually do an interview or anything before putting me to work.”
“Lukas vouched for you,” Micah assured me.
“Sometimes Lukas is too nice,” I said bluntly. Micah should know about the PTSD. If I had an attack and he didn’t know how to respond, I could be a danger to him.
“He is,” Micah agreed, “and very straightforward.”
“Yeah?” I asked. “You know about the whole me being crazy thing?”
Micah smiled. “Aren’t we all? Yes. I know about your PTSD.”
“He’s had department training,” Lukas piped up. “It’s part of his certification right along with his first aid training. We have a lot of vets in this city.”
That shouldn’t have shocked me, not with Lukas having as much influence over the city as he did. People liked him, he spoke well, and could convince a nun to sell her soul if that was what was needed. But that he’d gotten the entire police department to even have training for mental health emergencies was a miracle.
“It’s not mandatory for officers,” Lukas said. “But it is for the tour guides. Too much noise, movement, and opportunities for being startled at night. I convinced the mayor it was a better way to weed out the trash too. Keep the best guides certified and alert, and the city’s reputation skyrockets, tourism increases, revenue increases. I’m still working on getting the department to put all officers in the training.”
“Happy politicians,” I said.
“Of course. Money makes all those shady bastards more agreeable.”
“You two are very alike,” Micah said looking between the two of us.
“We’re not,” Lukas and I said at the same time.
Micah laughed. “Okay.”
Lukas sighed. “You good? You have my number,” Lukas asked me. He looked at Micah. “If he needs to step away, is that okay? He’s working on grounding if something comes up.”
“He’s fine,” Micah assured my brother. “Five senses. I know about grounding. It’s a slow day. Some stock to put away and tours later, but otherwise not much going on. I’ll keep it low stress.” Micah turned his gaze back my way. “You’ll be okay for the cemetery tours later? They usually last about an hour. It’s a two-mile walk. We have two tonight. Usually I take a dinner break in between.”
“I’m good,” I assured him, then looked at Lukas and repeated, “I’m good.”
Lukas put a hand on my shoulder, nodded once to me, then to Micah and left the shop. I breathed a sigh of relief, feeling some of the tension leave the room with him.
“He’s worried about you,” Micah said. “That’s why he’s so intense. Does the same thing around Sky. Gets all puffed up and papa bear like. It’s cute.” Micah headed to the area where the cash register sat. It was one of those new set-ups with an iPad instead of a computer. “Time card tracking is here. So when you come in,” he tapped the screen a few times then turned it my way. “Click on your name, enter the last four of your social, and it will clock you in. Same way to clock out. I have the same stuff on my phone so when we’re out on tour we have access.”
I followed his instructions and watched my name pop up on a preformed time sheet. He navigated away from the time application and clicked another icon that put it back to the register. “There is less than $100 in cash in the register. Most people pay with cards anyway. I’ve never had a robbery, but if someone demands cash, give it to them. Usually the cops come through before Mardi Gras to give everyone the safety spiel, but they have so many feet on the ground that I’ve never had trouble. I’ll show you how the register works later. If you don’t mind helping me carry up a few boxes of stock first?”
“I’m all yours,” I told him.
He stared at me a moment, his cheeks a little pink. Adorable. Close enough that I could study the freckles decorating his cheeks and nose. I had the feeling if I stared long enough, I could count them all.
I sighed, feeling like I really did need to lay it all out there else it would eat at me. “So I don’t want it to be weird…”
“Okay?” He tilted his head to study me, waiting for my question.
“I used to watch you. I’m not sure if Lukas told you or not, but I was a fan. Well… would still be if you were, but you’re not, so anyway. Fuck…”
“Oh. Okay. Thank you. For being a fan, I mean. It was the money I earned making those videos that paid for this shop.” He didn’t look at all ashamed or worried that I knew he was an ex-porn star.
“So you’re okay with me knowing? It’s not weird?”
Micah looked thoughtful and even that was cute. Fuck. “No. I did a handful of conventions while I was still doing videos. Online people are pretty creepy because they have anonymity. They say stupid shit. In person they are super respectful. I think when people met me in person, they realized I was a real person and not simply a fantasy.” He looked me over. “Is it weird for you?”
“A little?” I admitted. “I don’t want to say the wrong thing and offend you by accident. You’re beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m glad my brother told me because I’d have known the second I saw your eyes. But it is a little weird to know that you now know that I used to get off on your videos. I mean you’re still super-hot and I’d totally do you…” Well fuck my life. “I tend to put shit out there…” I sighed, thinking I probably shouldn’t be swearing and saying all this stuff to my new boss at my new job. “My filter is broken.”
“Thank you,” Micah said and patted me on the arm. “It’s okay. Lukas did warn me that you say what’s on your mind. But it’s okay. I work with shelter kids with the same issue. They spent time on the streets and it’s a lot like a war zone. Survival of the fittest. They don’t know how to interact at first, but they learn. Lukas said you’ve been here a couple weeks?”
Out of the psych ward a little over a month. “Yeah.”
“So give it time. I’m not worried. You have no expectations of me, correct?”
“Correct.” I agreed. Just because I was attracted to him didn’t mean I was even on his radar. “I’m not one of those giant douchebags who think you being a porn star, ex or otherwise, means you fuck everyone you meet.”
“Then we’re fine.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “What if I say something stupid to a customer?”
“What if you do? They say stupid stuff to us all the time.” He pointed to a sign behind the register that read:
Just because this is a wicca
shop, does not mean I can magically make an item you saw on the internet appear. Try Amazon.
I gaped at the sign. In truth, there was a lot of little snarky things about the store from small signs that said “I’m a paranormal investigator. If you see me running, you better run too,” and T-shirts with cute pictures of rabbits with vampire fangs on them. I realized in that moment that Simply Crafty wasn’t all serious metaphysical witch shit, it was cute, fun, and a little snarky.
“I think I might like working here.”
“Good. Now can you help me with those boxes?”
“Sure.”
Sky reappeared from the doorway that must have led to a stock area or something. “Aw, did Lukas leave? Sad.”
Micah turned away from me and headed for the door. “Ask him out already.”
“He’s out of my league,” Sky said with a dreamy sigh. “And the cards say it’s not time yet.” I felt her eyes on me. “I’d still like to do a reading on you.”
“No,” Micah said. I wondered why he didn’t want me to have a reading with his friend. It was all random card draws, wasn’t it? Contrived meaning? I knew Lukas hadn’t wanted it because he discouraged me from doing anything the world would consider supernatural, which was funny since he’d gotten me this job. But it had been advice from my therapist, so I guess I didn’t have to understand all the mechanisms of my brother’s brain. Though knowing now that the shop wasn’t one of those crazy serious wicca shops and more fun tourist trap, might have been the reason he didn’t hesitate to throw me into the job.
Micah must have noticed the expression on my face because he said, “You’re not a believer, and that’s okay, but Sky’s predictions tend to be accurate. Whether that’s due to influencing the believer to make those things happen, or because they simply happen, who knows.”