by Robin Roseau
"Was that advice necessary?"
I thought before I answered. "Yeah, probably."
She pulled me into a hug. "I really like you, Lyra," she said into my ear. "I'm guarding my heart, too. But I'm not seeing anyone else, and I want to see where this goes."
"Me, too," I replied. "You feel so good, and I'm not just talking hugs and kisses."
"Yeah. So do you."
We tightened for a moment and then relaxed.
* * * *
She took me to a nice seafood restaurant. We talked. We laughed. We took turns feeding each other. The waitress brought a dessert menu. I was going to decline, but Raelyn clearly wanted dessert.
"I can't," I said, once the waitress disappeared. "I pigged out on ice cream after you dropped me off last night. I can't do that again tonight."
She grinned. "There are spells."
"Spells?"
She gestured to herself. "I eat all the dessert I want, Lyra."
I looked her up and down. She had a great body. "And spend how many hours in the gym the next day?"
"I hate the gym," she replied. "I like to bike ride, but I just told you. There are spells."
"What kind of spells."
"The kind that let me eat all the dessert I want and not get fat."
"That sounds like cheating."
She laughed. "So?"
I looked her up and down. "Are there other spells that give you such amazing hair?"
She laughed again and nodded. "A girl has to take care of herself," she replied. "So, dessert?"
"I'll have a taste or two of yours," I said. "If you're offering. I don't want my own."
The waitress returned. Raelyn ordered the crème brûlée with two spoons. She seemed disappointed I only took two little bites, but that was enough for me. I didn't have to pig out every night.
She drove us back to the store. I wasn't ready for the evening to end. We sat in the car for a moment with me staring straight ahead.
"What's wrong?"
I turned to her. "An early end to the evening."
"Says who? I'm sitting here waiting for you to invite me upstairs."
"I share the apartment with two other people, and either of them could have a man over."
"Are they having sex in the living room?"
I cracked a smile. "No."
"You wanted me to take you to my place."
"Maybe," I said. "I wouldn't have resisted if you had."
"Here's the thing, Lyra. Once we do that, we're going to be like rabbits. The getting to know each other phase will be over, and the fucking like bunnies stage will start."
"We have to come up for air sometime."
She laughed. "There are spells, Lyra."
My eyes widened.
"I won't be able to resist using them, either. And you won't even think to say 'no'. With only a little effort, I could have you begging for them."
I looked back out the window.
"So," she continued. "I sort of want to get to know you a little better. Oh, have no doubt. We're going to end up in bed together, and it's going to be glorious. That first night, I think I might have been satisfied with that. But now, I'm not sure. I think I want more."
"You do?"
"I have every intention of seducing you, Lyra, probably well before the end of next weekend."
I laughed.
"Invite me upstairs."
"Would you like to come in? I could give you a tour of my apartment."
"I'd like that a great deal."
* * * *
"This is it," I said, ushering her in and closing the door behind us.
"Lyra, is that you?"
"I hope you're decent, Flick," I said. I didn't call her that very often. That was a Jaime thing. "We've got company."
I set my purse down and took Raelyn's hand, pulling her into the apartment. We came to a stop at the entrance to the living room. Felicity and Dyson were sitting on the sofa. They were a little mussed, but not too badly. Both of them were turned around, looking at us. Raelyn took in the scene, then her eyes traveled around the room.
I wondered what she thought. We were just small bookstore owners, and the apartment wasn't fancy. The furniture wasn't cheap, but it wasn't expensive. We had some art on the walls, but it wasn't expensive, either. I gave her a moment to look around, then I pulled her forward.
"Raelyn, you've met Felicity. This is her boyfriend, Dyson."
Dyson was a gentleman. He stood up and stepped around the sofa, holding out his hand. "Pleased to meet you," he said.
Felicity offered a brief glare, but then she stood as well and moved to stand beside her boyfriend, one hand on his shoulder, but she didn't offer to shake hands with Raelyn.
"I hope we're not interrupting," Raelyn said.
"We were just talking," Dyson replied.
I opened my eyes to their auras. Dyson's was full of red and orange. With Felicity beside him, it was reaching for her, but I saw tendrils pointed at Raelyn as well. That didn't please me, and I was glad Felicity couldn't see it.
Felicity's aura was more complicated. I didn't see any lust at all. Instead, she had green and brown. There was some of my purple, and now I could recognize it. And there were black tinges, all aimed at Raelyn. And so I stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. "Please don't be mad," I whispered into her ear.
She tightened her grip. "I'm afraid, Lyra."
"Please trust me."
She nodded. When I stepped back, the black tinges had calmed down, but only marginally.
Raelyn seemed unfazed by all this. I looked at her aura, and I could see lust, aimed at me. But there was curiosity and joy, all swirled together. I thought it was quite beautiful.
"Do you mind if we join you?"
"Of course not," Dyson said. He and Felicity returned to the sofa, leaving Raelyn and I to the two easy chairs. I didn't like being that far from her, but we couldn't exactly ask them to yield the sofa to us. I wasn't sure what to do about that.
So I popped back up. "I'm going to brew a pot of tea. Is herbal fine?"
"Do you need help?" Raelyn asked.
"Stay here," I said. "I'll just be a few minutes."
Felicity didn't look pleased with that answer, but she could suck it up. She should be happy for me.
I spent several minutes puttering in the kitchen. I was surprised when Dyson appeared. He stepped up to my side as I stood watching the tea steeping.
"Are they behaving in there?" I asked.
"Hmm?" he said. "Sure. Raelyn seems nice."
Men can be so clueless. I was sure Felicity was in there, hoping for the smallest excuse to scratch Raelyn's eyes out.
"If everything is fine, why are you hiding in here with me?"
"Felicity sent me to help you carry everything."
Ah. I was fairly sure Raelyn could take care of herself, but I was going to go ballistic if I found any daggers in anyone's back. And so I had Dyson take the teapot and I grabbed the cups.
When we got back to the living room, Raelyn was chuckling, and a portion of the tension had gone out of Felicity's shoulders. When I got closer, I could still see tinges of black, but they had grown less pronounced. I breathed a sigh of relief.
Dyson set the pot down. I filled the four cups and passed them out. Then, rather than sitting down in my own chair, I took a place on the floor, leaning against Raelyn's chair, my shoulder against her leg. If I surprised her, she didn't give a sign. Felicity raised an eyebrow briefly, but she said nothing. And a moment later, Raelyn set her hand on the back of my neck, her fingers playing with my hair.
I decided that was okay.
For the next hour, Raelyn was charming. I sat quietly, saying little, as she and Felicity dominated the conversation. Felicity slowly relaxed and became more engaged, and Raelyn had all of us laughing from time to time. I looked over my shoulder and smiled at her.
She began to stir my aura with her hand on my neck. It felt nice, and I found my eyes closing.
"Sleepy, Lyra?" Felicity asked.
"Hmm?" I opened my eyes. "Oh. No." I looked over my shoulder and mouthed the word, 'behave' to Raelyn. I turned back to Felicity. "She was massaging my neck. It felt nice."
"Magic touch," Raelyn said. She pulled her fingers from my neck, and I heard her blow on them as if she were cooling them off. But then they were back on my neck -- back where I thought they belonged. And then she proceeded to let me know she had no intention of behaving. She gave my aura a good stir, and it was all I could do to control my reaction.
We chatted for another twenty minutes or so. I stopped worrying about what Felicity and Dyson thought and let my eyes close. But at least I didn't moan with the pleasure Raelyn was giving me.
But then Raelyn said, "You know, darling, it's late." She pulled her hand from my neck. I looked up at her. I didn't want her to leave. She caressed my cheek. "I was wondering if all of you -- and Jaime as well -- would be my guests for dinner sometime this week. Is the shop open late every night?"
"Tuesdays and Fridays," Felicity said.
"Monday then," Raelyn said. "Could you come to my home for dinner on Monday?"
Raelyn's offer surprised me, but I realized I wanted Felicity to accept her. This was a good move. And so I looked at my best friend, hope on my face. She looked at Raelyn for a moment then took a harder look at me. I formed a finger steeple under my chin, begging, and she nodded.
She turned to Dyson. "Are you free?"
"Sure," he said.
"We're open until six," Felicity said to Raelyn.
"Perfect. I'll see you after that."
"What can we bring?" Dyson asked.
"Absolutely nothing," Raelyn replied. "I've got it covered."
Felicity frowned. "Dyson is a computer geek, through and through," she said. "It's our responsibility to help him operate in polite society."
"Hey!" he complained. Raelyn laughed briefly, and I smiled.
Felicity turned to him and caressed his cheek. "We'll discuss it later." She kissed him briefly then turned her attention back to Raelyn. "We'll see you then."
Raelyn nodded. She dug through her purse, wrote a brief note, then stood up. She set the paper on the coffee table -- I saw it was her address -- then reached down and pulled me to my feet. "Walk me out, Lyra."
We took the stairs that led directly to the street. There was a small foyer, and Raelyn used the privacy to pull me into her arms. I had my eyes closed and my lips lifted even before we were fully together.
The kiss was amazing, and Raelyn wasn't at all shy about what she did to my aura while she was kissing me. She had me moaning long before it was over, and I was ready to ask her to take me with her, but she pressed her fingers against my lips.
"I'll see you Monday evening."
And then she was out the door. I leaned against it, sighing.
* * * *
The four of us rode together with Dyson driving. Jaime had been surprised at the offer, but he was always up for a free meal. And while he was deeply protective of both Felicity and I, he trusted our judgment concerning people. If I said Raelyn was a good person, and Felicity had quieted her warnings, he was ready to accept it.
To say I was nervous would be an understatement. This was all a little strange. It felt like I was introducing Raelyn to my family. All right, they'd already met, but that's what it felt like. To add to it, I hadn't seen her house yet. I didn't know what to expect. What sort of house does a witch keep? Were there going to be black cats running all over? What would we tell Dyson? He didn't know about the witch thing, although I thought perhaps Raelyn had picked up on that.
But it all felt deeply strange.
The address she'd given us was out in suburbia. We pulled into a housing development, not quite a gated community, but the type with a stone sign near the entrance proclaiming the name of the community. Hazelwood Acres. I thought it was a lovely name.
The homes were... nice. Big. I wouldn't call them McMansions, but it was clearly an expensive neighborhood.
"Recruiters make a lot of money," I observed, looking around.
I hadn't spent a lot of time in neighborhoods like this, but I'd noticed that they came in different flavors. In some, the houses all looked alike. They were built identically and painted identically. I never felt neighborhoods like that carried much character.
This wasn't one of those neighborhoods. The houses were all different. Even when two houses looked like they may have started out with a similar design, there were differences to each. The entrance was different. There might be stone or brick. The windows were different. The landscaping was custom.
Here and there we saw a child's bicycle or a basketball hoop. We drove past a driveway that was decorated with chalk. Some of the houses were decorated for Halloween, some far more elaborately than others.
It was a nice, family neighborhood.
"A nice place to raise children," Dyson said. He glanced over at Felicity, but she wasn't watching him.
"Little hellions," Jaime muttered.
"I'm already raising Lyra and Jaime," Felicity said. She turned to look at us when she said it. Jaime and I both stuck our tongues out at her. "So mature," she said.
"We're just comfortable with our inner child," Jaime said. "What do you think, Dyson?"
"I think we're here."
We had just pulled into a cul de sac. Dyson turned the car into a driveway and came to a rest. We all got our first look at Raelyn's house.
It was impressive. That was my first thought. I hate to admit a certain amount of avarice. I'd never been that focused on material wealth, but this was a nice house.
It wasn't the biggest house in the neighborhood. There had been a lot of two story homes. This was a sprawling rambler -- with all the main living spaces on one floor. But there was an attractive entrance, flanked with two large pillars offering shelter from the elements. The exterior was wood, and there was a three-car garage.
Raelyn had decorated for Halloween. The yard and landscaping were filled with ghosts and ghouls, and in a way, they looked real. The ghosts were moving, wavering as if they weren't solid. The eyes of the ghouls glowed red.
When we got out of the car, we could hear eerie, graveyard-like sounds. I suppressed a shudder.
"That's so cool," Dyson said. He took Felicity's hand. "Why did you guys change the decorations at the shop this year?"
"We wanted something different," Felicity said.
"I liked it better last year." He looked around. "Maybe next year, Raelyn will help."
Jaime decided to ham it up. He moved to my side and took my arm, looking around fretfully. "Will you protect me from the ghosts, Lyra? Otherwise I think I'll stay in the car."
"All alone, you big stud you?"
"Um. You could stay with me."
"Yeah. I'm hungry." We grinned at each other.
By the time we made it to the front door, Raelyn was waiting for us, smiling. She was dressed casually in jeans and a blouse, but she looked amazing. She held the door wide for us, and we trooped on in. As I stepped past, she pulled me away from Jaime, and I got a lovely, albeit far too brief of a kiss. Then she wrapped an arm around my waist. "Welcome, welcome," she said. "I'm glad you could all come on such short notice."
"Thank you for having us," Felicity said.
"These are for you," Dyson said, thrusting a bundle of flowers at her.
"How lovely, Dyson. Thank you." Raelyn accepted the flowers from him then made a point of sniffing them. "Lovely," she repeated. "Let's set these down, and I can give you a tour. This is the foyer."
We looked around. Raelyn had decorated the inside of her house as well. There were cobwebs and spiders and, as if she were hiding around the corner, the hint of a witch's hat, nose and fingers at one corner.
"That's the music room," she said. "There is a piano and a few other instruments. Do any of you play?"
"Lyra played violin in high school," Felicity offered.
"I haven't touched one since gra
duation day," I added. "Eleven years later, no one is going to want to hear what I do to the poor instrument."
"Maybe I'll convince you to start playing again," Raelyn said. She gestured with the flowers. "Dining room."
We received the full tour, passing through the kitchen on the way so Raelyn could set the flowers down.
It was an amazing kitchen, and as we stepped in, the scent of the food she'd been making was nearly overwhelmingly wonderful.
"I went for comfort food," she said. "Stew with fresh bread. I hope everyone is hungry."
"It smells great," Dyson said.
Off the great room was a home office. There were three more bedrooms, and we finished the tour while standing in Raelyn's bedroom. It was lovely and beautiful, and I thought it represented her personality amazingly well.
"There's a basement," she said. "But it's a boring basement. I use it for storage is all."
"You have to have somewhere to keep all these Halloween decorations," Felicity said.
"Exactly. And after that are the Thanksgiving decorations and the Christmas decorations. Then I put up the winter theme furnishings until March." Several of us gaped at her. "What? I love the change of seasons, and I enjoy when the interior of the house reflecting the changes. It makes it so cheery."
I tightened my arm around her waist.
She drew us back to the kitchen. "All right. I opened a couple of bottles of red, but if anyone prefers white, I have some chilling. It won't fit the stew as well, but I didn't know."
"Red is great," Jaime said. "These three have no palette though. I hope you didn't break out the good stuff."
Raelyn smiled. "I opened one of my favorites. I think you'll like it, Jaime. May I ask you to serve as wine steward for the evening?"
"I'd love to," he said. Raelyn pointed where everything was, and Jaime saw to our immediate needs.
Raelyn lifted her glass. "To new friendships."
We all sipped, but then Felicity lifted her glass. "To loyalty."
We sipped again, and then Raelyn said, "A lovely sentiment, Felicity. I know we are just getting to know each other, but you will find that loyalty is very important to me."
Raelyn slipped back to my side and wrapped an arm around my waist. Dyson saw that. He waited a minute or two then did the same with Felicity. He wasn't remotely as subtle as he thought he was, and a few grins were exchanged, but no one teased him. Dyson didn't have the social confidence to take teasing about things like that, so we didn't pick on him.