“Your turn,” she whispered in my ear, her breath hot and damp against my neck.
I took the goggles. The sight of all the mostly naked men made breathing tricky. So much muscle. So much skin. So much masculinity although I focused specifically on the upper halves.
A particularly lovely bare chest came into view, tan, muscular, before he pulled on a black, long-sleeved shirt. They shouldn’t all look so beautiful, arms, chests, shoulders, hair, all of it so colorful and alive looking.
“What did you see?” she hissed as she grabbed the goggles. I let her take them, standing in the dark of the closet, a bucket pressed against my calf and a broom resting on my shoulder. It had been really intense getting into the closet before the guys came, and we were stuck here until it was over.
I felt a little bit dizzy from claustrophobia or something else. I still wore my funeral outfit because I wanted to feel like cake for a little while longer. It didn’t matter if I was dressed strangely, not when I was with Viney inside a pitch-black closet.
Viney inhaled sharply and I nudged her, demanding the goggles. She handed them over, but I’d no sooner put them to my eyes, seen Drake stroll into the room and peel off his jacket, hanging it up in a locker than Viney ripped them out of my hands.
I scowled at her, not like she could see, but after a few minutes of her little squeals, I’d had enough and wrestled the goggles back. She clung to them and would not let go while I tugged and tugged until finally my hands slipped and I fell back, hit the smelly mop and landed in the mop bucket, my knees sticking up. That hadn’t been too loud. Maybe no one would notice. Then two other mops fell down, cracking against my head and clattering against the wall.
For a second Viney and I held perfectly still, unbreathing, but then Viney swore and I started laughing and laughing and laughing getting even more tightly wedged in the bucket. The door swung open and I looked up at Oscar’s terrifying scowl.
Was he the guy with the particularly nice chest beneath his black t-shirt? Hmm.
“Viney, and Penny. Don’t you two have anything better to do?”
Viney mustered her finest scowl. “Shut up, Oscar. It’s none of your business.”
“We were lost,” I offered, and then they both scowled at me. “We were looking for the toilet,” I added. I snickered and couldn’t stop until I was howling with laughter, still stuck in the yellow bucket with the red handle.
Viney stared at me for a minute and then made this sound, kind of a snort and then another gasping kind of noise, and then she was bent over, laughing so hard her body was shaking and tears came out of her eyes.
We were like that, all classy when Drake came over, pushing past Oscar and opening the door wide so the entire room of now black-clothed guys could stare at us.
Oscar glanced at Drake and raised an eyebrow. “They were looking for the toilet.” He delivered it with a perfectly straight face, which made me laugh harder and jab Viney in the ribs, who started howling, fell over on top of me, clinging to the red handle.
Drake waited until we were a little quieter before he cleared his throat. “I see. I think what they meant was latrines, that they’re looking for latrines. Unfortunately, they’ll have to dig them before they can use them. Come on, ladies. Viney, you know the rules.”
He picked her up and handed her to Oscar who put her over his shoulder while she laughed helplessly, snorting and giggling so adorably I couldn’t stop laughing even while Drake loomed over me.
“I’m stuck,” I managed between gasps and giggles.
His mouth twitched and he cleared his throat again. “I can see that. It’s convenient that the bucket is on wheels.” He grabbed the handle and hauled me out into the locker room, then dragged me through the guys who stepped back, witnessing me on my ride of shame.
Tears ran down my face and I sobbed, but it was not sorrow that caused my shoulders to shake. Drake pulled me down another blank and dreary hall while I laughed way too hard beneath the stark fluorescent lights.
He dragged me through another door, Drake pulled me in a mop bucket outside, and then the door clanged closed behind us and I shivered in the cold air.
“What are you doing, Penny?”
“The toilet,” I whispered between gasps. “The toilet. Hahahahaha!”
He crouched down beside me and took my face in his hands, smoothing the hair back and wiping away tears. “You don’t feel feverish.”
I put my head forward on his chest, still wracked with laughter. It was starting to hurt, but I couldn’t seem to stop. He put his arms around me and tried to heave me out of the bucket, but only succeeded in tipping both of us over. I lay there, folded into the bucket, my head on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry, Drake. Are you okay?” I wheezed and tried to be serious, but he was holding me while I was in a bucket. I was like a mermaid, only mop bucket for my tail. He stared at me, his eyes so dark, his lips soft and trembling. I’d touched them, and they were as soft as they looked.
He started laughing, low, warm, a laugh that made his body shake which I knew because I was still half on top of him, me and my stylish new bucket accessory.
His laugh wasn’t hysterical, and soon enough he was under control. “I think you’re going to have to get used to life in a mop bucket. You’re really stuck.”
“Viney, she landed on me and kind of jammed me in. Does this always happen when she stalks you? I can see why she can’t stop. I’ve never had so much fun in my entire life.” I still giggled every other sentence.
Drake smiled and pressed his thumb over my forehead. “It was a very close thing. I almost laughed in there, and then I wouldn’t have the moral authority over the other members of Chemiss. I could have lost my Chemistry Captain position, and all because you couldn’t find the toilet. Don’t you think that’s a little bit selfish, Penny? Hmm?”
I snickered. “Sorry. Next time I’ll bring my own pair of goggles and I won’t knock the broom over.”
“Mmm. Hold still.” There was a crack and suddenly the bucket wasn’t clinging to me so persistently.
I sniffed and hiccupped, but the laughing jag was over. “That is so sad. It was such a nice bucket, and you broke it. Poor thing.”
He grabbed my hand and hauled me to my feet. I stumbled against his body and put my hands around his waist while he stared at me, his face shadowed, his eyes dark. He smelled incredible, like ashes and cherries. “The rules are very strict. Girls caught trespassing have to dig latrines and pay for damages. You are going to have to pay for the bucket and Viney can pay for the repairs on the door.” He leaned down, bumping my forehead with his. “Do you know how adorable you looked stuck in a bucket, laughing hysterically?”
I stared at him while my stomach twisted, half from the aftereffects of way too much not breathing and serious stomach clenches, but half because he smelled so good and I had no idea where Viney was or anyone else, just him in the darkness with his strong arms around me.
“Not nearly as adorable as you looked dragging me down the hall. I love that muscle on the back of your arm. I had no idea there were so many interesting muscles on a mage.”
“Chemiss mages are required to live up to certain expectations. I hope my, er, muscles did not disappoint you.”
I inhaled sharply and could feel my cheeks burn with embarrassment. “It wasn’t like that, just top halves. I didn’t look at anything else, I promise. I didn’t even get to see that much of you without your clothes because Viney wouldn’t share the goggles. The next time, I’m bringing my own pair.”
He made a rumbling sound in his chest. “The next time? There are no broom closets in the starter’s dressing room. It’s not every day you get the chance to see Drake Huntsman’s clothes without him inside them because I don’t usually do support. I’m the chemistry captain, you know.”
“You keep telling me that, but you haven’t ever kissed me.”
He pulled me close to him, slid his hand up my shoulder to cup my neck and for a moment th
e world froze, waiting for him to kiss me. Eventually it got impatient and moved on. I stepped away from him.
“Right. That’s torture. I know that you kiss girls. I’ve seen you.”
His voice was soft. “Ah, but do you kiss boys?”
I stared at him, heart pounding. Was that an invitation? I stared at his lips then found a shovel in my hands. He covered my fingers for a moment.
“Your hands are so soft and delicate. Six feet deep is the rule, but I suppose I can bend them for you since you had such a tiring day. It might ruin your ridiculous shoes.” He slid his hands up my arms to my elbows. His hands were so strong yet perfectly gentle.
“My shoes were made to be ruined.”
His lips twitched and he stepped away. “Such temptation. I would be honored to ruin your shoes or any other part of your delicious costume for you, but it wouldn’t be fair for me to see your clothing without you in it when you didn’t get to see mine.”
“What? Are you suggesting…” I gripped my shovel and stepped away from the dangerous wolf who had been so perfectly behaved for far too long. He would nip me eventually and I wouldn’t even mind. Señor did it all the time. That’s what you got for playing with wild animals.
I saluted him sharply. We needed a distraction. “Lead on, captain. Even if it was only a glimpse, I’m happy to pay the price for my crime.”
He turned and marched to a place in the middle of a field. I could hear Viney and see her short shadow and Oscar’s long one.
“Don’t tell me how to hold a shovel, idiot. If you try to help me again, I’m going to lay you out in this hole. Who needs a six-foot-deep latrine, anyway?”
I smiled at Drake in the shadows. “I think she likes Oscar. I can’t think of any other reason that she’d slam her hands on his desk every time she sees him. Is this okay?”
I pushed the tip of the shovel into the earth and started digging. He made a sound that was maybe assent, and stood with his feet apart, arms crossed, watching me like a drill sergeant. At first I dug steadily, but after two feet, I had to take breaks between scoops. Because I was soft and weak and pathetic. Poppy would have taken over by now because she was impatient. By three feet when the blisters on my palms popped, Drake dropped down in the hole and took the shovel out of my hands, setting it to the side.
I stared at him while he gently uncurled my fingers so he could see the mess. “It’s okay. Probably you’re bored watching me, but I could do this all night.”
“I am bored. Very, very bored. I happen to love being bored. I could watch you dig all night. Unfortunately, I’m also very, very attached to the palms of your hands. More attached than you seem to be. You’ve given your entire top layer to the shovel. Greedy thing.”
He took his handkerchief out of his pocket and gently wrapped my right hand.
“I’ll have to clean it. You don’t have to...”
“I have to. Desperately. It’s boring you see, and you know how I am about being bored. Can’t live without it.”
Standing in that hole with Drake, the moon up above and the broken bucket by the metal door, I couldn’t help myself. He’d practically invited me, hadn’t he? “Drake, can I kiss you?”
“I don’t know, can you?”
I frowned and poked his chest. “Is this a grammar thing because I don’t expect you to be so tedious about the difference between can and may. Revere is.”
He smiled slightly. “I was referring to the possibility of you fainting from desire. I don’t know anyone who can kiss and faint at the same time, but you might surprise me.”
I gripped his lapels. “So you’re saying that I may kiss you, if I don’t faint?”
He shrugged. “You can kiss me whether you faint or not. I can’t imagine you kissing me now when other circumstances were far more romantic, but…”
I pulled his face down and sealed my lips to his. His lips were so soft, like silk only alive, real, warm. He tasted like ashes and smelled like black cherries.
Instead of sweeping me into a deeper kiss, he froze until I pulled back, pressing my lips together before I stared at him, heart pounding madly in my chest. “I didn’t faint.”
He blinked at me. “How boring.”
I nodded and turned to scramble out of the hole. “Do you need help getting out? I mean, I’ve got to go. I have to rest. My doctor said that I should definitely sleep as much as I hide in closets. I’ll just…” I edged away, my hands gesturing stupidly before I turned and ran, leaving him standing there, staring after me with this beautiful smile on his sweet mouth.
Chapter 24
Mage
Distracted. I was combining five elements to form a new compound, and I couldn’t focus on anything other than the taste of witch and tiramisu.
Lars stared at me, watchful, nozzle at the ready in case I accidentally tried to melt the lab again.
“Without you or Oscar, the tourney wasn’t very good.”
I shrugged. “An emergency came up.”
“I heard about Penny and Viney in the closet. The whole school heard. She’s also having a tea party this afternoon. She invited Marilynn.”
“Why does Marilynn keep talking to you? Aren’t you broken up?”
He shrugged his enormous shoulders. “I have some classes with her. She feels responsible for me when it comes to Penny since she’s the one that set us up, or something.” He frowned at me. “She wanted to know if you’ll be there.”
“What time?”
“Four, I think”
I smiled at him sharply. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I am very curious to see the sort of people she invited. Maybe Wit will be there.”
He scratched his nose. “She didn’t invite me.”
“Jealous? She didn’t invite me, either, but she never does.” I focused on my work, and by the time three-thirty came around, I was ready to don my best tea party jacket and head to Lilac Stories.
On the way, I fell in beside a blond girl who wore a little poufy skirt and a ruffly blouse. She kept tugging on the skirt to go lower, and on the top to go higher, although they weren’t nearly as shocking as Penny’s.
“You’re going to the tea party?” I asked with a charming smirk.
Her eyes went big, but then she pursed her lips and focused ahead, like she didn’t see me. Odd reaction.
“I don’t recall meeting you before. I’m Drake Huntsman. And you are…”
“I know who you are. Look, I’m part of Penny’s revolution, so I’m not going to touch you.”
I stared at her feeling a bit shell-shocked. “I see. Such loyalty. And this revolution you speak of? Does she know that she’s leading it?”
She got a slightly guilty look on her face. “Not exactly, but she’ll be so happy that we’ve all decided to band together and take back the school, to return decency, discipline, and personal expression to the heart of Rosewood.”
“Excellent. Are you any good at potions?”
She frowned at me. “Why?”
“Penny is looking for people who can help her with her business, Darkly Sweet. It’s brilliant, subversive, very authentic and genuine. You should ask her if you can help. She’s so shy about asking for help. Sometimes you have to show her what she needs.”
“Like you?”
I hesitated before I smiled. “Indeed. I enjoy every aspect of teaching Penny the intricacies of business.”
She stared down at her large hands. “I mean, that she needs you.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. “I hope so,” I finally said and then we were at Lilac Stories, Zach wore a pink tuxedo with blue cummerbund. Was he trying to impress her with his ridiculousness? I thought he’d given up on that.
The tea party was in the Commons since her room was too small for the dozens of people she’d apparently invited. There was no sign of Señor Mort. That was probably a good thing considering all the hands that could grab. When Penny saw me, she smiled from the tips of her hair to her toenails. They were delicious toenails, pink wi
th gold stars. I liked stars so much, almost as much as I liked her toes.
She walked towards me, grabbing my hands in her bandaged ones and stared at me like no one else was there.
“Who are all these people?” she hissed.
I raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you tell Marilynn that you were having a tea party?”
“Did I? Oh, on Friday she kept talking to me in linguistics about tea parties, when I had them, that sort of thing, but I wasn’t paying attention. It was a weird day for me.”
I raised her hand to my lips and kissed it. I let my lips linger on her skin, inhaling the flavor, the sweetness that soaked in her skin. Her eyes went enormous and she stopped breathing. Perfect. She was thinking about last night, about three feet under when she finally kissed me.
“Who are all these people?” Viney spoke low, but the fury in her voice was unmistakable.
Penny ripped her hand out of mine and flushed with what looked like guilt. Was she feeling guilty for kissing me when Viney was obsessed with me, even if Viney had been occupying Oscar the night before, much more than that one practically negligible brush of her lips on mine?
“Viney! Apparently we’re having a tea party. I didn’t know. All this food, no idea where it came from. These people, I mean, I recognize them from classes and stuff, like that ballerina girl with the excellent arabesque, and the super gorgeous blue dress, that dress really is amazing. I wonder who her tailor is. Anyway, I know her, but I don’t know why she’s here.”
Viney made a rude sound. “Why are you here, Drake?”
“Lars invited me.”
“Lars?” Penny wrinkled her forehead in confusion.
“Marilynn invited everyone else.”
Viney rolled her eyes. “Marilynn Schroeder is getting a little bit cocky.”
Just then Roxy of the blond spiky hair came in with Ian. Ian? I showed him my teeth in a similitude of a smile while I stepped closer to Penny and slid my hand around her waist. She looked up at me, surprised, and then kind of swayed towards me like she was going to faint. I liked that so much, her being helplessly drawn towards me.
Dread Delight: Rosewood Academy for Witches and Mages (Darkly Sweet Book 2) Page 22