Wicked Magic

by K. T. Black

  “Hey, I’m just trying to give you fair warning, something I wish somebody had done for me.” Millie acted as if she was doing Chandler some huge favor.

  “It’s touching how concerned you are for me. As much as I’d like to stand here and discuss this with you, I’d rather get back to the studio and see Alex work.” Chandler walked around Millie and exited the restroom without looking back.

  Chapter 13

  By the time Chandler returned to the studio, the photo shoot was well underway. Anna met her as soon as she appeared inside the room, and then showed her where she could sit and observe. The woman scurried away once Chandler was settled.

  Still going over the conversation she’d had with Millie, Chandler barely noticed the scene playing out before her. Millie was worse than she’d anticipated. Her behavior reminded Chandler of how her stepmother and stepsisters treated her. Millie was a pretentious bully, identical to them in many ways. Trying to imply that not only was Alex using her, but insinuating that Alex was hiding something from her as well. It all led Chandler to one conclusion. Millie was still carrying a torch for Alex. As she pondered that, she wondered if Alex still cared at all for Millie. Alex never talked about her, so she’d assumed that she didn’t, but now she wasn’t one hundred percent certain.

  What Chandler hated the most about their impromptu meeting was the doubts Millie had placed in her mind. Being here in New York, seeing the life and the friends Alex had left behind, she wondered how long it would be before Alex grew bored of her and Castleton. Was she a novelty, someone for Alex to use like Millie was trying to insinuate?

  When Millie returned to the studio, preparing to take her turn in front of the camera, Chandler found the woman staring at her. A triumphant smile adorned Millie’s face as she seemed to know she’d gotten to Chandler.

  Attempting to appear as if Millie hadn’t affected her, Chandler redirected her attention to Alex. That worked until Millie and another model replaced the previous models Alex had been photographing. As soon as Millie was in front of Alex, Chandler noticed her visible reaction. Where Alex had been easygoing and fluid with the other models, she was more rigid and sharper in tone as she directed the next set of shots.

  A few hours later, when the session was finished, Chandler watched as Alex gave her camera to an assistant. After instructions were given to the young man, Alex made her way over to Chandler. Looking past Alex, Chandler noticed Millie was lagging behind, eyeing them. Acting on impulse, Chandler stood up from her chair and met Alex halfway. Wrapping her arms around Alex’s shoulders, Chandler leaned up and kissed her. It was a simple kiss, but one meant to let Millie know that Alex was hers.

  Surprised, Alex hesitated before she responded. She put her arms around Chandler’s waist and kissed her back. When Alex pulled back, she wore a confused but pleased expression. “What was that for?”

  “Do I need a reason to kiss you?”

  “No.”

  “Is there anything else planned for today?” Chandler tuned out everything else going on around them, content to remain in Alex’s arms.

  “A few people are getting together at one of the local clubs later. We’ve been invited, but I thought I would leave it up to you whether or not we go.”

  Chandler thought a moment. “Would you be upset if we went back to the hotel? I’d rather spend the night in, just you and me.”

  “If that’s what you’d like to do.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want you to miss doing stuff with your friends while you’re here.”

  “We won’t be missing anything. It’s mostly the younger models and crew that are going.”

  “Because we could go if you’d rather.”

  “No, going back to the hotel is fine. I need to finish up here with a few more things and then we can head out. Okay?”

  “Yeah, that sounds good.”

  Alex gave Chandler a quick kiss and then left her.

  * * * *

  After they decided to stop and pick up a pizza and some fancy imported beer, Chandler and Alex headed back to the hotel. It wasn’t late by the standards of New York City, but for Chandler, she was more than ready to settle in for the evening. Eating pizza this late would likely bring nightmares when she went to sleep, but she anticipated them after today’s confrontation with Millie.

  Chandler had considered telling Alex about it, but changed her mind when she’d noticed how they’d behaved around one another. Alex had only dealt with Millie when necessary, and not once did she point out who Millie was, or even attempt to introduce her. Not knowing what to expect when dealing with someone’s ex, Chandler tried to figure out if Alex ignored Millie because she hated her, or if she still had feelings for the woman.

  The whole situation painted the evening in a somber tone, making it a tad awkward, Chandler thought. Both of them appeared to be holding back information in an attempt to spare the other’s feelings. The problem was, it wasn’t working.

  Thinking too much, Chandler worried that she’d allowed herself to get involved with Alex much quicker than she should have. They probably should have taken more time to get to know each other before getting intimately involved. But would that have made much difference? Was there a right or wrong time when it came to developing a relationship? She was far from being an expert in that department. All she knew was that she felt comfortable in Alex’s presence. Chandler couldn’t say that about everyone. Even around Kara there were times that she felt uneasy, and she’d known her since she’d moved to Castleton. That had to mean something.

  Yawning, Chandler looked over at the half empty pizza box sitting in the middle of the bed. As she reached over and closed its lid, she glanced over at the other side of the bed and noticed that Alex was sound asleep.

  Having lost interest in the pay-per-view movie, Chandler picked up the remote and switched off the television. She stood and picked up the pizza box so she could put it on one of the tables in the other room.

  After gathering up the empty beer bottles and depositing them in the trash can, Chandler made a quick trip to the bathroom and then prepared to get back into bed. She stopped when one of the smart phones came to life, indicating a new text message had been received. Since both of their phones were sitting on top of the dresser, Chandler wasn’t certain whether it was Alex’s phone or hers.

  Bleary-eyed and a bit buzzed from the beer, Chandler grabbed the phone and woke it up. Blinking and squinting so she could see better, Chandler discovered it was Alex’s phone. She was about to set the phone down when she noticed the name on the latest message. It was from Millie. After looking through the list of text messages, she noticed a lot of them were from Millie. Chandler was tempted to get her reading glasses, open all of them and read what they said, but she couldn’t do that. This was Alex’s phone, and she didn’t want to invade her privacy.

  Sneaking a peek at Alex, Chandler was relieved to see that she was still asleep. She shut off the phone and laid it back down on the dresser. Then she turned off all the lights and settled back into the bed.

  Lying in the darkness, Chandler knew she needed to talk to Alex about Millie. Things needed to be addressed before it became a problem for them. For the first time in her life, Chandler was happy, and she’d be damned if she let some malicious woman take her happiness away. If she had to fight for Alex, she’d do it.

  As if sensing Chandler needed to be comforted, Alex rolled over and wrapped her possessive arms around her. Chandler let out a deep breath, feeling her body relax as soon as Alex made contact with her. A few minutes later, Chandler drifted off to sleep.

  * * * *

  The next morning, Chandler found Alex in the other room. She was sitting at the table drinking coffee as she worked on her laptop.

  When Chandler entered the room, Alex turned to look at her.

  “Morning, sleepyhead. I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

  “No,” Chandler answered and then yawned. She was still dressed in her sleep clothes.

 
“Why don’t you order some breakfast? I need to finish sorting through my photos before we can go do anything today. I’m meeting with the client before we head back to Castleton tomorrow.”

  Chandler went to get the room service menu, when Alex’s smart phone activated. By the melodic tone, she knew it was a text message. Chandler stopped and observed Alex as she checked the screen. She grimaced, and then set the phone back down on the table.

  “Alex?” Chandler saw the opening she needed to bring up Millie. “I need to ask you something.”

  “Yes?” Alex turned away from her computer screen.

  Chandler stared at her for a few minutes. She worried how Alex would react when she asked her question.

  “What do you want to know?” Alex inquired when Chandler didn’t say anything.

  “Well, I’m not sure how to ask.”

  “Then I’m not certain how to answer you until you do.”

  Chandler shifted from foot to foot. She started to have second thoughts about telling Alex about her confrontation with Millie, so she stalled.

  “Come sit down by me.”

  Chandler walked over and pulled out one of the chairs. After setting it in front of Alex, she sat down.

  “Ask me your question.”

  “Are you happy with me?”

  “Of course I’m happy with you, my dear. Why would you even wonder that?”

  “Well, yesterday when I was coming back to the studio, I ran into someone.”

  Alex’s expression altered. “You met Millie, didn’t you?” Her smile was gone.

  “Not intentionally. She cornered me in the bathroom.”

  “What did she tell you?” Alex demanded, appearing upset by this revelation.

  “Um, w-well…” Chandler stuttered before she determined what to tell her. “She seemed surprised that you were with me. She implied that we were mismatched and that you were only using me.”

  “That bitch!” Alex spat out. “I warned her to stay away from you.”

  “So you aren’t hoping to get back with her?”

  “No, quite the opposite, in fact.”

  “She seems determined to get back together with you. She didn’t come out and say it, but I could tell.”

  “Unfortunately, this is something I’m very much aware of. She’s been bombarding me with texts and voicemails ever since we got here.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I didn’t want to upset you.”

  “You should have told me.” Chandler was disappointed that she hadn’t trusted her enough to say anything. She felt the tears forming in her eyes, but fought to hold them in.

  “I didn’t want to involve you if I didn’t have to.” Alex's voice was low and soothing.

  “If it affects you, it affects me.” A few stray tears made their way down her face. “I don’t do things halfway, Alex. I also don’t just let people into my heart. When I love someone, it isn’t a game to me.”

  It was the first time love had been mentioned since they’d been together. Alex’s expression softened. She scooted closer, reached out her hand and brushed the tears from Chandler’s face. “I’m sorry. I was wrong to not tell you.”

  “I know I’ve only known you a short time, but it feels like I’ve always known you.” More tears fell as she sniffled. “So when you keep something from me, something I could help you with—”

  “I know. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m so used to taking care of things myself.”

  “It makes me worry that I’m not enough for you.”

  “Don’t you ever think that.” Alex reached out and took hold of both of Chandler’s hands and interlaced their fingers. “If anything, you’re probably too good for me. I’m the one who should be worried, not you.”

  The room fell silent as they stared at one another.

  “So what do we do about Millie?” Chandler asked.

  “Well, I’ll need to change my phone number again.”

  “You could block her number. I could help you with it.”

  “She’d just use another phone to call me. No, it’s easier to get a new number.”

  “I could do that for you while you work on your pictures.” Chandler’s mood brightened.

  Alex smiled. “I’ll take care of it when we get back home. No sense having a New York number when I’ll be living in Castleton.”

  “What about while we’re here?”

  “I’ll keep doing what I have been. Sorting through and deleting.”

  “Was she like this before you moved to Castleton?”

  “Not quite as bad.”

  “Should we be worried?”

  “I can handle Millie, so you don’t need to worry about it. It’s more of a game to her than anything else.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m sure. Once we get back to Castleton, everything will return to normal. Now go order some breakfast and think about what we can go do before we go out tonight.”

  Chapter 14

  The remaining time in New York passed by without incident. Saturday night was spent at the theatre, followed by a late dinner with some of Alex’s friends. Sunday morning, Chandler and Alex packed up and went to Roger’s office so Alex could meet with the client to go over the photos from the shoot. Afterward, Roger treated Alex and Chandler to lunch before he took them to the airport for their flight home.

  When they arrived in Boston, Alex arranged for a car to take them the rest of the way home. By the time they approached the city limits of Castleton, it was early evening. Both of them were eager to be back home. Chandler hoped Alex was right about Millie leaving them alone now that they were no longer in New York. Part of her didn’t believe that she would.

  Millie wasn’t the only thing Chandler had been stressing over. Since they’d been in New York, she’d been considering the offer Alex had made to her prior to their trip. Alex wanted Chandler to live with her full-time. Chandler initially resisted, because she knew that they would have to be open about their relationship if they did. After dealing with Millie, Chandler realized she cared more about being happy than what other people thought. The last thing she wanted to do was to lose Alex.

  “What are you worrying about?” Alex asked, interrupting Chandler’s thoughts.

  “Nothing.”

  “You’re a terrible liar, my dear.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “Just tell me. You know I have ways of making you talk.” A mischievous expression filled her face.

  Chandler bit her lip, distracted for a moment. “I was thinking that I’d go with you when you picked up Zelda from Kara and Jake’s house. I thought that we could tell them about us.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I think when she sees me always over at your house, she’s going to figure it out anyway.”

  “This is very true,” Alex agreed.

  Chandler stared at Alex, trying to will her to ask the question she wanted to hear. Alex raised her eyebrows and stared back, forcing Chandler to ask for what she wanted.

  “You’re going to make me ask, aren’t you?”

  “Ask what?” Chandler could see Alex feigned ignorance.

  “You’re not amusing, Alex.”

  She laughed. “I think I’m extremely amusing.”

  Chandler huffed. “You really are going to make me ask.”

  “My dear, I told you before, you’re more than welcome to stay with me in my house. I even have a room where you could set up all your equipment if you like. Keep your house or sell it, it makes no difference to me. As long as I have you, that’s all I care about.”

  “Does that mean you intend on staying in Castleton for a while?”

  “Believe it or not, I’m looking forward to taking life a bit easier. Living and working in New York, I didn’t always find the time to devote to my art. And sometimes when I did, the inspiration wasn’t there. Plus I do enjoy teaching.”

  “I was only wondering what to expect.”

  “I’m
quite a tenacious person, Chandler. Even though nothing is guaranteed, I don’t give up easily on anything. When I want something, I go after it until I get it.”

  “If you were asked to go back to New York again by Roger, would you do it?”

  “It depends.”

  “That’s a vague answer.”

  “This was a favor for him. Something I kind of owed him.”

  “If the money was good enough?”

  “Money’s not an issue for me. It never has been. Besides what I’ve earned, my family has trust funds set up for me and my brother.” Alex shook her head. “No, I tend to have a purpose behind what I do. If I don’t enjoy it, I simply don’t do it.”

  “I was wondering.”

  “You’re just going to have to figure out how to keep me entertained here.”

  “I think that can be arranged.”

  * * * *

  As soon as the black town car pulled into Alex’s driveway, Chandler noticed Kara exiting her house. One hand held a cat carrier, while the other held a sack full of Zelda’s things.

  Looking in the same direction as Chandler, Alex said, “I hope you’re ready for that conversation with Kara.”

  “Yeah, I guess so.”

  The car door opened and the driver helped both Alex and Chandler out.

  “Would you please take all the luggage into the house?” Alex instructed the driver.

  He nodded.

  “Thank you.” Alex turned to Chandler. “You might as well invite her inside. She’s not going to leave until she gets all the details of our trip.”

  “Okay.”

  Alex headed up to the front door while Chandler met up with Kara.

  “Oh, you’re finally back.” Kara looked like she was about to burst from excitement. “I can’t wait to hear all about the trip.”

  “Would you like some help?” Chandler accepted the cat carrier that held Zelda.

  “Thanks.” Kara followed Chandler over to Alex’s house. “So, did you have a good time?”

  “Yeah, it was fun. How did Jake like cat sitting?”

  “I figured he’d hate it, but he and Zelda bonded over the weekend while you guys were away. That cat either sat on his lap or next to him the entire time. I tell you, I was starting to get jealous.” If only you knew about Zelda, Chandler thought.