Page 7 of Knocked up By the Minotaur

“Horsey!” he squeaks happily at Olistaire, and my eye twitches. God, my son, and his borderline offensive nicknames for everyone.

“Lucas, what have I told you about Oli?”

Still skipping backwards, his grinning face scrunches thoughtfully as he looks at the big man before him. “He’s not a horsey?”

“That’s right, he’s a…?”

“A mini-saur.”

“Minotaur,” Olistaire corrects with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

“Okay, okay,” Lucas huffs, waving his hand dismissively. “Mini-taur. Can I have a horsey ride, please?”

Rhokar snickers beside his friend, nudging Olistaire with his elbow. “Yes, give the kid ahorsey ride.”

“Cow ride,” I correct Lucas, which only has Rhokar’s snickers intensifying.

“Stop enjoying this,” Oli says to Rho, before his gaze flicks my way. “And it’s a bull ride, thank you.”

“Bull ride!” Lucas, still backward-skipping, almost trips over and seems entirely unconcerned as his cap goes flying off. He waves his hands towards Olistaire and starts jumping. “Please, please, please?”

I sigh as I pick up his dinosaur hat, ready to tell him to leave Olistaire alone. But then the minotaur flings his jacket into Rho’s unsuspecting face before swooping down to scoop up my son, who goes flying through the air with a squeal as he’s placed on his broad shoulders. His little hands immediately grip onto Olistaire’s horns, and he laughs madly and bounces up and down.

“Yay!” he squeaks, his legs kicking in excitement and nearly kneeing Olistaire in the jaw. “Brad won’t play horsey no more!”

Olistaire’s lips thin, and his big hands come up to hold lightly onto Lucas’s ankles. “Well, I’m not Brad.”

“Yay! Giddy up!”

For some reason, a shot of guilt spikes through me, as if it’s somehow my fault that Brad stopped showing both me and Lucas affection, stopped spending quality time with us. I feel my smile falter, and I make an effort to force it back into place, and force thoughts of that man away. It’s notmy fault Brad’s an ass, and I won’t let him get to me anymore.

As we walk beneath the trees, through the sun-dappled path lined with all sorts of stores selling cauldrons to pixie-dust to brightly colored two-headed lizards, I try to lose myself in the atmosphere. Heartwood Grove has always been one of my favorite places here, there’s a vibrating energy that seems to rise up from the ground, as if from the very tree roots. The place is brimming with earth magic, and the locals say the ancient trees here are the heartbeat of town and the cornerstone of the magical community.

I take a deep breath, and let that energy fill me. Brad is just a guy. A shitty, stupid guy, and no guy will shake the happiness of my son and I ever again.

We exit the path and come across a perfectly manicured clearing, where a band of warlocks with dreadlocks play music for an audience sprawled across the grass on picnic mats. We set up our own mat in the sunshine, and I sit on the edge and stare out across the trees, annoyed at myself for being stuck on thoughts of Brad, instead of being present and enjoying the here and now.

With a sigh I conjure up an image of his stupid face with his slightly delicate jaw and pretty, pretty gray eyes. I close my own eyes briefly and let the humming, throaty music of the warlocks engulf me. I let Brad appear fully formed in my mind, and then I let him go. Let him burst into a puff of glittery mist and beautiful words, and float away on the breeze into nothingness.

Goodbye, you stupid jerk, I think calmly. I’ll never waste another second thinking about you, or any man, ever again.

Chapter 4

Olistaire

It’s Wednesday, and I’ve been thinking about Grace constantly since I saw her at the flea market on Sunday.

I’ve never had so much fun obsessing over a female before. This is always the best part—the chase, the conquest, and I have to admit that Grace’s resistance to me despite how clear it is that she finds me attractive, is only making me want her more.

I have to get her alone. I needto speak to her one-on-one, get a proper gauge of what she’s thinking and feeling, and not just flirt around the issue in group settings.

Strolling down main street, I soak in the good weather we’ve been having lately, as I take my lunch break and daydream about the prettiest female in town. I can’t be too forward when I approach her. She’s just gotten out of a long relationship with noodle-boy and judging by Rhokar’s continued overprotective comments about the matter, she’s avoiding males altogether. I need to be smooth, casual, and lead into things at a natural pace. She’ll just double down on resisting me if I come on too strong.

What I need is a nice, natural setting to accidentally bump into her while she’s alone. But how will I orchestrate something like that? Turning up at her home for no reason is a bit much…

I look ahead absentmindedly as I walk and ponder the situation, when my thoughts suddenly still and my feet follow suit. I catch sight of a familiar golden-brown, messy bun pop up from a crouch ahead. Slowly, I feel a smile coming on as my heart does a little tug, tug of excitement at the sight before me. It seems like the Fates are on my side today.

Grace is on her own walk on Main today, taking her son’s hand in her own and starting to head down the sidewalk towards me. Perfect.

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