Page 51 of The Neighborhood Witch

“Help.”

Ravenhill Drive was silent.The houses darkened as their occupants slumbered for the evening. The glow of their porch lights dimmed as the riders approached their houses from the back to reduce the possibility of being seen by any potential onlookers. They flew between the two houses before coming to a stop in between them. Alice’s feet greeted the ground as Galahad softly came to a full stop.

Hugo sat as far back on the seat as he could. His arms wrapped around Alice’s waist, head resting where her shoulder met the bottom of her neck. The faint hint of rosemary and sage perfume enticed his senses. He didn’t want to let go. He lingered as long as possible before finally releasing his hug. His fingers slowly traced around her waist. He felt the smooth polyester fibers of the coat against her body. Alice slightly arched her back.

She shivered.

He smiled.

Hugo swung his leg over Galahad. Alice followed. She bit her lip and brushed her hair behind her ears. They stood, eyes locked, inches from each other. He lost himself in the stare of her emerald green eyes. She locked onto his icy blues.

An unseen force pulled him closer and closer to her. Hugo’s desires burned in that moment. He wanted to act, but something held him back. Neither dared to utter the dark secrets of their intentions in that moment.

“Thank you,” he finally broke the silence. “Thank you for a fun evening. I haven’t experienced this in months.”

She smiled. He turned and headed back toward his door.

Alice called out his name in a panic, “Hugo!”

Her words stopped him in his tracks. He reluctantly turned around.

“The night’s still young. Would you like to come inside?”

She adjusted her hat by pushing it back. Her face perfectly illuminated in the moonlight. The glow of her purple hair. Her lips narrowed. Her eyebrows arched. A look of uncertainty.

Hugo froze. His heart raced, and his eyes widened with anticipation. He tried to find the words he wanted to say. The words he needed to say. All the years of speaking failed him at that moment. He couldn’t verbalize his heart’s desires. His heart’s wants. His heart’s needs. He wanted Alice in that moment, but something held him back.

“I had a great time tonight,” Hugo said.

Alice lowered her head, pulling her hat back down. The brim hid her face from Hugo.

Hugo’s shoulders slumped. His wide-eyed expression narrowed to contain the tears that swelled. “I want to, but I don’t think I can.”

Alice raised her head; her eyes narrowed and brow scrunched. Hugo’s stomach sank from the hurt in her eyes. “What are we? Just friends or something more?”

“I want us to be something more,” he replied.

In that instant, he wanted to bend her backward and kiss her the way he used to kiss Elizabeth.Elizabeth.Her name echoed through his mind, haunting him, tormenting him. He sank into the ground, unable to move, held in place, so he wouldn’t act on his emotions. “I… I need more time.”

Alice nodded. “Okay. I can give you time. All the time you need.” She wiped away a tear and smiled. Hugo knew that smile—the smile to mask the pain.

“Thank you.”

Hugo fought back the tears swelling in his eyes. He stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets and turned. His head hung low like he had committed an atrocity. He knew, in that moment, he had messed up. He knew with every fiber in his being he should turn around and rush toward her in ecstasy.

An invisible string pulled him, compelled him back inside. He tried to escape, to run toward her embrace. That invisible string lurched him forward into the sanctity of his house.

“Have a good night,” she said.

He turned back. Alice stood upright, perhaps hoping he would reconsider, as he ascended his porch steps.

“You too, Alice. It was fun.” He disappeared inside the faded, tumbledown home.

Chapter 14

Working His Magic On Her

“Ifucked up, Max,” Hugo said as he paced his living room. “I really fucked up.”

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