Page 42 of Marcus-stiltskin

“I have to keep your strength up.”

I can’t help but snort a very unlady like laugh at that. He grins as he sets a small steak on my plate. “I have mashed potatoes and salad, too,” he says, setting mismatched bowls on the table.

“This looks amazing. Did you make Freddie K. anything? He’s looking hopeful.”

“Did I make Freddie K. anything? Of course I did. What kind of pet parent do you take me for?” I giggle at his vehemence as he sets a tiny piece of steak in the dog bowl and then makes a plate for himself. We dig into our food and for a while, there is silence as we work through the food on our plates.

“What time do you have to leave for work tomorrow? I can have something ready when you get back from class.”

A prick of nervousness fills my belly. I look up at him. His face is neutral–there’s no hint at all about how he feels. Are we pretending my job is just a regular job? Are we facing it head on?

“Everything okay?” he asks.

“Yeah. Um, today was my last day at witch school. I met the fire witch and she’s having me come by her house on Wednesdays with Freddie K. to work on control.”

“So I just need to have dinner ready before you head in?”

“I can cook, too.”

“Not if you have to work. What time do you need to be there?”

I hesitate for a moment longer and then decide to just go with it. “The show doesn’t usually start until eight. I usually try to get there by seven because Ginger, our house mom, cooks a big meal and sells plates to everyone, but if you’re making dinner, I probably don’t need to head out until seven-thirty.”

“What’s a house mom do?”

Okay, so maybe we’re just acting like it’s a regular job? Questions are good, I think.

“She does a lot of things. She keeps the dressing room clean and stocked. She runs out to buy things we need, she fixes shoes, sews, cleans the bathroom. During the afternoon she’ll sometimes work at the bar if the rest of the Lamars are busy. She gets paid hourly by Randy for that, but everything else is tipped from us.”

“Tips?”

“Yeah, there’s a lot of fees involved in dancing. Some clubs will charge for dancers to dance, for their outfits, for their shoes. Randy only does that Friday and Saturday nights. We bring our own outfits and shoes. We tip the DJ and Ginger, and the bouncers.”

“And it’s still worth it financially?”

“It was,” I nod.

“What do you meanwas?”

I run a fork through my mashed potatoes. “The Lamars got a little weirded out by my sudden ability to cast spells. Earlier on the night we met at Soojin’s, a man tried to attack me and I—”

He raises an eyebrow. “You what?”

“I accidentally cast a spell that burned him alive from the inside.”

He chuckles. “Damn, remind me not to get on your bad side.”

“It was an accident. I didn’t even know I could–”

He holds up his hands in surrender. “I’m not judging. In fact, I’m sure he got exactly what he deserved.”

“Anyway, after that, they cut me from four days to the two that Darla works. They want her there to be able to counteract anything I might accidentally do.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah. I have savings. It’s just frustrating… and honestly, I thought…” my voice trails off.

He stops and looks at me. “Thought what?”

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