Page 38 of sWitch

I shrugged. “My parents vastly misjudged my future aesthetic.”

“How come I’ve never seen you here before?”

I ran my hand through my hair. “Seriously, Cheryl? We’ve met several times. Honestly, I’m hurt you don’t remember me. I surely remember you and those pretty hazel eyes. Also, you know I stick to the shadows.” I flashed my smile, but she didn’t smile back. Damn, tough crowd—my charm was usually foolproof.

“I don’t remember you. You got any identification?”

I dug in my pockets. “Must have left it in the car.” Because God is a woman, lightning flashed on cue, and the lights flickered. “Don’t make me go back out there? Come on, Cheryl. I just want to visit Gamma. She’s afraid of storms. I should really go see if she’s okay.”

The receptionist narrowed her gaze a final time before sliding a clipboard forward. “Sign in.”

“Thank you kindly.” I scanned the page, and my heart skipped a beat when I saw Fauna’s swirly signature and the previous day’s date. She was here. And luckily, Cheryl wasn’t good at reading the check in log—or resisting my prowess with the ladies.

I winked a turned left.

“Miss Belrose’s room is down therighthallway,” Cheryl drawled.

“Right, that’s right. She moved.”

“She’s never moved.”

I winked as I course-corrected. “That color yellow is really delightful on you, Cheryl. Truly, I adore our chats every week.”

She closed the plexiglass window with a loud sigh and shook her head. Love or hate me, didn’t matter. I checked every name card on each door I passed until finally reaching Belrose. The door was ajar, and sounds of the television and laughter floated into the hall. I knocked and stepped in. “Hey,” I greeted.

Fauna sat cross legged in a recliner, an older woman sitting up in bed next to her.

“Remy? What are you doing here?” Fauna stood and began brushing her hair with her fingers and wiping crumbs off her shirt. “Gamma, this is my—my?—“

“Hi, Gamma. I’m Fauna’s girlfriend, Remy Monroe.”

Fauna turned as pink as her shirt as I shook her grandmother’s hand.

“Oh, finally, Fauna has found someone who makes her happy.” Gamma beamed. “So glad to have you for a visit.”

“I’m happy to be here,” I smiled. Fauna and her grandma had the same freckles on their noses. “Do you mind if I steal Fauna for a moment?”

“Go right ahead, dear. My show is starting anyway.”

Fauna grabbed my arm and pulled me outside the room. “What the hell, Remy? How did you even find me and get in here?”

“I think I owe your coworker tattoos and piercings for life…and I got in here because front-desk Cheryl has a crush on me.” I raised my eyebrows and rubbed Fauna’s elbows as she crossed her arms. “Come on, princess. Don’t be mad at me. I’ve been so worried about you.”

“You didn’t seem too worried when you took off and abandoned me at your parents’ house last week. It took me an hour to find my missing shoe.” She pulled back. “Why are you even here? And where do you get off, calling me your girlfriend to my grandma?”

I tucked a stray piece of blonde hair behind Fauna’s ear. “Iamyour girlfriend, and I’ll never leave you like that again. Please forgive me?”

Fauna crossed her arms and kicked at the ground.

I tugged at her shirt. “You’re really, really cute when you try to resist me, princess. But it’s just a fact that you’re stuck with me.”

“I’ve messed everything up,” she said on a quivering breath. “I’ve lost you, my kittens, my friends, and pretty soon, everyone will be laughing at me when Prue continues wrecking my life.”

I shook my head and pulled her into my arms. “Nothing is messed up…except maybe my gaming chair. The kittens keep using it as a scratching post.”

Fauna looked up at me, her eyes widening in realization. “What kittens?”

“Tidbit, Traffic Cone, and Pancakes—those are their names, right? That jerk ex-friend of yours had them at my show, so I, very calmly and non-dramatically, retrieved them.”

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