Page 61 of Zero Happily Ever Afters

“We need to clean up.” I lay beneath Milo, pinned and unwilling to put up a fight.

“Later,” he said, licking some of the sticky mess caught between us before resting his head on my shoulder.

We stayed in this embrace until I drifted off to sleep. Sort of. There was no way I’d fall into a dark and silent slumber or into some dream memory with Milo continuing to work on organizing visions inside my head.

I stepped through the dark corridors of my so-called elegant inner core. Geez. Now, it felt pretentious and forced, nothing likethe casual modern wealth of Milo’s sophisticated place. I really needed to redo my mind, make it something special, not fancy for the sake of being fancy like that somehow made me feel more elegant. It didn’t. If anything, it reminded me how many rungs below the—

“Wow, so you’re just gonna stand there judging yourself all night, huh?” Milo turned his head, minxy expression, and filled with delight that he could hear my every thought since he had burrowed his way inside my skull with some annoying enchantment.

“I should’ve burned those damn things.”

“But you didn’t.” Milo wiggled his hips, practically conjuring music inside my inner core as he worked. “And yes, I’ll be working all night. Your head is a fucking mess. Like deep clean this pigsty kind of a mess. Seriously, I’m embarrassed for you.”

“Hey!”

Milo winked. “You can find my comments, notes, whispers, whatever, neatly tucked away over there. You study up on my super-duper epic plan for the future while I organize this whatever-kabob of chaos you created with my clairvoyance. No, kabobs are a sleek and organized dish. Chili? Yes. Your mind is the chili of chaos.”

I glared.

“You know, because with chili, you just toss it all in and mix it together, and it turns into a mushy monstrosity of flavor. It’s good. But like…” Milo shrugged, the kind that came with a need to elaborate, until his happy eyes locked onto mine. “Burr, cold. You are chili.”

“You’re insufferable.” I folded my arms and huffed.

“And you’re adorable.” Milo popped his hip, inside my head and outside, where he shifted the weight of his body ever so as he slept on me.

Chapter Seventeen

Did I hover close to Milo with a manifestation despite him being back in Chicago? Well within my extended range of obsessive observations? Yes, but it helped keep my mind grounded where it needed to be by sending my other half to snoop in manifestation form. Sort of like an unopened piece of mail. Even if it had horrid red letters declaring a “final notice” or “urgent” or something that sent a sickening wave of nausea, it didn’t actually exist until I ripped open that paper.

I didn’t check the thread connecting Milo and me. I kept all my attention fixated on work, here in the halls of Gemini Academy, preparing for the first round of the Spring Showcase, an event where so many of the city’s enchanters arrived to observe potential interns.

I bet Milo planned for this absurdity to fall during the Spring Showcase. It kept me at school. Ensured all my students were here. Guaranteed protection from hundreds of industry professionals. I bet Milo wasn’t even worried about this True Witch escaping and merely wanted to keep me grounded somewhere safe. So here I stayed safely on the Gemini Academy campus grounds while Enchanter Evergreen worked with his Global Guild coven members, awaiting the escape attempt The True Witch plotted as her Celestial Coven lurked in the shadows.

“Awwww, you two look soooo cute all bundled up!” Melanie side-stepped toward Gael, who held his shivering rooster.

The two of them wore matching green winter hats and scarves because, despite it being the first week of April, the Midwest loved to slap us with a cold front one final time. The bitter chill stretched across the city, lamenting winter’s unwillingness to die off and give us a glimmer of spring’s gentle warmth before the sauna of summer kicked in.

“If you need a little heat in your life”—Melanie flicked her zippo, sending a serpent of fire swirling around Gael and King Clucks—“lemme know.”

“Cl-cl-cluck!” The rooster’s furious flapping wings sent the flames cascading through the halls.

I glowered. “Melanie, if so much as one thing is singed, you’ll never see the inside of a guild.”

Melanie darted off to put out her magic before she set anyone on actual fire.

“Ba-ba-ba-bawk!”

“She’s not being extra. It’s called flirting.” Gael walked into the room with a swagger. “She just wants another night with this stallion stud—”

I grumbled, rolling my eyes and tuning out Gael’s conversation with his rooster.

Once the bell rang, I gave my homeroom the first fifteen minutes to review the agenda for the week while I reviewed the schedule Chanelle had sent out to staff. Uff. I couldn’t believe she balanced organizing the first-year and second-year showcases while also preparing her homeroom coven for internships, teaching classes, and a thousand other things. What an annoying overachiever.

“Did you see Gladiatrix’s press conference?” Carter asked, literally floating in his desk as he stretched forward to talk with Jennifer.

“Yep,” she said with disinterest while scrolling through her phone, quietly looking for possible events Gladiatrix would attend.

Apparently, she’d come up with the idea of dragging Carter to the next Gladiatrix sighting to surprise him.

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