Page 26 of Hopelessly Teavoted
She crossed her arms. “A little rejection will be good foryou, then. Something new and exciting.” She smiled, leaning toward him ever so slightly before catching it and correcting her posture.
He cocked his head for a moment, narrowing his eyes and nodding. “I’ll be back when it’s time to collect.” He ran a finger down the side of her cheek, then disappeared into a cloud of the same purple smoke, leaving behind a trail of dark glitter and the faint scent of bergamot and ginger.
CHAPTER 7Azrael
Azrael had thought he might lose his mind when Victoria unbuckled those strappy, bright pink heels with her feet up on the desk. He’d lost the punch line to his best ghost joke, that was for sure. He’d traveled across a country and yet somehow found himself back here, as though looped around in time. Since he’d seen her ankle in the back of the shop, he could still close his eyes and feel it, the longing. He was basically a Victorian slut, thirsting over the little strip of skin above her foot.
Her scarlet toenail polish had matched her fingernails, and the thought of running his finger along her ankles and the tattoo she must have gotten sometime between now and then, of shaded roses winding higher as the expanse of her legs glistened, had been so tempting. He had memorized the wall to prevent his gaze from slipping up her calves and thighs. It was an instinct, the remembering, like it had been yesterday and not years ago, what it had been like to touch those legs, hands shaking in disbelief that it was really, actually,finallyhappening. The little gasps he had treasured so much from her mouth. The scent of summer and his wildest dreams. The way he thought about her all the time and hadn’t been able to believe in those stolen hours that she was there, next to him—and on top of him and below him.
There had been plenty of beautiful people since then, butno one could drown out the memory of Vickie. There in the back office of the tea shop it had been too real to process. She smelled like strawberries, and he remembered how impossibly soft her skin had once felt against his fingers. How she made him feel magic, not just the kind that came with his bloodline but also the kind that burrowed into his heart and clung there refusing to let go, even now, after all this time. Always.
He stared at the text message.
Vickie:These have to be the ones. Think they’ll work?
He’d typed and deleted, and then thought about it for hours, until the night had slipped away into the early morning hours, and no amount of Netflix or Hozier records could soothe the ache of not responding. How could he respond? How could he possibly blend his feelings for his parents and his feelings for Vickie and come out looking something like human and normal?
The sun was already rising by the time he finally drifted to sleep, mad at himself for staying up so late. The curtains of his room drew themselves shut, and the light dimmed. The temperature dropped slightly as the house remembered exactly how he liked to sleep. He curled up under a comforter, phone next to him.
When he woke up, it was mid-Monday, and he realized with a jolt that he had never responded.
Asshole behavior. All he wanted to do was repair whatever was between them—safer to focus on the friendship—and all he’d managed was asshole behavior.
He grabbed his phone and typed out a message.
Azrael:Sorry. I really appreciate you looking for those. I got more emotional at the sight of them than I expected.
He plugged the phone in, went to brush his teeth, and by the time he had returned, he had a reply.
Vickie:I get it. I’m working most of the week, but the shop is closed on Wednesdays, if you want to come over then.
Azrael:Let me just double-check that I don’t have anything for work. The first staff day isn’t for two weeks, but there’s a tour of the school this week
Azrael:Don’t take this as I’m not eager, I just really want to make sure I don’t double-book.
Azrael:I appreciate you doing this, btw.
Vickie:I’m DEAD. Azrael Ashmedai Hart taking a TOUR of Hallowcross High?
Azrael:I know, I know. I work there now.
Vickie:Azrael Hart?? THE Azrael Hart who said he’d never set foot in that place again, like, every day the summer after senior year?
Azrael:Haha. Laugh it up.
Azrael:You’re sleeping in a bed my parents definitely fooled around on.
Vickie:AZ. First of all, good for them. Second, this is a new bed. I sold that one. I may not be rich anymore, but even on a shoestring budget, I sprung for a new mattress.
Azrael:Probably for the best.
Azrael:And now I’ve grossed myself out thinking about that.
Vickie:Sorrryyy
Azrael:It’s ok. It’s actually kind of comforting to remember how much they loved each other.
Azrael:I’m trying to focus on that. We have to do a grief counseling training after the tour.
