Page 31 of Hexed
When she leans in toward my lips, I turn my head.
She sighs into my ear before dropping her face against mine. “You’re so irritating sometimes, Venesa.”
“Sorry, honey, but you know the rules.” I push her back, and she releases me without a fight.
She huffs, ambling to where her clothes are in a pile on the floor, right next to the edge of the bed, where I stripped them off her last night. “You and your stupid rules. Kissing someone on the lips isn’t going tokillyou, V. It’s called intimacy.”
I blink at her.
She laughs quietly, tugging on her pants. “But why would you know anything about that?”
My thumb rubs against the nail on my ring finger. “Listen, this was fun, but I’ve?—”
“Let me guess,” she interrupts, buttoning up her shirt. “You’ve got things to do?”
“And people say you don’t pay attention.” I wink. “Yet you know me so well.”
“Wecouldknow each other better.” She moves back toward me.
“Any better and we’d end up killing each other. Now out.” I point toward the door leading to the Lair downstairs.
It’s early, so it’s not open yet, but if she waits any longer, the staff will have arrived, and I’d rather they not see her sneaking from my apartment. I’m gossiped about enough around here.
She walks to the door, pausing with her hand on the knob. “You know, you could take a chance and give us a real shot.”
“I could,” I say carefully as I trek to my makeshift closet and run my fingers along the rack of clothes I have against the far wall. “I just don’t want to, darlin’.”
She mutters something in reply, but I ignore her, keeping my eyes on my garments, cocking my head like picking an outfit needs intense concentration.
Finally, I hear the door click shut as she leaves, and my shoulders drop, the knot in my stomach untangling as I blow out a deep breath.
I walk from the rack and to my bedside table before opening the drawer and grabbing my gratitude journal and the meditation pillow underneath, and then I make my way to the center of the room. Manifestation is something I’ve believed in since I was struggling in high school and started writing down that Uncle T had let me drop out and come work for him instead. Two months later, those words became reality.
At that point, I had already delved into the world of witchcraft—although in the beginning, it was more curiosity and less spiritual devotion—so manifestation fell in line with raising my frequency and manipulating energy to my benefit, and even though Fisher makes fun of me for the practice, I know it works. There are too many things the universe has opened for me, too many ways my life has changed for the better since starting.
Mentally, I make a note to do a cord-breaking ritual for Athena the next time the sun is in Aquarius, and then I wipe the thought entirely from my head and focus on my breathing.
Thirty minutes later, I’m back at my clothing rack, grabbing an off-the-shoulder top I picked up from Goodwill and my favorite shorts before tossing them to the side, scrunching up my nose at the lack of options.
I miss designer clothes and the walk-in closet I had at the mansion. But that was a long time ago, when Uncle T was legally responsible for providing for me. The day I turned eighteen, Aunt Elle wasted no time kicking me to the curb, and my “loving” uncle stood beside her, watching silently as I packed my bags.
Bitterness fills my throat, making the back of my mouth turn sour.
I’m glad she’s dead now, at least.
My phone rings, Uncle T’s name flashing on the screen.
“Morning,” I answer, putting a bit of extra pep in my tone to cover the guilt from what I was just feeling.
“Hey, little one,” he replies in a soft voice. “You got my message earlier?”
“About meeting E? Of course.” I nod to myself as I continue picking out an outfit for the day. I hold up an option and walk to my floor-length mirror, which sits kitty-corner to my bed, before tossing it to the side and going to grab another one. “I don’t know. This is all just a little ridiculous. The vibes are off.”
Uncle T chuckles. “If we ran the world based on your vibes, everything would burn to the ground.”
“Well…” I toss another shirt on the bed. “Sometimes you’ve gotta burn things so you can start fresh.”
“I want that Marino hotel I was promised years ago, and he’s going to give it to me whether he wants to or not.”
