Page 19 of Witch Please

There was no way. Even in New Hampshire, men had to be better than that. Surely.

“Please tell me you’re joking.”

She sat next to me, passing me container after container as we doled out our choices. Her lack of response told me everything I needed to know.

“Imogen.” I put my hand on hers, “you deserve so much more than that. I hope you realize that. You are truly one of the most spectacular women I know. Don’t lower yourself to their inane standards. You are worthy, and beautiful, and incredible. Their loss now—because now that I finally have a chance, I won’t go down without a fight—but know that you are worthy of holding men to the highest standard because you’re priceless.”

Chapter 15

Finding myself in a relationship with Sebastian felt sudden, but also as if we’d always been together. In some ways, not much changed. He still blustered about the tiniest inconvenience when it came to the festival. The difference now was that most of his bluster also included a heavy dose of inviting me into his confidences and allowing me to shoulder his fears of the production being a flop. Italsoincluded a great deal of flirting. Like the box I found on my desk one morning.

The note read:

I hope I can make it through our final rehearsal knowing this is what I have to look forward to when we go back to my place. Yours, Sebastian.

So many details on that little slip of paper made my heart race. That it was our last dress rehearsal before the festival weekend commenced made me giddy, petrified, sick to my stomach—so many emotions. I still stood in disbelief every day while on that stage that I was capable of taking command of the role. I rolled my eyes in self-recrimination remembering how absolutely petrified I’d been in the beginning, sure I’d make a fool of myself. Would I? It was a hundred percent possible. I’d never been a stage actress before and leave it to me to break into the theater in a lead role—no pressure.

Sebastian’s note also hinted that he had plans post rehearsal that involved whatever was in the box tied with the most dashing peacock colored ribbon. Of course that he signed his noteyourscouldn’t be overlooked. We’d never made any formal declarations as to what we were, but I assumed that given our ages—we were equally serious about one another.

Nestled within the matching peacock and silver tissue paper was the most ornate boned bodice and matching panty, evoking an air of regency in lingerie. Beneath the lingerie was a copy ofFifty Shades of Graywith passages highlighted, tabbed, and marked in order of preference, and a pair of lace up boots—with a very sensible riding heel instead of a pointed monstrosity that would at the least break my ankle if not my neck.

Sebastian: I can rip it off you if you’d like milady

Me: ?? you’ll do no such thing—it’s too beautiful to be ruined!

Sebastian: Our evening of fun will be delayed even further, I’m afraid. Patrick and Tabitha have arrived and would like to meet for dinner after rehearsals.

It was an outdoor festival, which meant that the main stage and all of the supplementary plays that the various schools and clubs would host were all to be performed outside. Given the complicated nature of Sebastian’s vision we decided to do full run-throughs—including all costumes, lights, and other various technology every day until curtain.

The rehearsal couldn’t have been more perfect, and the dean, college president, and provost stopped in to get a preview and compliment Sebastian on a show that had all of the alumni buzzing. We should have been riding high after such a wonderful evening, instead we both obsessively tracked the radar on our phones while we sat at a table waiting for Patrick and Tabitha to join.

“It’s less than thirty percent chance.”

I tried to calm Sebastian’s fears. Personally, the fact that it was a thirty percent chance the festival got rained out and forced everyone inside had robbed me of any appetite. We’d worked so hard for that work to be wiped out by storms. It wasn’t that the production wouldn’t succeed on a traditional stage—it just lost a bit of its sizzle when the audience couldn’t view all of the action occurring from multiple angles at once.

“It’s going to be fine.” I leaned over and kissed him, hoping to erase some of the tension in his face before our friends arrived.

“I guess there has been a development then!” Patrick’s voice boomed from just beyond our table. “It’s about damn time!”

Patrick had me smothered in a bear hug before I could even react to his presence.

“I can’t believe I’ve gone this long without seeing the two of you!” He beamed, pulling a chair out for a woman with the most lovely sunset colored hair—whom I assumed was Tabitha.

“I guess I don’t need to spend my long weekend telling this guy to get his head out of his ass and finally fess up to the torch he’s carried.”

Sebastian and Patrick threw barbs at one another that only two best friends could before finally settling into their chairs.

“Sebastian, Imogen, this is myfiancé–Tabitha.”

“Fiancé? Holy crap Patrick! Congratulations! When? How?”

A waitress stopped by to take our drink orders. She couldn’t have taken them any slower, to be quite honest. I would have gone a few more minutes being completely parched in favor of learning details of my friend’s engagement.

It wasn’t long ago that he and I had sat in this very pub, pouring our hearts out, worrying that we would be single forever. We’d questioned too many times to count, whether academia had been the right path for us. It kept us in this weird anti-social bubble buried under research and papers, and all the other B.S. that comes along with trying to become a professor.

“Just before we left for New Hampshire,” Tabitha gushed, holding her hand out to me. “He proposed on a zoom.” She giggled, sharing a look with Patrick before continuing.

“I figured since it was how we met.” Patrick shrugged, embarrassment coloring his cheeks, “It wasn’t nearly as easy as I’d hoped it would be. Especially since Tabitha left the School of Medicine almost six months ago.”

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