Page 105 of Witch Please

“Wait, you said ‘when.’ I’m receiving, not proposing?”

“I guess we’ll have to see who does it first. Now stop interrupting, you’re getting me off topic, and this is something we need to talk about.”

“Is it about having kids? Yes, I want them, preferably before I’m forty. Otherwise, everything else is negotiable.”

She seemed startled for a second. “Everything? You mean you’re okay with adopting? Dammit, you distracted me again! That’s good to know, nowstop it.”

“Sorry, I’m nervous.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m afraid you’re about to spring something on me. Like ‘Funny story, before we met I signed a contract to repair stuff on the space station for a year,’ or ‘Sorry, Titus, I just found out I’m being arrested for protesting police violence.’”

“Relax. And please stop talking.” Her voice was gentle, and she soothed his nerves with a soft kiss. “This is nothing so dramatic. It’s personal.”

“Okay.”

“Basically, we’ve never talked about our beliefs. If you’re expecting me to attend First Presbyterian with you, that’s never happening, and I probably won’t be okay with sending our kids until they’re old enough to decide for themselves.”

“Oh.” He nearly went boneless with relief. “Yeah, I can understand. Bible Belt-adjacent and all that, but I’m not big on organized religion either.”

“That’s good. Because the next thing is I’m basically a new age hippie type.”

He blinked. “That’s the big reveal? Like herb smudging, healing crystals, candles for luck, and…chakras? I don’t know anything about that, but it’s not a deal breaker. I can respect what you believe in without needing to understand or share your…” He hesitated “Faith? Is that the right word?”

“It works.” From the brightness in her eyes, she was relieved by his casual reaction, and he mentally patted himself on the back. “When we move in together, eventually, you may catch me doing things that seem weird or pointless. Just take it that it’s part of the new age stuff and be cool, all right?”

“Definitely. Were you seriously worried that I’d be judgmental about this?”

“Not worried, exactly. I just wanted to tell you who I am.”

He kissed her temple, utterly charmed. “Thank you for trusting me. And for the record, I think I fell for you the first moment I saw you. The fact that we lived so close without meeting until now? It makes me wish my oven had broken sooner.”

“Me too,” she said. “That concludes the ‘important talk’ part of our evening. The only thing left is to get dressed and go see if our friends have wrecked the place without us.”

It took ten more minutes to get their clothes on because Titus couldn’t stop touching and kissing her, and he was half hard again by the time they ventured downstairs. Someone had moved the furniture against the walls and rolled up the area rug. Margie and Dante were dancing, and the quiet woman sure could move. Ethel was doing body shots off Calvin, and Trev had vanished with Leanne. Danica’s cousin was making out in the kitchen with the big guy, locked onto his lips like she needed them to live.

“I Gotta Feeling” cycled up on the playlist, and holy shit, what a blast from the past. Titus had been—he did the math—so damn young when this song came out. But the tune fit the mood, and he offered his hand to Danica. She took it without a second of hesitation, not asking where they were going or why.

“Dance with me?”

Her neighbors might complain, but for now, he didn’t give a damn. It was well past time for him tolive, capture the precious moments that would never come again. Danica raised a brow, and then she slid into the Dougie, proceeding seamlessly into Gangnam Style, and he almost couldn’t dance for laughing.

“It’s on,” he said.

His moves were no match for hers, as it was clear she had been a club kid back in the day. He looked forward to hearing all her stories. She apparently drew the line at twerking, and soon the music changed, shifting to a slower sound that gave him an excuse to get close to her. Danica wrapped her arms around his neck and made slow-dancing NC-17. Titus kissed her, not even caring who might be watching.

“Not tired of me yet?” she whispered, stroking a hand through his hair.

I probably have sex hair. Awesome.

He remembered hanging out with her in Arizona, where she fit in with his family and charmed everyone, made everyone happier, just by being there. “Never. It will never be enough.” He said it differently than Olaf, all tenderness.

Titus saw the moment she realized what he was quoting. She grinned, clearly delighted to have an inside joke with him. “Play ‘Jaja Ding Dong’?”

“We did that earlier, but I could be persuaded toward an encore.”

Around midnight, Hazel Jeffords banged on the front door, orange cat draped over her shoulder. “If you keep it up, I’m calling the cops! Damn noisy kids.”

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