Page 30 of Extra Witchy

“Sounds good,” she said.

He settled at the counter. “Junie came by earlier today.”

Leanne sat beside him with her bowl of soup, stirring it idly with her spoon. “Oh God. I’m sorry. What did she want?”

“Not sure. I think she’s lonely and…” He hesitated.

“And?” she prompted.

“Maybe she was also checking our story. I made up something about working from home, and she seemed to buy it. I fixed her a tuna sandwich for lunch.”

“You’re really going above and beyond,” Leanne said, smiling. “This soup is delicious, by the way.”

He basked in the pleasure of that simple compliment, and let the warmth sink in, feeling like someone experiencing the sun for the first time after a long winter. “You had news?”

“Don’t freak out, but…I may have quit my job today.”

It would make sense if he did panic since he’d just moved in—with the tacit understanding that she’d be footing the bill while he did household chores, played the role of her live-in boyfriend, and figured his shit out. Instead, he asked, “Are you okay?”

She tilted her head. “That’s not what I expected you to say.”

“You’re deflecting. Did something happen?”

She smiled. “I mean, the mayorisan asshole who talks to my tits, but that’s nothing new. I gave my notice to focus on my campaign for city council. I have enough in the bank to pay the bills until after the election.”

“Wow, that’s incredible.” He couldn’t find the words to tell her how inspiring it was to see her set a goal then go after it, like she couldn’t imagine the prospect of failure.

“You’re not worried at all?” she asked, seeming incredulous.

“Nah. But I am wondering if there’s something I can do to help out. I’ve never volunteered on a political campaign, but it doesn’t look too hard on TV.” He grinned. “I can pass out flyers, and my paper collation is excellent. I can stand around at rallies and yell your name. What else is there? Oh, canvassing. Is that a thing? I’ll totally knock on doors for you.”

She reached over then, cupping his chin and turning his face toward her so suddenly that he dropped his spoon. Then she kissed him softly, tracing a fingertip down his cheek to his jaw. When she pulled back, her eyes were bright.

“Thank you for believing in me.”

“Was that even a question? You’re smarter than half the people currently on the council. I’m proud to be in your camp.”

“If you’re serious, I could definitely use the help. There’s so much to organize, and I don’t have a huge PR budget. I’ll need to rely on volunteers.”

“Start at the coffee klatch,” he suggested.

“I will. I’ll be at the office for two more weeks, then everything will ramp up. I’ll be able to do more with social media than Dan Rutherford. He probably says ‘on the Facebook.’”

Trev laughed and went back to eating his soup. “Nothing is guaranteed, but I’m betting you’ll do great. Just let me know how to help.”

“I will.”

After dinner, he tidied up the kitchen and joined Leanne in the living room. She had a documentary queued up, and he wasn’t all that interested, but when she leaned against him, nudging him with her shoulder, he circled an arm around her.I missed this.It might not seem like a big deal to anyone else, but Sarah had been his first and only serious relationship. Before that, he’d been Party Trevor and paid way more attention to doing keg stands than his GPA. When he’d met Sarah, he’d tried his best to recover, but she’d graduated and he… Well, the less said about that the better. And once she’d left, it was years before he could even imagine himself with anyone else. Cliché but true: he’d fallen hard when it finally happened, and he’d landed in a deep, dark hole when it all went wrong.

But he’d missed being cozy with someone, feeling the slow, steady shift of their breath, their body nestled into his. Others might judge him for lacking drive, but this was basically what he wanted in life. To be needed by someone, to be the reason they were glad to get home at the end of the day. It wasn’t ambitious, and according to his dad, it wasn’t manly either. Probably, he should desire to make a lot of money, but he didn’t care about that and never had.

When the documentary about bees ended an hour and a half later, he said, “Damn. Now I know way more about this than I ever expected.”

“I find insects soothing,” she said in the tone of one making a confession.

Trev made a show of shuddering. “Really?I find them so creepy. I was going to bite the bullet, but if you’re not afraid, then you’re in charge of getting spiders out of the bathtub.”

“Not a problem.” She angled her body, propping a knee up as she leaned on her elbow resting on the back of the couch.

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