Perigee Moon (28 page)

“It’s very nice to see you too,” he said, amused as he pulled back to look at me.

“You’re here, you’re okay,” I said, unable to calm my heart.

He brushed a wet strand of hair back from my face and smiled. “I promised didn’t I?”

I nodded. “Grams actually let you up here?” I glanced back at the door, noticing it was shut and my heart picked up to an inhuman speed as I realized that all that was separating Alex from me was a white cotton towel. My cheeks flushed with heat and Alex grinned in response.

“She told me that you were in the shower and that I could wait in your room if I wanted, but I don’t think she expected you to come out like this.” He ran a hand over the damp towel around me and I shivered.

“And you’re telling me she let you shut the door?” I asked.

“I never said that.” He paused and ran his hand down my side before letting it come to rest on my thigh. “But I didn’t think she’d notice since she left a few minutes ago.”

He chuckled at the confused expression on my face. “She said she had to run to the Briar. Something about Maggie calling in sick,” he said.

So I was alone with Alex. Hmmm. The possibilities seemed endless. That is until I noticed the clock across the room. Paige would be here in ten minutes.
Crap
. I frowned, wishing I could zap the clock to freeze time. Hey it didn’t seem so unrealistic. Alex seemed to manipulate time easy enough.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just wish we had more time,” I said, unable to stop my hand from slipping around his neck and letting my fingers wander up into his hair.

“I’m not going anywhere.” His lips brushed along my jaw with a smile.

“But I am. I promised Paige and Tyler I’d go shopping with them today. Paige will be here any minute now to pick me up.”

His lips froze against my cheek and he pulled away. His eyes narrowed on me. “Tyler?”

Great. I was so sick of teenage boys and their elevated testosterone levels. They both needed to get over it. “Yes Tyler. My
friend
Tyler.”

He nodded, his eyes drifting to the window. He looked like he wanted to say something but when he turned back to me it was gone. “So we have a few minutes at least?” He sounded hopeful.

“A few.” I smiled as his arm tightened around me and pulled me tight against his chest.

“There is so much I need to tell you. I’ve been looking through my mother’s old spells the past few days,” he said, his lips whispering against my neck. “I think I may have found something.”

I tried to focus as a flame of hope flickered inside me. Had he found a way to change this? A way he could stay?

“Tell me,” I insisted.

Alex kissed the hollow of my throat, my collarbone, my shoulder. I was breathing hard when he pulled back to look at me. “Later,” he whispered, his thumbs pressing against my throat to tilt my mouth down to meet his.

His kisses were hungry, desperate. Full of need and want and so many things that I felt but couldn’t describe. Everything in me was burning and the fact that just one swift tug would leave me completely exposed to him made me even hotter. I had never felt like this. Never wanted someone like this before. It was unexpected and frightening and wonderful all at the same time. Alex rolled over so that he was on top of me and his fingers trailed along the top of my breast, dancing along the weak barrier that the towel provided. I shuddered with pleasure and slipped my hand under his shirt to feel the smooth muscular planes of his stomach, exploring every tantalizing ridge with my fingertips. A moan rose in his chest at my touch and the sound twisted my stomach into knots, but in a good way. In a spectacular way. I could feel my body moving, pressing into him in response and his hand slid in through the small opening that the towel provided and gripped the top of my hip. Something in me broke loose. I wanted more of him. All of him. At that moment I could feel a sliver of energy escape from the burning ball in my chest that had been growing stronger every day that Grams had been working with me.
Oh no
. I grasped for it but it exploded and a cascade of vibrations rattled through the walls. My eyes shot upward to the light bulb above our heads and with a final rattle it flickered and popped.

When everything was still, Alex looked at me, his eyes wide and questioning.

“Sorry. Grams has been working with me this week, it seems like something in me has woken up and now I’m having trouble containing it. I’ll try to stay calm,” I said. For some reason I was having a terrible effect on the light bulbs in the house when I got too excited. Grams had already had to replace three. This made four.

“You are amazing,” he said, lowering his face to my neck. He was totally distracted now. Witch or no witch, boys were boys.

Alex kissed me. Kissed me like he’d die without the breath in my mouth. Kissed me until the world around us fell away. It was just the two of us. Nothing else mattered.

That is until I heard Paige blare her car horn outside my window. Alex pulled away from me, breathing hard. I left my hand on his stomach and our limbs remained tangled. Our eyes were locked, both unwilling to move. Both acknowledging what would have happened if Paige hadn’t shown up. Somewhere inside me a small voice was screaming.
You are not ready for this!
But the much larger part of me was crying with disappointment.

“I have to go,” I said, forcing the words out.

He nodded but he couldn’t hide the disappointment in his eyes.

“Do you want to come?” I asked, hopeful.

He shook his head and laughed as I reluctantly detached myself from him and grabbed my clothes from the floor.

“No. That’s alright. You go and have fun.” He stayed on the bed, like he was trying to compose himself, but turned to face the door so that I could change.

I hurried and slipped on my clothes and grabbed a comb from the dresser to run through my hair as I spoke.

“Alex.” I stopped in front of him and tossed the comb onto the bed. “I can’t go three more days,” I said, my throat thick.

He rested his hands on my hips and pulled me close to bury his face in my stomach. His hair felt like silk as I ran my fingers through it.

He pulled away and looked up at me smiling. “Don’t worry. I’ll meet you back here tonight. Then we can talk.”

I bit my lip to keep from smiling like too big of a dork, but it didn’t matter. It broke through anyway. Alex pulled me down into his lap and kissed my cheek.

“That is if you can keep from distracting me next time.”

“Hey I have no control over your weak teenage hormones,” I said.

“No but you do have control over your attire,” he said as he ran his fingers down my shoulder. I shivered.

“You know most boys wouldn’t complain about seeing their girlfriends in a towel.”

He threw his head back and laughed. The sound pierced through me, infecting me with happiness.

“Trust me. I’m not complaining. Just don’t expect for me to be able to form rational thoughts if you insist on parading around like that.”

“Deal.” I bent down to give him a quick kiss, but I dissolved into his lips before I could pull away.

“Oh for crying out loud! I’ve been waiting for ten minutes so you can get your groove on up here!” Paige’s voice sounded from the doorway and I pulled away smiling.

“Sorry,” I muttered as I grabbed my purse from the dresser and smoothed on some cherry lip gloss.

“So are you going to join us Alex?” she asked with a knowing grin spreading across her face.

He laughed. “No. But thank you for the invitation. Rowan?”

I pulled the purse over my shoulder and met his eyes. “Yeah?”

“I’ll see you later, right?”

“Yeah. I promise.” I pecked him on the cheek and he spun around to leave before I could say another word. His taste clung desperately to my lips.

As soon as he was gone Paige pounced. “Holy crap! Why didn’t you text me or something. I could have been
late
you know.” She winked as she placed air quotes around the word late.

“Thanks Paige, but I didn’t even know he was coming over. He surprised me,” I said, trying not to blush.

By the time I climbed into the backseat of Paige’s silver jeep liberty, Alex was nowhere to be seen. I wondered what he would do all day without me. Surely he wouldn’t go back. God I hoped he didn’t go back.

“Hey Rowan.” Tyler’s voice interrupted my worrying as he leaned around the seat and flashed me a smile.

“Hey Tyler.”

“What took so long?” He groaned as Paige pulled her door shut and laughed.
Please don’t say it. Please don’t say it.
I chanted to myself praying that she would have mercy on me.

“Sorry. But I had to break up Rowan’s booty call.” Well, so much for that. Tyler shifted uncomfortably in his seat and switched the radio on and all I could think was I should have stayed with Alex.

I stood outside Noel’s bookshop staring at the wooden sign hanging above the door. My nerves tingled in my toes and my heart pounded in my chest. I needed to get over this. Noel could help me. Paige might think she’s a freak, but I knew better. She really did see something that night. And maybe if I was lucky she could help me figure out how to stop it. Who else could I talk to about this stuff? Not Paige for sure. She’d never understand. No, Noel was the answer. I could feel it.

“Hey Rowan! Wait up!” Tyler called as he jogged up the sidewalk. I had left him with Paige at a vintage clothing shop around the corner. I should’ve known I couldn’t escape them both.

“Hey,” was the only word I could muster. I was too busy scrambling for an excuse for why I was about to enter a store full of Wiccan paraphernalia.

“What are you doing here?” He glanced up to the store sign and squinted. “You know Paige’s cousin owns this, right?”

I nodded and swallowed, ignoring the way my stomach was rolling with anxiety. Tyler wasn’t going to make this any easier.

“So? What’s the story?” he said. At least he wasn’t being weird around me anymore.

“I want to check out some books on witchcraft,” I admitted. It wasn’t a complete lie. I really did want to learn more about what Alex was. What I apparently was. And then there was Rebecca’s book of shadows. Maybe I could find some kind of reference to help me understand more.

“Seriously?” He cocked his head to the side as if he were trying to determine if I was joking.

“Yes,” I snapped defensively. Who was Tyler to judge? So what if I was a witch? Or wanted to be? Maybe I didn’t need friends who were so short sighted. I was about to lay into him but before I could open my mouth he put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed.

“Sounds cool. Let’s go in.” He smiled warmly and pulled the door open for me.

I hesitated, more shocked than anything else, but also deathly afraid to face this girl again. He studied my face for a moment.

“What’s wrong?” God, why did he have to be so sweet? Why couldn’t he be a jerk? My life would be so much easier if he were.

“I’m scared,” I blurted out without thinking. “I’ve been here before. Noel kind of freaked me out last time.”

“We can find another store you know. There are tons of these places around town.”

“No, I need to see her. I have to go in there.” I stared at the door, foreboding as if it held answers I wasn’t ready to hear.

Tyler
slipped his hand into mine. “It’s okay. I won’t leave you.”

I wondered if he knew how much I needed to hear those words. With everyone in my life always leaving, it felt so good to hear someone say they would stay with me. Even if it did just mean for the moment.

“Thank you.” I closed my eyes and let him pull me through the door.

The store was dark in contrast to the bright sunny day that blazed outside. The air looked foggy. Probably from all the incense burning. It did smell different than last time. This particular incense was slightly sweet. It was actually really nice. The fragrance seemed to work its way through my system. My shoulders rolled back and relaxed, the tension in my legs melted away. There was no sign of Noel so I perused a row of books. Tyler stayed by my side, plucking a few from the shelf himself, then held up a book on love spells and raised his eyebrows. I laughed, grabbing a book on herbal spells and an introduction to witchcraft and Wicca before making my way to the counter to wait for Noel. Tyler seemed engrossed in whatever it was he was reading so I took the chance to slip away. The glass case at the counter held a variety of athames and silk robes. They were really beautiful, though I had no idea what any of it was for. Maybe Alex could tell me later.