Page 59 of Manors & Mischief

“He always said it was a good place to visit, but not the place he would live.”

“His loss.”

We hold up our popcorn bags and hit them together like they’re champagne glasses. “What about you?”

“I was seeing a guy who worked with my dad. Looking back, I think I was just going through the motions. We dated for a long time and never took the final step.” I echo in my head what I thought earlier about how scary it is to be so attracted to Devon this quickly and weigh whether I should say something to Bea. In the end, I take a deep breath and come out with it. “Is it crazy that I’m already thinking about, you know…?” She waits for me to answer, and I whisper. “Get a taste of that dick.”

She nearly snorts. “It’s hard for me to hear you say that!”

“You were the one humping the air in the café when you wanted us to get together!”

She runs her hands through her hair, doubling over. It takes a minute for her to regroup. Then, she looks at me and starts all over again. Eventually, she says, “True. Honestly, I think it’s a good thing. You know what you don’t want, which was your dead fish relationship with Lake, so what if this is what you want? This sexually charged relationship with Devon?”

“I’m worried if it burns bright at first that it will fade quickly.”

“Honestly, you two have so much in common that your attraction doesn’t even surprise me.” She reaches over and pats my leg. “Being attracted to someone is a good thing. I say you go for it. Let your body lead you.”

I set the popcorn aside and eat some gummy bears as a chaser. Earlier, when Devon left for the day, he’d pulled me in for another searing kiss that felt like my panties were on fire. I could easily see me getting lost in him.

“Any word on the fines?”

I swallow. Hard. That was a fantasy cockblock. “None.”

“Well, that’s a good thing.”

“Let’s hope so.”

The kids start screaming on the TV as they leave the house for help, so we watch the rest of the movie in silence. Luckily, I’m easily able to let the talk about the fines go. My father used to say you shouldn’t worry about things you can’t change, so I guess I’ll take whatever decision is made and do my best with the information.

“Christening accomplished,” Bea says.

I clap my hands then turn the movie off once the credits start rolling. “Have you made your decision?”

“Well,” she says. “We’re in a creepy old house, so my vote is for a haunted house horror flick. The Haunting of Hill House is my favorite but that might be a little too long for tonight. Tell me you’ve seen it.”

“Pfft. It’s one of my favorites!”

“Yay, bestie!”

We give each other high fives. “So, what are you thinking then?”

“There’s Amityville, The Haunting in Connecticut, The Shining, The Conjuring movies.”

“Ooh, The Conjuring movies. Have you seen the last one?”

“Of course I have, but I’ve only seen it once!”

“Let’s do it!” I use the controller to search for it. “Conjuring…”

“There it is,” Bea says, pointing at the TV. “Last Rites.”

I press the button to play it. “I might not sleep well tonight. You’re going to get me convinced there’s an evil spirit in this house.”

“Well, it might make it more of an attraction. You can rent out the rooms as a horror stay.”

“Not a terrible idea. I did think about a bed and breakfast but then I met Rose and I wouldn’t want to infringe on her business.”

“There are definitely enough clients to go around in the fall time. Tourism could support two B&B’s, and if you’re worried Rose would care, just ask her. She’s cool.”