Page 37 of Meet Cute Magic

“I meant about being an ass to your friend.” I stare at him in confusion. “Your ex?”

“Oh,” I say, then shake my head. “No need. He’s a jerk.”

“I just felt very… protective of you.” That blush comes back, and I know the word he’s looking for is jealous, though I won’t make him feel more uncomfortable by pointing that out. He opens the passenger door to his car for me and I slide in before it slams. While he moves around the car, I comb through my mind to find the right words.

“I’m sorry,” I say, deciding that’s where I need to start. “The protective feeling is my fault. It’s the kiss bond. It’s going to make both of us a bit… testy.”

“Testy?”

I sigh, not wanting to explain this, but doing it all the same. “The kiss bond is a way for magical beings to pair off with nonmagical ones. It makes the connection stronger, and it makes it so that other magical beings know they are claimed, so to speak.” His face scrunches up. “I know it’s antiquated and strange, but it’s just… the way. Once it’s locked in place, both people feel a… connection to each other. It only lasts a week or so if it’s not… topped up.”

“Is that why I feel like I might combust if I don’t touch you?” My heart skips a beat, but I let out a noncommittal laugh, trying not to cue him in to how that makes my gut warm. I nod, then reach out for his hand, lacing my fingers with his. My chest loosens a bit with the touch, and I realize now why Mom got all of us lockets as soon as we were preteens. This feeling is like a drug: I can’t imagine what it would be like if you added something even more volatile, like hormones, to the pot.

“Yeah. You won’t feel it as badly when we’re not right next to each other and once it starts to fade, but since we’re in the car together and the bond was just made, it’s more intense.” He lets out a small sigh of his own, but I can’t miss how his jaw has loosened with my touch, how his shoulders have lowered, how he’s sitting back a bit in the car seat now. His free hand moves to start the car and then pull out of the parking spot he backed into one-handed. The drive home is silent, though Jack’s hand stays laced with mine the entire time he drives us home, keeping one hand on the steering wheel.

“So you’ve, uh,” Jack starts as he walks me to the door of the bookstore, “you’ve got it, right?” I nod, then grab the plastic bag with the soaked handkerchief in it, waving it to show him. He looks at it a bit skeptically. “We’ve got five weeks until the full moon. Do you think we have to worry about… mold or anything?”

“Magic, remember? I spelled it to stay wet and against any contagion. Later tonight, I’ll use a spell to wring out the hankie and bottle up the tears.” Finally, we’re at my door and I put a hand to the knob. “You don’t have to do this.” I wave between us. “Walking me to the door.” He smiles and shakes his head.

“I was raised with manners, and I’m sure my grandfather is watching us as we speak,” he says. I return the smile, knowing he’s right. More often than not, if you look up at the window, Phillip is being nosy, taking note of the people of the town. I step back a bit and we both look at the window above my shop and catch a glimpse of a ghostly form ducking out of sight. I roll my eyes but then we stand there in front of my door awkwardly, like we’re both unsure of what to do. I’m fighting the urge to tell him to come in and hang out with me, just so I can have him close. Same with my sudden urge to move to my tiptoes and give him a good night kiss as if this was a date and not some mission we were both taking to gather magical ingredients.

God, this was such a bad idea.

I wonder if Jack is thinking the same thing when his eyes finally leave mine, moving to inspect the glittering strands of magic ghosting along both of our bodies.

“Hey, so, about this,” he says, trying to point to the glitter strands connecting me to him.

“Sorry, it was a necessity. They weren’t going to let you in.” He nods, understanding, so I continue. “No one else can see them,” I say. “Unless they have magic and even then, it’s not polite to bring it up to the human side of the bond.” Which means my sisters will definitely be able to see the bond.

That’s an issue I’ll have to deal with later. After I sleep for a decade, and try to ignore the effects of the bond while I wait for it to ease. A delusional part of me hopes that once I put my amulet back on, it will break. However, I remember my grandmother telling me it takes a full seven rotations of the sun for the kiss bond to fade.

For seven days, I’ll have to avoid Jack for my own sanity and to protect the tentative friendship we’ve been forming. Because even if our instincts are begging for something… more right now, when the bond fades, it would be like an awkward morning after.

Though I should warn him. “You’re going to feel a pull, like you want to be with me.” His brows furrow with confusion, and I explain quickly. “It’s a side effect of the bond. You might feel the need to be close to me.” At least, that’s what I’ve read. “Don’t feel weird about it if it becomes too hard to ignore. If you want to head over here and hang out, that’s cool. Something as simple as hand-holding can satisfy the lingering effects from what I’ve heard.”

“Lingering effects,” he says.

“Yes. That jealousy in the club? It was the bond,” I explain. “Same with any need to hold my hand. It’s totally normal.” A look of relief washes over his face, and despite it being cute, something about it twists in my gut—the idea that he’s relieved because the attraction he feels right now is a magical side effect instead of a true feeling. I tuck that far, far away, though, continuing to explain. “So if it’s too much, you can just… you know. Head over. You’re in this mess because of me.” He shakes his head quickly, and my stomach knots.

“I don’t think I’ll need to. I think I can resist your magic for a week. I’ve got a really good handle on my emotions,” he says. And I smile.

“Trust me, I know, ice man. I’m just offering. It wouldn’t be weird, and it would just be easing the bond.”

“What else eases the bond?” he asks, looking genuinely curious, and with his question, a blush of my own burns on my cheeks.

“I, uh, kissing is the most surefire way. Physical contact,” I explain, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. God, this gets more and more uncomfortable by the minute. “Since we kissed a bit today, it should be good for a day or so, but you might be feeling the effects more in the coming days.” Without meaning to, my eyes drop to his lips, full and pink. It wouldn’t take much for him to dip his head, to kiss me, to—

A loud meow comes from the other side of the door, and I jump back from Jack.

“Goddammit, Percy,” I breathe, looking at the door as if I could see through it to my pesky, obnoxious cat. “It’s not even past your dinner time. Can you chill for two minutes?” As if in reply, he meows again, this time somehow louder. I roll my eyes, and when I look back at Jack, he’s smiling.

“Sounds like you should go. Today was…” he hesitates, not sure how to put it. “Educational.”

I let out a loud laugh at what feels like a confession. “It’s okay to admit you had fun with me, Jack. Kiss bond aside.”

“Yeah, yeah. Kiss bond aside, I guess I had fun.” He hesitates as I smile. “And educational. I learned a lot.”

“You’re finally coming to terms with the other world that’s been living underneath your nose this whole time?” He smiles now and shrugs before nodding.