Page 63 of Meet Cute Magic

By Jack, it seems.

And I can’t help but think part of that was my fault, that if I’d given her a love book, she would have found her magical happily ever after. Despite the guilt eating at me even now, I can’t help but feel that tiny spark of satisfaction burning in my chest. The idea that Jack is single might have something to do with me.

Not that it matters.

I’m cursed.

I can’t fall in love.

We’re just fuck buddies, as he put it.

And once this curse is broken, I’ll go off on my merry way and find the true love of my life once and for all.

“I’m not jealous. I’m just… surprised. I hear all the Heartwood Hollow gossip. And you don’t… people.”

“I’ve been with women, Rosie,” Jack says with a smug smile. It takes everything in my being not to react to those words, to the idea of him having been with other women. “I just don’t date them, not really. I don’t go to dinner with them or spend nights playing video games or going on adventures with them.” His words are pointed, his face assessing, and my stomach starts to turn in on itself. His words are so intentional, but I don’t have the guts to actually ask him, so I don’t. Instead, I smile and widen my eyes, raising my eyebrows repeatedly. He rolls his eyes and continues on. “Anyway, I think she thought it was more than it was, so I broke it off before things got too… complicated.”

I wonder if that happens a lot, Jack making people feel special and different, only for it to be a miscommunication. A sense of relief washes through me that we won’t have that problem, not with everything coming to an end when the full moon hits, of course. I wouldn’t want a miscommunication to ruin the friendship I’m learning to value. I give him a tight smile before turning back to the task at hand.

“I’m surprised because… well, you know,” I say without meaning it.

“I don’t,” he says with a teasing smile that tells me he very much does know. “I think you should tell me explicitly what you were surprised about.” Phillip chuckles, entertained by the back-and-forth, and I roll my eyes, trying to ignore the burning blush that is creeping down to my chest now.

“That you dated someone in town? That you’re suave enough to land a hottie like Jeanette?”

“I landed you, didn’t I?” My pulse rockets again, and in that moment, I think he’s spending way too much time with me because he’s getting way too good at the comebacks. Who is this man across from me, and what has he done with my shy, grumpy neighbor?

I clear my throat, but I’m unable to clear my mind as well. Still, I take a deep breath and grin. “Point made.”

“We weren’t dating, per se. Well, I didn’t think we were. It was just a… benefits thing,” Jack explains.

“Friends with benefits?”

He shrugs. “I guess you could call it that.” It settles heavy and uncomfortable in my stomach, a foreign feeling taking root. Jealousy? Hurt?

I’m not sure, but the fact that this isn’t Jack’s first foray into friends with benefits settles over me. Is this not… special to him?

“Less friends, though,” he clarifies, as if he can see the thoughts running through my mind and wants to mollify me.

It doesn’t matter, though, I remind myself. This is fun. This is just friends. Friends don’t care about friends’ sexual or dating history, not really. “So… are you sure you want to go there? Maybe I should, if there’s bad blood between you both,” I offer, trying to change the subject. “I could go and try to butter her up.”

He shakes his head. “That would be a bad idea.”

“What? Why?”

“She, uh… I don’t think she likes you.” He cringes at me, and I blink back at him.

“I’m sorry?”

He shrugs. “She doesn’t like you.”

“But I’m… I’m… I’m delightful.” A small smile tips on Jack’s lips.

“Well, she disagrees.”

“Well, she’s an idiot,” I say. Jack’s smile turns entertained, and he lets out a small laugh like he can’t fight it back before wrapping an arm around my waist and tugging me into him.

“Yeah, she is. But she’s also…” He pauses, contemplating how to say his next words before proceeding. “She came in a few days ago. Asking if I wanted to get coffee with her. See if we could… work things out. Try again.” I lift an eyebrow taking him in skeptically, my stomach in knots at the thought of Jeanette, gorgeous Jeanette with her lustrous long hair that I could only manage with a tonic if I remembered to put it on every single night (unlikely), with her curves and her somehow flat-as-a-board stomach that I couldn’t have if I even wanted to because I will never stop eating sweet treats on the regular, and her sex kitten voice that even I think is hot, striding into the Gaming Den with reconciliation on her mind.