Page 38 of Jinxes and Drumsticks

“Wren, stop it!” Lilith says as she frantically adds those to her stack. When she stands up from bending over, her face looks a little pale and she wobbles. I reach out to steady her and she throws all the books behind her in a wild arc.

“Okay,” I say, thoroughly confused. “What exactly is going on? I’m serious: I can just leave if you need me to. It’s not a big deal. I know I got here early, so I don’t mind.”

“No—I... I don’t want you to leave,” she says. “Just, seriously. You can’t touch the books.”

“Why?”

Her lips press into a thin line. “I... can’t tell you. It’s a secret.”

“Alright,” I say. “Then I won’t touch them.”

I don’t know what could possibly happen from me touching a book, and why it should be a secret if something were to happen. But if it’s something she doesn’t want to share, then I’m not going to press her. Maybe they’re covered in asbestos or anthrax or something, I don’t know.

“Booo!” Wren says.

Lillith lets out a soft, relieved sigh. “Thanks,” she says. “Are you hungry?”

“I’m fine,” I say, even though I am.

“I made tikka masala,” she says.

“Oh, more of your cooking? Fuck yeah,” I say. “Those waffles were the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.”

She huffs a laugh and takes my hand, leading me to the kitchen. She sits me down at the small table there and turns her back to me as she goes into the fridge. She bends down to get one of the containers with the leftovers in it, giving me a chance to admire her perfect ass. I envision walking up behind her and pressing my hips against her backside.

Suddenly I wish Wren was gone. I don’t want to share Lillith. Not while I eat her food, not while I talk to her. I just want to drown in her, get to know everything about her. Tattoo her on my soul.

I let my eyes rest on her as she warms up the food in the microwave before presenting it to me on one of her cute witchy plates with a fork.

“Thanks, sweetheart,” I say, tucking in.

“Don’t eat too fast, I have some left over naan dough.”

I watch her hands, taking very slow bites as she presses the dough into a flat disc and fries it in a little bit of oil. She covers the naan in garlic butter before giving it to me. I scoop some of the tikka and rice into the soft bread before devouring it.

“Fuck,” I say through a moan. “Lillith, you’re an obscenely good cook.”

“It’s not that complex, but I’m glad you like it,” she says modestly, her lower lip slipping between her teeth as she tries not to smile. “Enjoy. I’m going to get all of our books cleaned up.”

I watch her hips sway as she leaves me to eat in the kitchen. I hear the hiss of whispering in the next room, but my hearing is pretty thrashed from being around so many amps and drums. I can’t make out the fine details of what they’re talking about.

I eat pretty fast, not because I’m eager to eavesdrop but because I legitimately am starving. Drumming is hard work. I usually eat with the guys, but not today. I was content to hang out with Lillith while hungry, but it’s a nice surprise that I get to enjoy her cooking instead.

I wash the dishes and place them in the rack to dry. When I go back into the living room the books are gone.

And not gone as in, like, stacked in a corner. Gone as in gone. Nowhere to be seen. Like they were never there.

Lillith and Wren stare each other down, even though Wren is half a head taller, Lillith is kind of holding her own. It’s impressive. And also fucking adorable. Like a kitten arching it’s back and chuffing out a threat.

“All good...?” I ask, still not sure if I should be intruding.

“He’s going to find out eventually, Lillith,” Wren says, not even looking at me. “Do you understand me? He’s going to. You’re just putting off the inevitable and it’s stupid.”

“Wren. I love you more than my own fucking life, but you’re really pissing me off. Let me do this the way I want to.”

Yeesh. I hope they aren’t talking about me.

Wren rolls her eyes over to me, looking me up and down before giving me a pitying look. Then she glares back at Lillith. “Fine. I’m going home,” she says. “See you around, drummer boy.”