“I left when she fell asleep, and I’m positive that’s why she’s so pissed off. Instead of talking to me about it, she puts up this wall and turns into a royal bitch.”
“Did you tell her you were leaving?”
The look in his eyes told me he hadn’t.
“Damn, dude, she thinks you ghosted her. No wonder she’s pissed.”
“I didn’t know what to do. It was different with her, and if she wasn’t feeling the same as me… I don’t know. I can’t explain it.”
Frowning, I asked, “What do you mean, it was different with her?”
He sighed heavily. “Sex with Kristin was different. It felt different. It wasn’t just about a one-time fuck. It felt deeper, and I think a part of me got freaked out by that, so maybe I just put it in my own head that she wasn’t returning the vibe. Ever since then, she’s been cold to me. I don’t blame her.”
“Have you ever thought of talking to her about it? Maybe it was different for her as well.”
With a shake of his head, he pushed off the counter and opened the refrigerator. He grabbed three beers. “She hates me,Lucas. She’s made it abundantly clear she wants nothing to do with me. Why bother telling her now?”
I shrugged. “Because maybe it’s a defense mechanism that she is using to keep you away or to keep her own feelings hidden.”
“I don’t think so.”
I was about to tell him what Hollie thought when Alex walked into the kitchen. “What in the hell are you two doing in here? I’m ready to take Dayton’s money away from him.”
“I’m going to order some pizza,” I said as I motioned for the two of them to head on back to the poker table.
When I pulled my phone out of my pocket, I saw I had a text from Hollie.
Hollie: Good luck tonight!
Me: Thanks, I’ll need it.
After ordering a few pizzas, I headed back to the poker table where I lost the first two hands.
Hollie
When Kristin had shown up with the largest bottle of wine I’d ever seen, I knew it was going to be easy to get her to go along with my little plan.
After eating Chinese take-out, I sat us down at the table where I had a little altar set up.
“What spell are we doing tonight?” she asked, rubbing her hands together.
“A good luck spell for Lucas. He’s playing poker with Shawn, James, and Alex.”
I watched for something on Kristin’s face when I mentioned Shawn’s name, but it was blank.
“James tried to get into my pants a few weeks back at the holiday party at my father’s law firm.”
“No way!” I said with a giggle. “What happened?”
“I brushed him off, but somehow, I ended up agreeing to go to dinner with this guy, Martin. Wait, is that his name? Yeah, Martin. My father likes him, and I thought maybe it would earn me some brownie points.”
I gave Kristin a sad smile. Her whole life, she had been trying to make her father happy. He always seemed to put her down at any chance he got.
“Okay, so what do we need to do?”
“You want to do the spell with me?” I asked.
“Hell, yes! What did Sarah say? A spell is good with one witch, but a coven of witches makes it stronger.”
