Page 10 of How (Not) to Conjure a Boyfriend
I freeze, eyes locked on the group in front of me. They haven’t noticed me yet. I manage to unfreeze just before I find Regina staring me down. Her eyes narrow, and I do the only thing I know to do. I smile. One of those big oops-you-caught-me grins. I half expect her to grab me by the arm and pull me out into the hallway, but instead she sighs and shakes her head, although agentle rise in her cheek belies a subtle smile. Before I can mouth a silentthank you, the tall slender middle-aged woman starts up.
“My poor baby boy.” She leans against Hayden’s bed, cupping his head in her palm. She’s pretty. Her hair hangs in long wavy strands of black. From a glance, her eyes are dark-dark brown. Is that Mrs. Marcus? His mom? “Mama’s here.”
Yep.
“Who’s that?” The preteen’s voice pierces the room. She’s pointing directly at me, arm stretched out like she’s pointing out a witch in Salem. Okay, I am a witch, but we’re not burning them nowadays.
“Uh, I-I…” I stutter.
“Who are you?” That must be Mr. Marcus. I’m frozen again. He’s distinguished. Shorter than Hayden’s mom, but that might be the high heels she’s wearing. His blue eyes shine with confusion. His tone isn’t angry like I expected, just confused.
“I’m…uh…” I try again, but the words aren’t coming to me. Why did I come? This was such a bad idea!
“They’re Mackenzie. Hayden’s boyfriend,” Regina says so very matter-of-factly, I almost break my neck to look at her. I freeze up again.
What? No, Regina! It isn’t true. How? Why would you think I’m his enbyfriend, boyfriend, whatever? Like, I never said that…or…oh shit. Okay, maybe I did. Yeah, I did say he was my boyfriend, didn’t I? And I did tell them about him over the summer… Shit. Okay, fine, but in my defense I also told them there wasn’t a chance in Niflhel that it would happen. People say that all the time about their crushes. No one believes me when I say I’m going to marry Pedro Pascal or thathe’smy boyfriend.So why now? Fine, but what do I do? What do I say? Before I can decide, the oldest lady in the room speaks up.
“Hayden went for a handsome one.” She’s smiling from ear to ear, and now I’m blushing like a rose. Grandmother maybe?
“Right?” A short and plump, oddly familiar-looking woman with nearly midnight-black skin nods at me and grins. I swear I’ve seen her before.
“Well…I u-uh…” I keep stuttering.Dammit, Kenzie, pull it together.“Actually, I’m his enbyfriend.”
Shit! No!
“Sorry, right.” Regina nods. “I should have known that.”
“It’s okay,” I tell her. “Easy mistake. It doesn’t bother me.”
“Enbyfriend, boyfriend, girlfriend.” His dad, Mr. Marcus, lists, his eyes blinking rapidly. “Hayden didn’t have a—”
“Person.” Ms. Familiar speaks up quickly. Her expression morphing from stern into a smile as she looks my way again, knowingly. And that accent! New Orleans? Maybe a Baton Rouge backstory I’d like to figure out. Wait… The apothecary! It’s her! She works at The Good Hex. I remember now! I go there all the time, and she’s super sweet, funny even, and now she’s here.
I can feel the color drain from my face.
“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Mr. Marcus nods. “Person. Did he?”
He locks eyes with Mrs. Marcus and she frowns. “I-uh… Not that he told me.”
“He wasn’t ready to yet,” I blurt.Gods, Kenzie, why can’t you just keep your mouth shut.“He wanted to be s-sure…uh… Sure that you would approve. You know, of him…being with me.”
It’s a lie. It’s a bold-faced bona fide Grade A lie. Loki might even be proud, but what the hell am I thinking? I’m not. It’s likemy mouth is running without giving the tiniest thought as to what it’s going to get me into. I’m just a helpless passenger.
“Oh, honey.” Mrs. Marcus looks back at Hayden and puts a palm on his cheek. “You can date whoever you want—”
“As long as they’re not forty or a murderer,” the older blonde lady, Grandma maybe, says.
“Or a Duke fan.” The man whose arm is intertwined with hers laughs. She jabs his side, and he grunts.
For a second it breaks the pit in my stomach and allows a grin to replace the tight straight line along my lips. It’s probably safe to guess that’s his grandpa.
Mr. Marcus rolls his eyes.
“You’re the kid from the café, aren’t you?” the apothecary lady says, and I want to disappear into nothing. What is her name? I know this!
“Yes, ma’am,” I whisper.
“That’s great,” she says to me and then addresses the rest of the crowd. “They’re a sweet one. They come to the shop a lot.”
