Page 15 of Made to Be

“Well, are you?” I asked as I sidled up to him.

He turned so fast I knew he’d just given himself whiplash. His shoulders visibly sagged as he gasped,

“Victor. You’re okay.”

I hummed thoughtfully then teased, “It was a close call. That zombie nearly got me. But,” I tapped my knuckles against my skull, “yep, still got ‘em.”

That earned me one of his full, bright smiles.

“You don’t look like a goth,” the little girl added, addressing me. She still had yet to release the edge of Cam’s jacket.

“How very observant.” I knelt down in front of her and tapped her nose playfully, eliciting a small giggle. “No, I’m not, I’m far worse than a goth. I’m...” I hesitated for dramatic effect, even making a show ofglancing around before whispering conspiratorially, “A nerd.”

She gasped, eyes widening, clearly not knowing what I was talking about. I followed this up with a flick of my hand causing a ball of water to rise from the fountain and float wobbly toward us. When it was hovering above our heads, I cast it into raindrops and, with an icy breath, a burst of snow flurried, sprinkling down over us.

She smiled adorably up at the snowflakes and released Cam to twirl in circles, giggling. I stood and found Cam watching me, his expression soft and sweet.

Now it was Cam’s turn to cling. He gripped the sleeve of my jacket between his fingers and I tilted my head back to peer into his face. With my search and recovery operation a success, the tension I’d been holding disappeared with a gentle exhale that resembled a contended sigh. I couldn’t help but stare at Cam’s lips where they parted as if a breath away from saying something. Though I didn’t know what.

I jolted, blinking free of the hypnosis when a woman’s worried voice heaved,

“Gabby! Thank goodness.” We watched as a young woman hurried over and knelt before the little girl, her head dusted with snow. “Are you okay? Why on earth did you run off like that?”

The girl’s face turned sheepish as she nervously smiled at me and Cam.

“Thank you for finding her,” the woman told us, brushing the snow from her hair without even batting an eye. “Come on Gabs, let’s leave these young men to their date.”

Date. Date.Oh golly. My face flamed and I let out a choked laugh.

“What do you say?” The mother lectured her daughter.

Gabby, fully prepared to earn her redemption, spoke with the utmost confidence,

“Thank you, Mr. Goth and Mr. Nerd!”

Her mother was horror-stricken.

***

I kicked off my shoes haphazardly in my home’s entryway while Camden removed his with care, neatly placing them beside the little wooden bench next to the door. After gathering our shopping bags to pile them in the center of my living room, I waved for him to follow after me.

Given that I lived in a century-old house on the outskirts of town, it was small but blessedly quiet. Besides the drafty cellar that I had yet to clean up, the ground floor consisted of my spell room, the bathroom, and main living space filled with my eclectic collection of decorations and thrifted furniture. I led him to the stairwell towards the back, bypassing the fifties-style kitchen that was in desperate need of a renovation. Ididn’t hate it though, even with its black and white checkered tile floor and vibrant turquoise cabinets.

He followed obediently as the hardwood stairs creaked beneath our ascent. Once we reached the top, I strode down the short, narrow hallway and opened the door directly across from the one to my bedroom.

“You can stay in here,” I told him. “I have spare bedding and stuff, so I’ll get it all set up for you while you shower. You probably ‘wanna clean up, wash that morgue smell off of you.”

Luckily, he hadn’t been embalmed or anything because I doubted the scent of formaldehyde would wash out so easily.

He then proceeded to lift his arm to directly sniff his armpit. I huffed an amused laugh then led him back downstairs to deposit him into the bathroom. I pulled one of my largest, fluffiest towels from the closet and handed it to him. It was a blush, baby pink and he cradled it between his big hands as if he was afraid of dirtying it.

“You can use any of my soaps and stuff,” I instructed as I set the small bag of shower items he had selected for himself onto the sink. “But here’s yours. The water is backwards, so hot is cold and cold is hot.”

I turned it on for him, knowing it took a good minute for the shower to heat up to a desirable temperature. Well, for him I left it mild. Desirable for me was a few degrees below hot enough to scald my skin.

“I’ll be right out here. So, just let me know if you need anything, ‘kay?”

As I turned away, something snagged on the hem of my shirt, pulling me to a stop. I slowly turned, head tilting back to see Cam staring down at me, unspoken words hovering on the edge of his lips. It was his fingers clutching my shirt that physically held me, but that searing gaze was what had me pinned in place.