Jerry groaned. “Did you see how she reacted to his message? She did not get excited.”
“She didn’t,” I admitted, sadly. Toby was a great guy. I certainly liked him a lot, but Desi didn’t connect with him. The sparks weren’t quite right. Comfortable, but not igniting the fires of desire either. Happy, yet unfulfilled. I quickly added, “But I’m not convinced Rodney is the correct answer either. He’s rough around the edges. Too rough.”
“They can learn to love together,” Jerry insisted.
Preston scoffed. “By the end of dinner, Desi is going to cancel her dessert plans. You’ll see.”
“I bet she’ll insist on meeting Rodney early,” Jerry sneered.
“We’ll see how the dates play out,” was my safe answer.
The boys weren’t understanding the big picture, it seemed. That worried me. A lot.
By the time she had to meet Toby for dinner, they’d squabbled so much they decided to give each other the silent treatment. Boys. So dramatic! And stubborn. The future of these dates relied solely on my shoulders. That’s a lot of pressure, I should add. I had to discover Desi’s true love without the boys whispering in my ears trying to guide me to their side. About the most I could agree on was that she did interact with him. Either Toby or Rodney was “the guy”. The “one”. My magic tickled with excitement. Even if Desi wasn’t ready to admit love was out there, I did sense it to be true and near.
Desi must have suspected something was up because her stomach was a jumble of knots. Anxiety wasn’t a sensation she experienced often.
“You look amazing,” Toby said as he greeted her at the door to the restaurant. “And right on time. I love that about you.”
She laughed. It sounded forced. “The promise of food drove me here.”
“Not my wonderful company?” he teased. “It’s okay; I know I compete with pasta, cheese, or wine.”
“I’m sure it’s a tough lesson to learn.” She seemed to relax some.
Toby offered her his arm. I certainly swooned a little. With some reluctance, she took it. They checked in with the host and were led to their table right away. As they walked, he leaned in to whisper in her ear. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I know,” she whispered back. I’m terrified of hurting you.
That was the mood for the whole dinner.
“This is painful to watch,” Jerry grumbled. “She’s too tense.”
“Because we’ve put too much on her. Dating him didn’t feel life or death. Now it does,” Preston said.
And back to the bickering. How on earth could Desi get comfortable with Toby if they continued to fight! If I was human, I’d have hugged her close. Poor thing! And of course, the fighting only got worse and worse. And. Worse. A physical manifestation of magic began to present itself. Small flicks of electricity flashed between Desi’s fingers. Each time one burst, I felt as though I lost more control.
Desi managed to finish her dinner, though I could tell her heart wasn’t into the mushroom alfredo. Such a shame, too. That’s usually one of her favorites.
“Now that the important part is out of the way...” Toby said with a small smile. “I was hoping we could talk about taking this to the next level.”
“Oh?” She blinked. “What do you mean next level? Physically? Emotionally?”
“I’m hoping, both.” He laughed. “Eventually, I mean. Right now, I’ll settle for being in a committed relationship with you.” He paused. “I know I’m not usually your type. Seems like that’s been a good thing, though. Yeah?”
Desi gave a slow nod, thinking over his words carefully.
He let out a heavy sigh, most likely because of her lack of enthusiasm. “Think about it, I guess.” The smile returned. “Dessert?”
“Not tonight.”
Their date ended about twenty minutes later. He walked her back to her car, and she waited for him to drive off before getting out to head to the cafe to meet Rodney. She was an hour early.
Hardly a problem, though. The time was needed for her to collect herself again. She gazed down at her hands, examining her fingers. “You did something...didn’t you.”
Oh how I wish I could have answered.
“Man, I was hoping to beat you here, so I could fill tonight with all sorts of surprises,” Rodney guffawed from behind her.
She snapped out of her daze and gazed his way. Again, the small smile returned, though it didn’t last long. “I didn’t plan for such good traffic.”
“Liar, liar, pants on fire, but that’s okay. I won’t press.” He held up his hands. “Not my business. All that matters to me is you came.”
“I’m glad I did. Surprises freak me out,” she admitted. “Small ones are okay. Mega life altering ones, though? Not so much.”
He sat down next to her. “Noted. Okay, my turn. I lied too. I came early because I was nervous.”
Desi scoffed. “Why? I’m not that scary, am I?”
“Actually...”
She nudged him in the side with an elbow. “Wow.”
Rodney put his arm around her. “This is better.”
They enjoyed a few treats, talking lightly about whatever they pleased. During a break in the action, Rodney gazed at her and let out what could only be a blissful sigh.
Desi chuckled. “You sound smitten.”
“I might be.”
She tensed a bit at that. “Suddenly in love?”
“Nah.” He waved a hand in front of his face. “I’ll settle for liking you a lot. More than a friend, not quite whatever else. Potential. I pursue possibilities. You seem to have a lot of those.”
I’m positive she swooned a little on the inside. Not like she’d let him see it.
“Pursuing possibilities. That I do like,” she said, her voice gentle, maybe even hopeful.
“See? He’s perfect for her,” Jerry stated. “Stop being so judgmental and let her follow her heart!”
“You don’t know everything,” Preston snapped.
Rodney grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze, startling all of us. “Feel up to pursuing what we’ve got?”
Once again, the lightning returned in her fingers, and I felt dizzy as the magic flowed out of me far too quickly. When I regained my sense of balance and gazed over at Rodney, to my horror, I saw his skin going ashen.
“No!”
The words left my lips at the same time as Desi’s.
“Please,” she whispered. “Please don’t.” There’s nothing wrong with him! Or is there? Her eyes lingered on him for a long moment before she let go of his hand and fled the table all together.
She ran through the street, tears pooling in her eyes. Why? Why are they all so terrible! What’s wrong with me?
“It’s not you or him. Our magic is too out of control.” I pushed the words with every ounce of strength I had.
“Magic,” Desi whispered. “It’s broken?” She stopped running and leaned against a tree, her breaths coming in heavy. “Fix it then! How am I supposed to find this happiness you claim to want me to have if I can’t get close to anyone?”