He lowers his chin, his eyes darkening. “Count on it.”
I squeeze my thighs. “I am now.”
He makes a rough sound in his throat. I like it.
“So what other TV shows do you like?”
He gives me a blank look.
“Besides Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”
“Ah.” His forehead smooths. “I really like Justified.”
I purse my lips. “Haven’t seen it.”
“Also Chuck.”
“I haven’t even heard of that one.”
“What shows do you like?”
“Bridgerton. The Crown. And that one about the chess player…”
“The Queen’s Gambit. I liked that too.”
“Oh whew, we have something in common!” I wipe imaginary sweat off my brow.
“I’m sure you’d love Justified. Chicks dig Timothy Olyphant.”
I laugh.
“We’ll watch it together.”
My heart bumps. “Okay. How about music? Besides Nickelback.”
“I like witch rock.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Is that a thing?”
“No.”
“Gah.” I shake my head at him, smiling.
“I’m not as much into music anymore,” he says, dropping his gaze.
I remember what he said about him and his brother, pretending to play in a rock band. “Did you play guitar too?”
“Yeah. Not as good as Nathan. I haven’t played in years.”
My heart squeezes for him. “Tell me about your house. A couple of weeks ago you said you were having the floors redone.”
“Yeah. That was a pain in the ass, but it’s finished now. They look great.”
“I’d like to see your house.”
“It’s a work in progress.” He wrinkles his nose. “It’ll be a while before it’s done.”
“Are you sure you can’t wave a wand?”
His lips curve playfully. “Sure, I could. I mean, not a wand, but I could have my house finished in minutes. But where would the satisfaction in that be?”
“You witches all have such self-discipline,” I complain.
“You’re learning.”
“I guess I am.”
Our server arrives with the appetizer we decided to share, two huge meatballs with marinara sauce, fresh basil leaves strewn atop them. We dig in.
“What’s your favorite food?” I ask him.
“What’s with all the questions?”
“I’m curious about you. You said we’re getting to know each other better.”
He smiles, his eyes crinkled up. “My favorite food is tacos. I love tacos. But a close second is Cassie’s braised beef ragout.”
“Apparently she’s a terrible cook.”
“She is,” he confirms, picking up a piece of meatball on his fork. “But she conjures up amazing dishes. I can’t duplicate them.”
“I guess that’s a skill… just like cooking.” It never occurred to me that way before. Maybe people have individual magic talents that they can make the best of.
“Absolutely. She’s very talented with food conjuring.”
“What am I talented at?”
“Well, I don’t think you should be a doctor.”
“Ah! You had to remind me of that.” I smile though, tickled by his teasing.
“It will be a while before you figure that out.”
“Okay. What are your magic talents?”
“I already showed you.” He waggles his eyebrows suggestively.
I fall back in my chair, laughing. “Oh my god.”
We laugh and flirt and tease throughout dinner, and it’s the most fun I’ve had in so long. Probably since the night we met at the Singing Horse. We’re not teacher and student or part of a big family, we’re just… a couple. Lovers. On a date.
Warmth spreads through my chest, a feeling of lightness and well-being shifting inside me.
After our delicious dinner, we emerge from the restaurant onto the sidewalk. The sun is low in the sky, and the air has cooled a bit, so I slip on my sweater, turning toward Trace’s truck parked down the street.
He touches my arm. “This way.”
We head the opposite direction, his hand sliding down my forearm to clasp mine.
“We’re walking?”
“Yep. It’s not far.”
Huh. I’m intrigued. “Ice cream,” I guess.
“Nope. Although we could get some if you want.” Neither of us had room for dessert at the restaurant.
“Later?”
“Sure. Er… can you walk in those heels?”
“I can walk a bit. I’ll take ’em off if they start hurting.”
We turn a corner and end up on a path at a park.
“I had a bad day at work,” I confess.
“Oh yeah?” His hand squeezes mine. “What happened?”
I tell him about the confrontation with my boss. “I guess it would be wrong to use magic on him to get him to agree with me, huh?”
He chuckles. “Well… it could be done. That’s pretty advanced though. I wouldn’t recommend taking a chance with someone you work with.”
I sigh. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
Following the path, we pass deserted baseball diamonds and trees. Then Trace leads me across grass. This is where I stop to ditch the heels. I hold on to Trace’s arm, but he says, “Wait.”
With a gesture at my feet, my heels become flip-flops.
I grin up at him. “Thank you.”
“Don’t want you going barefoot in the park.”
A moment later, I exclaim, “Oz Park!”
“Yeah.”
“I haven’t been here in years.”
A mom and dad are leading their kids out of the park as twilight falls, leaving us alone. We walk over to the statue of Dorothy and Toto.
“I loved this movie as a kid,” I say. “Except it scared the crap out of me.”
“The witch?”
“Yes! It was so scary.”
“But good triumphed over evil.”
“Mmm. Yes.”
Dorothy’s red shoes begin to glow and sparkle. My eyes widen. Then Toto barks, bouncing on his back legs to get Dorothy’s attention.
“What are you doing?” I breathe, pressing my hands together in front of my chest.
“A little magic.”
Dorothy picks up Toto and hugs him, beaming, then the statue gradually reverts to its inanimate form.
Trace leads me over to the Scarecrow and I watch him eagerly. A few seconds later, a big black bird lands on his shoulder.
“I can’t even scare a crow!” the Scarecrow declares.
I laugh. “You’re amazing!”
We visit the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion who each come to life briefly.
I turn to Trace, shaking my head, smiling. “Okay, that was impressive. And fun.”
“It’s okay to use magic for fun.” He smiles back at me, touching my hair and stroking a strand off my cheek. We follow the path onto Webster.
As we pass a trash receptacle, Trace pauses. People have thrown garbage on the ground around it, and I watch as in a flash the litter disappears into the trash can.