Wiccan, A Witchy Young Adult Paranormal Romance by M. Leighton Page A

me, though. Really.”
    I was still looking down at my hands.
For some inexplicable reason, my feelings were hurt and I didn’t
want him to see that.
    I felt his finger slip beneath my chin
and lift. Grudgingly, I met his eyes. They were warm again, all
traces of anger and frustration gone, replaced by something else.
At first it seemed that he was going to speak, but he stopped. His
gaze dropped to my mouth and I sucked in a breath and held it. My
lips tingled in anticipation.
    In that moment, I wanted him to kiss me
more than anything in the world. I felt his thumb lightly brush my
bottom lip and then his eyes were on mine again.
    I saw something flicker in them,
something like…awareness maybe. It was strange, like he’d been
confused or disoriented and it had suddenly cleared. He dropped his
hand and looked away and I felt blood rush into my face.
    “ Ok, well. Sorry to have
bothered you,” I said hurriedly, reaching for the door
handle.
    “ It’s fine. You’re not
bothering me. I’m glad you called and I really do want you to let
me know when something like this happens. You never know when you
might see something useful, something that could bust a case wide
open.”
    I felt a little like he was patronizing
me, but I just smiled and let it go. Without another word, I got
out of the car and walked to the house. I heard the engine start as
I closed the front door behind me.
    ********
    I was just finishing up using a flat
iron to straighten my hair when I heard loud feminine voices and a
familiar laugh coming from the kitchen.
    Billie was here.
    I waited patiently while she greeted my
parents exuberantly. She loved them and they loved her. She always
took a minute to chat with them when she came over and tonight was
no exception. She’d make her way back to me in her own time. She
always did.
    I smiled as I thought of my friend.
Billie had the most enviable personality that I’d ever come across.
She was outgoing and friendly without being loud and obnoxious. She
was beautiful without being conceited and she was sweet without
being fake. Oh, and she was smart. She was the type that you’d love
to hate, but just couldn’t manage it.
    She’d always been the girl with tons of
friends and she’d always been the girl who gets the guy—whichever
one she wants. And though I’d unfortunately lost a secret crush or
two to her over the years (the operative word being secret), it had
never hurt our friendship. Billie couldn’t help how awesome she
was.
    A few minutes after all the commotion
had begun, the pretty round face of my oldest friend appeared in
the mirror behind my reflection.
    “ Oh my gosh, look at your
hair! I love it,” I exclaimed, whirling around to get a better look
at it.
    Billie’s natural hair color was a
pretty light brown. She’d worn it long and straight for the last
few years. Now, it was layered and wavy with white blonde on top
and darker layers underneath. It was very hip and looked fantastic
on her. She grinned behind her dark red lips and I noticed the
twinkling of a tiny diamond in the curve of her left nostril. She’d
gotten her nose pierced, too.
    “ Look at you! New hair, a
pierced nose, red lipstick. What’s next, a tattoo?” I asked with a
smile. “You’ve only been gone a month. What on earth have you been
doing?”
    “ Living it up, Mercury, just
like you should be doing. These are the best years of our lives and
I’m determined to make the most of ‘em.” She looked behind her then
leaned in close to me, lowering her voice. “And I don’t know what’s
after the tattoo. I haven’t decided yet, but I guess I’d better
hurry,” she said with a devious grin.
    I gasped. “You got a
tattoo?”
    Billie shushed me, looking
around nervously. “Obviously, my parents don’t know and I plan to
keep it that way, capisce ?” When Billie gets really
excited, her Italian roots poke through and she starts using words
that traditionally only her mother uses, words like