He moves two patio chairs closer together and we sit down
.
I cast a quick
nervous
glance at him
as I say,
“
I am sorry about how tonight turned out. Are you hurting from hitting the wall?
”
He laughs
as he eases back into his chair.
“
I guess getting hit all those time
s
I played football made m
e use to getting knocked around, because
I
’
ve been hit harder.
”
I knew that
, but
I
’
m still concerned. He asks as he glances back at me
,
“
So, what
’
s the story with you and David?
”
Of all the question
s
he could
have
asked about tonight he chose the first one to be about my relationship with David.
I relax
back in the chair
,
and sigh sliding my hands in my pockets.
“
David and I were in a relationship for two years and we broke up when I moved from
California
to here. We were not getting along and it was just a matter of time anyway.
”
That raises another question for him
.
“
So, you two just happen to run into each other here in
Montana
?
”
I tak
e in another deep breath and stead
y
my tone
.
“
Yes
, David
, Dawson, and everyone you met at the track tonight are witches, and when we graduate or turn the age of nineteen we start attending an elite witchcraft University called the Arcane. The Arcan
e is only a few hours from here,
”
I continue
,
studying his intrigued expression
,
“
David and Dawson are attending there right now and so will I with Megan and Lisa when we graduate from Hutchington
.
My father is the headmaster of the Arcane
and that is why we moved here.”
Allowing my eyes to drift away
from him
briefly
, I shrug as I conclude
my thoughts,
“
As you already know my father also owns race tracks and David and Dawson help out once in a while.
Um…l
ast weekend was the first time I
saw
David since we split.
”
I finally look
over at him and he
’
s just sitting there staring
boldly
at me.
“
What?
”
I
curiously
ask
. Marc sits silently still with a marveling grin
possessing his handsome features
. I ask shaking my head at him,
“
Have you come to your senses about all this yet? You know we can just say you slipped and bumped your head and all that you
’
ve heard and seen tonight will be just a hallucination.
”
He moves forward
leaning over his knees
and says
,
“
I don
’
t think so.
”
Running his hand throu
gh his blond hair he
blatantly, observes
me.
“
Do you think you could show me your hands again?
”
“
Ok
ay
?
”
I
’
m thinking he really
is
losing it.
“
Sure,
”
I
say
pull
ing
my hands out of my sweatshirt
pocket and hold them out toward
him.
He gives a low chuckle and explains
,
“
No, I mean, you know, on fire.
”
I raise an inquisitive eyebrow at him. I think about it for a second and stand up from my chair.
“
Follow m
e,
”
I say with a flirty smile. He stands and follows me down the stairs into his
spacious
backyard.
“
Do you know how to make a fire
pit?
”
I ask.
With a raised devious brow he starts building one
quickly
.
“
I had a b
oy scout phase
in my early days,
”
h
e
jokingly
smirks
. He finds some wood from a fallen li
mb in the back of his yard, and g
rab
s
some rocks to line it.
“
Ta
-
da, one ver
y ugly fire pit at your service,
”
h
e sa
ys holding his arms out like a Vaudeville S
how
’
s grand finale.
I laugh
hiding my uneasiness as his stare overwhelms me
;
it’s intimidating, but yet ponderous all at the same time
.
“
Why do you look at me like that?
”
“
I just can
’
t seem to stop
and I don’t
want to
stop
either
,
”
h
e
sends me a wink
.
“
Ok, Romeo. M
ove back, you
have to give
a
Strega
some
room to work
,”
I tease
using my best Italian accent. He takes a couple of steps back and crosses his arms over his
broad
chest. I close my eyes, raising my hands up, p
alms facing forward.
I call my fire from deep
inside me, awaking the element.
I feel the flames swirling all around my body and through me.
I
’
m c
oncentrating a bit more on pulling the flames through my arms and into my palms.
Flames start dancing all around my hands and then the fire forms and shoots out of
my palms
directly to the fire
pit. Aiming the flames at the base of the fire
pit, the wood blazes to life into a crackling warm fire.
I glance over to him and see his expression and smile. I pull the fire back to me and swirl it around my body, making my fire dance
seductively
around me
.
And f
inally
,
I close my hands and taking another peek his way. I have no clue what he is thinking. What I do know is that my father is well aware
of
Marc
’
s destiny unfolding before him and I am beginning to realize he is not only a heart pounding crush for me
, but
he may very well change m
y life too. He kneels down glar
ing at the fire
pit with a perplexed appearance
and yet a look of
stunned amazement
.
Looking
straight up at me he announces
,
“
You
’
re more than I could have ever imagine.
”
Laughing I sit down next to him
on the ground
.
“
Well don
’
t get your hopes up
, I
’
m
no super star by any means.
”
I
wink playfully
back
at him.
We sit and talk all through
the
night, we even watch the sunrise from his backyard and it is absolutely breathtaking. Around seven in the morning I finally stand and brush off my jeans.
“
I need go
home and
get some sleep.
”
He w
alks with me to my car
, as
we slowly
stroll over to the
garage
I ask
,
“
Are your parents always away?
”
He shrugs nonchalantly
.
“
Most of the time, they
’
re international lawyers and travel all over, like right now they are both in Chicago.
”
Once I unlock my door Marc holds out his hand to me. We shake hands the coven way and then he kisses me on my left cheek. Slowly he moves over and kisses my lips. Pausing there briefly, waiting for me to respond, immediately I lean up returning his kiss. I fall instantly in love with his li
ps, how soft and yet in control
,
as he
tenderly express
es
his desires. How perfect it feels to have his lips touching mine. The way
he tastes and smells remind
me of an evergreen forest with newly fallen snow. It
’
s such a clean and crisp scent. Closing my eyes I truly feel li
ke I am standing in a
forest with glistening snowflakes falling down all around me.
We stand there kissing for I don
’
t know how long, I run my fingers through his soft golden hair while his one hand wraps around my waist holding me tightly
and
his other hand curves around the back of my neck pulling me closer to him. We deepen the kiss even more, if I had the power to freeze us in time, it would be exactly like this, in this embrace. He pulls away first
, but
not completely as our lips are barely touching. I can literally feel him smiling.
My eyes are still closed and i
n a breathless whisper
he says
,
“I’m
having a problem letting you go.
”
He
only takes
a second to pass and kisses
me again with more fervor.
Regretfully
, we break our timeless kiss.
We l
ook at each other as if we are memorizing all the details before us.
I w
hisper softly to him with
disappointment lacing my words,
“
I
’
d better go.
”
He opens my door for me and I slide into the seat of my car. He leans in and gives me another lustful kiss.
“
Promise to call me later, after we get some sleep, okay?
”
He nods and e
ventually I
find myself driving home in a total state of euphoria.
***
Weeks pass by all too quickly. Marc and I spend our time together, usually at his house.
I have even invited him to my home for dinner, to meet my mother. We have gone to the track only a couple of times on the weekends. I d
o
n
’
t have all the parts in for my car to race again anyway and surprisingly
,
I am perfectly ok
ay
with that.
Marc spends a lot of time w
ith me as I try to inform
him about our kind. How we don
’
t grow old in the way a human will. We are never sick. I also
share with
him that my parents are alchemists. Through the many years we have learned how to maintain our youth and vitality. We are n
ot immortal and by that I mean
we can die, we are vulnerable to physical harm.
Many nights we lay down in his backyard, looking up at the stars and I tell him the stories my father once told me. Telling
,
or rather
,
explain to him things like
where
the
word
“witch
”
and where it
originally came from.