The Trouble With Spells (12 page)

I told her all
about my afternoon, and she listened with rapt attention to me. I thought I
could almost sense she was proud of me, which seemed ridiculous when I thought
about it.

I settled
cross-legged on the bed and decided to work on the spell assignment Grandma had
given me. I calmed my emotions for a few seconds before looking over to my
desk, seeing my Book of Shadows lying there. I reached out toward the book with
my palms open and mentally commanded the book to come to me. It lifted easily
and settled into my outstretched hands.

Next, I managed to
conjure up a pencil I couldn’t see, but I knew was in my book bag. That was
exciting for me. Everything else I’d done previously revolved around things I
could physically see.

I wrote all these
things down in the book, and then sat pondering for a few minutes on what I’d
want my first spell to be for. It didn’t take me long to figure out exactly
what I wanted to do. I would write a protection spell for Vance.

I thought long and
hard about it. I was just writing the spell for now, and I wouldn’t actually
put it into use until Grandma had approved it, so there was nothing to fear. After
about thirty minutes I felt like I finally had it down.

A Spell of
Protection for Vance.

Items needed:

1 large White
Pillar Candle

1 Aloe Plant

Sword

Lock of Vance’s Hair

Instructions:

Cast a Circle
under a Waxing Moon. Place the pillar candle in the center of the circle and
light it. Cut a piece of the aloe plant off and squeeze out the juice letting
it drip while walking around the candle in a circle clockwise and repeating
these words:

Oh moon, tonight I
call on thee

To help me set a
spirit free.

Give thy
protection on this night,

Ever surround him
with the light.

Let no evil near
him get.

May only goodness
now be met.

Squeeze the
remainder of aloe back onto the original plant, and place the bits of hair into
the dirt. Give the plant as a gift to be kept near the entrance of the house
for protection.

I closed the book
with a satisfied feeling, anxious to show it to Grandma and see what she
thought about it.

I wasn’t surprised
one bit when my phone started vibrating, and this time I was positive I knew
who it was.

“Hey, gorgeous,” I
said when I answered.

“Please tell me
you knew it was me this time and not Shelly,” Vance teased.

I laughed at his
joke. “What’s up?”

“Well, I’m having
withdrawals. You see, I didn’t get to kiss you goodnight properly,” he
complained.

“You could’ve
stopped when you followed me home, you know?”

“I thought I had
more homework than I did,” he replied. “And I didn’t want to interrupt your
homework either. I’m trying to be supportive right now.”

I snorted. “For
your information I don’t have any homework tonight. I got it all done at school
today.”

“Really?” he
drawled out. “Well, how would your mom feel about me taking you out on a
last-minute date then?”

“My mom is at work
tonight, and my dad’s out of town,” I told him. “How would you like to come
over here?”

“Be there in five
minutes.” He chuckled.

“Sounds great!” I
said, my face breaking into a wide smile, and I hung up the phone.

I headed downstairs
to the kitchen to rummage for some food, wondering if Vance had eaten anything
yet. I pulled some items out of the fridge to make hamburgers and placed a pan
on the stove to heat.

There was a soft
knock on the door, and I heard Vance call out, “Hey, it’s just me.”

“I’m in the
kitchen,” I answered, continuing to pat out the hamburger patties.

He entered the
room, coming to a dead stop, clasping a hand to his chest. “And she cooks too,”
he said with an exaggerated sigh. “Can this relationship get any better?” He
came up behind me and moved my hair away from my neck, leaning down to place a
kiss there.

I tried to ignore
the immediate goose bumps that raised, and I laughed.

“You might want to
hold your remarks until you’ve actually tasted it,” I said, tipping my head to
the right when he dipped in to kiss my neck again.

“I have faith in
you,” he said against my skin. I savored his touch for a moment before shoving
him away with my elbow.

“Stop it. You’re
distracting me, and you’re not going to get the chance to find out if I can
cook or not.”

“I’m okay with
that too,” he said, stepping toward me again.

“Vance! I mean
it!” I held up my greasy hands. “If you come near me again I’m going to wipe
this all over that pretty leather jacket of yours.”

That turned out to
be the trick. Vance held his hands up in defense and backed away from me.

“You wouldn’t dare
desecrate the jacket, would you?” He grinned.

“Try me and find
out,” I threatened, taking a step toward him, though I knew I would never do
anything to hurt that wonderful coat of his. He looked amazing in it.

He shrugged out of
it and placed it on the back of one of the kitchen chairs.

“I think I’d
better put this baby out of the line of fire,” he said. I laughed at him,
turning back to wash my hands at the sink. “What can I do to help?” he asked.

“There’s some
plates and cups in that cupboard up there, and bags of chips in the pantry
around the corner if you want to get those out.”

He helped me
prepare the rest of dinner, and soon we were sitting down together, enjoying
our food.

“I was right,” he
complimented after finishing his first bite. “You’re a good cook.”

I couldn’t help my
smile.

When we were
finished, we went into the family room and turned on the television, snuggling
on the couch together.

“This is so much
better than homework,” Vance said, running his hand through my hair absently.

“I agree,” I
replied, looking up at him.

He winked at me,
and I smiled.

“Tell me something
about you I don’t know,” I said, suddenly wanting to hear everything I could about
him.

“Like what?” he
asked, light laughter rumbling in his chest.

“I don’t care. It
can be anything. I just want to learn more about you.” I bit at my lip in
anticipation.

“Hmmm.” He
pondered my request for a moment. “How about this? I really, really, love sugar
cookies.”

“Sugar cookies?” I
asked, giving him a questioning look and wondering if he was messing around
with me.

His face grew
wistful then. “My mom used to make them for me when I was little.” He stared
into my eyes while he continued to stroke my hair. “I remember coming home from
school and the whole house would be filled with the most wonderful smell. I’d
run into the kitchen and she’d just be pulling a tray out of the oven.” He
chuckled lightly, caught up in the memory. “I think she timed it that way. She’d
always let me eat one warm while the others cooled, and then we frosted them
together while I told her about my day. I’ve loved sugar cookies ever since.”

He smiled softly
at me, and I felt my eyes tearing up for him, knowing he’d lost so much that
was precious to him in his life.

“Sorry. You
probably think that’s a little too corny. Am I going to need to give you my
‘man card’ now? Did I just lose all of my masculine allure?”

I silenced his
depreciating remarks by leaning over to kiss him on the lips, surprising him
for a second. But then he pulled me up onto his lap, wrapping his arms around
me, and kissed me back. I threaded my arms around his neck, hugging him to me
even closer, letting him freely explore my mouth for several long moments until
I finally pulled away from him. I rested my forehead against his, looking into
his eyes.

“That was a
wonderful memory, Vance. Thank you for sharing it with me.”

“Now it’s your
turn,” he said back to me, placing his hand against my face and running his
thumb over my bottom lip.

“My turn?”

“To tell me
something I don’t know.” He smiled, moving to gently place a soft kiss near my
chin.

I took a big
breath and prepared to spill my guts. “I’ve had a crush on you for two years,
since your first day of school here.” I held my breath waiting for his
reaction, but he only smiled and leaned in to kiss me on the cheek this time.

“That doesn’t
count. Pick something else,” he said.

“What do you mean
it doesn’t count?” I asked, pulling back from him a bit, giving him a confused
scowl.

“It has to be
something I don’t already know.” He grinned slyly.

“What?” I asked
him skeptically. “What’re you saying?”

His self-assured
smirk grew even bigger. “I’m saying I’m aware of your crush and have been…
since my first day of school here.” He laughed now, his eyes full of mischief.

“How’s that even
possible?” I asked, in shock.

“I can’t tell
you.” He smiled widely.

I got up off his
lap and stood over him with my hands on my hips.

“Why not?”

He stood up,
taking a step toward me, so I stepped away from him trying to keep some
distance between us.

“Because then I’ll
have told you two things about myself, and you still haven’t told me one thing
about you,” he said, stalking toward me again.

I moved backward
until I hit the wall with my back, and he continued walking until he had me
trapped there with his body.

“Come on. Let’s
hear it,” he said, running his hands up my arms, leaving a trail of goose bumps
in their wake, before he stopped and rested them on my shoulders.

“When I was younger
I wanted to be a fashion designer. I played with Barbie dolls until I was
thirteen, mixing and matching all their outfits so I could have runway shows
with them,” I blurted out, the heat of my humiliation spreading quickly through
my body.

He let out a soft
laugh at that, sliding his hands up my neck and into my hair. I knew he was
trying to distract me, and he was succeeding.

“See, that wasn’t
so hard.”

“Tell me how you
know about the crush,” I prodded, trying to keep my head. “I never told anybody
about it.”

He leaned in
closer to me, his lips brushing against my ear when he spoke.

“I can hear your
thoughts,” he whispered seductively. “I’ve wanted to tell you but….” His reply
was cut short when his phone started buzzing, and he dug it out of his pocket
so he could answer it.

“Hey, Marsha. What’s
up?” he asked.

I could hear
Marsha speaking rapidly about something through the phone, and Vance gave a
sigh while he listened.

“No problem,” he
said. “I’ll be right there.” He ended the call, sliding the phone back into his
pocket. “I’m sorry, Portia, but I’m gonna have to run now.” He gave me a look
filled with true regret.

“Is everything
okay?” I asked him, suddenly worried something had happened with his dad.

“Everything’s
fine,” he assured me. He gathered me into his arms and gave me a sweet kiss. “Thanks
for having me over. I had a wonderful time, and I promise I’ll answer all of
your questions later.”

“Okay,” I replied,
sad that he had to leave already. I slipped my hand into his while I walked him
to the door. He stopped to kiss me hungrily one more time before he stepped
outside.

“See you tomorrow,
baby,” he called over his shoulder. In another second, he’d started his
motorcycle, and then he was gone.

Chapter 9

The next day after
school I went to Grandma’s shop and I brought my Book of Shadows with me so she
could read through it.

There were no
customers when I entered the store, and Grandma was sitting in a wooden chair
near the register reading an ancient-looking tome.

“Hi, Lollipop!”
she said, getting up and coming over to give me a hug. “How was your day?”

“It was good,” I
replied, following her back behind the counter.

I reached into my
bag and pulled out my book, handing it to her.

“Wonderful! Did
you already write your spell?”

I nodded.

Grandma flipped
open the book and began perusing through the pages, while I wandered around the
store feeling a bit self-conscious.

“I can’t believe
this,” I heard her say.

“What?” I asked,
wondering instantly what I’d done wrong.

“How did you know
the correct ingredients for your spell and the proper moon phase?”

“I don’t know. It
just seemed like the thing to do,” I explained to her, feeling a little moment
of glee that I’d done something right. “A white candle seemed pure, and aloe is
known for it’s healing. As far as the moon goes, I have no idea where that came
from,” I added, laughing.

“Well, it’s a very
good spell,” Grandma said. “Simple, yet to the point. I also find it very
enlightening that you wrote it specifically for Vance.”

“He’s very
important to me.”

“I’ve noticed the
connection. He’s a good kid, and the two of you have good karma together,” she
replied with a smile.

“Well, he still
worries about the negative energy attached to him. He’s afraid he’ll do
something to hurt me, or my family.”

“I wouldn’t brush
off his worries. It’s a legitimate concern,” Grandma agreed. “There’ll probably
always be some sort of attraction to the dark side of things for him. I guess
the important thing is he doesn’t want it to be that way. As long as he’s
fighting it, then he’s progressing.” She paused then, giving another glance at
my book. “I think you should give him a call and tell him to come down here.”

“Okay,” I said,
all of a sudden wanting to test his proclamation that I called to him mentally.

Grandma handed me
the phone, but I denied it.

“I want to try
something else,” I said. I closed my eyes for a few seconds and centered the
energies running inside me before speaking.