“They’re starting to get a little bigger,” Lucas notes as he cracks an egg into a bowl.
“Already?”
He turns on the burner to preheat the pan and comes over. “There’s only one way to find out. Lift up your shirt.”
“I mean, we have to be sure.” I pull my shirt up and Lucas cups my breasts in his hands.
“Hmmm…it needs further evaluation.” He circles his thumb over my nipples.
“What’s the verdict?”
“They are bigger. How they feel in my hands is something I’m quite familiar with.”
I look down at myself. “I don’t notice a difference.”
“I’m more observant than you when it comes to your tits,” he says and gets up.
“That you are.” I smile and tip my head up for a kiss. I search online for last-minute costumes, cringing at the expensive-as-fuck shipping, but I need these here in a day.
Lucas works in the office after breakfast, and I take a book and a blanket onto the back porch, cuddling up on the bench. The worst of the storm is over, and the steady rain and rumbling thunder is the perfect reading weather.
And apparently sleeping weather, because I wake up an hour later to my phone ringing. It slipped off the bench when I fell asleep, and misty rain blew in, making it wet. Novel Grounds comes up on the caller ID. I quickly dry it so I can answer.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Callie, it’s Betty.”
“Oh, hey. Is everything okay?”
“Yes, don’t worry. That crazy storm knocked the power out. The whole block is dark. What do you want us to do? I’m here with Danielle this morning.”
“Uh,” I start, thinking back to the last time this happened. “We can run the payments on an iPad and write down cash transaction. You’ll have to use a calculator to figure out change. I’ll come and help you set everything up. Put a sign up on the door now so people know they’ll either have to pay with cash or wait fifteen to twenty minutes to use their cards. Give me like five minutes to get put together and I’ll head out. Are the backup lights on?”
“Yeah. It’s kinda creepy in here and I like it.”
I laugh. “That’s good. Are a lot of people in right now?”
“We got a little rush right as the downpour started and they hung out in here waiting for the rain to slow. Now they’re waiting to figure out how to pay.”
“If anyone is paying with cash, go ahead and write it down. But if they need to pay with a card, tell them we’ll give them a ten percent discount for their wait.” I gather up my stuff and hurry inside, tripping over the blanket in my haste. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Thanks, Callie.”
I pull the blanket through the door and peek into the office. Lucas is on the phone, speaking in a foreign language. He sounds annoyed with whoever he’s talking to, yet when he looks up and meets my gaze, he smiles.
“Power is out at the store,” I whisper. “Gotta go.”
He nods and I run up the stairs, magically braiding my hair in two French braids on the way. I throw on the same clothes I wore last night since they were left on the floor in my room, but go with my tried-and-true combat boots instead of heels.
There’s a note taped to the backdoor. Take Binx, is written in Lucas’s freakishly neat handwriting. I suppose over a thousand years of penmanship proves practice really does make perfect. I pull the note off the door so he knows I saw it, and call for Binx. He shadows ahead, waiting for me next to my Jeep.
The rain picks up as soon as we pull out of the driveway, slowing me down. I still make it to the store pretty fast, and get a parking spot close to the storefront.
“Dammit,” I say when I realize my umbrella isn’t in here. It’s pouring now, and I don’t want to get soaked. I look at Binx. “No one will notice, will they? And if they do?” I shrug. “It’s not like they’re going to accuse me of using a shield of telekinetic energy as a makeshift umbrella.”
I hook my purse over my shoulder and open my door, holding up my left hand. Rain patters down on my invisible umbrella. Binx jumps into my lap and we get out, staying perfectly dry. I drop my hand, dispersing the energy as soon as I’m under Novel Ground’s awning.
The store is still dark when I come in, and the seating areas are all filled. People are talking and reading, using the flashlights on their phones for light. Both Betty and Danielle are behind the counter.
“Hey, guys.” I set Binx on the counter and he immediately starts purring, knowing Betty is going to gush all over him.