I turn to Elodie, and she looks at me while pretending she’s not looking at me. I swear Toren and Luna can see the look we’re sharing, but it’s time to turn the tables back on them and make this not about us.
“Elodie, please back me up on the fact that it’s gross how they were just about to nasty up my house.”
Elodie laughs. Of course she does. She very likely thinks this is all hilarious. Like how my brother and Luna almost caught us making out like we were trying to give each other CPR—shirtless CPR. And how my entire family is now going to know she escaped with me from her wedding. They’ll probably also soon know that we’re cursed because Granny has a big yap, and she loves to let it flap. Oh, and the nastiest business was going to be perpetrated in my own house, and I wouldn’t have even known the dang difference when I got back.
“That’s it,” I seethe. “I’m going to get Kirian and Lindy’s security system installed tomorrow. This afternoon. Or no, right now.”
“Well, a lot of the surfaces would just wipe clean,” Elodie points out. “And other things can be washed.”
Jeffers stirs, now of all times, not when people were trying to break into my house, and not when strangers walked in the front door. No, he stirs now and barks one loud solid woof that reverberates through the house for a good thirty seconds. Because when Jeffers wants to be loud, he can be very loud.
“Look, he drooled all over the couch,” Toren points out. “I can see a big wet spot. Right. There.” He physically points now. “I don’t see you giving him grief.”
“Dog drool is not the same as bodily fluids.” I think I’m scarlet now. I can’t believe I just said that. I think I might actually throw up. What has the world come to?
“Would you like to stay for lunch?” Elodie asks, all happy and bright and totally doing this just to annoy me. Or maybe she’s going for the feint of all feints because if Toren and Luna are here, then we don’t have to talk about what just happened with us.
What did just happen?
We didn’t have clothes on. And she touched my…
“No,” Luna says quickly. “But thanks. We should probably be going.”
“Yeah, absolutely.”
Toren wraps his arm around her waist, and when they share a secret look, I know they’re going to find somewhere else to do what they were going to do. Ugh.
“Good, good,” I find myself saying. “We have things to figure out too. Like how Elodie can get her own place to get out from under her parents’ rule.”
Elodie winces. I know I’m an asshole. Why did I just say that? It’s kind of true, but I didn’t need to just blurt that out. Holy, self-sabotage much? Maybe it’s easier to have her mad at me than to have her not mad at me and doing what we were just doing.
How did it even happen? How did it get so far? That bloody curse! My bloody Granny! Ugh. Don’t think about Granny and Elodie half-naked at the same time. No, think more about Granny. That’s ball shriveling enough to ensure lifelong chastity.
“Why doesn’t she just move in with you?” Toren asks with all the perfect logic he’s known for. “You have a huge place, and your basement is developed. You could…”
“Out!” I cut him off. I feel like everyone is against me. My family is conspiring with the curse, even if they don’t know they’re in league with the curse because they don’t know I’m cursed. Unless Granny has already gotten to them.
“We’re going,” Luna says in a rush, but she can’t hide her secret little smile. I don’t know if it’s for Toren or because she knows about how we’re cursed.
“We’re going,” Toren repeats.
They go, finally. They turn and walk back out the door. Then, I hear the lock engage again. At least they were nice enough to put my house back the way they found it.
I turn to find Elodie standing by the table, grinning at me like she’s also in league with them. Like she approves of the curse. “You’re not moving in,” I huff. “Not even into the basement.”
Her smile fades, hurt flashes in her eyes, and I feel like a monstrous dick. Not a good monstrous dick, but a bad monstrous dick. The hypothetical dick. I want to tell her I’m sorry, that I’m just confused, out of sorts, and really fucking turned on for her, still, while being hella cursed, and I don’t know what to do about any of it. But then she flips me the bird and storms off. She stalks up the stairs, and I hear a door slam up there.
I’m not sure which room she’s in, but I know I fucked up. I fucked up by kissing her, but I also fucked up by not kissing her. I fucked up by stealing her from her wedding, running away with her, getting her cursed, getting myself cursed, and coming back here. I couldn’t stay there, but I shouldn’t be back here either. I shouldn’t want to hold her, but I do want to hold her. I should hate the curse, and I do, but right now, I also don’t.