I had to find out, so I caught up with him in the parking lot as we were headed home from our mind-numbing afternoon of orientation activities.
“Hey, Drake,” I called, jogging over to him. “Crazy day, huh?”
He shrugged casually with that same apathetic air he brought to everything.“It was pretty lame, but at least Kelley won’t dock our pay like her old man did. That’s something good, I guess.”
I laughed, which made Drake raise one eyebrow and regard me with suspicion.
“Everything okay there, my PSL compadre?” he asked with a sly grin.
“Oh, yeah,” I assured him, trying to ignore the heat that rose to my cheeks. “Just too much sugar today, I think.”
He nodded and scooped his keys from his pocket.“Well, this is me.” He motioned toward the shiny blue coupe we now stood beside. It was a much nicer car than I expected him to have. Seriously, how did he pay for this thing on his part-time barista salary?
“Okay, so bye, then,” he said, when I remained silent for too long.
“Drake, wait!” I shouted before he could climb into the driver’s seat and shut me out.
He settled on the seat but left the door wide open as he waited for me to tell him what I wanted.
I cleared my throat to buy a little time. This was an awkward question, especially if he’d been joking during our icebreaker. “I’ve been meaning to ask you—”
I didn’t get to finish because he abruptly cut me off. “Yeah, sure I’ll go out on a date with you,” he answered, a debonair smile now on full display.
I blinked hard and took a step back.“Um, that’s wasn’t… Uh…” I had to make this right without alienating him so much that he’d refuse to share the details of his ghostly encounter. Unfortunately, this was a very new situation for me, and one I had a hard time putting into words. What were the rules of etiquette when it came to openly discussing the paranormal? And just how much could I share without risking my safety or freedom? Merlin had made it very clear that if I shared his witchy secret with non-magical folk, I would find myself locked away in a terrible supernatural prison for the rest of my life.
I was still debating how to frame my question when Drake spoke again.
“Your place at eight? Sounds awesome. I’ll see you there.”
And with that, he slammed the door shut and backed out of his spot, giving me one last mischievous look before he disappeared into traffic.
I jumped and waved my arms while shaking my head wildly, but I couldn’t be sure that Drake caught sight of me in his rearview mirror.
How had I messed this up so badly? I should have just blurted out my question. Trying to put things delicately had only made the whole situation worse.
Because now it seemed I had two problems on my hands.
And no idea how to solve either one.
5
I returned home to both cats sprawled out and sunning themselves on my kitchen floor. As they slept, their tails twitched with dreams. I hated to disturb them, especially given how adorable they looked relaxing together . Perhaps one day I’d have a relationship as gratifying as that of my cats, but today would not be that day. And that relationship would not be with Drake.
“We’ve got a problem,” I announced as I pulled out a chair and sat to remove my shoes.
“Bigger than the ghost?” Merlin asked with a yawn.
“Not bigger, but a problem nonetheless.”
“Let’s hear it,” Luna commanded after she’d thoroughly stretched both her front and back legs and sauntered over to stand beside me.
“I kind of accidentally agreed, or maybe I invited… Um, I’m not sure how it happened, really, but I have a date with this guy from work.” What was with me and words today? Why did I have such a hard time explaining even simple things? I must have done a poor job showing my displeasure, because both cats became very excited by my announcement.
“A date? That’s fantastic.” Luna’s her blue eyes twinkled with glee. She sat taller and said, “Merlin and I have been worried about your love life lately.”
“Seriously? It’s only been like a week since you moved in here, Luna. How could you already be worried about my love life?” And was I really such a sad case that even my cats took pity on me? Cats famously didn’t care what anyone thought about them, so why were they taking so much time thinking—and worrying—about me?
“Oh, a life without love is no life at all,” Luna corrected me with a sigh. “Welcome to the living, Gracie.”
“No, stop it.” I hissed. Lately I’d been taking on more and more cat mannerisms, thanks to the influence of these two. The next thing I knew, I’d be licking the back of my hand and rubbing it across my forehead. God help me.
“This is not a real date,” I continued, laying my displeasure on full display now. “It happened by accident, and he’s coming over here tonight.”
“But we’re going to Nocturna tonight,” Merlin reminded me, his whiskers twitching with newfound irritation.
“I know!” I shouted. Why was this so hard for them to understand?
“Then call and reschedule, dear,” Luna suggested with a condescending air. I did not like this look on her. Or on me for that matter.
“I can’t. I don’t have his number.”
Luna worked hard to maintain her smile, but even I could see it was faltering.“Then pay him a quick visit.”
“I don’t know where he lives.”
“Then how does he know where you live, dear?” she asked with a sigh.
“That is a good question.”
“You don’t seem very excited for your date,” she pointed out with a frown. “How did all this come about?”
I caught them up on all the icebreaking activities and Drake’s admission during “Never have I ever.”
“That’s a strange game. Why would humans want to brag about the things they haven’t done? We cats like to share our accomplishments, not lack thereof,” Merlin groused.
“The game is not the point,” I snapped. “The point is that Drake has seen a ghost. And when I tried to ask him about that, it turned into this whole date thing.”
“Well, a date is a perfect opportunity to ask him about his ghost, dear.” Ah, Luna. Ever the optimist. It was starting to wear on me.
“Except we’re supposed to be going to Nocturna tonight,” I reminded them.
“You don’t have to go everywhere we go,” Merlin said rather grumpily. “If you want to abandon us in favor of your date, we’ll live.”
The beginnings of a tension headache crept up my neck and into my brain. Would it be wrong to turn a spray bottle on my cats to discipline them, knowing they could talk and that at least one of them could retaliate by conjuring lightning?
I tried very hard not to shout at the top of my lungs now.“That’s not—“
Luna gently patted my hand with her paw.“It’s fine, dear. Merlin and I will enjoy the alone time. We wouldn’t want to be all up in your hair during your date, anyway.”
“It’s not—UGH!” This time I threw both hands in the air, then slammed them down on the table in frustration.
“So touchy,” Merlin said with a sneer. “Don’t worry, though, your highness. We’ll do all the actual work that’s needed to keep our home safe while you have fun entertaining your gentleman caller.”
“You know what? Fine. Go to Nocturna. Have all the fun without me while I stay here and participate in a date I didn’t ask for and don’t want.”
“Wonderful,” Luna cooed. “So we’re all in agreement then?”
I dropped my head into my hands and tried to focus on my breathing.
“Humans mature so much more slowly than cats,” I heard Merlin whisper to Luna. “Perhaps I’d have been better off with the old lady.”
“Is it too late to switch?” the femme feline wondered aloud.
“You know better than anyone that once the familiar bond is set, it can’t be broken without—”