Witch In Charge - Celia Kyle Page 0,52

and squeeze it. “But I hear Hollow House is taking up a lot of your energy these days.”

“It’s getting better,” Kelly said, taking a sip of water and waving to the waitress so she could order a latte. “It just needs a firm hand.”

“Sounds like you’re talking about a toddler.” Hazel slowly pulled apart a banana muffin.

“I am, basically. The house doesn’t have any maturity at all, especially for its age. It has so much power and it just randomly lets loose all the time. I'm worried it'll hurt someone.”

Silence fell across the table as the waitress stopped by, serving them drinks and sweet snacks. Kelly used to count her calories pretty religiously but, lately, she wasn’t as worried about it. Enjoying herself was far more important than fitting into her smallest dress. There were always other dresses.

Trinity frowned, looking Kelly over. “You look different. Did you get a haircut or something?”

“Oh, she got something, all right.” Hazel giggled.

“Yeah, can we skip the pleasantries and get to the dirt already?” Sara winked, pulling a funny face around her straw as she started on her milkshake.

Kelly warmed, but she put on a mask of perfect innocence. “What do you mean?”

“C’mon.” Hazel reached over to give her a jab. “Everyone knows you disappeared with Ronun at your housewarming party the other night. Give us the deets.”

Kelly opened her mouth, images running through her mind. This should have been an easy moment for her. Usually she couldn’t wait to spill the gossip on her latest conquest, but as she went over the night, she realized she didn’t want to reveal a single thing. It was too special.

“Call an ambulance!” Trinity cried. “Kelly can't talk. This is a serious situation!”

Kelly rolled her eyes and stole a bite of Hazel's muffin. “Sorry, guys. I just don’t want to talk about it.”

She sipped her latte, avoiding their curious gazes. The silence around the table eventually dragged her eyes back up to the shocked expressions of her friends.

“What the—” Sara began.

“I don’t believe it,” Trinity said.

“Are you telling me he’s made a decent woman of you?” Hazel asked incredulously.

Kelly wanted to protest but, as she examined herself, she realized that Hazel was right, in a way. This had not just been a bit of fun. This was the first time she had ever had a real boyfriend, and she cared too much about Ronun and their experience to lower herself to a base level and gossip about it.

“I don’t know. I guess so. It's just that it was really special. There’s nothing I really want to say about it.”

Trinity leaned over and pressed her palm to Kelly’s forehead. “Definitely some kind of a fever. Her brain is fried. Poor Kelly. She’ll never be the same.”

“You’re right about that.” Kelly laughed as she batted Trinity's hand away.

“Just answer one question.” Sara bent over the table, urging the others to lean in as well. Her voice dropped to a stage whisper. “How was he?”

Before Kelly could stop herself, she blurted, “He was fucking unbelievable. Huge, powerful, loving, sweet, kind, gentle, rough when it counted…” Kelly caught herself before going further, but not before the brief description caused fire to run up her belly until her nipples hardened under her shirt.

“Wow.” Hazel slumped back in her chair, eyeing her friend as she fiddled with the mini-marshmallows floating in her cocoa. “Wow, wow, wow. I’ve never seen you react this way, Kelly. He must be really special.”

Kelly nodded to her friend, emotions welling up so strongly she had to blink tears away. Sara let out a shocked gasp and even Trinity was amazed.

Kelly shrugged. “It’s not like it was before, you know. Before Ronun, I just wanted to have fun. Everything was, like, easy—”

“And so were you,” Trinity quipped warmly.

“I had a blast and you know it! But I’m just…really into him. It’s not the sex, even though that was incredible. He sits on my porch every day, guarding me. He always shows up when I need him. And when he looks at me…”

Kelly rested her chin in her hand and sighed. The other three girls exchanged looks of disbelief.

“I suppose part of me is scared I’ll miss out on some fun,” Kelly said, absently. It feels weird to commit totally to Ronun, but I can’t do anything else. My heart has made up its mind.

“It’s so much better being in a committed relationship.” Sara leaned over to rub Kelly’s arm. “You’ll see. If he's half as awesome as you say,