Lexie's Choice

Scene 2

I'D GLIMPSED FLOWER FAERIES around Claire's yard from time to time ever since she'd granted me the ability to see the other side, but I'd never actually met one. The dream of a faery-made prom dress sustained me through my shift at the coffee shop, though it did make me jittery.

"What is with you today, Lexie?" my manager asked. Terry was a nice woman, but she ran a tight ship, and I'd just overflowed my fourth cup of espresso in a row. "You're not usually so careless. Is everything all right at home?"

My face must have matched the red of Claire's Mustang. It certainly felt hot enough to set off a fire alarm. "Sorry, Terry." I wiped up the mess and transferred the black liquid to a clean cup. "Brent asked me to prom and..."

"Say no more," she interrupted. "Believe it or not, I was young once. I know how important prom is. Make sure you put it on the schedule. You're not working that day. You'd be useless anyway."

I grinned, rinsed out the dishrag, and ran to the back to sign myself out of work for the afternoon of prom. When I returned to the counter, a seriously dreamy guy was accepting a cup from Terry. He thanked her with quiet courtesy and then glanced at me.

Our gazes locked, just for a second, but that second stretched into eternity. His grey-eyed gaze raked my soul and left me quivering. I didn't doubt my reaction after he broke our connection left the shop, what I wasn't sure of was whether it had been fear or anticipation that caused the flutter.

I pressed my hands to my belly to stop the rampaging butterflies and gulped. Terry scowled, so I pushed the incident to the back of my mind and concentrated on serving my customers. The shop was busy and before I knew it I glanced up to find Claire smiling at me.

"Hey, girl," she said, a mischievous gleam in her eye. "Isn't your shift about over?"

I checked the clock and grinned. "Five minutes. Just enough time to run through my log-out routine. Meet you out front in a few."

She waved me off, and I cleaned the counter, said good-bye to Terry and gathered my belongings. Flower faeries! I was about to meet some flower faeries in the flesh and have a dream dress made. Sometimes having a faery princess for a best friend absolutely rocked!

A few minutes later, Claire and I climbed the steps to her porch and slipped inside the front door. We tiptoed through the entry and peered into the living room.

Yep. Nap time at Camp Twins-Run-Amok. A small red pop-up tent stood in the middle of the room surrounded by toy cars, trains, trucks, and fire engines, with a liberal sprinkling of stuffed animals. Inside the tent, two little boys slept, their expressions relaxed and angelic.

I snorted quietly at the thought. These little hooligans might be only three, but they were no more angels than my own twin brothers. Who would've thought all those years ago when Claire was an only child, and I was fighting to stay ahead of the demon spawn who were my brothers, that both of us would end up as elder siblings to twin boys? Sure as heck not me.

Claire nudged me, and we moved with practiced stealth to the kitchen where Mrs. Murray sat with a steaming cup of coffee. "Welcome home, girls. Thanks for coming in so quietly."

"No problem, Mrs. M. 'Let sleeping twins lie,' that's always been my motto."

Mrs. Murray smiled, while Claire rolled her eyes.

"We're going to be upstairs, Mom. I've got some flower faeries coming in to help us with our prom dresses, so don't be surprised if you feel a bit of magic in the air."

Mrs. Murray waved us toward the stairs. "Have fun, but remember your father and I have final say as to the appropriateness of the dresses. Faeries have no sense when it comes to teenage girls." She narrowed her eyes. "That goes for you too, Lexie. I don't want your mother thinking I've let you run wild at the mall."

Claire and I exchanged looks and replied in unison. "Understood."

I hesitated a second before asking, "What are we going to tell my parents?"

"I've already spoken to your mother." Mrs. Murray's gaze softened. "You've been so helpful to us with the twins, and your mother has given me such wonderful tips and moral support...I just asked her if she would allow us to give you this small 'thank you' gift. She argued a bit, said it wasn't necessary, but in the end she agreed."

Mrs. Murray stood, crossed the room, and gathered me into a hug. "It's the least we could do. Thank you so much for supporting Claire and helping her adjust to all this...well, to everything." She kissed my cheek and studied my face for an instant before waving us off. "Go on, now. Go have fun with Claire's flower faeries."

I glanced back as we left the kitchen. Mrs. Murray was wiping her eyes.

*~*~*

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Want to know more about Lexie's BFF, Claire? Read her story in Faery Unexpected

http://www.amazon.com/Faery-Unexpected-Deb-Logan-ebook/dp/B005WUE7Y8/

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