Witch (Supernatural #2)

8: A Dash of Romance

Romance, noun

1. a novel, movie, or genre of popular fiction in which characters fall in love or begin a romantic relationship.
2. a romantic affair or experience: a love affair.
3. a romantic spirit, sentiment, emotion, or desire.

***

Watching Ken walk made me wonder how many girls at school would watch him and notice his catlike grace. There was something graceful about his way of walking, which I had never thought possible. Walking is walking, nothing graceful about it. Yet, Ken managed to make it so. How the hell he did it was beyond me. Perhaps he channeled his inner cat; I could think of no other explanation. Even when he glanced at me over his shoulder and smirked. It was very catlike.

I was a firm believer that cats knew very well that they were perfect; sometimes they would look at people and be like 'Did you forget that you cannot fault me?'. Ken looked at me exactly like that.

"You had better wipe that smirk off your face if you want another cookie," I told him dryly. It instantly disappeared. He knew I wasn't even lying about the cookies; he pointed out he could smell them in my bag. A little creepy, but okay. What else could he smell aside from cookies and burned dolls?

We were going to the lake once again; it seemed to have become our go-to place. And why shouldn't it? It was quiet and serene there; the magic so utterly untouched and unspoiled that it felt like a piece of heaven on earth. The trees offered privacy if anyone did venture that far from the path. Ken was a few steps ahead of me, putting a little more distance between us with every step he took. Then he had completely disappeared from view.

Once I was through the line of the trees myself, I found him sitting on the stone altar I had made exactly a week ago. He watched the lake; did he see the same thing I saw? Or would his inner cat pick up on details I could never hope to catch? For a second, I hesitated. Should I join him on the rock or not? There was more than enough space for the both of us, and yet, the thought of the conversation we were about to have made me want to pick another one.

Eventually, I joined him.

The rock was like ice under my butt. God, why couldn't we be like normal people and go to a coffee shop? No, we had to be outdoorsy and freeze our butts off. Ken seemed fine. For a second I thought about using magic, then I discarded the idea. It felt wrong to mess with this place; in its natural state, the stone was cold. Everything was always best left in its natural state. Instead, I reached for the Tupperware in my bag. There were a dozen cookies left. He could eat them all if he wished.

Ken took the box eagerly, not hesitating to grab the first one out. Certainly not waiting for me to offer him any. As he munched, his eyes remained on the lake. "Do you believe in love at first sight?" he asked me out of the blue.

The question startled me. This morning he had been afraid I would regret kissing him, now he was talking about love? He sure moved fast. "No, I don't." I didn't ask him if he did. For shifters, it was different. They had their fated other half. Supposedly, when meeting them, it would be love at first sight.

"Me neither," Ken surprised me by saying. He glanced at me and smiled why he noticed. "I know what your thinking, about shifters and fated. How can I not believe, right? Maybe I'll change my mind about it at some point." He shrugged and put the other half of the cookie in his mouth like it was nothing. Let me tell you, they were big ass cookies. "I'm not saying that I love you either; that wasn't the point I was going to make."

"What was your point then?"

"I don't believe in love at first sight because I always thought you needed to know a person better before you can really love them. I've known you for a little more than a week - eleven days to be exact - and I am shocked by how much I've grown to like you in such a short amount of time. That was my point."