Southern Charms

Brews

By morning, all the gray and gloom from the previous day had faded, but the colder air remained. Lingering remnants of a very good dream wrapped around me like a warm cocoon, making it hard to leave my bed.

 But then I remembered my hair. 

 I rushed to a mirror, rejoicing to find my hair was still dark. The good mood didn't last long, though. Chances were Harmony wasn't awake yet or her substance addled brain hadn't recalled the happenings of last night. When- and I had no doubt this was a when not if situation- she did remember, I was going to have to risk one of Mama's protection charms.

I tiptoed downstairs. Unlike the day before, the house was quiet. All the other inhabitants were sleeping off hours of excess, and they would likely remain abed until well in the afternoon, waking just in time to ready themselves for the evening's festivities.

Which meant I could do as I pleased. No working in the shop. No being stared at or asked rude questions. I poured a bowl of cereal and sent a message to Willow asking her what she wanted to do today.

Her reply took a few minutes to come through, but it brought a wide smile to my face when it did.

Willow: WHAtEVEr we waNT! MY paREnts Passed out oN the cOuch.

Me: I think everyone made it to their beds here. I'm eating breakfast, but I can be ready ASAP.

Willow: I THInK BRewS is goNNa be open today. WaNNa meet uP there

Me: Perfect. See you in thirty?

A string of random emojis appeared, none of them making sense. I was about to type out a question when another message came through.

Willow: Yes

Laughing, I tucked away my phone, rinsed my bowl, and returned to my room to get ready for the day. Any other time, I would've pulled on yesterday's pants and a hoodie, but on the off chance we did hang out with Ash, I wanted to at least smell decent. That's what I told myself when I pulled on a clean pair of leggings. I had no excuse for the flowy lace tunic, ankle boots, makeup, or perfume. Willow was gonna give me hell.

Before I could wash off my makeup and change, I ran to the car and headed to town. If anyone asked, I'd swear up and down the boy was nothing but trouble, and I was more likely to kiss a toad than I would be to kiss a Goodwin. Simple self-preservation would force me to lie, but there was no use lying to myself about my attraction to Ash.

Head bobbing along to the song on the radio, I replayed our previous interactions, trying to figure out what it was that made him so damn enticing. Besides the obvious, of course. 

Because lord knows the boy was handsome.

Was it his reputation as a bad boy? I dismissed the thought. It was becoming evident his reputation was unearned, or at least he'd outgrown it. 

He'd been thirteen when he was sent away to the Institute of Young Warlocks, and no one would say what he'd done to earn the punishment. I only knew he had a penchant for hexes, but nothing worthy of being shipped off. They were practical jokes typical of children his age- making soap come out of the water fountains, putting toads in cupboards (toads that multiplied upon attempted removal), and turning someone's skin green. If that earned you a ticket to boarding school, Harmony should've been sent away a dozen times already.

I thought of the way he'd apologized after calling me impoten. There was a genuine desire in his eyes to make sure I understood he didn't see me as less, and when he'd removed the pink from my hair, he hadn't acted as though he'd done anything special. Just what should've been done in the first place. Common decency. As I pulled my car into a parking space at the coffee shop, I realized I'd hit the nail on the head.