Page 60 of Buckle Up, Buttercup

She shakes her head. “That’s not what I mean. You like Bluebell, like, as a mate…right?”

I straighten, shocked. Running both hands through my hair, I debate what to say. Ultimately, I decide it’s okay to trust Petra with this secret.

“Yeah,” I say softly. “But we haven’t told anyone yet, especially not her family. So…keep that secret between us, little one, until the time is right. This can be secret number one.”

She smirks at me, holding her tail spade up for a high five.

I slap mine to it, chuckling. “How’d you even know?”

Petra laughs. “Your eyeballs get all squishy in the corners when you look at her.”

Gods. Okay.

“Luckily, I’m good at secrets,” she says in a satisfied-sounding tone. “Your secrets are safe with me.”

Bluebell

Has it only been a day since Hadrian left for his away game? Petra’s been hanging with the Jays and my parents, and I’ve been working nonstop. Shroud brought Vela by, going through the scavenger hunt from our haven welcome book. They’re so adorable together and so obviously in love. She’s assimilating into monster life so fast!

Downtown’s looking great for the Mead Cute Festival. Lemon and Oz are bugging Sheriff Rygold to install the festive glamour later this afternoon. Only he can do that part since he’s our stand-in Keeper.

I slept at my folks’ last night to help with Petra, and I haven’t even been home. It surprises me when I get back and open my door to find a folded slip of paper sitting on top of a box full of cookies.

My name is scrawled on the front in Hadrian’s handwriting. Smiling, I unfold the pale blue sheet.

Little Witch,

I miss you already. Call me after the game if you get a free minute. I’ll be done around eight p.m. tomorrow.

Yours, Hadrian

P.S. Enjoy the snacks

The note is short and sweet, and he must have left this yesterday, meaning that he’ll be free at eight p.m. tonight. Glancing at my comm watch, I note that it’s just past eight already. Rushing across my small living room, I head for the bedroom where I keep the communication disk that allows us to make interhaven calls.

Grabbing the disk, I toss it on the bed and direct it to call him.

He picks up on the first ring, his life-sized hologram rising tall from the disk. A smirk ghosts his face, and he’s shirtless, wings held aloft at his back. Lifting his chin, he drops his gaze down my body and back up.

“You look beautiful, Blue. You just get home?”

I nod and slip onto the bed, dropping the disk at the foot so I can stare up at him.

“I did. Just found a nice little note suggesting I call.”

His smirk grows. “Everything okay at home?”

“Petra’s fine.” I rest on the bevy of pillows against my headboard.

“I was concerned with more than Petra,” he says. “Tell me about your day.”

I sigh. “Do you really want to hear about my shift at Whiskey Business or any of the other shit I did today?”

“Yes, I do.” He cocks his head to the side, tail twisting behind him. “And then I want to try something.”

Gods, that sounds sexy. I nip my lip expectantly. I fill him in on what seemed like the most mundane of days, but he asks a million questions about every aspect of it, even questioning me about how the Bodice is today. Unfortunately, I didn’t spend any time with her because Tiana is covering the shop for a few days.

“I still haven’t figured out how to get on her good side,” I admit.