Page 51 of Jinxes and Drumsticks

“Oh, uh—cool. I’m—”

“Daniel. Daniel Hawthorne!” I interject. “Bastion was just leaving. Right, Bash?”

Bastion looks at me, his gaze roving over me from head to toe in that way it does when he’s offended. I frown at him and he rolls his eyes.

When I look at Damien, something that looks a little like hurt flashes in his face and I realize what it must have seemed like for me to give Bastion a fake name. I hope he doesn’t think I’m embarrassed by him. He can’t think that, right? I mean, he’s Damien Devastation. I should be the one worrying if I’m embarrassing him.

“I think... I’ve worn a pair of your pants before, man,” Damien says to my horror.

Bastion tilts his head and looks over at me. “You kept those, did you?”

“You don’t typically react well when I get rid of any of your precious wardrobe,” I grumble.

“I gave those to you because I didn’t want them anymore,” he says. “You can do what you like with him. But if they have sentimental value to you, Lilipad...”

This. Fucking. Dick. I’m going to kick his ass the next time I’m in The Buried City.

“You should really go,” I say with a scowl. “I know you need to keep that appointment.”

Bastion rolls his eyes again and shakes his head. “Right, I suppose I better go since I have to take the scenic route. Nice to meet you, Danny. Treat our Lilipad well. She’s a goddess among commoners.”

“Don’t I know it,” Damien says with a tight smile as Bastion exits the front door. There’s a secondary access to the portal to The Buried City in a nearby park. It just requires jumping into a pond and soaking oneself. A fate I greatly wish upon Bastion for his shitty comment about his pants. He totally did that on purpose. Ass.

I’m still seething after Bastion leaves. It keeps me distracted for a solid minute before Damien breaks my focus with a thumb over his shoulder. “That guy seemed like he was kind of a d-bag. He an ex or something?”

“Or something,” I sigh. “I’m sorry about him. He’s got a good heart, but he is a bit of a pompous prick.”

“Must be, to be dressed like that,” he teases. He smiles when I finally meet his two-toned gaze. “Hey, sweetheart.”

“Hi,” I say stepping up to him to wrap my hands around the back of his neck. “I’ve missed you. These last three days have been the longest of my life.”

“Tell me about it,” he says, leaning down to kiss me. “It’s been good to give my mouth a rest though.”

“Oh—that reminds me, I made you something,” I say, going back over to the cauldron I was working with and setting it off to the side. I add a couple more drops of essential oils to the mixture, not sure if the fragrance burned off because of the time it stayed on the heat.

“What is it?” he asks.

“Lip salve,” I say with a giggle. “I made enough for both of us to have some.”

“Matching lip balms? Cute.” He beams and I produce a couple shallow tins. I carefully pour equal parts of the mixture into both tins and set them aside.

“They have to cool,” I say. “But they should be ready to go by this evening.”

“Awesome,” he says. “So, hey. I thought we could go out tonight if you want. The guys want to drive out to the gas lamp district in San Diego. I thought we could get dressed up and go with them and then bail when they start to get lame.”

I smile but I’m sure it looks like a grimace. Even with the protective pendant I couldn’t leave Del Lune. I certainly can’t go without any protections.

“Thaaaat looks like a no,” he says.

“I’m so sorry,” I say. “It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just that I have to be here for the shop tomorrow and—”

He puts up a tattooed hand and shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it, little bird,” he says. “We’ll stay in.”

“I got a really good grocery haul today,” I tell him. “We can make dinner together and I can keep teaching you the Tarot.”

He smiles warmly and nods. “That sounds like a perfect night. Did you manage to get an appointment with the doctor? Make sure that thing you’ve got going on isn’t turning into a kidney infection?”

“Yep,” I lie, but it’s just about true with the book Bastion gave me. “I’ll be going in on Wednesday.”