Page 17 of Vibes

As far as I know, I didn’t do anything to Iris. We don’t talk, I never hit on her, and for fuck’s sake, the worst thing I did was lead her into the kitchen from some grody punch. She never even took the glass, and I’m the one who suffered that night.

“I’m sure you can come up with something,” Cora says dryly. “But whatever it ends up being, you need to mean the apology. That’s what the curse requires.”

“What the curse requires,” Iris echoes, leaning to one side. I go with her, her hand twisting until I’m stuck staring at Cora at an angle. “What are the rules of this um… curse?”

Cora smirks. “You should’ve listened to me all the times I told you magic is real. This is the kind of surprise you weren’t anticipating.”

“You planned this?” I ask, hating the feeling of being ignored. That happens enough right now when Iris is busy, or God forbid, I’m on a shelf.

Her dark eyes glance between the two of us as Iris’s grip tightens on me. “I planned for… some of it.”

“So you don’t know how to use magic and you’re out here ruining people's lives?” I snap, but it sounds silly when I’m buzzing through the entire conversation.

“The rest of you weren’t the target,” Cora replies, shrugging.

“Wait,” Iris interrupts. “That’s not true, is it? You said something about five before you spit on everyone.”

The memory makes me internally shiver, but it help me recall what she said clear as day:

Turn the joke back on you, we’ll make fools of five players too. Lest you learn that pleasure is shared, behold a future bleak and bare.

“You did this on purpose,” I realize. So everything Cora’s said up to this point is probably a lie.

“No!” she hisses, waving her hands in front of herself. Iris actually pulls me back a little like she’s worried I’ll get slapped. “No. That wasn’t the plan! That’s not what I meant to do. I was just so mad… at that moment.”

“I didn’t even talk to you for more than a few seconds at the party,” I buzz angrily.

Cora blows out a breath, and I wish I could shake my head. It doesn’t really matter what we say to her. Intentional or not, she did curse all of us. And I have to believe her magic is strong because I’m proof of that.

“Cora, this is serious,” Iris hisses. “You’re messing with people’s lives. The guys might suck, but Flynn’s the only one who ever gave you hell about anything.”

“You don’t know that,” she argues.

“Uh, I do!” I yell. “I didn’t do shit to you because I didn’t want any part in your messes.”

She hesitates, and I know I’m right. How is any of this helping me break my curse? An apology sure feels like a petty reason to turn someone into a sex toy.

“Why was he on a shelf?” Iris asks curiously, and I wish I could blink in response to the question. Why didn’t I think to ask that? “If this is some sort of payback, why did you have him out on the shelf where anyone could buy him even if you weren’t here?”

“I had to store him somewhere,” Cora answers immediately. “It was just supposed to be Flynn. He’s pretty easy to store and no one wants him. The others… I had no idea what they would turn into.” Her gaze shifts to my pathetic, vibrator body. “Sorry.”

As if I believe that.

“What if a stranger bought him?” Iris snips. “He spoke while I was… you know. And the others? The other players? Is it inconsequential to you who they went home with?”

At that, Cora bursts out laughing. She clamps a hand over her mouth, but the insult is already done. Her cheeks turn red as she tries to muffle the snorts, contrasting the seafoam green color of her hair today. It’s changed since the party.

“I’m being serious Cora,” Iris hisses. “I called you because I was freaking the fuck out and you blew me off. What if I was losing my mind? Huh? Or if it was Dylan—”

Iris cuts herself off, and at this angle, I can’t see her face. I do see the way her words sober up Cora, who goes from giddy to serious really quick.

Dylan, Dylan, Dylan. You definitely did something wrong.

“Is he still an issue?” Cora breathes.

“That is not the problem here,” Iris snaps. “The problem is you can’t just curse people for fun. Multiple people. You’re ruining lives! The hockey team is experiencing a tragedy from what I can tell. Unless all five of them appear all of a sudden, they are so far out of the run for nationals it’s not even funny.”

That sends my heart plummeting to my metaphorical feet. Iris said she doesn’t understand hockey so if she thinks we’re screwed…