Spellbound: A magical sequel to Bewitched Read Free Page B

had a date last night in fact.”
    His sharp inhale surprises me. “Good, good. Is she from Salem?”
    “No, Central Mass. Small town.” I resist telling him more about Madison. His sudden interest in my life doesn’t sit right with me.  
    “Wonderful. She sounds like a nice girl.”
    Based on the location of her hometown? “She is.”
    “Excellent. Bring her to Boston for dinner sometime. I’m late for a meeting. Nice catching up with you. Keep out of trouble.”  
    The meaning between his words is to keep away from magic. He’s drilled his warnings into my head for years. “Okay. You too—”  
    The call ends. I stare at my phone in disbelief as I climb the stairs in the middle of the quad. “Asshole.”  
    Because I’m not looking where I’m going, I run into someone.  
    “Whoa, who you calling an asshole?”
    Hamilton.
    “Sorry. I didn’t see you,” I mumble
    He does the head-bob hello. “Wildes. How’s it going, dude?”  
    On the list of all the people in the world I don’t want to speak to this morning Luke Hamilton only trails behind my father. Unlike the famous Broadway musical, no one wants to see this Hamilton. The two of them have shattered the happy haze I’ve been walking around in since last night’s date with Madison. We’d probably still be kissing outside her dorm if the rain hadn’t returned and soaked us. Turns out, I’m not very good at multi-tasking and focusing on a spell while kissing Madison. Things to work on. We’ll have to practice next time it rains.
    “Hamilton.” I attempt to move around him, but he doesn’t budge. He doesn’t even do the sidestep most people would do. He’s the worst kind of guy on campus. Arrogant and cocky, he’s so full of himself he usually sucks the air out of any room he occupies while simultaneously lowering the collective IQ. He’s a walking black hole of testosterone filled dudeness. He’s a guyhole. I’m not even sure what he’s doing at this small college. He seems better suited for running in large packs of similar guys at big state schools. Or so I imagine.
    Instead of moving along, he stops right in front of me, blocking my path on the stairs.
    He’s still speaking. “Hey man. Wicked cool Halloween party.”
    “Um, thanks? You should tell Tate. His house, his party.”
    “Oh, I will. So many sweet Betties there.” He nods and slaps my shoulder as if I’ve agreed with him.  
    I assume “Betties” is some cool slang I don’t know. I don’t bother asking.
    He’s doing nothing for my bad mood after speaking with my father.
    “Something I can do for you?” I’m about to walk away from this fascinating exchange when something red on his wrist catches my eye. Reaching out to grab his sleeve, I point at the exposed skin. “Where did you get that?”
    He lifts his hand and pulls at the red ribbon, twisting it to show me the familiar silver heart. “Madison gave it to me.”
    I arch my left eyebrow. “Oh really?”
    “Yeah.”
    “She handed it to you and told you it was a present? From her to you?”
    “No.” He manages to look more confused than usual. “She pulled a total Cinderella move. Dropped it and disappeared. At least it’s not her shoe. I’m not one of those weirdo guys who are into wearing girls’ shoes.”
    His fairy tale logic surprises me. I’ve never pegged him for a princess fan. Or a guy with a foot fetish. Then again, I’ve never given him much thought at all.  
    “Right. Does she know you have it?”  
    “She told me to keep it.” He flattens his tongue inside his lower lip. It makes him look like a frog, a lying frog.
    “How’d you explain it to your girlfriend?”  
    “No chain on these balls.” He unnecessarily gestures to his crotch. “Between us, after Halloween I realized that Madison is the one for me.”
    “No she isn’t. Most definitely not.” I realize I’ve taken a step forward into his personal space.
    “Not really for you to say, is it? She gave me her