First Magic by Raven Steele (ebook reader screen txt) 📖

A breath of air conditioning ruffled my hair as I walked inside. I felt bad I hadn’t thought of May’s improbability of being a Vyken sooner. My summer would’ve been so much more fun than running the mountain every day or gaming with Uncle Jake, something I could only stand for maybe an hour.

We stepped up to the counter to place our order. A cashier with red curly hair stared at us expectantly.

May narrowed her eyes at me. “I’m going to order for the both of us and guess what you’ll like. It will be a good way to get to know you.”

I laughed. “Have at it.”

It wouldn’t be difficult. With my crazy energy, I burned through lots of calories and often ate whatever I could get my hands on.

“We’ll get two double bacon burgers with curly fries and two sides of ranch. Oh, and two large root beers.”

The clerk pressed some buttons while May handed him money.

“Hey, May,” a male voice called. “Come eat with us.”

I whirled around to see who had called the invitation. I groaned when I spotted Adam and his friends.

May glanced behind her. “Be there in a sec.” She turned to me. “I’ll wait for the food. Go ahead and sit with them.”

I looked for an empty table by the window. “Actually I’m going to eat over there.”

May let out an exaggerated sigh. “You can’t be serious? Just go over and sit down. It’s not a big deal.”

“You know how it is with me. Let’s keep it that way.”

“Ugh, but we’re best friends now, right? Didn’t I just order your favorite food?”

I smiled warily. “You did awesome, but it’s important I keep my circle of friends very small. Can we hang out later?”

“We can hang now. I’ll sit with you.”

I held up my hand. “Go sit with Adam. I know you like him and,” my eyes darted to the back of the restaurant, “by the way he keeps looking at you, he likes you too.”

When she didn’t respond, I shifted my gaze to the lone table I’d spotted earlier. Sunlight spilled in from the window, encasing the two-top as if it were in its own single world. “Seriously. I’m cool.”

She exhaled a breath. “All right, but if you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

After we split ways, I set my tray down and slid into the seat. I really didn’t mind eating alone; it was something I was used to. I closed my eyes and let the light from the sun warm my skin.

“Why don’t you come over and join us?” a gentle voice asked.

I opened my eyes and blinked once, twice, three times. I stared at the guy standing across from me as if I could see right through him. Christian. His eyebrows arched slightly, almost hopeful.

I lowered my gaze, my pulse racing. People didn’t approach me. Ever. I’m not the approachable type, which meant this guy was up to something.

“I’m Christian.” He held out his hand. His skin was light bronze like a perfectly baked cookie right out of a hot oven. I didn’t reach for it, as appetizing as it looked. Instead, I sucked from my straw and pretended he wasn’t breathtakingly hot.

Thoughts like that could get me killed. Make me let my guard down.

Christian cleared his throat and shifted his weight. I wasn’t making this easy on him. I just couldn’t figure out why he was talking to me.

He asked again, “Will you join us?”

I swallowed. Cool liquid slid down my throat and hit my stomach. The shock of it helped me find my voice. “I appreciate the offer, but I’ll just eat here in the sun.”

He nodded thoughtfully. A red car blaring rap music drove away from the drive-thru window; the bass shook the glass. He waited for it to pass before he asked, “What if I joined you?”

“Why would you want to?” I blurted before I had a chance to think how that might sound.

Christian didn’t miss a beat. “Because I like it here, too. There’s something about the sun’s light here.” He looked up and out the window toward the sky. “It’s peaceful and warm, like lying in a boat in the middle of a perfectly still lake.”

His words chilled my blood while my abdomen warmed a delicious heat. The contradicting emotions left me thoughtless. I’d never heard anyone speak about light that way. I didn’t know if I should be impressed or frightened.

Christian grimaced. “That sounded stupid. Sometimes I say lame things. Adam’s always giving me a hard time.”

“Have you known Adam long?” If he was going to stick around, I might as well get him talking. Figure out his angle.

Christian looked back to where he’d been sitting. “Hold that question. Let me get my food.”

I watched him walk away, scrutinizing his back side carefully, while I bit into my cheeseburger. I tilted my head so I could hear what he was going to say to his friends.

Ultra-sensitive hearing is another trait I’d inherited, but not from my mother. My father had joked that it was the only useful thing he’d given me. Whenever I asked where he got his good hearing from, he’d simply shrug and flash me a mischievous grin.

“Later guys,” he said. “I’m eating with Llona.”

“Why?” Mike spat with a mouth full of food. I practically heard hamburger chunks spray from his mouth and hit the table.

“She seems cool,” Christian said. The sound of his tray sliding against the table echoed over his voice as he picked it up.

“You don’t want to know her, trust me," Mike said. "She acts like my crack-head brother."

I gritted my teeth. Great. Now I’m being compared to a druggie.

“She does not,” May’s voice defended. “She’s one of the nicest people I know.”

“What about me?” Adam asked.

“See you guys later,” Christian told them.

Having great hearing had its perks, but there were times I wished I were deaf.

Christian returned to my table and sat down. “Adam’s my cousin."

I swallowed the bite in my mouth. “Huh?”

He unwrapped his chicken sandwich. “You asked me how I knew Adam. He’s my cousin on my mother’s side. We used to hang out a lot before his family moved here four years ago.”

“Oh.”

“What about you? Do you have family around?”

Yikes. Personal questions. Definitely not a direction I wanted to go. I shrugged. “Not much. So May tells me you’re going to be the new quarterback?”

He shrugged. “I guess. I told coach I’d play whatever position, but he wouldn’t hear of it. Alex is pretty mad.”

“He’ll get over it. Why did you move here?” A fly buzzed near my face. I flicked my wrist at it.

“My dad’s work.”

“What does he do?” I swiped at the fly again when it landed on my arm.

“He buys businesses that are in trouble and then makes them profitable again. Something like that. I’m not real sure.”

“What about your mom?”

His eyes fell; the color changed to a melancholy blue, the shade of great sadness. I recognized it because I’d seen the same color in my own eyes.

“She died when I was three. Cancer. My dad never remarried.”

I stopped a french-fry moving to my mouth. Suddenly I wasn’t