24. Daisy

CHAPTER 24

Daisy

A fter checking out, Daisy and Sloan brought their bags to their respective cars. Daisy picks at the skin on the side of her thumb again as she waits for Sloan to return. Looking up at the front of The Dandelion, she can admit that this weekend was a success. Challenging, yes, but still a success. And one she will most certainly be talking to Petra about when she gets home.

She senses Sloan's arrival before she appears, her magic practically reaching out for her like she did to Sloan in her sleep. She has no idea at what point during the night she curled herself around Sloan, but it wasn't exactly an unwelcome feeling when she awoke this morning. Their fingers interlaced, and her hot body pressed into her. It sent waves of heat to her core, and it took a lot of effort to avoid revisiting the moment from yesterday. Feeling Sloan on top of her, her hands roaming her body. Fucking Hecate, it was fabulous. Even if Daisy did preemptively end it.

"You ready?" Sloan asks, pulling her from her thoughts.

"Yes." Daisy clears her throat, trying and failing to regain her composure. "I was thinking we could go to Flaming Cauldron," Daisy suggests, pointing toward the restaurant up the street.

"That sounds great."

The walk is only a couple of blocks, but they remain silent for the duration. Daisy spends the entire walk trying to start a conversation, but all she can think about is Sloan's body pressed against hers. However, she doesn't feel that would be a suitable topic. So she keeps quiet, only glancing at Sloan periodically. Despite the silence, the short walk is oddly comfortable.

Sloan steps ahead of Daisy and opens the door for her. "Thank you," Daisy says, smiling at her.

"Welcome to Flaming Cauldron. Table for two?"

"Yes, please," Daisy answers.

The hostess looks down at her restaurant map, collects two menus, and instructs them to follow. "Your waitress will be Olive. She'll be around shortly," she says as she hands them their menus once they are seated.

"Thank you," they answer in unison.

They open their menus and continue the comfortable quiet as they peruse the items. Olive comes and takes their drink orders and disappears as quickly as she appeared.

"Have you been here before?" Sloan asks.

"Yeah, once," Daisy says flatly.

"How you say that sounds like it wasn't that great of an experience."

Daisy picks up her water, taking a long and slow slip. "With my ex. The night she decided to end things."

"Ah. Well, hopefully, this experience is a bit better," Sloan says, smiling back at her.

Olive returns, breaking their little conversation, and takes their orders. She's a bubbly one, seeming to flit from table to table. Daisy watches her, wondering if she is part fae or maybe pixie. She sees Sloan's head tilt slightly out of the corner of her eye, appearing curious about something. "Something wrong?" Daisy asks.

"Hmm?"

"It looked like you were watching me with concern."

"Oh. No. Sorry. I got lost in my thoughts as you followed Olive from table to table," Sloan clarifies.

"And what were you thinking about?" Daisy asks before she takes another sip.

"That your profile is breathtaking."

The world seems to stop. The bustling activity around them falls away, and Daisy has to ask Sloan to repeat what she said to be sure it is real. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said, your profile is breathtaking. I got lost in the curve of your nose and the rise of your lips, wondering what it would be like to feel them against mine. Here. Now."

Daisy's breath stops. She has never had anyone say anything like that to her. No one has ever said she was breathtaking or that they got lost in thoughts of her. "I…I don't even know what to say. Thank you."

"Here you are, ladies. Anything else I can get you?" Olive asks, punctuating the moment.

"No, thank you. This looks great," Sloan answers, while Daisy can only shake her head in response, still struck by Sloan's openness.

How this woman can be so infuriating and wonderful is beyond Daisy. She came into this weekend hating Sloan with every fiber of her being, and now she's ending it being nearly intoxicated by her. Her essence practically glows around her, drawing Daisy in further and further despite her effort to remain detached. She did everything she could this weekend to keep her distance, yet the universe kept pushing them together. Putting them in situations that caused them to become closer. She fought it as much as she could. But seeing this side of Sloan, this person who wasn't what she thought she was. This witch is continually pushing Daisy out of her comfort zone.

"Can I ask you something?" Daisy says cautiously.

"Sure."

"What do you know about power from grimoires?"

"Probably not as much as I should. Why?" Sloan asks, her gaze following the lines of Daisy's face as if she is trying to find some deeper meaning.

Using her fork, Daisy pushes some food around her plate, eyes practically boring a hole into the center of it all. Not having proper guardians to train her as a young witch has had its downsides, not the least being a lack of standard knowledge about traditions. "Well, I mentioned the other night that I recently acquired my family tome from some mystery gift-giver. It was after everything went down with my parents. I'm still unsure why the gift-giver felt I should have it. Anyway, I've bonded with it, and even though it's been a couple of weeks, as you may have noticed, I seem to be having challenges adjusting to the increased power. How long does the adjustment period go on for? When can I expect to be able to rely on my abilities again?" She sees something flash across Sloan's features, but then her expression steels again, hiding whatever is there.

"That's a good question. I think it's a bit different for everyone, and it can depend on your ability beforehand. A more well-trained witch will have an easier time with it."

Daisy nods, the answer making sense. She hung around Petra as much as she could when they were younger, hoping Gladys would pass on some of her skillset, but that wasn't how it worked out. While Gladys never shunned her, Daisy wasn't a priority, so she wasn't given the same attention and care Petra received. Witches are very protective of their magic and tend to believe that it falls under family secrets, so they do their best to keep their abilities to themselves.

Sloan takes her last bite, seemingly buying time to find the right words. She leans forward, reaching a hand out toward Daisy, but stops short of touching her. "I learned that the biggest part of it was being able to regulate your own emotions. As you know, our power is linked to us, including our feelings. So when we feel out of control, the magic responds in kind. You mentioned you've been having a rough time, so it would make sense that you've been facing challenges controlling an increased sense of power when it's added to the mix."

"Lately I've been all over the place emotionally, not knowing which way is up. But then I get this influx of power, and it's so wonderful but also unpredictable. I mean, I nearly set the hotel room on fire—thanks for fixing that, by the way—I get so flustered, and then I can't rein it in. It's frustrating."

"I understand. I struggled when I merged with my family grimoire too. While I wasn't dealing with the same things you are, I was almost rebelling against the power at first. I didn't like how it made me feel. I was almost power-hungry and constantly seeking an outlet, so I pushed back. I tried to reverse the merge, but it was too late, and as I quickly learned, it could not be undone. My mother was so angry. She kept yelling at me, saying things like ‘how could I disparage the family line that way' and that I ‘had no right to be taking on the Wilks power if I was going to be an ungrateful wench.'"

"She sounds pleasant," Daisy says sarcastically.

"She is… a formidable woman who has spent her life with expectations hanging over her head. She doesn't do well when she thinks we won't meet these ideals."

"Is that why you are trying to find something of your own?"

"Basically. I love her, but I can't stand the constant scrutiny anymore. I'm thirty-one, and I think I deserve not to have my mother questioning everything that I do and measuring it against some imaginary standard she has in her head. It's exhausting."

"It sounds it."

Daisy places her napkin on the table as Olive approaches with the bill. Sloan picks it up from the table before Daisy has a chance to even reach for it. "No, I can get it," Daisy protests.

"My treat. I want to celebrate what turned out to be a good weekend with a hopeful new friend and our new working relationship. You can get the next one."

"The next one?"

"I hope there will be another one," Sloan replies, that pretty pink hue appearing on her soft cheeks again.

"I think I can manage another one," Daisy replies, trying not to sound too hopeful. If Daisy is honest with herself, she is already looking forward to the next time she sees Sloan again.

"Wonderful."

With their bill paid, there is nothing more for them to do but head home. They walk back to The Dandelion in companionable silence again, as if neither of them wants this moment to end.

Daisy plays with the end of her sleeve, trying to think of some reason to stall, and Sloan looks around as if trying to find some reason to stay. Sloan finally breaks the now increasingly awkward silence when neither can find a solution. "Well, I should probably go. Thanks again for an interesting time."

"Thank you for coming."

"I'll text you, and we can arrange to meet sometime this week to work out more details for this event," Sloan says as she starts to turn away.

"That sounds good."

"Bye," Sloan replies, raising her hand awkwardly as if she has never done that before.

"Bye," Daisy responds softly, already missing her presence.