Free A Little Night Magic by Lucy March

door.
    “Hey.” He leaned against the doorjamb and looked down at me, his smile wide and genuine. “What’s up?”
    “I turned a phone into a bat.”
    His face registered something and he sniffed. “Liv? You didn’t accidentally fall in a vat of scotch again, did you?”
    “Not accidentally.” I stepped aside and grabbed Davina’s arm, pulling her up next to me. “Do you see this woman?”
    Tobias’s eyes landed on Davina, and cooled a bit. “Oh, yeah. Chocolate Belgian waffles, right?”
    “That’s me.” Davina’s voice was flat and unamused.
    “Okay, so you see her?” I asked. “She’s all … real, and everything?”
    “I see her.” Tobias focused on me, the distant expression in his face morphing into concern. “You okay?”
    “Could still be a tumor,” I muttered.
    “It’s not a tumor,” Davina said.
    “Well, of course you’d say that,” I said.
    Tobias kept his eyes on Davina for a moment longer, then turned to me, putting his hands on both my shoulders. “Liv? You okay?”
    “No,” I said. “I turned a phone into a bat .”
    “We’ve had a few drinks.” Davina reached her hand out to him. “I’m Davina Granville. Liv’s aunt.”
    Tobias held my eye for a moment before reaching out to take her hand. “Nice to meet you. Tobias Shoop.”
    “Davina’s the Women’s Ultimate Frisbee Champion, University of Louisiana, 1981.” I busted out into giggles. That seemed really funny to me all of a sudden.
    “Yeah. You’re cut off.” Tobias put his hand on my elbow and pulled me inside, then held the door open for Davina and jerked his head toward his apartment in invitation. “Come on. I’ll make you guys some coffee.”
    “I think I’m gonna go on home,” Davina said. “I’ve got some things to take care of. She should be okay with you, for tonight. You’ll keep her safe?”
    Tobias hesitated for a second, then said, “Yeah.”
    “I’ll see you tomorrow, Liv,” Davina said, then disappeared into the dusk.
    Tobias shut the door, double-checked that it was locked and turned to look at me, his eyes sharp and sober. “Liv?”
    “I’m sorry,” I said. “About the other day. The thing with Stacy, and … you know.” I rolled my eyes. “Just everything before that. I don’t want us to be mad at each other anymore.”
    He hesitated for a bit, watching me. I stayed frozen, barely breathing, waiting for him to just say something, damnit. But after all that hesitation, he just said, “Come on upstairs and I’ll make you some coffee.”
    He stepped back in the foyer to let me by, and I led the way up the stairwell to his apartment. I’d been there a few times, although usually we hung out at my place because it was bigger. It was one long open room, with finished walls all the way up to the top where they met in a steep angle, and dark-stained support beams spanning across overhead. Four window seats sat in the cutout windows on each side of the length, and bookcases filled every bit of wall space between them. At the north end was a wall that separated his bedroom and bathroom from the big kitchenette, living room, and dining area. All told, maybe eight hundred square feet. The perfect amount of space for one person. Or two.
    He grabbed a blanket off the back of his couch and wrapped it around my shoulders, then sat me down. The couch was really ugly, some kind of plain brown corduroy thing, but it was so soft and welcoming that I sank into it, sighing. Then he went to the kitchenette. I stared out the window at the streetlights while the coffee brewed, and it seemed like just seconds later when he was holding out a mug to me. Possibly, I may have nodded off for a minute.
    I took the mug and held it under my nose, breathing in the comforting scent. Tobias sat across from me on the old shipping trunk he used for a coffee table, rested his elbows on his knees, and looked at me.
    We sat in silence for a while, and he said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drunk