Free Spellbound (the Spellbound Series Book 1) by Rene Lanausse Page A

someone that reminded me of them afterwards, I wouldn’t let them out of my sight. I reach my hand over the table and place it on top of Nick’s, since I can’t think of anything to say.
    Nick shifts his hand so that his fingers can interlock with mine, and continues quietly, “Anyway, that was what drove me to swear off of human blood. I didn’t want to become like the woman that killed Caroline. I didn’t want to become the monster everyone else saw when they looked at me.”
    I consider telling him that he’s not a monster to me, and never will be, but my food arrives, and the moment passes. Neither of us speaks another word about Nick’s past.
    After dinner, Nick and I cross a bridge that passes over the FDR Drive, to a pathway where pedestrians can walk along it. We walk half of the way to my apartment from there, then stop to rest for a while, both of us staring out onto the East River in a comfortable silence. The lights of the city seem to dance on the rippling water, and even though I’m freezing, I can’t think of a single place I’d rather be. I look over at Nick, and say, “Thank you for tonight. I had a lot of fun.”
    “Me too, we should do this again some time.”
    “Definitely. We should do something other than eat, though. I felt bad that you had to watch.”
    “Don’t worry about it. I still had a good time.”
    “You sure? It got depressing back there for a second.”
    “Yeah, it’s fine.” Nick turns to me, and smiles nervously. I feel my own lips twitch up in response, my heart rate going haywire as our eyes meet. From the way he’s looking at me, I can tell we’re both suffering from “should we kiss on the first date?” anxiety. The moment feels right, so when he raises an eyebrow, I give a small nod in response. Nick leans in most of the way, and I inch closer, and suddenly, our lips are making contact. I don’t know whether it’s the weather or Nick’s condition, but his lips are cold as polished stone. They’re every bit as soft as mine, though, and he pulls me closer, and I’m on the tips of my toes with my arms around his neck, and soon, his lips are as warm as mine.
    We reluctantly pull apart as a jogger runs past us, and I fight to suppress the silly grin spreading across my face. I didn’t know what to expect from my first kiss, but I know I enjoyed it. Nick can’t seem to contain himself either, and I lean in for another. As our lips touch again, I notice that a light snow is beginning to fall.
     

Chapter 9
    For the next few days, I keep forgetting that the date wasn’t a dream, and I grip the emerald pendant above my bed every morning, just to make sure that I’m still grounded in reality. The whole date plays over and over in my head, always culminating in the amazing first kiss I’d been too cynical to expect. If I close my eyes, I can still feel Nick’s lips on mine, a ghost of the experience itself. I want so badly to kiss him again the next time I see him, but when we meet after school on Monday, we just link hands and head for his place.
    Being around him feels… different. We’re still the same people, and we still act the same around each other as we always have. There’s just an extra layer of intimacy coating our relationship now, and it’s as if every moment with him is suddenly too short, though if I could will it, they would last forever. The closer we come to Nick’s building, that more I wish we could walk somewhere, anywhere else. But we eventually make it to our destination, and I know our short time alone must come to an end. We’re still holding hands when we walk through the door, though, and Krystal notices. She lets out a tiny sigh, but says nothing.
    When we make it up to the roof, I notice that there are a bunch of wooden targets scattered around. Krystal has me stand in the middle, and fire various pebbles at the targets at breakneck speed. This goes on for almost a week; Krystal won’t teach me any new spells until she’s