Nova Nelson [Nelson - Old Haunts

With those first hot and sticky days of early May rolling through Eastwind, witches, weres, fauns, leprechauns and the like were making every excuse to remain indoors. And what better way to beat the heat than with a refreshing drink at the pub?

Some people liked to have a solid excuse for whiling away the hours in Sheehans Pub, but I never felt the need. I worked hard and when the day was up, so long as there wasnt any pressing ghostly business to attend to, I got to spend my days however I wanted. That was the rule, as far as I was concerned.

And if that free time included Donovan Stringfellow and a cold pint, even better.

It was Saturday night, and the stars had aligned (Id nudged some of them into place, if were being honest) just such that I had free time, a sweating pint of Sheehans finest ale in my hand, and my heart-stoppingly hot East Wind witch boyfriend by my side.

The pub was packed for the annual scufflepuck tournament. Fiona Sheehan and Kelley Sullivan, both of whom were managing to keep up with drink orders by the skin of their teeth, had cleared out all the tables and chairs in the main area, scooted the existing scufflepuck table into the middle of things, and added one more for good measure. If you didnt get a seat on one of the stools at the bar, it was standing room only.

Donovan and I didnt get seats at the bar. But that was okay because it gave us an excuse to stand shoulder to shoulder, his arm wrapped around me as we enjoyed cold drinks and observed some of the first-round play, waiting for our turn to compete.

Id missed the tournament last year, too busy juggling my time between waiting tables at Medium Rare, ogling my hot boss, and, oh yeah, adjusting to the new reality of being a witch who could see ghosts. That was a shame, though, because from what Id heard, Tanner was quite a lot of fun to be around during the event.

And yes, now Ive mentioned Tanner. I probably should have held off on that to convince you of just how well I was moving on.

Seriously! I was!

Itd been just about six months since hed disappeared, and, okay, fine, I still thought about him sometimes. What was he doing? Was he okay? Had he started a new life already? Did he think about me much?

The pain of losing him was still there, but not being one to do things only halfway, Id been working hard on the grieving process to speed things along. The sooner I moved on and accepted that my days no longer included him, the better my life would be. If that wasnt incentive, I dont know what would be.

Yes, I approach emotions with logic. And it mostly works.

But I knew that while I might stop feeling a dull ache in my chest when he came to mind, I would never forget he existed so long as I visited all the same places around town where we used to go.

Sheehans was a minefield in that sense. Wed created so many moments together here. This was where hed saved me from the witch trap set by a doppelgnger, where wed relaxed together after a shift, where wed where wed where wed

It was also where most of the trouble with Donovan and I had started.

Well, trouble at the time. Now it was more of an origin story for our relationship, which had been going shockingly well the last few months. I say shockingly because, well, you know Donovan. And you know me. And you know us.

He tightened his hold around my waist and leaned in. I might need you to do that darkness thing.

I leaned back and looked at him. What darkness thing?

You know, that thing you do where you take away all the light.

Quenching? I asked. You want me to Quench why?

He rocked his head side to side as he spoke. Just, you know, if were falling behind. When it was clear I wasnt following, he sighed and added, Whenever the other person is about to make their toss, you Quench the lights and maybe they miss.

I shook my head. Youre unbelievable. That would be using magic, and you know thats not allowed in the tournament.

He rolled his eyes. Yeah, I know that. But who here would even know what was happening? Have you done it in front of anyone?

Donovan, I did it in this very bar. Im sure some of the people here tonight were there that time, too.

You mean with Slash and Seamus and Lucent? I nodded, but he waved it off with his beer hand, causing a small splash to jump out over the lip of the mug. Half the people who were there that night have since been arrested, and the other half probably didnt know what hit them.

He had a point, but I had a card yet to play. Rubys right over there. She would know what was happening, and if you think she wouldnt report me to Liberty Freeman immediately, you dont know Ruby.

Donovan sighed. Okay, fine. No Quenching. But maybe you can show it off later, when its just you and me.

I groaned at his ridiculousness, but allowed him to kiss me. Well, allowed sounds like I didnt kiss him right back. I did. And why not? I was already a beer deep, it wasnt exactly a secret that he and I were together, and we were by no means the only couple getting a little handsy in Sheehans that night. Since it was a Saturday, a lot of the folks there had been drinking since the place opened that morning.

Hey, everyone has to let their hair down sometime, and when you live in such close proximity to beings as deadly as Eastwind held claim to, the need to relax only grew stronger.

Liberty Freeman called our names, and I broke the kiss to realize all eyes were on us. Oh shoot, I said. I guess were up.

Emagine Hopespring, who the town had warmed up to quite well over the past months, would officiate our match as Liberty managed the other table. Both genies were too powerful to participatepretty much everything they did had a touch of magic mixed in to the point where it was impossible for them to follow the no-magic regulation. So instead, they called the games, and that was probably better anywayturned out, Libertys charisma and ability to work a crowd was rivaled only by that of his now fiance.

Emagine ran through the house rules as a formality as Donovan and I moved to either end of the table. We were up against Landon Hawker and Grace Merryweather, and Donovan had called it an easy win for us. I wasnt so certain. Sure, Grace was ready to pop with a baby any minute and cared much more about finishing whatever book she was reading than socializing in Sheehans, but Landon had been playing this game against the best of the bestTed and Count Sebastian Malavicfor years. He presented a challenge.

They split up, and Landon came to stand on my side, which meant he and I would be going head-to-head each round, while Donovan and Grace competed for points on their end of the board.