Witch World Read Online Free Page B

sitting beside me on my bed. “You all right, Jessie?” she asked softly.
    She had seen Jimmy’s face after all. She was concerned about me.
    I sat up quickly. “I’m fine. What time is it?”
    “Five.”
    “Five! Why did you let me sleep so long?”
    “You looked exhausted. Besides, the gang’s not getting together until six.”
    “Who exactly is the gang?”
    Alex continued to study me. “Not sure, whoever comes. But I’ve got some good news. You know how you said you wanted to see O ?”
    “Don’t tell me you got tickets?”
    “Six seats. Ted got them from a scalper. He says he doesn’t care who comes with us. He’s even volunteered not to go, in case you want to bring a date.”
    “Bullshit. He never said that.”
    Alex shrugged. “All right, I made that up. But he’s not stupid. He saw the way you and Jimmy were looking at each other.” She paused. “Can you tell me what happened?”
    “Later,” I said.
    I took a quick shower and put on the only dress I had brought—something short, black and sexy that Debbie had sewn for me for my birthday. She had designed it after a dresswe had seen on Project Runway —we were all addicted to the show. Debbie’s dress was even more inspired than the one on TV. She was a woman of many talents. A pity she kept most of them hidden.
    Our class was staying at the MGM, but our celebratory dinner was to take place at the Bellagio. It was supposed to have the best restaurants. Our reservations were for a high-priced Italian bistro but our class was no sooner gathered in the Bellagio lobby than an argument broke out. Half our gang didn’t like Italian—they wanted to eat elsewhere. On the surface that didn’t seem like a major problem. Unfortunately, as Debbie shouted over the bedlam, we had already promised the hotel a minimum of two hundred guests.
    “If we don’t all eat here, we lose our discount,” Debbie said.
    “How much is that?” someone demanded.
    “Forty percent,” Debbie replied.
    About fifty percent of our class didn’t give a damn. They split for other hotels. When we finally made it to the restaurant, the manager looked like he’d have a nervous breakdown when we told him we were missing half our entourage. He screamed at us in Italian, but since none of us spoke the language, it didn’t do much good.
    He had no choice, he had to seat us immediately. We were taking up the entire waiting area. Jimmy didn’t show, which hurt. I had told him where we were eating. Of course I had also told him to get out of my room.
    Ted sat beside me. He said he had not seen or heard from Jimmy. “He didn’t stop at your room?” I asked.
    “No,” Ted said.
    “Did you try calling his cell?”
    Ted looked annoyed. “I’m not his babysitter. I offered him a place to crash. If he doesn’t want it, that’s his business.”
    I touched Ted’s arm. “You’re right. Sorry.”
    Ted tried to act casual, and would have succeeded if he didn’t sound like he was choking on his next question. “You two back together?”
    “Absolutely not,” I said.
    The food was excellent. I had a pasta dish with shrimp. The cook had seasoned it with a fantastic mix of herbs. The incredible taste quickly improved my mood. By the end of the meal I was laughing with the rest of my class. It might have been the alcohol. Alex had flashed her fake ID and convinced our waiter we were teachers from Apple Valley High. He brought us two bottles of chilled wine that the outside heat caused us to polish off way too quickly.
    I cannot hold my liquor. Two glasses of anything above ten proof and I fall in love with the universe. Worse, the love created by my inebriated state usually wants to flow in a direction. And since kindhearted Ted was sitting beside me, I couldn’t stop thinking how he had gotten us O tickets and fake IDs, offered Jimmy a room, and broken into our minibar. . . . Why, I felt I just had to express my undying gratitude to him.
    I suddenly leaned over and kissed