Twice Bitten (Love, Lust & Magic #1)

Griff

As waited for the last play before halftime to begin, he pulled off his necklace and examined it in his hands. His mind raced back to Old Mother Madge’s comments about the Triad, his familiars, and the danger ahead.

“Pretty dang impressive seats for a freshman.” Darcy was still gone, so was surprised to hear someone striking up conversation. Instinctively, he tucked his necklace into his pocket and spun around to see Quinn in the aisle next to him.

“Oh, professor—I mean, Apollo, or, um, Quinn. It’s nice to see you.”

“Yes, that is indeed my full title and name. How’s it going, ?” Quinn politely asked as he cradled at least six bags of popcorn.

You know, maybe he knows something about all of this , the freshman thought to himself. “Things are good! I’m here with my roommate, Darcy, who I think is headed where you just were.”

“Oh, the popcorn, huh?” Quinn said with some humility. “Don’t judge me. I’m with a few of the other department faculty. Whoever isn’t on the tenure track yet has to fetch snacks for half-time, you see, and—you probably don’t want to hear all of that.”

“No judgment at all,” said with a smile. Should I ask him about—I don’t know—my necklace?

“Well, enjoy your night and stay safe, kid,” Quinn said with a wave.

“You, too!” waved back. Just as Quinn was out of earshot, got up the courage to call him back over. “Uh, hey, Quinn! I had a question about something related to your occult studies class and…”

As the crowd erupted, realized his attempt was moot. The professor was far from within earshot.

The screech of the stadium sound system finally calmed the crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen, our very own MHU Devils lead the game as we prepare to launch into our exquisite half-time show. Up next is the ceremonial crowning of the MHU homecoming king and queen, but first a quick kick of pep from our very own cheerleading team!”

“Oh, dang, did I miss anything?” a hurried Darcy asked as he returned with a handful of goodies from the concession stand, including popcorn of his own. “And do you mind extra butter?”

“No to both of those things,” said as the cheer team began their act.

“Excellent,” replied Darcy as he took his seat. “And this is all on me.”

thanked Darcy as he handed him a bag of popcorn. Adjusting in his seat, didn’t even realize that his necklace had fallen onto the bleacher and into Darcy’s line of sight.

“Oh, and these!” Darcy reached over and offered up a messy stack of paper napkins. As reached for them, Darcy bent over and grabbed for the chain.

“Good call,” said as he placed them in his lap. “Did you drop something?”

Darcy quickly pocketed something. “Oh, I thought I did, but no,” he said with a shrug. “So, uh, some cheer team, huh?”