Trevor

We were almost at the two week mark, much to Melina’s annoyance. I knew she wasn’t so much annoyed about us still getting along as she was about losing the bet. It hadn’t taken long to figure out Melina hated to lose. Even when we bet sexual favors, something she took great pleasure in both winning and losing, she always grumbled if she lost.

In the time she’d been at my house, we’d settled into a routine of sorts. It was hard to have a true routine with Melina’s schedule, which was more variable than usual lately. She’d explained that it was always like this while they were filming the season, but that things would settle down in the next month. Then, she’d mostly work from home on the scripts for the next season, meeting twice a week with the other writers and weekly with the director and producer. I was looking forward to that time. Melina didn’t believe she’d still be here, but I knew she would. What surprised me was how few people knew Melina was living with me. Other than my parents, Dylan’s parents, and the people at Night High, I didn’t think anyone knew. Apparently, my love life wasn’t nearly as big a topic of conversation as I’d thought it was.

I’d gotten up early to make Melina breakfast, something I did daily, even though that meant missing showering with my witch in the morning. I wasn’t completely missing out on shower fun with her; I just had to enjoy it at other times.

Making it to the two week mark tomorrow would be a big deal to me, and even though Melina hadn’t said anything, I knew she felt the same. Today, I was going all out with bacon, eggs, and waffles to remind her how good things were between us. The shower had turned off a few minutes ago, so I was expecting Melina. What I was not expecting was the front door to slam open, followed by my sister, Julia’s, voice.

“Trevor?” she called out. “Where are you? Please don’t tell me you have some bimbo in the kitchen cooking for you.”

I’d talked to Julia earlier in the week, but she hadn’t mentioned stopping by to see me. Julia walked into the kitchen at the same time as Melina, and it was no exaggeration to say my sister’s jaw dropped.

“You’re cooking!” Julia exclaimed, pointing to the bacon on the grill, and I almost laughed. Apparently, my cooking shocked her more than Melina’s presence.

I looked down at the bacon before flashing a sardonic smile. “I always said you were the most observant of my sisters.”

“Since when do you cook?” my annoying little sister asked.

“I cook,” I argued, giving her a warning glare. She was quickly moving down on my list of favorite sisters, now sitting at number three.

Julia snorted.

“When did you start cooking, Trevor?” Melina asked. “I’ve noticed your cooking keeps getting better, so I have to assume this is a recent skill.”

The most annoying thing happened; I felt myself blushing. “Annoying witches,” I grumbled, pulling the bacon off the grill before it burned.

My sister’s eyes looked like they were going to bug out of her head as she looked between me and Melina. “You learned to cook to impress Melina!” she screeched.

“Melina, this is my sister, Julia,” I introduced. “She’s an insufferable brat. Julia, this is Melina Blackwood.”

“We’ve met,” Melina told me.

“When?” I asked. Neither of them attended many council meetings, and they didn’t run in the same circles.

Now, it was apparently Julia’s turn to blush.

“I ran into Julia at Bliss,” Melina told me. “I was stopping by there on a regular basis before the wedding.”

“I still don’t understand why Julia was there,” I explained.

“She’s there all the time,” Melina replied. “Why are you so surprised that Allie’s partner would be at the office?”

The plate I’d been carrying to the breakfast bar slipped from my fingers, and I cursed as waffles, eggs, and bacon splattered across the floor.

“Did I forget to mention that?” Julia asked with a sweet smile.

“Have you told Mom and Dad?” I asked, knowing they weren’t going to be thrilled, which was partly my fault. I was the oldest, and I’d shunned the family business, but my parents had hung onto the belief that their daughters would follow in their footsteps. Julia was the most attune with the bonds of magic between couples. My father often said he’d never met anyone with such a natural gift. While I could sense them and knew when people were right for each other, I’d never been able to pick up the nuances in cases where it wasn’t as obvious the way Julia could. Julia taking a different path would not go over well with my parents.

“I told them this morning. That’s why I’m here,” she began. “I need a place to stay until I get an apartment. Before you ask, Mom and Dad did not kick me out, but I think it would be best to give them some space to process this. Mom seemed fine, but Dad freaked out a little.”

“When did this happen? Why am I just hearing about it?” I demanded, annoyed that my sister would drop this on me.

Melina moved to help me clean up the food and broken plate, reaching out a hand to pat my shoulder. “You’re just pissed that Julia didn’t ask your advice, aren’t you?”

“That’s ridiculous,” I scoffed before letting out a sigh. “Yeah, I’m pissed that my baby sister didn’t ask for my advice.”

Then both annoying women laughed at me. My scowl did nothing to lessen their laughter. “It’s not funny,” I grumbled, tossing the pieces of the broken plate into the trash.

“Actually, it is funny,” Julia insisted. “You do realize that I’m twenty-seven, don’t you?”

I let out a sigh and looked at my sister, trying to remind myself she was all grown up. That wasn’t as easy as one might think. Julia resembled my mother, with blonde hair resting at her delicate shoulders, pale blue eyes, and a heart-shaped face. Dressed in jeans and a much too tight sweater, she looked like an adult, but my mind kept going to memories of her as a gap-toothed little girl in mismatched shoes. Julia had thankfully outgrown her unfortunate tendency to lose her shoes. She’d followed me and Dylan around constantly when she was a kid, and I’d always pretended to be annoyed while secretly loving the fact that Julia idolized me. I still blame her for my ego being so big.

“I am so fucked if I have a daughter someday,” I muttered.

“I’d say she’ll be the one with problems,” Julia added.

When I looked over, I caught an almost wistful expression on Melina’s face, but she quickly masked it and gave me a stern look. “Don’t act like an ass about this, Trevor. Julia is an adult, and working with Allie is a good fit for her.”

“How could this possibly be a good fit for Julia?” I demanded. “Allie’s business involves creating sexual fantasies for couples. My baby sister doesn’t know anything about sex!”

Now, they were both looking at me like I was a moron.

“Even Dad didn’t say anything that stupid,” Julia told me with a huff. “I partnered with Allie so we could offer our services to a wider range of clientele.”

“Seriously, Julia, I’ve seen you with only a couple of boyfriends,” I sputtered. “What do you mean by catering to a wider range of clientele?”

That’s when I felt like an idiot, as well. In my defense, I never thought about my sisters having sex. Julia hadn’t had many boyfriends, but she’d had roommates—female roommates. Sure, I’d seen them kiss on the mouth, but it had been a quick peck on the lips, and girls did that, right? I really was an idiot.

“Do Mom and Dad know?” I asked.

“Know what, Trevor?” Julia’s lips twitched.

“That you’re a lesbian,” I explained.

“Bisexual,” she corrected me, “but most of my relationships have been with women. Of course, Mom and Dad know. I honestly thought you knew. How could you have missed it?”

“So, Katherine wasn’t just your roommate?” I asked.

Julia rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I introduced her as my girlfriend.”

“Women do that. It doesn’t mean they’re dating,” I argued. How could I have been this clueless?

“Does my sexual preference bother you?” Julia asked.

Thankfully, Melina answered for me, because I was still having trouble coming to terms with the fact that my sister had sex. It honestly didn’t matter who she had sex with; I hated it.

“Trevor’s upset that you have any preference involving sex,” Melina explained and handed me the plate I hadn’t dropped. “Why don’t you go eat breakfast? I’ll finish cleaning up and make something for me and Julia.”

“Are you worried about me?” I asked Melina.

She snorted. “Hardly. I just don’t want you to say something even more stupid to your sister. Go eat your food and call Dylan. He and Allie are on their way back today, so he’ll have time to talk.”

Feeling like I was being sent to my room, I grabbed my plate and left. Melina was right about talking to Dylan. At least, he’d be as shocked that Julia was working with Allie as I was.