It was nearing seven o'clock when Selene finally reached the Grove, dangling the keys in her hands as she walked in. Daniel was propped up against the counter, looking at some notebook in his hand. He nodded his head as he saw Selene approach. "I was wondering if you had forgotten."

"No, I just got caught up in the magic," Selene said teasingly, putting the keys in his hand. He grabbed them and stuffed them into the side pocket of his pants before retreating to the coffee machines. She watched as he moved about behind the counter, studying his every move. "Well, more honestly, I was a bit hung up on the fact that you left me alone in your house with your keys, even though I am a complete stranger."

"You are not a complete stranger," he said in rebuttal. "You are Selene Ferox, a passionate skinny vanilla latte drinker."

"And?" Selene asked, waiting for his logic to make sense. Then again, compared to all of the other things that had taken place in her life recently, this was probably the most logical.

"And an amateur writer," he added with a wink.

"That's not what I meant. What does my coffee order have to do with anything? You still do not know me," she countered. Selene waved her hand in the air, attempting to make him make sense.

Daniel simply rolled his eyes. "Selene, let's just take it like an aura connection."

"Hmph, auras," she said with an exasperated sigh. There was no way where she could believe her life would now be indebted in witchcraft and auras. It was physically, naturally, and scientifically impossible.

Daniel gave her a quizzical look, but did not say anything. He gave her space, continuing to do his job. The silence built between them as the sweet coffee aura misted the room. After a few minutes, he came over to Selene with a skinny vanilla latte.

"It's on the house," he mumbled, pushing it towards her.

Selene felt the warmth of the coffee spread across her face, as she reached out for it. Clutching the coffee in her hand, she gave him an equally gentle and shy smile. "Thank you, Daniel."

She pushed her bag onto the table and withdrew the spell book, feeling the leather spine so delicately. "Daniel, may I ask you something?"

"Of course," he said rationally.

"Do you know where your mother got this book from?"

"She got her things from a variety of garage sales, antique stores, things she found lying around unguarded, why?" he asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"I was looking through this and there are things that my mother and grandmother wrote in this. Perhaps they also had an interest in magic," Selene said, trying to avoid the whole I'm-a-witch conversation.

"Wow, maybe they went to some meeting or something together!" Daniel commented, his eyes illuminating in fascination.

"Maybe," Selene said quietly.

"Where are your mother and grandmother now, if you do not mind me asking?"

"After my grandmother died, my mother sort of went crazy and moved far away, cutting off all contact with my sisters and me," Selene explained briefly. She moved towards a specific page where her mother had written, showing him the signature. "Look here."

"If you want it, the book is yours. If you understand German, that is."

"I do. I grew up learning it from my grandmother and mom."

"Three guesses why," he remarked with a snarky smirk.

Selene humorously raised an eyebrow. "Yes, huge mystery."

He chuckled, his hand waving towards the direction of the book. "Well, it's yours. I have a bunch of things from my mom, but this one is definitely for you, considering it was written by your mother and grandmother."

"Thank you, Daniel, but you still have not answered my question," she stated with persistence striking through with her words.

He simply shrugged his shoulders, sheepishly glancing at her. "I guess that relationships are built on trust."

Selene's eyes fell to the floor with a pink hue popping into her cheeks. "People usually say that when talking of romantic relationships," she said, chuckling slightly, though the fear inside her was too strong.

Daniel held a similar fear, though he mustered together every ounce of courage inside him. "Well, we are both single."

Selene blushed even further. "Well, yes, we are."

"So," Daniel said, dragging out the 'o'. He began wiping down the counter, eying his surroundings. Only two other people besides from them were in the coffeehouse, and they were both occupied on their computers.

"So," Selene repeated with the slight nod of her head, not knowing where to go from there. She watched as the towel in his hand swiped back and forth on the surface. Once it was shiny and clean, Daniel put the supplies away and walked around the counter to stand next to her.

"So, why do we have to make this so difficult?" he asked, his voice lowering as he did so.

Selene raised an eyebrow, knowing exactly what he was getting at, but not wanting to seem too eager. "Make what difficult?"

"This. Us, I mean," he said, shuffling in spite of the confidence he tried to portray.

Selene allowed her lips to spread out into a tiny smile. "Us."

"You know I like you," he said bluntly.

She nodded. "And I like you."

"So?"

"So, why don't you just ask me on a date already?" Selene challenged him.

"Because you once said that you are married to your work," Daniel pointed out.

"I wouldn't mind having a guy on the side," she giggled.

Daniel merely rolled his eyes and reached for her hand, putting it in his. Selene stared down, mentally taking a picture of the locked hands.

"Tomorrow, nine o'clock, then?" Daniel asked, raising an eyebrow mysteriously.

Shock spiraled through her brain, as Selene wondered what to do next. Sure, she really liked him, but what if her powers did something funky and she was unable to control it? Wouldn't it be safer to just not risk anything?

Then again, if Selene did say no, how would she explain it? Daniel could, under no means, know about her witchcraft, if she was going to believe it.

She would simply just have to hope for the best.

"So, what are we doing?"

"I know a club. Meet me here and we will drive over?"

Selene nodded, mustering her own confidence. "I look forward to it."

********************

Author's Note:

Sorry for the lack of updates — school, life, and stupid feelings have kept me a bit occupied, haha.  I'm getting back on track, though!

Hope you enjoyed reading!

Lots of love,

Ali xoxo