MAGIC - CELEBRITY

I woke up to many messages from my family lawyer, asking, demanding, and then begging me to call him. Given how I thought most of my active lawsuits and that divorce settlement issue were as dormant as they would ever get, I wasn't exactly sure why he was so desperate to reach me. Then again, sleeping in my dark, a ratty little flat, surrounded by magical apparatus, strange-smelling potions, and with boarded-up windows till the early afternoon wasn't the best habit. I was pretty close to depressed, to be honest: aimless. I tried doing things the right way with my ex-wife: ask her out, date her, get married, have unprotected sex, and so on. But then it all went to shit before the process could take, and I was left with no male heir, no one to continue the magical line. Finding another fertile young woman with the very picky family measurements for body type and the astrological profile was getting to be impossible.

I call him back while brushing my teeth, and he, after the pre-requisite shouting match about how I'm bringing the family name to ruin, tells me about this obligation I must fulfill, where I need to meet with a young Hollywood actress who's researching her role as a teen wizard. "Really, Jeffrey? I'm the dancing monkey for showbusiness now? What in fuck's name is a teen wizard?"

I shrug—anything to keep the rent flowing through. Dressing down in a black trench coat over my usual brown button-up shirt and slacks, I head downstairs and catch the subway just in time to make it to the shop before noon. It's a pale shadow of the great family establishment it used to be, frequented by the weirdest customers, barely paying enough for its own (and my) upkeep. But, it's been in the family for years, and it's home. I get in, opening the blinds just a little, adjusting the mood lighting, sweeping the floor, and waiting behind the plush, velvet counter for this... Kiernan Shipka to make her appearance.

SLICE OF LIFE - F/F

This beach holiday wasn't exactly going as planned. Being newly single was supposed to have all these perks, and I was excited to spend a few weeks soaking up the sun, meeting hot babes in their bikinis, and rotating them in and out of my hotel room at a clip fast enough to make the staff suspicious. None of that had happened so far. Instead, there was a lot of sitting around drinking and thinking about my ex and how cute she'd look in a bikini and all her messages about how livid she was that I'd stolen her favorite strapon that I'd been judiciously 'leaving on read' and letting accumulate for a couple of weeks now.

"Really?" I ask the guy handling the little beachside cocktail bar as I take a sip from my blue drink, sunglasses raised. "A school trip?"

The kids were running around in that mad way only teenagers do, and I smirk, turning away and deciding to head back to my room. That's when I see you standing up against the pier. Well, by you, I mean that pale, bikini-clad little ass glistening in the morning sun, which leads my eyes up to the cinched white T-shirt, which leads them further up to a mop of curly black hair that matches your pretty, dark eyes so well. I'm staring for a while before I smirk and start taking confident strides towards you, hips sashaying under my floral summer dress. I lean against the rail, a ways away from you, flipping my sunglasses up and watching you.

"A bit... torrid for a beach read, isn't it, my love?" My voice reaches across to make the first contact.