Be My Valentine

Valentine's Blind Date - Karmen Kramer

Valentine’s Blind Date

Song: Bill Withers, Just the Two of Us

Selene walks into her favourite bar. She is supposed to meet her older sister Nina here, but she is nowhere to be seen. Nina makes appointments, but very seldom does she meet one. Unless it’s with one of their Aunts, or Uncle. That girl has martial arts on her mind more than their heritage. Being a witch is the best thing that could have happened to them, but Nina doesn’t think so. Even with her superior powers, she rarely uses magic. Selene loves magic, though. She uses it daily to cheat on tests. Peaking into the professor’s mind is much faster than reading all those boring books. It also gives her more time to learn real spells.

A tingle runs down her spine. The feeling is both familiar and new at the same time. It feels like her sister, but also not. She looks around the crowd, but to her chagrin, her sister is not here. Why does she feel this familiarity though? Something has triggered her senses. A family member that she doesn’t know? One of her cousins maybe? What’s with the weird decorations today? Her mind wanders around the bar with her body still at the door. What day is it? The hearts and teddy bears are suspicious. Not to mention the soft rock ballads.

“It’s Valentine’s day, if that’s what you’re wondering about,” a soft voice intrudes on her thoughts. It’s deep, and it resonates with her blood. The person it belongs to is standing next to her. A good head taller and blond. His sculpted features remind her of a statue.

“Ah. I forgot,” she answers. Selene has never seen the appeal of this holiday.

“Nina’s description didn’t do you justice, but she did give me a picture,” he tells her.

“Another set-up? I’ll pluck her feathers for this,” Selene grumbles. She is tired of everyone sending her on blind dates. When the right guy comes along she will date him, but not before.

“Don’t,” he smiles at her. The smile is mesmerising. What is with this guy? Why does he affect her?

“Who are you?” Selene inquiries. She is naturally weary of strangers, but this one makes her tingle. There are no warning signs.

“Ian McNally. Nina is my classmate,” he answers. “Let me at least buy you a drink?”

“One drink,” Selene nods. “But, you stop talking about Nina.”

“Easy. I think you are much more interesting,” Ian smiles again. He takes her hand to guide her to the bar.

Damn! Another smile from him and she is toast. He makes her blood boil. Her brain is mush and she can’t concentrate on anything but that smile. She’s been looking at him for the past few minutes, but she can’t even tell what colour his eyes are. She could have sworn he’s a supernatural of some kind, because no human has ever had that kind of effect on her. Is he the one? What are the odds of meeting him? Close to nothing. But, it’s Nina’s doing. Has her sister used magic? Looking at his broad back, she uses a simple spell to see his aura. There is no magic on him whatsoever, but his aura shines bright green. There is some supernatural blood in him. Interesting. Is that why she resonates with him?

“Where are you from?” Selene asks when they get their beer. And he ordered a basket of fish and chips, too. A generous guy.

“Dublin. We moved here a few years back when my mom got a fancy job in London,” Ian tells her.

“I see you’re so excited about London,” she chuckles.

“You know what the best part is?” Ian’s smile gets radiant. “Oxford.”

“Oxford is not a part of London,” Selene shakes her head at him.

“I know. But, it’s close enough to see mom on weekends,” he glances down at his hands when he says it. Adorable. Shy at the mention of his mother.

“Nothing wrong with it. I still go home every weekend to pester my mom,” she admits. Telling him exactly why she does it is another thing.

“So, we do have something in common!” He exclaims happily.

“I guess,” Selene smiles at him. This one is easy to talk to. And getting more adorable with every passing minute. The tingles are still there, too.

“What kind of music do you like?” He asks her.

“Rock, mostly,” Selene answers. Maybe they should stick to a safe topic? “You?”

“Me too. But I listen to every kind of music,” Ian nods. If they keep this up, they will find more that they have in common. She kind of likes it.

Is this real? She’s not asleep, is she? Selene carefully pinches her arm. It hurts! It’s real. Who would have guessed that Nina would find the one for her after four years of forced blind dates? But it still looks too good to be true. There must be a catch to this. Nothing in life has ever come easy for Selene. Why would a guy that fits her perfectly just drop from the sky? It has a classic signature of one of Nina’s pranks. But, the tingles!

“Where did you wander off to?” Ian nudges her lightly.

“Life choices, pranks, Nina, fate? You choose,” she chuckles. “I was just thinking that today is strange in more ways than normally.”

“You don’t trust Nina?” Ian inquires. “I find her a mystery, but I never question her. She tends to be right.”

“You are not related to her,” Selene shakes her head. She said it first. She brought up her sister even though she said it’s a deal breaker.

“No. But, she was right this time. I like you,” Ian leans closer to her. “I like you very much.”

The tingles are back. She can’t stand them, so she leans a bit closer to close the gap between them. His touch is not repulsive. It’s hot. When their lips finally meet, she is on fire. It’s not her first kiss, but it’s the first that counts. The fireworks going off in her blood only confirm her theory. He’s the one. She has been waiting long enough to finally be complete. Selene is in heaven, even though it feels hot as hell.

The author details are just below. As a fun extra we have a spotify playlist! Each author chose a song for their piece. Does this short story remind you of a song? Or is there a romantic song that captures your heart? Leave a song and artist in the comments and (if it’s on spotify) it will be added to the play list.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3MzSpfjmyNcnmetBtLfl9N?si=76bbd16a3e0f4bc1

Author Pen name: Karmen Kramer

Author Works: Gods of Old, Wolves of Milano, Sacrificed to the Dragon, Survival Island (reality show)- Dreame, The story of the Fallen - Dreame, Inkitt. The Moon Goddess sorority and Alpha’s Quest - Am.az.on.

Author groups/websites/pages:

Author page: https://www.fac.e.book.com/karmenkramerauthor

Dreame: https://m.dreame.com/user/concern?authorld=NZU1wWfTRxdSL4qaFO3dSw%3D%3D

Amazon: https://www.ama.z.on.com/Karmen-Kramer/e/B0BGMHMX1X?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1667762597&sr=1-1