Chapter 79 Chapter 79
“I told you not to move, stay where you are.” he said, glaring at her.
“Give me the flour now.”
“Nope,” he drawled, smirking confidently.
She hopped off the counter and reached her hand out to it, but he held it up in the air so that she couldn’t touch it. Jumping up, her fingertips nearly reached it, and yet it wasn’t enough. “I want the flour.” she yelled frantically, no longer paying attention to what was going on around her.
Again, she jumped, her fingertips finally reaching it and setting off a chain of events that would end in disaster.
Too focused on her, Maxwell lost his grip on the flour bag, and she managed to knock it from his hands. It went flying, and they were showered in its contents, most of it sticking to Maxwell’s hoodie and her hair. The rest fell on the floor and left a white cloud behind. Valerie cringed when she slipped on it, flailing about, but she couldn’t catch herself and lost her balance. Maxwell’s eyes widened seeing her tumbling towards him and knocking him down too. He had the sense to wrap his arms around her, shielding her body before they hit the ground. Now they were drenched in flour from top to bottom, her hair just as white as his.
She coughed and pushed herself up, climbing off him. “Damnit, demon! Look what you did.”
He seemed taken aback and also very offended, opening his mouth to give her a tirade. “That was entirely your fault. I didn’t do anything.”
“Oh yes, you wanted to kill my poor cake.”
He clicked his tongue, sitting up and flicking some flour off his now white hoodie.
“You look like a snowman,” she suddenly said and began to laugh uncontrollably, tears spilling from her eyes as she doubled over. “Hilarious.”
He couldn’t bring himself to complain, her laughter being contagious and prompting him to chuckle. “If I’m a snowman, then you’re a ghost.”
“I’m fine with that,” she grinned and got up, leaning against the counter and looking at the battlefield that was their kitchen. “I wonder who’s going to clean all that,” she said and pointed at Maxwell. “The snowman over there looks like he could help.”
“Not me.”
“But I thought you were a strong demon. Prove it.”
“What does my strength have to do with cleaning?”
“Everything. Use your amazing demon powers to make the kitchen spotless,” she said sarcastically, putting her hands on her hips.
“It doesn’t work like that,” he grumbled sourly.
“Let’s just do it together. We haven’t finished the cake yet either,” she sighed and walked off to get the vacuum cleaner. That should take care of the problem quickly. In the meantime, he used a cleaning rag to get the flour off the countertops, scrubbing over them until they were clean. It didn’t even take them fifteen minutes to get the kitchen back to its earlier state.
“That’s that. Now the cake…” she mumbled and glanced at Maxwell, who looked ridiculous, covered in flour. “Or maybe taking a shower first would be better…”
“I agree with that, let’s go,” he said and took her uninjured wrist to pull her towards the bathroom, but she dug her heels into the ground.
“What do you mean, let’s go? We’re not taking a shower together.”
“Yes, we are,” he smirked.
“You just want to see me naked,” she huffed under her breath.
“True,” he admitted shamelessly, her cheeks going red, “But it’s a two-way street. You get to see me naked, too. I know you want to, Valerie. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?” His seductive smirk flustered her to the point where she couldn’t look him in the eyes anymore.
“What did you just say? Don’t want cake? Okay, that can be arranged,” she said, and saw him stiffen.
“Buzzkill,” he grumbled and let go of her wrist to trudge towards the bathroom alone, sulking quietly.
“Pervert,” she whispered, but couldn’t hold in a soft smile. Maxwell surely was special…
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On Saturday afternoon, Valerie sat on the couch in the living room and once again tried to make use of the magic that was contained within her. She had practiced during the past days, but controlling the foreign new power wasn’t easy at all. Most of the time, she barely managed to create a pathetic little spark—it was frustrating.
She stared at her open palm and concentrated, trying to get a feeling for her magic. It was like a second heartbeat in her chest, pulsing faintly in its own rhythm. She wanted to create a shining orb in her hand, but her magic stayed locked within her and did not do what it was supposed to, no matter how hard she tried.
“Maybe I should do something else,” she uttered and continued her undertaking by staring at the bright lamp on the ceiling instead. She took a deep breath and concentrated on the light, attempting to control it using sheer willpower, but the light did not bend to her will. Nothing happened. The lamp didn’t turn off, didn’t even flicker.
“If you keep glaring at the lamp, it’s going to melt,” a haughty voice commented on her fruitless efforts, and caused her anger to resurface. “You’re doing it wrong again.”
“Oh, great. Could you help me out instead of mocking me?” she snapped, surly, hating that he saw her fail again and again. His dumb, smug smirk did nothing to ease the embarrassment.
“Sure, but you’ll need to calm down first,” he sighed and sat down next to her. He surprised her when he took her hand in a gentle hold, turning it so their flat palms were touching. Her anger faded, and curiosity took its place as she watched him with interest, not knowing what he intended to do. When she felt warmth seeping from his fingertips to hers, her eyes widened.
“Can you sense this?” he asked, tilting his head.
“Yes. What are you doing?”
“I’m sharing my magic with you. It might be easier for you to get the hang of controlling it if I’m giving you a jump start,” he explained. “Envision what you want the light to do.”