A Lesson in Magic (by Kit Bryan) novel Chapter 60

Lesson 60- It’s important to wear clean socks and underwear.

“Laundry?” He repeats. I nod eagerly.

“Yeah, laundry. I need to wash my clothes, but I can’t go anywhere and there’s no washer here.” I point out. I was just trying to give an answer, but this is an actual concern of mine. I’m almost out of clothes. I’ve worn almost everything that Laura got for me. I’ve ordered a few more items which should arrive soon, but I still need to wash stuff. Torin frowns.

“Oh… I could get you a washing machine.” He says thoughtfully and I roll my eyes.

“Torin, there is no way you’re fitting a washing machine in here anywhere, that won’t work. It’s going to have to be washed elsewhere.” I decide. He nods

slowly,

“Alright, just… Leave whatever you want washed by the back door. I’ll arrange to get it cleaned tomorrow.” I promises and I smile.

“Thanks Tori.” I say affectionately, then freeze up again. Damn, okay. Even I could hear the hint of flirtatiousness in my tone just now. I AM flirting with him, even if I don’t always realise it. Shit. That isn’t fair on either of us. I need to stop. I didn’t realise my self control was so poor. I’m not usually a very flirty person. Friendly, sure, but not flirty. How am I supposed to know the difference? Maybe I should just reel it back with Torin entirely. I can be polite and friendly without being TOO friendly… Right?

The door swings open and Laura wanders in.

“Oh, there you are! I was wondering if you were in Torin’s office again since you weren’t in your room.” She explains. I jump to my feet, suddenly uncomfortable. What if she thinks this was a date? I don’t want to look like it’s a date. I can’t let this happen. I rush past Laura and head to my room.

“I need to sort my laundry.” I call out as I rush away, leaving Torin and Laura to stare after me.

I spend a minute in my room calming down. Now I have to figure out how to act again. I’m weirdly aware of my every action and it’s super uncomfortable. I’m overthinking everything. At least Laura is here tonight. She makes a great buffer. I DO sort my laundry and drop the hamper of dirty clothes by the back door. It feels weird to let someone else do my laundry, but I don’t really have a choice. Then I head back to the bar to help Laura set up.

“So, how is Kyle?” I ask as we set up. I have to fight the urge to tease her.

“He’s doing a lot better. To be honest, he wanted to come to work today. But he still has a nasty headache, so I convinced him to give it at LEAST one more day.” She explains.

“That’s good. I’m glad he listened to you.” I tell her honestly. She nods distractedly as she looks over the records from yesterday.

“A bit of a light evening last night. Was it not so busy after all?” She questions and I shrug.

“We ended up having to close early due to a fight. That’s probably it.” I explain.

“Oh, that makes sense. Oh well. I’m sure tonight will be much easier with us both here.” She says happily and I nod. I am definitely grateful to have her

here right now.

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