Fantasy Lover

Candles.

' 'You say it's your birthday,' ' Selena started singing as she pounded the floor like a bongo drum. ' 'It's my birthday, too.''

Grace swiped her head with a cushion, then giggled as her head buzzed from the wine.

'Grade?' Selena asked, her voice full of mirth. 'Are you tipsy?'

She giggled again. 'Maybe just comfortably toasty. Pop-Tart toasty.'

Selena laughed at Grace, and pulled the band from Grace's hair. 'Then are you willing to try a little experiment?'

'No!' Grace said emphatically, brushing her loose hair behind her ears. 'I don't want to Ouija, or do the pendulum thing, and I swear if I see one tarot card or rune stone I'll yack cupcake all over you.'

Biting her lower lip, Selena pulled the book off the table and flipped it open.

Five minutes to midnight.

She held the picture up for Grace's inspection and pointed to the incredible form. 'What about him?'

Grace looked at it and smiled. 'He is yummy, isn't he?'

Well, that was definitely progress. Selena couldn't remember the last time Grace had complimented a guy's looks. She waved the book teasingly before Grace's face.

'C'mon, Grade. Admit it You want this handsome guy.'

'If I said I wouldn't toss him out of my bed for eating crackers, would you leave me alone?'

'Maybe. What else wouldn't you toss him out of bed for?'

She rolled her eyes and laid her head down on the pillow. 'Eating greasy grimy gopher guts?'

'Now I think I'm going to yack.'

'Watch the movie.'

'Only if you'll try this one itty-bitty chant.'

Grace raised her head and sighed. She knew better than to argue with Selena-she had that look. And nothing short of a meteorite crashing through the house would make her stop until she got her way.

Besides, what was the harm? She'd learned years ago that nothing ever came of Selena's silly chants and spells. 'All right. If it'll ease your pain, I'll do it.'

'Yay!' Selena said, grabbing her arm and pulling her to her feet. 'We need to go out to the deck.'

'Fine, but I'm not ripping the head off a voodoo chicken or drinking anything disgusting.'

Feeling like a kid at a sleepover who had lost a truth-or-dare contest, Grace allowed Selena to pull her outside her sliding glass door. The damp air filled her lungs as crickets chirped, and a thousand stars twinkled above them. Grace supposed it was a beautiful night to summon a love-slave.

She snickered at the thought.

'What do you want me to do?' she asked Selena. 'Wish on some planet?'

Shaking her head, Selena moved her to stand in the circle of moonlight where it fell over the eaves of her roof. Selena handed her the opened book. 'Hold this to your breast.'

'Oh, baby,' Grace said in mock desire as she cuddled the book to her chest like a lover. 'You make me so hot and horny. I just can't wait to sink my teeth into that wonderful body of yours.'

Selena laughed. 'Stop it. This is serious!'

'Serious? Please. I'm standing out here on my twenty-ninth birthday, barefoot and in jeans my mother would bum, holding a stupid book to my chest in an effort to summon a Greek love-slave from the great beyond.' She looked at Selena. 'I only know one way to make this even more ridiculous…'

Grace held the book in one hand, opened her arms wide, tipped her head back, and implored the dark sky above, 'Oh, take me, great gorgeous love-slave and have your wicked way with me. I command you to rise' she said, wagging her eyebrows.

Selena snorted. 'That's not how you do it. You have to say his name three times.'

Grace straightened up. 'Love-slave, love-slave, love-slave.'

Her hands on her hips, Selena glared at her. 'Julian of Macedon.'

'Oh, sorry.' Grace hugged the book to her breast and closed her eyes. 'Come and ease my aching loins, O great Julian of Macedon, Julian of Macedon, Julian of Macedon.'

She looked back at Selena. 'You know, that's hard to say three times fast.'

But Selena wasn't paying a bit of attention to her. She was busy looking around for the appearance of a handsome Greek stranger.

Grace rolled her eyes again as a subtle wind swept across the yard and a faint scent of sandalwood wafted around them. Grace took a second to savor the pleasant smell before it evaporated and the breeze settled down to the hot, thick air that was so common on an August night.

All of a sudden, there was a faint sound in her backyard. A small rustle of leaves coming from the shrubs.

Cocking her brow, Grace looked to the bushes that were swaying.

Then, the imp in her took over. 'Oh, my God,' Grace breathed, pointing toward a bush in the backyard. 'Selena, look over there!'

Selena turned around in a hurry at her excited gesture. A tall shrub swayed as if someone were behind it.

'Julian?' Selena called.

Selena took a step closer.

The tree bent over. Suddenly, a hiss and a meow sounded an instant before two cats darted off across the backyard.

'Look, Lanie, it's Mr. Tomcat come to save me from my celibacy.' Cradling the book in one arm, Grace lifted the back of her hand to her brow in a feigned swoon. 'Oh, help me, Moon Mistress. Whatever am I to do with the attentions of such an unwanted suitor! Help me quick, before he kills me with my allergies.'

'Give me that book,' Selena snapped, snatching it from her chest. She headed back into the house while she flipped through its pages. 'Dammit, what did I do wrong?'

Grace slid open her door to let Selena back into the cool house. 'You didn't do anything wrong, hon. It's a farce. How many times do I have to tell you that some little old man sits in a back room somewhere making all this stuff up? I'll bet he's laughing his head off right now that we were dumb enough-'

'Maybe there was something else we needed to do. I'll bet there's something in the first few paragraphs that I can't read. That must be it.'

Grace locked the sliding glass door and begged for patience. And Selena calls me stubborn.

The phone rang. Answering it, Grace heard Bill's voice asking for Selena.

'It's for you,' she said, handing the phone over to her friend.

Selena took it. 'Yeah?' She paused for several minutes and Grace could hear his excited chatter. By the sudden pallor of Selena's features, she could tell something had happened.

'Okay, okay. I'll be right home. Are you sure you're all right? Okay, I love you. I'm on my way-don't try and do anything until I get there.'

A horrible stab of fear knotted Grace's stomach tight. Over and over, she saw the policeman at her dorm room door, heard his dispassionate voice: I'm sorry to inform you…

'What is it?' Grace asked.

'Bill fell while they were playing basketball and broke his arm.'

She released her breath in relief. Thank God, it wasn't a car wreck. 'Is he all right?'

'He said so. His friends took him to a doc-in-the-box and had it X-rayed before they dropped him off. He told me not to worry, but I think I better get on home.'

'You want me to drive you?'

Selena shook her head. 'No, unlike me you've had one too many glasses of wine. Besides, I'm sure it's nothing serious. You know what a worrywart I am. You stay here and enjoy the rest of your movie. I'll call you tomorrow morning.'

'Okay. Let me know how he's doing.'

Selena gathered up her bag and dug out her keys. As she started out the door, she paused and handed the book back to Grace. 'What the hell. Keep it. It should give you a good laugh for the next few days while you remember what an idiot I am.'