He smiled. "Needless to say, I'm glad you took the job offer."
"So am I." And as I said it, I realized I meant it. I'd refused the opportunity to leave, but I hadn't thought much about whether I was glad this chance had come my way.
Now I couldn't imagine my life without Owen, Merlin, Rod, and all the others in it, without understanding why I saw such strange things. Sure, it complicated the rest of my life, and I hated not being able to tell anyone about everything happening to me, but that was a small price to pay to be part of something so truly incredible.
"Have a good weekend," he said softly, still looking me in the eye and not blushing at all.
"You, too!" I called out, then cursed myself. I doubted he'd be having much fun.
"Get plenty of rest," I hurried to add before I turned and headed home.
So, that was that. I convinced myself once and for all that Owen wasn't interested in me as anything other than a friend. That wasn't the end of the world. I could cope with having someone like him as a friend, and at least he wasn't chasing every other woman in sight, getting into a miserable relationship and then complaining about his girlfriend to me, like so many of the guys who'd just wanted me as a friend had done in the past. After this morning, I wasn't so sure I really wanted to be more than friends myself. He was gorgeous, nice, kind, brilliant, and all that, but I wouldn't in a million years place him at my family's dinner table for Thanksgiving. That kind of power was frightening. I could only imagine what he'd do if my brothers picked on him, which they were bound to do.
The phone was ringing as I opened the door to my apartment. It was Ethan. "I was just making sure you got home okay. And Owen, too."
"I just left him at his place. He swears he'll be fine."
"That was something else this morning, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, I guess it was. Sorry you got thrown in the deep end so quickly. I at least had the chance to ease into things."
"Well, now I know I'm not crazy. Or am I?"
"Don't ask me. If you're crazy, then I'm just as nutty." He laughed. "Nice to know I'm not alone in this. Anyway, I wanted to see if you would like to try that date thing again, and I promise not to freak out on you. I'd assume that fewer weird things would happen this time."
"Don't count on it. Ever since I got caught up in all this, things just seem to keep getting weirder. It comes with the territory. But now you know more what to expect." Then I thought about his date offer. He wasn't Owen, but I'd decided that Owen would have to remain a nonissue. Meanwhile, Ethan wasn't bad at all. He was cute, nice, funny, and smart, and he was just like me in so many ways. It might be nice to be with someone who saw the same things I did but who wasn't likely to make things appear out of thin air. I could definitely take him home, and lawyer was a job title my parents would understand a lot better than wizard. "As for dinner sometime, that sounds great," I said at last. "But would you mind if we wait until next weekend? I'm not sure I'm up to anything but collapsing right now."
"How does next Saturday sound?"
"It sounds good."
"Great. I'm sure I'll see you around the office, so we can firm things up next week."
After I got off the phone, I took a long, hot shower. It was nice not to have to worry about two roommates who also needed to get into the bathroom. Then I dried my hair and got dressed. In spite of all that had happened already that day, it was still early afternoon, and I was too wired to nap. I got out of my jeans, put on some work-appropriate clothes, and headed to the subway station to go back to the office.
If I stayed at home, I'd just think. At work, I could get things in order so Monday wouldn't be such a pain.
In the middle of the afternoon the platform wasn't nearly as crowded as during rush hours, but it was far from deserted. There were a few tourists, some students in outfits that made them look weirder than anything I'd seen in the halls of MSI, and a street performer. There was a fairy I recognized vaguely from work waiting for the train as well, but I just nodded to her and focused my amused staring on the students, who were definitely sacrificing fashion and good looks to youthful rebellion.
Finally, a train arrived and we all got on board. I was lucky enough to get a seat, so I pulled my book out of my bag and read. As the train made its way farther downtown, I heard a chicken squawk and looked up. That same chicken man was making his way through the subway, trying to pass out flyers. This time I shared an