ELEVEN | TWISTED GUTS

Jenna POV

All I needed was a quick confidence boost from my mother to make me change my mind about helping Gio. He trusted me enough to ask for my help, and I wasn't going to take that for trust for granted. Mom even volunteered to reach out to the adoption agency to see if they had any contact information on my biological parents, and I was so relieved that she didn't feel upset or betrayed by the whole situation.

After dinner, which was big and loud and perfect, I went back to my cottage and grabbed the vile that had been left to set on my window sill for the past two days. Its contents had finally reached the electric blue color the recipe said it should, and I was excited to see that I had successfully created my very first potion! I placed it, and the to-go plate I'd made for Gio in my bag and made my way over to his place.

When I arrived, I saw that Jasmine's car wasn't in the driveway, so I figured it was okay to let myself in. That was what he'd given me the key for anyway, so why not? "Captain? Are you here?" I called out while placing my things on the coffee table.

"I'm in the shower, Pixie, give me ten minutes," came his reply. The idea of seeing him in the shower awoke every one of my senses and threatened to start a severe party in my pants, but I wouldn't disrespect him by sneaking a peek. Instead, I went to the kitchen to reheat his food and wait for him to finish up. When he finally joined me, I was sitting at the table, munching on a piece of asparagus, with my mind off in its own little world.

"Did you bring me food just to eat it all by yourself?" Gio stood over me and asked. I hadn't realized that he'd entered the room, or that he was just a few inches away until I heard his voice.

"Sorry! I munch when I'm deep in thought, and your asparagus was too easily accessible. Have you had dinner yet?"

"I haven't. I was working a little later than usual and was planning on heating up whatever leftovers were in the fridge after my shower. It looks like I won't have to do that anymore." He took a seat next to me and pulled the plate over. "So what were you thinking so hard about?" he asked.

"A few things. First off, I brought you this," I said, handing him the small glass vile.

"You made it? I don't know why, but I thought that after our last chat, you wouldn't want to."

"I told you I'd do whatever I could to help you, and I meant it. I wouldn't go back on that promise," I replied.

"I know Pixie, and thank you again for this. What do you say to a little test run? Just to make sure it works," Gio suggested, gently shaking the vile in front of my face.

"Testing on who? If you want to try it out, feel free; you'll only need about half of that for Jasmine anyway, so you can do what you want with the rest," I stated.

"So, I just drink it, and that's it? How long does it take to kick in?"

I got up from the table and grabbed a bottle of Gio's favorite grape juice from the fridge, and sat it in front of him. "Pour a few ounces in here and shake it up. Once you mix it, you need to ingest it within an hour; it takes about five minutes to take effect."

"And it won't turn me into a frog or something crazy like that?" he asked. I couldn't help but laugh; he looked so serious.

"No, it won't turn you into a frog, I promise."

"That's good enough for me." Gio put a massive bite of steak in his mouth and proceeded to pour some of the potion in the juice then guzzle it down. "It's flavorless, which is great, I can put it in anything, and it won't be detected. I'm not trying to get attacked or accused of spiking Jasmine's drink. Date rape isn't a good look."

"I like where your heads at, Captain," I replied with a laugh. I returned to my spot next to him and told him about the dinner with my family while we waited for the potion to do its thing. Ten minutes later, he'd finished his meal, and it was time to see how good of a witch I truly was.

"So, it detects deception and causes pain if I lie, right?" he asked.

"That's right, so let's see how I did. What did you think about your dinner?" I asked. He shrugged his shoulder and smiled at me.

"The steak was cooked a little more than I would have liked, but the rest was perfect. You'll be doing more cooking from now on since I know that you know how," he replied. I studied his face, and he didn't seem to be in any pain at all. Either he really enjoyed my cooking, or I was a shitty witch; it was time to step things up a notch or two.

"When's the last time you watched porn?" I abruptly asked. Gio frowned, and I watched as his hand made its way to his toned stomach, and he began to try to rub and massage away the pain. "Is your tummy hurting you, Captain?" I asked with a smirk.

"Oh, shut it, Pixie; that was a low blow. But the second I thought to lie, it felt like someone was twisting my guts. That shit hurt like hell."

I couldn't help my excitement. I bounced up and down in my seat, clapping my hands and smiling. The potion had actually worked, I couldn't believe it. "This is great! Well, not the twisted guts part, that sucks and shouldn't last more than a few seconds, but the fact that it worked is incredible. I'm so proud of myself."

"You did well; I'm proud of you too. Now I've got to get Jasmine over here to see why my little witch friend says that's she's fuzzy."

"Oh! I almost forgot; I've changed my mind, and I'm willing to talk to my biological parents to see if they can help you. My mom is working to see if she can find their contact information for me."

"Thank you beautiful, but you don't have to do that. If you weren't a witch, I'd have to look elsewhere for help, and I don't have an issue doing just that. I refuse to pressure you into anything." I knew he was telling me the truth since I didn't see any looks of pain on his face, but that only made me want to help him even more.

"I don't have to, but I'm still doing it. I'll let you know as soon as we've got an address, but only if you agree to come with me. I know I can meet them if you're beside me. Please?"

"You don't even have to ask, Pixie. Whenever, wherever. Just give me as much notice as you can so I can let the alpha know, I can't leave the pack unsupervised for too long, there wouldn't be anything left when I got back."

"Deal. So I have one more question, then I'll leave you alone and let you rest. You said that you only see me as a friend, but would you ever date me? Like if Jasmine wasn't in the picture, or you didn't have the screwed up history with your ex?" After the talk with my mom, I felt empowered to see where I stood with Gio. He was the only man I ever thought about, and I was dying to know if he felt even a fraction of what I did.

"I'd date you in a second, without question. You're the closest thing to perfect I've ever known, and if I had a choice, you'd be my mate. But for some strange reason, even though I'm so drawn to and extremely protective of you, I only really get that romantic 'relationship' vibe with Jasmine. She's a great girl and everything I'd want on paper, but I can't let you go yet. It's like my emotions are pulling me towards her, but my head and heart both agree that if I had to choose between the two of you, it would be you all day long. I know it's confusing and frustrating, but it's how I feel."

In a sudden burst of courage, I fisted my hands in his hair and pulled his mouth to mine in a searing kiss. For the first time in my life, I knew what it felt like to have someone take your breath away. The moment our lips touched, I lost all sense of time and space, along with my ability to breathe. It was hands down the best kiss of my life, even though I knew that once it was over, things between the two of us would never be the same.

I'd expected him to push me away, but instead, Gio stood to his feet and placed his hands on my hips, pulling my body flush against his. He gently nudged me backward until my back was pressed against the refrigerator, then proceeded to run his hands all over my body. It felt like my heart was going to explode or leap from my chest; it was beating so fast. But when Gio reached down to unbutton my jeans, my senses came rushing back to me, and I grabbed his hands to stop him.

"Wait! Gio, wait; I don't think you want to do this," I breathlessly said. He buried his nose in my hair and inhaled deeply before taking a shaky step back.

We took a few moments to steady our breathing before Gio finally spoke. "Pixie, I'm so sorry that I got carried away like that, and I promise it will never happen again." Just as the last word left his mouth, he grabbed his stomach and leaned over the counter as he was wracked with pain.

"Either you're not sorry, or you feel like it will definitely happen again; either way, I'm not upset," I replied. I stepped around him and rummaged around in my bag until I found the small plastic bag I was searching for.

"Chew on a few of these; they will cancel out the effect of the potion. They are eucalyptus leaves," I said as I passed him the bag.

"Do I look like a koala to you? These are probably disgusting."

"I'm sure they are, but it's either that or deal with the twisted guts for the rest of the night; it's totally up to you." I picked up my bag and made my way to the door, but before I could open it, Gio grabbed my hand and pulled me back.

"Jenna, wait. Are we okay? I know we crossed a line, and I don't want it to change our friendship."

"I won't let it change us if you don't. It was a moment of weakness on my part; I'll do my best to keep from jumping you in the future," I replied.

"One last thing; I just need to know, why did you stop me?"

"Well, I don't want to make you sound like a helpless victim or anything, but I feel that Sasha took advantage of you for six years. If she hadn't forced her way into your life, you two probably never would have been together; and that's so unfair to you. I know you've been abstaining from sex ever since, so you can be sure that the next time is with the right girl, and I don't want to take that away from you. I'd hate myself forever if I did, so I couldn't let things go any farther."

"So, you stopped me because you care about me, and not because you didn't want me?" He asked.

"I stopped you because it was the right thing to do. Let's just leave it at that."

***

Gio POV

"Gio, man, what's going on? And why do you look so out of it? And what the hell are you eating?" Demetrius asked.

"It's a eucalyptus leaf; Pixie gave it to me," I replied.

"Okay, but why? What kind of weird shit has half-pint gotten you into?"

"It's a long story. The shortened version is that she's a witch, and she said something weird is up with Jasmine. She made me a potion to use on Jas, I tried it to see how it works, and the leaves help bring me back to normal. And we also kind of made out against my fridge," I quickly replied.

"What?! I knew you had the hots for her, and it's about damn time. How far did you go? Is she a good kisser? She looks like she is."

"I didn't call you to discuss Pixie's lips. I only told you because you're my best friend and have the right to know, but the fact that the whole 'witch' part was lost on you doesn't shock me at all."

"Nah, you can't help what you are, only who you'll become. It's not Jenna's fault that she sprouts warts and a long crooked nose every Halloween, so why dwell on it?"

"You shock me sometimes when you have these sudden bursts of wisdom. Anyway, I need your advice on Jasmine. I'm kind of lost and need an outsider's perspective."

"I already told you I don't trust Jasmine, and now with Jenna saying something up with her, that should tell you something. What's keeping her in your life?"

"I don't fully trust my instincts, they screwed me over with Sasha, and now I'm weary, but I know that something is there. Something that I need to explore."

"Exploring can be dangerous if you're not careful."

"Exactly. Which is why I've come up with a plan, I just need to bounce it off you to see if I'm crazy or not."

"You're definitely crazy, but that's an issue for another time. Hit me with the plan, let's see if we can't get you straightened out."

"So here's the thing. I'm almost positive that I won't end up with both women, which is perfectly fine with me, but something tells me that one of them is the one. I just don't know which." I spent the next two hours talking through what I felt were the next steps when it came to Sasha, Jasmine, and Jenna and was thankful to see how seriously Demetrius took the conversation. My mind was totally jumbled when Jenna left, but after talking with Demetrius, I was able to get everything straight again. By the time I went to sleep that night, I had hope that the uncertainty would soon be gone and that I'd be able to finally live my life with the woman I was meant to live it with.