by Weil, J. L.
There was a clear straight path to him like the red sea parting, I walked right up to him, and socked him in the gut.
“Ouch,” he complained, but not really in pain. There was too much amusement sprinkled in his eyes.
I grinned. “Well at least I know you can be hurt here. And my timing does not suck.”
He gave me a dry look. “Very funny. Whatever happens here can very easily affect us in the real world.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I had learned that lesson the hard way.
I glanced around my surroundings. We were at some underground club complete with the half-naked girls hanging from the rafters, strobe lights, and ear-deafening music. I would be lucky if I don’t have a seizure with the amount of flashing and flickering lights. It was out of this world. Literally.
“So this is what you dream about? Figures. Typical guy.” I had to admit though, it was pretty freaking cool. And so out of my league. Gaping, I could feel color staining my cheeks. The place oozed sweaty bodies, perfume and sweet alcohol. It wasn’t necessarily a bad combination.
He was unfazed by my sarcasm. Holding out a hand, he asked, “Dance?”
I bit my lip. Everyone around us was doing some form of dirty dancing. It was like sex on the dance floor, a real classy joint.
“I don’t bite…much. You aren’t scared are you?” he asked baiting me, knowing very well I would take the hook.
Please. “Only that I will trample your feet,” I subtly warned.
He chuckled.
I put my hand in his and we swayed with the music, but I made sure to keep a reasonable distance between us. Occasionally our bodies brushed, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was deliberate. I definitely wouldn’t put it past him.
“So who are all these people?” I yelled over the pumping dubstep.
With a snap of his finger they all vanished, leaving just him and me. “Nothing but a product of my ingenuity. None of their faces are real to me, just a part of the illusion I created.”
Slowly I pulled away, needing some distance. We stopped dancing.
Lukas grinned. “Playtimes over, it’s time to move into phase two. I summoned you here, now I want you to block my thread to your dream, pull yourself out.”
I looked at him like he was speaking Greek. Here I was, in an empty underground club and he wanted me to do magic? I couldn’t even think past the blazing music and the lightshow overhead.
After minutes of nothing but me standing there like a lost puppy he tilted my chin up. “Push out,” he stated like it was the simplest thing. He should have known better. Nothing with me was simple.
“How?” I countered skirting near frustration.
“I’ll show you. We can share magic. Give me your hands.” He held out both of his. “It’s easy as pie.”
Nothing with magic was ever easy as pie.
Our hands clasped, on cue a bolt of energy charged the air. I had only ever shared magic with Gavin once and Morgana, if that counted. But immediately I noticed something off. An edge of darkness hugged over my skin and in my spell. It was addicting in a bad way. I like it too much and that scared me. There was a hint of something shady in it, something I just couldn’t put my finger on.
Shaking my head, I started to protest, but Lukas’s grip tightened. Everything inside me wanted to reject what we were brewing. I had to stop this.
Now.
Power surged inside of me as I pulled energy from the source. It emitted an electric shock from my fingers tips, loosening Lukas’s hold. I ripped my hands from his, severing our connection not only to each other, but the dream as well. The whole thing happened in a matter of seconds, but my insides felt like they were being ripped in half. Inhaling sharply, I tore open my eyes. Bolting upright, I seethed with annoyance as I looked over at him in the recliner, eyes just starting to flutter. Everything all at once went to my head, dizziness overtook, and my stomach rolled.
“What the hell was that?” I demanded, hands still tingling.
He dragged in a ragged breath, eyes beaming like a glowworm. And he didn’t look pleased. “You ended things abruptly. That doesn’t come without a price.”
I pulled a shaky hand through my hair, starting to feel a pressure building inside my head. Before I had the chance to bombard him with a string of questions, the doorbell rang.
My eyes immediately connected with Lukas. A feeling of panic overcame me, pushing aside the irritation. Please God don’t let it be Gavin. Snapping myself out of my internal dread, I began to walk to the front door. For a split second I thought about ignoring whoever was there, but as if on cue the musical chime sounded a second time.
“This better be important,” I growled under my breath.
I should have known. Tori stood on the other side of the door looking impatiently beautiful. Caramel golden waves framed her frowning face. Pushing her way inside, Tori never waited for invitation and really she never needed one. “Finally. For God’s sake what took you so long?” she huffed.
“Tori, this isn’t a good–”
Her hand flew to her heart, and she let out a tiny, “Oh.” I watched as the exasperation fled from her expression and was replaced with one of keen curiosity.
Following her gaze, I already knew what captured her attention.
Lukas leaned in the doorway looking like an arch angel. His dimples twinkled, and his eyes were brimming with amusement. I think he enjoyed seeing me ruffled. He had both hands stuck into the front pockets of his jeans, and his college t-shirt stretched over his taunt chest, emphasizing the emerald green of his eyes.
Even I had to suppress a sigh, Tori wasn’t so subtle.
Her big brown eyes zeroed in on Lukas like he was a descendant piece of cheesecake she was dying to take a bite. Then she glanced back to me uplifting a perfectly manicure brow, giving me a quizzical glare. The corners of her lips twitched. “Why have you been hiding all this hotness to yourself?” she whispered beside me. “You know it’s really not fair that you have two sizzling guys and I don’t have a single one. Didn’t your aunt ever teach you to share?”
I elbowed her in the side, and she glowered at me.
Lukas’s grin only grew.
Goodie gumdrops. How the hell was I going to explain this? I needed to think fast on my feet. I needed a lie. Of course everyone knows that I am queen sucky at lying.
Lukas became my savior. He swaggered into the hallway giving Tori the full swoon-worthy treatment. She looked ready to collapse.
There was nothing I could do but roll my eyes.
“You never told me you had such a beautiful friend.” His voice was as smooth as a honey and as lethal as a killer bee.
It was almost comical how easily she fell prey to his charm.
“I’m Tori,” she purred like a sex kitten.
I tried not to giggle at her trying to be sexy.
He would have to be gay or a dunce to not pick up Tori’s obvious and downright embarrassing flirting. Hell it was even making me uncomfortable. I suddenly felt like a third wheel, maybe I should have offered them my bedroom.
“Tori, Lukas. Lukas, Tori. Now with the introductions out of the way…” I turned to Tori. “What are you doing here?”
Her eyes were still glued to Lukas.
“Earth to Tori,” I called waving my hand in the air.
“Hmm. I – I wanted to talk to you about the party,” she tripped over her words clearly flustered.
“Couldn’t you have just called?” Yeah I was being rude, but she caught me in a state. A few minutes earlier, she could have walked into an extremely awkward and hard to explain situation.
“You should come… to my party,” Tori extended to Lukas completely ignoring me. She batted her eyelashes to sweeten the invitation.
I wanted to gag.
And it had nothing to do with jealousy. Okay maybe just a teeny, tiny tad of jealousy. As much as it didn’t make sense, Lukas had only ever been mine. Mostly though it was a heavy dose of oh shit.
I glared at her. She feigned ignorance and was going to pay for it later, when I got her alone. This was bad. Very bad. Gavin and Lukas in the same room, I internally groaned. I got that whole punched-in-the gut feeling and nearly couldn’t breathe. Hell must have frozen over.
Things between Gavin and I were finally at a good place. A great place. This party was going to be my downfall.
I could feel Lukas’s gaze burning at me, trying to get a read on my reaction, which was sort of a feat in itself. Tori was holding her breath. I tried as hard as I could to keep my expression blank, but it wasn’t working. My eyes were pleading with him to say no.
Begging him.
If I could have forced the thought in his head or made him say no with magic, you bet your ass I would have. I wanted to kick myself for not getting this whole witch thing, and then I wanted to just kick Lukas. Tori too.
Turning to Tori he gave her an impish, floor-dropping grin. His dimples winked on either side. “Is Brianna going to be there?” he asked Tori like I wasn’t even in the room.
My mouth gaped open, and I crossed my arms over my chest. This was turning into an epic debacle. He had deliberately ignored my plea. There had been no mistaking that he had understood. My eyes had practically screamed it at him.
Tori rolled her eyes like it was a no brainer. “Of course she is going to be there. She’s my best friend. You have to come, it will be a blast.”
She was totally going into full out fan-girl mode. I cringed. Then I heard him say, “Sounds like fun. Count me in.” Much to my chagrin, he accepted.
And the hardwood floor dropped out from underneath me.
No. No. No.
I was royally screwed.
Chapter 20
I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE GAVIN waiting for me in my driveway the next morning. It had been pretty clear that he knew I would be seeing Lukas after school, I thought for sure we would be taking ten steps back. But seeing him sitting on the hood of his car my heart inflated with hope. Coping with all this uncertainty about us was wreaking havoc on my wellbeing.
Skipping off the porch, the wind blew my hair back. The cool morning breeze heightened the color in my cheeks. When I reached his car I was feeling a little breathy, entirely his fault.
“Need a lift?” His voice sounded like a dip in the ocean after a hot summer day – refreshing.
My answer was a radiate smile.
He held the door open as I slipped in. The sound of his turbo charged engine tore through the quiet street as we sped to school. My butt vibrated on the seat, but it wasn’t an annoying feeling, more like a gentle lull.
The question had been on the tip of my tongue since he showed up looking heart-stopping. I was confused. Why the about face? Why now? “You make my head spin,” I said breaking the silence.
That wasn’t meant as an ego booster but the deadly smirk on his lips said he thought it was the highest of compliments. “I tend to have that effect on girls.”
“I just bet. But seriously I’m confused. A few weeks ago you wouldn’t talk to me. What changed?”
He shrugged. His hand skillfully turned the wheel as we rounded a corner, and then he blessed me with a killer smile. “I realized that you were worth fighting for.”
My body went into shock.
I was at a loss for words. That was not the answer I had been expecting. He left me tongue-tied with my thumping heart echoing in my ears. The stupid grin was on my face all morning long.
By lunch I was dying to see him. We were all sitting in the cafeteria listening to Tori rant on and on about her holiday party. The whole blasted school was invited. Apparently she felt the need to throw the party of the year as her one last act of senior year. I didn’t need to mention that we barely knew or could stand half the kids in our graduating class.
She was over the moon excited.
I was dreaded it like a trip to the dentist but worse. Much worse.
My eye caught Sophie’s. She was studying me like an algebra problem. Something was definitely nagging her. I was just about to ask her what was up when she gave me a little shake of the head. Whatever it was, she didn’t what to talk about it in front of everyone.
That could only be one thing.
Magic.
I didn’t dwell on it overly long. It was kind of hard to think of anything with Gavin next to me, driving me to distraction. My half eaten chocolate chip cookie was forgotten as our fingers played under the table. I sneaked a sideways glance at dark and gorgeous beside me. Our eyes locked, and a flood of heat rippled through me.
I didn’t even think about where we were. Normally I was totally anti-PDA, but today there must have been something in the air. Or it was just the boy next to me. He made me want to do things lately that were out of character for me. I leaned into him, our fingers clutched under the table, and pressed my lips to his, but he took it to another level.
What started as sweet and simple turned down right wicked in seconds. His tongue swept over mine in a game of cat and mouse. I felt the kiss all the way to my black painted toes.
Sophie made a gagging noise. Austin was grinning. And Tori…well she had an opinion about everything.
“Ah. I’m so glad you guys kissed and made up, but I don’t want to watch you two swap spit over lunch. It’s not only unsanitary it’s depressing. The rest of us don’t have hot dates. Well yet…”
Sometimes Tori’s untamed and loose tongue could be just too much. My stomach pitched. I knew what she was thinking or who she was thinking of. Her eyes got that glossy, starry look.
“Girl you better dish,” Austin demanded.
I groaned.
Her doe eyes twinkled. “With pleasure. Our girl Brianna has been holding out on us.”
Gavin lifted that silver studded brow, suddenly more interested in what she was saying than in me. My stomach hallowed.
“I have been doing no such thing. He’s just a friend,” I defended, my teeth clenched tight.
Austin eyes gleamed. He thrived on drama, and I could see the wheels turning in his over-styled head. It was all the encouragement Tori needed. “Well this friend is yummy. I could eat off his abs. He is coming to the party, and my goal is to be feasting off those abs by the end of the night.” She nudged Austin in the arm. “Sorry I already called dibs.”
I wanted to crawl under the table.
Hide in the darkest hole.
Sophie’s eyes got as big as saucers, and Gavin whispered in my ear, “Looks like I get to finally met the guy who consumes your dreams.”
I gave him a dry look. That wasn’t even close to being funny, and the intense flare in his sapphire eyes said he was looking forward to it.
Though hardly in a good way.
Right after lunch Sophie pulled me aside – literally. Dragging me into a corner of the library, she scanned the deserted rows before facing me. Somehow this had become our place to talk. Apparently it was our secret meeting place.
I hoisted a seat on top one of the empty tables, letting my feet dangle over the edge. They were all empty. “What is going on with you? I swear at lunch you where dissecting me like a lab rat.”
She kept her voice low. “You have a hole in your aura.”
“What!” I screeched.
She put a finger to her lips. “It’s small but a spot is missing.”
“Missing?” I echoed.
“Missing. Gone. Finito.”
I could tell by the puzzled expression on her face that it wasn’t a good thing. “I’m assuming that’s not normal.”
She shook her head. “I’ve never seen it before.”
Of course not.
“But I’ve heard stories,” she continued. “It usually only happens when someone has been touched with dark magic. Or…”
“Or,” I prompted quickly. This wasn’t the time to leave a girl hangin’.
“Or if a witch has been practicing dark magic.” There was an ill-omened tinged to her words.
“I haven’t done either,�
�� I argued. “That I know of.”
“It’s so strange.” She reached out a hand like she wanted to touch the missing chuck of my outline. “I can’t tell if it is black or just a missing hole.”
“Should I be worried?” A hint of dismay laced my voice.
She shrugged her dainty shoulders. “Truthfully, I’m not sure. This is out of my realm. Anyway, I think you have more than enough to stress about. Gavin and Lukas in the same house, we will be lucky if the structure is still standing.”
That’s what I was afraid of.
The bell rang.
“We’re late,” I sighed.
“Here take this.” A slip of paper appeared between her dainty fingers.
I unfolded the piece of paper, a hall pass excusing my tardiness. How convenient. She grinned at me, reminding me of Gavin with mischief gleaming in her dark blue eyes.
“Thanks,” I said jumping off the table. “You’re as bad as your brother.”
“Not quite.”
~*~
Never before had I cared about what I wore. Now suddenly nothing in my closet was right. It wasn’t stylish enough. Not sexy enough. It was all so boring like the old me.
The new wild child in me, well she wanted to be vibrant, alive. She wanted to be noticed. And most importantly, she wanted to be noticed by Gavin.
“Austin,” I said into my cell phone the instant he picked up. “I need your help. I have nothing to wear,” I half sighed.
“Say no more. Tori and I will be there in seconds. And babygirl… don’t make any decision without me. I got this.”
I needed an intervention – a fashion intervention. This classified as a crisis.
Somehow I couldn’t figure out if calling on the dynamic duo was going to be epic or a disaster. What I needed was to tap into my inner swag. Did I even have swag? It was totally debatable.
Like my two personally fashion angels, Tori and Austin arrived at my house in record time. They ransacked my closet, my dresser, and under my bed leaving no crevice unturned. They tossed clothes everywhere. Not a corner, nook, or cranny was left untouched by their mayhem. To top it off, the outfit they pulled together had me blushing before I’d even tried it on.