Flirting With Magick

by Bennett, Leigh

  I hadn’t seen or spoken to Scott since that night at PeaSeas with Sean, and from where Kate and I were standing, he was masked in shadow on the far side of the stage, so I could only see the outline of his body as he played.

  “The guys sound fantastic tonight!” Kate gushed, waving to catch Nathan’s eye. As the song finished, Daniel announced that they were going to play their latest release. Scott walked towards our side of the stage, and after seeing Kate and mouthing hello to her, his eyes flowed over her to me, sending a jolt down my body. A wry smile spread across his face, and he nodded politely to me before turning away again. Kate saw our civil exchange and leaned over to me, "That woman's not here, just so you know. You can relax a bit." She smirked and straightened up.

  He remained on our side of the stage as the song started. Luke played the catchy riff, and the crowd cheered.

  “I love this song,” Kate erupted once more before closing her eyes. I did the same and let Daniel’s silky voice wash over me, listening to the despondent lyrics and finding myself fully immersed in the sadness he must have been feeling.

  I opened my eyes and glanced up at Scott. Our eyes met and he quickly looked away before turning towards the opposite side of the stage.

  As much as I missed the simplicity of what Scott and I once had, I was thankful for Josh at home waiting for me. Still I couldn’t shake the hurt at Scott’s indifference towards me. Sure, I wasn't good enough to be his girlfriend, but really...

  When the set was over, Kate led me to a table reserved for the band– such were the benefits of being the girlfriend of the drummer—and opened up the bottle of champagne that was brought over. Kate’s happiness surpassed her usual excitable demeanor. “I’ve got an announcement to make!” she told me, her eyes twinkling.

  “You’re pregnant?” I guessed, half jokingly.

  “Please.” She looked pointedly at the bottle.

  “I haven’t seen you drink any yet,” I teased, even more curious.

  She made a spectacle of pouring the drinks for us both and took a long swig, “Wait until Nathan and the boys are here.” Her eyes sparkled again.

  Luke was the first to join us, grabbing me in a bear hug. “Hey, Abby. Where’ve you been? It’s been ages.”

  Before I could answer and apologise for not hanging around to see him at PeaSeas, the rest of the band appeared. I watched in anticipation as Kate stood up and put her arm around Nathan’s waist. As Luke, Scott and Daniel took their seats, Nathan signalled for everyone to raise their drinks. This was certainly getting serious.

  “Kate and I have an announcement to make.” Yes, I could see that. “As of last night, Kate and I are engaged.”

  The cheering and whooping around the table was deafening, and I pulled Kate into a hug. “Congratulations, Kate, I’m so happy for you!”

  “We’re going ring shopping next week,” she told me before I could ask about her bare finger.

  Once everything had died down, I plopped back into my seat and only then noticed that Scott had taken the chair beside me.

  “Hey,” he said, winking at me. “How are you?” He smiled his glorious smile, all tension from our previous meeting instantly dissolved.

  “I’m well.” I breathed out my relief a little too noticeably. “You guys are sounding fantastic-– and I love your new song!”

  “Thanks.” He appeared to be as relieved as I was. He opened his mouth to continue, but closed it again, smiled politely and took a sip of champagne. We sat in silence for a few moments before I felt the overwhelming need to talk about our last encounter.

  “Scott, I-“

  “Hey, Abby–“

  We both chuckled, which lessened the strain even more. “I’m so sorry it was weird at PeaSeas.” I stifled my laughter enough to talk.

  “Same here.” He smiled.

  “Can we be friends?”

  “I thought we were.” Our eyes met once more, and it was me who quickly looked away this time, feeling myself blush mainly from guilt when the old rush of feelings came soaring back. I took a sip to alleviate my drying mouth. “You didn’t bring your boyfriend tonight?” he questioned, although it sounded more like a teasing accusation.

  “No, he’s working.“ It occurred to me that, as it had been months since I saw him at PeaSeas, he probably still thought I was with Sean.

  Seemed he’d been given the heads up, “Kate told me about the guy from work. What a prick.”

  “You said it.” I took another sip and shuddered, “That was weird.”

  “You did look a little uncomfortable that night.” If only he knew.

  “Did I? I’m sorry, I guess it just felt strange, when every other time I’d seen you out, we... you know...”

  “Yes." He laughed. “You should have still come out. I mean, you’re seeing me now, and we’re getting along alright, aren’t we?”

  “Hmm, gee I don’t know,” I flirted. “This is really the first time we’ve seen each other for awhile.” Stop it, he doesn't want you, remember? I scolded myself.

  “It’s still pretty early.” He flirted back. Why is he doing that? “Seriously though, you look really happy. I’m glad he woke up to himself.”

  "Scotty!" An attractive blonde woman a little older than us rushed over to the table; somehow the crowd seemed to part as she approached.

  Scott ran his hand through his hair and stood up. I sadly realised it was the gesture he used to use with me, which, up till now, had been absent. That was it then for us; this must be Carolyn. My heart sank as her mouth landed on his, while all I could do was see how beautiful and confident she was. For a second, I actually wanted Tanya back.

  "Lovely to meet you, Abby." She leaned in and kissed my cheek when Luke introduced me, and I was all too aware of Scott sitting between us. Of course, she was nice as well. Typical.

  As if on cue, Kate nudged me. “Is that Troy? Oh, and Josh is with him. I thought you said he wasn’t coming.”

  “He must have finished his column,” I replied, elated to see him, but for all the wrong reasons. “I’d better go and get them.” I smiled weakly at Scott as he let me pass.

  Squeezing through the crowd, I managed to catch Josh’s eye just before I was pulled over by Linda who was making her way towards the exit.

  “Abby.” She gave me a warm hug. “So good to see you. It seems like ages. I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”

  Josh and Troy had made their way to me by now. “Oh Linda, this is my boyfriend, Josh, and this is our friend, Troy.”

  “Pleased to meet you both.” Linda shook their hands, “Now, if you'll please excuse me, I have to rescue my babysitter.” She turned again to me. “Don’t make yourself a stranger, okay?”

  Josh put his arm around me, and we walked back to the table, Troy following behind. “Having a good night?” he asked. I stretched up and kissed him tenderly on the mouth. Then, reaching up and touching his face, I held the kiss for a moment longer than I normally would. “What didn’t work out?” There was a quizzical expression on his face.

  “Oh.” I searched my mind for an answer-– any answer except the truth. “I think I was dating Sean last time I saw her.”

  He flinched slightly at Sean’s name. That was getting annoying. “You seem to know a few people here,” he said when we reached the table.

  “Oh, I used to come out a lot with these guys, before...” I trailed off.

  I was saved from elaborating the ‘before...’ by a rather inebriated Kate, who wasted no time in divulging her good news. “Guess what guys, I’m engaged!”

  “Wow. Congratulations!” Troy beckoned her over. She hugged them both and said, not too discreetly, “It’s not difficult, Josh. Even I can do it. I’m amazed you’re actually going to live together.” I shared an uncomfortable gaze with Troy as Josh glared at Kate. They very rarely saw eye to eye as it was.

  This time, we were rescued from the awkwardness by Luke, who came over to shake Josh's hand, then proceeded to make a round of introductions. Sco
tt and Carolyn stood up, and I was disappointed as he gestured for Josh and Troy to take their seats.

  “We’d better get going,” he declared. “It’s been a long day.” I was indulged with a small smile as he and Carolyn shuffled past. “Enjoy your night,” he finished quietly.

  We all sat down, and Luke started chatting to Josh, while expertly fielding questions and touches from a couple of girls on the other side of him, who had sat down as soon as the private celebrations ended. I kept one eye on Scott as he headed towards the exit, hoping he might turn around once more to acknowledge me.

  He followed Carolyn straight out and didn't look back. Disappointed, I turned and caught Troy's gaze. He looked away quickly, and I couldn’t quite read the expression on his face.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  IT WASN’T A LONG NIGHT at Springers, but I woke up late. Partly due to the fact that I jumped on Josh the moment we got home, partly due to the tension I held most of the night, hoping that Josh wouldn't work out that Scott had been my fuck-buddy. Thankfully, he was completely oblivious. He bought the table a round of drinks, discussed future gigs with Luke, and promised to get the new entertainment reporter around to watch and interview the band. He even softened enough around Kate to give her a friendly peck on the cheek in congratulations of her wonderful news.

  It turned out I was wrong.

  When I looked around, Josh was dressed and sitting on the end of the bed, just watching me, a solemn look on his face.

  "What's wrong?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. "You weren't watching me sleep, were you? You probably heard it's romantic, but it's actually kind of creepy."

  "Which one was it?" His voice was serious, ignoring my attempt at morning humour.

  "What? Which one was what?" I got up and pulled on a robe. "What are you talking about? I need a coffee."

  He followed me out to the kitchen, "The guy you were with while we were split up; Troy told me he was from your cousin's band."

  Oh.

  I'd completely forgotten that I'd told Troy at lunch with Dianne and Jemma. Of course he'd told Josh. And then I told Josh something completely different, like I'd met Scott a whole other way, and that I'd never end up seeing him again. And then I went out last night to see my cousin's band—where he'd be—like it was no big deal.

  Which it wasn't.

  Really.

  How was I going to get out of this? "He was there with his girlfriend. I didn't even really talk to him if that makes you feel any better."

  "The goth one?" He raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "Is he the one who got you onto that Satanic stuff?"

  "No, and it's not fucking Satanic!" I said, even more frustrated now. "And dying his hair black doesn't make him goth. Why are you looking at me like that?" The condescending expression on his face irritated me. "What's wrong with goths anyway? Who are you to judge?"

  Josh shrugged but held his sneer. "Just didn't look your type, I guess."

  "Why not? He's nice." And I did speak to him, too, at least until stupid Carolyn arrived. Okay well she obviously wasn't stupid, but still. "And you think you're my 'type'?"

  "You've changed," he accused. "Normally you would have stayed in last night, not gone hanging out to see some band with your friends. But the point is, you didn't tell me about him when I asked you at the hotel."

  "It's my cousin's band, not 'some band'," I qualified, annoyed at his dismissal. "And I didn't tell you at the hotel because, in all honesty, Josh, it wasn't important. You're making it into a bigger deal than it was."

  "It was important enough for you to rave about him to Troy."

  Oh god. "I only did that because Jemma was there and she was interested in him, and you as well, and it gave me the shits, so I made it sound like there was more going on." I pressed my fingers against his forearm, feeling the rigid muscle relax under my touch. "It was nothing. I guess it was just easier to not mention it, rather than have you acting all, well, like the way you are now. Over nothing."

  His features softened, and he wrapped his arms around me, kissing the top of my head. "Jemma's got nothing on you."

  I was still annoyed with his attitude. Okay, so I didn't explain everything. So I was still attracted to Scott, but I had little intention of going out of my way to see him again, and I was dealing with it in my own way. He wasn’t interested anyway, and I knew my feelings would eventually pass with time... hopefully. I was with Josh now, wasn't that enough? I hadn't experienced jealousy from him before, and I wasn’t about to put up with it now. I knew he'd been trying to change, but I'd happily take back all his annoying little quirks if only to get rid of this one. "Do you mind if you don't stay here tonight? I just need some space today."

  "I'm sorry, Abby." A tortured look swept over his face.

  I squeezed his arm again-– it was the most affection I could muster at that moment, "And you still need to sign the contract for the apartment."

  "I'll do it tomorrow, during lunch," he said, glowering. I wasn’t nagging him, just reminding; it was probably just the tone of my voice that was making him defensive. He snatched his car keys off the kitchen counter. "I haven't had much time to think since getting back to work."

  "Yeah, I know." It was beginning to feel like old times. "You going to Troy's?"

  "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." He grumbled, slamming the door behind him.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  “WILL YOU BE MY MAID OF HONOUR?” Kate looked up from painting her toenails while I sifted through the remaining colours later that afternoon. Her hair was gathered on the top of her head for our run that morning, and she’d left it frizzy, so it looked a bit like an apricot coloured poodle tail, rather than her gorgeous ringlets. It was rather distracting.

  “Of course I will, you know that,” I answered, testing a berry hue on my pinky fingernail. “When’s the big day, anyway?”

  “Oh, it won’t be for a while, but I just wanted to ask. And also let you know that Nathan’s asking Scott to be best man. Are you two friends again?”

  “I think so. We were getting along well last night until...” I shrugged.

  “I noticed that. Until Carolyn and Josh turned up, anyway.” She pouted. “I really miss the fun we had, the four of us.

  “Yeah it was fun, but we can do the same stuff with Josh.”

  “I love you, Abs, but you know Josh and I have never really gotten along.”

  “Yeah, I know.” I swore for some reason Josh and Kate had hated each other from first sight. It was mainly due to a personality clash but, when Josh left and went interstate, Kate had held a supportive but silent protest against my taking him back. "He might get on alright with Nathan?" I suggested, clutching at straws.

  “Does he know I’ll kill him if he hurts you again?”

  I laughed, “Yes, I think so. He’s been, I don’t know, different somehow. Like he’s really trying hard to make it up to me.” I left out the bit where he went all stupidly jealous that morning. I didn't want to add fuel to the already huge bonfire which Kate kept burning and had no intention of extinguishing.

  “It’s just that...” I watched as Kate searched for the right words, “it was awful when he left, the way he did it, and then to see you so upset.“ She sighed. “And then, when you and Scott were having fun together, you just seemed so much happier... more you than I think I ever saw you with Josh.”

  “Really?” As close as Kate and I were, we rarely had these sorts of conversations. We talked about men, but rarely did the talks get deep. Those conversations I usually reserved for Dianne.

  “You always seemed to be trying to impress Josh, running around, trying to make sure he was happy. You never came out with us. It was like he shoved a great big stick up your arse.”

  "Well, that's all he's getting up there." I giggled, but when Kate didn’t join me, I realised she wasn’t kidding around. I’d never really seen it that way. “Perhaps because Scott and I weren’t really getting into anything serious, maybe I was just more relaxed.” I offered.


  “You must have really hated me when Nathan and I got serious.”

  I thought back to the weekend away and cringed. “No, of course not.”

  “Did you really only stop it with him because Sean asked you out? Or because you couldn't deal with your feelings?”

  I shook my head. "Sean asked me out afterwards. When he told me what he saw, and lets face it, he had no reason to lie. I suppose it was just easier to call it off than tell Scott how I felt and have him say 'thanks but no thanks'."

  She stood up, slamming her palms loudly on the table, making me jump. “Damn him!”

  “What?”

  “I wish he’d see how perfect you and he were together.”

  “Even if he did, Kate, I’m with Josh now.” That’s what I said aloud, but in my head there was a niggling ‘what if?’ which I shook away. "And he's happy with Carolyn, if last night was anything to go by."

  “I know you know what I’m getting at.” I did know. She was wishing I had told him, but it was too late now.

  “There’s no point in this conversation, okay? As far as I can see, everyone’s happy. You and Nathan are together; Scott’s got his great career. You can’t say it’s not going well, especially now that he's going out with a shit hot TV exec, and now I’ve finally got what I ultimately wanted from Josh. Can you please give him a chance? He’s sorry for what he did, and I’ve forgiven him. Can you please do the same?”

  Kate let out an annoyed sigh of surrender. “Yeah, okay. Only for you though.”

  “Of course.” I squeezed her hand, careful not to smudge her newly painted nails as I stretched out and admired my own, freshly orange toes.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  WITHOUT JOSH AT HOME to hold me up in the morning, by getting in the way of my cupboards and morning routine, I got to work earlier than usual. Chris was in, and I heard him humming to himself through the closed office door.