Flirting With Magick (4 page)

"How come you don't sing or play guitar for the band?" I asked,
wondering why the band's co-leader didn’t take a more prominent role
on stage.

"
Dan and Luke are better frontmen," he explained. "And I'm the only
one who plays bass."

 Luke and himself, as the founders of
Reckless Choice,
wrote the
majority of their music, although Daniel put in a lot of the lyrics and Nathan had increasingly brought forward some works of genius. He spoke highly of his bandmates; it appeared they were a tight group.
They obviously had a great deal of respect for each other and were in it
for the long haul. Music was clearly his life, and he provided further evidence of this when he briefly mentioned his last relationship:

 
“We were together for about eighteen months. It started off alright,
but it got to the point where it was just too hard to work and have a
relationship as well, especially since we moved to Melbourne." I watched
as he took a sip and wiped the froth from his mouth. "She came down
for a little while, but it didn’t work. I broke it off about three months ago
and haven't been looking for anything serious since, especially since we
got the record deal.” I waited for further information, but it was all
he was going to volunteer, and it answered my question about the spell; it wasn’t him. That was a shame.

“How about you?” he asked.

I made it as brief as possible. “He moved interstate for a job about
six months ago, and our relationship wasn’t going to work like that, so we broke up.”

“How long were you together?”

“Three years.”

He raised his eyebrows with incredulity, as though three years
was his equivalent to a lifetime. “Wow. Must’ve been serious.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

I didn’t tell him I had thought Josh was ‘the one,’ that I thought
we were a step away from moving in together, that my heart had been
well and truly stomped on and kicked into the gutter when he said
he was leaving.

I had the spell behind me now, and I recognised it as a major leap in
the healing process. It was time to move on. Evidently, moving on at
this stage wasn't going to involve Scott in any sort of serious relationship
arrangement. But he was nice and attractive, and it didn’t mean I couldn’t
have some fun.

We ventured out into the chilly winter night once more, and I
shivered nervously as he placed his hand lightly on the small of my
back, enjoying how he kept it there as we walked to the end of the
street. I decided to make a courageous move. “You know, I only live
down the road. We can walk from here, and you can call a cab from my
place if you like.” I didn’t want him to think I was blatantly offering
a night of passion, but I could tell that we both knew a taxi would n
ot be winding its way to my door tonight.

When we reached my block of units, I listened out for any sign of activity behind Kate’s door. Silence. She was either asleep or had ended up somewhere else.

"Did you and Kate meet through living in the same block?" Scott asked as we tackled the remaining stairs to my level.

"No, we used to work together, and my friend Dianne, who I wa
s
sharing with at the time, wanted her boyfriend to move in. Kate told me
my flat was up for rent."

"I never would have guessed she was an accountant."

"Yeah, I know." I put the key in my lock, unsure what I should do
once we got inside. I could feel his body warmth from where he stoo
d close behind me, and I closed my eyes, hoping he wouldn’t just call a cab and leave. “Take a seat.” I suggested, throwing my coat onto the
couch and pretending to look for my phone. I knew I must have left it
in my bedroom after discussing clothing options with Kate while getting
ready. He stood at the entrance to the living room, leaning casually against
the door jamb, watching me conduct my charade.

“I guess there’s no point in offering you more coffee. Excuse me.”
I chitchatted nervously while attempting to squeeze past him to get to my bedroom. “I think the phone’s in here, hang on.”

He placed his hand firmly on the side of my waist, preventing me from
getting past him, and silently met my eyes before leaning down to kiss me. Once tentatively. Then again full on the lips for a kiss that
kept me wanting more. I felt his thumbs brush my nipples through my
knitted top. Oh, what the hell. I couldn’t wait any longer; I grabbed
him by his jacket and dragged him into the bedroom.

WE TOOK OFF
our shoes and slid under the covers. He cupped my
face with his hand as we explored each other’s mouths, my heart thumping
wildly. I’d never done this before; sure I’d had sex, but never this quickly
with someone new. By the soft light of my bedside lamp, he slowly
undid the buttons on my top, my skin tingling with the touch of his warm hand.

“God, you are so sexy,” he murmured into my neck, moving his mouth down my chest while running his hand over my stomach and fumbling with the button of my fly.

“Yeah, right.” I wasn’t new to flattery; I’d heard it all before. “You
can stop the crap now, you got me here.”

He paused. “No, seriously, I was checking you out from the stage.
I couldn’t believe my luck when Luke introduced us. How the hell
do you get this off?” He tugged at my zipper, and I lifted my hips,
allowing him to pull my jeans off, saying a silent prayer of thanks for
the intuition to continue with the leg and bikini waxing– and a mental
note to thank Kate for making me buy the sexy lingerie that Scott was now admiring. I held my breath as he reached behind me and released
my breasts from my new lacy bra, tenderly stroking my back as he did
so
. I took his cue and slid my hand under his t-shirt to stroke the smooth
skin beneath, unintentionally scratching him when he cupped my breast
and gently pinched my nipple. He smiled as his fingers found the
waistband of my new underwear and pulled them down, putting those
fingers to work.

It wasn’t long before my whole body shook with climactic waves
, and I slowly returned to consciousness.

 He watched me for a moment before he pulled me up on top of
him, and I lifted his T-shirt over his head, taking the opportunity to trace
my tongue down his taut stomach. He removed his jeans as I reached
o
ver to my handbag and pulled out the offending condom from earlier in
the night. Our eyes met, and we both grinned at the awkward memory.
I lowered myself onto him, rocking gently with him until I felt another
wave envelope me. Moments later, he gripped my hips hard as I felt
his whole body tense. Then he moaned softly before relaxing his hold
on me, kissing me gently as I lay back down. I fell asleep to his gen
tle stroking on my back.

***

It was late on Sunday morning when a knock on my door startled
me out of my sleep. Scott was still sleeping as I scrabbled with a robe
to answer it. Kate was dressed and makeup free, although her just-
slept-in strawberry blonde curls were still sticking out all around her head like a lion's mane.

“Come downstairs to my place. Nathan’s making pancakes for
breakfast.” Her face reddened.

I scratched out some sleep mixed with eyeshadow from the corner
of my eye and regarded it casually, pausing for effect before speaking
. “Great. I’ll just make myself look presentable... and wake Scott... and w
e’ll be right down.” Her eyes widened while I chuckled and walke
d back inside.

Scott looked even more gorgeous in the light of day as he dozed peacefully on my bed, the sheet wrapped loosely around his waist. I left him to it while I showered and applied my natural-look makeup.
It was still a little too soon to let him see my unmade-up face first th
ing in the morning.

“Scott.” I shook him gently when I was finished. “Kate’s invited us
down for breakfast. She’s with Nathan.” He stretched, his gaze slidi
ng
over me much like the shower’s warm, soothing water had done, the
n
smiled, rubbing his eyes. Suddenly, he grabbed my hip, and in one swift
move, I was under his warm, muscular chest. “Later,” he said before kissing me again.

Nathan and Kate were arguing playfully when we let ourselves into
her unit. Despite having showered, we still looked bedraggled and
exhausted. “So what happened to Luke?” I squeezed syrup onto my pancake, dying to know if my ménage-a-trois prediction was correct.

“We left him there with his two groupies. Scott, you could be in for
a rude surprise when you get home.” Nathan turned to his bandmate
, who smiled knowingly behind his damp, dark locks and took small, silent sips of his coffee.

“What have you guys got on today?” Kate asked. It was easy to tell she was hoping to get rid of them as soon as possible so we could share stories.

“We’ve got to go into the studio later this afternoon,” Scott replied
. “Just some patch up work to do with a couple of tracks.”

When the pile of pancakes was down to a few crumbs and the
coffee decanter empty, they decided to make the move to go to their
respective homes; Scott to brave the consequences of Luke’s predicted
night and Nathan to the unit he shared with his student brother.

“So?” Kate didn’t wait long after kisses and phone numbers were
exchanged and we had waved the men off in their taxi.

We sat back down at her table. “You did well to find someone wh
o
cooks you pancakes in the morning.” I deliberately avoided answering
first. “Are you seeing him again?”

“Yep. We’re having dinner tomorrow night.”

“Hmm, nice.” I knew it didn’t mean anything. Kate enjoyed bein
g
single too much, so I fully expected that next week she’d be on to someone
new, and Nathan would be old news. “So... was it as good for you as it
was for me?” I said smugly.

“Apparently NOT.” She squealed, seeing the smirk on my face. “So I take it you’re finally over Josh?”

I couldn’t lie and
pretend
the last three years had magically disappeared
. “I’m definitely getting there.”

“So what’s happening now? With Scott?”

“Well, from some stuff he said last night, I know he doesn’t want a
relationship. So we just said our goodbyes, and he invited me to watch
them play next weekend,” I grinned. “Oh and I said I was available and
not after a relationship, if he wants to do this again sometime.”

Kate’s mouth dropped open. You couldn’t blame her; it was so
unlike me. When I was with Josh, I had always gone on about how I felt sex was a sacred act between two people who loved each other blah, blah, blah. Kate had constantly tried to explain to me the merits
of a sexy, single life in which I, up to now, did not believe. I knew this
had come to her as a huge surprise.

“I think it’s time for a change,” I announced.

 “Oh, Abs. Good for you. That’s fantastic.” She gave me a huge hug. “Operation: Over Josh is well and truly underway.”

“You never liked him anyway.“

***

My work-free week began with the usual rain-and-sleet-filled day
for the middle of winter. The opportunity was there to catch up on the housework that I had neglected to do, having spent my Saturday
impulse shopping. As my house became tidy, so did my head as I went
over in my mind the weekend’s events, especially the events with Scott
—
his eyes, his hands, his mouth...

The spell obviously wasn’t directed at him, not in the romantic way
anyway. But he would be a nice distraction, at least until I felt ready
to reopen my heart to someone when the time was right. Perhaps th
is was just what was needed-– a good time without the uncertainty and pain that an emotional attachment often brought with it.

Maybe Kate was right. It was perfect.

MY MOBILE PHONE
shattered my attempt at a rare mid-week sleep-in. I
fumbled for it, and my stomach somersaulted when I saw the text message
:

“Hey, Abby. It’s Scott. What RU doing today?
”

“
Nothing
.” I wrote back, biting my lip as I hit the send button. Too
available? Too casual?

“
Want to come over? ;)
”

There were too many mistakes in my hurry to write, so I kept it
short and sweet. “
OK :)
”

My heart felt like it was going a million miles a second when I
pulled up to the address he gave me. It was a small block of about six
units, painted white in an effort to make them look more modern than
their twenty odd years. I took a deep breath as I ambled past the trellis’
,
looking for number four and narrowly avoiding a stumble on the
overgrown ivy. It was easy to find, as it was the only one with music blaring from its interior. I had hardly begun to knock when the door
flew open and Scott pulled me into his arms, giving me a ravenous kiss
. When we finally broke free, I stepped back, not wanting to waste the effort I had put into getting ready to meet him; my hair worn up and
styled in such a way that it looked like it was done in five minutes,
rather than the actual forty, and makeup carefully applied to look like
I wasn’t wearing any. I had also braved the short denim skirt Kate had
bullied me into buying, resisting the urge to tug it down at the hem.