Flirting With Magick (26 page)

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. Ka
te
saw our civil exchange and leaned over to me, "That woman's not her
e,
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 sa
dness 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 en
ough 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, S
cott
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 glorio
us smile, all tension from our previous meeting instantly dissolved.

“I’m well.” I breathed out my relief a little too noticeably. “You gu
ys 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 wh
o
quickly looked away this time, feeling myself blush mainly from gu
ilt
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 month
s 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 wit
h 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, thi
s 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 m
e. “Don’t make yourself a stranger, okay?”

Josh put his arm around me, and we walked back to the table, Tro
y
following behind. “Having a good night?” he asked. I stretched up an
d
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. “W
hat 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, wh
o came over to shake Josh's hand, then proceeded to make a round of introductions. Scott 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 exper
tly
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.

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, discuss
ed
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 watchi
ng
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. "Wha
t are you talking about? I need a coffee."

He followed me out to the kitchen, "The guy you were with whil
e 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 staye
d
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 h
is
forearm, feeling the rigid muscle relax under my touch. "It was nothi
ng.
I guess it was just easier to not mention it, rather than have you acti
ng 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, was
n't
that enough? I hadn't experienced jealousy from him before, and I wa
sn’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."