Flirting With Magick (6 page)

Scott and the woman stopped talking and looked over at us before
he excused himself and strode over to our table. The woman gave us a
glare, elongating her feline eyes, which only hardened her otherwise very pretty face and stalked out of the room.

Luke sighed with relief next to me. “Who the fuck let her in?” he mumbled before getting up to take his turn in the shower. Scott took
his place as Daniel appeared, looking spiffy in a clean change of clothes
. He gave Stacy a kiss, and as there are no more seats, she stood up so she could sit on his lap.

“How are you?” Scott asked me. His hair was still lank but no long
er sticking to his temples.

“Fine thanks. You guys sounded fantastic tonight,” I gushed wi
th only a little more control than the last time.

“Thank you. It felt really good up there tonight. Everyone seeme
d to be getting into it. How was it from where you were?”

“The atmosphere was awesome,” I confirmed, watching as the
excitement practically bubbled out of him even as he tried to stay
composed. His mouth was cocked in a half-smile, and the ball on his piercing was wobbling.

“Excellent,” he nodded enthusiastically. “That’s what I like to hear.”

The conversation around the table remained focused on the night’s
performance. I found I really liked Stacy, who was rather quiet but
sweet, and Linda, who was very much ‘one of the boys.’ She would
definitely be the one to approach should I ever have any questions on
what they—specifically Scott—were like. Not that I would, of course.

Luke returned, fresh from his shower, and Nathan took his turn. The
room started to empty as people left to socialise in the club. Occasionally
,
a member of their staff or crew would come over to chat. I met a thousand
people that night
—
all names and faces eluding me a few seconds after
being introduced.

Nathan returned, and Scott made a move to get up.

“Would you like a hand?” I asked, my voice low and tongue firml
y wedged in my cheek.

“Give me five minutes," he whispered in my ear. "Ask where the toilets are or something.” My initial shock at his response was stifled by the shiver of excitement racing down my spine as I watched him pick up his bag and leave the room.

After a few minutes, I innocently asked everyone around me to
no one in particular, “Excuse me; could you please tell me where the toilets are?”

Luke pointed me in the right direction, not bothering to hide the smirk growing on his face, which I chose to ignore.

I could hear the water running from the hall so it wasn’t as if anyone
was likely to enter the unlocked room. I went inside, bolting the door
behind me, feeling apprehensive yet excited at the same time. This wa
s another new one for me.

“That better be you, Abby,” Scott joked.

I sat down next to his bag on the tiny seat in the change room and
admired his muscular frame through the semi-transparent curtain.

“Do you work out?” I asked, not quite certain what else to say or do;
I wasn’t too sure how this was going to work.

“Occasionally. We’ve got some weights at home, but I think I get
enough exercise just lugging all our equipment around.” He poked his
head out. “I don’t suppose you want to come in?”

I scrunched up my nose and shook my head, thinking about my non-waterproof make-up and clear lack of a towel.

“Nah, you’re right; we didn’t really plan this well, did we?” He turned
off the taps, reached for his towel, and pulled the curtain aside, revealing
an obvious bulge as he wrapped the towel around his waist. “You
wouldn’t believe what I was thinking about us doing in there,” he said
, his lips turned up on one side.

"I think I've got the idea," I winked, my astonishment at myself
mirrored by the look on his face, coupled with pleasure as I knelt do
wn in front of him and pulled the towel away.

A few minutes later, I joined everyone back in the dressing room,
trying not to look guilty or, worse, smug at what we had just done. I had only given Scott a preview, but I was confident he would want
to see the full show later tonight. When he returned, everyone got u
p,
and we made our way into the club. It had become even more crowded
as the night had progressed, which made it difficult to move around.

Scott took me by the hand, leading me through the mob and over
to the bar. “What can I get you? Riesling?” He let his hands rest on m
y shoulders, his fingers playing with my hair and flicking it gently on the skin of my neck as he eased me in front of him.

"Yes, please," I glanced around and caught sight of Scott’s backstage
companion at the other end of the bar, her gaze wandering around
the room in apparent disinterest toward the man whispering in her ear. When her pretty eyes honed in on Scott, they narrowed as they fixed on
me. It was a look I might have to get used to.

“Abby, come and dance.” Linda grabbed my hand out of Scott’s
grasp. “Sorry, Scott. I’m sure Abby’s got better things to do than do
dge your expanding heads tonight.” She nodded pointedly at a group of giggling girls that had gathered around the band. We left the men at
the bar to converse further amongst themselves, lap up the compliments
on their performance, and have photos taken with their fans while
Kate, Stacy, Linda, and I took to the dance floor.

I had seen myself over the last few years as being a bit too old for
the nightclub scene, but looking around and seeing the diverse range
of people, I realised I still fit in easily. There were the young, only just
of age, girls giggling in their impenetrable groups on the dance floor while the boys leaned back against the bar, trying to look as if they’d
been going there for years. The other end of the spectrum were the m
en
and women from nightclubs of years gone by, still here out of habit, not
wanting to let go of their youth. Then there were those who started coming here when they were eighteen and would phase it out long
before it became a tiresome pattern. I saw myself as part of this group
;
the ones who could still be here and not feel uncomfortable, even though
it felt like years since I had set foot in a place like this. Josh wasn’t really
one for going out, and I had usually stayed in with him. After over
an hour of non-stop dancing, we all agreed it was time to head back to the bar for a breather.

As we pushed our way back to where the boys were standing at
the bar, my leg caught against something, making me trip forward and
into Stacy. “What the fuck?” she squealed.

“Sorry, Stacy.” I looked behind us and saw the familiar long red
hair moving swiftly away. Its owner glanced at me before disappearing
into the crowd.

The four band members were having happy snaps taken with a group of tipsy girls, barely out of high school, when we reached the bar
. Stacy bought us all a drink, and we stood back to survey the room.
“Are you okay? What just happened?” she asked me.

“I’m not sure,” I answered. “I think it was that girl that Scott was talking to in the dressing room. The one he had to be rescued from.”

“Oh, that’s Tanya. She works for one of the radio stations. Right Linda?” She received a nod from the other woman. ”I think she’s got
a bit of a thing for Scott.” Kate and I exchanged looks. Stacy noticed
and quickly brought her hand to her mouth. “Oh my God. I’m sorry. I didn’t realise. I should have put two and two together.”

“No, it’s fine.” I squeezed her arm. “It’s nothing serious.” Before I could explain further, Daniel showed up and whisked Stacy away. She waved back as they walked, hand in hand, out of the club.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about Tanya, Abby.” Linda assured
me. “I can tell Scott likes you. He looks at you a certain way.”
He does
?
I couldn’t readily admit that we had only had sex a couple of times, an
d
if he happened to look at me a certain way, it was completely irrelevant.

I waved her statement away, smiling, and then turned to Kate. “So
what’s the deal with Nathan?”

“Yeah, what’s going on there, hey?” Linda teased with me. I was glad to have successfully changed the subject.

Kate’s face grew crimson. “We’ve just been... spending some time
together, that’s all.”

“Really?” I was
astonished
. “So that’s why I haven’t seen you
all week
?”

“Yeah, but he still forgot to tell me we were on the door list.” I
couldn’t believe she was still pissed off about that.

“Is there anything Kate should know?” I asked Linda.

She motioned to us to move a little farther out of earshot of Luke,
Scott, and Nathan, somewhat needlessly with the loud music. “Nathan
is lovely,” she began. “I’ve only been working with them for six m
onths, but I don’t think he’s had a girlfriend in that time, so sorry, no gossip
there. But he’s a lot of fun.” She then looked at me. “Scott pretty muc
h
keeps things to himself, but he’s always been really nice. He had a
girlfriend a few months ago, but he seems to have perked up a lot sinc
e they broke up. He’s really into the music. It’s his life, and let's face it, he’s very good at it.”

I looked over to where Scott stood immersed in conversation with
Silas and caught his eye. I smiled quickly then turned back to Linda,
not wanting my face to give away that we had been talking about him.

“What about Luke?” I asked, glancing at my cousin as he made
small talk with two attractive blondes
—
both wearing shimmery dresses
, one black, one white, with V's cut down to their navels. He appeared
to have them wrapped around his little finger. I explained to Linda
that I hadn’t really known him since childhood.

“Music-wise he’s excellent; chick-wise, Luke’s a shocker,” she
declared, laughing. “He’s such a flirt, and I swear he’s with a different
girl every weekend.” We all snickered, no surprise especially after his
actions following the Springers gig. “Another dance?” Linda put down
her glass and headed over to the crowd of sweaty, gyrating bodies again.

“I’m just going to the toilet,” I told Kate as she went to follow Linda.
“
I’ll find you.” I finished my drink and headed towards the ladies room.
As I was reapplying my lip gloss before going back out to dance, Tanya
emerged from the far cubicle.

She smiled sweetly at me as she washed her hands and spoke before
I could escape. “Sorry I accidentally tripped you up on the dance
floor. It’s these bloody heels. I only got them yesterday.”

“That’s okay.” Relieved, I smile back and admired the high stilettos. “
They’re nice.” Perhaps she was quite pleasant after all.

She lowered her voice. “Listen, I saw you and Scott together. I just
think I should let you know if you’re one of the ones sleeping with him
,
he usually comes home with me. I guess you can say he and I have
an arrangement.”

“I’m sorry?” I put the gloss in my bag and looked up at her through
the mirror.

“Come with me; this will only take a second.” We left the toilets, and she gestured for me to stand next to her against the wall where
we could see most of the room. “See that group of girls over there nex
t
to the DJ booth?” She shouted into my ear above the music. “I see him
talking to them a lot. See the one with the curly hair? He left with her a
few weeks ago.” She pointed to a woman minding a table and laughing
at her friends on the dance floor. “He’s taken her home a few times, too.”
My stomach did a flip. “See the two girls near the bar who are checking
out the barmen? He’s taken each of them home on separate occasions.”

“Why are you telling me this?” The annoyance in my voice sounded
loud and clear.

She was about to point out yet another of Scott’s conquests when
she looked at me pityingly. “You seem nice. I just thought I should let
you know that you’re not the only one he’s with. You’re obviously
flavour of the night tonight, but believe me, if you weren’t here, well,
as I said, he’s usually with me. If I’m not here...“ She gestured around
the room. “Well, it’s pretty obvious he’s got a smorgasbord.”

“Tanya, is it?” I tried to make my voice sound pleasant, but failed
completely. Okay, I wasn’t trying at all. “Look, it isn’t really any of your
business, but thanks for letting me know. Have a good night.” I walked
away, deflated, to where Kate and Linda were dancing.

“What a crazy bitch,” Kate snarled when I told her what had
just
happened.

“I know, it’s pathetic,” I replied. “Let’s just forget it and have a
good night.” Barely into the next song, I felt a nudge on the back of my
leg. Oh, bloody hell, what now? I turned around to see Scott standing
there, smiling.