”We have a Lady with us,” said Sebastian disapprovingly.
Evan rolled his eyes and James smiled, both having seen this behavior from Sebastian many times before.
Lila turned her chair back to face Evan. He really liked her bare legs. They were long and shapely, and looked kissably smooth.
“What is a Magique slut?”
Evan didn’t hear the question; he was too wrapped up in a fantasy involving his lips and Lila’s legs.
“Groupies,” Adam stage whispered with amusement. “James can’t live without them.”
Sebastian rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, wishing his colleagues were a little more couth.
“Come on James,” said Adam standing. ”Let’s go find you a horny human.”
The two men took their drinks and headed for the bar.
“Perhaps it would be better if I took you home,” Sebastian turned to Lila.
“But we just got here.”
“I worry for your safety.”
“Sebastian, I’ve been to a bar before. I can handle a bunch of horny men.”
“Humans maybe, but not all Magiques understand the meaning of ‘No,’” Sebastian pointedly looked at Evan and back at Lila, obviously trying to convey something to her in the look.
Evan took his cue, “Miss Lila,” he said formally and gave her a small bow, ”It was a pleasure meeting you,” he left without a backward glance, taking his whiskey bottle with him.
Lila turned an accusing eye on Sebastian.
“Did I scare them away, or did you, Teacher?”
“I just wanted you to meet the team,” Alexander answered for him.
“Team?”
“The ISF team assigned to your case.”
“Why Is there a team assigned to my case?”
“Didn’t Sebastian tell you?”
Lila and Alexander both looked at Sebastian, who looked unapologetic.
“We are still hoping to find out something about your origin,” Alexander explained. “James and Adam are very good with tracking down rumors and leads.”
Lila thought that sounded fair. Then she thought about the handsome Irishman with the beautiful voice and blushed.
“What did you mean when you said the feelings were artificial?”
“Only that men will be attracted to you whether they want to be or not.”
“Neither of you were.”
“We just have more experience with hiding it,” he said with a mischievously youthful smile. Lila bet Alexander had to beat the women off with a stick.
“So I’ll never know if someone has real feelings for me,” Lila said sadly.
“I don’t think that’s necessarily true. Attraction at first sight is simply a way to narrow the playing field. You, my dear, just get to play the whole field.” Alexander grinned at her. “If you don’t shock them all.”
“You think I'll have them lining up to fill my dance card?.” Lila wasn’t so sure.
“Absolutely, my Dear.” When Alexander smiled he looked like a prince charming.
Lila flushed and swiveled her chair to look at the crowd again.
Lila’s mind wandered back to the other three men she had met earlier. James was simultaneously entertaining and irritating, like an older brother. “Friend zone’ was definitely the place for him. Adam was quiet; he’d take time to get to know. Evan was…dreamy. She smiled at her juvenile thought.
“What does Evan do for the team?”
“Stay away from that one,” Sebastian said sternly. “Evan is a vampire.”
“Evan does contract work for the ISF,” Alexander said. “He’s not on the team yet.
“Please excuse me, I just remembered something I'd like to speak with him about.”
Alexander rose with his drink and left to go find Evan.
“So this was a work meeting for all of you?” Lila asked Sebastian. “Do you always have business meetings in a loud dance club?”
“Not always. It’s harder to eavesdrop in a loud place.”
“And we are concerned with eavesdroppers because..?”
“Because of you. Because nothing has been found out about you. The boss has decided to guard you as closely as a state secret until we can learn more.”
“Awesome,” was all she said. Then she stood. “I’m going to the ladies room.”
“Let me escort you.”
“Not necessary.”
“I will be the judge of that.”
Lila huffed in frustration, but said no more as Sebastian followed her to the ladies room.
She wanted to scream at Sebastian for not telling her that there was a team of men working on her origin, as if she was some unsolved mystery. So she had come by her magic in a less than ordinary way. Why was that such a big deal? There was probably something else he wasn’t saying, but Lila couldn’t bring herself to care at the moment. She had started the night hoping to make some new friends so she would not feel lonely, and instead she felt more alone.
When Lila came out of the restroom, she looked more wilted than when she went in. This concerned Sebastian.
“I’m ready to leave,” Lila sighed heavily.
As they wove through the crowd all male eyes turned to watch Lila, and she scowled. ‘Do You Really Want to Hurt Me’ by the Culture Club was playing and couples were holding each other on the dance floor. The song was one of Lila’s favorites, and it made her even sadder that no one would ask her to dance.
Lila was silent all the way home. Sebastian kept looking at her, hoping for an opportunity to engage her, but she had shut down. When they reached home, she strode directly for her room, ignoring any entreaty Sebastian attempted. He decided to leave it until tomorrow.
Lila was greeted by Sebastian the next morning with conciliatory coffee and a dozen fresh donuts. She nearly moaned with pleasure from just looking at the box full of sugary decadence. Lila chose her favorite first; the simple glazed confection melted on her tongue. She closed her eyes savoring its sweetness.
“This is as good as the best sex,” she moaned and swallowed the first bite of her favorite treat. When she opened her eyes Sebastian was staring at her, an unreadable look on his face. “Crap, did I say that out loud?” she asked.
“Am I feeding a vice?’ he inquired with raised eyebrows.
“Possibly,” she said, stuffing more of the donut in her mouth.
“I can leave. If you need to be alone.” The corners of his mouth quirked up in a teasing smile.
Lila turned bright red in the face.
“No! Please Sebastian, have one,” Lila had to cover her mouth full of donut as she laughed at herself.
Sebastian smiled back and chose a cinnamon and sugar coated donut. They sat for a minute chewing and drinking contentedly. Lila was suddenly overcome by the gesture. Sebastian could not have known how much she liked donuts, but he had intended to make her feel better. The thought alone was what counted; the fact that he’d stumbled over her favorite thing was a bonus that sent her emotions reeling. Feeling her eyes fill with tears, Lila grabbed for a napkin on the table and blew her nose.
“What’s wrong, Lila?” Sebastian worried he’d distressed her.
“Nothing’s wrong, Teacher,” Lila answered in the formal way he insisted on during training. “I’m just allergic to kindness,” she wanted it to sound like a joke, but it came out with a sob.
“Oh my dear,” Sebastian reached across the table to touch her face and got a shock of energy that he felt to his toes. “Fuck!”
“Language!” Lila began laughing and couldn’t stop. Sebastian joined her.
“Thanks, I needed a laugh,” said Lila when they recovered.
“As did I, Student,” Sebastian returned her smile. “When you finish breakfast, get dressed for town.”
Lila looked at her teacher in surprise.
“You earned a day off, and we need to talk. We are going shopping.”
“Records?’ Lila asked.
“Every dress you cho
ose will earn you three records today.
“I’ll be ready in 10.” Lila grabbed another donut and rushed to her room to get ready. Sebastian’s chuckle followed her up the stairs.
In town, Sebastian took Lila to a small dress boutique where the sales woman saw dollar signs when she looked at Sebastian, and she flirted with him shamelessly.
Predictably, Sebastian chose overly frilly dresses, and Lila chose comfortable and simple styles. Emerging from the dressing room in one of Sebastian’s choices, a pastel colored chiffon ruffled monstrosity, Lila finally demanded that the sales woman referee. Taking a minute to earn her pay, the sales woman chose three dresses in different jewel tones that complimented Lila’s figure and coloring perfectly. All three were ‘evening wear’ in Lila’s opinion, so Lila held on to two of her casual knit 'daywear’ dresses. The sales woman also found a pair of silver strappy three inch heels that would go with all three evening dresses. At five foot nine, Lila had always been tall and had shied away from heels in her human life, as she tended to tower over the average man in her sneakers. The three inch heels were something she never would have looked at in her former life, but being around six-foot Sebastian 24/7 had changed her perspective, not to mention she was shorter than all five men from last night. Maybe there was a minimum height requirement for Magiques.
Collecting her bags, Lila ignored the phone number the sales woman slipped to Sebastian. She was already planning her record purchases. Sebastian took the bags from her as they left the boutique. Lila turned right making strides to the record shop when Sebastian grabbed her arm to slow her. When she looked back at him he was looking in the window of a lingerie store.
“Keep walking Teacher, my underwear is not for your eyes. Besides, I can buy that online.”
“You can’t wear cotton under an evening dress,” he insisted.
“True, but how soon am I wearing one of these dresses?” She gestured to the bags he was holding.
“Tonight,” he smiled deviously.
Lila narrowed her eyes at him. “We are SO drawing up a calendar when we get home.” She turned to enter the lingerie shop. “And you are not picking anything out for me.” Lila walked up to the woman behind the counter, told her she was a 36DD and in a hurry. Twenty minutes later she had another shopping bag and they were finally on their way to the record shop.
Inside, ‘Walking on Sunshine’ by Katrina and the Waves was playing over the speakers.
Lila and Sebastian parted ways, Lila to Rock and Pop, Sebastian to Classical. When they met at the register, Lila had a stack of twenty CDs.
“That looks like more than 9,” commented Sebastian.
“That’s because there are 20,“ challenged Lila. “I’m counting the heels and lingerie as one and a half, and I got five dresses, not three.”
Sebastian didn’t argue further. It felt good to see her smile and he looked forward to seeing her in a dress later.
He took her to the diner on the square for lunch. The same one they’d been to their first day together. The diner was full, so they would have to wait a bit. James and Adam walked in behind them as they waited for a table. Both men smiled at Lila, but James poured on his charm.
“Hello my lovely, miss me?” His accent sounded Australian today. He moved to put an arm around her at the same time that Lila raised her hand to stop him and their hands touched, sparking a huge shock.
“Ouch!” James hopped up and down, shaking the shocked hand.
Sebastian and Adam both laughed at him.
“What the hell is that?” he cried.
“Self defense,” Lila said smugly.
Sebastian wondered if that was true. They might have to test the theory.
“Would the two of you like to join us for lunch?”
“Sure, just keep Electra away from my digits. I need them for work,” said James, still smarting.
“Losing your determination already?” Adam taunted. “Last night you were ready to walk down the aisle with her.”
“Yeah, that’s one effective defense mechanism,” commented James.
The waitress arrived to seat them in a booth before any more jokes could be made.
Adam sat next to Lila and Sebastian and James sat across from them. Everyone looked at their menu except Sebastian.
“Teacher?” Lila inquired. “Aren’t you going to look at your menu?”
“I already know what I want.”
“The meat platter with a side of bacon?”
“You know me so well, Student.”
They both laughed. This earned them sideways looks from the other two men.
“Aren’t you two getting along like a pair of socks,” James commented.
“A pair of socks?” questioned Lila.”Is that a real saying or did you just make that up?”
James shrugged.
“Sounds real enough to me.”
The meal was spent in companionable conversation. Lila learned that James was a hacker for the team and a mage. Adam was human, and could go places and get information from human sources easier than a Magique. Adam had begun his career with the US army’s Green Berets, and almost immediately got recruited for the ESF (Extra Special Forces.) The ESF was the human branch of the ISF, or Immortal Special Forces.
Adam, like many humans, had been shocked at first to learn that immortals and magic were real, but by the end of his first year of service with the ESF, he had not only bonded with his seven human brothers in the unit, but he had also warmed up to most of the guys they worked with in the ISF. Together the ESF and ISF were a combination of soldiers and spies for both human and immortal beings. Their main focus was keeping the existence of all immortals secret from the general human population, and to contain instances of exposure of immortals in the human world. They were essentially the police for immortals behaving badly in the human world.
“So what does Evan do for the group?’ asked Lila.
“Everything no one else wants to do,” answered Adam.
Lila looked at him quizzically.
“Evan does the dirty work,” James almost sneered.
“Evan does very dirty work,” said Sebastian in a tone that warned Lila not to pursue the question further.
Uncharacteristically, Sebastian drove the speed limit on the way home, making the trip take much longer. He apologized to Lila for not giving her more information about the ISF team that was working on her case. He promised to bring her into the meetings that pertained to her case, and vowed to listen should she have anything to contribute. He also told her he would allow her to meet with the team members socially, as long as she promised not to trust that any of them had honest intentions towards her. Lila laughed and promised specifically not to date James, Adam, or Alexander. They both laughed and Lila wondered if Sebastian had noticed that she left Evan’s name out, or maybe he really wasn’t part of the team.
They arrived home at dusk. Sebastian helped carry the shopping bags to Lila’s room, and deposited them on her unmade bed. He told her they had a reservation at 6:30 at a dinner club in town.
“What is a ‘dinner club?’” demanded Lila.
“This one is Cuban. It’s a fixed menu and it has the best salsa dancing on the continent.”
“Oh,” Lila found no other words.
“What troubles you Lila?”
“I’ve never danced to salsa, Sebastian. I’m worried about embarrassing you.”
Sebastian gave her a paternal smile. “You are very graceful and athletic. You will pick it up quickly, and no doubt be wonderful.”
Lila continued to look at him doubtfully, ”What about the shocky thing I do? The last time I watched ‘Dancing with the Stars’, salsa was a contact sport.”
“Dancing with the Stars’?” Sebastian looked at her without understanding.
“Never mind. We need a TV.”
“Don’t worry about shocking me, I’ve got that covered,” Sebastian looked at his watch, ”Can you be ready to leave in an hour?”
Se
bastian drove to another nondescript industrial building on the outskirts of town, this one had a black door. They drove around to the back of the building to find a nearly full parking lot. Couples were gathered at a door filing inside. All the patrons seemed to be dressed in their Sunday best; suits for men, dresses and heels for women. Lila would fit right in with her sleeveless navy A-line dress and the sandals she had bought earlier. She’d allowed her hair to dry naturally, accentuating the waves, and she wore dangling silver earrings that always made her feel pretty.
Just like the night before, there was a bouncer with a guest list at the door, and the inside of the club was completely unexpected compared to the plain outside. It was like stepping into an old black and white Hollywood musical starring Fred Astair and Ginger Rogers. Tables covered in white linens surrounded a large parquet dance floor. At the far side of the dance floor was a big brass band, all male and tuxedoed. The décor was a 1920's nightclub, with crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and silver sconces on the walls, all reflecting light and creating a glittering atmosphere of opulence.
Sebastian guided Lila to a table for two in the back, and pulled her seat out for her. She draped her shawl on the back of the chair and sat.
“Is this a Mixed Magic place?” she asked when Sebastian took his seat. ‘Mixed Magic’ was what establishments were called if they catered to all Magique races, and sometimes humans, too. It meant that the human patrons knew about Magiques, and presumably were okay with them.
“Yes. It’s called the Speakeasy, and like most Magique-friendly places, it does not advertise. It always has live music, and once a month they sponsor ‘Latin Night.’ This is the first time I’m eating dinner here as well, so I am pleased to have you with me tonight.”
“What do you mean? Why haven’t you had dinner here before?”
“Dinner is for couples and parties. If you’re single, you just come for drinks at the bar and dancing later. You’ll see the bar fill up in about an hour.”
“It already seems very popular.” The tables were all full, and Lila saw 3 or 4 couples already on the dance floor. They moved like professional ballroom dancers and were dressed in sequins and flashy suits.
“I think it’s because there are so many old Magiques who come here. Many of us enjoy dancing to live music over television.”
Magic's Love Page 6
