Kitty was right. I probably should talk to him. I didn’t want Marc to leave with any bad blood between us but I wasn’t sure what I was going to say.
“I think I’ll do that.” I paused to give Kitty a hug, which was part of the new making-friends me, and she reciprocated warmly before giving me a push towards the steps. It took me a few minutes to climb the steps and cross the garden.
I entered the house through the screened back door and called for Marc. He didn’t answer so I went up to my room. In the weeks before he left, we’d spent quite a few evenings talking in here, curled up on the window seat, as it was a bit more quiet than in his room downstairs. He’d taken to leaving some things too; a sweater, a book or two. Everything was gone. I sat on the bed and looked around. Not one scrap of Marc was left, he may well have never been in my room.
I went back out to the hallway and walked down the stairs to Marc’s room. He wasn’t there either, but the things he had left in my room had been recklessly tossed onto the dresser, so I backtracked to the hall.
Opening the front door, I ducked around the side of the building where the cars were kept – Marc’s Prius was gone. To have vanished so fast, he must have already been packed, ready to go, when he caught up with me on the beach. At least, that solved the problem of what I would say to him. Apparently, it would be nothing at all. It was probably a good thing considering the way I was feeling. At least, I wouldn’t say something that I might regret later.
Back in the house, I shut the front door with a thud and rested against it for a moment. I took the stairs two at a time and went into my room to pick up a shawl. I’d probably need it if the night turned cold later. Then it occurred to me that the other girls might need something too so I gathered up an armful and tossed them into a straw bag that was lounging empty on the landing. At least, I had an excuse for coming back to the house, I thought as I left via the back door.
I puzzled the whole scenario over in my head again. Sure, Marc and I had been getting close but neither one of us had made any move and he had no right to think that he had some kind of say over whom I spoke to. I felt myself getting angrier as I ran down the steps.
“Hey!” Seren called as I stepped onto the beach. “Where’d ya go?”
I held up the bag. “I thought we might get cold later, so I went to fetch some shawls from the house.”
“You are sweetness, personified,” grinned Seren, making room for me on the big towel on which she lay spread-eagled. Kitty waved to me from the makeshift pitch and Étoile tossed the volleyball towards me. I dropped the bag and caught the ball without hesitation, to Étoile’s delight.
Seren laughed, “I think you’ve just been conscripted which is a good thing because the girls are losing.” She waved her scorecard at me.
I slipped out of my sandals again and tossed the ball back. “I’m in!”
The game went on for a couple of hours. Kitty, Étoile and I versus Evan, Jared and Clara – we were the stay hards. From time to time, David or Seren joined in and dropped out – mostly they seemed happy to stick with each other’s company and I wondered if there weren’t some budding romance there. I watched Kitty’s lithe body leap through the air to smash the ball back and we hugged and high fived as she scored another point for the team.
When it came to Evan’s turn to serve, he stretched his long, muscular body to whack the ball over to our side. I was sure I wasn’t the only one admiring his thick biceps, broad shoulders, bare chest and strong legs. The ball had gone to Kitty’s side so she hit it back to Evan. They parried until the ball fell on our side and Evan stretched again. As he caught my eye and held my gaze, I realised I hadn’t looked at anyone else and wondered if his stretching was for my benefit. Yum.
“Close your mouth,” whispered Étoile, bumping me gently and I laughed as I looked away. When I turned back, Evan grinned at me, then I had to race to bash the ball that was hurtling towards me and him and he laughed as he smashed it back with ease.
While we played, the sun started going down and the sky faded to dusky blue. David and Seren had been gathering driftwood for a little firepit Jared had dug where a newly ignited fire burned. He and David were poking it with sticks to the amusement of Seren who was singing “me man, make fire” until she was scooped up by Jared, who ran her around as though she were a victory prize. After a couple of rounds, she was tossed unceremoniously onto the pitch still clutching her scorecard. She scrambled to her feet and called time, waving her hands for us all to stop whilst we clamoured for the result.
“Much as it pains me to say this,” she gasped, brushing the sand from her body. “The boys are the winners.”
A whoop went up from the boys with “false” cries from the girls.
“I propose a swim, because I’m hot and sticky and the sea will cool us down before we eat.” This was met with unanimous approval but Seren didn’t wait to hear it as she grabbed Kitty’s hand and they ran into the sea before you could say “go.” Again, I admired Kitty’s lithe, unselfconscious body in the red two-piece.
I was still wearing my sundress, so I carefully unbuttoned it from the top to the skirt and slipped it off. Fortunately, I’d already put on the white bikini and the straps had stayed taut. I went to hang it over the net so I would find it after the swim and discovered Evan still standing there.
I mistakenly thought he’d headed to the shoreline already but he had, quite obviously, watched me as I slowly unbuttoned my dress in front of him.
“I didn’t know you were there,” I mumbled. I fought to keep my cool as I saw his chest heave while he scanned my almost naked body. He didn’t say anything. “I’ve never swum in the sea before,” I admitted to fill the silence and Evan held out his hand.
“I’ll take care of you.”
I hesitated, then laid my hand in his as he pulled me into the sea after him until we were up to our hips. It wasn’t warm but not unbearably cold so far out so I pushed off and swam tentative strokes. Ahead of me, Evan swung his arms into more powerful strokes then his legs flipped into the air and he disappeared. I treaded water for a moment, moving myself in a circle to see where he was, then, as suddenly as he disappeared, he surfaced, just inches in front of me.
Sea water trickled down his face and he brushed it away with a hand. I was close enough that everyone else seemed to disappear, and it was just the two of us, treading water. I was glad he couldn’t hear my heart quickening its pace. He reached out and brushed my damp hair behind my ears, his fingers grazing my cheeks and not moving. I was close enough to lean in and kiss him. In the mere second the idea crossed my mind, my lips parted in anticipation; he splashed me with water and I laughed before he slid back under the water.
He reappeared next to Jared and they jostled, trying to dunk each other and splashing water at Kitty, making her laugh, before racing each other through the waves.
Étoile had swum over and was treading water next to me, mouthing, “hot, hot, hot” which made me laugh and we swam together before heading to shore. Kitty was waiting for us with towels. Étoile grabbed one and another for Seren.
“Did you find him?” Kitty asked quietly, when the two of us were alone.
I shook my head and droplets of water shook out. “No, he’s gone. He’s just gone. No note. It seemed a very...,” I struggled for the right word. “Final. It seemed a very final thing to do.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s okay. Besides, I’m really pissed off with him for acting like such a jerk when he’s supposed to be my friend and I would have said that if he’d been there.” I towelled off and stood by the raging bonfire, still in my two-piece.
Skewers of meat had been produced from a cool bag and were being threaded over a rack. The scent of barbecue pulled in the stragglers from the sea who patted their stomachs and busied themselves handing out drinks.
Jared pulled out a guitar (clearly a hidden talent) and started strumming it as the sun set in streaks of orange and pink over the ocean
until the only light that was left was the bonfire. Stakes with torches had been set out and lit so that there was light around the blankets too. Our little crowd stretched out on towels and dozed while the meat cooked. The atmosphere was altogether relaxing and joyful. I couldn’t have wished to be anywhere else and for the first time, I knew what it felt like to really be part of something. I didn’t feel at all awkward in their company anymore.
My bikini had dried off so I walked over to the remains of the volleyball pitch, my feet sinking in the cool sand. My dress was where I’d left it, still hanging over the pole so I shrugged it on and redid the buttons, leaving the last few of the skirt semi undone. As I turned back towards the bonfire, I scanned the people for the pair of eyes I could feel were watching me and smiled when I saw Evan. He raised his glass to me.
“What shall we do for entertainment?” Seren asked to a resounding “whoop”. “I already know the decision, of course, but I’m sure you would rather come up with it by yourselves than for me to just tell you.”
“Dancing,” came a shout from the back. I thought it was Jared.
“Gentleman, please. This is not a beach of ill repute,” snorted Kitty.
“Dance with us then?” came a low voice. David did a low bow in front of Seren and offered her his hand which she took with coy smile. Yep, something definitely going on there. His suggestion was met with approval from all sides, a CD player was produced from somewhere and music blared out across our enclave. There were some more “whoops” as Kitty and Clara immediately started jumping around, arms in the air. No one could fail to admire their enthusiastic dancing whilst still clad in bikinis. I laughed and turned as I felt a body close to mine.
Evan took my hand and pulled me to him. I had to stretch to put my hands around his neck as he slipped his hands about my waist. A single one of his hands almost covered the base of my back. We danced slowly, no more than a shuffle and every so often he spun me out and twirled me around before pulling me to him again. He had only pulled on jeans so I found myself – happily – very close to his bare chest. Dancing with Evan was pure pleasure but eventually I shivered as we drifted away from the gathering, confessed I felt a little cold, and we went back to the bonfire.
Evan gathered up one of the discarded shawls and wrapped it around my shoulders before swooping up his t-shirt and sweat jacket and pulling them over his head. He fell backwards onto a blanket and pulled me down with him, so that I was nestled between his legs, my back to his chest, using his powerful body to shield me from the breeze that had whipped up. It was strangely intimate, though at no time was he inappropriate and I felt comfortable snuggled into him. But even I had to admit that I wouldn’t be snuggled quite so close if there weren’t some serious attraction going on.
Whether it was because of his intense body heat, or because, frankly, just being near him was a turn-on, I didn’t want to move away from Evan so we stayed there for the rest of the night. Food was passed round and people came and went, sitting and chatting and then moving on again. By the time the moon was hanging full and bright over the ocean, my eyelids were giving sleepy tugs down and I feared I might dose off right there in Evan’s arms if I didn’t move soon.
I stretched my arms and felt Evan shift behind me as he tightened his arms around me. He seemed to be half asleep himself. A glance at my watch’s glowing hands told me it was past eleven.
“I think it’s time I went to bed,” I muttered and, in an instant, Evan was on his feet and helping me to mine.
“Seren looks like she’s heading up to the house, why don’t you walk up with her?” he suggested.
I looked over. Seren had gathered up her things and, I noticed gratefully, mine too. She had probably already known that I would walk up with her. “Yes, I think I will.”
Evan bent his head towards mine and I felt his hands brush my lower back. I tilted my head and wondered if he might kiss me under the moonlit sky; I certainly wanted him to. Instead, he dipped and I felt his warm lips brush across my cheek. I took a step back and his hands released me as I stumbled a step away. I paused for breath but couldn’t say anything. Evan nodded once, and smiled.
What was with the guys around here? I thought as I caught up with Seren and offered to carry her surplus bag. Was I misinterpreting everything? God! I was going to be so embarrassed in the morning. We walked up the steps together, calling goodnight to the straggling partiers. “What a lovely day,” she said happily, David just a step behind her.
“The best,” I muttered, glowing hotly with the embarrassment of misinterpreting Evan’s intentions. In the next moment, I wondered how it was that so much of the world’s awfulness could have been pushed from our thoughts for this single day. It was a sobering thought that I could do without.
Seren kissed me on the cheek when we got to the house and wandered off to her room while I was saying goodnight to Christy and Clara who were looking a little worse for wear. David nodded to me as he passed and followed Seren upstairs. It was fortunate that this sprawling house could accommodate us all so well, I thought. It was nice to have a room of my own, instead of bunking down with several other girls like I had to do in one of my foster homes. Still, I did allow myself a second of speculation about which room David was heading to and I couldn’t help but smile to myself.
I took the stairs two at a time and dumped my bag on the chair. My discarded clothing went into the hamper and I went into the en suite bathroom, reaching into the shower to turn on the taps. I held my hand under the water until it turned warm, though, really, a cold shower would have probably been more appropriate given the way I was feeling right then.
I sluiced the sea water and sand from my body and hair, shampooed and conditioned, covering myself in the vanilla-scented body wash that I loved. I assumed Seren’s abilities came in handy here too what with the coordinated basket of toiletries that appealed perfectly to me. I wondered how often people had arrived here with absolutely nothing, like I did.
Standing under the water as a reminisced about the day, I thought how nice it was that we had laughed and played like normal people. Playing volleyball and swimming in the sea, telling stilly stories, eating until our bellies were full and dancing on the sand.
It occurred to me that not once had magic been used, not that I noticed anyway. No one had thought to click their fingers to light the fire, the volleyball had been hit by hands rather than minds manipulating its path, the sky had gone inky and studded with stars all by itself. Not once could I think of an occasion where magic had been used. It had been as normal as normal could be. We were just regular people enjoying ourselves.
We had managed without magic, and magic had managed without us. Everything we did was real. Everything we felt was real. And it dawned on me that the attraction I was feeling towards Evan was all of my own making. “Crap,” I said to the tiles.
I wondered if the others had come to the same conclusion as I and what they made of it, if they even thought about it at all. Probably not, I decided, they’d all been on the magic bus long before me.
I rinsed and turned off the taps, wrapping myself up in a towel. I dried off, lotioned and put on a mauve silk dressing gown that contrasted prettily with my hair and pale skin. Before I could really think what I was doing, my hand was on the handle of my bedroom door and pulling the door open. I stepped outside at the very instant I heard another door open and froze.
Evan stood framed in the doorway of his room down the hall. He had changed from his jeans, tee and zip-up top into loose, linen, dark navy pants that hung the long, sumptuous length of his legs.
My heart thudded in my chest and I took one step forward, then another. Evan waited for me silently until I stood before him. He looked at me for a mere second before taking my hand and pulling me inside without a word, closing the door with a soft thud.
By now, I’d been inside most of the rooms in the house but not this one. Being the corner room, it was a little bigger than mine. Curtains on both walls were draw
n already. His bed sat beneath the one that I guessed looked out over the ocean. It was made up in soft grey jersey sheets, masculine but not off-putting and the comforter was folded back like he’d just been about to climb in. On the bedside table, a lamp was switched on and a book lay open, face down.
A desk occupied one side of the long set of curtains; a small pile of books and a writing pad the only clutter. The walls were a much paler grey and everything was tidy. Two doors led off to what I assumed were his en suite and a closet. He smelled fresh and clean and I guessed he had showered as soon as he came in too.
“There was no magic today,” I said, not sure if I was stating the obvious or asking a question.
Evan shook his head. “None.”
“Everything was real.” Again, not a statement or a question.
Evan nodded his head.
“Huh.” I nodded, glad that he agreed.
“Kitty might have warmed the temperature up a little.”
“Figures.”
“Why are you here?” Evan asked softly. With a snap, I realised that I was standing in Evan’s room with barely a robe covering entirely nothing underneath and he was barely inches from me, fairly close to nakedness himself. What was I doing here?
“I just got out of the shower and I was thinking about you, then ... I don’t know, I went to the door and you were standing at yours.” That seemed to surprise Evan. I wonder if I’d stayed still, would he have come to me and would we be in my room now having the same soft conversation, but perhaps he would be doing the explaining?
“You were thinking about me while you were in the shower?”
“Um, yeah.” And why was I admitting to that?
“Stella, I think you know that I want you – I’ve tried not to, but I do – and now you are in my room, wearing very, very little.” He stroked my neck above the collar of my gown, running my hair through his fingers. “Well, that suggests that you want me too, but I want to be sure that I’m not treading on any toes.”
Illicit Magic Page 17
