Trance (6 page)

“You’ve gone pale,” said Lacey. “What did he say? If he said something
douchey, I’m going to hunt him down and give him a piece of my mind.”

I looked up at her. “He wants me to go outside with him, alone. What does that mean?”

“He’s either going to kiss you, or kill you with a chainsaw.”

“Should I go?”

“Either way, your heart is going to end up in tiny pieces.” She grinned. “I’m kidding. Perhaps he just wants to talk.”

“About what? What was so important that he couldn’t tell me backstage?”

“There’s only one way to find out.”

“Would you go? Seems kind of risky.”

“Falling in love is the most risky thing you’ll ever do.”

I hesitated at the door that led to the back courtyard of the restaurant, contemplating a backup plan if Jason did turn out armed with a chainsaw. I could see the picture in my head - when I opened the door the night would immediately turn darker and I’d end up in a seedy alleyway filled with dirty trash cans. The air would be scented with rotting food and stray cats would fight over scraps. A police siren would wail in the background.

Or perhaps, my problem was I’d seen far too many bad crime shows? I held my phone in my hand, just in case.

I opened the door into a well-lit courtyard. Jason sat at a table, which had two seats, in the centre of the area. Tiny lights hung from lanterns overhead across beams. Potted herbs like rosemary scented the area. Background music from his phone. No visible chainsaw.

He smiled as I approached and casually waved his hand to the chair across from him. I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling. “Another date? I’m not sure I can handle two in one night, especially since this one was sprung on me.”

“Wasn’t your first sprung on you too?”

“Well, I did have prior knowledge of that one, even if it wasn’t my idea of a perfect partner.”

“I see, so what is your idea of a perfect partner? You have me curious.”

I sat down opposite him. There was no way I was going to answer that. “So many questions, are you interviewing me again?”

“I wouldn’t dare.”

“Interesting. Then what would you dare? Since you bought it up, of course.”

He grinned and leaned forward. “You’d be surprised what I’d dare to do.”

“Are you challenging me to a game of Truth or Dare?”

He leaned back on his chair, lifting his fingers to his lips and tapping the point they made on them. “I wasn’t, but we could go with that, if you like.”

“Why not? I like games.”

He snapped his fingers and I gasped.

He laughed. “Relax. I’m not trying to
hypnotize you.”

“How can I be so sure? Pete says he can’t remember anything you made him do.”

“Nonsense. Everyone can remember what they did under hypnosis. He’s just embarrassed. I was tempted to make him do even more embarrassing things. But I didn’t.”

A waiter bought out two drinks. A bottle of beer for him, and a glass of wine for me. Jason slipped the waiter cash, although I couldn’t tell how much.

“Trying to get me drunk?” I asked.

“Don’t you like wine?”

I held the glass in to my lips. “I like it well enough.” I took a sip as the smooth fruity liquid glided down my throat. It was sweeter than I expected. The taste lingered on my tongue.

“I’ll have to find out what you like better then.” He took a swig of his beer.

“I’ll go first.”

He looked at me like he didn’t know what I was talking about.

“Truth or Dare. Which do you choose?”

He hesitated. “Truth.”

I raised my eyebrow. “I thought you liked dare’s? Wasn’t that the whole point of this game?”

“I’m just warming up.”

“Okay then.” I took another sip of my wine watching him closely, wondering what I should ask him. He was looking at me just as intently. “Okay, first question. Why didn’t you want me to take the job?”

“I said you could have it, if you wanted.”

“But why did you hesitate, to begin with.”

“I don’t date co-workers. It’s too messy.”

My stomach fluttered. I didn’t expect that answer.

“You wanted to ask me out? Why didn’t you say so, in the mirror maze?”

He laughed. “I tried to. You turned me down.”

“I did not. You just didn’t try hard enough.”

“Yet here we are.” He leaned back again, looking around the courtyard. “Looks like a date to me.”

“What if I decide to take the job?”

“Is this another Truth question? I thought it was my turn.”

“Fine, it’s your turn.”

“Truth or Dare?”

“Truth.”

“Why did you ditch Pete, and come out here with me?”

“I don’t know.”

“Bzzzt. Not an acceptable answer.”

“Fine. Although technically I didn’t ditch Pete, I ditched Lacey, since it was she that convinced me to join them all for dinner. And quite frankly, I think she was happy that I did. I imagine she was looking for a way to get alone with Andy anyway.”

He grimaced. “Taste is subjective, I guess.” He took another drink from his beer bottle. “You still haven’t answered the question to my satisfaction though. Why did you come out here with me?”

“Maybe you’ve unwittingly
hypnotized me, and I had no choice.”

“So it isn’t your usual pattern to sneak out of dates to meet hot entertainers out the back of restaurants?” He placed his drink on the table.

I grinned. “Not usually.”

“Then I’m flattered.”

“Only if you think I find you hot.”

“Do you?”

“Is that your next question?”

“I’m going to choose Dare next. Go on, ask.”

I took another sip and could feel a small warm buzz tickle around my head. He was certainly trying to get me drunk. Right now, I didn’t mind so much. “Truth or Dare?”

“Dare!”

My mind went blank. What was I going to ask him? I closed my eyes, trying to think of something I wanted him to do. Inappropriate images flashed across my thoughts. I shook them away immediately. Good grief, I’d better stop drinking this wine after all.

“I’m waiting.”

I opened my eyes again. “Fine. Cluck like a chicken.”

He frowned. “Is that the best you could come up with? You disappoint me.” He clucked three times. “Your turn. Truth or Dare.”

“Dare.” I could cluck like a chicken too.

“Stand up and close your eyes,” he said. His voice was soft and smooth. I did as he asked. “Keep them closed.”

I swayed slightly as I waited for his next instructions. I heard his chair scrape along the tiles of the courtyard. The music continued to play from his phone crooning through the tiny speakers.

A rush of air caressed my cheek as it moved over me.

I knew he was standing in front of me. I could feel his presence. My eyes were pressed tightly shut. I heard my own breathing quicken.

I could hear his breath too. He was close. I dared not reach out. I stood still.

“You’re trembling,” he said.

“Yes.” I whispered.

His hand reached around the back of my neck and he pulled my face to his. His lips brushed mine. They were soft. The kiss became more urgent, but whether it was from him or me I couldn’t tell. My hands involuntary wrapped around his waist, our chests touching. My heart was beating a million miles a hour.  His tongue parted my lips. I groaned. Or he groaned. Someone groaned. I was too lost to tell who it was.

I still didn’t dare open my eyes. I wouldn’t let him win the dare. I wanted to keep kissing him.

Then, he pulled away, his hand leaving the back of my neck. My hands slipping from his waist.

I shivered. My eyes were still closed.

“You win,” he said.

I opened my eyes and grinned. “Told you, I’m good at this game.”

I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face. I ran my tongue over my lips as the cab driver took me home, remembering Jason’s taste, his touch. After I had won my dare, after the kiss, I left with a promise to call him later that week. Nothing
could have made that night any better, and I wanted to leave so nothing else would ruin it. If you always leave when things are at their best, you never risk something going wrong. And I didn’t want anything to go wrong.

I wondered when I’d see him again. We hadn’t made a specific date or time, that would come. I knew he’d arrange it. He’d gotten me outside in that courtyard, didn’t he? And that was after a moment’s notice.

The cab pulled up outside my house and I handed over enough notes that would leave the driver a small tip. I opened the door and got outside. The air was crisp, delightful. The stars shone.

I looked at my phone. Lacey had sent two messages asking if I was still alive. At the rate my heart was beating, then yes, I most definitely was alive. I’d call her later. Or text. I didn’t want to interrupt her own evening. I’d done that once before and she answered right in the middle of what she was doing with her date. Awkward.

I walked down the driveway, around the side of the house and in through the back door.

Rose, my grandmother, was sitting at the table.

“Oh, Scarlett dear. I didn’t hear you come home.”

“Is everything alright? How come you’re not at the hospital tonight?”

“Oh yes, Thomas is doing marvelous. He’s a fighter.”

“Sure is.”

“He made me come home and have a proper rest. He insisted.” She sighed. “I can’t sleep without him by my side, though.”

I sat down next to her and held her hands. “He’s going to be fine, you said so yourself. The doctor fixed his hip and he’ll be home with us before you know it.”

“Yes, of course he will.”

“And he can do his last show.”

I saw a flicker of a frown in her face, before she smiled back at me. “Of course he will. Everything is going to be just like it always was. How was your date?”

“Wonderful.”

“I thought you didn’t like that boy, you were only going to please Lacey.”

“Oh it wasn’t wonderful because of him.”

“Well I’m glad you had a good time anyway. We are so happy when you’re happy.”

“One happy little family.”

She patted my hand. “We are.”

She stood up and shuffled back to her bedroom. I knew something wasn’t right, and I also knew she wasn’t going to tell me what it was.

My phone beeped. I read the message: “If you don’t text me back, I’m calling the police.”

I wrote back. “You just want to meet a cute officer. What happened to Andy?”

“Call me right now, you wench. I want to know everything.”

I grinned and walked into my bedroom, falling freely down onto my bed on my back as I
dialed Lacey’s phone number.

“You know you can’t take the job now,” she said.

“I also can’t choose a guy over my grandparents. They need me to help out.”

“Then find something else.”

“No one wants me. I’m not qualified for anything.”

“You are coming to work with me at the department store. There is simply no other option.”

I sighed. “Do not get me spraying perfume at random strangers.”

“I think store security is more your style. You know every sleight of hand trick in the book.”

“So does he.” I looked up dreamily onto the stuck on stars on my roof. “He stole my breath away.”

She groaned. “Impostor! Where is my friend Scarlett, and what have you done with her?”

I laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m not falling head over heels just yet. You know what I’m like.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“That I’ll run for the hills and never return?”

“That you’ll take the job anyway, just so you’ll have an excuse not to fall any harder for him.”

“I’m not going to do that.”

“Oh really? We’ll see.”

“What happened to Andy?”

I heard Lacey groan, but not in a sexy I’m-kissing-a-hot-guy kind of way, the way that makes an injured dog sound happy.

“Good lord, what did he do?”

“Nothing. He did absolutely nothing! What loser gets me to my front door and doesn’t ask to come in? And then kisses you on the cheek and waves goodbye? He kissed me on the cheek!”

“Cheeky.”

“It’s not funny.”

“Maybe he’s just a gentleman?”

She groaned again like she was dying. “No woman wants a gentleman when she’s ready for hot action.”

“So are you going to give him a chance?”

“Are you?”

“I told him I’d see him again.”

“Before you ran for the hills.”

“I didn’t run. I’m taking my time. I can’t drop my pants for the first guy I see.”

“You don’t drop your pants for anyone.”

I frowned. “That’s not true.”

“I’m sorry, Scar, I didn’t mean to bring that up. I’m such a bitch. I’m so sorry, it just slipped out. Oh god. Do you want me to come over?”

I swallowed. “No. It’s fine.”

“Call me tomorrow. I’ll set up a meeting at the department store. Get you something there.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

“Promise me.”

“I said I would.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Lacey set up an interview with the store manager at ten o’clock the next morning. I only woke at nine, so I hurriedly got dressed, applied makeup and did a pirouette in the mirror. I looked good, but my idea of good and a department store manager’s, might be completely different. At least it wasn’t an office.