Blake kind of mumbled an answer, so I said, “No. I’m not his girlfriend.”
Marco frowned and looked to Blake. “I thought…”
Blake cleared his throat. “We’re getting to know each other first. It’s all good.”
That just felt wrong. Like that’s what was going to happen, whether I liked it or not.
Before I could react further, Marco asked Blake a bunch of car-related questions and some other guys approached and joined in. I couldn’t have gotten a word in, even if I wanted to.
I eventually tuned out and found myself watching the fire. I loved watching a fire burning and loved to stick pieces of wood and leaves and whatever else I could find into the flames when I was a kid, just to watch how the fire behaved as it consumed them.
Okay, I said ‘when I was a kid,’ but I meant now. Today. I hadn’t changed. I saw the perfect stick on the ground nearby and resisted the urge to pick it up and poke the fire with it.
And I knew I wasn’t the only one. There seemed to be something in human nature that drew us to the flame. Yes, it had its uses and could be dangerous, but there were a lot of firebugs in the world. I don’t mean that they deliberately lit fires. I mean, they liked to play with the flames and watch stuff burn.
I found a seat on an old log that had been set up near the fire and did what I often did. I people-watched. Everyone here knew each other and seemed to be having fun and Blake was more relaxed in this environment. I thought maybe I could get to know him a little better here.
But no.
He spent the entire time talking with the guys about cars and motorbikes and footy. The girls and a few other guys sat at a picnic table and didn’t seem interested in getting to know me. That was fine with me. I wasn’t in the mood for small talk. My emotions were all jumbled up like someone had turned on a blender. I kept thinking about Emily and watching Blake ignore me.
Then one of the guys sitting at the table came over. I think it was the younger of the two brothers. He looked a year or so younger than me and had red hair.
“Hey, Maddie, is it?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m Hunter. How you doing?”
“I’m good. It’s nice to meet you.” I gestured for him to take a seat on the log and he sat and crossed one foot over the other.
He looked across to where Blake and the others were standing. “Once they get started on cars and stuff, there’s no stopping them.”
“Yeah. I can see that.” I wasn’t sure what else to say.
“How do you like it here in Angel Falls?”
Was everyone in the whole town going to ask me that question? “It’s a nice town. The people I’ve met so far have been mostly friendly and I found a job fairly quickly.”
“Wow. Already? Where do you work?”
“At Mystical Encounters. Do you know where that is?”
“Yep. My mum shops there a lot.”
I wondered if I’d served his mum at some point. Probably.
“Hey! What are you doing?”
I turned to see who was yelling and saw a swirl of magic in the shape of a horse floating above the table where the girls were sitting. It was rearing up on its hind legs and looked magnificent.
One of the girls flicked her wrist and the horse disappeared. She glared at a guy across from her. “What? There’s no Normals here.”
“Yeah, but this is a public place. Anyone could be bushwalking or driving past. Use your head.”
“Shut up, Chase. You’re not my father.”
But he was right. You never knew who was out there in the darkness. She shouldn’t have been so reckless, but I was glad I got to see yet another thing that could be done using magic. I couldn’t imagine creating something as beautiful as that, though.
One of the other girls looked at her phone. “Time to go home.”
That reminded me that I had a curfew of eleven o’clock. I pulled my phone out and saw that it was 10.36pm.
“Oh. I have to get home too.” I smiled at Hunter. “Thanks for talking to me. I’ll see you later.”
“No worries. See ya.”
I walked up behind Blake. He was telling a story, complete with actions, about how Marco had been doing donuts in the car park and had blown a tyre on his Mustang. How was I going to get his attention to ask him to take me home?
As he finished the story, a few of the guys looked at me, which made Blake turn around. His dazed look told me that he’d totally forgotten I was here. He schooled his face into a serious expression and stood straighter. “Hey.”
“Hi. Um, I have to get home by eleven. Could you take me home, please?”
A quick check of his phone had him cursing and telling everyone we had to leave. We said goodbye and headed to his car.
The trip wasn’t too long and once we’d pulled into the driveway, he put the Porsche in park and leaned in to kiss me goodnight, but I gave him my cheek. He looked disappointed, but I wasn’t ready to take things further than that, especially after what had happened with Emily and then him ignoring me at the park. My mind was still reeling. I needed to think.
“Are you okay? I know Emily was a bitch, but she’ll get over it.”
“It’s not just Emily. I want to take things slow. I never said I would go out with you. Not yet, anyway. I have to think. I still don’t really know you. Plus, you’ve just broken up with someone. You need time too.”
“That’s okay. Take your time. I understand. And I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” He ran a hand over his hair and leaned closer. “You look so beautiful here in the moonlight.”
I melted at his words. He seemed to know just what to say to ease my mind. I would think about it, but I was pretty sure my answer would be yes. “Goodnight, Blake.”
“Goodnight. I’ll see you soon. Text me.”
My heart swelled as I watched him drive off.
“What the hell, Maddie? Are you nuts?”
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Author's Note: Have you ever been on a date like this? Where the ex turns up, or where your date ends up ignoring you? Let me know in the comments.
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