Strange Magic (8 page)

          “I wanna be alone with you.”  He leaned closer to me and kissed me before I had a chance to say anything else.

          I could smell the alcohol on his breath, but that wasn’t the only reason I pulled away.  His hands were already starting to wander toward my chest.

          “Let’s go in the backseat,” Brad said.  “Got more room back there.”

          “I have to go home.”  I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to call my parents to come pick me up.

          “Don’t you like me, babe?  I can make you feel real good.”  His voice had become husky.  He crowded me against the door and ended up kissing my neck when I turned my head away.  I pushed in vain against his chest as his hands groped at my blouse.

          I stopped trying to fight him and felt behind me for the door handle instead.  Managing to get the door open, I fell out of the car.  Brad was still in the driver’s seat.

          “You okay, babe?”  He opened his door and got out of the car.

          I scrambled to my feet before he could get to me.  “Don’t touch me!”

          “C’mon, don’t be like that.  Get back in the car.  We’ll just enjoy the view for awhile.”

          I looked at him warily.  “I really just want to go home.”

          “That’s a good idea,” Duncan said.

          Brad was startled.  “Where’d you come from?”

          “I’ll drive you home, Susannah.”  Duncan’s voice was dangerously calm.

          “My purse.”  I hurried to grab it from the floor of Brad’s car, where it had fallen during our struggle.  Then I began to walk away with Duncan toward his car.

          “Hey!”  Brad grabbed my arm.  “Where you going?”

          Duncan whirled on him.  “Let go of her.”  He had a look on his face that made Brad drop my arm and step back.

          “Man, I wasn’t gonna—“

          “Let’s go, Susannah,” Duncan said in that same tone of controlled fury.  We resumed walking toward his car.  He opened the passenger door for me, and I sat down in the car.

          “You’re not gonna steal this one, too!” Brad suddenly yelled.

          I looked up to see him barreling toward us.  Then he fell backwards and landed on his butt.  “Hey!”  He looked around in bewilderment.  “What the hell?  Who pushed me?”

          Duncan ignored him as he sat down in the driver’s seat and started the car.  I pulled my door shut.

          “Thank you,” I said as we pulled away.

          He didn’t look at me.  “Fix your shirt,” he growled.

          I looked down to see that some of the buttons on my blouse had popped open and that my bra was exposed.  I burned with shame as I quickly buttoned them.  When I dared a glance at Duncan, I saw that he was still looking straight ahead as he drove.  His jaw was clenched.

          “How did you—“

          “Put your seatbelt on,” he snapped.

          I pulled it across me and clicked it into place.  “Why are you yelling at me?”

          “Why did you get in the car with him?” Duncan countered.  “You saw that he was drunk.”

          How could I answer that question?  I had been out of my mind with jealousy when I saw Mandy kiss him.  I was trying to prove to myself that I didn’t care.  I had wanted to get away from the sight of them together.  It was hard to admit these things even to myself.

          Remembering what Mandy had said in the bathroom made me snap, “I can go where I want.”

          “So you wanted to get in the car with a drunk idiot?”

          “He’s not, I mean, he’s my boyfriend,” I said.

          “You need to have better taste in boyfriends.  Unless you liked having him rip your clothes off.”  There was a sharp edge to his voice.

          “He didn’t.  I mean, he wasn’t.”

          “I saw what was happening!”  Duncan smacked the steering wheel with his hand.

          “I was handling it myself.”

          “Yes, I could see that.  The guy outweighs you by how much?  Even if you somehow managed to convince him to drive you home, you might not have gotten there in one piece.  Damn it, Susannah!  You can’t put yourself in situations like that.”

          We were quiet until he pulled into my driveway.  “Are you okay?”  His voice was gentle now.

          It made me want to cry.  “Yes, I’m fine.  Thanks again.”

          “Okay,” he said.  “I have to go back for Mandy.  I left her at the party.”

          “Duncan, are you really going to…”  I shook my head.  “Uh, goodnight.”

          “Wait,” he said.  “What did you want to ask me?”

          “Nothing.  It was nothing.”

          “No, tell me,” he insisted.  “Going to what?”

          “Mandy um.  Never mind.”

          “What about Mandy?”  Duncan’s voice had taken on an intimate tone I didn’t recognize.

          For no reason at all, I was no longer upset.  It made no sense that I was thinking about my dream kiss with Duncan.  “She’s waiting for you.”  I didn’t give him a chance to walk me to the door.  In a flash, I was out of the car and sprinting toward my house.  That night I had the dream again.

          I broke up with Brad over the phone.  After the way he had treated me the night before, I had no intention of being alone with him again.  He blamed it on the alcohol and swore that it would never happen again, but he couldn’t convince me to change my mind.

          “It’s Duncan, isn’t it?  He made a move on you.”

          I couldn’t believe the nerve of him.  “Of course not!  Duncan has nothing to do with this.”

          Brad snorted.  “Yeah, right.  How come he followed us last night?  Mandy already put out for him, and now he’s after you.”

          “You’re unbelievable,” I said in exasperation.

          “I saw the way you were looking at him,” Brad continued stubbornly.

          “You were drunk.  Your judgment was impaired, remember?” I reminded him.

          “That’s why you won’t let me touch you,” he said.  “You’re hot for him.”

          Now I was really mad.  “That’s the whole problem with you!  You think that everything is about sex.  That’s all you want from me.  You don’t even like me otherwise.  That’s why I’m breaking up with you.”

          “I hate to break it to you babe, but that’s what all guys want.  If you think Duncan’s any different, you’re fooling yourself.”

          I gave up on arguing with him.  “Goodbye, Brad.”

          “Bye, babe.  Call me when you grow up.”

          I hung up the phone and stared out the window.  I wondered what had happened with Duncan and Mandy.  It was none of my business, I reminded myself.  Duncan was my friend, nothing more, although he had become a very good friend.  He cared about me and understood me.

          “He is different,” I said aloud.  I thought about my dream in which Duncan and I kissed.  It was the same one that I’d had shortly before meeting him for the first time.  Caitlin was sure it meant that Duncan and I were supposed to be together.  I thought about how I had been disappointed with the two boyfriends I’d had so far.  Yet my friendship with Duncan was going great.  I decided right then not to let jealousy ruin it and just be happy with what I had.

          I spent a good hour on the phone with Caitlin that evening.  I told her about the party and the drama which had led to my breakup with Brad.  I left out what Mandy had said about her plans for the night with Duncan.  She shouldn’t have even told me about that, so I wasn’t going to say anything.  I wanted to protect Duncan’s privacy.  Caitlin was glad that I had finally broken up with Brad and immediately remarked that she couldn’t wait until Duncan found out.  I steered the conversation to her relationship with Alex, which was still going strong.

          The next day at school, I realized that I didn’t even care that I wasn’t with Brad anymore.  He hadn’t ever become a big part of my life, so it wouldn’t be a big deal when he went back to ignoring my existence.  I had no problem concentrating on my classes.

          I greeted Duncan with a smile.  “Hi.”

          “Hi.”  He returned my smile.

          I immediately switched to talking with my thoughts.  “I broke up with Brad.”

          “It’s about time,” Duncan said.

          We lapsed into silence after that and paid attention to the teacher.  I had to force myself to concentrate and stop wondering about what had happened with Mandy.

          When class was almost over, Duncan spoke to me again.  “I know you usually sit with Caitlin during lunch, but I was hoping that I could talk to you alone today.  We can find an empty table, unless you think that Caitlin will be upset.”

          “She won’t mind,” I answered quickly.

          Duncan’s smile told me that he already knew that.  “Great.  I’ll see you at lunch.”

          I was now dying to know what he wanted to talk to me about.  “See you at lunch.”

          In the hallway, I took out my cell phone and texted Caitlin.  She soon texted back I KNEW IT!  Unlike Caitlin, I didn’t jump to conclusions.  Still, food was the last thing on my mind at lunch.

          Duncan was waiting for me in front of the cafeteria.  As I approached him, I noticed anew the stunning contrast of his jet black hair and his incredibly pale blue eyes.  Reminding myself that he was my friend, and that this wasn’t a date, didn’t make the fluttering in my stomach subside.  We stood in the lunch line, and I went through the motions of picking out food.  Then we sat down at an empty table, and he began to eat his lunch while I watched him.

          “Aren’t you going to eat, Susannah?” Duncan asked.

          “I, uh.  What did you want to talk to me about?”  The suspense was playing havoc with my nerves.

          “Tell me how Brad took the breakup.”  Duncan took a sip of his water.

          I tried not to feel disappointed.  “Is that all you wanted to talk about?”

          “No,” he said.  “But let’s start there.”

          I had no idea what to think now.  “Okay.  Well, I broke up with him over the phone.”

          “Smart girl.”  He had stopped eating and was giving me his full attention now.

          “He, um.”  I licked my lips nervously.  “He said that I’m fooling myself, that all guys want…”

          “Sex.”  Duncan finished the sentence for me.

          I looked down in embarrassment.

          He surprised me by laughing.  “What a pair we are.  Mandy broke up with me because I wouldn’t sleep with her.  Isn’t that a twist?”

          My heart surged with happiness at this news.

          “She told me that it’s no big deal to be gay.”

          My mouth dropped open.  “You’re kidding.”

          “She’s not lacking in self confidence, is she?”  He smiled.  “Her world is very simple.”

          “Do you think we’re complicating things too much?”  I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation with him.

          “No, Susannah, I don’t.  When you share yourself with the wrong person, you can get very hurt.”

          My eyes widened as I understood his meaning.  “Oh.”

          Duncan looked away.  “It’s in the past.”

          My mind was reeling with this revelation.  No wonder he was so upset about his ex girlfriend.  They had apparently shared much more than their thoughts.

          “Look, Susannah.”  He was looking at me again.  “What I wanted to tell you was that I was just waiting for Mandy to break up with me.  Now that you’ve broken up with Brad, we have nothing to stop us.”

          My heart was starting to beat faster as I listened to his words.  What I had secretly hoped for was finally happening.  The rest of the cafeteria no longer existed as I focused completely on Duncan.  I was barely breathing as I waited to hear what he would say.  His eyes never left my face as he spoke.

          “I like you, Susannah.  Being friends with you is great, but I want—“  He froze.  His eyes took on an eerie look that reminded me of something Caitlin had said.  You looked like you were in a trance, she had told me.

          Concerned, I reached out to touch him.  “Duncan, what’s wrong?”

          When my hand touched his arm, he reacted as if I had burned him.  “Get away from me, Susannah!”

          I watched as he sprang out of his seat.  “What?”

          He grabbed his tray and took it to the garbage can.  In one swift movement, he dumped the contents into the trash.  Leaving the tray on top of the garbage can, he began to walk quickly away.

          I hurried after him.  “Duncan!”

          He slowed down but didn’t stop.  “Go back by Caitlin.  Leave me alone.”

          “Why?  What’s going on?”

          He was looking warily around.  “We can’t be friends anymore.  I have to go.”

          I followed him into the hallway.  “Duncan, please talk to me.”

          His eyes were wild now.  “Do you hear me?  I said stay away from me.  Get away from me right now!”

          “Duncan,” I pleaded.  “You were going to say something.”  I pushed on bravely, even though my heart was pounding.  “I’ve liked you, Duncan, ever since I first met you.”  My laugh was shaky.  “Even before I met you.”  The words rushed out of me now.  “I think we can be more than friends.”

          “Oh, Susannah.”  The anguished look on his face pierced my heart.  “I wanted to believe that we could be happy.  I thought it was over.”

          “What are you talking about?  Why are you so upset?”

          The sudden vehemence in Duncan’s voice was shocking.  “Get away from me!  I mean it, Susannah.  You have to go.”

          “No!  Not until you explain to me what is going on.”  I struggled to keep up with his pace.

          “Lovers’ spat?”

          Duncan stopped as suddenly as if he had hit a brick wall.  He took a deep breath before he turned to face the source of the feminine voice behind us.  I was slower to look, since I was intently watching his reaction.

          She reminded me of a princess from a fairytale.  She was, of course, dressed in modern clothes, but her beauty was different from the sexy appeal of Mandy.  She was poised, graceful, and petite with delicate features.  Golden hair cascaded down her back.  Her green eyes were as dazzling as emeralds.  I had never felt plainer in my life.

          “Duncan,” she purred.

          I watched in fascination as the color drained from his face.  My hackles rose as I realized that he looked almost afraid.  “What the hell are you doing here?”

          “Is that anyway to greet an old friend?”  She smiled sweetly.  “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your new girlfriend?”

          Duncan didn’t even look at me.  “She’s not my girlfriend.  She’s just some crazy girl who follows me around—practically a stalker.  Not that I need to explain myself to you.  I repeat, what are you doing here?”

          “Fine, I’ll do it myself.”  She walked up to me and extended her hand.  “I’m Anna.”

          I shook her hand numbly.

          “Don’t touch her!” Duncan exploded.  “Susannah, go away.”

          Anna rolled her eyes at me.  “He’s always overreacting.  Have you noticed that, Susannah?  I was just talking to the girl, Duncan.”  She leaned in conspiratorially toward me.  “Really, I think he expects us to fight over him.”

          “Anna!” Duncan thundered.  “What are you doing here?”

          “I just registered for school here.”  Her smile seemed warm and friendly.

          “You can’t do that,” he protested.

          “It’s a free country,” Anna replied.  “I decided that a change of climate would do me good.  It seems to have done wonders for you.”  There was an undercurrent to her words that I didn’t understand.

          The bell rang, and students began to pour out of the cafeteria into the hallway.  I was unsure of what to do now.  I needed to get to class, but I couldn’t miss what was going on between Duncan and Anna.  I still hadn’t managed to say one word during the drama unfolding before me.

          She brought the showdown to an end.  “See you tomorrow, Duncan.  It was nice to meet you, Susannah.  I hope we can all be friends.”