Page 22 of Road To Runes

We walked the short distance to town together, buzzed from a few pre-drinks. Laura and Priya had gone all out with their outfits as usual, but the boys had settled for the casual shirt and jeans look. Asher kept his hands in his pockets as we walked, his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, exposing his vaguely muscled forearms. The scent of his potent cologne left a trail behind him that caught me right in its path. It was my favourite stuff, too.

What a try-hard.

We started the night at Laura's favourite bar; a supernatural joint that billed itself as exclusive in order to exist on a human high street. The bouncers shone lights from special crystals over us as we waited in the short queue. Once they glowed green, the bouncers allowed us inside.

Penny tapped her feet excitedly on the parquet floor as we entered.Speakeasy Nowhad a reputation for its novelty; every waiter and bartender donned an outfit from the 1920s and the bar's two floors had the look of a prohibition era establishment. Wood panels lined the walls, some of which were hidden doors to the toilets and private rooms. The bar was a monstrosity, all wood and brass, with fabric-topped barstools dotted up and down it, and its back wall held a dizzying array of colourful liquors, some of which smoked inside their decanters.

It was time to get something high in alcohol and magic content.

"First round's on me," I said, as we gathered around the bar. "Birthday girl chooses for all of us."

Laura clapped her hands together like a child who had just gotten a new bike for Christmas. "Oh, you're all gonnadietonight."

If she hadn't have said it herself, I would have wondered if Laurawastrying to kill us.

After three rounds of shots, I sneaked Penny and me a glass of water each so we might actually survive until the next morning. We danced in pools of multicoloured light to music that I had never heard of. Was I so out of touch with the music scene already? It didn't feel like five minutes ago that I knew every song that came on the radio, human or supernatural.

Penny and I danced together while Edward edged his way closer across the dancefloor, eventually offering Penny his hand. She paused before taking it, shooting me a question with her eyes.

"Go on," I mouthed, rolling my eyes for good measure.

"Thank you," Penny mouthed back.

The moment she took Edward's hand, her face lit up at the sight of him gazing at her. I had to admit, as I watched them slink off toward the bar, that they looked cute together. It would do Penny the world of good to have someone in her life who was as artsy as she was and be an even worse influence on her than me.

Priya nudged me as she bopped next to me and wiggled her eyebrows. I grinned and shrugged.

Without Penny to distract me, my gaze flickered over to Asher who had found himself two girls to dance with. They had even less on than I did, wearing sparkly crop tops and skirts. His lips moved, ever-smiling, as they chatted over the music. I turned my back on them only to find a man sliding his way over to me.

He smiled at me, his blonde hair neatly combed and only the top button of his black shirt undone. I smiled back with the corner of my mouth. He was cute enough to dance a few troubles away with, and if it made Asher jealous, all the better.

We danced for a while, nearing each other with every song that passed. Then, out of the blue, his hands grasped my hips. My skin prickled, but not in a good way. I wanted to feel ready for a one night stand to clear out whatever cobwebs I had leftover from my relationship with Asher, but I wasn't.

I took his hands and tried to prise them off me, but he held me firm and yanked me against him so hard that we stumbled. My fingers dug into his hands, hoping my fingernails would give him an even sharper indicator that I wasn't into it. I met his gaze with a fierce frown, all the rhythm dropped from my movements. But he stared at me with indifference; the kind that let a girl know that he didn't care what protests I had.

I dropped one of my hands, preparing to raise it to give him a solid slap. But before I could lift a finger, one of the guy's hands flew off my hip which gave me enough wiggle room to slip out of his grasp completely. I took a step back only to collide with someone else behind me; someone who had the guy's wrist in a vice grip.

Chapter 12

Amillion questions burst into my consciousness, all fighting each other for poll position. But they all drowned in a haze that enveloped my mind as it focused on the warmth of Asher's body at my back, and the tantalising portion of my hip where his skin touched mine.

I tried to take a deep breath in through my nose, but his intoxicating scent laced every particle, distracting me all the more. At the bar, Penny had spotted us and made to get up, but Edward laid a hand on her arm to hold her back. Nevertheless, he looked poised to spring from his barstool, probably in case this rude grunt threw a punch Asher's way.

The thrum of the bass beat any hope of talking, so I held my tongue and watched Asher and the handsy idiot stare each other down. After what felt like an eternity, the idiot snatched his wrist out of Asher's grasp and shot us both one last furious look before turning away, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Asher's arm fell away and he stepped around into my line of sight. Only in that moment did I realise that my entire body hadstiffened, every muscle aching with the effort in that everlasting moment.

"You okay?" Asher mouthed, making the okay sign with his fingers.

I blinked as a flurry of colourful lights swept across my eyes and disappeared again just as quickly. Not a week went by that I didn't encounter an asshole like that; I could handle it. What I couldn't get my head around was whyAsherhad stepped in so quickly.

I didn't have time to answer him before Penny whirled me around and pulled me over to the bar. She sat me down on a barstool between her and Edward, who at least didn't look annoyed at me for interrupting his shmooze session.

"What wasthat?" Penny shouted over the music.

I shrugged, my mind still overloaded with questions. I glanced back over at Asher. He hadn't moved from the spot on the dancefloor, the only person not moving in a sea of moving bodies. His harsh stare still locked on the idiot who had returned to his friends in a dark corner.

That was areallygood question.

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