Page 17 of Untraced Magic
Reluctantly, I applied the redder-than-a-freaking-fire-truck lipstick and smacked my lips together.
“I guess it’s not that bad,” I said, trying to convince myself as I raked my fingers through my hair. Ididlook pretty damn good.
“Perfect, let’s go.” She craned her neck into the hall. “Jade, can you give us a ride?”
“Wait, Jade lives here too? Is she not coming with us?”
At that moment Jade walked into the hallway wearing shiny black pants and a cotton tank, her chestnut hair twisted high on her head, held together by what looked like a wooden pencil.
“Hey, Morgan,” she greeted. “Big night out tonight, I hear?”
I chuckled. “Sure seems that way. You’re not joining us?”
She shook her head. “Nah, full moon tonight… All the crazies come out to party.” She circled her fingers near her head with a stiff laugh.
“Ah, okay.” I gave Skye a questionable look as Jade turned towards the door but got nothing in return.
She led us out to a red mini cooper, and I crammed into the backseat, my knees almost hitting my chin. Skye fumbled with the radio knobs.
“Ohhhh, I love this song!” she yelled over the music and started dancing in her seat.
I smiled as the familiar melody filled my ears, and I welcomed its buzzon my skin.
As the chorus hit, Skye’s arms flew wide, and I chimed in with her and Jade, singing at the top of our lungs. “I wanna dance away these days!”
I loved how music had a way of taking you back to your past or escaping the present. Suddenly, you could be somewhere else. Besomeoneelse. Or take you back to a time that you never wanted to forget. I still remembered the song that was playing when I kissed a guy for the first time, dancing in a boozy bar fueled by far too much liquor.
I’d never forgottenthatsong, and every time I heard it, it was like I was there again, reliving the moment. Music to me was like the passport of memories. Moments stamped in my mind to its own lyrics.
I stared out the car window as it wound through the narrow streets, my attention gravitating to the streetlamps glowing amber above me as we made our way through town. I was right, they did make the place look spooky, barely bright enough to light up the street.
I bounced off my seat as Jade took a stone bridge over a river at a steady pace. “Ouch!” I cried out as my head hit the roof of the mini.
“Sorry!” she chimed from the front seat. “That one always creeps up on me!”
Skye’s hearty laugh erupted from the seat beside her, her head whipping round to find mine. “Nearly there, hold on,” she said with amused eyes.
The car finally came to a stop, pulling me from my thoughts.
Jade wound her head to mine in the back seat. “We’re here. Stay safe, ladies. I’ll meet you in there later.”
I nodded as Skye tugged at the front seat so I could get out, crisp air gnawing at my legs as my heels hit the pavement.
I leaned back inside the vehicle.
“Thanks for the ride,” I said before shutting the door.
Outside, the streetlight above us flickered on and off on its own terms, our surroundings only otherwise lit by a milky full moon. It cased the area from behind dark clouds, leaving edgy shadows in its wake.
I glanced over at the bar, the stone building’s square structure reminding me of an old courthouse. A line of people stood alongside it eagerly waiting entry. A large timber door was centered at the front, and my gaze fixed on the metal letters that sat above the doorframe.
J I N X E D.
“Weird name for a bar,” I said as we made our way across the street.
Skye eyed me sideways. “I know, but so good, right?”
The air was charged with something unfamiliar; I couldn’t put my finger on it, or maybe it was just my nerves. New town, new venue, new people. Something tugged inside me, nagged at me still.
