Magic's Mark

Chapter 12

"So you and Taylor..." he raised his eyebrows and bit into the toast.

I shrugged my shoulders and took a sip of the coffee. What does he want me to say? Oh Taylor, he's my warlock warrior and that's why we have been spending so much time together lately.

He examined me for a minute, before taking a deep breathe, "Look, I don't want to sound boring. It's just that I don't get the best vibes from that guy."

"From Taylor?"

"He has this arrogant thing about him, just like Josh did."

"Don't start with that again," I could hear my voice starting to get annoyed.

"You've been spending a lot of time with Taylor lately and I just want you to be careful. You've just started to bounce back from the whole Josh thing. I just don't want to see you get sucked into something else," Matthew pushed out all of his worries quickly as if he was afraid I would cut him off.

I nodded my head slowly, putting the pieces together as to why Matthew had been stand offish with Taylor.

"I get it. Don't worry, we're just hanging out. Okay?" I patted him on the shoulder before turning and walking out of the kitchen.

~*~

I sat down at the one of the outdoor table lining the small square, spring was certainly in the air. I tucked my camera into my bag and pushed my wet hair into a ponytail. The fresh air and the morning in the flat felt like a small re-birth. It's funny how much checking your work emails, showering and changing clothes could refresh you.

"Hi," her excited voice carried over the square as she walked over. Her dark locks played in the wind and her bright smile lit up as she hurried over, followed by Taylor, his dark eyes fixed on me.

I gave her a huge hug as she hurried over, I felt like I hadn't seen her in ages. Taylor was steadily waiting next to us. As I released Tanya, I hesitated for a moment before hugging him too. We are friends, so I guess it would be weird if I didn't hug him. His arms folded around me strongly, squeezing me tightly for a spilt second before releasing his grip.

I was picking at the last pieces of my salad, the sun was warming my face and for the first time in a while I actually felt relaxed. The conversation had died down into a comfortable silence a few minutes ago and now the three of us was enjoying the first few rays of warm spring sun. I looked out over the square and though about how nice it was to do something non magical and normal.

"Excuse me ladies," Taylor got up and made his way into the restaurant.

"He is so nice isn't he?" Tanya lent over the table and looked at me expectantly. I could tell that she was expecting me to start talking but I was at a loss for what to say.

"Yeah, he is nice," I agreed.

"I was surprised when he asked me to go to lunch with you. I would have thought he would rather just spend time with you," Tanya waggled her eyebrows as she dragged out on the last four words.

"We have spent quite a bit of time together lately," I admitted.

"Really?" she squealed in a high pitch voice.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," Taylor slid back into his seat.

"Cara, I just got a call from an acquaintance of mine who's in need of a photographer," he continued.

"Really?" I could hear the happiness in my own voice. I really needed to get some work in this month.

"It's in west London," he admitted. Something danced in his eyes, I could sense this worried him.