Magic's Song by Genia Avers

had a vivid memory of those lips too.
    Damn. He needed to stop thinking about her. Especially her lips.
    He avoided her stare and looked at Amanda. She winked lewdly, dousing all thoughts of sex.
    “You’re late,” Marcus barked. The keyboardist’s grin negated his harsh words. “Tell him he’s late, Tanith. He certainly gave you a ration of shit that time you were late.”
    “I have a good reason.” He smiled and waved the packets he carried in his hand.
    “Like I didn’t,” Tanith mumbled. She’d spoken so softly Brent almost didn’t hear her.
    Despite his resolution to keep his distance, he grinned at her. She looked away.
    “What you got there?” Marcus asked.
    He handed a packet to each person. As they started to tear into the packet, his eyes sought Tanith. He was eager to see her reaction when she peeked inside her large envelope.
    “Dude, what is this?” Marcus asked.
    Tanith still hadn’t opened her envelope, but he forced his gaze away. “I have good news and I have better news.”
    “No shit?” Julian howled. He’d removed all the papers from his envelope. “Does this mean what I think it means?”
    “Yep. We have a contract. We’re going to record with a major studio.”
    Simultaneous shrieks and shouts made a response impossible. Tanith allowed Julian to hug her, but she seemed aloof. Her expression barely changed when Marcus grabbed her in his arms and twirled her around. Brent experienced an unfamiliar jealousy. He wanted his arms around her.
    She remained calm. Stoic. What the hell?
    He tried to stifle his disappointment at her response as first Marcus, and then Julian rushed toward him with high fives. Amanda launched herself at him. He extracted himself and whistled to get the group’s attention.
    “The producer who watched us a couple weeks back liked our stuff. A lot. I’ve been negotiating during the past week. All of you have a copy of our contract. We don’t sign it until everyone is in agreement with the terms.”
    “Of course we agree,” Marcus yelled. “Where’s the bloody champagne?”
    “Later.” Brent held up his hand. “We need to start working on the music right away. Our deadline is short. The title track is in your packet. Let’s get started. We can celebrate when the tracks are recorded.”
    “Jesus, Brent. Give as a minute to savor the moment,” Julian complained.
    It took a while, but he managed to get everyone in place.
    “All right,” Marcus nodded. “We’re ready.”
    “Ready, Tan?” Brent asked.
    She nodded, but when the music started, she failed to sing the lyrics. The musicians stopped playing in staggered order.
    Brent peered at Tanith, hoping the damn woman didn’t realize the song was about her? God, he’d done everything possible to make her think she was just a pal. He’d even endured, no he actually encouraged, Amanda’s touch whenever Tanith came around. Just to keep her at arm’s length.
    “Tanith, is something wrong?” He swore he saw daggers when she looked at him.
    Her expression held the first hint of emotion she’d displayed since she’d screamed his name. “No.”
    “Don’t you like it?”
    “Yeah, sure,” she replied. “Just give me a minute.”
    Brent bristled. He’d poured his soul into that song.
    ****
    Is something wrong ? Of course something was wrong. What an idiot. Brent might have been asking her if she wanted ketchup with her fries.
    Tanith stared at the sheet music, trying to compose her panicking thoughts. She didn’t want a contract. She didn’t want to watch Brent every week realizing she couldn’t have him.
    The damn song was titled, Unexpected Love . Jerk. He’d found someone else. It was as simple as that. The music was too personal, too different from his other stuff to be explained any other way.
    She whispered a little prayer of thanks that she hadn’t told him how she really felt. If not for the years of voice lessons, she wouldn’t be able to produce a sound. Fortunately, her vocal