“I know. This is just really weird for me.” Emma touched him on the arm. “Your aura looks really pretty.”
Duncan blinked at her. “You think I’m pretty.” The tone of his voice was disbelieving.
Emma laughed. “Yeah. So is Jake. His blue glow is gorgeous, too.”
Duncan shook his head. “Emma, I’m a dude. I may wear eyeliner once in a while, but every time you call me pretty, my ego cringes.”
Jake laughed and slung his arm around Emma. “Honey, you can call me pretty anytime you like.” He ignored the looks Tabb and Jon threw their way, but Emma blushed.
“Where’s Dave?” Lisa asked, straightening her jacket. “He was supposed to be here waiting for us. I don’t know the way to the green room.”
“I’m right here,” a man said, his voice a deep baritone. He stepped out of the grey door set in the back of the building, propping it open with a brick. “I saw your car pull around from the front but it took me a minute to get to the back of the building.” He walked up, looking curiously at Emma sandwiched between Duncan and Jake. “Everything’s set. I can show you where the dressing room is.”
“We’ll find it on our own,” Tabb said, stepping past the group and exchanging a fist bump with Dave. “I want to see if my drums are still in one piece.”
“Your drums are fine, moron,” Jon said, rolling his eyes. “You always worry about them and they’re always fine.” He waved at Duncan and Jake and disappeared into the building, Tabb close on his heels.
Dave laughed. “It’s always the same. Tabb freaks over his drums, and Jon makes fun of him.” He turned back to Duncan, a smile on his face as Lisa walked over and kissed him on the cheek. “Hey, honey.” He slung an arm around Lisa’s shoulder and she snuggled into his side.
They’ve been dating for a few months now, Jake thought to Emma, answering her unspoken question as she watched Lisa relax against the large man. They looked odd together—Lisa dressed in a tailored suit, briefcase in hand, and Dave in jeans and a T-shirt, tattoos crawling up his neck. Emma watched their auras flare into a bonding pattern and wondered if she was imagining things. Bonding pattern? How do I even know that?
Duncan grinned. “I know, I know. Tabb always thinks the crew is going to dent his snare drum or something. Anyway, this is Emma, a friend of mine and Jake’s.” He pulled Emma away from Jake and she smiled uneasily, hoping no one could tell she was staring at Dave’s aura.
“Pleased to meet you,” Dave said, holding out a hand. Emma shook it warily, trying not to disturb the big man’s light green glow, but as soon as she touched him, the color flared. His eyes widened and Lisa gasped. Emma glanced at the other woman and saw that her aura was strengthening into a darker orange. Emma wrinkled her nose, trying to tamp down the surge of energy she felt. She failed. Dave looked at Lisa and Emma watched as their auras released delicate tendrils toward each other. Suddenly, the threads tried to mesh and Dave and Lisa staggered. Emma let go of Dave’s hand. Duncan reached out to him but she grabbed his arm, afraid of what would happen if he interfered.
“What’s happening?” Jake asked, voice low.
“I think they’re going to bond. Or rather, they are bonding.” Emma said, stunned as she watched a few small tendrils of light green and orange thread together. Did I cause that? Shit. She looked at Duncan and Jake and realized that their auras were already completely woven together with her own. To her eyes, the pattern said, “bonded.”
“What? Right now?” Duncan asked, worried. Alarmingly, he was thinking about Dave and Lisa fucking their brains out in public. Emma would’ve grinned if she hadn’t been so worried that she’d somehow precipitated this.
Emma shook her head. “I think it takes more than just touching to cement a bond, but the initial lock is going to happen now.” As she spoke, two unfamiliar bonding tattoos flared on Lisa and Dave’s arms. The couple gasped, hanging onto each other tightly for a moment. Then Dave bent down to kiss the petite woman.
“Aw, fuck,” Jake muttered, sounding disgusted. “Paparazzi at two o’clock.” He gestured urgently to the left.
“We’ve got to get them out of here.” Duncan moved closer to the embracing couple, looking like he was going to shoo them inside.
“Wait!” Emma said, suddenly sure that if he touched them, bad things would happen. She could see his aura flaring, an incredible show of color that made Lisa and Dave’s auras seem dim. “Let me. If you touch them, I don’t know what will happen.”
Duncan froze, then nodded. Emma walked closer to the couple, unsure of how she was going to help.
“Whatever you’re going to do, do it fast, Emma!” Jake shoved Duncan towards the door. “You, get inside.” Duncan obeyed and Emma edged closer to Lisa.
“Lisa, you and Dave have to get inside, okay?” she said, tentatively. Neither paid her any attention. They’d stopped kissing, but Lisa’s head was tucked beneath Dave’s chin and his eyes were closed. Emma took a deep breath and reached out. As soon as she touched Lisa’s arm, the couple opened their eyes and stared at her. Emma shivered. They looked like they were sleepwalking. “You have to get inside,” she said again. They nodded and shuffled inside without breaking apart.
“Good job,” Jake said under his breath as he crowded Emma into the building and slammed the door. Emma stood blinking in the sudden dimness. Once her eyes adjusted, she realized that Lisa and Dave had broken apart. They stood there staring at each other for a moment, then Dave cleared his throat.
“What the fuck just happened?” The man looked shaken.
“I knew you were going to say that. How did I know you were going to say that?” Lisa asked, her voice shrill. Emma looked at Duncan. He grimaced as Lisa and Dave touched again, their bodies melting into each other.
“How are we going to put on a concert if they’re stuck to each other?” Jake muttered, running his hands through his hair. “Maybe we can let them have the dressing room. Or see if there’s a hotel they can stay in. I don’t want them to have to run around back here like this. I know how awful it feels.”
Emma watched the glow surround Dave and Lisa, her hands tingling. “I think I can help.” Duncan looked at Emma sharply. “I think I can help them bond without the initial attachment problem.”
“How can you do that? We couldn’t even get away from that,” Duncan said.
“I think I can manipulate the auras, the bonding,” Emma explained, flexing her fingers. “I can feel their bond, see the way it interacts on a physical level. It can’t hurt to try.”
Jake sighed. “Okay, let’s just figure out a better place for this than the hallway.”
A few minutes later Emma crouched down in front of Lisa and Dave who sat on a worn sofa in Duncan’s dressing room. Jake perched on the dressing table, ignoring the chair, while Duncan leaned against him, his hands playing in Jake’s hair. Neither Dave nor Lisa seemed to notice.
“I’m going to try and cement your bond quickly. That way you’ll be up and running instead of dealing with the initial week or so of disorientation that bonded couples usually experience.” Emma said. They both nodded and Emma shifted until she was kneeling on the floor. She winced as her muscles protested, sore from the previous night’s exertions.
“How do you know what’s wrong with us?” Lisa asked, apprehensive.
Emma took a deep breath. “I can sense your bond.” It was lucky Dave and Lisa had been dating before the bond suddenly kicked in today. She didn’t know how she would have explained bonding to two strangers meeting for the first time. This was already difficult.
Dave frowned. “I’m not sure I understand. I mean, bonding? I don’t even know what that is.”