166: The Colour of Magic

The magic Ioan used on his parents was yellow.  It made them believe everything he told them and helped him get out of trouble with them so many times.  Sometimes it was pale buttercup, like the time he was given 50 lines for talking in class.  Sometimes it was sharp grapefruit, like the time he was arrested for drinking under age and they believed he was set up by Boris.

The magic he used on the lads in college was green.  They thought he was so cool, that every word he uttered was a gem or utter hilarity.  Sometimes it was pea soup, like the time he got Tommy to buy his lunch.  Sometimes it was violent dragon skin, like the time he shagged Boris’ girl and they believed she’d thrown herself at him and a gentleman, he turned her down.

The magic he used on his first boss was blue.  He thought Ioan’s work was impeccable and predicted he had a shining future with the company.  Sometimes it was noon sky, like the time he turned a report in late.  Sometimes it was French navy, like the time he poached Jonathan’s client, claimed the credit for hitting the biggest sale of the year and pocketed the generous bonus Jon had earned.

The magic he used on the football guys was red.  They thought he was outstanding whatever position he played and he was the most popular man on the team.  Sometimes it was delicate baby lips, like the times the ball had just clipped the line.  Sometimes it was arterial bleeding, like the time he tackled their own goalie, breaking his ankle in three places and ending his playing career.

The magic he chose for girls was purple.  It was supposed to make his irresistible, charming, intelligent and sexy.  Lilac would make a girl accept a drink and lavender convinced her to dance with him, fast or slow depending on the music.  Mauve earned him a snog, with tongues, and amethyst let him touch and fumble however he wanted, sometimes under her clothes.  Violet always led to bed.  Or a sofa, the back seat of a car, any room at a party.

Ioan never played with black magic.  He knew it was more powerful than he could control.  And he never used white magic, not so far anyway.  Ioan wasn’t ready to settle down with just one woman.  Besides, he wanted to spend his years on earth with a woman he wouldn’t need to use magic on because she would fall in love with him without it. 

And he knew he wasn’t enough of a man to earn that.  Not yet.