You don’t hit on your best mate’s girl. You just don’t do it. You don’t even think about doing it.
Even though he doesn’t deserve her.
‘Man overboard!’ someone cried out as the siren on the wharf began to wail.
What the?!
Will shoved his phone back in his pocket and looked around. The men beside him were also glancing around for evidence of an emergency. The siren continued to sing. Apparently, it wasn’t a drill.
Great!
Time for the climax of his day from hell. The guys next to him began putting down their equipment. His crane driver hopped out of his seat. Dipper grabbed him by the arm.
‘Come on, Boy Scout, gotta get to the muster point.’
‘I know, I know.’ He wrenched his arm free. ‘I went to the safety induction too, you know.’
Dipper grinned. ‘Did ya? Didn’t see ya. But then didn’t see anyone go overboard just now either.’
‘Neither did I.’ Will frowned. ‘It’s gotta be a false alarm.’
‘Well, you can’t just ignore it,’ Dipper grunted and walked off.
He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t considered it. Em was probably in the office by now. He wanted to catch her before the day ended.
He glanced at his watch. It was knock-off. Too late. Emily would be going back to the resort.
Great!
He followed Dipper to the muster point. It was marked with a big red sign located in the right corner where the wharf met the jetty. Wardens in orange hard hats had their lists. You had to get your name ticked off so they could work out who had gone over. It was going to be a time-consuming process given there had to be at least a hundred men there. In the meantime, rescuers were already heading for the tugboat.
With a bit of time on their hands, Dipper began to regale the boys with his adventures from two days earlier.
‘Picked her up from the airport in the afternoon. And, mate,’ he gave them all the look, ‘she’s a looker!’
Will’s ears immediately pricked but he tried to keep his interest out of his face. He hoped Dipper wasn’t talking about Emily.
‘Hot?’ the crane driver inquired.
‘Smokin’,’ said Dipper as the men around him began to close in eagerly.
‘Big tits?’ asked a rigger.
‘Nah,’ Dipper shook his head, ‘wouldn’t say she’s got more than a handful but nice legs. Really nice legs.’
‘Blonde?’ another man asked.
‘Brunette,’ Dipper informed. ‘Big brown eyes. Nice smile.’
Will frowned. They had to be talking about Emily.
Although discussing a good-looking woman was a popular pastime for the guys, he had to admit he wasn’t enjoying listening to them discuss Emily’s physical attributes like items on a dessert menu. His protective nature was roused even without Trent’s request.
‘And just so you all know,’ Dipper shook his finger at the crowd, ‘I saw her first.’ They all laughed, but Will couldn’t crack a smile. He began to wonder at the wisdom of having invited her to a place where there were so many men. All he’d been thinking about was improving her job situation.
And getting her away from Trent. And maybe finally having a chance with her yourself.
He didn’t want to think about his own motives just now. If he’d really brought Emily here to try and hit on her, then he was just as manipulative as Trent, who was busy playing the field back in Perth.
The truth was, it was just one big mess and the person it most concerned didn’t even know it. There was also one other issue that he hadn’t counted on, which was dawning on him more brightly with each passing second. There were at least four hundred female-starved men on this job, all with their own agenda.
Good one, Will. These guys fought over girls like seagulls over bread scraps. He should have known she was going to be popular.
His thoughts were broken as someone punched him lightly in the arm. ‘You’re awfully quiet.’
He blushed as everyone looked at him.
‘I think the little graduate’s considering his chances.’
‘Is that so?’ Dipper raised his eyebrows in challenge.
‘My money’s on Boy Scout,’ a welder announced.
‘I’m backing Dipper. Women like older men,’ remarked a crane driver who had to be close to retirement.
A man they called Spooks lifted a long nose to the wind. ‘I smell a bet coming!’
‘Er, guys,’ Will began desperately.
But Spooks, who had always been a bit of a showman, whipped off his hard hat and held it out. Half bowed, he stretched out his other arm, gathering the crowd to him like a circus ringmaster. ‘Okay, this is how it’s going to work. Place your IOUs now, gentlemen. Dipper or Boy Scout? Choose your horse! Winners will get their money back plus a share in the loser kitty proportional to their bet.’
‘Well that’s easy.’ Dipper laughed, taking out his pocket notepad. In large letters he wrote, Dipper for $10, signed it and threw it in the pot.
This unfortunate gesture started a frenzy. To Will’s horror several IOUs fluttered into the hard hat and not just ones backing Dipper. He was equally popular.
This is not good.
Spooks turned on him, his eyes twinkling wickedly. ‘Not going to back yourself, Boy Scout? Where’s your fighting spirit?’
He glared at Spooks. ‘You can’t do this.’
‘Oh, can’t I now?’
Just then the warden stepped into the fray to take their names and Spooks smoothly put his hard hat back on head, IOUs and all. The warden was none the wiser.
Five minutes later, they were all told they could go. No man had gone overboard: it was a false alarm triggered by a power failure. The electricity had gone out briefly and when it had resumed one of the alarms had been set off accidently. In frustration, Will turned to confront Spooks and saw him already backing away. The pieces of notepaper were now in his hand and he was shuffling them like a deck of cards. With a wink at Will and a small salute, he turned away. Will wanted to catch him but two other men joined him and Spooks folded the documents and put them in the back pocket of his pants. His gambling operation was now officially under the table.
Damn him!
Will gritted his teeth. Spooks was not going to let this go. The man thrived on drama. He and Dipper had just signed themselves on to Hay Point’s own personal reality TV show. Only it was live!
He glanced at his watch. It was nearly six o’clock. By the time he got back to shore, Em would have well and truly left the office. He pulled out his phone, wondering if he should call her.
There was a voicemail message.
‘Hi, my safety induction finished at four so I got back to my unit early. If I’m not home when you get here, I’ve gone to sit by the pool. After all, I should soak up some of this resort magic while I can, right?’
Shit! Could things get any worse?
Her message had been left nearly two hours earlier so he knew it was probably too late to warn her but he sent her an urgent text message anyway.
Don’t go to the pool!
Behind her unit, indeed behind all the units, was a central courtyard, populated by a few large shady palms, park benches and picnic tables. In the very centre of the community area was a large fenced-off pool with water that sparkled like crystal. Around it were ten white deck chairs, gathered in pairs sharing large blue and white beach umbrellas.
At four-thirty that afternoon it seemed like the perfect spot to relax and think.
Half an hour later she realised that was a misguided assumption. They appeared slowly in twos and threes, a couple carrying Eskies between them. Before long there were at least twenty men standing around the pool. She couldn’t help but notice that none of them were wearing bathers and she was feeling decidedly naked in her blue bikini.
She got out of the water and, with as much dignity as she could muster, walked from the pool steps to the deck chair where she had laid her towel. Her legs wobbled
as the air thinned and twenty pairs of eyes locked onto her arse like missile-launchers.
She heard the ‘pssst’ of several cans opening around her as she snatched her towel off the chair and quickly wrapped it around her trembling body. With bare legs and shoulders, she still felt only mildly protected from wandering eyes. The men took a swig and then one of them spoke to her, ‘Hey.’
‘Er, hi,’ she said tentatively, trying to relax under all the attention.
‘How about a drink?’
She waved a nervous hand in front of her chest. ‘Oh, I don’t –’
He pushed an open beer can into her hand anyway. It was all icy wet and slippery. She nearly dropped it.
Nearly.
What did fall was the towel that had been held up under her armpits.
When this covering suddenly pooled at her feet, a few whistles flew round the courtyard. The guy who had slipped her the drink was slapped a couple times on the back.
‘Yeah, mate, she likes you!’
She hastily picked up her towel, trying to rewrap herself with one hand, sloshing beer everywhere.
‘Doesn’t hold her drink too well though,’ another man laughed. ‘Literally.’
There were guffaws all round. Emily put the beer down and righted herself. The group had now doubled in size. There had to be close to fifty guys in that courtyard – where had they all come from?
‘Are you having a party?’ she asked the man who had given her the drink.
‘Nope.’ His eyes twinkled at her. ‘Just a small gathering. This happens every night.’
Every night.
‘Well, maybe I’ll just leave you to it.’ She put the beer down on the table next to her and was about to move forward when he barred her path. ‘No way. It’s not often we get a lady along. Stay awhile. Brighten our evening.’
And so the introductions began. She lost track of the names and the winks that went with them. Emily had nothing against being popular but the men seemed to be as friendly as they were mocking. They switched between talking to her to talking about her as if she wasn’t there at an alarming rate.
She wanted to go but couldn’t seem to achieve it, short of being blunt to the point of rudeness and telling them all to leave her alone and get out of her way. Fear and frustration made standing in wet bathers even colder. She was just about to bite the bullet and risk angering them when a friendly female voice surprised her.
‘Hey, Emily.’ She turned quickly to see the resort owner, Charlotte, walk up to the group. She had met the woman briefly on the evening she’d first arrived. Several men took a step back.
‘Take cover!’ someone yelled. ‘It’s the landlady.’
‘I suppose it’s a waste of my breath to ask you to pack up your booze?’ she said to the gathered crowd.
Many laughed uproariously and one guy, who had just finished his drink, threw his can at the bin and missed it by a mile. It was clear many others had been attempting the same target practice and failing dismally.
Charlotte returned her eyes to Emily, ignoring the obvious provocation. ‘Just wondering if you’re free for me to take a look at your air-conditioning unit now?’
Air-conditioning unit?
‘You said it wouldn’t switch on.’
‘I –’ Then she realised what the woman was trying to do for her. She clasped her hands together gratefully. ‘That would be perfect. Thank you.’
‘Great.’
Under a barrage of protests, which they successfully ignored by focusing on each other, Charlotte and Emily took off out of the fence gate and down the brick path to Emily’s backyard. They ducked through her sliding door, shut it and drew her blinds.
Phew!
Em’s gaze flew to her rescuer. ‘Thank you so much, Charlotte.’
Her friend laughed. ‘No problem at all but please, call me Lottie.’
‘Well, Lottie,’ Emily grinned. ‘You have no idea how grateful I am that you came along just at that minute.’
Charlotte nodded. ‘I saw you through the back window of my house and thought you could use an excuse to leave.’
‘Good call.’ Emily nodded. ‘Can I get you a drink? It’s the least I can do.’
‘Well . . .’ Charlotte glanced at her watch. ‘I suppose I’ve got a little time.’
‘Tea, coffee, soft drink, water?’
‘A tea would be great.’
As Emily walked into her kitchen, Charlotte sat down at the little dining table in front of her counter. ‘So you’re from Perth, are you?’
‘Born and raised.’
Charlotte smiled. ‘There seem to be as many West Australians on this project as there are Queenslanders.’
‘I’m just enjoying the opportunity,’ Emily responded enthusiastically. ‘I think tomorrow, though, I’ll check out Salonika Beach in lieu of the pool.’
Charlotte winced. ‘Do you have a stinger suit? It’s jellyfish season.’
‘A stinger suit?’
Charlotte laughed at what must have been the comical expression of dismay on her face. ‘Sorry, love, the ocean’s teeming with nasties this time of year. Believe me, you wouldn’t want to get stung.’
‘Oh.’
Can somebody please give me some good news?
‘I’m sure you’d be able to pick up a full body suit in town,’ Charlotte suggested. ‘That is, when you have some time off.’
Emily brought around the tea and sat down. ‘Well, that’s not happening any time soon. Not that I’m complaining. This is the best job I’ve ever had, even with all its warts.’
‘You’re kidding.’ Charlotte wrinkled her nose.
Emily’s phone, which was sitting in the fruit bowl between them, buzzed. She plucked it out and quickly scanned the message, then laughed. ‘My friend Will just warned me not to go to the pool.’
Charlotte also laughed. ‘I like Will; he’s good value.’
‘You know him?’ Emily asked casually, surprised at the irrational flood of jealousy and suspicion that suddenly pricked her.
‘Not well,’ Charlotte acknowledged, ‘but he stands out. He’s one of the few guys on this job who actually respects my property.’
Emily shot her a sympathetic look. ‘Damn, that’s no good.’
‘Tell me about it,’ Charlotte sighed. ‘So I take it you met Will when you arrived?’
‘No.’ Emily shook her head as fond memories resurfaced. ‘We go way back – known each other for years. I can’t even remember the day we met . . . No, wait, yes, I can.’
She smiled as the memory materialised in her head.
It had been first year, third week of semester one. She was sitting on the steps outside their lecture theatre trying to work out the answer to a tricky assignment problem. He had been leaning against a pillar behind her and, unbeknownst to her, reading over her shoulder. She hadn’t even realised he was there till he said, ‘It’s two hundred and thirteen kilo newtons.’
‘It’s what?’ She glanced up from her calculator and swivelled around to look at him. ‘Did you say something?’
‘It’s two hundred and thirteen kilo newtons.’ He smiled in the only way Will could, with enthusiasm and a complete lack of guile.
She pursed her lips. ‘And you know this because . . .?’
‘I worked it out last night.’
‘You could be wrong.’
‘I compared my answer to Jake’s and Caleb’s this morning,’ he shrugged. ‘It’s two hundred and thirteen kilo newtons. Do you want to know the angle as well?’
‘No,’ she retorted. ‘I’ll work it out myself.’
‘Then I wouldn’t put that force vector there.’ He bent down and ran his finger on the page against her free body diagram. She remembered a sudden zap of awareness. He was close enough for her to breathe in his scent, which was grass and sunshine. Will had always loved to lie on the lawn between lectures, reading his notes. That or shoot a footy across the oval with a few of his mates.
‘Are you always this tenac
ious?’ she demanded.
‘Actually not really. My name’s Will, by the way.’ He’d come down the steps then, folded his tall, lean body and sat down beside her.
‘Emily.’
‘Nice to meet you.’
She recollected liking his smile immediately and the way his hair flopped into his eyes. The stubble that gave him the just-rolled-out-of-bed look was extremely sexy.
‘May I?’ He indicated her pen.
‘Sure,’ she shrugged, ‘why not?’ She handed it over and he corrected a couple of her formulas.
‘There, that’s better. You almost had it right.’
‘Thanks,’ she murmured and retyped the new numbers into her calculator. The answer flashed up on the screen. ‘Two hundred and thirteen kilo newtons.’
‘What did I tell you?’
‘Thanks for your help,’ she murmured, meeting his eyes with a shy tilt of her lips.
‘Any time.’ He stared back, holding her gaze for what felt like just a second too long.
A throat had cleared beside them and they’d both jumped.
‘Sasha. Hey!’ Will exclaimed, leaping up to greet the pretty, dark-haired girl who had just joined them.
‘Hey.’ Sasha responded to his peck on the lips but had her eyes trained on Emily. ‘Sorry I took so long.’
‘That’s all right.’ Will turned back to her. ‘Emily, this is my girlfriend, Sasha. Sasha, this is Emily.’
‘Oh hi,’ Emily stood up. ‘Nice to meet you.’
She remembered swallowing her disappointment with a smile before packing up her bag and hastening away from the couple. It was strange how only now she was recalling that her first reaction to Will had been attraction. Or perhaps not so strange, given the effect he’d had on her in the portable toilet the other day.
Was it poor timing that had kept them only friends for so long? She’d met Trent through Will eighteen months later and the law student had asked her out immediately. By the time Will had broken up with Sasha, she’d been well and truly entrenched in her own relationship.
‘What’s the matter?’ Charlotte asked.
Emily looked up and blushed. She’d zoned out while the other woman was still sitting there. Shame on her.
The Girl in the Yellow Vest Page 10