Her lips pulled into a taut line. ‘Dipper, what’s going on? You better tell me right now.’
‘I thought you knew,’ he protested. ‘I mean, there’s so much money changing hands over this. And, you know, the bets on me went up this afternoon thanks to our date. Even I put in an extra fifty bucks on myself because I was feeling confident.’
‘What?’
‘I meant no disrespect.’ He waved one beefy hand, his eyes wide with honesty. ‘Just thought, you know, why not? Everyone else is doing it. And if I get the girl, why not make a fortune too? I would have shared half with you.’
‘Half of what?’
‘My winnings!’ he said as though she was daft.
‘Let me get this straight. There’s a bet going on at the moment, that you’re going to what – sleep with me?’
‘No, no,’ he assured her. ‘It’s a completely respectful competition between two guys for a meaningful relationship.’
‘Yeah, it’s respectful all right,’ she snapped. ‘Who’s the other guy?’
‘Will.’
This took her aback.
‘Wait, does he know about this?’
Dipper snorted. ‘Of course he knows!’
A flower began to unfurl its petals inside her stomach.
Why hadn’t he told her? Did he think about her that way and was too embarrassed to say so? She felt ill with both excitement and trepidation.
Rationally, she should have been fuming. He hadn’t told her about the bet. It was just another dishonesty on top of him discussing her private text messages with Trent. But she couldn’t seem to muster up the anger, at least not above mildly annoyed. The thing was, she was too taken by the frightening but tantalisingly new possibility that suddenly occurred to her. Will wanted more than friendship. Perhaps this new tension between them wasn’t all in her head. Could he feel it too?
Her teeth clamped down on her lower lip as it began to stretch into an excited smile. It was too early to get all hopeful.
She made a plan to sound him out about everything that morning. But many things had thrown her off kilter. His extreme makeover for one and Charlotte’s presence in the car for another. It would be ages before she caught a private moment with him in order to grill him about Trent, the bet or his own feelings.
Fortunately, the time went fairly quickly. The drive to Shute Harbour was a gorgeous one, straight through the cane fields, over lush green hills. The air around them was saccharine and heavy. Emily felt her mind open up as the sweet breeze of freedom wafted across her face and hair through the window of the car.
They passed through a gorgeous coastal town known as Airlie Beach. It was small but buzzing with activity. Because the ocean in the area was teeming with stingers, the local council had built a swimming lagoon on the foreshore, which was free for anyone to use.
Emily looked longingly at it as their car sped past.
‘Maybe we should just spend the day here and have fish and chips for lunch.’ She pressed her nose to the window. ‘It looks so relaxing.’
‘I thought you were trying new things this year.’ Will laughed. ‘You’ve definitely lazed on the beach and eaten fish and chips before.’
Emily sighed. ‘That’s how I know it’s so good. What do you think, Lottie?’
‘If I don’t want to risk my brother calling me a chicken, I think I’m going to have to learn how to dive.’
Five minutes later their ute turned into the car park at Shute Harbour, the main boarding point for ferries to the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef. The plan was to catch a ferry out to a giant floating pontoon that sat on a particular section of the reef called the Hardy Reef. The ferry they boarded was an enormous catamaran with two decks. They sat on the top one, which was open-air, and Emily enjoyed taking in the breathtaking panoramic views as the ferry churned smoothly through ocean, white foam in its wake. The voyage was seamless. Giant lush green mounds rose out of aqua-blue water. There were many islands about. Some inhabited, others untouched. Some too small to be more than a couple of rocks sticking out of the ocean.
‘It’s so beautiful out here,’ she exclaimed. ‘Like paradise.’
When they finally reached the pontoon, Emily was stunned at how big it was. It was three storeys, two above water and one under, so that, if you didn’t want to get wet, you could still view the reef from the underwater viewing platform.
‘I don’t think I need to learn how to dive,’ Emily told Charlotte. ‘I’d just be happy to snorkel. Never done that before and there seems to be plenty to see on the surface.’
‘Well, I think I’d still like to try learning,’ said Charlotte. ‘I’ll book a lesson for myself and meet you guys later for lunch.’
‘Good idea,’ Emily agreed.
Emily was glad to finally have some time alone with Will. There was a lot on her mind that she needed to get straight. And yet suddenly there they were standing on the wooden deck and he took off his shirt again. All her questions dried up, as he stood there half naked handing her a snorkel. He really was beautifully built. Not bulgy like a weight lifter but more like a Greek nude – just a hint of definition in all the right places. His physique had a discreet strength that in many ways matched his personality.
He tilted his head. ‘Are you all right?’
No. She licked dry lips. ‘Should we be wearing stinger suits?’
Will shrugged. ‘We can rent some if you like.’
‘I think that would be a good idea.’ And not just for the jellyfish protection. Since when had Will’s bare chest been anything more than skin to her? Greek gods and weight lifters? Where’s your head at, girl?
They rented some suits and then returned to the side of the pontoon. Emily fitted the snorkel and mask over her face while she worked up the courage to ask him the question that had been sitting on the tip of her tongue all morning, and was getting harder and harder to ask by the second.
‘Er . . .Will . . .’
Splash! He was in the water, having stepped off the edge of the pontoon without so much as a toe dip. ‘Come on, Em, it’s gorgeous.’
His head disappeared under the sparkling blue and she sighed. ‘All right.’
Instead of jumping straight off the edge she made for a small steel staircase that descended slowly off the side of the pontoon. He was actually pretty spot on about the water. It was warm, crystal clear and calm. Only gentle waves lapped at her waist as she once more made sure her mask was firmly fitted. She could see shadows of colour under the water but nothing too spectacular to behold. She popped the end of the snorkel in her mouth and then pushed out horizontally into the water so that liquid enveloped her body in one gentle glide.
WOW!
Diving in was like being transported to another world. A magical world. It’s just like Finding Nemo down here. She had always thought that the Disney cartoon must exaggerate the vibrancy of the reef. But now, she realised, it didn’t do it justice.
The colours that had seemed dull above water now jumped out at her so vibrantly it was hard not to be humbled by the beauty of it. Everything was alive.
Everything.
As an engineer she found that fascinating. This structure, so enormous in size you could not see where it started and ended, was fully organic. Coral of all different shapes and varieties clung together, flat and plate like, thick and spikey, leafy or like bare branches. It didn’t matter. It pulsed with life she had never seen the like of before.
And the fish . . .
The fish were just spectacular. Tiny fish, fish the size of her head, fish that were bigger than her. They swam around her arms, through her legs. They pecked on her mask, kissed her lips and cheeks. And they were so pretty. It was like being enveloped by a swarm of butterflies. Reds, greens, blues, yellows, hot pink! Fluoro colours were certainly very fashionable down there. This one fish the size of her hand was mad at her for some reason and kept charging her. Perhaps she was swimming directly above his family’s home. He’d back him
self up and then charge at her snorkel mask. Just before he hit her face he would dart away and then do it again.
She felt a hand slip into hers and turned in the water to see Will now floating beside her. He smiled and tugged. She nodded and floated with him across the surface of the coral. There were giant clams below about half the size of her body, which would snap shut without warning when she glided over the top. They gave her a fright at first but then she got rather used to them. Their lips didn’t completely seal, so you couldn’t lose an arm or a leg or anything. It was just funny. She saw turtles and morays and even a reef shark.
The reef went on forever. Everywhere she went there was something new to look at. It was like a giant magical underwater forest lit by the sun. In some areas the reef stopped and went vertical, as though she’d reached a cliff face. She imagined this was where it would be great if she had diving gear on. But she wasn’t disappointed. There was so much to see with snorkel and mask alone. Also, at least on the surface, everything was so well lit. She figured the deeper you went the less you would see without artificial light.
She didn’t know how long they frolicked for. An hour, probably two. But the time seemed to go so fast in that underwater city that Emily hardly noticed it. She and Will couldn’t talk but they still managed to communicate, pointing at things and dragging each other through the water. Silence had never been an issue for them and nor was it now as they played like children. Occasionally, they surfaced to chat about what they had seen but Emily didn’t ever feel it was the right time to ask him the question. So she waited until he asked her if she’d like to go to lunch.
They swam towards the sunken stairway attached to the pontoon and a crazy desire shot through Emily’s heart. Will took her hand again to help her up the stairs and this time, instead of leaving it innocently held for balance, she shifted her fingers and threaded them through his. She knew exactly what she was doing. But she didn’t care. She wanted to know what it would be like to make that shift away from friendship to something more. Something so much deeper and more profound that she could feel the power of it aching in her bones as they ascended the stairs. His hand tightened around her own, making her feel like just for a second he understood, like he knew what she wanted to know. She pushed her mask off her eyes, enjoying the fresh air on her face. He halted at the top of the stairs and she stopped walking a second later so that her body pressed into this. He didn’t move to make more room for her on the top step. Instead he pushed back his own mask and looked down at her for a second.
An expression, a strange mix of hope, pain and regret, crossed his features. And disappeared. She had never seen him so guarded.
‘Em . . .’
‘Yeah?’ she breathed.
He disengaged his hand and walked on. ‘We should go get lunch.’
‘Oh . . . yeah okay.’ She followed him to the change rooms in silence, feeling she’d done something wrong.
Before she could query it, however, he said, ‘I’ll meet you in the dining room, okay? After we get changed.’
‘Okay.’
She removed the stinger suit and towelled herself dry but didn’t take off her bikini. They might want to go snorkelling again after lunch. So she wrapped a sarong around her waist as a temporary measure before leaving to go to the buffet deck.
He met her there about five minutes later. She took in the dry cargo pants and T-shirt in surprise. ‘Aren’t you going back in the water after lunch?’ she demanded.
He didn’t look at her. ‘No, I think I might read on the sun deck.’
‘Read?’ Emily squeaked. ‘But we’re sitting on the Great Barrier Reef!’
‘It’ll still be here next week.’
‘Will,’ she took a deep breath, ‘there’s something I need to ask you.’
He looked pained. ‘Em, don’t.’
‘Don’t what?’
He seemed to struggle within himself as he first looked at the buffet then at his hands, then out the window before back at her. ‘Fine, ask me.’
‘Are you . . .’ She decided to go with the easier question first. ‘Are you part of some bet with Dipper over who can score with me first?’
Will seemed to freeze for a second before his eyes closed in something akin to relief. ‘Yes.’
‘Why would you do that?’
‘Do what?’ he inquired, his eyes meeting hers and not wavering. ‘Being part of the bet? Or trying to score with you?’
‘Both,’ she said quickly, knowing which answer she wanted to hear more.
‘For starters, I’m not trying to score with you.’ His mouth twisted. ‘I never have.’
Rationally, she had already known this. But actually hearing the words was like a kick in the shin. How could she have been so silly as to suppose differently? He was right. He had never shown any signs of being that way inclined.
At her deafening silence, he threw back his head and gave a self-mocking laugh. ‘I mean, Trent’s my best friend, for freak’s sake. I couldn’t do that to him.’
‘He doesn’t own me and we’re not together any more,’ Em protested numbly, crossing her arms protectively over her chest.
He ignored her and continued. ‘As for the bet, I didn’t enter into it on purpose. I was innocently standing by and got roped in. I thought I’d be in it to protect you.’
‘Protect me? Protect me how?’
‘From some other fruit loop who might want to compete with Dipper over you.’
‘Because only a fruit loop could possibly be into me, is that what you’re saying?’
‘No.’ He immediately baulked.
‘Don’t you find me attractive?’
He blinked. ‘Am I supposed to find you attractive? Is that what you want?’
‘Not if I have to talk you into it,’ Emily retorted. ‘Why didn’t you tell me about the bet? Don’t you think I’d like to know about it?’
‘I thought you did know about it. You said you knew what Dipper’s game was.’
‘I knew he had the hots for me, I didn’t know about the bet. He only just told me the full story at dinner last night. You should have been more specific with me.’
‘I didn’t want to upset you.’
‘That’s a cop out, Will, and you know it. I’m a big girl. I can handle being a little upset. What I can’t handle is being lied to and you seem to be doing a lot of that lately.’
‘I’m sorry.’
She studied him irritably. Secretly, she’d been hoping that he’d been personally invested in the bet and had been too embarrassed to tell her. It had seemed at the time like the only reasonable explanation. But Will didn’t have feelings for her. He’d just told her so.
It was dumb of her to have even considered it when Trent was his best friend. Of course, in his mind, he couldn’t go there.
There was also the fact that they had been friends for nearly seven years. A person didn’t just suddenly change their mind about you. It didn’t make sense.
Then how do I explain my own feelings?
She wasn’t sure how they’d got out of Pandora’s box. All she knew was that at this particular moment, she wished she had a way of putting them back in.
‘Em, listen to me.’ Will’s rational, reasoning tone was more infuriating than all the rest. ‘There are heaps of guys on this site. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you’re very popular. I was just trying to keep you safe. I mean, you’ve just broken up with Trent. What if the two of you want to get back together later on or something . . .?’
Her mouth dropped open. ‘What the hell?!’ Realisation dawned on her. ‘He put you up to this, didn’t he? That’s why you didn’t tell me about the bet.’
‘What?’ His brow furrowed. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘This isn’t about us.’
‘Us?’ He was startled.
‘This is about Trent. This is about keeping me away from other guys. That’s why he was angry about Dipper. He asked you to keep an eye on me, didn’t
he? I should have guessed.’
‘You gotta understand, Em, he’s my best friend too.’
‘Don’t worry.’ She held up her hand. ‘I get it. I completely get it.’
I’ve just been utterly delusional – living in fantasy land.
He was about to say something more when Charlotte walked up. ‘Hey, guys, why aren’t you eating?’
Emily didn’t know whether to be relieved or annoyed at this timely interruption. If they argued about this any more she might say something that she would regret. Or worse, reveal something she didn’t want him to know! She looked across at the fully laid out buffet. A veritable feast of shellfish and salad had been brought in while they were fighting.
Will closed his open mouth and turned with a smile to Charlotte.
‘Hey, Lottie. How was your dive?’
‘Rather eventful.’
For the first time they took in Charlotte’s rather pale and wan-looking face.
‘Hey, are you okay?’ Emily asked, momentarily forgetting her own pathetic woes.
Charlotte jerked a thumb over her shoulder and Emily and Will looked towards the entrance.
A tall, insolent-looking figure strode into the room, his casual clothing belying the destructive forces simmering beneath his skin.
‘Caesar’s here!’
She had been looking forward to this day ever since she and Emily had planned it. It was her chance to get out and do her own thing. Spend time with her friends. Be inspired. Get a new hobby. Why not? She deserved it. Didn’t she work hard enough?
Finally, there she was sitting on the sun deck at the muster area for diving lessons among some other first-time hopefuls when Hell’s angel swooped in from the sky.
Literally from the sky.
Mark Crawford arrived via helicopter. He and a few other passengers, too rich or too late to catch the ferry from Shute Harbour, had taken advantage of a helicopter tour of the reef before landing on it. A roof sheltering half the sun deck was actually the platform for a helicopter pad. When Charlotte first saw Mark’s rigid figure descending the steel stairs she was sure she was hallucinating. But no, it was definitely him. Dark hair, dark features, that ever-prominent scowl on his ever-dissatisfied face. Dressed casually for a change, he looked so out of his depth that she almost laughed.
The Girl in the Yellow Vest Page 21