How to Liv

by Megan Keith

  “Okay.” He let out a deep breath and hit the screen to place the call, looking nervously around the car park as the phone rang. “No, it’s Eric. Please don’t hang up,” he said in a rush. I couldn’t hear what Jess was saying but by the look on Eric’s face it wasn’t good. “No, I was just leaving work and Olivia lent me her phone… no mine’s not broken, I don’t have your number… you wouldn’t speak to me any other way…” His voice softened a little, “Jess, please, this is ridiculous, I can’t get you off my mind… I don’t want anybody else.” He realised I was still standing in front of him and he took a couple of steps away from me. “I haven’t had a date in months, you’re all I think about…” He walked further away and I couldn’t hear anything more that was said. Moments later he was running back to me, the phone no longer against his ear. “Do you mind if I send myself a text from your phone, I need Jess’s address from your contacts.”

  “Oh I don’t know-”

  “She said to get the address off you. She said I could come over.” His face broke into a huge smile, he was positively beaming.

  “Well in that case, go ahead.” He sent himself the text and handed the phone back to me. “Good luck.”

  “Thanks.” Eric gave me a hug. “Thank you for everything,” he said, squeezing me tighter. Then he took off in the direction of his car. I stood by mine and gave him a wave as he passed. I was about to open my door when I heard Joel’s voice from behind me.

  “What was that about?” He sounded angry. I spun around. He looked angry too, but I was just excited to see him and I threw myself into his arms. He didn’t hug me back. I pulled away a little so I could look up at him.

  “Joel?” He wouldn’t look at me.

  “Why were you hugging that guy?”

  “I wasn’t, he hugged me. That was Eric, you met him on Friday.” The explanation didn’t seem like enough to ease his anger. “It didn’t mean anything, he’s just a friend. I helped him sort something out, he was thanking me, that’s all.”

  His arms finally circled me and he leaned in, whispering in my ear, “Liv, I don’t play fuckin’ games. If you and I are going to date, you can’t be cuddling up to some other guy.”

  Woah! Where did that come from? I was stunned.

  “I wasn’t cuddling up to him-”

  “When I walked into that pub on Friday night, I saw you from the back and I didn’t recognise you because of your hair cut. I honestly glanced at what I thought was a couple canoodling. You and that guy were whispering to each other, looking all cosy.” He moved back a little to see me.

  “You have to believe me, there is absolutely nothing going on.” The tense look on his face eased some. His eyes wandered over my face, searching.

  “I do.” He sighed loudly and his hand squeezed my hip. “I believe you.” He half-smiled and I relaxed a little. “But I also want you to know that I’m a one woman kind of guy and I can only be with you if you are too.”

  Well that’s good to know.

  “I’m sorry, but I will never be a one woman kind of guy.” I laughed, wanting to relieve the tension.

  “Very funny,” he remarked sarcastically, unable to hide his smile. “Seriously though, I was insanely jealous when I saw you two cuddling just now.”

  “It was one hug.”

  “I can’t handle it…” He got that nervous look on his face. He swallowed. “I don’t like not knowing where I stand.”

  “Eric is a friend. I’m not interested in anyone but you Joel. I want to be with you.”

  “Good.”

  I wrapped my arms around his waist and looked up at his face expecting him to say more. He didn’t. That’s it? ‘Good’? I tell you I want to be with you and you say ‘good.’ Gah! Men! What about letting me know where I stand?

  “What are you doing here anyway?” I asked instead, deciding to change the subject when it became obvious he wasn’t going to say what I was hoping he would – that he wanted to be with me, and only me, too.

  “I’m on a meal break.”

  “Oh, you want to head to a Macca’s or something?”

  “I would, but it will have to be a drive thru for me, I gotta head back already. I only get half an hour and the job is ten minutes away.”

  “You mean, you wasted your break coming to see me?”

  “Well I wouldn’t say wasted it.” He leaned down to kiss me. It was soft and gentle, and when he pulled away it wasn’t nearly enough. “I gotta go.”

  “Okay.”

  I let him go. He took a step back before taking another one forward again, crashing into me. His lips crushed mine and I smiled against his mouth briefly before kissing him back. His tongue entered my mouth and his hands firmly held my head to him. Yes, this is what I wanted. I kissed him back just as fiercely, threading my fingers through his hair. We kissed until we were both gasping for air. Our foreheads rested against each other.

  “Okay, I’m going now.” He leaned down for one last, quick peck and then walked away. I watched as he got in his ute and gave me a wave, before turning away and getting in my own car. We pulled out of our car parks and drove away at the same time, but unfortunately in different directions.

  When I got home Ally was cooking dinner, I could smell it as soon as I entered the front door.

  “Mmm, that smells good! What ya cooking?”

  Ally looked up from the stove when I entered the kitchen.

  “Nothing spesh, just a chicken stir fry.” She turned back to what she was doing. “So you talking to me now?”

  “I guess.” I shrugged. I grabbed a piece of julienned capsicum from the chopping board and started munching. We hadn’t spoken in days, since our argument, but then we hadn’t seen each other either.

  “No Joel?” she asked, looking towards the lounge.

  “No.”

  “He had enough of you already?” Argh! She annoyed me! “God, he’s so damn good looking Libby. You still seeing him?”

  “Yeah, he’s just busy with work.”

  “What’s he do anyway?”

  “He’s a tiler.”

  “So he’s hot, drives a ute, and he’s a tradie! You scored the trifecta!” She giggled. I sighed and felt my blood begin to boil. “Is he good in bed?” I just glared at her, she could be so crude sometimes. “Don’t tell me you spent all weekend with him and didn’t give it up?”

  “I didn’t say anything of the sort,” I snorted angrily.

  “So?” She turned away from the stove, placed a hand on her hip and glared at me expectantly.

  “So, I’m not telling you anything!”

  “God, I’m just trying to make conversation, you don’t have to snap my head off!” She turned away again.

  “Just don’t go getting any ideas! I really like Joel and I don’t-”

  “Libby, I’m not gonna steal him from you, if that’s what you’re thinking.” She rolled her eyes at me and I left the room before I said anything that I might regret.

  “I’m gonna have a shower!” I called out as I walked down the hall.

  Fifteen minutes later, we were seated in the lounge room, each cupping a bowl of stir fry, watching TV. Ally didn’t bring Joel up again and I was grateful. The last thing I needed was her getting involved in my new relationship - been there, done that. We steered the conversation onto more routine things. It was the most civil we had been all week, even though in the back of my mind I was thinking of ways to subtly remind Ally that she was meant to move out. I knew what she was capable of and it was enough to make me want her and Joel to steer clear of each other as much as possible. Her living under my roof and being very single was a dangerous combination to be around with Joel, especially when our relationship was so fresh.

  Thursday. One day closer to the weekend. One day closer to spending time with Joel. I think I’d figured out why I was so desperate to see him. Yes I was falling for him, yes he was sexy as all hell and so good in bed, yes we had so much in common, yes he was sweet and caring and so many other things…
but I think the real reason was, he just didn’t seem real. He seemed too good to be true, I was still waiting for the other shoe to drop (what does that saying even mean exactly?) and I was desperate to see him before he disappeared. I was worried that I wouldn’t get enough time with him before he was gone from my life, as he inevitably would be. I wanted a repeat of last weekend and I couldn’t wait. I was excited just thinking about his body and what he could do with-

  “What are you smirking at?” Karen asked, cutting me from my thoughts. I gave her a pointed glare. “Okay, I don’t need to know the details. I’m guessing Joel?” I nodded. “On second thought, maybe some details would be good, I have to live vicariously through you, after all. And, well, he is hot!”

  “Good morning, ladies!” Jess happily interrupted us as she took a seat opposite me at the industrial bench we were once again working at today.

  “Figures. You getting some, too? Am I the only one around here with absolutely no sex life?” Karen complained, which made Jess blush.

  “Oh, uh, no I…” she stuttered.

  “I take it you and Eric have sorted things out?” I asked, trying to save her.

  “Yes,” Jess said softly, smiling timidly at me.

  “What? You and Eric are doing it?” Karen blatantly said aloud, causing Jess to look completely horrified. She glanced around the factory to see if anybody heard. I looked around, too, but it seemed we were the only ones that had heard Karen’s outburst.

  “No! We talked - that’s all!” a red-faced Jess replied.

  “So you guys are like a thing now?” Karen asked.

  “Yes,” Jess replied slowly. The look on her face was priceless, she was glowing. I was no longer worried that my interference had affected our friendship. Karen shook her head and walked away. Jess turned to me, “She’s got Eric all wrong you know. He’s just misunderstood.” I gaped at her until I caught her eye, a look of guilt washed over her face. “Of course, I didn’t have to tell you that. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you Olivia. You were right and I…” She looked lost for words.

  “I’m just glad you’re not mad at me for last night and I’m happy that you both worked things out.”

  “Thanks to you.”

  “Yeah, thanks to me! You two wasted enough bloody time!” I smiled at her and she smiled back. “So you talked?”

  “Yeah… for hours.” She was gushing and it made me think of Joel and what my face must look like lately. Poor Karen, no wonder she was feeling left out. “It was amazing!”

  “Just talked?” I asked sceptically, the look on her face made me wonder.

  “Well, he did kiss me good night,” she giggled, “at about three a.m.”

  “Some talk.”

  “Aha.” She bit her lip as she gazed at something behind me. The look on her face told me I only needed one guess to know what or who she was looking at.

  “Good morning, Olivia.” Eric’s voice came from behind me.

  “So I hear.” I smiled at him as he walked past, but he wasn’t looking at me, his eyes were fixed on Jess’s as he rounded the table to stand closely in front of her.

  “Good morning, Jess.”

  “Morning,” she replied softly, gazing up at him wide-eyed. That must have been some talk last night/this morning. It was clear that their relationship was blossoming before my eyes. I breathed out a happy sigh as I watched Eric lean down to whisper something in her ear which made Jess giggle.

  “You had to interfere, now neither of them will get any work done,” Karen said to me as she approached the workbench.

  “Oh whatever,” I replied, poking my tongue out to make her smile.

  “I better get to work,” Eric said to Jess before turning to me. “Thank you, for kicking my arse, Olivia.”

  Eric’s words were heartfelt. He gave my shoulder a squeeze when he passed. My eyes diverted to Jess for her reaction to his physical attention. She only smiled and mouthed ‘thank you’, making my heart beam with pride.

  “You’re welcome,” I replied. Karen laughed and went back to her office shaking her head.

  The rest of the day past in a blur. We were busy as usual and I was grateful for that, it made the day go quicker. At knock off time, Karen and I watched Jess and Eric walk out the door together and my heart swelled at their blossoming romance. Karen let out a sigh and I looked at her questioningly.

  “What? Okay, they make a cute couple and I love a good romance as much as the next girl. I admit it.” I nudged her with my elbow. “Hey, shouldn’t you be racing out of here to meet up with your man, too?”

  “Nah, he’s probably working late.” I shrugged and walked to the staff room. I opened my locker and grabbed out my phone, finding another text message from Joel confirming as much. “He’s going to call me later when he knocks off work,” I told Karen after I read the message. “Home to my sister again, I guess.”

  “Well, we could swap. I have a couple of kids that have cabin fever. They are sick and tired of spending their school holidays at their grandparents’ house. They whinge about it from the time I pick them up until the time they go to bed. Count your lucky stars you only have to deal with your sister. Thank god Marg is back from her holidays next week. I’m going to see if I can take a couple of days off to spend with them and give Mum and Dad a break.”

  “I’m sure they’d love that, and you could do with a break, too.”

  “Tell me about it! At least Matt is able to get time off before the kids go back to school. Did I tell you they’re staying with him for a week? They’re gonna love spending a whole week with their dad and I’ve never had that much time on my own. We’ll have to get together and do something fun while I’m childless.”

  “Oh definitely! Count me in!”

  “Well, anyway, I better fly. See you in the morning.”

  “What’s this I hear about you dating again?” Mum asked.

  I groaned. Ally and her big mouth!

  “Libby?”

  “His name is Joel,” I mumbled down the phone.

  “From what I hear he’s a good looking fellow.” Figures Ally would say that. “Why didn’t you tell me? And when am I going to meet him?”

  “Mum, we’ve only just met, give me a chance-”

  “So what’s he like?” she interrupted excitedly.

  “Joel is… he’s great Mum.” I smiled.

  “You really like him?”

  “Yeah, I do.” I could hear the happiness in my voice so I’m sure my mum could, too.

  “So when do I get to meet this guy?”

  “I’m not sure yet. Soon, I guess?”

  “So it’s serious then?”

  “I hope so.”

  “I’m so glad baby, you sound really happy. You deserve it. After everything you went through with Craig, I just-”

  “Mum, I’ve got to go. Dinner’s ready, I’m about to dish up.”

  “Oh, okay darling. Speak soon.”

  “Bye, Mum.”

  I hung up the phone and looked around my empty kitchen. There was no dinner in front of me. I hadn’t been cooking anything, that was just an excuse to get off the phone. I wasn’t even that hungry now, thoughts of Craig tended to make me lose my appetite. Why did she have to bring him up? I headed for the bathroom to take a long, hot, shower instead.

  Thankfully, Ally had left for work before I made it home tonight and I had the place to myself. After my shower I decided to try to eat, hungry or not. I grabbed a bowl of last night’s leftover stir fry, cranked up the aircon and got comfy on the couch. I turned on the TV to block out thoughts of Craig.

  When I woke up, it was dark out, the TV was still on and the half-eaten bowl of chicken stir fry was still sitting on the coffee table. I stretched my neck on the back of the couch to read the clock in the kitchen. It was after eleven. How’d that happen?

  I turned off the TV, taking my bowl to the kitchen. I threw its contents in the bin and then washed it. I had a drink of water and then looked at my phone. Shit! I’d misse
d three phone calls from Joel! I must have really zonked out! I was about to call him back when I thought the better of it, he was probably asleep now and I didn’t want to wake him. So I brushed my teeth and went to bed instead, kicking myself for not hearing the damn phone.

  When I arrived at work the next morning, my phone rang before I’d even made it into the building. It was Joel.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey, Liv. Is everything all right? I tried calling you last night.”

  “I’m sorry. I was really tired, I crashed early.”

  “Oh, okay, never mind… Did you sleep well?”

  “I slept okay, I guess. You?”

  “Not really… I was worried when you didn’t return any of my calls.” I could hear that nervousness in his voice again.

  “I’m so sorry, Joel.”

  “I thought maybe you were mad at me or something.”

  “Why would I be mad at you?”

  “For, I don’t know, being a jealous prick the other day, or maybe for not having the time to see you.”

  “No, no, not at all.” I tried my best to reassure him. Again, I was surprised at his insecurities. “Though I am mad at myself now.”

  “What for?”

  “I woke up during the night and saw I’d missed your calls but I didn’t call you back because I didn’t want to wake you. I probably should have, huh?”

  “It doesn’t matter now,” he spoke quietly. “Well I better let you get to work. Will I see you tonight?”

  “Of course.”

  “I’ll give you a call when I finish work then?” he asked.

  “Okay, that’d be great.”

  “Have a good day, Liv. See you tonight.”

  “Bye, Joel.”

  Friday. Ah yes, I could smell the excitement in the air when I entered the factory, after ending my call with Joel. People were buzzing about already. I entered the staff room and put my belongings in my locker, shrugging on my lab coat in time to see Eric giving Jess a peck on the cheek, before heading off to his office.

  “Good morning Jess?”

  “Oh, yes it is! Hey, you coming to the pub tonight? Eric and I want to shout you a couple of drinks.”