by Becca Lee
I was glad the day was almost over. I was mainly relieved it had gone without incident. I half-expected David to show up and prayed desperately that he didn’t. It seemed he really had skipped states, and I hoped that was the way it would stay. What was more, we got through the service without any inopportune breakouts of giggling. Seriously, it happened to me at my nana’s funeral a couple of years ago.
My nana was bloody awesome and died when she was in her early eighties. She’d had an amazing life until finally the bastard called cancer took her. During the service, one of my cousins, who was standing behind me, stomach grumbled at a particularly quiet moment. With our emotions high, I started giggling. I forced myself to disguise it with a cough, which did nothing to hide my shaking shoulders. Liam had gripped my hand tighter, struggling to contain his own laughter. My parents, aunts, and uncles were in the front row before me, and I was in the same row as Ella, who loved Nana just as much as I did, along with Preston, Liam and a few of my cousins.
After my not-so-subtle, failed attempt at disguising and stopping my giggle, our row became a Mexican wave of shaking shoulders and fake coughs. At one point, my mum looked over her shoulder; it was her mum who had passed. I froze, momentarily feeling awful, but I simply had no control. I was renowned for inappropriate laughter as it was. Mum surprised me by winking and quirking her lips into a smile.
We were all sad at our nana’s passing, but I knew she would have loved the fact we found silliness and unbridled laughter amidst such sadness. Once we sat in the funeral car afterward, my mum broke out into a full and deep belly laugh. Her mum would have definitely loved it.
“Fine,” Ella relented. “But just remember when I’m pregnant, I’ll expect the same in return.”
“Done.” I ungracefully scooted around on the sofa, so my feet landed on her lap.
“Are they stinky?”
“Erm…no?”
Once more, her nose turned up; this time aimed directly at my swollen feet.
“What’s a pair of stinky feet between best friends?” I grinned, drawing out a laugh from her.
“You do seriously owe me. Don’t think I’ll forget.” She started working on my left foot, drawing out a relieved groan from my mouth. “And if you make dodgy sex noises, you can forget it. I’ve heard you shagging one too many times over the years. Each time, I’ve wanted to ram a hot bloody poker in my earholes.”
I laughed. “Liam thinks my sex noises are cute.” The laughter died on my lips a moment before I schooled my face and thoughts. I had not shared Liam’s deception with Ella, yet. The irony of withholding it from her wasn’t lost on me, but voicing the events would only make them real. I needed time to compartmentalise what had happened first.
Her hands paused on my feet and I wiggled my toes, urging her to continue. My aim was to also distract her so she wouldn’t notice the shadow passing over me.
“What? He does.”
“Bloody hell, woman. There is nothing cute about sounding like a wailing banshee.”
“Hey! I do not.”
“Whatever you say, Jo.”
I harrumphed. Liam liked my sex noises. On top of the cute factor, he said they were hot. There was no way I sounded that bad. Wanting the focus off my adorable sex noises, I relaxed under her touch, my feet already feeling better. “So earlier you mentioned when you have babies. Are you going to be making me an aunt soon?”
I was happy at the thought of Preston and El taking their relationship up a notch or five. Preston had been in love with El forever, and while they hadn’t been official for long, not only was it obvious they were head over heels for each other, but they’d both happily admitted it, too. One of the bonuses—I was determined to see it that way rather than become icky when El shared titbits about her sex life with my little brother—of them being together, on top of how crazy happy they both were, was that I knew they would make it. They were pretty much perfect for one another, so the thought of being an aunt was cool.
Her hands paused again, much to my frustration. I wriggled my toes once more and told myself if she stopped again, I’d have to shut up and stop asking questions. However, Ella turned a bright shade of crimson before me, spiking my curiosity tenfold.
“What aren’t you telling me? Shit, you’re not pregnant already are you?”
She shook her head and laughed, her cheeks cooling down a fraction. “Geez no. Not yet.”
“Not yet?”
She shrugged. Tension in her shoulders indicated she was being a little too nonchalant. “Well, we’ve talked about it and stuff.”
I would have leaned forward and perhaps shook her if I could have been arsed, that and if my baby belly wasn’t preventing me. Instead, I settled with a question, my voice rising in pitch. “Stuff? What stuff? You need to tell me what the heck is going on now, woman.” Shit, I may just cry if she makes me too bloody happy. Stupid hormones.
Her grin was wide. “You know, marriage and babies and living together—stuff.”
“So what decisions did you make about said ‘stuff’?” I used my fingers to air-quote. While it took up unnecessary energy, I thought it was worth it given the situation. Everything seemed pretty much an effort recently. My energy levels had plummeted. “Plus, you’re already living together.” After Ella’s accident before Christmas last year, Preston had moved in to look after her. He’d never left.
“We’re going to buy a house together. We’re selling mine and going for it.” She teamed her words with a mini happy dance, sans standing up and doing her usual geeky moves. For a twenty-eight-year-old woman, a teacher at that, I loved it when she regressed into immature Ella. It was a pretty awesome side to her. “We’re spending the week putting my house on the market, and he’s already organised a friend to rent out his place. We’ve decided to keep his place as an investment.”
“Shit, honey, I think I’m going to cry.” I sniffed. A mortgage together was big. In many ways, it was bigger than marriage, since a marriage was easy enough to get out of, while a mortgage was a whole new ballgame of commitment.
“Don’t be a fanny. If you start crying, you’ll only pee yourself. You know what you’re like.”
Damn it. She was right. If I peed on her, my foot rub would stop. Then that would definitely push my emotions over the edge. I took a deep breath. “I’m so happy for you guys.” A fresh, amused grin then formed at my next thought. “Have you told our parents yet?” I knew both sets of folks would be crazy excited. It may even take some of the heat off Liam and me.
My mum and dad, always awesome if not regularly over-the-top, had stepped up their level of contact. Mum was constantly texting and popping by for unannounced visits. I was so lucky they cared so much for us, especially considering Liam’s parents, but they were a little suffocating with their excitement.
“Not yet.” Ella half-laughed, half-grimaced. “We’re telling them in a couple of days.”
I laughed louder. “And what about what comes next?”
“Well, we’ll be doing it all. We’ve been grown-ups and talked it out. We even looked at dates for the best time to have a baby for taking time off work.”
A deeper laugh erupted. “You talked it out? What happened to romance and spontaneity?”
“Oh, don’t worry. I’ve told Preston none of it will happen without hearts, rainbows and flying damn unicorns. I will be wooed and surprised, damn it.” She winked at me and proceeded to massage my feet.
I had no doubt Preston would go all out to achieve every one of her requests. “Try not to wait too long. Us having babies close together would be pretty aweso—” I didn’t finish off my sentence, horrified by my words. When the hell had I started encouraging pregnancy and all that it entailed? “Holy shit! Did you just hear the crap that came out of my mouth, El? If I say messed-up stuff like that again, you have permission to bitch-slap me. Next I’m going to be telling Liam to buy a station wagon.”
“The hell I’m buying a station wagon.” Liam stood in the open door
way, his face a ghastly shade of white. El and I looked at one another and burst out laughing. I held tightly to the moments of normalcy. It gave me a few instances of reprieve, allowing me to breathe before the tension set back in.
“Don’t worry, Jo. There’s no chance Liam would let you turn into a nightmare mum. Would you, Liam?” Ella looked toward Liam who sighed deeply in what seemed to be relief. Colour was coming back into his cheeks.
“Don’t be saying stuff like that, Jo. You about gave me a damn heart attack.” He stepped further into the room and headed toward me. As he bent to kiss me, he said, “Just so we’re clear, don’t ever be asking me to sell my bike. Not going to happen.” His lips pressed to my head on a smile. I allowed it, accepting the comfort and familiarity.
I admitted, “You look too hot on your bike for me to get rid of that. So no worries there.” I was deadly serious. One of the things I was most excited about post-baby, on top of the obvious, was riding snug against Liam.
His smile lit up his face as he stood upright. “You got that right, babe.” He winked and I rolled my eyes. “Preston was just talking about a weekend away with the boys, surfing and what not.”
I lifted my brows at his use of wording.
“You know, just chilling and hanging before daddy duty comes into full effect. You girls could go away on a spa weekend or whatever you like doing.”
I nodded toward El massaging my feet. “Should I be suspicious?” I asked around a light smile. I actually thought a weekend away from everything would be really good for Liam, and me. Work was not manic, with just a few easy jobs on the go, and with his mum’s passing, time out with the boys would allow him some downtime. More significantly for me, I needed time to re-find my bearings and my thoughts. I needed to deal with the muddle of emotions I was dealing with. I hated the heavy cloud hanging over Liam and me. It filled me with unease and dread, making me sick to the stomach. Not only did I hate feeling out of control, but it wasn’t good for the baby. I looked toward Ella. “Did you know anything about this boys’ weekend?”
“Nope.” Ella popped the ‘p’.
Just then, Preston walked in from outside. Lips tilting into a smile, he made a beeline for Ella and kissed her. Her head was tilted back, her lips waiting. “Has Liam told you about our weekend away?”
“He was just getting to it,” I answered.
“Suspicious of what exactly?” Liam had latched on to my last word to him.
“Well, you know guys have this stupid-arse idea of women’s sleepovers. I think the cliché involves pillow fights. Well, a boys’ weekend, which is apparently for no reason other than a boys’ get-together, evokes images of beer, porn—”
“Shaving foam, penises in permanent ink,” Ella interrupted.
I nodded in agreement, hoping my casualness would give him the reassurance he needed to go away for the weekend. I knew that with David still missing, Liam would not be happy with leaving me alone.
Preston shook his head in amusement, as Liam laughed lightly before he spoke. “Ladies, this is not schoolies. We’re not teenage boys looking to jack off to shitty porn and shave someone’s brows off. Don’t get me wrong, it was awesome when I left high school and did all that shit, but give us some credit.”
“Yep,” Preston added. “We can afford good-quality porn now.” He laughed, receiving a nudge in the side from Ella.
“Exactly.” Liam nodded in agreement.
“Fine, be off with you. But just so you know, if you come home with no eyebrows or a dick on your face, I’m filing for a divorce.” Liam flicked his gaze to mine, his face devoid of mirth. “Is Mace going, too? I think he should. It would be good for him,” I added.
“What would be good for me?” Mace entered the room and took a seat in the chair opposite where Ella and I were sitting. He’d scrubbed up well for his mum’s funeral; all of our men had.
“I need you to go and babysit this pair if they’re heading out for a weekend away.” I smiled and took in his frown.
Mace turned up his nose. “There’s no chance in hell I’m going on a damn surfboard.”
Liam grinned and sat on the arm of the sofa. I leaned into him, enjoying the heat and familiarity of his body. “Surfing is optional. I’m sure you can entertain yourself some other way.”
“Fine. When are we going?”
Liam looked to Preston for an answer. Preston shrugged before he spoke. “Next weekend? I have the weekend off.”
The boys made sounds of agreement, but not before Liam leaned down and whispered, “You going to be okay here?” I nodded my affirmation. I also knew he would speak to Mace and organise someone to look out for me, so I wasn’t concerned about being by myself. With a return nod of acceptance, he stood, and the men collectively headed out in a wave to get more beer, before leaving us once more for outside.
“Was it me or did we just get hustled?” Ella asked.
I leaned back deeper into the sofa and closed my eyes. “Don’t know.” I wriggled my toes. “Possibly, but they’re all big and ugly enough to take care of themselves.” In just three days, I would finally have the space I needed.
Chapter Fourteen
Liam
It had been a long time since I was last in the water. I tended to get a rush these days from my Ducati. After a few wipeouts, and Preston and a few of his friends taking the piss out of my failed attempts, I’d finally re-found my footing and tore up the waves.
Adrenaline pulsed through my veins with the last one I took. I revelled in the buzz, not concealing the wide grin on my face. “Hell yeah!” I shouted just before I flipped myself off, submerging fully before I came up for air. Looking back out to sea, I watched Preston, who had a pretty crazy skill set, on his board ride in.
Coming away was perfect timing. I knew Jo needed some time to process all she had discovered. I just hoped she was in a forgiving mood on my return. She was rational enough to understand why I’d withheld the truth from her, but hormonal enough for it to hit like a betrayal as opposed to protection. Time away also gave me time to put life and all that had happened into even greater perspective. While I hated myself for Jo finding out about David the way she had, wishing I had handled it differently, I wasn’t sorry for trying to keep her safe. I would do all I could to shield her from danger and unnecessary angst.
When I returned home, it would be time to talk everything through. We would then be able to work past the strain of the last week. While she hadn’t pushed me away, Jo erected a wall which was painted in repellent, telling me to back off. I had, to some extent.
Turning for one last wave, I paddled out hard, shrugging off my own unease of Jo’s anger and my own anxiety with leaving her. Jo had planned for a day and evening with Ella, as well as a night to herself to regroup. I knew she was safe; Mace had ensured that and had someone watching her back. With that thought, I released the tense breath I had been holding and turned as a wave headed toward me. Taking off, my hands pushed through the water. Garnering enough speed and feeling the slight tip and pull of my board, I waited a fraction of a second until the perfect moment to pop up. Once I did, I cut into the wave and rode it in, cutting parallel to the beach.
Every weave, every bob filtered through my body as I absorbed the rush of the wave. Beaming like a crazy man, I waited until the last moment to somersault in the air and throw myself in the water. As the ocean engulfed me, I revelled in the sensation tugging at my body. While I was not as young as Preston and his friends—hell, I felt like an old man at times in comparison—my excitement rivalled that of a teenager.
Once up for air, I grinned, took hold of my board, hopped on it and paddled to shore. I was ready for a beer, and no doubt, Mace would be getting antsy by himself.
Picking up my long board, I jogged out of the lapping water and made my way to Mace. He was lying out on the sand, leaning on his elbows while cradling a beer. Despite being in the peak of autumn, it was a sweet 26 degrees Celsius. But apparently, the warmth or the fact we were on a be
ach didn’t stop Mace from lying in the sand wearing his jeans. He had, however, removed his boots, so at least he was barefoot.
Putting my board down, I sat down next to Mace and reached to grab a beer out of the cooler. After opening the cap, I took a long pull and grinned down at Mace, who was watching me behind his shaded eyes. “You good, brother?
He nodded and drank from his bottle. “Yep.” He nodded out to the water. “You were looking good out there.”
I grinned my thanks.
“Thought I may need to wade in a few times at the beginning to save your arse, with the amount of water which was dumped on your head, but you survived.”
I laughed in amusement. “I need a crate of beer to flush out all of the damn sea water. Apparently, surfing is not quite the same as riding a bike.”
Sitting up, Mace chuckled. “You wouldn’t have a chance in hell of seeing me out there. Hell no!”
I scoffed. “I’ve never understood your reluctance to surf. You grew up ten minutes off the beach, just like me.”
“Never felt the pull. I prefer metal and rubber between my legs. Plus, you don’t get any damn sharks hunting you down.”
“Well, there’s no denying the pull of a bike, brother.” I clicked my bottle to his and gazed out to the ocean, watching Preston heading in.
“Have you spoken to Jo?” Mace was privy to Jo finally knowing about David. When I’d told him, he’d shaken his head at me, somehow managing to keep his ‘I told you so’ at bay. The worst of it was he’d encouraged me to tell Jo. The fool I was just chose not to listen.
“No, I’m just giving her some time. This weekend will give her that. I know we’ll talk it out and she’ll get to the point of kicking my arse, but at the moment, time is the only thing that will help her.”