Paradise City

by C. J. Duggan

  I laughed, attempting to lighten the mood. ‘What could you possibly want to know?’

  Stupid! I was so bloody stupid. Way to walk into a spider web, genius.

  Boon smiled, stepping forward, so close I wanted to take a step back. My heart was pounding, worried about where this was headed and the look he was giving me. Oh God, was Amanda seeing this? Was she watching her crush step close to me? Could she see him staring at me? My breaths were shallow; I glanced down at my feet, breaking eye contact from Boon, but it didn’t stop him from reaching out and tucking a wayward strand of hair behind my ear, instantly causing my eyes to widen with the unexpectedness of it.

  ‘Do you have a boyfriend, Lexie Atkinson? Or is there a broken heart somewhere in the wastelands of Oz?’

  His voice was low, hypnotic, and had it been under any other circumstances – Amanda not being madly in love with him and my own thoughts not being elsewhere – I could surely have appreciated how gorgeous Boon was, especially this close. He wasn’t much taller than me, but he had sparkling blue eyes and a cheeky, sexy smile – perfect and starkly white against his dark skin. Always full of yap, and the regular class clown, so to see him looking at me with serious, questioning eyes made my insides churn in panic. None more so than when his thumb brushed slowly against my bottom lip.

  Oh God, was he going to kiss me? Right here, in front of all these people from school, in front of Amanda? Laura’s brother, Ballantine’s best friend? My heart was racing, the beats drowning out the roar of the ocean. I had to look for an exit, a clear-cut exit to shut down the look in his eyes, to stop this from happening. Why was Boon trying to kiss me? Me? Did I want Boon to kiss me? Shit, this was so confusing. And just as Boon worked on cupping the back of my neck and went to close the distance . . .

  ‘Amanda likes you!’ I blurted out.

  Boon froze, his brows lowered in confusion.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Amanda. She’s crazy about you,’ I said quickly.

  Oh God, I was a dead girl.

  Boon’s hand dropped back to his side, he even stepped away a little. ‘Amanda? As in Amanda, Amanda?’ he asked, looking even more perplexed. ‘Your cousin Amanda?’

  I nodded. Watching as his troubled eyes flicked over my shoulder, back to the group.

  In Boon’s moment of shock I took the opportunity to break away, but not before leaning in with some parting advice that I whispered into his ear: ‘Of course, if you repeat any of this I will just deny it.’ I patted him on the shoulder and made my way back to the group, back to face the music.

  Chapter Seventeen

  ‘What do you mean, she’s gone?’

  When I returned to the others I half expected to be met with a death stare from Amanda. For her to come charging at me with an Amazonian war cry and tackle me to the ground, trying to gouge my eyes out. I even had visions of our reunion turning into a Michael Jackson video clip minus the switchblades and eighties-style choreography. So when I came back to find Amanda had left, actually left me behind, I didn’t know what to think. Had she seen Boon and me? I glanced back to Boon. His silhouette was barely visible until he neared what was left of the group. I doubt she would have been able to see clearly enough to know if anything had happened.

  ‘Where is everyone?’ Boon directed his question to a couple from school who were obviously not very impressed with us interrupting their private make-out session. The girl with a disturbing amount of regrowth rolled her eyes.

  ‘Aren’t you supposed to be heading to the Wipe Out Bar?’

  ‘That’s where Ballantine was headed,’ said the boy.

  My interest piqued at the sound of Ballantine’s name. I glanced left to see my reaction had not gone unnoticed by Boon, who was staring at me with interest.

  Shit-shit-shit. Subtle as a sledgehammer, Lexie.

  I cleared my throat, looking away and adopting my best casual, whatever, who cares attitude.

  ‘It’ll be shut by now,’ said Boon, slowly tearing his gaze from me back to the couple.

  ‘But Dean’s pretty cool, yeah? He’ll let you stay on, won’t he?’ said the boy, who was trying his best to move us on.

  ‘That all depends what mood he’s in and I don’t intend to traipse over to the other side of the city to find out.’ Boon sounded annoyed. ‘Come on, Lexie, I’ll take you home,’ he said, tilting his head and walking off in the same direction Ballantine had earlier.

  The couple sitting on the sand just stared at me, and it took me a moment to gather my thoughts before jogging after Boon, who was marching a quick, determined line down the beach.

  ‘Boon, wait.’

  He didn’t.

  Instead, I had to try to dig my heels into the collapsing sand, wondering how they managed it on Baywatch. Maybe the scenes weren’t in slow motion at all, maybe that was just them really running; it was near on impossible. I was such a weakling. It wasn’t until we hit the base of a wide concrete staircase that led up from the beach to higher ground that I ignored the burn in my legs and skipped every second step to gain some ground, managing to beat Boon to the top so I could stand in front of him, blocking his way.

  ‘Home?’ I breathed out heavily, leaning over with my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath. ‘Really?’

  Boon, whose breathing wasn’t even uneven, just looked like he had been for a stroll in the park as he folded his arms over his chest, eyes roaming over me as if I was the most pitiful thing he had stumbled upon.

  I swallowed, repeating myself. ‘You’re really going to take me home?’

  ‘Well, that all depends; your place or mine?’ he said, flashing a boyish grin.

  I rolled my eyes. ‘Shouldn’t we be looking for the others? What’s the Wipe Out Bar?’

  And more importantly, how do we get there?

  I followed Boon, stepping over the pine barrier that worked as a divider from the grass to bitumen and into a narrow stretch of concrete car park with only a few lonely cars up ahead. Under a row of streetlights, Boon delved into the pocket of his shorts, pulling out a set of keys as he closed in on an older model Holden ute, old as in my grandpa’s era. It was shiny and well maintained, a little bit funky even, just like my mum’s knee-high boots and flared jeans were when they came back into fashion. But it wasn’t the immaculate baby blue paintwork or the nostalgia that had me surprised as I came to a standstill beside the passenger door.

  ‘You drive?’

  Boon stilled, my question appearing to confuse him somewhat. ‘I’m eighteen,’ he said, almost puffing his chest out in challenge.

  Oh, yeah, I kept forgetting I was a year below everyone. Still, a smile spread across my lips.

  ‘So cool,’ I said, mainly to myself.

  ‘Hop in and I’ll take you home,’ Boon said, unlocking his door and sliding behind the wheel. He leant over and pushed the passenger door open. I didn’t move.

  ‘Umm, you do realise I can pretty much see my house from here. It’s literally just over there.’

  Okay, so a slight exaggeration but it was still really close, too close to warrant a lift.

  ‘Get in and I’ll take you to the Wipe Out Bar.’

  My head quickly jerked up. ‘Really?’

  Boon’s answer was to turn on the ignition and fire up the car. I as good as jumped into the passenger seat, fear coursing through my veins at the thought of being left behind. I had already been ditched once tonight; well, twice if you included Ballantine. I eagerly clicked my seatbelt into place, readying myself to be taken to where the others had headed. This was more like it. This was how I’d hoped the night would end, a local hotspot with the surfer boys, an insight into their world away from school rules.

  Boon flicked the lights on full beam, highlighting the navy sedan in front of us and the couple that were pashing in it, only breaking apart in agitated, squinted stares towards the beams.

  I blanched, looking away, embarrassed.

  Boon laughed, taking in my unease. ‘You sure you don’t
want to stay here, this is where all the action is,’ he said, taunting me.

  ‘I’m sure.’

  He shrugged. ‘Whatever.’

  He backed up a little, changing gears and spinning the wheel expertly with one hand. He plunged his foot on the accelerator, which had my body whipping back in my seat, thudding my head and causing my heart to jump at the unexpectedness of it. The V8 of Boon’s engine thrummed in the night as he steered around the corner, speeding up the hill. I was smiling so big, so goofy, thinking that what my aunt and uncle didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. The sound of this loud, thumping ute would probably have them turning in their beds as the noise disturbed their sleep. Little would they know that I was a part of the crime. I was jolted out of my smug thoughts when Boon stepped on the brakes and brought the car to a stop. Outside the front of my house? My head snapped from the shadowy two-storey building to Boon, my eyes alight with confusion and then betrayal, taking in his cheeky smirk.

  ‘What are you doing? I thought we were going to the Wipe Out Bar?’

  Boon scoffed. ‘I’m not going there.’

  ‘But those two said it would be fine, that Dean would –’

  ‘Dean Saville!’ Boon burst out laughing. ‘Dean is likely to be waiting for me with a shotgun if I rock up at this time on a school night. Dylan and Morgan don’t know what they’re talking about.’

  Dylan and Morgan? Their names sounded like they were characters on Beverly Hills 90210. And whoever this Dean Saville bloke was I was starting to get really pissed off with him, but not as pissed off as I was with the traitorous Boon, who yawned and stretched in front of me.

  He gripped the steering wheel, looking me over with interest. ‘The party doesn’t have to be over, new girl.’

  ‘Pfft. In your dreams.’ I opened the car door, slamming it in anger before wincing at what a stupid idea that was. My eyes flicked up to the unlit second storey, waiting for the lights to turn on and for Uncle Peter to come charging out with a shotgun, in his undies. But there was no sign of life and I breathed a sigh of relief before turning to give Boon one last death stare. I made to storm my way back in through my bedroom window.

  ‘Hey, Lexie.’ Boon was leaning over the passenger seat, motioning me to come back. Irritated, I stepped closer, leaning down to the opened window.

  ‘Shhh, you’re going to wake the entire neighbourhood.’

  ‘Shit. Sorry,’ Boon winced, quickly turning off his engine.

  I tapped my foot impatiently, thinking maybe he felt bad and would take me to the Wipe Out Bar after all.

  Boon shifted in his seat, picking at the seam on his leather steering wheel. He went all quiet and thoughtful like a little boy.

  I sighed in impatience. ‘What, Boon?’

  ‘So . . . like . . . what has Amanda exactly said about me?’

  I laughed. Was he for real?

  ‘What?’ he said defensively, straightening in his seat. ‘What’s so funny?’

  I mock yawned. ‘Oh, Boon, it’s far too late to be chitchatting. It’s a school night, remember?’ I folded my arms, lifting one brow as if to say:

  Lexie – 1, Boon – 0

  That would teach him for bringing me home.

  I waited for his response, for a counter offer to get back into the car and he would take me wherever I wanted to go if I would spill about Amanda. Not that I knew anything other than second-hand information from Laura.

  He nodded as if accepting his fate. ‘Fair enough.’ He started up his car again; the roars of the engine so painfully loud.

  ‘It’s a shame, though,’ Boon said, causing me to look back at him.

  ‘Oh, yeah, and why’s that?’

  Boon smiled so wide I thought I might be blinded by it. ‘Because I thought you might like to know what a certain mate of mine thinks about you.’

  I paused. My world dropping away, nothing audible, nothing real to me other than the erratic beats of my heart.

  ‘What mate?’ I asked, my eyes wide as I failed to play it cool, to keep myself from wanting to fling my body across the car bonnet and beg for more information.

  Boon stretched, yawning and then looked at the dashboard clock. ‘Oh, is that the time?’ He feigned surprise. Every action was so overacted, you could tell he was completely loving this.

  ‘Boon.’ I said his name as if it was a warning. A warning to not do this, to not drive away and leave me hanging.

  But Boon pulled into gear and threw me a winning smile. ‘Better get to bed, Lexie. It’s a school night, remember?’ he said in a chastising tone, before giving me a cheeky wink and speeding off down the street sounding a series of ear-piercing honks that had me cursing him and scurrying back to the house before a Mexican wave of outdoor lights flicked on.

  My heart was thumping, my breath short and shallow, as I quickly made my way around the side of the house back to the bedroom window. Fast and silent was not easy and with each step I cursed Boon. Cursed his entrapment on bringing me home, cursed his sexual innuendo, cursed his infuriatingly loud car, and cursed how much glee he showed as he got the upper hand.

  What a certain mate of mine thinks about you.

  The sentence rolled over and over again in my head on a continual loop as I slid the bedroom window across and hitched myself onto the sill, the aluminium of the frame digging into my hip bones. I let gravity pull me forward, my squeal luckily muffled by my mattress. I flopped onto my bed. Home free, out of breath, and my thoughts blazing a trail through my mind as I dared to wonder.

  Which mate?

  Chapter Eighteen

  I was woken by the slamming of an elbow between my shoulder blades, the piercing pain only outdone by the heavy dead weight pinning me to the mattress, crushing all the breath out of me. My cries were muffled by my pillow. I was getting used to being woken up in the most random of ways, but this was ridiculous.

  ‘Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!’ singsonged Amanda, who was now jumping up and down on my bed. Was she drunk?

  I winced, crawling myself upright, glancing at the clock which read three a.m.

  ‘What the hell?’

  I pushed aside the curtain of hair that covered my eyes, squinting at the still-open window, the very one Amanda had obviously just crawled through.

  Amanda bounced up and down on my bed before letting her legs give way and bouncing onto her butt, breathless and laughing.

  ‘Oh my God, Lexie, I wanted to kill you. Like seriously maddening homicidal tendencies and then . . .’ Amanda broke off with a deep, dreamy-eyed sigh.

  I wearily crossed my legs into a sitting position under my covers, not feeling warm and fuzzy about her rather lighthearted confession.

  ‘And then?’ I asked, with a curve of my brow.

  Amanda’s lips spread into a blinding, if slightly unnerving, smile. One I hadn’t seen since I arrived here.

  ‘And then he kissed me.’

  I stilled. My breath hitching in my throat, a fear stabbing me in the pit of my stomach.

  ‘He?’

  Amanda sighed again, snatching up one of my pillows and hugging it to her chest like a child. ‘Boon,’ she said.

  My shoulders slumped in relief.

  Oh, thank God. Boon.

  ‘Wait, where did you meet up with Boon?’ I asked, confused.

  Amanda shrugged, manoeuvring herself to mirror my cross-legged position. ‘The Wipe Out Bar.’

  Bloody traitor.

  So Boon ditched me and headed to the last place he said he had intended to go. My insides burned by his betrayal. He was so full of crap. I wondered if he was just trying to get a reaction from me by insinuating that one of his mates had said something about me, assuming of course that whatever they had said was something I wanted to hear.

  Before I had the chance to ask who else was at the Wipe Out Bar, a pillow thwacked against my face.

  ‘Boon told me you said I liked him.’ Amanda held the pillow above her head ready to lash out for round two when she paused. ‘But . . . how did
you know I did? I never told you.’ Amanda lowered the pillow, genuinely perplexed.

  Oh, great, way to go, big mouth Boon! And it wasn’t as if I could betray my source as Laura, so I went with what came to mind.

  ‘It’s kind of obvious.’

  Amanda bit her lower lip. ‘Oh God, is it really?’

  ‘Only to me. I guess I just know you better than anyone else, that’s all,’ I offered lightheartedly, even though it wasn’t entirely true. The Amanda of old I knew. The Amanda that I had met in Paradise City was a complete stranger to me, and yet there was something in the Amanda I was looking at now, the very one that sat with her legs crossed on my bed. The light of excitement that sparked in her eyes, the way she looked as though she was about to share a thousand secrets with me. It was the same look we shared when we were young; my heart clenched at the memory, hoping it would last.

  ‘So, Boon, hey?’

  Amanda’s smile spread wide, lighting up her whole face. ‘Daniel Boon,’ she crooned, before throwing herself on her back and muffling her elated squeals with her pillow.

  I leant against the bedhead, folding my arms. ‘Wow, that good, huh?’

  She yanked the pillow from her face, regaining her breath once more. ‘Oh, you have no idea.’

  A moment flashed in my mind – Boon stepping closer to me, surely about to kiss me until I blurted out Amanda’s secret. I’d seen the lines of confusion etched in his brow as he slowly registered what I’d said. Then it obviously registered on a deeper scale as he made his way to the Wipe Out Bar where Amanda was and, well, the rest was history. I just hoped that by morning Amanda wasn’t also history. She was completely smitten. I had only experienced a small sample of serious heart palpitations over Ballantine so I totally got the hysteria.

  Amanda rolled onto her side, leaning her head on her hand. ‘I have liked Boon for so long. I can’t even think of a time when I didn’t. It’s like he is the sun and the world is just so grey and dull, and then he comes along and changes everything.’