DEDICATION
GLOSSARY
DECIDE
DECLINE
DECEIVE
DECIPHER
DECLARE
DECODE
ALSO BY MICHELLE IRWIN
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2016 by Michelle Irwin
First Edition
Published in Australia
Cover Artist: Soxsationalcoverart
Editing by: Hot Tree Editing
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to an actual person, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental. The following story is set in Australia and therefore has been written in UK/Australian English. The spelling and usage reflect that.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and for all other inquiries, contact:
Michelle Irwin P O Box 671 MORAYFIELD QLD 4506 AUSTRALIA
www.michelle-irwin.com
[email protected]
DEDICATION:
To those who like their hero with a potty mouth and dirty mind, I deliver to you Declan Reede.
GLOSSARY:
Note: This book is set in Australia, as such it uses Australian/UK spelling and some Australian slang. Although you should be able to understand the novel without a glossary, there is always fun to be had in learning new words. Temperatures are in Celsius, weight is in kilograms, and distance is (generally) in kilometres (although we still have some slang which uses miles).
Arse: Ass.
AVO: Apprehended Violence Order.
Bedhead: Headboard.
Bench: Counter.
Bitumen: Asphalt.
Bonnet: Hood.
Boot: Trunk.
Bottle-o: Bottle shop/liquor store.
Buggery: Multiple meanings. Technically bugger/buggery is sodomy/anal sex, but in Australia, the use is more varied. Bugger is a common expression of disbelief/disapproval.
Came down in the last shower (Do you think I): Born yesterday
CAMS: Confederation of Australian Motor Sport.
Cherry (Drag racing): Red light indicating that you “red-lighted”/jumped the start.
Cock-ups: Fuck-ups/mistakes.
Dagwood Dogs: Corndogs
Diamante: Rhinestone.
Dipper: See S Bends below.
Do (Charity Do): Function/event.
Dob: Tell on.
Doona: Blanket/comforter.
Face Washer: Face cloth.
Fairy-Floss: Cotton candy.
Fillies: Girls.
Footpath: Sidewalk.
Formal: Prom.
Fours: Cars with a four-cylinder engine.
Gobful: Mouthful
HANS: Head And Neck Support.
Hydralyte: Hydrating formula (electrolytes).
Loo: Toilet.
Message bank: Voicemail.
Mirena: An IUD that contains and releases a small amount of a progesterone hormone directly into the uterus.
Mozzies: Mosquitoes.
Necked: Drank from.
Newsagency: A shop which sells newspapers/magazines/lotto tickets. Similar to a convenience store, but without the food.
Off my face: Drunk/under the influence (including of drugs).
Pap: Paparazzi.
Panadol/Paracetamol: Active ingredient in pain-relievers like Tylenol and Panadol.
Pavlova: Meringue-based desert, usually served covered with fresh cream and seasonal fruits (aka: sugar heaven).
Phone/Mobile Phone/Mobile Number: Cell/cell phone/cell number.
Prep (school): Preparation year.
Privateer: Someone who finances their own races.
Real Estate: All-inclusive term meaning real estate agency/property management firm.
Rego: Registration (general); cost of vehicle licence.
Ricer: Someone who drives a hotted up four-cylinder (usually imported) car, and makes modifications to make it (and make it look) faster.
Rugby League: One of the codes of football played in Australia.
S bends (and into the Dipper): Part of the racetrack shaped into an S shape. On Bathurst track, the Dipper is the biggest of the S bends, so called because there used to be a dip in the road there before track resurfacing made it safer.
Sandwich with the lot: Sandwich with the works.
Schoolies: Week-long (or more) celebration for year twelves graduating school. Similar to spring break. The Gold Coast is a popular destination for school leavers from all around the country, and they usually have a number of organised events, including alcohol-free events as a percentage of school leavers are usually under eighteen (the legal drinking age in Australia).
Scrag: Whore/slut.
Scrutineering: Process of going over the car and rules to ensure there is no corruption or mistakes.
Shout (referring to drinks or food): Buy for someone. “Get the tab.”
Silly Season: Off season in sports. Primarily where most of the trades happen (e.g. driver’s moving teams, sponsorship changes etc).
Skerrick: Scrap.
Slicks: A special type of racing tyre with no tread. They’re designed to get the maximum amount of surface on the road at all times. Wet weather tyres have chunky tread to displace the water from the track.
Skulled: (can also be spelled sculled and skolled) Chugged/Drank everything in the bottle/glass.
Soft Drinks: Soda/pop.
Stiff Shit: Tough shit/too bad.
Sunnies: Sunglasses.
TAFE: (Technical And Further Education) Trade school
Tassie: Tasmania (in the same way Aussie = Australia)
Taxi: Cab.
Thrummed: Hummed/vibrated.
Titbit: Tidbit.
Tossers: Pricks/assholes/jerks.
Tyres: Tires.
Year Twelve: Senior.
Wag: Ditch school.
Wank: Masturbate
Wankers: Tossers/Jerk-offs.
Weet-Bix: Breakfast cereal brand.
Whinge: Whine/complain.
Uni: University/college.
DECIDE
DECLAN REEDE: THE UNTOLD STORY
(BOOK 0.5)
CONTENTS:
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE: THE END OF FRIENDSHIP
CHAPTER TWO: THE END OF AWKWARD
CHAPTER THREE: THE END OF SCHOOL
CHAPTER FOUR: THE END OF THE FIRST TIME
CHAPTER FIVE: THE END OF IDIOCY
CHAPTER SIX: THE END OF THE RACE
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE END OF SILENCE
CHAPTER EIGHT: THE END OF PRIVACY
CHAPTER NINE: THE END OF WISHING
CHAPTER TEN: THE END OF INNOCENCE
CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE END OF THE DREAM
CHAPTER TWELVE: THE END OF IT ALL
PROLOGUE
“What we call the beginning is often the end.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from.”
~ T.S. Eliot ~
AT THE AGE of nine, life was easy.
Boys and girls were able to be friends, just friends, with no ulterior motives and no pesky hormones getting in the way. That’s the way things were between me and my best friend, Alyssa Dawson. Simple. Easy. Whether we were at her house on a Sunday aftern
oon playing monopoly with her brother, Josh, watching a movie, or swimming at the local pool, it was all effortless.
Life itself was something measured in the moments of fun between the drudgery of school lessons and helping with chores. Marriage, kids, the future, they were all foreign concepts not needing any consideration on a day-to-day basis. A career was something parents had and didn’t require any thought outside of creating an endless list of “when I grow ups.” My own list was a little less endless than most. It only ever consisted of one item. One goal: I would be a V8 driver, or I would die trying.
At some point after nine, things changed. There was no discernible moment when it happened, it just did. One day things were uncomplicated, the next, they were different. Girls were no longer just people to befriend on the playground. They were interesting in a way that boys never were—at least not for me. Girls became mystifying and bizarre.
At that point, it seemed like boys and girls couldn't be just friends anymore.
That's how it was with Alyssa and me. She was still my best friend, but something had shifted. When we entered high school, I noticed things about her that I’d never seen before, and it wasn't just the obvious physical changes like her boobs and hips. A hundred smaller things grabbed my attention, without me even realising I’d seen them.
Little things, like the way her lips would caress the end of a pencil as she studied. The way her fingers would twine loosely in her chestnut hair when she was deep in thought. The way her mouth would curl up in a secretive smile when she daydreamed. Her cute pout when something didn’t go her way and the fire that flashed in her eyes when someone pissed her off.
It wasn’t just Alyssa either.
By the time I was fifteen, it was like all girls were a different species that both fascinated and frightened me. They all gave me the feeling of snakes writhing in my belly. Hand-quivering, pit-of-my-stomach dread when I needed to talk to them alone. They all made me yearn for things that I didn’t really understand—newly-awakened desires that filled my nights with fantasies. Emotions I could no longer control roiled and duelled within me.
More than anything, I wanted to experience the soft caress of lips like the ones Alyssa wrapped around her pencils. Have gentle fingers stoke my hair or trail along my skin.
About the same time I first noticed those things, life in general changed.
In no time at all, things became complicated. Our focus was no longer board games, TV, and summer fun, but study, university, careers, and, well, life in the broader sense. The future was no longer a distant objective we could worry about at a later date. It was real and it was happening. We each needed to make a plan for the future and work hard to earn it. In order to steer our lives in the right direction, we had to make choices.
I had to make choices.
My vision for what I wanted had always been so clear, but suddenly I was paralysed with fear.
What if I chose wrong?
CHAPTER ONE: THE END OF FRIENDSHIP
OUR KISS WAS soft and slow.
It was warm and welcoming.
Alyssa tasted absolutely divine as our lips dragged across one another’s in a perfect melding. The scent of the crushed grass around us provided the backdrop to our surprise first kiss in the hot December sun. I knew if I opened my eyes, I would see the unbelievable image of her body pinned beneath me while I kissed her until we were both breathless. No doubt her hair would be fanned out behind her, rich deep brown against the green ground. I didn’t want to open my eyes though, because it would only ruin the moment.
She hummed against me as one of my hands found its way to the base of her neck, twisting gently into her hair. She cupped my face before fisting her fingers into my hair and tugged slightly, pulling me closer to her. I opened my mouth in response, granting her tongue access to explore. Every swirl of her tongue or shift of her fingers was done in a way that I was certain was designed to drive me mad. Each touch drew a new sound from me, one I’d never made before, or had even known I could make.
The kiss was passionate and fuelled by desire. It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. In the instant it had started, I knew I’d never really kissed anyone before. Not properly. Not like this. I’d wanted to. Just three days earlier, I’d been half mad with desire for Darcy Kinsley. I’d been obsessed in the way only a fifteen-year-old boy could be. I’d imagined having my tongue in her mouth and her boobs in my palms.
All thoughts of her had been completely obliterated by one kiss.
The fact that I was sharing it with Alyssa was more than I could have ever imagined.
She’d been my best friend for years, but maybe not anymore.
I pulled away a fraction and met her honey-gold eyes. Her breath brushed across my mouth, and my tongue trailed forward to slick my lips in response. My gaze refused to move from hers despite the call of her lips. A quiver ran through my body and my heart pounded against my ribs. My voice held almost no volume, was just a breathless whisper as I uttered the only word running through my head. “Wow.”
“Yeah,” she breathed back.
Closing my eyes, I tipped forward and touched my lips to hers again. The instant we reconnected, a throaty groan escaped from her and she opened her lips for me once more. The action made my stomach clench and sent chain reactions echoing down my body. I was so completely lost in her—in us—that I didn’t hear anyone approaching. “Declan? Alyssa!”
I jolted at the sound of my name. Alyssa chuckled against my lips. The feel of her shifting beneath me sent a surge of whatever new emotion I was feeling through me. My heart clenched, my stomach fluttered, and my lips burned with the need to touch hers again. Unable to resist, I renewed my attack on her mouth.
“Seriously?” A tone of disgust rang in Josh’s voice.
Although I was tempted to ignore Alyssa’s older brother and just keep kissing her, she seemed less than comfortable with continuing our PDA in front of him. She placed her hands on my shoulders and gently pushed me away. Despite the movement, a dreamy smile lit her face and I could see she had no regrets—even after being caught in the act.
After pulling myself up into a seated position, I offered my hand to help her up too. We sat cross-legged, facing each other. My hands played with her long locks, twisting the dark ends around my fingers as I studied her gaze, looking for any signs of what might happen next. I refused to relinquish my hold on her completely though, or break the moment so soon, because I wasn’t sure I’d get the chance to do it ever again.
“What the hell are you two doing?” Josh asked.
I risked a quick glance at him, and then around the park we were in. Scattered around us was half a deck of cards. The other half had been blown across the park by the wind while we’d been otherwise occupied.
Totally worth it, I thought to myself as Alyssa’s tongue stroked her lip before she offered me a small, shy smile. The kiss was obviously playing through her mind again, just like it looped through mine.
“Strike that,” Josh said. “I really don’t want to know.”
In the moments before the kiss, we’d been playing snap with that deck of cards. I’d accused her of cheating, mostly because she always did. About four months earlier, she’d found ways to use her boobs to distract me when she had a match. My accusation had led to a tickle fight—as it usually did. Which had somehow led to that kiss—which had never happened before. Although I’d had growing desires for something similar for a while.
When I met Alyssa’s gaze again, the realisation that with one little kiss everything had changed struck with more ferocity. From that moment on, everything would be different. It had to be. There would always be the time before we’d kissed and the time after. I had no clue what that might mean for our friendship though. If things went badly, it could end nine years of being there for each other. Nine years of sharing everything with each other. Homework, dreams, desires.
Everything.
There wasn’t a single detail of our lives w
e’d kept hidden from each other. Well, aside from my growing affection for her. I’d kept that secret because I’d thought that any relationship between us was off-limits. Still, she’d told me all about her first kiss with Blake. “Disgusting and slobbery,” were the words she’d used to describe it. I only hoped I’d done a better job than he had.
In return, she knew about the many times I’d been rebuffed by Darcy Kinsley. Only days before, I’d spent half an hour whining to Alyssa about my continuing heartache over Darcy, and the fact that the blonde bombshell still didn’t know I existed. Even then, I’d cared less about Darcy than I let on. Instead, it was the desire that had been growing second-by-second for my best friend which had overtaken my mind.
“Dad’ll be home soon so Mum wanted me to find you,” Josh said, after clearing his throat once more. “I had a feeling you would be here. But that I did not expect.”
Is he pissed off?
I took the fact that I was still breathing as a positive sign. Even though he was her brother, he’d always been like a brother to me too. Our parents had always joked that they should just arrange joint custody, with the amount of time the three of us spent at each other’s houses. Both sets of parents treated each of us as if we were their own children.
I’m sure that friendship was the only reason he hadn’t ripped me from Alyssa’s side and beaten me to a bloody pulp. After all, he had just witnessed me kissing his kid sister in a way that was anything but brotherly.
Considering that he had a good three inches on me, and was practically double my size in width, a wall of muscle already at sixteen, I really didn’t want him to be pissed off with me. I dreaded to think the damage he might cause if he was.
“Five more minutes, Josh. I just want to talk to Declan alone for a sec.” She brushed her hand through my hair, drawing my gaze back to her. I closed my eyes at the sensation.
“Sure, talk,” Josh muttered. He did walk away and give us some privacy though, at least if we whispered.
Declan Reede: The Untold Story (Complete Series) Page 1